Mad Macedonian

Having the Temerity to be Conservative and Proud of it

I don't do politics, and the War on Terror, around here, leaving it to others with far greater audiences than I to cover, but on Tax Day I covered a local Tea Party (Tea Party, Santa Ana Ca.: Speaking Up For America, the Free, the Republic) and, 5 days later, the response of a local Liberal Weekly to the event (Does Gazing at Your Navel for too Long Lead to Blindness?: A Tea Party Follow-Up), as part of my coverage of life in Orange County.

Most folks, when they think of Conservative Bloggers, and Conservative Opinion , think of a large , and well known, selection of Bloggers, and print, radio, and TV authors, and pundits, and various active, and retired politicians, but there are thousands of ordinary people out there expressing themselves on blogs, on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Stumble Upon, and many other similar websites, and networks.

The Tea Party Movement has shown that ordinary citizens are actively finding new ways to express their opinion of the direction of their nation.

One such extended network is the Grizzly Groundswell Blog Network (Blogs and Online Radio), begun in 2007 with the purpose of "Uniting Conservatives through thought, voice and image! "

Covering every aspect of our society, there are many categories of conversation, and of blogs, in the mix.

The newest entry is something unique in my experience, a blog that serves also as the home of a new online, scrollable, magazine.

A grassroots effort providing ordinary folks a place to express their opinion on the issues of the day in lengthy, well written, articles, fine photography, and artwork.

A place to "Get Grizzly" and "that always means get ready to have some fun working hard and laughing at the antics of those silly socialist squirrels as they run into each other and drop their nuts when they hear us coming!" ;-D 

The last week of every month will see the latest issue of the magazine posted to the blog, for all to read at their leisure.

The 1st issue of Temerity Magazine was posted on April 30th, and is 30 pages of thought-provoking material.

Temerity is a word with a long hitory, going back to the American Revelotion, and its meaning applies not oly to the Great-Grandfather of Editor Chad "Teddy Bear" Everson, but to those on the Right in our nation who are speaking out on the direction this nation is heading. (Read Chad's Editorial in the magaizne for more on these themes.)

I have added a link to my Food For Thought Blogroll, and there are several articles in this inaugural issue that inspired me to do so:

1. Hillary's Mexican Blame Game.

2. Why Americans Have Guns.

3. Potemkin Village.

4. Identity Politcs.

5. The Republican Cat (Nikita, My Best Bud, and Co-Blogger, positively purred non-stop over this one. ;-D)

6. The Bow Seen Around the World.

7. Tea Party Photos.

Check out the Grizzly Network, and Temerity Magazine.

Prompting Yourself to Write About Your Genealogy 3: Make a Research Task List

Researching your Family History can be intimidating.

Where to begin, how to begin, how to organize, are just some of the questions that come up.

Depending on what information you have, or don't have, and about who, making a Task List can be simple, or complex.

The challenges are enough to make you ask why do genealogy at all? ;-D

This post is not about my own lists, as I am not ready yet to make any, but about why doing so might be a good idea, and a resource to help get you started.

At the encouragement of a new genealogical acquantance I bought a book, the other day, by Emily Anne Croom.

Croom writes:

The genealogist who plans and organizes without good research has no real success, for the results are meaningless.The one who tries to do the appropriate research little scraps of paper, without planning, or organization, finds that success is ellusive, litterally lost in the shuffle.

But the genealogist who plans and organizes and researches carefully will experience the excitement, and gratification of accomplishment.

In 20 years of limited research this researcher, who still considers himself a novice, has managed to prove the truth of those words inspite of himself. ;-D

I have found out the fate of a long lost Aunt, the Honeymoon Hide-away of my parents, and numerous exact pieces to the puzzle, as well as tantalizing, and confusing ones, including the Ship Passenger list of the boat my Dad came over on, with his name misspelled, and a 90 year. old Death Certificate with as many questions as answers in what it reveals.

I've got all my research in file folders, in 2 file cabinets, but am beginning to think I need to do more organizing, and planning, taking into account new information I've gathered since the summer.

In her book, The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook: Essential Forms and Letters for All Genealogists, Emily Anne Croom provides more than 40 tear-out forms designed to help with planning, and organizing your research, and research goals, and in addition to the different types of blank forms, she explains by word, and example, why each is important.

About CHECKLISTS, she writes about how they help with organizing research, and files.

About INDEXES, sher writes about how they do what checklists do, and more. They are an aid in transcribing data of all sorts, as well as your notes.

About INFORMATION GATHING FORMS she writes about how they are time savers, and help you focus on various tasks.

About forms used for REFERENCE AND STUDY, she  writes about how, as you gather info, there are ways to consolidate information you may have on families, individuals, and places.

About LETTER WRITING, she writes that some genealogical contacts can be made by telephone, while others require letter writing.

She provides tips, and examples, on queries to journals, and individuals, requests for copies of documents from agencies, and institutions, letters to relatives, and more.

As I look at this book I realize how little I know, and understand about this hobby, and how much I need to learn.

Yes, it's time consuming, intimidating and frustrating, sometimes expensive, and won't be easy.

You will laugh, cry, scratch your head, and shout in joy, or even anger, sometimes in a very public place.

But the thing to remember is that the rewards are enormous, and enormously gratifying, for you, and for those who will live on after you.