Graduation at Miller is Thursday

            The college’s 58th commencement ceremony is set for Thursday (Dec. 21) at 7 p.m. in Miller Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus.

The diploma-day celebration will also be telecast live on the Community Access Center’s (CAC) channel 20. 

Scheduled to make remarks are: Chris Schauer, chairman of the KVCC Board of Trustees; communications instructor Bruce Punches; and psychology major Jamielah Jenkins of Kalamazoo, who will start work on her four-year degree at Western Michigan University in January

Serving as faculty marshals will be Jean Snow and Linda Rzoska, while performing those duties for the students will be Tom Keena and Nick Meier.

Adding to the evening’s celebration will be the KVCC Choir directed by Michelle Bauman and the KVCC Campus Band directed by Chris Garrett.

The fall graduation will also be booked for showings three other times on the center’s four other channels.  Check the CAC’s website for time, date and channel.

For those who like plenty of advance notice, be alert to the fact the graduation ceremony at the end of the 2007 winter semester will be staged on Sunday, April 29, at Miller Auditorium.  The Sunday date is the result of the auditorium being pledged to the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra that will be preparing for the performance of an opera.

Today is deadline for breakfast RSVP

            The annual breakfast hosted by the KVCC Board of Trustees to launch the winter semester is set for Friday, Jan. 5, at 8 a.m. in the A gym on the Texas Township Campus.

Reservations are required for the event that also pays tribute to employees for their years of service to the college.  The deadline to make a reservation is

Friday (Dec. 15).

Eligible to attend are full-time faculty, full- and part-time support staff, part-time instructors, and administrators.  In an earlier version of last week’s Digest, it was incorrectly reported that part-time instructors were not eligible to take part in the event.  

For more information and to RSVP (seating is limited), go to this website: http://home.kvcc.edu/hrmain/StffDev/BoardBreakfastInvite.htm . Pat Pojeta at extension 4018 is also available for more information.

Here are the KVCC’ers who will be saluted:

♦ 35 YEARS: Tom Lentenbrink, Jean Snow and Jim Turcott.

♦ 30 YEARS: Verne Mills, Lou Pulka, Jim Taylor and Nancy Woods.

♦ 25 YEARS: Scott Eberstein, Terri Lester, Judy Esman, Daryl Irving and Brian Olson.

♦ 20 YEARS: Pat Cherpas, Karen Thorngate, Mary Lindsley, Maryalice Reck, Natalie Patchell, Ron Miazga, Jill Storm, Keith Kroll, Francis Granzotto, Tony Zacker, Theo Sypris, Bob Post and Paula Metzner.

♦ 15 YEARS: Carolyn Alford, Judd Mattimore and De Cochran.

♦ 10 YEARS:  Mary Bay, Robert Sutton, Ron Campbell, Susan Reynolds, Char Gibson, Ola Johnson, Valerie Jones, Makida Cunningham, Aaron Snead, Lois Brinson, Carol Mallinson, Rick Brill, Rose Crawford and Jackie Howlett.

♦ 5 YEARS: Candy Horton, Elizabeth Barker, Steve Doherty, Jenny Buysse, Dave Brock, Gail Fredericks, Rick Garthe, Barry Chapman, Lynn Berkey, Jennie Huff, Lesa Ward, Nicole Newman, Mark Saylor, Robyn Robinson, Bruce Punches, Brent Towers, Jim Lightcap, Rick Kraas, Johanna Preston, Dona Rocha, and Bill Wangler.

   

Digest taking the holidays off

            This will be the last edition of The Digest for the calendar year. 

Because the college will be closed effective Friday (Dec. 22) and will not re-open until Tuesday, Jan. 2, the first edition for 2007 of the best

community college newsletter in Kalamazoo County will be hot off of the electronic presses around noon of Friday, Jan. 5.

In the interim, campuswide e-mail distributed by the crack Digest reporting staff will attempt to keep college folks up to date on what’s happening.

 

Mileage change

            The re-imbursement rate for auto mileage accumulated on college business will be changed when the calendar turns to 2007.

Effective the first of the year, the payback rate will be 48.5 cents a mile, an increase from the 44.5 cents that had been in effect.

Caroling caravan, choral concert, ?serious? singing

            KVCC’ers are continuing to add their voices and musical talents to the spread of the holiday spirit in the Kalamazoo community, and there is another opportunity planned for Friday (Dec. 22).

On the heels of math instructor Sue Hollar’s harmony with the Sweet Adelines last week, three other KVCC instructors took part in season-related events.

Sara Rivara (English) sang alto in Dec. 2 Bach Fest performance of the “Magnificat” in Stetson Chapel on the campus of Kalamazoo College.

The Kalamazoo Oratorio Society’s presentation of Handel’s “Messiah” in Chenery Auditorium featured Lydia Hines (chemistry) as a solo alto and Renee Szostek (biology) in the choir.

            Those who would like to add their names to this list of holiday music-makers can join history instructor Tom Hughes and his political-science colleague, Rick Brill, on Friday.

            They are organizing a holiday-caroling excursion to an area hospital and nursing home.  Folks can bring their voices and smiles to Room 7334 on the Texas Township Campus for a 3 p.m. organizational meeting.  The plan is to sing the last song at around 5 p.m.  Participants will drive to the sites.  They are invited to bring instruments and “to don we now our gay apparel.”

            Hughes can be contacted at extension 4457 or

thughes@kvcc.edu.

            The KVCC Choir, directed by Michelle Bauman, will present a short holiday concert for the college community on Tuesday (Dec. 19) from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the Student Commons. 

In addition to what the choir performed at its Lake Auditorium concert last Friday, the billing will include holiday carols and a sing-along.

Students-as-tutors deadline is Monday

            By acting as peer tutors, students receive valuable lessons in volunteerism and provide support service for faculty members.

Natalie Patchell is asking full- and part-time faculty members to spread the word to students about the chance to be trained as a peer tutor for the 2007 winter semester and beyond.

The volunteer peer tutors will be enrolled in TRS 110 (Peer Tutor Training) for the winter semester and the college will pay for the one-credit course.

The tutors will receive a grade after they have completed the training and tutored a minimum of 25 hours.

The training course will be conducted by Patchell.  The dates and times of the mandatory Friday sessions are:  Jan. 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Feb. 2 from noon to 2:30; March 2 from noon to 2:30; and April 6, from noon to 2:30.

The prime prospect for tutor training is the student who has demonstrated solid learning techniques in completing a class and has a firm understanding of course materials or subject matter.

Other likely prospects are students who are pursuing careers as teachers and those who enjoy volunteer work.

Each peer tutor will work directly with the instructor in a particular course and will agree to tutor students enrolled in that class two hours a week during the semester.

The tutoring process will begin after the first training session on Jan. 12, but the training will be ongoing throughout the semester. 

Each instructor will determine when, where and how the tutoring will be accomplished.  Each volunteer will keep a tutoring log.

            Faculty members and students who are interested in taking part can contact Patchell at extension 4362 or npatchell@kvcc.edu.   

            An application form can be transmitted via e-mail and should be completed as soon as possible.  The deadline is Dec. 18. 

Once an instructor nominates a prospective tutor and that student makes contact with Patchell, she will handle the rest of the process.

                Among the faculty members who have taken part in the peer-tutoring initiative with students are:

Sherri Adams, Deb Bryant, Gordon Bielby, Kim Grubka, Ron Cipcic, Sue Hollar, Theresa Hollowell, Tim Kane, Eunice Levy, Jean Snow, Tim Stebbins, Fred Toxopeus, Jan White , Lisa Winch, Nancy Beers and Patchell.

Students who complete the training and engage in tutoring will receive a certificate.        

   

Friendly voices paid off

            Sixty-six people from across the college took part in KVCC's calling campaign Dec. 4-8 to contact enrolled students who had not yet paid for winter-semester classes.

Their efforts paid significant dividends.

“With all but one precinct reporting,” here are the results: 

Of the nearly 5,000 names on the calling list, about 1,000 were unreachable for various reasons – namely, no telephone number was available.

Of the 4,000 or so who were reached directly, by voice mail, or through a friend or relative, 3,002 beat the deadline and paid their tuition for winter semester.  That’s a 75-percent payoff.

This semester’s friendly voices and hardy fingertips belonged to:

Marylan Hightree, Lynne Morrison, Deb Bryant, Nancy Woods, Mike Collins, Sue Visser, Rita Fox, Robyn Robinson, Teresa Fornoff, Ron Campbell, Brooke Stokes, Verna McIntosh, Amy Louallen;

Connie Edlund, Sheila Eisenhauer, Arleigh Smyrnios, Ann Lindsay, Kristina Bazali, Jeff Swigart, Laura Stout, Jennifer Lafrance, Nancy Roberts, Bonnie Bowden;

Lauren Beresford, Denise Baker, Diane Kurtz, Char Gibson, Steve Doherty, Colleen Olson, Grace Gant, Sue Newington, Torie Getz, Peggy Cahue-Keipers;

Sommer Hayden, Kathy Anderson, Pat Tysen, Candy Horton, Ron Welch, Charlie Fuller, Janet Holstine, Patricia Pallett, Tammy Saucedo, Dick Shilts, Pat Conroy;

Amelia Hoppe, Lisa Gruber, Gerri Jacobs, Brenda VanderRoest, Pam Erbe, Tom Thinnes, Rudolph Heheeb, Cynthia Schauer, Nancy Vendeville, Tim Kane, Roger Miller;

Kim Campbell, Amy Winkel, Lisa Peet, Evelyn Musselman, Karen Visser, Jackie Zito, Mary Lindsley, Natasha Kaur, Amber Markley, Louise Wesseling, and Pat Pojeta.

 

Thursday-night concerts at museum

            If you like concerts where the performers are up close and personal, then the Kalamazoo Valley Museum is the place to go on four Thursday nights through the end of the winter semester

            Booked for its “Music at the Museum” series in the 84-seat, surround-sound Mary Jane Stryker Theater are combos and individual performers who are close enough to reach out and touch, as opposed to a Rolling Stones concert in which there is a good chance to be seated in the next time zone or area code.   

            Tickets for each 7:30 p.m. performance don’t require taking out a second mortgage either.  Admission is $5, and here is who you will get to enjoy:

♫ The folk and country music of The McClains – Jan. 11.

♫ Singer/songwriters Mark Duval and Traci Seuss – Feb. 8.

♫ The jazz-cajun-old time music combo of Steppin’ In It – March 15.

♫ Folk singer Rachel Davis accompanied by Bret Hartenbach – April 12.

♫ And one of the most famous acts across the planet, “To Be Announced.”

The McClains are a family group from Mattawan who plays a mix of old-time American songs and originals in a bluegrassy style. "Songs for the Path" is the name of the group’s latest CD.

One last time: ?Watch your stuff!?

            With the holiday season now here, it is time to increase awareness about some precautionary measures regarding protecting one’s belongings, reports security coordinator Jeff Roseboom.

“Petty thefts always increase during this time of year because of the tendency to carry more money in purses or wallets,” he advised.  “This is generally accompanied by our desire to pay cash for a lot of Christmas gifts that are purchased. 

“To avoid the unnecessary loss of Christmas money, a couple of simple practices should be followed,” he suggested. “Never leave your articles unattended.  If you leave the office, always lock them away out of sight in a desk along with securing the area when you leave. 

“A little extra time and awareness will make the holiday season more enjoyable,” Roseboom said.

Because of the age of technology and constant communications, a growing favorite target for thieves is a cell phone.“

People tell me that they just put it down a moment ago and when they looked back, it was gone,” Roseboom said.  “That’s because it takes less than a moment to steal it.”

Winter-semester printing needs

            With the fall semester almost history, KVCC's Printing Services

is asking that end-of-semester printing requests be submitted – NOW.

According to Terry Coburn, media services manager, there will only be seven working days between the end of the fall semester and the start of the winter term.

"In order to have any chance at all to get the winter-semester work ready for you, we need you to input your printing request," he said.  "Don't make delays for yourself.  Get your printing in now"." 

Coburn can be reached at extension 4215.

Those who wait until after the holiday break?  Well, one can almost hear both the moaning and the gnashing of teeth.

Kalamazoo asylum kicks off 2007 series

            A third presentation of “The History of the Kalamazoo Insane Asylum” on Jan. 7 will kick off the winter installment of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s “Sunday Series” that highlights the history of Southwest Michigan.

Curator Tom Dietz will flash back to the institution’s establishment, the operation over the years, its heyday, and contemporary times at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater. All programs in the series are free.The first two were standing-room-only attractions at the Stryker Theater. Dietz traces the community’s mental-health legacy to Aug. 29, 1859, when the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, as it was first known, opened in Kalamazoo.

            The Michigan Legislature had authorized the facility a decade earlier but lawmakers failed to provide sufficient funds for its construction. The asylum was a response to efforts by reformers such as Dorothea Dix, who advocated more humane treatment of the mentally ill.

            According to Dietz’s research, in 1848,

Gov. Epaphroditus Ransom of Kalamazoo appointed a panel that proposed Michigan establish an asylum. When local citizens donated $1,500 and 10 acres of land for the project, the committee, which included Ransom’s law partner, Charles E. Stuart, recommended the hospital be built in Kalamazoo.

            The original site was on land north of Main Street between Elm Street and Stuart Avenue. Many felt this was too close to town so the decision was made to sell that property and buy land in what was then the country along Asylum Avenue, now Oakland Drive.

            Dr. John Gray of New York was the first superintendent but he was unable to persuade the legislature to pay for the construction of the asylum. When he resigned in 1856, his assistant, Dr. Edwin H. Van Deusen, was appointed his replacement. Dr. Van Deusen oversaw the construction and the formal opening of the hospital.

            The main building, designed for 300 patients, was not fully completed until 1869. That would later house female patients when a new facility for men was completed in 1874. Although the two buildings were designed to accommodate 550 patients, they housed more than 700 by 1880, Dietz learned.

            Over its first century, the hospital continued to expand. By 1960, it was virtually a city within a city. There were more than 40 buildings, including a chapel, power plant, water system, bakery, laundry, cannery, kitchen, garage, greenhouse, and various shops. At its peak in the early 1950s, there were more than 3,500 patient and nearly 900 employees. In 1969, the former state tuberculosis sanitarium on Blakeslee Street was acquired to care for elderly patients with dementia.

            The hospital featured two architectural

jewels, both of which still stand. In 1880, a gatehouse for a resident gatekeeper was built at the north end of the campus.

Dietz reports there is no evidence it was ever used for that purpose and by 1885 the house, built in the “carpenter gothic” style, was used as a residence for a dozen female patients.

            In 1895, noted architect B. F. Stratton designed a 175-foot, 15,000-gallon water tower to supply the hospital’s needs. The tower dominated the Kalamazoo skyline. As a local landmark, it was visible evidence of the asylum’s significance in the community.

            In the 1970s, when the tower was threatened with demolition, local citizens raised preservation funds and it was subsequently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

            As new theories and treatment options developed in the latter half of the 20th century, the number of patients declined significantly. Many of the buildings were demolished and by 2000, most of the hospital property had been turned over to Western Michigan University.

Today only a small number of patients remain at a facility that marked Michigan’s efforts to provide humane treatment for those suffering with mental illnesses.

Upcoming “Sunday Series” topics are:

            ● “Bankers and Banking in 19th Century Kalamazoo” on Jan. 28.

            ● “The Things of History II:  More Artifacts, More Stories” on Feb. 11.

.           ● “Friends of Poetry:  Poetry Artifactory IV” on Feb. 25.

            ● “Economic Development in 19th

Century Kalamazoo” on March 18.

            ● “Play Ball!  Baseball in Kalamazoo” on April 1.

            ● “The Kalamazoo River and the Settlement of Kalamazoo” on April 22.

            ● “Horse Racing and Race Horses in Kalamazoo” on May 6.

            For further information, contact Dietz at extension 7984.

 

?Abraham, Frederick and John?

           “Has anybody hear seen my old friend Abraham?”`

Well, you can see him, along with John, as in John Wilkes Booth, and Frederick, as in Frederick Douglass – but no Martin – at the remaining performances of KVCC language instructor Rick Bridges’ play on the Texas Township Campus.

What would Abraham Lincoln, Booth and Douglass say to if they crossed paths in an ethereal setting? The imagined dialogue is the focal point of “Abraham, Frederick and John” that Bridges’ Rockhill Free Theatre Players are performing.

Co-directed by Anna Barnhart, the play centers on Lincoln and his assassin both trapped as souls in Purgatory.  Shacked together on opposite ends of a long chain, they have no idea why they are in such a situation and what they should do about it.  Enter the legendary abolitionist activist Douglass to offer them insights and to “set them free.”

The remaining performances, free and open to the public, are booked for the weekends of Dec. 15-16, Jan. 12-13, and Jan. 19-20. in the Student Commons Theater.  All start at 7:30 p.m.

Cast in the roles of Douglass, Lincoln and Booth, respectively, are Bryce Watson, Brent Seifferlein and Jesse Rios. Other cast members include Benjamin Frank, Bridges, Cecilia Mayberry, Barnhart, and J’Nail Garrett.

 

Foundation?s annual fund seeks in-house support

            A gift to the KVCC Foundation’s annual fund is really a gift to yourself in two ways            Because the foundation provides a variety of assistance to the college, students and faculty, those donations benefit everybody at KVCC because they contribute to the institution’s financial vitality and ability to serve the community.  Personally, a year-end gift to the college through the foundation is tax-deductible.            In announcing the initiative to raise $100,000 for the annual fund, Jeffery Eckert, the chairman of the foundation’s governing board, said:            “It’s a win-win situation for the recipients (of scholarships and projects) as well as the donors because an educated populace improves the prosperity of the overall community.”            Eckert acknowledged that the Kalamazoo Promise ranks as the most remarkable act of philanthropy in the community’s history, but it is out of the reach of thousands of other students from throughout Southwest Michigan and beyond “who could use a hand in achieving their goals.  Frequently overlooked costs such as textbooks and supplies can create financial obstacles, even for those receiving assistance through the Promise.”            In his letter to the KVCC community, Eckert also stressed that, while scholarships are an important beneficiary of the annual fund, it accomplishes much more, such as:            ♦ A pledge of financial support in the college’s capital campaign for the Center for New Media that has added to KVCC’s educational arsenal and injected even more vitality in downtown Kalamazoo.            ♦ Support of the nursing program’s innovative initiative in which students engage in real-life experiences at two Kalamazoo public schools to improve the health, nutrition and wellness of youngsters.            ♦ Bringing established poets, novelists and essayists to interact and dialogue with students and community members about their writing and the literary craft.            Eckert said that 100 percent of a gift goes directly to the college with no administrative fees.  Payroll deduction is also available.              Gift envelopes have been distributed to KVCC personnel.             For more information, contact Steve Doherty at extension 4442.

Kermit Scrooge, 'Vertigo? end

2006 film series “The Muppet Christmas Carol and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” are the year-ending billings in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s movie series.

Booked for 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 16) in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater is the 1992, Muppet-version retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire, who is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

 “Vertigo,” slated for Saturday and Sunday showings (Dec. 16-17) is Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller about a detective who is drawn into a complex plot that is indirectly involved with his fear of heights.  

Starring in one of Hitchcock’s most discussed films is James Stewart, who plays the acrophobic detective hired by an old friend to watch his spouse.  The lead female role went to Kim Novak.

Stewart’s character falls in love with the mysterious woman, who is preoccupied with the life of a 19th-century beauty. 

This proved to be an unusual role for Stewart, whose humble, good-guy image was at odds with the character in “Vertigo.”  In this role, his character is obsessed, guilt-ridden and driven to extreme actions.

Through the end of this calendar year and during winter, the museum will be showing classic motion pictures, legendary silent films, movies targeted for family audiences, and five-star, independent productions from the international scene.

They are shown on weekends in the Stryker Theater.  Tickets are $3.

The Hollywood classics, such as “Vertigo,” and the independent productions are booked for Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.  The matinees for families are set for 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Here are the marquee attractions through next spring:♦ “Familia” (Canada, 2005) -- Jan. 20-21.♦ “The Sound of Music” (1965) --  Jan. 27-28.  ♦ “The Jazz Singer” (1927) – Feb. 10-11.♦ “West Side Story” (1961) – Feb. 17-18.♦ “Who’s Camus Anyway?” (Japan, 2005) – Feb. 24-25.♦ “Blazing Saddles” (1974) – March 3-4.♦ “Safety Last!” (1925) – March 10-11.♦ “Monster Thursday” (Norway, 2004) – March 31-April 1.♦ “Faust” (Germany, 1926) – April 14-15.

♦ “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964) – April 21-22.♦ “Be With Me” (Singapore, 2005) – April 28-29.♦ “The Graduate” (1967) – May 5-6.♦ “Something Like Happiness” (The Czech Republic, 2006) – May 26-27.Four of these films – “The Sound of Music,” “West Side Story,” “Safety Last!” and “A Hard Day’s Night” – will also be shown a third time as family matinees on Saturday at 1 p.m. on those weekends.A special event is slated for Saturday, April 7, when the musical group Blue Dahlia performs its original score as part of a pair of showings of Buster Keaton’s silent 1924 comedy, “The Navigator.”  The showings are set for 1 and 4 p.m.Continuing its recent programming initiative of showing award-winning documentaries, the museum has scheduled HBO’s “Band of Brothers” and the equally honored PBS series, “New York City.”  The 10-episode “Band of Brothers” is the attraction on Sundays at 1:30 p.m. from Jan. 21 through May 27.  “New York City,” the story of “The City That Never Sleeps” from the early 1600s through the dawning of the new millennium, is booked for the Stryker Theater on Saturdays at 4 p.m. from Jan. 20 through May 26.  There is no admission charge.

 

Deadline for animation entries is Jan. 30

          Professional, independent and student animators have until Jan. 30 to submit entries for the 2007 Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) that will be staged over four days next May in downtown Kalamazoo.

            The four-day festival of competitions, screenings, professional development, and networking interaction between today’s and tomorrow’s animators is booked for KVCC’s Arcadia Commons Campus May 17-20.

            Festival attendees will be treated to screenings of animated films created by major studios, independents and aspiring animators. At least four shows will feature finalists in the KAFI competitions with $15,000 in prize money on the table. The call-for-entries opened Nov. 1.

            Nuts-and-bolts information and updates about all KAFI activities -- dates, times, location, tickets, and entry information-- is available at this webpage -- http://kafi.kvcc.edu -- or by calling Maggie Noteboom at the festival office at extension 7883.

Ellen Besen, a 30-year veteran as an animation professional and professor,

has been appointed KAFI’s creative director.  Besen spent more than 10 years on the faculty of the Sheridan College School of Animation in Oakville, Ontario, between 1987 and 2002 and has directed award-winning animated films shown around the world.

Besen’s workshops on film analysis and storytelling first brought her to Kalamazoo in 2002 to take part in the first of what will soon be four KAFIs, which have been sponsored by KVCC and the Center for New Media.

In recent years, she has served as director and head mentor of The Zachary Schwartz Institute for Animation Filmmaking, a school specializing in writing and storytelling for animation.

"As creative director," Besen said, "I will be working with the existing KAFI planning team at KVCC to develop programming, arrange for guest speakers, and set the schedule of workshops and retrospective screenings for both the KAFI Educators Conference (scheduled for Thursday of KAFI week) and the festival itself.

"This year," she said, "we plan to broaden our scope with even a greater variety of programming and new faces mixed in with already popular speakers from previous years such as John Fountain (a Hollywood-based cartoonist who is a graduate of Western Michigan University)."

Besen will also play a key role in curating and overseeing the jury process for the competition screenings.

"Competition screenings sit at the heart of the festival," she said. "People want to see new films and that’s what we are all about. But KAFI also has the potential to be a gathering place for animators, educators, studio reps, software reps, students and the general public."

There will be three days of professional-development seminars led by animators who are knee-deep in the industry’s technology age, training sessions for students, workshops that explore animation as a career, and portfolio reviews. Students can learn what it takes to get into the animation business and the state of the industry,

Presenters from past festivals have come from Walt Disney Productions, DreamWorks SKG, PIXAR, Sony Pictures Imageworks, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and those who helped create the Warner Brothers’ stable of cartoon characters. Animators involved in such superhits as "The Polar Express," "South Park," and the "Shrek" and "Spiderman" series have spoken at the Kalamazoo event, which has attracted entries that went

on to win Academy Awards.

One of the festival’s unique attractions, "The Cartoon Challenge," selects 10 teams from animation programs spanning North America who engage in a "24/7" cartoon-creating competition prior to the convening of the festival.

The teams selected to compete arrive at the Center for New Media on the Sunday preceding festival week and bivouac there. Over a four-day period, their objective is to conceive, script, design and produce up to a 30-second, animated public-service announcement on a topic chosen by the event’s sponsor. The winning school receives scholarship funds for animation students.

As a result of past challenges and their under-the-gun, beat-the-clock experiences, one participant earned an internship at Nickelodeon Animation Studio in California, an appointment that led to a full-time position. Another was immediately hired to be part of the team assigned to create "Shrek 3."

Kalamazoo’s Irving S. Gilmore Foundation has joined the college in being the major underwriter of all four festivals. All of the activities and events will be held in the Center for New Media, KVCC’s Anna Whitten Hall, and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum with the major screenings booked for the State Theater.

In the 2005 edition of KAFI, nearly 500 student, independent and professional animators from 20 nations entered the juried festival. About 130 entries were selected as finalists and compiled into shows held at the historic State Theatre.

KAFI is now a biennial event, sharing the every-other-year format with the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival that brings world-famous performers to downtown Kalamazoo for two weeks in May of even-numbered years.

 

?BRAIN? shuts down Jan. 7

            It’s about the size of a blue-ribbon head of cauliflower and looks like that vegetable, but it’s the V-8 juice and garden salad of human organs.

            It’s the human brain, and what it is, how it works, what keeps it healthy, and the disorders that affect are all explored in an exhibit at the

Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

“BRAIN:  The World Inside Your Head,” sponsored by Pfizer Inc and designed by Evergreen Exhibitions (formerly Clear Channel Exhibitions) in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, is a free, interactive exhibition.  It will complete its downtown-Kalamazoo run Jan. 7.

            “BRAIN” made its debut at the Smithsonian Institution in July 2001.  After its five-month stay in Washington, the exhibition was booked by museums in Portland, Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis, New York City, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, Boston, Dallas, Memphis, Raleigh and Mexico City.  Next stops are Houston and then Honolulu.

The 5,000-square-foot display in the museum’s third-floor Havirmill Special Exhibition Gallery provides a hands-on, look at the human body's most essential and fascinating organ by exploring its development, functions and malfunctions. 

Since more than 44 million adult Americans suffer from diagnosable brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and anxiety each year and two-thirds of them receive no treatment, one of the exhibition’s prime objectives is to de-stigmatize these conditions through education.

Using virtual reality, video games, optical illusions and other interactive features at its score of stations, the exposition introduces visitors to some amazing facts:

● The brain is regarded as one of the most complex structures in the universe.

● It contains as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way, which is viewable in one of the museum’s planetarium shows.

● The computer between each person’s ears never turns off or even rests in its lifetime.

● By age 4, a person’s “thinking cap” is full size.

● While it is only 2 percent of a human’s weight, it consumes 20 percent of the body’s fuel.

● The brain doesn’t feel any pain.

In addition to viewing the brains of humans and animals, visitors can “walk through” a brain complete with neurons flying about and can explore a 19th-century lab when researchers began more intensive and extensive studies of

the complex organ.

The “interactives” include launching an electrical signal down a neuron tunnel, stimulating memories through the sense of smell, deciphering optical illusions, “conducting” brain surgery, and playing a game filled with facts that boost one’s brainpower.

One of the objects in the exhibit is a replica of a human skull from around 1300 A.D. found in Cinco Cerros, Peru, with signs of cranial surgery. Another, on loan from the Smithsonian, is an epoxy cast of a triceratops’ brain cavity from an animal that lived around 70 million years ago.

In addition to outlining what is coming next in brain research, the exhibition sheds light on the realm of conditions from manic depression to bipolar disorder to schizophrenia, on the power of brain chemicals, and the organ’s role in dreaming and language development.

            The interactives include:

● “Synapse Pop” that shows how a synapse makes the connection between neurons, the brain’s electrical-relay system.

            ● “Back and Forth,” a three-station platform that demonstrates how the brain controls reflexes, autonomic functions and balance.

● “Neuron Sightings,” a microscopic view of real neurons from a variety of species.

● “Nightshift” is a video game showing how sleep "recharges" the human battery. While the body sleeps, the brain is doing memory, repair and growth work.

● “Wired” illustrates how an infant will not recognize himself/herself in a mirror until he/she is between 18 and 24 months old.  This station also offers the chance to take apart a brain model and put it back together, bringing to light the five stages of brain development.

● “Brain Live!” uses electrodes to see real-time EEG measurements and simulated imaging of corresponding brain activity.

● “Unhinge-a-Brain” charts the evolution of the human brain and reveals many of its components, including the cortex, the site of thinking that helps to set humans apart from other animals.

● “Yesterday” is an encounter that shows, with the help of popcorn, grass

and fire, how different senses produce different intensities of memory.

● In “Virtual Reality,” visitors can experience the "phantom limb syndrome," the sensation of feeling in an amputated or nonexistent limb.

● “Be a Brain Surgeon” offers the chance to wield a gamma-knife simulator to excise a brain tumor.

● “Hills or Craters” is an exercise showing how the brain interprets the world according to built-in biases.

● “A Hole in the Head” is the story of Phineas Gage, the iron rod that rocketed through his skull, and how he lived to tell about it.

   

A little national ? even global ? ?pub?

            The unique relationship between KVCC and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, as well as how that all played out in the college’s role in the Arcadia Commons project in downtown Kalamazoo, is explored in an article that has been published on the Internet.

            The article can be examined via the home page of the League for Innovation in the Community College – wwe.league.org. The direct links is http://www.league.org/publication/showcase/edition.cfm.

            It will be posted over the next month, complete with photos.  The league, which is based on Phoenix, Ariz., has notified community colleges around that nation about this latest posting.

            When the league issued its call for articles about the involvement of two-year schools in their communities and asked for proposals to be considered, the KVCC partnership was selected to be featured.

Update: Success Center, campus projects

            KVCC’s latest initiative to retain the vast majority of students who come through the doors and help them reach their goals will be temporarily based in The Gallery on the Texas Township Campus when

the winter semester begins.

            The Student Success Center and its modes of operation have been fashioned by a planning team that includes Diane Vandenberg, Lois Baldwin, Colleen Olson, Laura Cosby, Lois Brinson, Jackie Cantrell, Bonita Bates, Gail Fredericks and Heidi Stevens-Ratti.

The college retained the Kalamazoo-area architectural firm of TMP Associates Inc. to scan the Texas Township Campus and identify temporary quarters for the new center, which is designed to markedly increase retention rates through intensive, hands-on, one-on-one interaction with students.  There will be a satellite unit in place for the Arcadia Commons Campus as well.

The fruits of a KVCC Innovative Thinking Grant, the center will operate on a board-of-trustees-approved budget of $608,000 over its three-year pilot period.  In addition to the specialized services provided by members of the planning team, the center will also house a quartet of “success advocates” who will be interacting with a test group of about 500 students.

With the re-election of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, KVCC’s request to the state’s capital-expenditures budget to split the cost of slightly more than $7 million worth of expansion and remodeling projects on the Texas Township Campus will be picking up a little speed with the dawning of 2007.

            And, if the college has its way, the amount of money coming out of Lansing will increase to include the construction of new space to permanently house the “success” center.

The most visible of the projects now in the pipeline is a 50-by-140-foot, two-level addition on the eastern side of the campus’ east courtyard to house a multi-purpose lab for the sciences and two adjacent all-purpose classrooms on the upper floor, and to significantly increase the number of faculty offices, install waiting areas for students, and establish additional conference rooms on the lower floor at a cost of $2.8 million.

            The other two projects call for:

            ● The construction of a 5,400-square-foot addition to accommodate a loading dock at Central Receiving and Facility Services and a 6,000-square-foot interior remodeling for a variety of functions -- $1.5 million.

● Some $2.7 million worth of remodeling, upgrading and restoring of the existing geology and physics labs as well as two nearby classrooms.

Gov. Granholm had endorsed the KVCC projects in a bill before the Michigan Legislature that will raise the borrowing capacity for the State Building Authority from $2.7 to $4 billion, according to a news article in The Kalamazoo Gazette. 

In all, Michigan’s universities and community colleges have requested state support for $576 million worth of projects, not all of which carry the governor’s imprimatur.

            The increase in the current number of 145 faculty offices will also be accomplished by reconfiguring the existing spaces that serve that function and by other conversions.

Improved temperature controls and an expanded air-handling capability in that part of the building are also part of the improvements.

            The loading-dock project will take a bite out of the parking area in that section of the campus.  The addition will allow two large trucks to unload or load their goods simultaneously, and provide space for dumpsters, a trash compactor, for cart storage and washing, and a holding area. 

Inside, remodeling will add offices for the maintenance staff, remodel the existing incinerator room and convert it into a chiller room that will serve the entire campus.

            If Granholm had not won another four-year term, the KVCC projects and others might have been in jeopardy or at least been the subject of a re-examination by a Republican administration. 

But now the legislature is expected to take action on the capital budget and free some funds so that colleges can enter the planning/design phases.  However, it was not part of the action agenda for the lame-duck legislature that has wrapped up its last session.  The newly elected legislators will confront this spending plan in January.

Michigan’s formula for higher-education projects has not changed from past years.  The college and the state will each provide 50 percent of the costs.

Also in the wings on the Texas Township Campus is expanding the off-limits areas for smokers.  The Tower Entrance will soon be added to the taboo sites for those who like to light up.  A smoking hut will be installed on the east side of the building.

Area collectors in spotlight at museum

            Ranging from dangerous toys to peanut-butter containers to crafts from Saudi Arabia, portions of unusual collections of a dozen Southwest Michigan hobbyists are on display at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

            “Show & Tell: Community Collections” is the feature attraction in the first-floor gallery until April 15.  A major feature article, including photos of all 12 collectors, was published in the Nov. 15 edition of The Kalamazoo Gazette.

            With each possessing a unique tale of why and how, the collections and their collectors are:

            ♦ Dangerous toys such as Jarts and pogo sticks - Tom Vander Horst of Portage.

♦ Containers of various shapes and sizes used to sell and promote peanut butter - Judy Milne of Kalamazoo.

♦ Telegraph fire-alarm boxes - city of Portage fire fighter Andy Campbell who lives in Richland.

♦ Bottle openers -- Thomas Minne of Kalamazoo.

♦ Key chains - Eric Kemperman of Coldwater.

♦ Creamers used in restaurants - Leslie Decker, executive director of the Stuart Area Restoration Association in Kalamazoo.

♦ Symmetrically designed, finely detailed arts, crafts and metalworks fashioned by Saudi Arabian artisans - Jan Feldmann of Kalamazoo.

♦ Accordion figurines - Stella Gosa of Comstock.

♦ Objects reflecting the history and depiction of African Americans - Gilda Christine Baylis of Kalamazoo.

♦ Flip-side toasters - Patricia Thompson of Climax.

♦ Dispensers of Pez candies - Wendy Rineveld of Portage.

♦ Metal horses - Carolyn Martin of Galesburg.

As part of the 125th anniversary of its establishment in 1881, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum decided to not only put on display some of its more unusual and distinct collections in the first “Show & Tell” exhibit that closed Oct. 15, but to offer Southwest Michigan collectors the opportunity to show their own treasures in a second exhibition.

In the spring of 2005, the museum put out a call for collectors to nominate their wares, keepsakes and trinkets for the special invitational exhibition.  A museum selection committee narrowed the field to the dozen chosen exhibitors.

            “We were surprised by the types of objects collected and the stories behind them,” said Jean Stevens, curator of design at the downtown-Kalamazoo museum.  “The

participants have been fantastic.  Their excitement about the things they collect is contagious.  Meeting such interesting folks is the best part of my job.”

For more information about the regional exhibition, contact Stevens at extension 7962 or at jstevens@kvcc.edu.  

   

Two weeks in Costa Rica

            Two part-time instructors will be leading a 15-day study-abroad adventure to Costa Rica next May under the auspices of the KVCC-based Midwest Institute for International and Intercultural Education, and Jan. 31 is the deadline to register.

Guided by Anthony Squiers and Stephen Shubert, what is described as the “Ultimate Eco-Cultural Excursion” is set for May 12-27.  The fee, based on 10 participants, will range between $1,875 and $1,975. KVCC students enrolled in the college’s International Studies Program can earn two credits for the educational trip.

The two weeks of study will explore the Central American nation’s geography, history, flora, fauna, contemporary politics, literature and art.  Learning modes will include field trips, lectures, walking tours, readings and group discussions.  There are no language requirements, but participants will be schooled on the basics of Spanish.

Slamming Costa Rica as "just another banana republic" compares to classifying

Kalamazoo as a culturally dead community.  Yet it truly is a republic full of bananas, ranking No. 2 in the world behind Ecuador in the harvesting of that delectable yellow fruit (which is actually a herb).

Situated in the middle of the Central American isthmus, Costa Rica is a blend of rain and cloud forests, waterways, green-clad mountain ranges, pristine solitary beaches, rainbow-hued flora and fauna that would rival the mythical Garden of Eden, lava-spewing volcanoes, natural hot springs, an international preserve for sea turtles, and a climate (a mean temperature of 69) conducive to producing as much fresh fruit as one would ever want to eat. 

A naturalist's paradise, it's the home of a spider whose web is so strong it can be used for fishing line.  There are more varieties of plants in Costa Rica's nearly 20,000 square miles than in all of the United States that is east of the Mississippi River.  There are more kinds of ferns than in all of North America.  More than 6,000 species of flowering plants have been identified.

And it's rebellion-free, which is quite remarkable since troubled Nicaragua is to the north and the henchmen of Manuel Noriega once practiced their deeds in Panama to the south.

But there's more to know about this relatively little-known nation: Try these stats on for size:

♦ It's about the size of West Virginia with a multi-lingual population of 3.5 million.

♦ It's No. 3 in the world in the production of gourmet coffee with Juan Valdez directly in its sights.  Beef and sugar cane (for making liquor) are also major crops.

♦ Gambling and prostitution are legal in this predominantly Catholic country.

♦ There is no such animal as the Army of Costa Rica, which is Spanish for "Rich Coast" and was so named by Christopher Columbus in 1502 when he spied gold-ladened "indigenous people." He proceeded to wipe them out via disease and sword in the name of queen, country, religion, and greed.

♦ On the way to being wiped out in the name of grazing lands for cattle and fields for sugar cane were the rain forests of Costa Rica.  When the Spaniards arrived at the dawn of the 16th century, the country was one big rain forest.  Today, 32 percent of Costa Rica is designated as national parks and preserves to retain that natural heritage.

♦ Costa Ricans are "Ticos," which roughly translated means "we are all little

brothers."

♦ The democratic nation is run by four levels of government, a president who can only serve a single four-year term, and a pair of vice presidents.  The nation's first governor was a teacher, not a power-hungry general.  When compared to election turnouts in Costa Rica, Americans should be ashamed of their voter-participation percentage back home.

♦ With no military budget to suck up financial resources ever since 1949 when a new constitution abolished the army,  the Ticos spend their money on education and universal health care.  Schooling has been free, mandatory, and bilingual since 1917.  Uniforms are required so that kids are at the same level and can easily be spotted when skipping school.  Costa Rica's literacy rate is 95 percent.  The United States' is 87 percent. 

♦ The system of socialized medicine emphasizes prevention.  Life expectancy is the third highest on the planet -- 76 years.  Americans rank fifth in that category.

♦ If "Yanks" have to work three months or more before their income stays in their pockets instead of Uncle Sam's, the Ticos must work two months.

♦ Fifty percent of the population is regarded as middle class, 30 percent are among the economic elite, and the balance are the "down-and-outers."  Many of those in the latter class are recent arrivals.  The United States is not the only "Land of Plenty" with an influx of illegal aliens, immigration woes and border problems.

♦ The cost of living is low.  A week in the United States will buy you a month in Costa Rica.  Because of that factor and the fact that the Ticos are better educated than their peers in other Central American countries, many global companies are targeting Costa Rica for manufacturing plants and operations.  Government-subsidized trade schools add to the technological skills of the Tico workforce.

♦ More than 95 percent of the population is served by plumbing, running water that is safe to drink, and electricity.

So what are the downsides?  Well, there is a reason they are called "rain forests."  On occasions, Costa Rica is like being in a giant shower.  But the upside to that is the gorgeous tropical foliage that grows everywhere 365 days a year.  Poinsettias sprout like weeds.  The dry season is December through April.

Mount Aranal gurgles continuously, spitting molten rock down its sides while rocketing white-hot globules toward the heavens.  With that kind of awesome-looking surface action, there has got to be something happening down in the depths.  And there is -- earthquakes. 

Of course, there is a crocodile or two (13-footers), the vermilion-colored dart frog so named because the warriors that Columbus antagonized used its poisonous venom on the end of their blow-gun projectiles, jaguars, and snakes -- 136 species, 18 of which pack lethal venom.

 While one or two may be aggressive when it comes to human encounters, the vast majority of the deadly snakes are as scared of you as you are of them.  That's why the chances are slim you will ever see one in the wild, even when touring the rain forests and other natural attractions.  Because people don't rate even a mention in their book of prey, snakes have no interest in nailing you, not even one of the larger boa constrictors.

From dark lowland jungles to rolling savannas, from the Pacific surf crashing against rocky headlands to the tranquility of palm-fringed Caribbean beaches, the climate is idyllic.  In the lowlands, which are dry in the northwest part of the country near the Pacific and humid elsewhere, temperatures range in the 80s to 90s.  Usually in the 70s at middle elevations, the mercury can fall as low as the 40s and 50s at the top of the mountains.  Within each of these elevations, temperatures remain fairly constant year-round in this near-the-equator nation.

                Squiers, who can be contacted at 323-1433 or asquiers4185@kvcc.edu for more details about the trips, teaches both writing and courses in political science at KVCC and Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac.  Shubert, a frequent traveler to Latin America, teaches Spanish.

 

Quick access to all local weather conditions            In conjunction with the news department at WWMT-TV Channel 3, a weather station has been installed on the roof of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and its latest information is only a few key strokes away.

            Information about current weather conditions can be accessed at this link: http://www.kvweather.com/kzvalley/Current_Vantage_Pro.htm

            Viewable are these up-to-date readings:  temperature, humidity, dew point, wind velocity, wind direction, wind-chill factor, a falling/rising barometer measurement, the day’s rainfall, the rate of the rainfall, the total precipitation from a storm, the rainfalls for the month and year, the heat index, and the day’s high and low for many of these measurements. More information is available by contacting Eric Schreur at the museum.

 

Those old computers

            Are you wondering what to do with that old computer gathering

dust in the back room?

            Consider contacting a Goodwill Industries outlet.

            Goodwill has launched the second phase of its statewide computer-recycling program that began last October.

            In partnership with Dell Inc., Goodwill locations, including the one in Kalamazoo, are providing computer recovery, reuse and recycling to Michigan residents and companies.  Goodwill workers are now involved in the initial “de-manufacturing” of computers deemed to be at the end of their road.

            They disassemble and sort such components as hard drives, memory chips, fans, cables and plastic screws.  Newer units are separated for refurbishing and sale.

            Since the initiative began, “RECONNECT Michigan” has collected more than 1.5 million pounds – some 70,000 units -- of unwanted electronics across the state.  Funds raised through the resale of computers and components are applied to Goodwill workers’ wages.

            Businesses with large donations can arrange for a pickup by Goodwill personnel.  Goodwill officials stress that all information needs to be removed from the hard drive before a computer should be donated.

            The Kalamazoo-area Goodwill Industries is now located at 420 E. Alcott in the former Stryker Corp. headquarters.  Its telephone number is 382-0490.

Church hosts discussions on book about autism

            To prep the community for the 2007 edition of the Reading Together program, the First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo will host a six-part discussion series on “Understanding Differences and Developing Community” that begins Jan. 7.

The chosen book for the Kalamazoo Public Library’s annual Reading Together venture is Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” a fictional, first-person

account of a 15-year-old boy with a form of autism who overcomes obstacles to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a neighbor’s dog. 

KVCC, through librarian Jim Ratliff’s membership on the program’s planning committee, is a partner in the venture.

            The presentations at the church, located at 211 S. Park St., are all free and open to the public.  Each Sunday session in the church parlor will run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

            Here’s the schedule of topics and speakers.

            þ Jan. 7:  “A Different Way of Knowing:  What is Autism and How Does It Affect One’s Reality” with Angela Telfer, principal of the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency’s Croydon Avenue School and administer of K-RESA’s autism program.

            þ Jan. 14:  Bruce Mills, a member of the Kalamazoo College Department of English and the father of a 14-year-old son with autism, will talk about “Family Stress and Family Joys:  Parenting a Child with Autism.”

            þ Jan 21: “Challenges and Rewards in Meeting the Educational and Social Needs of Children with Autism” with Julie Wilson, a teacher-consultant for autism spectrum disorders at the Croydon Avenue School.

            þ Jan. 28: Adam Parmenter, who authors the Aspie’s Inc. blog, will talk on “Learning How to Create Our Visions and Our Stories:  Hearing the Voices of People with Autism.”

            þ Feb. 4:  Vicki Stewart, who teaches English literature and creative writing at Western Michigan University, will discuss Haddon’s book.

            þ Feb. 11:  “Welcoming People with Disabilities into the Life of Our Church and Community:  How Can We Become Advocates for

Social Change to Create an Inclusive Community?” is the topic for Jerry Albertson, director of community relations for the Disability Resource Center of Southwest Michigan.

            For more information about the church’s series, contact Lois Schmidt at 353-5332 or by e-mail at mylo82@chartermi.net.

 

And finally. . .

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.Here are some facts about the 1500s:Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence, the custom that is alive today.Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the sons.  Next in line was the wife and the daughters.  Last came the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw was piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so the cats and canines, along with mice and bugs lived in the roof.  Rainfall made the top level slippery and sometimes the animals would slip off the roof.  Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house, posing aproblem in the sleeping quarters where bugs and other droppings could mess upa clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than terra firma. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would become slippery in the winter.  They spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.  As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when the door was open, the straw would start creeping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the word "threshold."In those medieval times, cooking in the kitchen was done in a big kettle hanging over a fire. The fire was lit daily and ingredients were added to the pot.The menu was mostly vegetables and little meat. What was not eaten

remained in the pot to get cold overnight. Sometimes stew had ingredients in it that had been there for quite a while.  Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old. "An entrée of pork made them feel quite special. When visitors came. These lucky folks would hang up their bacon to show off.  It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests.  All would sit around the fire and "chew the fat."Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high-acid content caused some of the lead to leak onto the food, causing death by leadpoisoning. This happened most often with tomatoes, which is why for the next 400 years they were considered poisonous.Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burned bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.  They were laid out on the kitchen table where the family would gather to eat, drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."Because England is old and small, the Brits started running out of places to bury people. They would dig up coffins, take the remains to a "bone-house," and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25 had scratch marks on the inside.  They realized they had been burying people alive.  The remedy was to tie a string on the wrist of the “corpse,” lead it through the coffin and up through the ground, and tie it to a bell. Someone had to sit in the graveyard all night (thus the "graveyard shift") to listen for the ting-aling. Hence, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."Who said that history was boring.