The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Annie G.:

I am one of those for whom chicken pox was just one of those childhood diseases that you got and suffered through. In ~1981 when I was five or six, my cousins got chicken pox and my mother brought me and my brother over to play with them in hopes we would catch it too. I remember being very puzzled by this-- I didn't understand why we were allowed to play with my sick cousins, and why my mother wanted us to get sick. After that exposure, I had a very mild case, my brother (2~3 at the time) was much, much sicker.

We had all the other regular immunizations as children. I remember when Hep B immunization became common/required, because I was in college: the first time I started the course of immunization (at the time it was 3 shots spaced out over a period of months), I went back to school before I completed it, so I had to start all over again.

My dad (born 1946) grew up on Long Island, and was in a control group for one of the polio vaccines (Salk maybe?). He remembers being upset at having to get stuck with needles twice-- once for the placebo and once for the real thing.

I am not a California lawyer, but I am a lawyer (admitted in MA). And also mostly a lurker, but coming out of the woodwork to help, hopefully.

Looking at the California probate code, it appears that a valid will in California must be in writing, signed by the testator (or on the testator's behalf in certain very limited situations), and witnessed by two parties who are (a) present at the same time each other signs and the testator either signs or acknowledges his/her signature, and (b) understand that the writing is the testator's will. A holographic will (i.e., one entirely in the testator's handwriting) is valid whether witnessed or not provided that the "signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator."

Lizzy L., to your specific point about conflicts of interest, a will is not invalid specifically because an interested witness signed it (see section 6112.(b)). However, without two disinterested witnesses in addition to the interested witness, the presence of a devise (gift under the will) to a witness creates a presumption that the devise was obtained by foul means, which in turn affects the burden of proof should the will be challenged-- which can cause problems. So it's not quite as simple as the will won't be valid at all, but it will make things more difficult.

In general, probate code(s) vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Holographic wills, while a useful statement of testamentary intent, are not valid in some jurisdictions (I believe my own, Massachusetts, is one of them). So, if you're in doubt at all-- please, please, consult a trusts and estates attorney.

The above does not constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such. When in doubt, consult counsel of your choice. All sales final. Some restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited by law.

Joel Polowin at #215: Wnarg sebz Gnz Yva?

Rikibeth #114/dcb #123: yes, exactly!

Bob Devney #124: Fgrcura Zngheva bs gur Nhoerl/Zngheva obbxf? (or alternately, "Yhpxl" Wnpx Nhoerl. But of the two I think Zngheva is more likely to use the term "my dear".)

James @ 95

Actually, if I remember correctly (and I happened to re-read Fgebat Cbvfba just this weekend) Jvzfrl doesn't get involved in the case until after Uneevrg's first trial results in a hung jury. He is a spectator during the first trial, and actually remarks to Cnexre that the authorities have captured the wrong person. Then, of course, in the period before the second trial Jvzfrl and Cnexre frequently work together.

So I stand by my identification. But here's a quickie to stimulate discussion:

"Well?" he asked, "Are you going to take the command?"
Of course," she replied. After that debacle with her earlier lover-- and still no closer to a family to show for it-- she would be a fool to pass up the promotion this time. Even if the posting was on the very edge of the known regions.

turtle @ 27: exactly! I was worried it was too cryptic with the initials, but any of the names would have been a dead giveaway.

#20 is Ybeq Crgre Jvzfrl naq Uneevrg Inar!

Here is my own poor offering:

He hadn't intended to leave town that month, and he certainly hadn't intended to go with B to the new house he, B, had taken. To be sure, B was a cheerful fellow, if perhaps a little too apt to follow along with whatever his sisters and their friends expected. Certainly, with Mr. H present, there would be shooting and cards in the offing, although not much else-- B's brother-in-law didn't really add much else to the party. Moreover, B's sister C was always very solicitous whenever he visited. Almost too solicitous, really; she was forever ordering what she took to be his favorite dishes for meals.

But, on the other hand, the workmen were still renovating the music room at P for his sister's new pianoforte, and after coming across into Mr. W at Lady J's rout, he couldn't bear to stay in town. So he might as well get some shooting in while the weather was still good.

Another mostly-lurker de-lurking to share my voting story:

My polling place pulls from two very different neighborhoods in Boston: the South End (gentrifying, largely young straight and gay urban professionals) and Roxbury (largely African-American/Latino, working class/urban poor). I arrived between 10:15-10:30 AM, and the line at the polling place was out the door and around the block. In front of me was a (maybe mid-thirties?) African-American woman with her 10(?) year old son. Behind me was an older (maybe 60s? 70s?) Middle Eastern (Muslim) gentleman, with whom I had a very spirited discussion about Islam and Christianity. Another woman, also African-American, also mid-thirties, had to leave after the first 45 minutes because she had to go to work, but said she would come back with her son later. There were a lot of Obama shirts, buttons, etc. in evidence on line while we were waiting, and the local Dems came around with donuts and fliers. We waited on line for 2.5-3 hours until we were finally able to vote. I have never waited that long to vote in my life, but I’m so excited and honored and humbled that I did.

Another mostly-lurker chiming in with get-well wishes: I hope you feel better soon, Teresa!

I found my great-great-grandfather. We were going through some papers after my grandmother's death and discovered a medal from Gettysburg engraved with his name. An internet search led me to a number of Civil War history sites, and I found the roster of his regiment. The site also had a picture and the location of his grave. Which turned out to be within 10 miles of the house my parents have lived in for 30 years. We visited last October. It was fascinating to be able to learn so much-- so easily!-- about a side of the family that we knew nothing about.

I was born in spring of 76. My first memory of external events is of discussing Reggie Jackson going to play for the California Angels with my cousin Liz, and avowing that because he was my favorite player I would now root for the Angels. Looking at Wikipedia, that would have been in 1981-1982, so I would have been five or six; I remember it being warm weather, so it was probably around the time of his first game against NY as an Angel (which WP says was around what would have been my sixth birthday).

My first political memory is of the Reagan-Mondale election, because I was all excited about potentially having a woman VP; I would have been eight. I remember learning about the Challenger disaster when I was not-quite-ten; it was mostly memorable because my third-grade teacher had been in the running to go up in the shuttle, and I had adored her and was glad she hadn't died. I remember watching it on TV at school, but that may be a false memory.

I remember the Berlin Wall but was at camp for the August coup that let to the end of Soviet Russia in '91, so I'm (still) unclear on what exactly happened that put Yeltsin in charge there.

Oh shoot, mine wasn't English in either origin or language either.

Lord Alan Quixote, the impoverished scion of a once well-to-do planet Mancha, has had his imagination fired by the holovids of noble astronauts from the dawn of the Space Age with which he has occupied his youth. After catching a glimpse of the beautiful alien Dulcie, he leaves home in his rattletrap schooner Rose to woo and win her. Along the way, assisted by his faithful retainer Sam Panza, he lands on many different planets and has a series of largely humorous adventures. One high point is when, confused by alien technology, he flies Rose into the power plants supporting a neighboring planet, causing an intergalactic incident and putting Dulcie even further from his reach.

Reading it over, it sounds more like TV series than a movie....

Xopher at #913 And now the original cast recording is bittersweet, because it has the great Jerry Orbach as one of the clueless fathers.

Xopher, I speak in fear and trembling of being wrong, but...I had thought that Jerry Orbach originated the role of El Gallo, not one of the fathers? Isn't that him singing Try To Remember on the original cast recording?

in any case, The Fantasticks is one of my favorite musicals. I also love Into the Woods, but then I'm a sucker for Sondheim.

debcha #70, as another cultural data point, I've attended some truly lavish weddings in the NYC area. No true society weddings, but several where quite a bit was spent, and at least one where cost was entirely beside the point. That one was, of the (many) weddings I've attended in the past 5 years, the most about putting on appearances for the guests and the least fun.

Diatryma #84, you learn a lot as a wedding guest about how to plan a wedding. My husband and I got married relatively late in the post-college and -law-school marital bell curve you're describing, so we had attended some 30-35 weddings in the 5 years we had been dating before our own. That, plus our experiences as attendants (six attendant gigs between us), helped us to be aware of pitfalls to avoid.

My recent wedding wasn't low cost, but I tried to be conscious of where the costs were coming from and why I was incurring them. For one thing, I grew up in Brooklyn, and it was important to me to get married in my childhood church, and to hold the reception in a place that was meaningful to me (and pretty). There were also a number of family members and close friends, on all sides (mine, his, our respective parents), that we felt it was important to invite. Unfortunately, the cost of renting a space and feeding that number of guests, at NYC prices, was high. However, I felt that those two factors-- places and people that were important to us-- were worth that cost.

Lizzy L., #97: I am not any kind of biblical scholar (Talmudic, Tanakhic, or New Testament), so I quake and tremble at what the New Testament scholars who are on Making Light will say of my suggestions. But to share my experience: I took a few academically rigorous Bible classes in college and grad school, and the text we used was the New Oxford Annotated Bible. Lots of footnotes indicating the literal translation of a word in the original language, possible alternate tranlations, etc. It also includes the Apocrypha (which are Catholic texts, I believe).

For religious as opposed to scholarly needs, a pastor whose erudition I trust implicitly, suggested the NRSV (New Revised Standard, or Not Really Satisfactory, Version). Not poetic, but supposedly an accurate translation.

My husband is a ski patroller and was an EMT (his cert. has lapsed but fairly recently, so he still remembers his training), so we end up stopping at many roadside incidents and accidents if emergency personnel is not already at the scene.

Since I have only very minimal first aid training, my Designated Role is to call 911. Most recently, I called to report an accident at the Berlin exit on a particular highway in Connecticut, to find it had obviously already been reported-- as soon as the dispatch picked up they asked if I was calling to report the accident at the Berlin exit. But they didn't seem upset to have yet another report-- just informed me that emergency services were on their way. So I'll add to the chorus that, even if you think somebody has already called, call 911 yourself. Can't hurt, might help.

...above.

Xopher, received with thanks. Hope you didn't miss your train!

and from me, Xopher, if you don't mind. (And if you do, please disregard!)

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