#research throwdown

[awheckery]

DEATH TW and mentions of murder so if that is triggering for you don’t read, but if it’s not then i’d like to ask if you’ve heard of forensic genealogy? while i am uneasy at the prospect of using it to find suspects, it can also be used to find the identities of unidentified decedents, who die of accidental causes or are murdered, and often it’s the only hope to identify those who have been unidentified for decades. the dna doe project is a nonprofit that’s mostly volunteer run, and i think that your research skills could be useful there or somewhere like there. i know this is kind of a random ask to receive, identification of unidentified remains is my special interest but i don’t have the time or training to get better at researching beyond a few tricks here and there.

I feel like we've read the same articles recently; did you see the tumblr post (and linked articles) about Joseph Augustus Zarelli, the Boy in the Box?

Which is to say, yes, I am aware of forensic genealogy and the DNA Doe Project, because like many white American women, I'm a true crime junkie.* My big Thing is investigative procedure tho, so I'm also deeply interested in plane & train crash investigations, medical mysteries, archaeology, anthropology... basically 'what happened, and by which processes and methods do we figure out what happened?'

So far as getting into the game myself, I dunno. I assume there's probably some sort of required formal training, along with the expectation of reliability and sustained effort, and I'm a chronically ill autodidact with ADHD. I'm the research equivalent of a sprinter; investigative genealogy requires a marathoner, because there's so much exhausting, grinding work involved.

Something I've never seen brought up before in any investigation is how many extant family trees are just wrong. Genealogical sites make it too easy to crib notes from other users, and all it takes is one person deciding 'eh that's probably the right guy' for dozens of other amateur researchers to make the same mistake, and then somebody ties that erroneous information to their DNA profile. I don't know how the forensic genealogists deal with that.

You also have to take into account how many people throughout history have just gone missing, or otherwise fallen off the historical record. Just because someone's date of death is absent doesn't mean something nefarious happened to them. (Just because someone's date of death is present doesn't mean it's correct.) People emigrate. They marry. They change their names. They die alone and unknown in a ditch**, or they die somewhere that doesn't make those records public***. Paper records can burn or flood out, and family stories rarely make it down more than one or two generations. History is messy.

I've only done serious research into my family background for two years, in fits and starts interrupted by illness flare ups. Half the time it feels like I find more questions to ask than I get answers. I've found a pair of illegitimate daughters and a handful of adoptees. I've found some two dozen 'missing persons' who may as well have disappeared into thin air, for how suddenly they dropped out of the historical record. I've found a murder victim and a (maybe) would-be murderess.

And four months ago, I found the answer to another family's 150 year old missing person case, and it changed everything I thought I knew about my mother's family.

This is how.

Five months ago, I thought I knew everything there was that could be known about John Robert McDowell.

I knew he was born July 1st of either 1868 or 1869, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. According to his naturalization petition, he came to the United States in April of 1883, when the absolute oldest he could have been was fourteen, and at the time of his naturalization in 1896 he claimed his nationality was English, presumably due to anti-Irish sentiments at the time.

I knew John's handwriting was idiosyncratic: he wrote the J in his name with a rightward upper loop that scooped up again before curving back around the center staff, and his uppercase R was a mess of curlicues. I've never seen the like before or since.

I knew that despite living in America for ten years longer than he'd lived outside it, John still had an accent in 1908 when his second son was born. Spelling is incredibly inconsistent across historical records because up until very recently, it was the practice of the record keepers to write down their best guess at what they heard, and in 1908 a midwife heard and recorded John's surname as McDoul.

John's life was actually remarkably well-documented, in comparison to his contemporaries. I bought myself access to Newspapers.com along with my Ancestry subscription, and he made semi-regular appearances in the Newport News Daily Press for the better part of thirty years as a Navy veteran, successful entrepreneur, and president of a labor union that later became the United Steelworkers Local 8888. (A seemingly throwaway notice in the Daily Press was the only record I've yet been able to find for his divorce, which eventually led me to find out whatever happened to his wife, which is another saga entirely. Pauline, you dirty rotten cheater.)

I knew that John was in and out of the hospital with thyroid cancer, but he was such a tough old bastard it took the better part of fifteen years to kill him, and he died in 1954 at the age of 86.****

According to John's death certificate (and the U.S. Government records at the VA hospital where he died), his parents' names were Thomas McDowell and Isabell Rabb (or possibly Robb, the Accent strikes again.)

This is the only record linked to either of them on Ancestry.com at all.

I have most of a history degree, so I wasn't surprised. There are next to no records of the 1890 census of the United States, and that was down to a fire in the National Archives. Ireland was dragged backwards through hell by the ankles for centuries by a succession of British monarchs and governments, and Belfast was in the prime of especially conflicted territory for much of it. No census records from John's lifetime were kept, and the likelihood his parents would show up in the surviving fragments from 1841 and 1851 was slim to none.

There were transcribed indexes from birth and marriage records available, at least, and I scoured them through, looking for a John McDowell, and there wasn't a single damn one born to a Thomas or Isabelle McDowell in a decade on either side of 1868. There wasn't any record I could find at all of a Thomas McDowell marrying an Isabelle Rabb until well after John left Ireland.

Five months ago, as far as I knew, John Robert McDowell was probably a bastard, who'd either been left out of whatever records were taken at the time, or he was one of the unfortunate ones whose birth record had been lost.

Four months ago, I realized that the record indexes on Ancestry included film numbers, which meant there were pictures of those records to be found somewhere. If they were organized chronologically, I could try to find his birth registration that way. Googling "ireland civil registration records" brought me to the Civil Records search page of a genealogy site run by, of all things, the Irish government's tourism department.

Once again, there wasn't a John McDowell born to the right parents during the right time period, so I went looking for his parents' marriage. And found it.

If they married in 1872, John would probably still technically be a bastard, but I had a point to start from. Once I clicked into the actual scan of the record I nearly snapped myself in half sitting upright in attention, because Thomas McDowell's father's name was Duncan, John named his eldest son Duncan, Isabella's father's name was John, I had to have the right two people, this couldn't be a coincidence.

And then I noticed Isabella was a widow. Isabella was a widow.

Who was your husband, and when did he die, Isabella? I searched again, and found her marriage to a Thomas Logan July 30th, 1866. No men named Thomas Logan died in Belfast between 1866 and 1870, which meant he was probably still alive when John was born. It meant I had been looking in the wrong direction the entire time.

John Robb Logan came into the world on July 1st, 1868, in the Ballymacarrett district of Belfast, the second child of four born to Thomas Logan and Isabella Robb. Once I knew what I was looking for the rest came easy.

John's early life was riddled with tragedies. His younger brother Joseph was six months old when he died in March of 1870. His father died of smallpox in December of the same year, exactly one month after the birth of his sister Mary. Three months before his fifth birthday, his first half-sibling Bella died, at just five months old. And in 1879, his older brother William died after a long, miserably drawn-out illness from spinal tuberculosis.

(As an aside, god, poor Isabella. She had four children with Thomas Logan, and a further nine with Thomas McDowell, and before her early death from a long respiratory illness she buried a husband, two sons, and two daughters. How do you go on after that, how are you not forever shattered?)

If I hadn't been sure I'd found the right family, I was after William died. Thomas McDowell was the person who reported William's death to the registrar's office after sitting by his deathbed. The registrar recorded William as a "child of [the] baker" that Thomas was by profession; Thomas McDowell claimed his stepson as his own.

Duncan McDowell, John's step-grandfather, had a family burial plot in Ballygowan, and he named William Adam Logan as his grandson, with no qualifiers, when they buried him.

All the evidence suggests that the McDowells loved John Robb Logan and his siblings, and he loved them back every bit as much. You don't choose to take on the surname of people you hate, and it seems very much the case that John chose to go by McDowell when he came to America. I'm honestly not sure there was a way for Thomas McDowell to bequeath his name to his stepchildren, given John's brother William died a Logan and his sister Mary married as one.

John Robb Logan disappeared from history after his baptism, and John Robert McDowell made his first confirmed appearance in the historical record in 1883, but I was certain they were one and the same. The problem was proving it to my mother, because McDowell was her family name. She'd grown up with it, as had her sisters and her dozens of cousins and her father and his siblings and her father's father; I only had a paper trail arguing the name she knew didn't belong to any of them by blood.

So I went for blood.

I refuse to give my DNA to Ancestry.com on a principle born from paranoia and ethics concerns. It's absolutely not happening, ever, like hell do I expect a corporation to do the right thing with my genetic material. My mother doesn't share my concerns, either now or four years ago, when she bought an Ancestry DNA kit and then did absolutely nothing with her results besides marvel at the unexpected Swedish heritage in her 'Ethnicity Estimate' because doing anything else looked like too much work.

It took a few days to figure out how to hook my mother's DNA results into the tree I've built, and a few more for all the features to populate, but all told it took less than a week between learning the truth about my great-great-grandfather's parentage and proving it irrefutably with DNA, via several descendants of his full-blooded sister Mary and a grandson of his half-brother Wallace.

Ancestry doesn't tell you when new DNA matches are found, or when someone adds you to their tree (and thank god for that, my mother has somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty thousand matches). To those descendants of Mary Thomasina Logan, the handful of John's descendants who've shelled out for Ancestry DNA kits could be any random person. Frequently the relationships between matches aren't clear, because of all the folks like my mom who never add a tree to their results, or those who don't try to go any further back than their grandparents.

As far as Mary Logan's descendants know, the sons of Thomas Logan dead-ended his line, and when I do find John in their trees there's never more than a birth year and a blank space where there would usually be a year of death. (They all have the wrong Isabella Robb too, but I don't really blame them; apparently Isabella was one of the most popular names for girls for well over a century, and Robbs weren't exactly thin on the ground.)

Someday soon, I'm going to reach out. People who study genealogy do it because they're looking for something: long lost relatives, answers to questions asked too late, or even a better, more personal understanding of history by learning about the people who were there when it happened. Every family has its mysteries and this one, at least, could be solved.

John's story doesn't end here. Here is where it begins.

~

*I'm aware of the problematic nature of White Lady True Crime Brain Poisoning, but I'm gonna have to pull the 'I'm not like other girls' card. I'm incredibly discerning about my crime shows, I hate the fucking cops, and I'm realistic about how unbelievably low my chances are of ever being the victim of a violent crime. I'm white, I'm broke as shit, I'm built like a running back and walk like the Terminator, and most importantly, I'm single and planning to stay that way for the rest of my life. The only way I'm getting murdered is if I happen to get caught in a random mass shooting, which isn't outside the realm of possibility because America.

**In case anyone's gotten this far and is still interested, there's strong evidence that the mystery of the Somerton Man was finally solved last year. At some point I'd like to take a look at the tree the forensic genealogists built tho, because I have some Doubts. There was only one person in that family that fell off the map in the 40's? Just one? I was lightning-strike kinds of lucky enough to find John's real parentage, but I dug up more unanswered questions with it, because two of his half-brothers dropped out of the records after 1901. Completely setting aside the possibility of infidelity in the Webb family and how common inbreeding has been (both historically and in recent memory) in populations of European descent, I have a hard time buying that Carl Webb was the only person who could be the Somerton Man. It's still cool as shit that they have a strong possibility tho.

***Maryland and Kansas specifically can blow me, if somebody died in either of those states I have to find an obituary or a tombstone to get the mcfrickin' date, and I have to either pay money and prove a relationship to see a death certificate, or show up to an archive in person to search on their intranet, MARYLAND WHY DO YOU NOT WANT ME TO KNOW WHEN MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER DIED. (Being fair, I don't know if she died in Maryland, that's just a great-uncle's best guess, because she ran away from her family in 1949 and nobody ever saw her again after the early 60's. Helen, where the hell did you go?)

****One of the big reasons why I got into genealogy in the first place was to see if I could find how far back the predisposition to early deaths and autoimmune disease went in my family. What I hadn't expected to find was a predisposition for extreme longevity on all sides. Longevity as in 'skewing the life expectancy bell curve' kinds of longevity. As long as someone didn't come down with a freak illness or make a looooooooong string of poor life choices, they were apparently immune to death, which honestly explains a few things about Crazy Grandma, god damn.

#genealogy #forensic genealogy #research throwdown #storytime with stella #long post #I'm seriously not kidding it's a long goddamn post #image heavy #all images described in alt text #I don't think I did a particularly great job communicating why I shouldn't get into this professionally #this took a long goddamn time to figure out #I think most people want answers quicker than *checks back of hand* seven-ish months? #fwiw my mother took it remarkably well #our big family mystery has always been What Happened to Helen? #that was probably the central question of my grandfather's life: not knowing what happened to his mother #so that was my mom's big question too #and luckily we had other weird familial circumstances as precedent #me: 'heyyyyyyyy uh so great news yr great-grandfather wasn't a criminal on the lam OR a bastard child. he was kind of adopted?' #mom: 'adopted??? huh. like your grandpa with the mudds?' #me: '....actually. yeah. almost *exactly* like that. but like if grandpa changed his last name and then never told you he'd done it' #tho I still have no idea why john changed 'robb' to 'robert' #my theory for a long time was that he was just REALLY leaning into the scottish heritage; the guy named his sons duncan & bruce #then I learned about irish naming conventions and while that answered some questions it just wound up leaving me with MORE questions #I went through all 8 stages of grief a year ago when I figured out john's presbyterian funeral meant the fam married into catholicism LATER #and thus were probably scots colonizers to the plantation of ulster instead of former gallowglasses #I don't love the idea of my ancestors being unionist kiss-asses #which the naming scheme kinda supports #but john was a LABOR UNION ORGANIZER #he left well before the clearances in the 20's but labor activism was synonymous with catholicism & nationalism for aaaaaaaages #he had to have picked that up from a parent. two of his half brothers (who also emigrated to the states) were union members too

[scientia-rex]

Something so weird about how big my "I'm just frustrated at how many people willfully misinterpret my annoyingly popular post" became another popular (for me. I have low standards) post where people go "I can't BELIEVE you're not SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING EVERY SINGLE CONCERN I HAVE" and also people telling me I don't know how to read research or I'm misrepresenting it. Ok bitch! a) I know what I know, so I know I read research just fine. Product labels, no. I was horrified to realize that I'd bought strawberry MILK at the boba place, because somehow I thought some kind of non-milk strawberry milk would instead be the drink base. So lactose intolerant. So much regret. b) It's possible to make reasonable arguments, but you're not doing it. So far I have had a couple of people go "that research doesn't count!" and a whole ONE PERSON even bothered to link ONE SOURCE. I'm like come ON!!!!! I was in GRAD SCHOOL! I love a good academic throwdown! Saying shit like "your theory lacks credible basis" HAS to come from someone with more street cred than a tiny little avatar of Rick and/or Morty. I am giving you a BAD GRADE IN ADVERSARY, something that is normal to hate and possible to avoid. c) If you're going to be a dick, you realize I'm just gonna block you, right? Like, I've said it before, I'll say it again, engagement is a curse and a prison, I just want to be left alone with my 4 fandom friends to rot, all y'all grouped around the edges of this campfire watching me better NOT BE WEIRD ABOUT THIS.

Work today was bananas and I came home, took one third of an edible, and ate Bagel Bites. I'm almost 40 years old and I'm arguing with teens on the Internet on a work night and I love my life. Also, I have two dogs on the couch next to me and I'm sitting under a blanket with art of dogs wearing Halloween costumes. My life RULES. If you could have told 14-year-old me what this future was like, she would have been horrified by my body, but otherwise pretty into it. (Fatphobia gets beaten into us starting so, so young.)

#the attending dr. kristophine

[time-traveler-tourney]

Time sure flies when you’re messing with it’s continuum!

The Sequel to the @thief-throwdown, welcome to the Time Traveler Tourney!

Did your favorite Character fucked around and found out a bit too much with the fabric of time? Is your Blorbo hopping from when to when? Is your poor little Meow Meow stuck in a time loop? Is your poor little Meow Meow stuck in a time loop? Is your poor little Meow Meow stuck in a time loop? Is your poor little Meow Meow stuck in a-

Well then look no further, because this is the place for them. A battle for the most heroic/tragic/whatever hero of our time! Rules for submissions are:

Must have traveled through time at least once

Things like reincarnation, for example Zelda, unfortunately don’t count. Sorry guys :(

Time loops are fine though!

You can submit as many characters as you want, but please don’t send in the same character multiple times

And that’s basically it! Though I should say that, if I get a character who I feel like doesn’t make the cut I will take the freedom to not let them in, but don’t worry, before I make a decision like that I will do my research about said Character.

I think that’s all the important parts covered. You guys can call me mod Tarn (he/him) and welcome to the submission round, which will stay open for a week!

If you want to check out even more cool tournaments and see what inspired this one, just look under the cut. No, this is definitely not a way to gain more exposure, what are you even talking about?

@autismswagsummit, @babygirl-beatdown, @tragicsibsshowdown, @2023vampiretournament (greatly recommend that one), @cinnamon-roll-competition, @a bunch of other guys that I probably will remember right after posting this.

#polls #time traveler tourney #tournaments

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday: Movie Night!

A side version of FTF that's hosted and presented much like Death Battle, where two characters I like give an overview of the combatants and I provide you with a fully written fight scene.

This Week's Fighters...

The Distortion vs SCP-106!

As Presented By:

Wiz and Boomstick!

Rules and Conditions:

No Restrictions

Introduction:

Boomstick: Michael Shelley, the archival assistant of The Magnus Archives who turned into the monsterous Avatar of the Spiral known as the Distortion.

Wiz: And Dr. Robert Scranton, the once brilliant scientist of the SCP Foundation who became one of the very same monsters he helped to contain, SCP-106.

Wiz: There are countless organizations in fiction dedicated to studying, containing, and archiving the supernatural. But in this profession, one must always be careful to not become the very thing you research.

Boomstick: Like these two former humans. Once dorky researchers who, after a quick trip to a hellish pocket reality, became some of the nastiest nightmares their institutes would have encounter.

Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!

Wiz: And we'll be analyzing their weapons, powers, and skills to find out who would win... A Death Battle!

#fictional throwdown fridays #movie night #the magnus archives #michael distortion #michael shelley #scp foundation #robert scranton #scp 106

[makoodles]

The Former and Latter.

A Jake x Reader x Tonowari fic.

1/? from 🍞

Reader POV

it’s been fifteen years since I met Jake and made friend in him, since then much has changed.

Jake got lost in the forest after his FIRST expedition with Grace, in his avatar form. Met Neytiri, Tsu’tey and the Omatikaya. They somehow accepted Jake to train him but Neytiri had to do it, much to her annoyance. Then during those three months Jake developed feelings for Neytitri (which broke my heart a little but I’ll never tell him that). Jake then mated with Neytiri after graduation of becoming one of the people, which was a wild ride. There was a huge war that came with a lot of losses. Jake and Quaritch had a huge throwdown with Neytitri in the mix, we won. Then Jake banished about 80 percent of the RDA back to Earth and then became the Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya. Turns out Quaritch had a kid with Soccoro. Then Neytiri announced she was pregnant and then she and Jake proceeded to have three more kids, one being Grace’s daughter, and life continued to be peaceful.

I was happy where I was. I became the unofficial aunty/godmother to the Sully kids and I was able to continue my research, with permission from Jake and Mo’at, in Xenobiology in honour of Grace’s work.

Life was good, peaceful and happy.

Until the RDA came back six months ago.

————————

“You two disobeyed my direct orders!”

I popped my head out my kelku as soon as I heard Jake’s voice.

The Sully family was gathered near the entrance of the mountain cave and as per usual Jake was yelling at his sons.

I walked over to them with my holopad to update Jake some more news from Bridgehead. As I was approaching Neytitri saw me and gave a nod, I waved my free hand to her smiling.

“Aunty!” I turned my head to the noise, it was Tuk waving her hands in the air cutely “aunty, can you tell dad to stop yelling at my brothers so grandma and Kiri can treat them!”

I chuckled going along with her wishes “Yeah Jake!” I pointed to boys “they need to see Mo’at now to stop that bleeding” I patted his hip reassuringly, offering him a smile.

He looked at his oldest son who was covered in cuts and bruises.

Jake gave out a frustrated sigh shaking his head “Kiri take Neteyam to see your Grandmother, Neytiri please go with them.”

As they started to move he grabbed Lo’ak’s arm “not you, you’re grounded for a month, no flying. Take that crap off your face and go help tend to the Ikrans.”

He let go of Lo’ak’s arm and left to help the other hunters unload the weapons from the raid.

‘I really have to go talk to him about that voice he’s using with the boys’ My eyes trailed after Jake, filled with slight disappointment towards him.

I turned my head back to a sad looking Lo’ak, I put down my holopad and opened arms to gesture to him for a hug, giving him a soft smile.

He returned my smile weakly and kneeled down to give me a tight hug.

“Don’t mind him kiddo, your dad is just worried about what would happen to you and your siblings during this time, it’s tough on him and your mom, but give him time okay?” I patted his head and back gently as Lo’ak snuggled into my neck for comfort, it’s during times like these that I’m reminded that he’s just kid caught in the middle of a bad situation “ your dad will come around soon and see that you’re trying your best, until then I’m in your corner okay?”

Lo’ak lifted his head from my neck and sniffles “promise aunty?” He lifted his right hand in front of me lifting his pinky finger.

I melted a bit at the action, I sometimes can’t believe that these kids took after some human cultural gestures that I taught them. I took my left hand and also presented my pinky finger and looped it with his.

“I pinky promise”

WHERES THE REST ANON

IM GETTING INTO IT I NEED MOREEEEE 😭♥️✨♥️

#asks #bread anon

[k00242882]

Ashraf Hanna

Ceramic artist.

I've been watching The Great Pottery Throwdown on Channel4 and Ashraf Hanna was the guest artist. Beautiful work.

I immediately googled him, so it's not thorough research but I just liked how he made his work and how it looks.

There's a lot of movement there which ties into our brief.

This piece of his, to my mind, reminds me ( loosely) of a ceramic version of the textiled piece I made.

I made two squar..ish pieces in ceramics.

They have been bisque fired, waiting to decorate.

I was originally going to glaze one black and one cream.

In keeping an open mind, I kept them aside to bring into the print elective; but I may just take inspiration from Hanna.

I took a lot of ideas from the show.

I won't copy, rather I'll imitate some of what I've seen.🫣

#lsad #movement #clay #ceramics #art imitates art

[thelikesoffinn]

Hi! I wanted to now: How do you decide if you answer an ask or don't? I had this one Astarion question and I don't want to be rude so I thought I'd ask your criteria first

Hiya there!

Don't worry, you can generally ask away freely! 90% of my "criteria" is tone, to be perfectly honest. So long as you're nice, on topic and keep to the regular conversation rules, it's quite likely that I'll answer your question!

The other 10% are mostly a mixture of different aspects.

If it's just banter, - so, someone talking about their Tav or their fics or whatever other topic without really asking anything - I'll just answer away.

But if there's a proper character-question in there, I usually try to look for these things:

1. Is it actually a question, or is it a rant with question marks?

2. Do I know enough about the character/situation/topic to actually give an answer? And if not, is it a bridge I can gap by researching?

(Probably the most important to me! I don't like just throwing stuff into the room without knowing what I'm talking about, so I always make sure to research if I deem it necessary.)

If you're planning to refute a point I made in one of my posts or simply offer your opinion on something I said, I usually just go through it and try to gather if my point was correctly understood and if the points that are made in turn make sense to me (and to the topic).

Otherwise, an answer won't do anyone any good because it's just us talking past each other like two ships in the night. Things like that turn ugly really quickly, and I'd like to avoid that where I can. (A good discussion needs a firm base - i.e., both parties need to understand the source and each others points to a proper degree - to work out. Otherwise, it's just a random bar throwdown).

Anyway, flower, I'd say just ask away and don't overthink it! I don't bite!

#but please #especially the last bit #make sure you understand me before throwing something in my face thats completely besides the point and leaves me sitting there like: #??? #is this satire or did you really misunderstand me that much??? #and even worse is when someone gets all snappy and pissed at me for something I didn't say #lovd that #asks #ily

[redjaybird]

[me: about to have a throwdown with yt "fact" videos and channels

DO YOUR RESEARCH BETTER AND QUIT USING GD AI ART AND ESPECIALLY ZOOMING IN ON IT TO SEE HOW MUCH MORE AWFUL IT ACTUALLY IS]

#ooc #JUST DONT USE AI ART #IN THIS HOUSE WE HATE AI ART #EITHER LEARN TO ART YOURSELF OR COMMISSION SOMEONE #AND YOUR FACTS ARE WRONG

[maximuswolf]

advanced latte art tips

advanced latte art tips I'm a coffee NERD. Been in the industry almost 8 years now. Competed in a handful of art throwdowns. Run my own cafe.I cannot for the life of me pour advanced art. I can do the heart, Rosetta, slowsetta, even 9 layer tulips (you can see some of my work on IG @dooditskyle) What are some tips for doing roses, unicorns, seahorses, even the drip for cakes/eyes.I've done research into the actual fluid dynamics of milk and coffee. I cannot figure this stuff out. I've spent hours watching IG clips on repeat to see their movement patterns, but nothing seems to work.Any tips out there from my much nerdier coffee peeps?I would love to be able to throw a seahorse down at SCE Portland in April, is my time frame Submitted February 20, 2023 at 12:57PM by RadiatedEarth https://ift.tt/YApHFIX via /r/Coffee

#IFTTT #reddit

[goodlifevancouver]

This Sandwich, That Beer: Movember Edition

This Sandwich, That Beer: Movember Edition

Meatball Throwdown at The American Chefs Mike McClintock and Doug Stephen are hosting a special meatball and beer throwdown in November at The American, with proceeds benefiting Movember, in support of mental health initiatives, testicular and prostate cancer research. This Sandwich, That Beer: Movember Edition. On November 12, 2022, six chefs and six breweries are coming together for a special…

View On WordPress

#Doug Stephen #DownLow Chicken #Movember #That Beer #This Sandwich

[bluescarfvivi]

“I WILL FUCKING FIGHT THAT GREEN, WINGED DEMON SO HELP ME!!”

“HE POSSESSED MY DOG, HE POSSESSED MY ARTHUR AND MADE HIM PUSH LEWIS TO HIS DEATH!! HE’S CAUSED TOO MUCH PAIN AND GRIEF ON MY TEAM!”

“I WILL ERADICATE HIS EXISTENCE FROM THIS MORTAL PLANE!” 

#ic #Vivi #((SHE IS IN SUCH A FIGHTY MOOD RIGHT NOW #SHE WANTS TO THROWDOWN WITH ??? SO BAD #AND WHOEVER IS THINKING THIS GAME OF TOYING WITH OTHER'S LIVES IS 'RESEARCH'))

[gorseflowers]

literally every time I start doing dissertation research I encounter the same problem - I always start crying when I read about cave art

I'm like the guy from pottery throwdown who weeps over ceramics every episode, I'm here in the library, trying to research for a dissertation on cave art, unable to read about cave art without getting emotional

#mine

[foramomentonly]

Malex New Year’s Ficlet

It’s New Year’s Day and the first ever RNM fic I wrote took place on New Year’s Day. So this is a shameless reblog of my first ever contribution to this fandom. Love you all.

Read on AO3

Michael shuffles out of Isobel’s guest room on New Year’s Day and pads groggily downstairs, following the scent of freshly brewed coffee. The good stuff. He expects to find Isobel sipping coffee at the kitchen table, her casual, but effortlessly chic look perfectly curated to shame the rest of their disheveled, hungover asses. Isobel had invited everyone over for a quiet, elegant New Year’s Eve soriee. He and Liz—perfectly matched partners in mayhem as well as in scientific research and discovery, as it turns out—had turned it into a drunken rager. Secrets were revealed, grievances were aired, but they’d somehow rung in the New Year with arms draped heavily on shoulders, sloppy cheek kisses, and even sloppier declarations of eternal love.

Which is why Michael is surprised to walk into Isobel’s unexpectedly cozy kitchen to find Alex standing at the sink, elbow-deep in sudsy water, drying rack beside him half-full of Isobel’s boho dish set.

Alex glances over his shoulder at Michael’s soft oh! and smiles at him.

Defying the expectations of their friends, they had avoided a drunken throwdown the night before, chatting casually, if briefly throughout the night. They’ve already torn into one another a hundred times over, fueled on occasion by alcohol. They’ve used words like teeth to gnaw at old wounds and tear apart tender flesh. Their truths still float unspoken between them, but time and proximity have taught them how to treat each other like there might just be a tomorrow after all.

“Hey,” Alex says easily. “Sleep well?”

Michael smiles in return, moving farther into the kitchen.

“Ugh, did anybody?” He points to the half-empty carafe of rich, dark liquid on the table. “You make that?”

Alex nods.

“You still make coffee stronger than jet fuel?”

Alex shoots him a devilish grin and nods again.

“Bless you,” Michael sighs, pressing his palms together and half bowing toward Alex. He grabs a mug and pulls the nearest chair out with his mind, dropping heavily into it and pouring himself a cup. They’re both silent for a few minutes, Michael guzzling his coffee and Alex scrubbing a particularly crusty serving platter.

“You trying to avoid Isobel’s wrath?” Michael finally asks, gesturing towards Alex’s work with his now half-empty cup. Alex huffs a laugh.

“I just thought I’d make clean up a little easier for her and load the dishwasher,” he says. “Turns out she has no dishwasher, and ninety percent of her stuff isn’t dishwasher safe anyway.”

He shrugs as best he can while rinsing out a champagne flute.

“Yeah, she used to have one,” Michael replies. “A dishwasher, I mean. But me and Max and fucking Noah kept putting her fancy dishes in it, so she made me take it out and install a custom wine fridge.”

Alex laughs, and Michael smiles at the sound. He drains his cup and rises, moving to stand next to Alex at the sink.

“Here,” he says. “I’ll dry. I know where everything goes, anyway.”

Alex hums in response, reaching to take Michael’s dirty mug out of his hands.

“Never thought of you as the domestic type,” he teases. Michael shrugs, a little self conscious.

“I like to cook, actually,” he says. “No room to in the Airstream and Isobel can’t cook for shit, so she lets me use her kitchen.”

“Did you make the food we ate last night?” Alex asks, hesitant.

“Fuck, no,” Michael snorts. “I like comfort food. Isobel had the thing last night catered.”

Alex sighs in what Michael interprets as relief. He remembers Alex picking politely at his plate at dinner, but mostly eating a lot of rolls.

“I was actually thinking of asking Liz’s dad if he needs some help at the diner,” Michael admits, eyes fixed on the plate he’s drying. He feels more than sees Alex turn towards him. “It’s been slow at the junkyard and I’ve had way too much time on my hands to fall back into, uh, bad habits.”

Alex has been the unwitting witness of Michael’s bad habits, scraping him off the floor of The Wild Pony or fielding phone calls and voicemails that prick like barbed wire and leave a million tiny cuts. He’s also been the impetus of of them, on days when dark shadows cloud his brain and he can’t seem to see or care who’s reaching out to him.

“I think that’s really great,” Alex says softly. “You should mention it to Liz. Let her work on Arturo a little before you go in.”

“Yeah, I will,” Michael says, shelving the final plate as Alex drains the sink. Without the easy routine of a shared task, they stand awkwardly together, the silence heavy between them.

“I’m, uh, I’m starting therapy next week at the VA,” Alex says, offering a piece of his own vulnerability to Michael in a hesitant exchange. “Yeah?” Michael asks. “Well, look at us.”

And it’s not midnight, it’s not even close to fixed between them, but like lost parts of a whole, like the pieces of Michael’s incomplete ship they slide together, warm lips pressing lightly, then more insistently as mouths open and small breathes of pleasure escape. The kiss is slow and easy, full of later, soon, tomorrow. They pull apart, step back easily, and offer soft smiles.

“Happy New Year, Guerin.”

“Happy New Year, Private.”

#malex #roswell new mexico #malex fic #alex manes #michael guerin #new year's day #rnm fic

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

Sometimes I wonder if one reason the Weasley children are unanimously, ARDENTLY anti-Slytherin is a case of The Lady Doth Protest Too Much...

...because when it comes down to it, literally all of them fit all too well Slytherin house's values.

Ron looks in the Mirror of Erised and sees victory: winning in all fields, and everyone praising him - him above all others, with no competition or anyone to share the limelight. This desire to be appreciated independently and to have unique influence over others as the sole centre of attention is what causes his not one, but two major conflicts with Harry during the series. Somehow, the locket of Salazar Slytherin is able to get its hooks into Ron more easily than either Harry or Hermione.

Looking to his siblings, Percy and Bill Weasley were ambitious overachievers; top class in academics while studying all possible subjects, aiming for the stars, and achieving top-tier middle-upper-class jobs as a result, as respectively a civil servant in the top minister's office and a banker. Both are able to skilfully navigate socially and politically to work in environments with individuals who use challenging value systems, without showing much sign of finding this an ethical quandary - and there’s high probability that their jobs have brought them into working on ethically ambiguous projects in order to support their overarching career goals.

Fred and George Weasley are equally ambitious - aiming to, and successfully managing to, despite their humble beginnings and lack of capital, start their own independent business and make their own money. Starting while teenagers to run all facets of the business from market research to product design to to researching premises and budgeting, they corner a market niche and drum up a loyal following while still teenagers, before dropping out of school to make a start based on their confidence in their own abilities to succeed. (Of course, this involves some highly unethical product testing on younger students without informed consent, which might be framed quite differently if it was Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle magically causing first years to vomit, pass out, or turn into animals with no knowledge of how to turn back). The twins are able to gain investment and turnover sufficient profits to own their own store in the prestigious top wizard shopping destination Diagon Alley before they even hit their 20s. The two could also aptly be described by the sneaky epithet they often apply to those from Slytherin House.

Charlie Weasley has an affinity for dragons - not so far from Slytherin's snakes, in fact, the closest to them of all the house animals. He too succeeeded at school and rose to a position of power and influence in his field, and is remembered as impressive by both students and staff.

And finally, Ginny Weasley actually was, if for a short time only, the Heir of Slytherin. Just like her brothers, she adamantly wants her own independent career in a field of her own choice and puts in all the work possible to achieve her ambitious dream. Even her mother, Molly despairs at her husband’s lack of ambition to rise beyond his post and lift them out of poverty, and, when push comes to shove, proves herself well able to throwdown with the darkest and most skilled fighter Slytherin has to offer - and to win!

It’s a little ironic that it’s this family above all others - who treat Muggles as curiosities and less-than, and who disowned a Squib cousin - that the fiercely “not Slytherin” Harry Potter ended up throwing in his lot with and ultimately marrying into!

#harry potter #hp meta #hp #weasleys #slytherin #deflection #ron weasley #ginny weasley #percy weasley #molly weasley #slytherin!weasleys #ambition #harry potter meta #oscar wilde

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

Delsin Rowe vs Cole MacGrath!

Conditions:

No Restrictions. Delsin starts with Concrete. Good Karma versions of both.

Scenario:

While experimenting with his powers one day, Cole rediscovers the time travel technique Kessler had invented, accidentally sending himself forward in time to Seattle. Meeting Delsin Rowe, Cole asks him to go back in time to help him defeat The Beast. Delsin says he'll agree if Cole lets Delsin copy his powers. Cole finds this suspicious and challenges Delsin to a sparing match to see if he's worth the potential trouble.

Analysis: Cole

Many years in the future, human civilization would meet its grim end at the hands of a monster known only as The Beast. Humanity’s last survivor, a man calling himself Kessler, would use his fantastical powers to travel back in time and prevent the apocalypse. Taking over a secret society called the First Sons, Kessler would use their research to amplify the powers of Conduits, humans with special powers, with an explosive device called the Ray Sphere. Setting the Ray Sphere in the middle of Empire City, one man would survive it’s blast and go one to become the world’s savior. The name of that survivor, of the man who would slay The Beast, is Cole MacGrath.

Even before awakening his extraordinary powers, Cole MacGrath was an impressive young man. A parkour prodigy, Cole has the streets, rooftops, and sewer systems of both Empire City and New Marias memorized like the back of his hand, even capable of outrunning police with his skills. He was an incredibly intelligent man as well, smart enough that his parents can easily pass him off as a teacher. He was a straight-A student during his four years of college prep, only dropping out when one of his professors began tormenting his friend Zeke. But, after the blast, he became something more…

Now gifted with extraordinary electric abilities, Cole became a living battery, capable of absorbing and manipulating electricity to an extraordinary degree. With his newfound powers, he can create a wide variety of bolts, missiles, grenades, and blades out of his electric powers, ranging from homing missiles to sticky grenades. He can also create Arc Restraints, electric chains designed to pin his opponents down.

In regards to his defensive abilities, Cole has a huge moveset to draw from. He can create shields that convert bullets into energy for him to absorb, glide through the air and telekinetically throw heavy objects by manipulating magnetism, regenerate from being riddled with projectiles, can fully heal himself and restore his stamina by absorbing electricity, and even restart his heart to come back from the dead.

This wide variety of powers is only scratching the surface of what Cole can do, which comes as a result of how his powers work. See, Cole can develop new powers in a wide variety of ways, such as by absorbing large quantities of energy, or even just by using his powers in creative ways during a fight. Throw these methods, he has developed and mastered both the above powers as well as the following ones. He can:

Create thunderstorms.

Throw tornados.

Drain electricity from storms.

Absorb ions from killed opponents to enhance his powers.

Amplify his speed immensely via Precision, causing foes who were previously only a blur in his view to move in slow motion.

Give himself unlimited energy and stamina briefly via Karmic Overload.

Heal crippling wounds with his healing pulse, an electric zap that amplifies the body’s natural healing abilities.

Can see visions upon getting new powers, teaching him how to use them.

Can see how a person was killed by touching their corpse, as well as see a path leading to their killer.

And suck the bio-electricity from a person’s body with bio-leech, a technique that requires he grip their face.

Can create electric grappling hooks.

And many, many more.

Of particular note is his Radar Sense, a sixth sense that operates independently of his other senses in an omnidirectional way, allowing him to see electrical sources, people included, as well as outline those with hostile intent towards him in red.

Keep in mind, these are all just his electricity powers. Upon reaching New Marias, Cole was able to use a device to transfer some of Lucy Kuo’s powers into himself, after which he gains additional ice based powers, allowing him to create ice missile, ice grenades, and ice spikes roughly the size of buildings, even using his ice powers to launch him skyward to create distance from his opponent.

Speaking of distance, he’s probably going to need it, as he isn’t a great melee fighter. He’s a skilled user of the Amp, yes, and he can hurt people as strong as he is, but he lacks any kind of martial arts training. Cole is a ranged fighter through and through. Thankfully, Cole has a wide variety of resistances to aide him against anyone who manages to get in close. Cole has repeatedly shrugged off ice and fire attacks, taking no damage when getting ragdolled by The Beast, who is a giant monster made of magma. He has successfully endured Sasha’s mind control, which was powerful enough to take control of all of Empire City even while weakened. He has survived being doused with acids and resisted being ripped apart by The Beast’s Black Holes, which break down and absorb matter on an atomic level. He, like all Conduits, are resistant to most forms of radiation and all forms of disease, including the Plague that would’ve wiped out the human race had it not been stopped. His powers can even ignore the resistances of others, such as where Cole killed Kessler and David Warner, two people who can absorb electricity on contact, with his electric attacks.

Even with all this though, he does have one major weakness: water. Large quantities of water will short circuit is body, killing him in a way he likely can't resurrect from. Even standing in neck deep water for 30 seconds will kill him, being able to withstand being drenched only for brief periods of time. Furthermore, cutting out the electricity in the areas around him will make him nauseous and give him a headache and he can’t touch most electronics or fire arms without making them explode.

Not that he needs fire arms when he's strong enough to fight The Beast, who vaporized all of Empire City in a single blast and can create massive thunderstorms. Considering how immensely heavy clouds of that type can be, The Beast would've had to have generated an energy equivalent to 1.8 Gigatons of TNT to move them.

Source:

And that's not all. Cole MacGrath is fast enough to dodge radiation from the RFI, moving at 51% the speed of light to do so.

Source:

Overall, Cole is a remarkably powerful master of electrokinesis and he’s remembered as one of the most powerful Conduits of all time for good reason. Respect the Patron Saint of Empire City.

Analysis: Delsin

Seven years after Cole sacrificed himself to stop the Beast, the few Conduits that remain in the US have been labeled as Bio-Terrorists by the government, seen as inherently dangerous due to their incredible powers. As such, the Government created the Department of Unified Protection, a group of government sanctioned Conduits tasked with hunting down and imprisoning "Bio-Terrorists".

With full government authorization to do whatever is necessary to contain a threat, the DUP has no problem inpounding and torturing innocent civilians, to the point of brutalizing an entire Native American tribe and leaving them to slowly die of their wounds.

Unfortunately for the DUP, this act of brutality just pissed off one of the most powerful Conduits in history, Delsin Rowe.

Delsin Rowe was the mischievous outcast of the Akomish Tribe, a lovable delinquent with a knack for graffiti and a gift for parkour. This all changed when a Conduit escapee came barreling through his village and Delsin's own Conduit powers awoke to copy the escapee's. When the DUP brutalize his village looking for the escapee, Delsin gets the idea to use his new powers to heal them. If he can copy the powers of the DUP leader, Brooke Augustine, he can remove the concrete shards stuck inside his fellow tribe members.

On his way to avenge his family and save his home, Delsin copies a whole host of superpowers from other Conduits. From the first escapee, Hank Daughtry, he copies the power of Smoke. From the vigilante killer Fetch Walker, he gains the power of Neon, and from the closted shutbin Eugene Sims, he gains the power of Video, each with a huge variety of powers.

With Smoke, he can blast fire out of his hands, superheat the chain around his wrist for combat, turn into smoke to dash through objects and vents, fire smoke grenades, levitate with firey thrusters, create smoke restraints, and even sufficate you. He even shows the ability to manipulate this power on the molecular level, able to transmute people into smoke for him to absorb and turn his smoke into organic matter to heal people's wounds. He can even go as far as to turn himself into a giant bomb, drop from the sky like a nuke, and explode on contact with enough power to sink a concrete island. After which, he just regenerates from the smoke like nothing happened.

With Neon, Delsin can turn into Neon light to dash at lightspeed, run up walls, toss gravity grenades that leave people helplessly hovering in the air while frozen in time, turn his chain into a lightsaber, speed up his reaction speed so that everything moves like a blur to him, shoot neon lasers out of his hands, and reduce human beings to neon particles through Mass Energy Conversion, making his targets explode into Neon energy. In order to convert physical matter into energy like that, you'd need a force roughly equivalent to 1.5 Gigatons of TNT.

Source:

Video, which might more accurately be referred to as Data, allows him absorb and manipulate the pixels and data from any technology with a screen. With it, he can summon angels and demons made of pure data, shoot homing swords from his hand like missles to down attack helicopters, fly on wings, and even turn invisible.

And, of course, there's Concrete from Augustine herself. With it, he can shoot massive disks of stone out of his hand, cover himself in armor and charge through all your defenses, and even generate concrete shards inside of your body, completely nullifying a Conduits powers and potentially damaging vital internal organs.

The problem with all of these remarkable abilities is he has to pick and choose. He can only use on element at a time and to switch, he has to absorb an element from the environment, just as he does whenever he runs low on his energy and needs to recharge. Hell, he can only take Concrete from the dead bodies of other Concrete Conduits, so he wouldn't be able to use it in a fight at all in most circumstances. And, every time he copies a power from a Conduit, all of his powers get completely sealed off until he restores them with Ray Field Energy.

Overall, Delsin is one of the most powerful and versatile Conduits the inFAMOUS universe has ever seen, rightly dubbed the "second coming of Cole" by his adoring public audience.

Throwdown Theme:

Throwdown Breakdown:

The way the stats between these two line up is very weirdly perfect to me.

First of all, the strength difference is precisely zilch. Cole's calc is a whole .2 Gigatons higher. Not a lot he can pull with that staggering strength advantage. The real difference is in speed. While Cole can dodge and move at roughly 51% light speed, Delsin is just light speed straight up. As in, he can literally turn into light and dodge lasers. This is completely consistent with the creators of Second Son describing Delsin as being twice as fast as Cole. It's rare for statements and feats to line up that well so I just think that's funny.

Anyways, while Delsin is definitely much haxier, Cole has a few clean counters to several of his more devastating abilities. The Concrete piercings will be incredibly painful, Cole's powers wouldn't deactivate as Delsin's would, as Cole has shown to shrug off things that deactivate the powers of Conduits, such as being able to channel the power of the RFI without his powers deactivating and his Evil counterpart taking hits from it that instantly incapacitated the Beast. It's only when it became enough to kill every Conduit on the planet that it overwhelmed him... and even then, it's implied he could've survived.

Same goes for Delsin transmuting him into Neon particles. The Beast's Black Holes rip anything sucked into them down to molecules and atoms, even electricity. If Cole can survive those, he can survive Delsin trying to fuck with his atoms. And if Delsin tries to suffocate him, Cole can always just turn his heart back on.

Delsin, meanwhile, has some advantages of his own. His regeneration is definitively superior and smoke renders any attempt to restrain him moot. There's regenerating from bullets and coming back from the dead, then there's coming back from nothing but smoke.

So, let's break this down, element by element, and see how well Cole performs against each.

Concrete

Pretty well. Concrete is pretty handily the least mobile of Delsin's powers, as well as the one he has the least experience with, which will make it tricky to use against Cole as he ice jumps or grappling hooks away from Delsin's charge, using percision mode to compensate for the speed gap.

Smoke

A bit trickier, but Cole has some legs up here. Smoke dash would catch Cole off guard, allowing Delsin to dash around his shields and follow him through the vents once Cole takes the fight to the rooftops. Smoke Grenades are great for leaving Cole open briefly and Smoke Dash counters restraints, plus Delsin is actually capable of replenishing his supply here, unlike with Concrete. However, suffication will be insufficient at finishing Cole off and if Delsin goes for an orbital drop, he risks Cole dropping a thunderstorm on him while he's airborne. Missiles and smoke grenades can be deflected back at Delsin with shields and Cole still has precision mode and homing attacks to make up the speed gap. Delsin's recharge sources for this power don't run on electricity, unlike Neon and Video, so Cole can't drain them to destroy them. In fact, Delsin might use his speed advsntage to destroy those power sources first, as he did against Fetch. But, Cole can fall back on Karmic Overload if he needs to for that. Plus, if Cole can be fine getting ragdolled by a giant magma monster like the Beast, then the Smoke Shots shouldn't be too hot for him.

Video

Radar Sense counters invisiblity and tornados can sweep up the angles. That's on top of Cole already having experience fighting invisible opponents, with the drones in inFAMOUS 1. Delsin has handily superior air control with this power, due to the near unlimited flight and glide, allowing him to shut down Cole's attempts to gain distance with ice jump or grapple. Of course, sticking to the air could potentially leave Delsin open to homing rockets or thunderstorms. While Delsin ran respond in kind, Cole has shields to block them while Delsin doesn't.

Neon

Absolutely the biggest threat to Cole here. Cole can't counter to time stop grenades, so getting hit by them at all will leave him open for some serious damage. Plus, Delsin has a precision mode himself now, so one of Cole's main methods of bridging the speed gap is gone. Delsin isn't fast enough to blitz Cole, but tge speed and mobility of his dash is going to make Delsin tricky to hit, even with percision mode and rockets.

This matchup is very, very close. 6/10 close. These two are going to give as good as they get and they have the means to keep fighting all night. There are just a handful of things that make this Cole's game however.

1. Experience. The DUP that Delsin fought has only been around for about seven years and he was mostly restricted to fighting concrete Conduits, with all of three people with different powers. The Second Sons that Cole fought have had their powers since the Salem Witch trials (and they've all been alive that long too), and Cole has fought a much greater variety of foes. The Reapers, Second Sons, Mlitia, Swamp Monsters, and Vermack 88 all have a much greater variety of powers than what Delsin's foes had.

2. Versatility. While Delsin is technically far more versatile, he's hampered by needing to go out of his way to switch powers, while Cole has enough Versatility in his one skill set to reliably contend with most of what Delsin has with each of his individually. Of Delsin's powers were all part of one organic moveset, this would be a very different story.

Delsin has no way of knowing about or exploiting Cole's weakness to water, especially as Delsin himself can't swim. While Cole has no way of killing Delsin with that regeneration, he doesn't need to. Hank didn't need to vaporize Delsin to knock him unconscious, after all. Cole should be able to knock him out all the same.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Cole MacGrath!

#fictional throwdown fridays #infamous #cole macgrath #delsin rowe

[weemsbotts]

Off to the Races: Searching for Dumfries Famed Racehorses & Racetrack

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Gambling has a long tradition in Virginia and encompassed everyone living in the colony, even Mason Locke Weems as he considered offering book lotteries to improve local roads and inadequate bridges! Many of the traditions in Great Britain crossed the Atlantic and colonists bet on everything from card and dice games to animal fights (click here to read our blog about a local fighting rooster!). While one of the first notable racehorse tracks appeared in 1665 at Hempstead Plain on Long Island, formal and temporary racetracks spread throughout the colonies with Virginia eventually boasting Jockey Clubs in Dumfries, Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, and other prominent towns.

By 1750, early Americans had established Jockey Clubs to control/guide protocols, regulations, and serve as a registry for thoroughbred horses. On 10/27/1774, Richard Graham advertised the following in the Virginia Gazette, “The Jockey Club Purse of 100 Guineas will be run for on Tues the 29 of November next, which is now fixed for the first day of the Dumfries Races, the time formerly appointed being the Day of the Annapolis Races.” Only members could “start” a “horse, mare or Gelding for the purse”. Graham noted the weight for the age and informed subscribers and non-subscribers how to participate. “Give & take agreeable to the rules of racing. The horses etc that start for either of these purses, must be entered with the subscribers…when a certificate of the age, under the hand of the Breeder, or his Executors, or Administrators, will be required. The Premiums agreeable to my former advertisement will be allowed for Beef, Mutton & Veal.” The purse consisted of money bet on the race by subscribers and non-subscribers.

(The Republican Journal and Dumfries Weekly Advertiser, No. 2 of Vol. 2, Thursday, 06/09/1796. John Love of Buckland advertised “The Noted Horse Mahomet” as being in “high perfection”)

After the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, responding to Great Britain’s Intolerable Acts (woo Revolutionary War history!), the Dumfries Jockey Club suspended their activities, “…that in conformity to the 8th article of the resolves of the General Congress the Dumfries Races that were advertised to be run on the 29th of this month be postponed – The Gentlemen farmers that are fattening Beeves, Muttons, & veals, for the premiums must for the present, put up with the honor & glory in place of the Guineas that were intended for them.” Resolution 8: “That they have a right peaceably to assemble, consider of their grievances, and petition the king; and that all prosecutions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the same, are illegal.”

So, what was a day at the races like? It depended upon the place as temporary races could be open fields, steeplechases (the start/finish line marked by church steeples), on roads with wagons, or circular/formal established tracks. According to Dumfries Historian Lee Lansing, Dumfries boasted a steeplechase track. Depending upon the track, the participants might have to race several times around or complete “best of three” challenges. Due to ego, the event could attract a lot of attention when people such as William Byrd III claimed he had the fastest horse and was ready to throwdown with any competitor. Marylander Benjamin Tasker, Jr. decided it was “go time” with Selima, and Tasker, Jr. beat Byrd’s and other Virginian horses. Remarkably, Virginia then banned Maryland horses from participating in Virginia races, but Selima became a successful broodmare and ended her days living with John Tayloe II at Mount Airy. Side note: People then had their pregnant foals deliver in Virginia and while maintained in Maryland, the horses could still race as they were Virginia born.

(Plan of Dumfries 1782: Historian Lee Lansing drew the above based on the Rochambeau map identifying the following: A) Staples, Feed, stc. and Bleachers, B) Steeplechase Track, C) Courthouse 1762, D) Henderson House, 15) Quantico Creek. Was he right? Imaginary Bonus Points: Can you pinpoint the Weems-Botts Museum?)

The races also provided a chance for people to meet, socialize, conduct business, and continue to gamble. Dumfries merchant Daniel Payne paid close attention to races as he notably appeared to collect from his debtors after their financial boon. One entry noted the credit, “…by Capt William Carr, for the other half of Flatt Sambo”. According to transcribed records of Daniel Payne’s Store Ledger, “Sambo, The Flat” appeared in Daniel Payne’s ledger as a customer along with William Carr although on separate pages. While we have not examined the original ledger ourselves instead relying on transcriptions, where was the “other half”? What happened to the person and how did that person identify themselves - as Sambo or with a different name? We hope to answer this with further research.

In the 1800s, tracks and gamblers bet against each other leading to “fixed” outcomes. As laws and social attitudes changed toward gambling, horse racing remained semi-acceptable as Virginia ruled it was a sport in 1851 and allowed exceptions for betting below certain amounts – some political and social maneuvering also helped established tracks. Horse racing in Virginia embraced the community and experiences differed depending upon your location. The Dumfries Jockey Club was also a status symbol for wealthy planters and the town. Although much quieter today (at least in terms of horses), one could almost imagine the dread, fear, and anticipation people felt as one race could impact the future of so many people.

Note: As you continue to enjoy our blog, consider supporting us today by becoming a member or attending one of our programs! We host monthly and seasonal programs throughout the year and will soon be offering outside walking tours! Check out our newsletter here as we prepare an exciting virtual April!

(Sources: HDVI Archives: Dumfries Jockey Club; Berkley, Henry J. "The Port of Dumfries, Prince William Co., Va." The William and Mary Quarterly 4, no. 2 (1924): 99-116; Dumfries Stores Ledgers Index, 1758-1776, John Glassford and Company & Daniel Payne, Compiled by Margaret Binning, PWC Bull Run Regional Library: RELIC; Eisenberg, John. Off to the Races. Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/off-to-the-races-2266179/; Horse Racing and Gambling in Virginia. Virginia Places: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/agriculture/horseracing.html; Crews, Ed. Gambling: Apple-Pie American and Older than the Mayflower. Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 2008, https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/Autumn08/gamble.cfm; PBS: American Experiences: Horseracing in the U.S.; Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library: The Avalon Project: Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, from Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States. Government Printing Office, 1927. House Document No. 398. Selected, Arranged and Indexed by Charles C. Tansill)

#museumfromhome #historyathome #maps #racehorse #gambling #racetrack #local history #colonial history #racing #archives #findinghistory