Tidbits Issue FOUR

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O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 Issue 4

OF GREATER EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD

AUTO SERVICE CENTER

PHOTO: Rena Sofer

Q: I really like actress Rena Sofer. I started following her career when she was on the soap opera "Gen-eral Hospital," and I watched her on "24" and "Heroes." What is she up to now? -- Jessica L. in South CarolinaA: Rena has been busy guest-starring on various shows, like "Ghost Whisperer," "Two and a Half Men" and

"Monk," as well as taking care of her two daughters. As Rena gears up for pilot season, she told me that she loves the fact that she's had such a varied career. She explains: "I've done so much comedy, and I've also spent years doing drama. But in this business, you are only known by your most recent role. You are always in the position of proving yourself, and I am up for the challenge." The

latest challenge Rena has tackled is the Hallmark Channel original movie "Always & Forever," which premieres the weekend of Oct. 24.***Q: I am a big fan of Chris Noth of "Sex and the City" fame. Can you tell me a little about him? Is he married? Does he have children? -- Barbara D., via e-mailA: Chris Noth, who will turn 55 in November, recently announced that he and longtime love, actress Tara Wilson, are engaged. In January 2008, their son, Orion Christopher, was born. Chris currently stars in "The Good Wife," airing Tuesdays on CBS.

Continued on Page 4...

Page 2 October 16, 2009 Tidbits® Of Lane CountyBy Samantha Mazzotta

Chimney Clean-ing Not for DIYers

Q: Can I clean my own chimney to save money? -- Paul in Pitts-burghA: I wouldn't recommend it for do-it-yourselfers. Chimney cleaning is one of those maintenance items that is best done by professionals. You can certainly take some preventive measures to make the job less expensive, but to keep your home safe, enlist the help of a licensed chimney cleaner.Preventive measures include burning higher-quality wood. Hardwoods -- like oak, for example -- produce less creosote, a sticky, highly flammable substance that coats the inside of the chimney and is often the culprit in chim-ney fires. Cheaper wood, especially pine, produces more creosote and should be used sparingly. Maintain the health of your chimney by cleaning the firebox regularly. Once the ashes of a fire have thoroughly cooled (you should be able to put your hand right on them without feeling any heat), sweep them out and dispose of them or add them to your compost pile. You can clean the damper occasionally using a bristle brush or broom to sweep ashes and debris down into the firebox, but don't reach up into the chimney flue.If you maintain the roof and gutters yourself, visually inspect the outside of your chimney during the maintenance task. Note any damage to the bricks, mortar or metal flash-ing around the chimney. Anything beyond that, a profes-sional chimney sweep should come in. Once a year, prior to the onset of cold weather, schedule a chimney cleaning service. The professional should inspect the inside of the chimney, the chimney stack, the fireplace, flue and all as-sociated parts. He or she must provide a written estimate of necessary repairs and should not start any work until you've approved it.Send questions or home-repair tips to [email protected], or write This Is a Hammer, c/o King Fea-tures Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.(c) 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.

HOME TIP: "Cleaner logs" don't really "clean" your chimney. They're just cheap composite logs that purportedly burn cleaner and create fewer creosote deposits.

Credit-Card Deck Stacked Against You

Behaving responsi-bly with your credit is no guarantee that the credit-card companies won't make unwarranted changes to your terms.Let's say you're a responsible credit user who is never late making credit-card payments, pays more than the minimum each month and keeps your balances below 30 percent of available credit. You have high credit scores, and you're proud of that fact. You believe that as long as you continue to handle credit in a responsible manner, your scores will stay high, allowing you to get excellent interest rates when you apply for loans. It's not necessarily so. Your scores can drop anyway. Take this example: You have a card with a $10,000 available credit limit. You keep your balances down around $3,000 -- approximately 30 percent. Without any good reason (except that it just wants to), your credit-card company drops your available credit, perhaps down to $5,000. Suddenly your credit usage appears to be at 60 per-cent. Your credit scores will fall based on using too much of the available credit, without your having done a single thing wrong. An even worse case is when the card compa-nies lower your available credit every month down to the level of your new balance: Make a payment, and the result is your new credit availability, and you're using 100 percent of it. It appears that you've maxed out your card.If this happens to you, you're not alone. Credit-card com-panies have cut available credit to many. Now, per the new laws, they will have to warn you in advance, but it likely won't be in time for you to pay down balances so that your percentage of credit used stays low. One-third of your credit score depends on how well you stay within the limits of your available credit. Keep a sharp eye out for informa-tion leaflets from your credit-card companies. You might be told that your new minimum payment will be an increased percentage of the existing balance, or that your interest rate is rising, your due date is changing or your available credit is being slashed. Then look at your credit-card statements each and every month to see if those changes have taken effect. As always when dealing with credit-card companies: beware.

(c) 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.

Tidbits® Of Lane County October 16, 2009 Page 3

Events CalendarFri Oct 16th Springfields Farmers Market from 9am to 2pm.Fri Oct 16th Half Shark Half Jesus, Three Way Stereo & Ty Connor @ Axe and Fiddle, Cottage Grove. 8:30pm $5. 942.5942Fri Oct 16th & 17th The Rat Pack Is Back @ The Hult Center, Eugene. 8pm 682.5000Sat Oct 17th Springfield Youth Farm Stand from 10am to 2pm. 343.2822Sat Oct 17th Eugene Saturday Market from 10am to 5pm. Rain or Shine.Sat Oct 17th Surge VI: Fear Factor @ The Hult Center, Eugene. 7pm. 682-5000Sat Oct 17th Macaco Velho @ Axe and Fiddle, Cottage Grove. 8:30 pm. $5. 942.5942Sat Oct 17th & 18th Oregon Wedding Showcase @ Lane Events Center. Sat 10am - 5pm. Sun 11am - 4pm. Fashion Shows Sat & Sun 12:30 - 3pm. $8.Wed Oct 21st Eugene Symphony Guild Preview @ The Hult Center. 12pm. 682-5000.Thu Oct 22nd Bowery Boy Blue @ Axe and Fiddle, Cot-tage Grove. 8pm. $3 942.5942Thu Oct 22nd Eugene Symphony: Mozart’s Magic Flute @ The Hult Center, Eugene @ 8pm. 682.5000Thu Oct 22nd Wine Tasting @ Territorial Winery 5-11pm $5.

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On Oct. 26, 1825, the 425-mile Erie Ca-nal opens, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. The work was largely done by Irish diggers, who had to rely on primitive tools. They were paid $10 a month, and barrels of whiskey were placed along the canal route as encouragement.

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift of friend-ship from the people of France, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. On the pedestal was inscribed "The New Colossus," a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus that begins "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

On Oct. 31, 1912, "The Musketeers of Pig Alley," directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts. The movie, which followed the career of a gangster nicknamed the Snapper Kid, initiated a long Hollywood tradition of "gangster movies."

On Oct. 30, 1938, Orson Welles causes a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds" -- a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth. Perhaps as many as a million radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was under way.

On Oct. 29, 1948, killer smog continues to hover over Donora, Pa. During a five-day period, the smog killed about 20 people and made thousands more seriously ill. Airborne pollutants emitted from a zinc smelting plant and steel mills appeared to have been trapped by fog close to the ground, where they were inhaled by local residents.

On Oct. 27, 1954, "Disneyland," Walt Disney's first television series, premieres on ABC. The one-hour show, introduced by Tinkerbell, presented a rotating selection of cartoons, dramas, movies and other entertainment. It ran for 34 years under various names.

On Nov. 1, 1969, "Suspicious Minds," by Elvis Presley, hits No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The song was Presley's first chart-topper in seven years and would be his last, as he failed to hit the Top 10 again before his death in 1977.


Apple Pie in a Bag

Good House-keeping's famous recipe from 1961. We've updated it to bake the pie in a plastic oven-cooking bag, which is safer and simple than the brown bag originally called for.

8 medium Golden Delicious apples1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon3/4 cup sugar1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 3 tablespoons for every 1/2 cup1 frozen 9-inch pie shell, thawed1/2 cup butter or margarine1 large oven-cooking bag (20 by 14-inches) with nylon tie

1. Peel, core and thinly slice apples to make 8 heaping cups.2. In large bowl, toss apples with cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons flour. Fill pie shell with apple mixture, piling them high in center.3. In small bowl, with hand, knead margarine or but-ter, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup flour into a soft dough. Pull dough into small pieces; flatten each slightly and arrange on top of apple mixture. (It is not necessary to completely cover the apple mixture.) Insert several wooden skewers (about 4 inches tall) in pie so that oven-cooking bag will not touch top of pie during baking.4. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place pie in oven-cooking bag. Close bag with nylon tie; cut six 1/2-inch slits in top of bag. Place pie in jelly-roll pan or on cookie sheet. Set pan on rack in center of oven (make sure bag does not touch oven walls or oven racks). Bake pie 1 hour and 15 minutes or until top of pie is golden brown.5. Remove pie from oven, bag and all. Carefully, with kitchen shears, cut bag open. Remove pie. (The bottom of the bag will be greasy!) Set pie on plate on wire rack to cool. Serves 10. Each serving: About 300 calories, 14g total fat, 220mg sodium.For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

(c) 2009 Hearst Communications, Inc.

Tidbits® Of Lane County October 16, 2009Page 4Continued From Front Page...

Q: I was in the Navy aboard the carrier USS Philip-pine Sea. In 1957 John Wayne and others made some of the movie "The Wings of Eagles" aboard the carrier. Was it based on a true story? -- Gene G., Granite Falls, Minn.A: Frank Wead was a U.S. Navy aviator-turned-screen-writer upon whose experiences "The Wings of Eagles" is based. He set numerous seaplane records during his time with the Navy; however, his career was cut short because of an accident at home. One evening in 1926, he was resting upstairs when he heard one of his daughters scream out for him downstairs. In his rush to get to her, he tripped and fell down the stairs, breaking his neck. This resulted in his subsequent paralysis.While he was convalescing, friends suggested he take up writing, which he did. He passed away in 1947, after hav-ing received two Academy Award nominations and being featured in various prestigious publications in the previous two decades. His friendship with director John Ford is what led to their collaboration for "The Wings of Eagles," with John Wayne playing the role of Frank Wead.***Q: Are the rumors true: Is Quentin Tarantino planning another installment of his "Kill Bill" series? -- Isme, via e-mailA: Quentin himself announced that he is planning to make "Kill Bill: Vol. 3," which is scheduled to be released in 2014. He said he wanted to give Uma Thurman's character a bit of a break from her bloody revenge mission.

Have a question for Cindy? E-mail her at [email protected], or write to her in care of King Fea-tures Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. For more news, gossip and interviews, visit her Web site at www.celebrityextraonline.com. twitter.com/Celebrity_Extra


319 E. Main St. Cottage Grove, OR

1. ANATOMY: What is the largest bone in the foot?2. MUSIC: What did the title of the song "Pennsylvania 6-5000" refer to?3. GEOGRAPHY: What is the westernmost point in the contiguous United States?4. LITERATURE: How many daughters did the king have in Shakespeare's play "King Lear"?5. HISTORY: Who founded the abolitionist newspaper "The North Star"?6. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase "non compos mentis" mean?7. PSYCHOLOGY: Someone who suffers from didaska-leinophobia would have an abnormal fear of what?8. COMICS: What is the name of the family dog in the "Dennis the Menace" comic panel?9. SCIENCE: How fast can a bolt of lightning travel?10. TELEVISION: In what fictional city does the soap opera "All My Children" take place?

Answers on Page 7...


Page 5 Tidbits® Of Lane County October 16, 2009

"Save some Halloween candy for making cookies or decorating pies through-out the holidays. Put it in the freezer. Small candy bars are great for adding to brownies. Caramels and chocolate chews can be melted to add to cookies as well. It's better than the kids eating it all in one go, and they can anticipate the holidays to come." -- I.S. in Illinois

Cabbage leaves go limp in the freezer, making them easier to roll. This tip is especially good to know if you are mak-ing cabbage rolls or stuffed cabbage.

"Defog your bathroom mirror with shaving cream. If you are constantly wiping the steam away from the mirror to shave, try this old trick. Rub a healthy amount of shaving cream on the mirror surface, then wipe away with a towel. You can rub it with newspaper to get the cream off, but don't clean it with glass cleaner. The next time you shower or shave at the sink, the fog just won't accumulate!" -- B.G. in Idaho

"Mayonnaise can stand in for cooking oil in a recipe. Use in an equal amount. It works especially well in brownies." -- F.A. in Massachusetts

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

It was American columnist Franklin Pierce Adams who made the following sage observation: "Seeing ourselves as others see us would probably confirm our worst suspicions about them." If you're like the average human, your heart will beat 100,000 times today.

Before Humphrey Bogart became a famed star of the silver screen, he was famous for another reason. Bogart's mother painted a portrait of little Humphrey as a baby, and that portrait was used as a trademark for Mellin's baby-food company.

John Quincy Adams was the first U.S. president to be photographed.

If you're a stargazer -- or a night owl -- you might already be aware of the fact that you can see about five times as many shooting stars after midnight as you can see before.

Lexicographers claim that "queue" is the only word in the English language whose pronunciation does not change when the last four letters are removed.

Only about 5 percent of the salt produced every year winds up on the dinner table to be used as a seasoning. And you might be surprised to learn the diverse purposes for which the other 95 percent is used: packing meat and feeding livestock, of course, but also building roads, tanning leather and manufacturing such items as soap, ash, detergents and glass.

Here's a fun experiment: Pour a glass of champagne, then drop in a raisin. The carbonation in the drink will cause the raisin to bounce up and down continuously until the wine goes flat.


1. When was the last time before 2007-08 that the Chicago Cubs won back-to-back division titles?2. Who was the first player chosen by the Arizona Diamond-backs in the 1997 expansion draft?3. When was the last time before 2008 (Arizona State) that a Division I college football team tallied four defensive touchdowns in a game?4. In 2008, the Denver Nuggets tallied 168 points in a game. When was the last time an NBA team had that many points in a regulation game? 5. How many 40-goal seasons had Marian Hossa tallied entering the 2009-10 NHL campaign?6. In 2008, Chris Barnes became the third bowler to win both the PBA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards in his career. Name either of the other two to do it.7. Name the only filly in the Kentucky Derby between 1945 and 1980.


1. Name the two artists who did "The Boy Is Mine." Bonus point for knowing the year.2. Put these Michael Jackson hits in chronological order: "Thriller," "Black or White," "Billie Jean" and "Bad."3. Which hard-rock Foreigner song from 1977 was used in the movie "Superbad" in 2007 and was then picked up by former "American Idol" contestant Chris Daughtry on his debut album?4. Which two artists cut "Ebony and Ivory"?


Tidbits® Of Lane CountyPage 6 October 16, 2009

PAW'S CORNERBy Sam MazzottaHolistic Cat Care, Dog Sign Language

This month's pet books provide interesting alternative out-looks on training and care for pets of all ages.Many pet owners are interested in providing as healthy a lifestyle for their pets as they are for the rest of their family. I've answered many questions in the past about raw-food diets and herbal medicine. For cat owners, the latest addition to the slowly increasing number of books on the subject is "The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care" by Celeste Yarnall, Ph.D, and Jean Hofve, DVM (Quarry Books). This full-color handbook is filled with information and illustrations on cat care, and provides advice on healthy natural diets, herbal remedies, alternative treatments like acupuncture, and most helpfully, an index of resources to help owners find things like environmentally friendly cat litter and holistic practicioners. This is a very good over-view of alternative methods of cat care, and an excellent starting place for owners searching for a better way to care for their pet. Dog owners might be interested in a new offering from pet expert and cognitive psychologist Sean Senechal. "Dogs Can Sign, Too: A Breakthrough Method for Teaching Your Dog to Communicate to You" (Ten Speed Press/Celestial Arts) is a fascinating manual that takes training beyond obedience and into improved com-munication. While the book seems a bit wordy up front, it soon delves into practical, step-by-step training methods for you and your dog. Senechal builds on natural cues that dogs tend to make to their owners, and provides training steps that enable dog and human to signal more effectively. But I'm not explaining this method well enough -- pick up a copy of this book and prepare to look at training in a new way.Send your tips, questions and comments to Paw's Cor-ner, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or e-mail them to [email protected].


Page 7 October 16, 2009 Tidbits® Of Lane County

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Thought for the Day: "There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of man-kind achieve the second."

-- Logan Pearsall Smith

Answers to Sports Quiz1. It was 1907-08.2. Pitcher Brian Anderson.3. The University of Houston did it in 1987.4. Phoenix had 173 points in a game in 1990.5. Three, with a high of 45 goals for Ottawa in 2002-03.6. Mike Aulby and Tommy Jones. 7. Silver Spoon finished fifth in 1959.

Answers to Flashback1. Brandy and Monica, two single-name R&B artists, cut the song in 1998. It spent weeks at the top of the charts.2. "Billie Jean" (1983), "Thriller" (1984), "Bad" (1987) and "Black or White" (1991).3. "Feels Like the First Time." 4. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in 1982. The song stayed at the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts for seven weeks.

Answers to Trivis Test1. The heel bone, or calcaneus2. A telephone number3. Cape Alava, Wash.4. Three5. Frederick Douglass6. Not of sound mind7. Going to school8. Ruff9. Up to 130,000 mph.10. Pine Valley, Pa.

Page 8 October 16, 2009 Tidbits® Of Lane County

942-3005

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