WOOOW WOOOW!loving this post, had come to the conclusion after a year of being here USA, that the great expance of the US meant that consumer pressure didn't exsist, well done you and I will be joining the protest. my idea would be to choose dates for people to e-mail, this lets them know that it is organised, and people feel strongly on this subject, don't choose one date as this will overload the servers and in these days could be concidered terrorism! so much for free speach!. Landscape programs are cheap because they will get free stuff which they can advertise, and produces miraculous results quickly, also start cancelling you subscripions to the network that lets you watch this channel, I don't know it, so it maybe on a basic channel, but if not go to a basic subscription and tell your provider why! even if you loose some channels you like! you can always reinstate them in a few weeks, just get the point across, my feeling is that I pay for a package that is v expensive and all I watch is PBS and BBCA and I haven't watched them for 2 weeks, TV is rubbish here! never thought I'd say this, we are forced to pay $200 dollars a year by law! in the UK to watch TV (you can get sent to prison if you don't pay and people do!) which pays for BBC, but by heck it means that all the other channels have to keep up and we have some good programming! and the BBC by Law has to do educational stuff! and no ads, 4 channels and 7 radio stations, realised what good value it was now I am here, rant over good luck

FREE Web sites for genealogy research: rootsweb.ancestry.com--forums organized by surname, locality, and other topics such as royal ancestry, etc., originally not affiliated with ancestry, but it is STILL free, and has archived posts going back to the 1990s. usgenweb.org subdivides by states and counties, also message boards where inquiries can be posted. genealogy.com has free surname and locality forums. familysearch.org contains the LDS church's International Genealogy Index, formerly only available on microfiche at branch Family History Libraries. cyndislist.com has a wealth of websites/links on many, many genealogy subjects. Treasure Maps website: google the name to get the right address, because it's one of those sub-sub-sub-divided ones that I'll probably screw up. Also, google the surname, and/or an entire name, alone or combined with terms like "family" and genealogy. If it's a name other than Smith or Jones, misspell it in creative ways. My great-grandfather's surname (Braman) was misspelled on the census as late as the 1930s! As far as Ancestry goes, I subscribe to the United States option, almost solely because of access to scanned images of the US Census. Looking at microfilm using a viewer left me dizzy and nauseated:b. You can search or browse the records, and enlarge the image to decipher handwriting. To me, it is worth the price, but that's a personal decision. Other than that, I have found some useful info in the paid databases, but not a whole lot. All Censuses are available at the regional branches of the National Archives, on microfilm. Sorry this is so lengthy, but this IS the heavily edited version, LOL.

I'll chime in to add to the chorus in support of Joy of Cooking, and second Eliz's recommendation of The New Basics. Both are absolute staples. I love Moosewood but find it's not the easiest to navigate. Mark Bittman's column is fantastic, and everyone I know who has How to Cook Everything swears on it; I just had to declare a moratorium on cookbook purchases so it hasn't made it home with me. In addition to Cook's Illustrated, I find Everyday Food to be really accessible without being pedestrian, and subscriptions are only $12! Here is a link that might be useful: Everyday Food

Mary, I watched a BBC TV prog last night about the 1953 Coronation and the Crown Jewels used in the ceremony. It is the first time HM Queen has taken part in a programme and explained the various items of the regalia all of which have great 'spiritual' significance. I learnt that the first part of the ceremony dates back to 973 AD but that in the 1650's Oliver Cromwell had the orb, sceptre, crowns etc melted down and the only ancient item remaining is a golden spoon used to anoint the monarch with holy oil. That dates back to the 1100's. Also noticed that HM Queen doesn't suffer fools gladly and when the obsequious narrator asked her what the Royal Children were doing back at the Palace while the long ceremony took place she replied "How would I know, I wasn't there." She does have a wonderful smile though! The voice-over female was also rather breathy and gushy but altogether quite an informative show. It will probably follow to your side of the Pond. I think similar progs are on the way. What I remember of Coronation Day was that it was wet and cold and although we had the day off school some of my class had to attend an outdoor 'service' in the rain. Later about a dozen people crowded around our 9in screen TV at home (including the milkman) and as we children got bored and restless we were sent out . .. probably into the rain again. Edited to add that HM said the 'golden coach' is most uncomfortable as it only has leather 'straps' for springs and can only travel at one mile an hour as the horses can hardly pull the tremendous weight. Personally I have always thought it looked quite hideous!