Leningrad, Then and Now

Stumbled upon these very cool photos that combine the past and the present in a very creative way.

Leningrad, then and now:
http://izismile.com/2009/02/27/leningrad_back_then_and_now_15_pics.html

This makes me think of some interesting things one could do when visiting the hometowns and homesteads of our ancestors if you have an old photo to refer to!

'Grave' Humor & Interesting Epitaphs

I was searching findagrave.com for ancestors and came across a category just for interesting or humorous tombstone texts.

Some of my favorites:

From a dentist's gravestone:
"I'm filling my last cavity."

An interesting story behind this one that reads "DAMN THE STATE DEPT"
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSie=1&GRid=10860996&

A Canadian says "I told you so..."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSie=1&GRid=7968130&

A sad one:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15912681

The Actor Jack Lemmon's last "role":
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22822

An older man who obviously loved life til the last breath:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=17000569&PIpi=4774598

Perhaps it sounds morbid, but what would you have *yours* read? :)

Overcoming Those "Brick Walls"

This time around, a little bit of a personal story on my family history research, and how I was able to overcome what I thought was a "brick wall".

Watching the video you'll see that I had a clue the whole time, and didn't even realize it. :)