Vol. 1 Issue 16

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December 13-19, 2012

This Tidbits will ring some bells of histo-ry! Bells have been around for many cen-turies, including references in the Bible. Long before telephone ringers, ambulance sirens, internet, emails and “tweets,” bells summoned the masses for news, happy and sad.

• Bells are rung at many major life events and occasions, including weddings and funerals in some religions. In earlier cen-turies bells were also rung to make an-nouncements at community squares. Many churches ring bells at Christmas to cel-ebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

• A famous old poem written on December 25, 1864 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became one of our best loved Christmas Carols. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” was actually a poem that Wadsworth wrote concerning the sadness of America’s Civil War and the hope for its end. Two stanzas were removed when the poem was set to music by John Baptiste Calkin in 1872. The words, “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” included in the song, come from Luke 2:14 in the Bible.

• Ringing of bells and other noisemakers may have originated with pagans, people who have “little or no religion.” They used the bells to scare away evil spirits.

• Traditionally in Anglican and Catholic churches, the church day starts at sunset. So, for many churches the first service of Christmas Day will have bells ringing. These signify the start of Christmas

turn the page for more!

Vol. 1 Issue 16

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services in many areas. In the United King-dom (U.K.) it is traditional for the largest bell to be rung four times in the hour prior to midnight; then at midnight all of the bells ring to celebrate Christmas. Many old churches in the U.K. and other Euro-pean countries have historic bells that have been ringing for centuries.

• One of those old churches, St. Lawrence Church in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, has what is thought to be the oldest set of bells in the world. Dating from about 1450, the set of five bells had not been used for two decades because of the poor condition of the tower that housed them. They were in a tower that was built in 1883, that was very f limsy. In a restoration project funded by donations to the Ipswich Historic Churches Trust, the bells were moved to an older, sturdier part of the building that was built in the 15th century. In September, 2009, the bells rang again, much to the delight of the town. Now when the bells are rung, they are in a part of the church where they can be seen through a glass screen. The building is no longer a church but is part of the Ipswich Town Centre.

• In the Ipswich project, the bells were cleaned at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in East London. Whitechapel is Britain’s oldest manufacturing company, established during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1570. In 1970 the Foundry celebrated 400 years, a quatercentenary! (It is now in its 442nd year.)

• Famous bells from Whitechapel include the Liberty Bell, the Great Bell of Montreal and the largest bell it has ever cast, Big Ben. • Big Ben at Westminster Abbey deserves its name; weighing 13 tons (11.79 tonnes). It was cast (or made) in 1858. While most of the work of the company is with large bells, including all of the equipment need-ed and installation in church towers, Whi-techapel also makes handbells and other small bells.

• While bell ringing, called “change ring-ing,” is most popular in England where it started centuries ago, there are bell ring-ers all over the world. Most English church bell towers have at least six to eight, but sometimes as many as sixteen bells in a the bell chamber or belfry. There are more than 5000 churches with bells for change ring-ing in their bell towers in England, while there are fewer than 300 in the rest of the world. • Change ringing is a performing art, similar to a team sport, in that the team must work together in harmony to ring the bells. It is similar to being a part of an orchestra. Each ringer must learn to do his or her part. There are many change ring-ing organizations in England. The oldest association is the “Companie of Ringers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln” which was started in 1612.

• The first true “peal” was believed to have occurred on May 2, 1715 at St. Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich, England. A peal is “a true touch of at least 5000 chang-es.” This magical ringing typically takes around three hours to ring!

• A strange ban that occurred during Worldturn the page for more!

Hi Tidbits readers!

Did anyone catch the record-breaking Seahawks game against the Cardinals last week? What a great game! We’re ready to cheer them on again this weekend!

Did you know that we have a list of local businesses that are accepting food donations for the holidays? Read all about it on page 4. If you know of any others, please contact us at [email protected].

We’ve got some fun holiday reading, comics, and games packed into this week’s issue, so keep reading! If you have any favorite puzzles or games you’d like to see next week, write on our Facebook wall or send us a tweet!

Thank you so much for ready! Happy Holidays!

Harrison and Jennifer BurkeOwners/PublishersJBurke Publishing

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War II was the ringing of bells. Ringing was quickly reinstated when peace re-turned.

• On January 1, 2000, in celebration of the start of the new millennium, bells were rung all over the world.

• There has been change ringing in North America since 1744 with groups of ringers active in Quebec, British Columbia, South Carolina, Illinois and more at various times. By the middle of the 20th century, change ringing in bell towers had almost completely died out on the continent. Change ringing was occurring some with handbells but the history is slim on that. In the early 1960s there were only seven active bell towers in North America: four in Canada and three in the U.S.

• The installation of change ringing bells at the new National Cathedral in Wash-ington, D.C. in 1963 stoked the energy for new ringers in North America. Today The North American Change Ringers Guild, officially chartered in 1972, has more than 560 members with about 50 active bell towers in North America.

• The London-based “Ancient Society of College Youths” is one of the oldest ring-ing societies, started in 1637. They have members all over the world.

• While bell-ringing is an old and refined form of music, it is also popular in Christ-mas stories and songs that have nothing to do with classic bell tower tunes. Christ-mas bells are in many classic Christmas songs: “Jingle Bells,” “Silver Bells,” and “Christmas Bells are Ringing,” are three well-known Christmas carols that have been passed down for generations.

• Santa Claus and his reindeer jingle bells as they f ly through the sky. Bells are attached to the reindeer harnesses and Santa’s sleigh.

• You have probably heard the saying “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”. Most remember this saying from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but over a hundred years ago this was a very common saying.

BELLS (continued): BELLS (continued):

A smooth spread of Kalamata olives, anchovy fillets and garlic tops golden toasts in this appetizer recipe.

2 teaspoons olive oil3 cloves garlic, 1 crushed with press1 11- to 12-inch thin pizza crust1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted2 anchovy fillets2 tablespoons olive oil, for tapenade1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475 F.2. In small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons olive oil with 1 clove crushed garlic.3. Brush mixture over crust; cut crust into 12 wedges. Bake on cookie sheet 10 minutes or until golden brown.4. In food processor, pulse olives, anchovy fillets, 2 cloves garlic, 2 table-spoons olive oil and pepper until very finely chopped. Serve on toasts. Serves 6.

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our website at www.goodhouse-keeping.com/recipefinder/.

(c) 2012 Hearst Communications, Inc.All rights reserved

Tapenade on Toasts

• It was beloved American film star Katharine Hepburn who made the following sage ob-servation: “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, only with what you are expecting to give -- which is everything.”

• You might be surprised to learn that one out of every 18 people has a third nipple.

• The epic 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” was awarded 10 Academy Awards and is a beloved classic to this day. Given the as-tounding success of the movie, it’s shocking that one of the stars, Vivien Leigh, was paid only $15,000 for her role as Scarlett O’Hara.

• The world’s smallest spider is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

• You may not realize it, but not all “light” beers have fewer calories than brews without that label. A beer simply has to be lighter in color to be called “light.”

• The African ostrich lays an egg that weighs a whopping 30 pounds. It’s so sturdy that a grown man can stand on it without causing it any harm.

• When the Titanic sank in 1912, many pas-sengers perished in the frigid waters because no ship came to their aid until the Carpathia arrived more than two hours after the disas-ter. However, there was another ship nearby as the liner sank: a freighter, the California, was only 10 miles away. The crew even saw emergency flares fired from the liner, but they thought it was part of a celebration rather than a signal of distress.

• Although a normal human infant is born with 350 bones, the normal human adult has only 206 bones.

***

Thought for the Day: “I’m an excellent house-keeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.” -- Zsa Zsa Gabor

© 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.

by Samantha Weaver

Tidbits® of Dallas County Tidbits® of Sno-King Counties

The first Christmas cards were issued to raise awareness of people in need. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, in England, wanted to help those living in desolate conditions.

• Sir Henry was a writer of children’s books, handbooks for art and design and many more ventures. He was involved in public service for more than 50 years, including assisting with the postal service.

• Being a man with many personal and busi-ness friends and acquaintances, and consider-ing that people would hand write their Christ-mas greetings, he felt that he didn’t have time to write them. In 1843, he commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card that would depict the poor living conditions under which many lived. His idea was to raise aware-ness and encourage help for the poor.

• Ironically, the card that Horsley made for Sir Henry Cole caused quite a stir of criticism. The happy family on the front of the card included a child sipping wine! As in today’s society, this was not acceptable behavior. In spite of the in-appropriateness, the Christmas card was a hit. • Neither Cole nor Horsley had any idea of the impact their Christmas cards would have on Britain, later America and even the world over. By 1880 the design and development of cards would become big business and open up

From Tidbits® of Sno-King Counties

opportunities for writers, artists, printers and engravers.

• The first Christmas cards were not religious in nature. They usually were quite plain with depictions of animals, winter scenes, girls, dolls and more. A few had drawings of angels.

• The first appearance of Christmas cards in the United States was in 1874. Bavarian-born lithographer, Louis Prang, is often referred to as the “Father of the American Christmas card.”

• Prang ran a successful printing company in Boston during the late nineteenth century, pro-ducing high quality reproductions of famous art work and greeting cards, using a technique called chromoli-thography. Prior to his cards, Christmas cards were rarely exchanged in Amer-ica. His cards were among the first to depict religious scenes.

• U.S. President Dwight D. Eisen-hower issued the first official Christ-mas card from the White House in 1953. Now, a common practice, the official White House cards are usually designed by prominent Ameri-can artists and depict White House scenes. In 1961 there were just 2000 recipients of the of-ficial cards; by 2005 there were 1.4 million!

• One of the largest greeting card companies in the world, Hallmark, has done remarkably well

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with Christmas cards, wrapping paper, orna-ments and more. All kinds of cards are made by the company started by two brothers in 1910 in Norfolk, Nebraska. They moved to Kansas City, Missouri shortly after to be near a bigger mar-ket of customers. The slogan, “when you care enough to give the very best,” was adopted in 1944.

• The international headquarters for Hallmark are located at Crown Center in Kansas City. The Mayor’s Christmas Tree, one of the tallest in the nation, is erected at Crown Center Square every year. The Hallmark Visitor Center is fun any time of year, with free admission. There are

many great exhibits, in-cluding one where you can press a button to create a bow that you can keep as a souvenir.

• Another free Christmas goody happened a few years ago in Germany. In 2004, the German post office gave away 20 million scented stickers for Christmas cards with

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Seattle Seahawks Schedule

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FAMOUS LANDMARKSOF THE WORLD:

MACHU PICCHUOne of the most intriguing ancient sites in the world sits at a high elevation in the An-dean mountains of Peru in South America.

• The magnificent setting sits 9,060 feet (2,761 m) above sea level. Covering 5 square miles (12.95 sq km), Machu Picchu is the most unusual urban creation known that was built by the ancient Incan Empire. The terraces, ramps and giant walls look as if they were cut naturally in the rock escarpments but they were built by the Incans.

• Machu Picchu means “Old Peak” in the local Quechuan language. The Incas may not have been the first people to use the mountaintop site but they were the ones who turned the site into an extraordinary city.

• The ruins of the old civilization sit high in the clouds above the Urubamba River. There are remains of palaces, baths, stor-age rooms, temples and about 150 houses. The structures are carved from the granite of the mountain top and are architectural and aesthetic wonders. Many of the gi-ant building blocks weigh 50 tons or more (45 metric tons +) but are fitted together in such a way as to not allow a thin knife blade to be inserted in the mortarless joints.

• The ancient city is invisible from below and completely self-contained. The agri-culture is and was sufficient for the resi-dents with natural springs for drinking and crop production.

• Yale history professor, Hiram Bingham, is given credit for “discovering” Machu Picchu in 1911. In fact, the Incan people and others had already found the area! He “rediscovered” it and brought it much fame by revealing what he saw in lectures, news articles and books after his return.

• The Inca civilization is one of the ancient cultures that has been studied for centuries. Back in the time of Columbus’ “discovery” of America, the Incan Empire was in con-trol of most of South America. A mysteri-ous culture, the Incans had phenomenal abilities in construction, agricultural, and organization that are still apparent in the high mountains of the city of Machu Pic-chu.

• The Incas were overthrown by the Span-ish in 1532 and their culture became vir-tually unknown until discoveries such as Bingham’s revealed much of their history years later.

• It is believed, through much of the ar-cheological evidence, that Machu Picchu was an important ceremonial center for the Incas. In 2001, Peru’s first president of Andean Indian descent, Alejandro Toledo, celebrated his inauguration at Machu Pic-chu.

• Even though the ancient city is not easy to get to, there are thousands of tourists who flock there every year. In fact, the Peruvian government introduced new tour-ist limits in 2011 to protect the historical sites.

• Train and bus rides now take tourists to the top of the mountain that is Machu Pic-chu today. In Bingham’s time in the early 1900s mules and hiking were the only way to go. When the trails and old city were

cleared of overgrown brush after years of neglect, well-constructed roads with pave-ment and drainage were discovered. The Incas had set up a nice system that was ahead of their time.

• Hiking is still possible for tourists who prefer more adventure. There are many stairs at Machu Picchu; in fact, more than 100 individual staircases, many of them carved somewhat miraculously from single slabs of stone.

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1. When was the last time the Chicago White Sox finished last in their division?

2. True or false: In his only season as manager of the Minnesota Twins, Billy Martin led the team to the playoffs.

3. Who led the NFL in rushing the one year that Cleveland’s Jim Brown didn’t during his nine-year NFL career?

4. How many times has Brigham Young’s men’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament without ever reaching the Final Four?

5. Name the first eighth-seeded NHL team to eliminate a No. 1 and a No. 2 seed in the same season.

6. In 2012, Kamron Doyle (14 years, 218 days old) became the youngest bowler to finish in the top three in a PBA event. Who had been the youngest?

7. Who was the youngest U.S. boxer to win an Olympic gold medal?

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PICKS OF THE WEEK“Looper” (R) -- Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has a good job as one of the hit men who hang out in the year 2044, waiting for the future-mob to send victims back in time for execution. It all changes the day his future-self (Bruce Willis) is sent back. Young Joe hesitates on the trigger, and old Joe escapes. Now the young Joe has to murder himself from 30 years in the future, or be murdered as a young man by his angry boss.This is an action thriller with enough sense to keep things moving at a brisk and tense pace. Although super-nerds may be let down by the lack of meticu-lous exposition about time travel, “Looper” keeps the rest of us reeled in and skillfully plays on the deeper themes in the story.

“Something Better Somewhere Else” (R) -- This collection of four short films shows just how much storytelling can be done in a small amount of time with relatively little said aloud. The four shorts have a similar theme of “things about to change.” One follows a man leaving a job he hates, and the subtle developments that turn up during a farewell round of drinks. Each one has great strength in the details. The stories are short, subtle and satisfying. It’s a refreshing change of pace from bloated Hollywood productions and hyperactive attention-grabbing media.

“The Well Digger’s Daughter” (NR) -- This remake of a French melodrama has the look and feel of a dear family antique -- pretty, old-fashioned and a bit stuffy. The titular daughter, Patricia (Astrid Berges-Frisbey, looking like an idyllic painting come to life), is gorgeous and cultured, despite her working-class background. She apparently does a lot of strolling through fields of flowers near dusty country roads. She falls in love with the handsome son of a local rich man. He flies a biplane and takes her on his motorcycle. Their love has to struggle against class barriers and World War I.

DOG OF THE WEEK“The Words” (PG-13) -- Behold, a story so preten-tious and unmoving that the studio, in its mercy, decided to quietly release the DVD on Christmas Eve. The movie centers on Bradley Cooper’s char-acter, who is a writer in a story within a story being told by Dennis Quaid. Jeremy Irons shows up in Cooper’s storyline, and tells a quick story-within-a-story-within-a-story.The movie beats you over the head with messages about plagiarism, fictional worlds, guilt and all kinds of things that just go nowhere. The story gets so wrapped up in itself with so little to say that you wouldn’t mind a little plagiarism, so long as it’s interesting.

TV RELEASES“Justified: The Complete Third Season”

“Wiggles: The Wiggles Celebration”“Gabriel Iglesias Presents: Stand-Up Revolution --

Season Two”“Lazy Town: Super Sports Show W/Fitness Dvd”

“Nick Jr. Favorites: We Love Our Friends”

(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.

1. PSYCHOLOGY: If you had choreophobia, what would you be afraid of?

2. COMICS: What comic hero has a nemesis named Ming the Merciless?

3. TELEVISION: Where were the characters of “Laverne and Shirley” employed in Mil-waukee?

4. ARCHITECTURE: Who invented the geo-desic dome?

5. LITERATURE: What were the names of “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Du-mas?

6. MOVIES: What male actor starred in the 1981 film “Arthur,” and who was his lead-ing lady?

7. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the island country of Sri Lanka located?

8. CHEMISTRY: What is the Periodic Table symbol for zinc?

9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What nickname did author Tom Wolfe give the 1970s?

10. LANGUAGE: What are corsairs?

1. Dancing2. Flash Gordon3. Shotz Brewery4. Richard Buckminster Fuller5. Aramis, Athos and Porthos6. Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli7. Off the coast of India8. Zn9. The “Me” Decade10. Privately owned warships

Tidbits® of Dallas CountyTidbits® of Sno-King Counties

1. It was 1989, when they were 69-92.2. True. The Twins won the A.L. West in 1969.3. Green Bay’s Jim Taylor rushed for 1,474 yards in 1962.4. The Cougars have been to 27 NCAA Tournaments.5. The Los Angeles Kings, in 2012.6. Wesley Low, at 14 years, 344 days old, finished third in a PBA event earlier in 2012. 7. Jackie Fields was 16 when won a gold medal in the featherweight division in 1924.

© 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.

• “Digital picture books are very easy to make these days, and they make great gifts. But here’s a way we use our digital photos to keep the kids engaged at family gatherings. Each family prints out a selec-tion of photos. We let the kids make their own books using half sheets of paper, glue and markers. They design frames, etc. After they have several pages done, we tie them together and make a cover of heavy cardstock. It’s a great take-home craft, a special souvenir for visitors and it gets them talking about family moments.” -- R.E. in Alabama

• Want to mix it up a bit with your tradi-tional chocolate chip cookies? Try rolling them in different types of chopped nuts or sprinkles. Even crushed pretzels are really good. Or change the flavor of the chip. Add minced dried fruit, quick oats or other seeds for a change of taste. Melt choco-late chips and dip one side in it, then let dry on waxed paper. Endless possibilities!

• At a loss for what to do with Christmas cards from years past? Why not make a wreath? Cut out a large ring from a card-board box or other sturdy material. Ar-range cards at different angles around the circle. Add decorative holiday picks or sprays, and ribbon or bow for depth.

• Having a holiday party? Put food and drinks in separate areas, as these are places that guests tend to linger. With dif-ferent stops for each, guests will not bunch up in one place trying to do both, and it actually encourages mingling!

• Looking for a great cause for gifting this year? Go to www.charitynavigator.org to find out more about how your prospec-tive charities rank in areas like CEO pay, money spent on fundraising, etc.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475 or e-mail JoAnn at [email protected].

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a good time to get a running start on shopping for next year’s holiday season. Retailers are eager to add a few dollars to their coffers before the end of the year, and you might be able to get a large portion of next year’s shopping done at a deep discount. At the same time, you can shop for some of the events you have coming up in 2013.Children grow quickly, but it’s safe to buy for adults who generally have stable weight. Jeans, sweaters, T-shirts and sweatshirts are good options for next year, as are gloves, hats and scarves. At the same time, if you have a fast-growing child who’ll likely outgrow what he or she is wearing before warm weather ar-rives, look for discounted winter gear.Keep an eye on Offers.com for coupons and mark-downs at stores such as Best Buy, Old Navy, Bloomingdales and Toys”R”Us. Note which ones are for online purchases only, and which ones are in-

store. Compare the online sales to your local ads, as there won’t be any pattern to where the bargains are.Stock up on supplies such as Christmas cards, wrapping paper, bows and tape. Look for outdoor lights, orna-ments and decorations. Stores would rather sell them at a discount than have to store them until next year. (If you’re shopping for non-holiday events that are coming up, go with solid-colored supplies such as red or gold for parties, picnics and birthdays supplies.)Check drugstores for holiday-specific merchandise. With the holiday over, they need to move it all out via deep discounts.If you have children with birthdays coming up soon, keep an eye on toy stores that brought in the hot items of the season. Those same toys may now be on clearance.Fleece blankets and personal-size comforters never go out of style and are always a welcome addition for any-one’s TV viewing room.Think lonely: For big-ticket items like new carpeting or furniture, it doesn’t hurt to see what kind of deals you can get from your smaller local retailers. With so many people focusing on the holidays and shopping the malls, local retailers will be eager for sales to round out their year.Look for unboxed electronics or demo models, but opt for the warranty just to be safe.

FIND BARGAINS AFTER CHRISTMAS

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Vol. 1 Issue 16

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