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KAITLYN WELLS
Apollo Amateur Night lives on
Posted on July 6, 2013 June 19, 2017 by Kaitlyn Wells in Article, Starring NYC, Video
A night at the Apollo
The next big star could be born tonight, everyone knows it. This stage launched the career of a 16-year-old Ella Fitzgerald and a 9-year-old Michael Jackson, to name a few. So no one, not even the audience, is underdressed. This is tradition. The audience has a role to play, cheering on the best performers and booing those who don't stack up. It's probably one of the only venues as famous for its booing as for the exceptional talent. So you'll be hard-pressed to find any tougher place to perform than at the Apollo Theater.
"You may not realize this but I'm a big star," Comedian Capone says, puffing his chest. Capone, the host of "Amateur Night at the Apollo," greets the audience and is welcomed with reserved applause. He's wearing a light gray suit, and his gold dress shoes catch the purple and blue stage lights as he struts about. "Just because you haven't heard of me, that ain't my problem." Going down his checklist, Capone shares some of his notable credits—Comedy Central, N.Y. Kings of Comedy, Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam and Shaquille O'Neal's All Star Comedy Jam.
So he asks them to try again, reminding the audience that their energy is what feeds the contestants, and that high energy is a requirement at the Apollo. He enters stage right again, and this time they're ready for him. They burst into loud applause with a few whistles thrown in for good measure.
But enough of the introductions and stroking his ego. It's time to see some of the talent, so he lays down the rules. "At the Apollo, we are known to make or break careers," Capone says. "We only judge by one thing—and that's talent." And talent has many facets.
As each contestant walks out, rubbing the Tree of Hope, a good-luck icon since the 1930s, on the way to center stage, the audience is electrified. Throughout the night, the Apollo welcomes child performers, a saxophonist, a rapper and a few singers—the majority of whom sing popular tunes, from classics like Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You" and Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," to newer hits like Christina Aguilera's "Express" from the 2010 film Burlesque.
So when 24-year-old Kevonna Venable walks onstage with her acoustic guitar, wearing a black-and-white striped blouse, an asymmetrical black skirt, black tights and chunky black heels, no one knows what to expect in a theater well-known for its soulful, bluesy performances. She starts finger-picking an unfamiliar melody on her guitar—that's when the boos begin.
"I heard the boos and thought, 'What did I do wrong?'" she later recalled. "I definitely didn't think that I would get booed, and it was definitely a humbling experience." Luckily, Venable isn't greeted by The Executioner, C.P. Lacey, who tap-dances onstage and kicks the worst performers off.
Thankfully, when the house band kicks in after the first verse, the audience hops on board, recognizing Frank Ocean's single, "Thinking About You."
"It was a gamble," Venable said. She actually changed her song choice from Beyonce's "Countdown" a few days before the show. "I like to do things differently, and when you listen to what you usually hear on the Apollo stage, belting-out music, that's not my style, really I just wanted to stay true to myself."
"Everybody is really talented, but she persevered," Kimani Williams said.
Williams, 18, traveled from Connecticut during spring break to catch the show. "I know how amazing of a place it is," she said. "[It's] a part of black history. I feel really connected."
Kevonna Venable won third place during her first performance at "Amateur Night." Photo by Kaitlyn Wells.
This performance, on March 6, is the first of the "Amateur Night" season that will run weekly through the fall. Venable and her competition aren't vying just for the spotlight, but a $10,000 cash prize. Contestants participate in a bracket-style competition (similar to American Idol, America's Got Talent and The Voice) in which the winners will advance to subsequent rounds until a final competition on November 27, 2013. The overall winner will be proclaimed the Super Top Dog and collect the grand prize.
The road to the grand prize starts at open-call auditions held throughout the spring, continuing even after the "Amateur Night" season has begun. Just a few days after Venable's March performance, about 50 singers, guitarists, dancers, comedians and bands filed into a poorly-lit room with bare walls, yellow-tinted fluorescent lights and uncomfortable black chairs assembled in a corner. The only hint of the theater's historic importance was a 10-foot-tall photo of the Apollo's red neon marquee positioned next to the stage. An Apollo employee greeted the group, and he babbled on about how the auditions would go—act like you want to be there, be ready for your turn, have your contestant number visible, give it your all, etc. But the majority of contestants hardly paid attention. Their eyes darted across the room and fixated on the small stage.
Antonette Henry, 25, is a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn by way of Philadelphia. She auditioned at the open call with the 1941 song, "Blues in the Night," (from a film by the same title) that has been performed by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Amy Winehouse. As she belted it out, her voice reverberated around the room, captivating the judges and the other contestants. The audition judges immediately asked her to come back and sing the same song during "Amateur Night."
Henry had no doubts she'd do well—she was confident to begin with. "You get nervous right before, but it was a very warm and welcoming environment, so it made it OK," she said.
She wasn't the only one of the 300 contestants to stand out. But after dozens of singers, dancers, guitarists, spoken-word performers, rap artists and family bands over the course of a few hours, the performances started to blend together with the same soaring R&B ballads, fiery spoken-word performances and cute-but-off-key child singers. The judges started looking restless, barely making eye contact with the performers after hitting a lunchtime lull. They came out of their trance only for a few strong performers and original acts. So a killer delivery was necessary for anyone wanting to make it onstage.
Damon Rozier made that impression. Rozier wore a black jacket and dark-wash jeans for his audition on March 9. His most notable accessory was his wheelchair, and he wasn't afraid to work it into his routine.
I need a strong woman in my life—I'm not talking mentally strong, I'm talking physically strong. I need someone to carry me up a flight of steps every now and then.
"I started telling jokes because I had never seen anyone in a wheelchair telling jokes, and that got me angry," he said. "So to release the anger, I started telling jokes."
Rozier, 45, has been wheelchair-bound since 1997, when he broke his neck in two places during a motorcycle accident. After the crash he was really depressed, he said, but eventually came to terms with his fate in the best way he knew how—comedy. "I was in a really dark place, and I found comedy, and comedy brought me to a very light place. It has given me a better appreciation for life."
The Brooklyn native got his first gig in 2003 and has since performed at Improv, the Laugh Factory and Stand-Up New York. This summer he'll add Apollo "Amateur Night" to his list of credits—and join the ranks of its past comedic performers, including Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham, Jackie "Moms" Mabley,Sammy Davis Jr., Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx.
His warm smile and contagious laughter charm his audience as he rolls across the stage performing his material. "When I do comedy, people are inspired, because they don't expect me to be as funny as I am, being in a wheelchair," he said. "It's been a true gift."
Before stars were born
The Apollo Theater has stood on 125th Street since 1914, when it was originally called Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, a white-only burlesque house. In the late 1920s, New York City Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia closed down all burlesque theaters across the city because of vulgarity and prostitution rings, Apollo historian Billy Mitchell said. Sidney Cohen, a businessman, bought the building in 1933, and reopened it as the 125th Street Apollo Theatre in 1934, during the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance—important timing for creating its image.
Why was the theater renamed after a Greek god? Well, because Apollo represents the sun, music, poetry and entertainment, Mitchell said. The owners wanted to promote prosperity and creativity with a strong name. And it worked.
After the owners teamed up with African-American actor and Harlem resident Ralph Cooper, the theater found success. In 1934, there was mounting pressure against segregation, so Cohen sought Cooper's help to gather a pool of new African-American talent worthy of the Apollo name. So Cooper started the first ever "Jazz a la Carte," a minority talent show, in Harlem on January 26, 1934. "Jazz a la Carte" featured Aida Ward, the Benny Carter Orchestra and Arabella Scott, to name a few. In hopes of drawing a large audience, Cohen announced that ticket sales would benefit the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit agency that offers outdoor summer activities for children.
During the first show, Mitchell said, the all-white audience was surprised at the level of the talent onstage. At the time, white audiences didn't know that African-American performers could be as well-trained in the arts as white performers, he explained. "They were so impressed," Mitchell said. "They were making comments like, 'Look, look, he's reading music. I didn't know they could read music. They're dancing ballet—how do they know how to do ballet?' "
"Jazz a la Carte" was so well received that Cooper was invited to help with another show. Cohen soon learned that his favorite radio show, "The Harlem Amateur Hour Radio Show" on WMCA, was actually hosted by Cooper. As far as this prominent businessman knew, no African-Americans ran any type of radio show. Imitating Cooper in 1934, Mitchell said, "Well, now you do. I'm colored. I'm Ralph, and that's my show." So Cohen hired Cooper to develop the first organized talent competition in October 1934. Since then, "Amateur Night at the Apollo" has been a tradition in Harlem every Wednesday night for 79 years.
Still going strong, the Apollo has its own good-luck charm—the Tree of Hope.
The original Tree of Hope stood outside the Harlem Lafayette Theatre (1912-1933), now known as the Williams Institute C.M.E. Baptist Church, between 131st and 132nd Streets along Seventh Avenue. The theatre was wildly popular at the time—featuring tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and jazz performer Duke Ellington, among others—and many believed the tree was symbol of good luck for those who stood beneath it. The stretch of road outside was known as the "Boulevard of Dreams," because unemployed performers would gather beneath the tree waiting for work, and booking agents would stop by to find fresh talent.
In the 1930s the City of New York widened Seventh Avenue, and the trees along the "Boulevard of Dreams" were cut down. The landmark Tree of Hope was uprooted and sold as firewood or good luck souvenirs. Ralph Cooper bought a piece measuring 18 inches wide by 12 inches tall, and had it sanded, sealed and anchored on a pedestal. Since then, it has stood stage right at every "Amateur Night" show as a good-luck charm for every performer who rubs its smooth surface. And it certainly worked for a young performer who upstaged his big brothers.
Years later, that young performer would become one of the Apollo's most successful artists—Michael Jackson. Before his death in 2009, Jackson had sold 750 million albums worldwide, and earned 13 Grammys and 26 American Music Awards, according to statisticbrain.com. Mitchell remembers when Jackson first performed during "Amateur Night" with The Jackson 5 in 1967.
"Little Michael, imagine, at 9 years old doing the James Brown dance," he said. "It was an amazing moment for everyone that was there. I don't think that anyone knew that they would be as big as they became." Mitchell added that The Jackson 5 became such big stars that the Apollo soon couldn't afford to book them.
Even after his death, Jackson is still influencing a new generation of performers—and Mitchell believes Jackson set the bar very high for them, even among his youngest fans.
Damon Rozier auditions for a chance to perform during "Amateur Night." Photo by Kaitlyn Wells.
During "Amateur Night" auditions, there were those who shared their love of Michael Jackson. About a dozen children among the 300 contestants trying out on March 9 wanted to make their idol proud. They ranged about 4 to 13 years old—dressed in tight black pants, a black jacket and white dress shirt (and the occasional black fedora and single white glove combo). They all wanted just two minutes on that stage to perform one of Jackson's greatest hits while moonwalking and gyrating with the beat accordingly.
"Michael has that effect on different generations, because his music is still played," Mitchell said. "His music is timeless—Michael Jackson is going to live forever."
Like Jackson, the Apollo has stood the test of time. Mitchell always boasts that it hosts the original talent show night. "Before there was American Idol, there was 'Amateur Night at the Apollo,' " he said. " 'Amateur Night' is very much a part of American culture. We started this whole way of showcasing the best talent that we have in the United States."
Although the Apollo's performances aren't televised live, the theater uses its own videographers to capture performances and post them on its website and YouTube channel. But to get a sense of a live performance and a classic take on Amateur Night, visitors purchase tickets, ranging from $20 to $43, to become a part of the experience.
Proving that the original will never be irrelevant, even in a televised and digital age, "Amateur Night" is still churning out stars. Richard Colson Baker, 22—better known as rapper Machine Gun Kelly—won the competition in 2009. The theater's also still booking top talent, including Ruben Studdard, Mary J. Blige and Patti LaBelle.
"Without the Apollo you wouldn't have black entertainment as we know it," Will Patterson, a stage-and-door manager at Brooklyn clubs Union Hall and The Bell House, said. "It's a very important part of history and we should preserve it."
The performers appreciate becoming a part of that great history.
"It's always going to be an honor to be a part of other people's careers onstage," Venable said, citing that she got to perform on the same stage as her idol, Lauryn Hill. "Whether you win or lose, it won't break you. Just go out there and be yourself."
Although Venable's honesty got her to the next round after the opening-night performance (snagging third place), she didn't make the cut during her second performance on April 3. She made some last minute changes to Frank Ocean's single, "Thinking About You," during sound check that didn't translate well during the live performance, but she has no regrets.
"I'm all about giving emotion, and I like to see people connect to what I'm doing, so I'm glad I stuck with that song," Venable said. "The experience in all is something I'll never forget, and I am beyond honored to have been a part of it."
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Home » Question of the Week » Siblings » Page 12 | Search
Brothers and sisters - can't live with 'em, can't stove 'em to death with the coal scuttle and bury 'em behind the local industrial estate. Tell us about yours.
Thanks to suboftheday for the suggestion -we're keeping the question open for another week for the New Year
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 25 Dec 2008, 17:20)
Pages: Latest, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, ... 1
Zoey had a sister, and I could not resist her
I tried one time to kiss her but I missed her
And that's how I met Zoey, ho!
( Peej, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 16:06, 1 reply)
I have a sister
But I'm not telling you anything about her.
Instead you can all imagine what she might be like.
All I will tell you is that she's older than me and she once bit me on the foot.
This is Chickenlady doing her bit for parsimony and the credit crunch - no lavish overblown story from me this week.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 15:23, 1 reply)
Little Brother's just discovered rock and roll.
What? i got nothing else for this QOTW and it's been here two weeks.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 14:51, 2 replies)
I have a half-sister...
who lives in Reykjavik.
I've never met her, and never will. She was brought up by another guy (who she believes is her dad) and my dad hasn't had any contact with her for 20-odd years.
That's my sibling story. Sorry it's not more interesting.
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 14:08, 1 reply)
Little bro
My cousin and I once convinced him that corks were animals that people hunted and shoved into the top of wine bottles while they were still alive.
When he asked about plastic corks, we then explained that real corks were dying out and that people had to start synthesising them.
That was a fun christmas, my brother running around telling all the wine-drinking adults that they were murderers!
(Affero-Dolor made noodles using a cuppa soup on, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 14:01, 2 replies)
Dont force it....
Be gentle with me it's my first post.
My brother (looks somewhat like the milkman) is a great bloke, as kids we were horrid to each other, broken bones were the norm in our house. One evening going back maybe 25 years now, our parents left us for an hour leaving us with a nice big bag of chips to eat. My delightful brother in his young wisdom desides with parents out he would provide entertainment with a "check this out moment". Dropping his trousers and proclaiming check this fart out he strained and squeezed providing not the comedy sound and smell but instead shooting a small brown torpedo from said ass and launching it under the sofa. Histerical laughter then begins, my brother looses his balence and does a perfect front roll right into the chips. So to summerise we have a brown projectile to find under the sofa and a brother smothered in chips with red sause. Took a while before this story was retold to parents as everytime we start to tell it I spend most of the telling crying with laughter at the thought.
Length about 2 inch and it took about 10 mins to find under the sofa.
(ELDAR, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 11:23, 3 replies)
was dragged to Amsterdam for his 28th birthday. He really didn't like the place, but he does relay one story I liked.
At the end of a day trawling around the city, sampling the local pot, almost eating mouldy cakes and checking out the wonders of the red light district, they came across a nice-looking bar at the end of a street filled with whorehouses. They sat at the tables by the windows and started celebrating his birthday the way young English men like to do... They got ragingly pissed.
So, this bar was in a row of five whorehouses, complete with gyrating hookers in the windows. Imagine the sight, then, of eight strapping chaps, spurred-on by my brother, with their t-shirts off, dancing provocatively in the bar window for all the passers-by for three full hours.
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 10:32, 4 replies)
Wernher von Braun was my grandfather.
He was in good physical and mental health for his whole life, yet claimed to be completely unable to perform the simplest everyday tasks. His excuse was that they were hardly rocket science.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 9:54, 3 replies)
A question for swingers.
If some of your relatives are also swingers, how do you make sure that you don't turn up at the same event?
Jesus Christ.
Enough of this fucking QOTW already.
(sorry., Wed 7 Jan 2009, 4:00, 14 replies)
my big bro: This is but one text he sends me while wasted:
'Marsupial neon bush octopus custard refinerys inc use casio electron udder custardbilge (r) pressure silos to store flatulent octocustard (r) safely and is refined into bombergopter (r) and spacehopper(r) glopcells (r) for export to belgiums cavernous subterrainean sproutmining facilities to fuel the buttercurd propaganda waffleator (r) ovens which stop Belgians driving themselves into the sea! Support the marsuprial neon bush octopuss custard refineries inc and save children from eating sprouts thank you!
Yours loathingly Dr Snorke company ceo'
whats more worrying is he can explain this in a way that makes sense when sober. love my brothers! a bombergopter is supposedly a minimoto with spacehoppers for wheels. I don't understand the Belgian bit, why would they drive themselves into the sea....maybe it's eating sprouts...Sorry!! if Belgians are offended I am just writing what was texted!! One last note, stop and think what a marsuprial octopus would look like o.0
(Techkitten, Wed 7 Jan 2009, 0:18, 4 replies)
This is a retoast cos I'm being lazy...
So lets set the scene. I was about 10 yrs old & my brother was 12. It was day two of our marathon summer holidays. You know the ones that seem to last forever and every day takes an eternity to finish. I grew up in South Africa so the days were always hot and balmy and we'd spend endless hours swimming, skateboarding and generally running around like headless chickens. A lot of our time was also spent defeating our evil overlords (our grumpy neighbour up the road) and evading capture by cretinous villians who would hold us captive (mum & dad trying to make us go to bed).
The day in question was particularly hot with a perfect sky and a lazy wind from the east. Only the slightest whisper of white cloud was visible which made it feel like you were looking at the worlds best and biggest impressionist painting. Following our morning swim and customary spat with my younger sister we decided to burn up some calories by going skateboarding. We had no particular skills in this area other that going as fast as we possibly could down the hill on which we lived. A friend of ours was over that weekend and after a short debate it was decided that he would go tandem with my brother on the skateboard. Well, I say debate, but it was more like they just pushed me into a bush and went off down the hill together laughing. Anyway I digress...
Skateboarding continued for much of the afternoon with occasional stops for sweets and more goading of my younger sister. We climbed the hill once again and my brother and Michael set off as usual, my brother sitting while Michael stood on the back holding his shoulders. We lived in a complex of about 150 houses and the road twisted and turned for a good few hundred yards downwards. They carved their way round corners with consummate ease - until the very last corner that is. They went round the corner on the wrong side of the road and just as they rounded it a car was coming full on at them. Michael managed to escape and landed in some bushed, but my brother wasn't so lucky.
His face connected the bumper with enough combined velocity to rip it clean off. Now a bumper is not the easiest thing to remove at the best of times, but my brother had managed to do so with his head in 0.5 seconds. The car continued in its trajectory as the brakes were called into action and the car screeched to a halt. By this time my brother was lying under the car and had been dragged a number of yards up the road on his back. As you can imagine this obviously didn't do much for the skin on his back.
I think it's fair to say that he suffered a fair bit from his accident. He fractured his skull, burst an ear drum, scrapped a hell of a lot skin off his back, broke an ankle and sprained the other one. While he was in the recovery phase we were sharing a room at home and it was quite upsetting to have to wake up
next to someone who's ear just leached a load of blood onto his pillow. Even worse than that was the skin taken off his back which meant that every morning for about 2 weeks my mom would come in and quite literally peel the sheet off his back which had stuck to his open wound. Then she would put some antiseptic liquid that would make him howl like a man possessed. I don't think I'll ever forget him screaming.
Still, there was a positive side to this all. We got shit hot at popping wheelies in his wheelchair and the timed obstacle course we set up for it in the garden. It's also rather important to note that my mom was driving the car that almost killed him. She said she only realised it was him after she had reversed the car off him. That must have been a shock.
Length: about 1 min 35s which included a wheelie across the course finish line.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 23:14, 7 replies)
My brother's scars.
Those that run from his fingers down past his wrist, to be more specific, are a result from a time my sister thought it would be a grand idea to lock him outside the house and stationed me at the back door to make sure he couldn't come in. The poor kid was only 5.....he punched through the glass door in his frustration to get inside the house and got his first stitches.
You see, my sister was a bully whom no one dared to cross for fear of further punishment. Which is exactly why I was thrilled when their mother moved them to another state shortly after my mother married their father. They visited for a few brief summers then I was free.
As a result, there has been a total of less than a years worth of time when I wasn't raised as an only child. As much as I would have liked to grow up with good siblings and have a close relationship to them still, I'd rather be an only child then to have had to grow up with her around. My brother on the other hand seems to get along with everyone....but I don't know if that is down to his personality or something he learned as a defense from growing up in the same house as her. He seems nice enough, but I don't really know him.
And so, having been a family for more than 25 years, I have absolutely nothing in common with them. My sister and I have a tenuous superficial email-only relationship, while I haven't spoken to my brother in several years.
This is why I am amazed on a daily basis that my 2 girls are the best of friends. I am often in awe when I see or hear of siblings who actually like each other. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a close bond like that.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Tue 6 Jan 2009, 22:59, 4 replies)
I've just remembered this. Slightly too late, probably.
My brother is two years older than me and we usually get along pretty well. Occasionally we're absolute cunts to each other, but what siblings aren't?
Anyway, when I was about 6 or 7 he called me in to the dining room. He was sat under the table and beckoned for me to join him. Being young and naive, I did so. He then points at a dark patch on the floor and tells me to sniff it.
Remember when I said we could be absolute cunts to each other sometimes? Well, this was one of those times. For he had a put a line of FUCKING PEPPER on the floor. Not even a table. Just straight on the carpet.
And I snorted it. Pepper and Carpety-shit went right up my nose. I spent the next hour having my nose cotton-budded, whilst he spent the next hour giggling.
Bastard.
(littlenipple hate's bad grammar, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 22:41, 2 replies)
Curtains for the wall
I only just told my parents that it was me that had pulled the curtains and curtain rail from the living room wall in 1987. I was 6, she was 4.
I was swinging on the curtains on a Sunday morning - why not?
When the rail pulled out two huge chunks out of the wall and spat plaster and curtain everywhere I immediately ran upstairs to the slumbering folks, and told them 'LOOK WHAT SHE'S DONE!'
(Andrelius67JHHVGC7 Han har stillet træskoene, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 22:34, 2 replies)
weirdness...
...did find it a bit odd when I was 10, when my half-brother and half-sister started going out with each other. Bizarro! Different parents, but still...Didn't half p**s parents off all round!
(Ceorl sings with the swimmy dolphins, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 20:13, 4 replies)
The closest thing
From my mother, I am her only child. I would have been her second son, but her first died in '79 of SIDS (no, not simian aids; but sudden infant death syndrome). My father couldn't keep his pants up from the southern-most tip of Mexico to the beginnings of New England. Thus, he romanced and breached panties all over the Western Hemisphere. It's the same story with every woman that fell for him: Swept of feet, knocked-up, and then he was gone. His only son I met drank himself to death at 20 odd years. Though I'm in the same gene pool with my dead bros. and the possible dozen bastards littered throughout the Americas, they are not my siblings. No my fellow b3tards, this story is not about them.
Gabriel. It is he who I call brother. In sum, he is a brunet brick-shit-house version of Garth from Wayne's World. He is Ted, he is Hutch, he is Stimpy, he is Rodan, Rick Parfitt, and Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten. I am one-week his senior, and he will always be my brother before he's my best-friend. I consider myself being level-headed, rational, and calm under pressure. However, this bastard is the only one who can drive me to panic through wind-ups and embarrassing the sheer fuck out of me.
Exhibit A: Having stayed in the hospital because of stomach complications (read: constipation for a week), he was the one who picked me up from the hospital. Before being discharged from said hospital and before we went to White-Castle for a dozen burgers each, he noticed the African-American fellow who was lying in the other bed in the room. Around me, he tends to become prejudice for the sake of embarrassing me. I was packing my clothes and belongings into a small rucksack I had. Like the "AreWeThereYet?," he would ask and ask if we could take the coon with us. Out loud. Loud enough for the fellow to hear. Repeatedly. Then he began walking around the room like a pigeon cooing coon as a racist pigeon would.
He once told me about seizures. He said most seizure victims smell an absent familiar smell like roses or perfume. And that some seizures are as simple as a repeated motion that isn't necessarily flailing like a mad-man. Since then he would randomly pause, claim to smell roses, and begin to slowly scratch his chest with one hand while absently looking at me. His other hand would be on the steering wheel. It was either that, or he'd do the ape shit flailing in the car after having smelt roses.
On drives to places, we would debate about nothing. When things got loud and he was loosing, he'd pretend to sleep while on the highways and accelerate. Fucking terrifying when you see the driver "pass-out" at high speeds.
When I moved out, I rented a small one bedroom. The door to the room was at the rear of the building, and was the only room that didn't require one to go through the front door of the building. At the front of my door, I had a tree in a pot. In it, I left a spare key. Every now and then, Gabe would go into my apartment because of the spare key and plant gay-community newspapers in it. On my couch, in the toilet, the shower, the bedroom, the refrigerator, etc. Other times, he'd let himself in while I was showering. With a towel curled up in his hand, he would pound the shower door and yell "American History X." After putting up with this sort of thing, I no longer kept the spare key. That should solve the problem, thought I. I didn't count on Gabe making a copy of the spare keys.
Other things included beat boxing on my answering machine for twenty some minutes. Threatening my then girlfriends with rape, where I would be the one being raped. While balling his hand into a fist and pointing his left arm skyward akin to a relaxed Black-Power fist, with his right hand he would type in the air and would make keypad noises with his mouth, he then would make a "woooosh" sound and his left hand became a SCUD missile launching into the air with my nuts being the intentional target (it was the WTF? mode of thought that let him reach and punch my balls).
Yes, there were times when we were there for one another because of family, money, women, and other human drama. But still I'll never forget things like strong-guy charades, making fun of fatties, threatening people with fruit, rooftop cook-outs, crashing cars on purpose, arguments about Adult Swim, pretending to be Mortal Kombat characters in a Buddhist park complete with shrine, and so much more.
He moved in with his girlfriend of four years. We had a bit of a falling out after that. One day I moved to another city without telling him I was moving. Last I heard, he had a row with his woman and joined the US Navy. No matter, he's still my bro.
(Thrillhouse will be prosecuted on, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 18:36, Reply)
Well I'm
an only child.
AND IT'S NOT FAIR BECAUSE THIS QUESTION ISN'T ALL ABOUT ME...
*sulks*
(Rakky (forgot her password) The muffin maverick, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 16:53, 5 replies)
Thank you. Thank you very, very much.
It's the summer of '93 and the 17 year old Moey is released into the raucous Reading festival crowds for a weekend of loud music, fast drugs and piss weak lager. Life is good.
My long hair flops about to the sounds of Rage Against the Machine & Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I nervously throw acid down my throat for the first time, lay back and let the curious warblings of Ozric Tentacles run riot about my brain. Life is still good, if a little wobbly and weirdly coloured.
Then my older brother turns up. That's no bad thing, he brings new and exciting drugs with him, as well as having lovely cash that I can scrounge under the pretence of not having eaten for several days. But he is also the bearer of bad wickedness that would taint my whole experience.
You see, he'd been having a full and frank discussion with my mum. She knew all about his ways, he was off at Uni and had long ago boasted openly of his weed smoking and of how she couldn't do anything about it. She'd accepted with surprisingly good grace ("but not under my fucking roof...") and no more had been said. But this recent exchange had nothing to do with him. This recent exchange was all about his younger siblings, all about our narcotic past times.
I'm greeted by his smug face and the words "Mum wants you to call her". Fine, thinks I and I throw some change into a payphone before bashing the number into the keypad.
"Oh yeah" says the sibling.
"What's that?" I ask.
"I told Mum about you smoking weed last night" he pouts.
Ring...
"You fucking what, you fucking cunt, I can't belie... oh, um, hi mum."
Life is suddenly much less good.
( Moey, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 16:50, Reply)
My baby sister
She made up her first ever joke when she was 4 (she's now 24 and won't thank me for repeating it):
What do you call a lion with no eyes?
A no-eye-lion.
(crayongirl, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 16:11, 12 replies)
My brother is fantastic in many ways, but present buying is not one of them.
He is no longer allowed to buy my mum presents after the 'plastic bag dispenser in the shape of a cow' fiasco of three Christmases past. The sad thing is he thought long and hard about what to get - this wasn't just a last minute panic buy - he reasoned that she liked the countryside and had lots of empty carrier bags, so therefore this would be the perfect gift.
As I now take responsibility for all family related gift giving, he hadn't managed to get himself into too much trouble of late - that is until this Christmas when picking out a romantic gift for his girlfriend of two years. He felt that the perfect present to express his love for her would be 1. some car polish and 2. a brush for cleaning her wheels. He reasoned that her car was very dirty, so she obviously needed the polish, and the brush was apparently a top of the line one and she should be grateful.
They have both gone on a mini break to a remote destination in Scotland. Will he make it back OK or will his lifeless body be found on some remote Highland moor, beaten to death with a wheel cleaning brush of the highest quality?
( hanabanana, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 15:57, 4 replies)
Not techincally my sister, but...
I used to have this friend when I was little called Deborah. We were born within hours of each other, and ours mums always used to say we were like brother and sister. And they'd always go on about how we'd get married when we were older.
Anyway, we never did - although I often thought about it. She was the popular one at school, and I wasn't. I used to walk her home and stuff like that, but we were just friends.
And that would have been it. Until... the other day a friend was talking about her. Apparently, she was married, and has got a kid now. This got me thinking about her again, and, well, long story short - I'm meeting her this Sunday byt the fountain in town. I even said she could bring her baby.
Whoah-oh-oh-oh.
( The Coast Of Yemen, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 15:52, 8 replies)
The Three Ss
Ah, how I love my older brother (by six years) and sister (by five years). I have many tales of the three of us getting into all kinds of scrapes. Naturally a few of them stand out in my mind, and I shall tell you of them. Now, it's no good me using initials to refer to them, as handily our parents named us all common names beginning with S. Nice. So instead, I shall refer to them as my brother and my sister. Job done!
Now, a quickie. My sister has a delightful scar lengthways down the inside of one of her wrists. No, we didn't drive her to it, instead in a pique of fury during one of our many scraps, I scratched her with my bare fingernails. I am adorable!
One of my earliest memories involves my siblings. We had a red and white tricycle when we were very young, which had a little boot on the back of it (classy or what?!). Being the youngest, the best idea my elders could think of was to bundle little me into this boot, shut the lid then have my brother go off peddling as fast as he could up and down the path outside our house. Said path takes a sharp turn right to go alongside the side of the terrace, so he shot round it on two wheels, the lid of the boot pops open and I roll out in the opposite direction. Oh, how we laughed!
Another time the three of us were spending a rainy evening playing with a bunch of other children on the swings etc. at the large recreation ground in the village when my brother comes up with a most spiffing idea.
"Everyone get on the big roundabout and hold tight!"
"Okay" bellow the rest of us, myself and my sister included.
My brother and one of his friends then proceeded to push the roundabout very fast indeed. Subsequently my little fingers got tired of clutching on so they let go. Cue me hurtling off the playground instrument of torture (as I now view them), through the air before coming to rest on the ground several feet away. Of course the laws of physics got their way and I continued to travel along the ground on one side of my face. Do you know what upset me the most, and kept me in tears all the way home? My brand new Mickey Mouse t-shirt had got ripped a little bit! What a git.
Many a time was we would play hide and seek, I would hide (splendidly, I thought) but my dear siblings would then give up, start playing another game and leave me in my hiding place for what seemed like hours.
My sister, being five years my senior had make up and nail polish before I did. Not fair, especially considering the more creative flair I have! So, one bored summer afternoon saw me paint my name using her new scarlet nail polish on our shared chest of drawers in our shared bedroom. How on earth did they find it out it was me?! I also remember when we were bought a new bedside lamp by our loving parents and I adorned the shade with the name 'Gary' (no, I don't know why either) using one of her lipsticks. The shade was grey, by the way. I don't know how they saw it!
Oh yes, I just remember another early memory. I sat on my sister's head and farted. She never got me back for that one, despite her swearing she would.
At one point, our back garden was filled with rubbish (my parents were having a massive clear out) so we were playing war – my sister and me against my brother. Part way through the game we swapped sides of the garden so we could have different weapons to use but my sister and I wanted our shield ironing board back so my brother threw it to us across the garden. It arrived. And smacked me square in the mouth. And knocked out my two top front milk teeth. And I promptly swallowed them in shock. Then let the whole neighbourhood know about it. Loudly.
One time I got cross with my brother so I tested out a word I had heard used somewhere. I called him a bastard! I wasn't even in double digits at the time, and I did it in front of my parents and sister too! I found myself soon being told off loudly for that one. (I should add here that I've heard swearing for as long as I can remember, and as soon as I hit senior school my potty mouth was unstoppable. It's terrible at my current place of work too – the two guys I sit with spend the majority of each day calling each other some of the worst names possible: we'd make a sailor blush.)
Back to the subject. A good one was our father was strict when we were little, and from time to time it would be time for the group bollocking. My sister suffered from inner ear problems when she was a child, and also occasional fainting episodes. So one time our father was merrily blaring away at the three of us and next thing I know he's gently pushed my sister onto the sofa and my brother has run screaming and crying from the room. Shortly it transpires that my brother has thought our father has just killed my sister and lost it big time with him, when actually our father saw my sister was about to have a fainting bout so pushed her to the sofa so she wouldn't smack her head on the floor. Isn't it amazing how things look to a child?
I'm running out of decent tales now, so I'll tell you how things have panned out for the three of us.
My brother clearly developed a taste for older women: the smallest age gap between his partners and him was about five years, and that was his wife. He had a son at age 21, my parents' first grandchild and whom they dote on (my father adores him). As I was only 14 when my nephew came into the world, I didn't want to be called Auntie. However I know he does behind my back because his half-sister told me he does. And also one time he accidently called me auntie when I was talking to him, the git! Bless. He also doesn't like that I take after my father in the height department and although he's nearly taller than my sister (and is, at last, taller than my mother) he's still got a good half a foot or so to get to my height though. Hah! Back to my brother. He's now divorced from his wife (and his son's mother) and had a couple of relationships but is now happily engaged (long term) and doing his original job of a postman.
My sister knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life – she got a City & Guilds in caring, had a succession of jobs working with teenagers and young adults with autism and/or severe learning difficulties. She left home when she was 24 and is successful on the property ladder. She had a semi-serious relationship at around that age, even getting engaged but he was a berk and she finally finished with him. She didn't really have anything serious until about 2-3 years ago when she met her now live-in partner. Happily they started trying for a family in autumn 2007 and she got pregnant almost immediately – with twins! (Twins don't run in either our or his family but I suppose they've got to start somewhere.) She gave birth to two little girls in May last year who are turning out to be two very different personalities and are utterly adorable. And if you're wondering: I shan't mind them calling me Auntie – I'm going to be 30 this year! *shudder*
Edit: [insert your own witty length pun here]
(Sahara Desert http://www.twitter.com/thesaharadesert for swears, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 15:33, 2 replies)
Dog sandwich
As revenge for something minor, I let our dog partially nibble a warm Dalepak grill steak and gave it to my brother to eat in a bun. After he ate it, I told him what I did and forced myself to laugh hysterically like a klaxon.
He had the last laugh however, as he deliberately fudged up the back of my favourite white shirt before I went on a date with my first girlfriend. He then called the bowling alley where I was going and told me on the phone.
Ahh, I wouldn't swap him for the world.
(powervator and NONE SHALL PASS, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 15:16, 1 reply)
My brother is a douche
It was a cold night and tension was running high, so i'm told. The girl was misbehaving, and he'd had enough. There was only one thing for it: oral rape.
He grabbed her head, and lunged his mouth onto her face. From here the parasite sucked untill blood was drawn. And a purple bruise replaced her nose.
This is a story of my brother.
(ShitBitch, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 14:30, Reply)
He grew out of it.
"...and then we jumped from the shed roof onto the house, did a gert wheelie and done like a skid and stuff before we speeded off through the woods where there was like a bear that we had to kill before we could find the secret house what no one knows about 'cept us..."
Sounds like utter gibberish, doesn't it?
Yet this is just a brief sample of the 'real' stories that my younger brother would regale us with of a Saturday evening, as we ate our tea.
The breadth of wild adventures he and his friend enjoyed was truly flabbergasting, yet, as far as he tried to convince us, every one of them was entirely true.
It's encouraging that a youngster would have so vivid an imagination. Looking back on it, it is almost impressive that he dreamt up such incredible adventures, such unlikely and implausible stories.
What concerned the rest of the family, however, was his determination that these stories were real. That somewhere in his mind, fiction merged seamlessly with fact and a new reality was crafted that replaced the world in which everyone else existed.
He did grow out of it eventually, and the rest of the family now believes most of what he tells us. But I suspect that even now, somewhere in the murkiest depths of his mind, he believes he really did jump a four wheel motorbike from shed to house, do battle with a fierce bear and hide out in a secret house, located somewhere in the ancient, mystic woods.
I hate my sister
She's such a bitch.
I don't really have a sister. I just want to see if anyone gets the reference, and hopefully to give them an earworm if they do.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 13:43, 6 replies)
I just thought of a real one!
My brother, when he was very little, filled a plastic bag with grass clippings and said it was "Richard Grass". My Mum thought that someone must've said "wretched grass".
Hm...even my real stories are puns.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 13:37, Reply)
...Late entry alert...
My sister came back from the gym at the weekend and announced:
"I love Virgins! All the bits are newer so they don't smell so bad".
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 13:29, 5 replies)
I meticulously cut one sisters entire collection of My Little Pony magazines
in two, for some slight which I now can't remember. She probably deserved it though.
When I used to babysit my youngest sister (I was 15, she was 9) I used to take her down the road to the sandwich shop to spend my small amount of pocket money (50p) on a couple of rolls and butter, and some crisps, and then go home and make crisp sandwiches, before putting on the stereo as loud as possible and dancing round the living room with her; all the things we'd have been told off for doing when folks were home. Huzzah!
( LemonEntryMyDearWatson This time, Moriarty, the hand is on the other foot, Tue 6 Jan 2009, 12:42, Reply)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Frigidaire FFAD3033R1 is the latest 30 pint dehumidifier released by Frigidaire (it was originally released in 2015). It serves as the replacement for the FAD301NWD, which was first released in 2013. Before we start this review we want to note that the FFAD3033R1 really doesn't have much current competition in the 30 pint size class. It is by far the best 30 pint dehumidifier on the market today. So, instead of focusing on comparing it to other much lesser quality 30 pint dehumidifiers on the market today, we'll instead try to focus on comparing it to its predecessor, the FAD301NWD, which was the standout dehumidifier in this size class before the FFAD3033R1, and is still readily available for sale today. We'll also discuss the differences between the FFAD3033R1, the FFAD5033R1 and FFAD7033R1 (Frigidaire's latest 50 and 70 pint dehumidifiers) if you're trying to decide between purchasing a small capacity (30 pint), a medium capacity (50 pint) or a large capacity (70 pint) dehumidifier.
Note: We did not get a chance to do any hands on testing of the FAD301NWD. For this reason, outside of assessing manufacturer specified energy efficiency differences, we cannot compare FFAD3033R1 and FAD301NWD performance test results. We will be comparing both units extensively when assessing their features and functionality later on in the review.
The FFAD3033R1 is rated to draw only 320 watts of power at maximum humidity. This is 100 watts less than what the FAD301NWD is rated to draw at 420 watts. In terms of percentages, the FFAD3033R1 draws close to 25% less power than its predecessor. Keep in mind that it's still rated to remove 30 pints of moisture a day, just like the FAD301NWD, making it a much more energy efficient dehumidifier overall.
The FFAD3033R1 was measured to draw 319 watts of power in our hands one energy efficiency test. For this test the room was set to approximately 50% humidity and the dehumidifier was set to high fan speed. Compare the FFAD3033R1′s measured power draw of 319 watts to the measured 352 watts for the Hisense DH-35K1SJE5, 356 watts for the GE ADEL30LR, and 404 watts for the Haier DM32M-L. These results show that the Frigidaire also draws less power (by a considerable margin) than every other 30 pint dehumidifier we've tested.
The FFAD3033R1 is the most quiet compressor based dehumidifier we've tested thus far. It's an excellent choice if you're looking for a quiet 30 pint dehumidifier. Do note, however, that 30 pint dehumidifiers are, in general, not much more quiet than their 50 pint and 70 pint counterparts. For example, at long range (sound meter placed 10 ft from the dehumidifier) on low fan speed the FFAD3033R1 was measured at 46.1 dB. Compare this result to 47.2 dB for the FFAD5033R1 and 48.8 dB for the FFAD7033R1. As you can see the difference in noise output isn't much. Yes, the 30 pint unit is the most quiet but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between its noise output and that of its 50 and 70 pint counterparts without a sound meter reading showing you this difference. Note that the difference between different brands is much more pronounced. In the same test in which the Frigidaire was measured at 46.1 dB, the GE 30 pint was measured at 49.7 dB, the Haier at 53.3 dB, and the Hisense at 55.9 dB.
The bottom line is that, like we said, the FFAD3033R1 is a great choice if you're looking for a quiet 30 pint dehumidifier. It's certainly much more quiet than the other 30 pint dehumidifiers we've tested. However, noise output should not be the reason why you choose any smaller capacity dehumidifier over a 70 pint unit. They essentially produce the same amount of noise – the differences are between different brands, not size classes. Frigidaire dehumidifiers are much more quiet than Danby or GE dehumidifiers, for example, but the 30 pint Frigidaire, the 50 pint Frigidaire, and the 70 pint Frigidaire all essentially produce the same amount of noise on all fan speeds.
If a high moisture removal rate is important to you then you really shouldn't be considering a 30 pint dehumidifier to begin with. That being said, while getting a 30 pint dehumidifier with a high moisture removal rate isn't important, you do want to makes sure that it doesn't dehumidify much slower than average. In other words, the only thing you want to make sure of when evaluating a 30 pint dehumidifier's moisture removal rate, is that it doesn't deviate too far from the mean for its size class.
The FFAD3033R1 took 32 minutes, 28 seconds to dehumidify a 50 sq ft space from 90% relative humidity down to 40% RH. The average for the size class was 34 minutes, 3 seconds. It took 15 minutes, 59 seconds to dehumidify the same space from 80% down to 50% RH. The average for the 30 pint size class was 15 minutes, 20 seconds. These results clearly show that FFAD3033R1′s performance in this category checks out fine as its moisture removal rate doesn't deviate much from the mean. Its performance was slightly above average in the first test and ever so slightly below average in the second test.
Like its 50 and 70 pint counterparts the FFAD3033R1′s hygrometer accuracy is average at best. It reads room humidity no worse than within 3 to 4% less than actual. For example, at an actual room humidity of 50% it would read the room humidity as 46 or 47%. We discuss why hygrometer accuracy is important in greater detail here.
Before we discuss the FFAD3033R1′s features and functionality we want to make an important distinction between the previous line of Frigidaire dehumidifiers and the current line of Frigidaire dehumidifiers.
1. The following is true for Frigidaire's previous generation of dehumidifiers: The FAD704DWD and FAD504DWD are nearly identical dehumidifiers. They're the same size, weight, and share the same control panel. The only notable difference is the fact that the former is rated to remove 70 pints of moisture per day while the latter is rated to remove 50 pints of moisture per day. The 30 pint unit, the FAD301NWD, is much smaller and also much lighter (about 20 pounds lighter). More importantly, it features a manual control knob instead of a digital control panel. It also does not display either the set humidity or the room humidity. There is no digital readout of any settings.
2. In 2015 Frigidaire updated their line of dehumidifiers: Again, the 50 and 70 pint models (the FFAD5033R1 and FFAD7033R1) are almost exactly the same size and weight. Again, they have the exact same control panel, features, and functionality and the only notable difference between them is the fact that the 70 pint unit is rated to remove more pints of moisture per day. This go around, however, the 30 pint model (the FFAD3033R1) also features the exact same control panel, features, and functionality as the 50 and 70 pint models. The only difference between the FFAD3033R1 and the FFAD5033R1 and FFAD7033R1 is the fact that the FFAD3033R1 is smaller, lighter (about 20 pounds or so lighter), and is rated to remove only 30 pints of moisture per day. For this latest generation, the 30 pint unit also features a digital control panel and digital readout of current room humidity and set humidity.
In summary, whereas the previous line of Frigidaire dehumidifiers saw major design differences between 70/50 pint units and the 30 pint unit, the current line of Frigidaire dehumidifiers all share the same design – the 70, 50, and 30 pint units all have the same design with the same functionality. The 30 pint FFAD3033R1 is smaller, lighter, and removes less moisture per 24 hours.
In assessing any particular dehumidifier's durability we combine our own observations concerning its build quality and the quality of the materials used in its manufacturing with the observations made by the average consumer. A high consumer negative review rate (a high percentage of 1 and 2 star reviews) suggests problems with reliability. We discuss the basis for this deduction in greater detail here.
We mentioned earlier that the FFAD3033R1 is essentially a smaller, lighter version of the FFAD5033R1 and the FFAD7033R1, both of which were observed to have superior build quality for their respective size class. The same was observed for the FFAD3033R1. The FFAD3033R1 is quite simply a much better built, much better designed dehumidifier than any other 30 pint dehumidifier we tested. The parts used in its construction (most notably its control panel) were of a noticeably higher quality than the parts used on the other 30 pint dehumidifiers we tested.
30 pint dehumidifiers, in general, are not nearly as well reviewed by consumers as their 50 and 70 pint counterparts. The same holds true for the FFAD3033R1 compared to the FFAD5033R1 and the FFAD7033R1. The 30 pint Frigidaire has a negative review rate of 13% which is much higher than the 5% negative review rate of each larger unit. It's important to note, however, that at this time there's much smaller sample of reviews for the 30 pint unit than the 50 and 70 pint units and that this rate has also been moving down over the last several days and weeks. Only a few days ago, it stood at 16%. We expect that as the FFAD3033R1 receives more reviews (as the sample size increases), that this rate will continue to go down to more closely match the low rate of the 50 and 70 pint units.
The FFAD3033R1 is much more adjustable than the FAD301NWD if only because it features a digital control panel with an LED display. The FAD301NWD, on the other hand, has to be set manually with a manual control knob. There is also no digital readout of the current humidity or the set humidity.
Additionally, fan speed cannot be set on the FAD301NWD. The FFAD3033R1 features three fan speeds (high, medium, and low). You can set the fan speed to any one of these settings depending on whether your humidity problem is severe (high fan speed) and/or whether you need the unit to operate more quietly (low fan speed).
We note here that both dehumidifiers feature a continuous mode but no auto mode.
Another major difference between the FFAD3033R1 and the FAD301NWD is the fact that the former drains out of the side of the dehumidifier while the latter drains out of the back of the dehumidifier. If you plan on implementing gravity drainage, definitely take this difference into consideration. Unlike Danby and ArcticAire dehumidifiers, a drain hose is not included when you purchase a Frigidaire dehumidifier. Granted, you can use a standard garden hose to connect to the drain outlet. We also note here that neither unit features a built-in pump.
The FAD301NWD doesn't feature a temperature readout or defrost mode. The FFAD3033R1 doesn't feature a temperature readout either but it does feature an automatic defrost mode and check filter light.
The major point of concern for us in this category is water tank size. The FAD301NWD ha a 10 pint water tank while the FFAD3033R1 only has a 7.1 pint water tank. This is a definite negative for the FFAD3033R1 as water tank size is very important. We discuss why here. Note that the FFAD3033R1′s water tank is also smaller than both the FFAD7033R1′s and FFAD5033R1′s water tank.
The FFAD3033R1 is close to 20 pounds lighter than both the 50 and 70 pint Frigidaire dehumidifiers. It's also substantially smaller. In general, if portability is important to you, we definitely recommend a 30 pint dehumidifier. The FFAD3033R1 is the clear choice if you're going to be moving the dehumidifier around a lot and your humidity problem isn't too severe.
The FFAD3033R1 comes with a standard Frigidaire dehumidifier warranty – a 1 year full warranty and 2 to 5 years on the sealed system.
The FFAD3033R1 currently retails for about $180. Compare this price to about $215 for the 50 pint model and about $250 for the 70 pint FFAD7033R1. The FAD301NWD is a bit less expensive as it can be had for a street price of around $165.
At this point in the review you might be asking yourself one of two questions. We'll take one question at a time to try to make our recommendations more clear.
1. Should I buy the FFAD3033R1 or the FAD301NWD?
Unfortunately for the FAD301NWD, it has one major inexcusable disadvantage compared to the FFAD3033R1: It features a manual control knob and no LED display to show the current humidity or set humidity. In our opinion, this is a deal breaker, and immediately disqualifies it from contention with the FFAD3033R1. If you're looking to buy a 30 pint Frigidaire dehumidifier the FFAD3033R1 is the clear choice.
2. Should I buy the FFAD3033R1 or spend a bit more to get either the FFAD5033R1 or the FFAD7033R1?
This question in itself is dependent on another general question you need to ask yourself: "How severe is my humidity problem?" We encourage you to read the "First Time Buyer's Guide" on our homepage to determine what size dehumidifier you really need. In summary, we'll say here that our general recommendation is that you go with the largest capacity dehumidifier you can afford. Only if your humidity problem is very mild or if the space you're dehumidifying is very small do we recommend that you go with a 30 pint dehumidifier. If you do choose to go the 30 pint route, our top recommendation in the 30 pint size class is the FFAD3033R1.
What do you recommend for use in an RV? Thank you.
This unit should work very well in an RV.
We just purchased a new Airstream (25′) and will be using the 30 pint unit to prevent any mold issues in the future, especially during the rainy season.
For quite some (11, 12 years) time I've used a small Haier unit in my garage/woodshop solely to help keep tools and equipment from rusting. Yes, it did this task very well in spite of the Florida humidity, but it needs replaced. Is there any reason I should use the 50 or 70 pint model rather than the 30 pint which I am planning on? (Area is oversized double garage.) Thank you for your advice and most infomative review.
We go over the reasons we recommend a larger unit here. However, if a smaller unit has worked well for you, the FFAD3033R1 is also a solid choice.
Does Frigidaire FFAD3033R1 with condensation tubing?
Where are Frigidaire dehumidifiers manufactured?
Almost all dehumidifiers, including Frigidaire units, are manufactured in China.
Can the clear plastic top be removed from the water bucket so it can be cleaned?
I would like to use this in a small camp that has off the grid power. Does the unit remember settings and auto restart if power is lost occasionally? In my case if we had a few cloudy days and the solar panels were unable to keep up with the wattage demand.
What is best portable dehumidifier for a small condo bedroom .
My family doesn't tolerate low temps on a/c and my room a/c vent doesn't bring air in well. Thought dehumidifier might be the answer.
Thank you for being available for advice.
See our general buyer's guide here.
is that a washable filter or we have to buy new one after a couple of years ?
It's a washable filter that does not need replacement.
Would a 30 pint dehumidifier be sufficient for a 1200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom townhouse, should I go with a 30 pint on each floor, or should I go with a 50 pint for the entire house, to be kept on the lower floor?
See our general buyer's guide here for a discussion of what size dehumidifier to buy for the size space you need to dehumidify.
Never mind, found a video. Isn't technology wonderful!!
Does anyone know if the clear top of the bucket (tank) can be removed to make it easier to clean the mold out at the bottom. I do not want to remove if it is not made to. Instruction book is useless.
Dose this unit come with a 6ft electrical cord?
Is pump only gravity feed, or will it pump up about three to four feet into a kitchen sink?
Gravity only. It will not pump up even 3 or 4 feet.
I intended to purchase a 50 pint at a box store in the morning. It's on sale, $70.00 off. After reading you review on the FFAD3033R1, I've changed my mind. Great review, thank you.
I have 900 square feet basement but is divided a wood panel wall so not all of basement is dehumidified. Just a guess about maybe 600 to 650 square feet. Close washer and dryer are on this side of the basement. I'm interested in this unit because ofenergy star and wattage. Will this unit work for me. Thank you for your time.
Yes, this unit will work for the size space you need to dehumidify.
I live in a 2 bedroom duplex, probably about 1000q ft. My son's bedroom is over the garage. His room is very damp. I purchased a mini- dehumidifier thinking it would work for a 10 x 12 room. It didn't. We just found a lot of mold on the bottom of a futon mattress that was on the floor. Would this 30 pint pull out enough water? I would love it to work for the whole home but the 70 pint is so expensive. Maybe a mid-size 50 pint?
For a 1000 sq. ft. space a 30 pint unit will work but we would still recommend a 70 pint unit for reasons we outline here, especially if you have problems with mold.
You should not put futons directly on the floor, they will always get moldy like that.
Please see the "Extra Modes" section of this page in which we describe the difference between continuous mode and auto mode.
I just bought the humidifier #FFAD3033R1. I noticed the on/off light stays on when the unit is turned off. Is this normal?
Yes, this is normal. The on/off light stays on to let you know the unit is connected to power. The humidity % display and fan speed light will illuminate when the unit is turned on. These will turn off when the unit is turned off.
I have a one bedroom condo under 600sq ft, maybe 9 ft ceilings. I get condensation on metal framed windows in living and bedroom. Will 30 pint work for me. I like portability. Or would I be better to go with 50 or 70 per your user guide! Thanks!
If portability is important to you then yes, we would recommend the 30 pint FFAD3033R1 for a 600 sq. ft. space.
What is the energy rating of the FFAD3033R1 in Litres/Kw.h ??
The manufacturer specifies this value as being 1.85.
It's very easy – takes less than a minute.
Yes, it should work great for your application.
If using the hose adapter, will it still fill the tank/reservoir and then use the hose as an overflow, or does it divert from the tank altogether and only dispense through the hose? I've owned ones in the past that did both, and I hate having standing water in the tank because it will obviously eventually grow bacteria, (which can cause a host of health concerns including legionaries disease) so it has to be emptied and cleaned. I'm trying to avoid this additional concern and work.
Do all 3 size models function the same with regard to this?
It diverts from the tank altogether. You won't have to worry about standing water and the problems associated with it. All 3 models function the same when it comes to gravity drainage.
I am moving into a 600 ft sq apartment on a cement slab. Would this unit be adequate?
Yes, this unit will work for your application.
I'm concerned about whether the unit resumes operation after a power failure, or whether it only remembers the previous settings while requiring the user to press the Power button to resume.
If the latter, then it is unsuited for unattended operation even when set up for "continuous drainage".
The unit auto restarts – fully resumes normal operation – after a power failure.
Thank you! Great reviews and wonderfully fast replies!!!
I have a very small basement – about 10 x 15′. What would you recommend? Need it light enough so I can take it downstairs – or upstairs. Few units specify weight.
If portability is important to you and you only need to dehumidify a 10 x 15′ space this 30 pint unit will do just fine. 30 pint units are normally about 10 to 20 lb. lighter than their 70 pint counterparts. This 30 pint Frigidaire unit is about 34 lb. while the 70 pint model is about 47 lb.
I have a 25 x 40 basement and use the 50. Works great. These are nice machines.
What is a good %to put it on so it doesn't feel up as fast…..I bought mine used so I don't know much about it do things need to be replaced…..
If your unit is filling up fast it means it's working properly. To reduce the rate at which the water collection bucket fills up you can set the desired humidity level to a higher percentage. You should still be fairly comfortable at a relative humidity as high as 60%.
It doesn't run constantly – it should stop when or shortly after the unit's compressor shuts off.


text:
Sormery ist eine französische Gemeinde mit  Einwohnern (Stand: ) im Département Yonne in der Region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Sie gehört zum Arrondissement Auxerre und zum Kanton Saint-Florentin (bis 2015: Kanton Flogny-la-Chapelle).

Geografie
Sormery liegt etwa 36 Kilometer nordnordöstlich von Auxerre. Umgeben wird Sormery von den Nachbargemeinden Saint-Mards-en-Othe im Norden, Nogent-en-Othe im Nordosten, Vosnon im Osten, Coursan-en-Othe im Osten und Südosten, Lasson im Südosten, Neuvy-Sautour im Süden, Turny im Westen und Südwesten sowie Bœurs-en-Othe im Nordwesten.

Bevölkerungsentwicklung

Sehenswürdigkeiten
 Kirche Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens

Weblinks

Ort in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
namespace Tournamentz.BL.Core.Rule
{
    using System.Collections;
    using System.Collections.Generic;

    public sealed class BusinessRuleCollection : IEnumerable<BusinessRule>
    {
        public static readonly BusinessRuleCollection Empty = new BusinessRuleCollection();

        private readonly List<BusinessRule> _rules;

        public BusinessRuleCollection()
        {
            this._rules = new List<BusinessRule>();
        }

        public void Add(BusinessRule rule)
        {
            this._rules.Add(rule);
        }

        public void Add(BusinessRuleCollection rules)
        {
            foreach (BusinessRule businessRule in rules)
            {
                this.Add(businessRule);
            }
        }

        public bool AllRulesAreObeyed { get { return this._rules.TrueForAll(b => !b.IsBroken); } }

        public IEnumerator<BusinessRule> GetEnumerator()
        {
            return this._rules.GetEnumerator();
        }

        IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
        {
            return GetEnumerator();
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Once you have entered a search for archival descriptions, you will see a screen displaying all of the descriptions which matched your search criteria.
The information provided in the search results will inclu de the title of the fonds, series and collections; a schedule number (for government records only) and the dates of creation.
Click on a title for the full archival description.
You may also save archival descriptions from this page. Saved descriptions can be sent to an email account or saved as a file on your computer. See Saving and Emailing Selected Records.
When you select a particular archival description, you will find information about the fonds, series or collection you have selected.
How much material is it?
Who created these records? This will be a link to the record creator information about the person, organization, Manitoba government entity or Hudson's Bay Company entity. In cases where there the records had multiple creators over time, there will be multiple links.
For what purpose were they created?
When were the records created?
A link to an online list of the records, where available. For government records, this will be a list of all accessions of records in the series, including the dates and extent for each.
Information about whether or not the records are available through the Microfilm Loan Program.
You may save the archival description by clicking 'save this record'. See Saving and Emailing Selected Records for more information.
For more information on how archival records are organized, please see How Archival Records Are Organized.


A nose while richly complex, retains harmonious subtlety; suggestive of a wine that's in balance with itself and its season. Floral, lemon & lime zest, combine with savoury notes of fresh straw and oyster shell, with a frame of oak that retains focus on the vineyard.
Powerful fruit presence is kept in check by a graceful acid seam that builds to a lingering mineral finish which echoes long on the palate. Poised texture is an outstanding feature of this delicate, yet focussed wine.


St. John Stonehouse cordially invites you to have one of the most relaxing, beautiful and exciting vacations of a lifetime. You'll be enchanted from the moment you drive through the gate into this private tropical retreat. this home's native stone walls and accents give it a truly eclectic feel.
Located on St. John, Virgin Islands "Stonehouse" is a luxury home rental set with a spectacular view of Coral Bay Harbor.
When you think vacation home we want you to think of St John Stonehouse. Our two bedroom home is actually "made of stone" – all centered on a large rotunda overlooking Coral Bay and your own private pool. You will feel like you are in a castle. Sit back and enjoy our outdoor lighting and enjoy a glass of wine and look at the night sky.
Our luxury vacation home on St John has everything you need to have a perfect vacation, with outdoor music, beach towels, beach chairs you only need your bathing suit. If you feel like cooking we feature a fully equipped kitchen, outdoor grill, three dining areas to enjoy your meals at while watching the blue waters of Coral Bay. If you get a little sunburned... no problem we have aloe growing all over the property to sooth your burn. Private and secluded and yet five minutes to great restaurants or beaches.
Looking for the most beautiful island vacation you could imagine? If you have never been to St. John Virgin Islands you are missing that beautiful vacation spot you have always dreamed of. St. John is located a few hours from most eastern airports. It is a quiet island because it is a little hard to get to which is what we like. Two thirds of St. John is National Park it is undeveloped and lovely like any postcard or calendar you have ever seen.
Enjoy the pristine beaches for the crystal clear water, snorkeling, diving and soft white sand. There are dozens of public beaches, lots of boating and sunset cruises to enjoy. The average temperature all year is 85 so anytime is a good time to visit. If you are looking for a place to get away from it all – St John is the place for you. There is also great dining all over the island – so sit back and enjoy some island seafood. Watch a sunset and unwind.
Living Room – Ceiling fan | cable TV | DVD player | CD player | with hook up for your Ipod. Stereo features indoor and outdoor speakers. Outdoor lighting on timers help make your evening arrivals easy.
Kitchen – Granite Countertops | Pots and Pans | dishes and silverware | coffee-maker | blender | toaster | gas stove | oven | toaster-oven | microwave | dishwasher| full size refrigerator with freezer| washer | dryer | ceiling fan | flashlights. Dining area – has seating for six including place mats and candlesticks.
Master Bedroom – Beautiful iron king size four poster bed | air conditioner | ceiling fan | alarm clock | private flower covered terrace| private bathroom with open stone shower | all linens and towels. Bedroom faces the water with three beautiful arched windows to drink in the sunrise.
Second Master Bedroom – Hand painted queen four poster bed | air conditioner | ceiling fan | dresser | built-in bookcase | private walk out to patio seating area | private bathroom with open stone shower | all linens and towels | Bedroom faces water with three stone arched windows.
Outdoor Rotunda – Two wicker sofas | Hammock | gas grill | beautiful maintained outdoor plants | two ceiling fans | outdoor lighting | outdoor speakers.
Pool – Outdoor chaise lounge chairs | dining table and chairs | pool is maintained by pool care company – outdoor bathroom with shower. Other items – Beach chairs | coolers | beach towels.


text:
The new downtown restaurant Rossoblu will have a basement butcher box (charcuterie!)
One of the many salumi plates that will be served at Rossoblu, an Italian restaurant opening May 17 in downtown L.A.
(Rossoblu)
By Hillary Eaton
Los Angeles is poised for some major restaurant openings in 2017. Perhaps one of the most anticipated is chef Steve Samson's Rossoblu, set to open in downtown's gorgeous new City Market South development on May 17. While Samson has earned a following for his perfectly blister-flecked, wood-fired pizzas at Sotto, his Southern Italian restaurant in Pico-Robertson, you will not find a single pie on the menu at Rossoblu. Instead, Samson's newest project will allow him to flex other muscles, crafting a menu that reads as an ode to the Italian cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy.
Why Rossoblu
Samson's connection to Emilia-Romagna runs deep. The region is home to his favorite soccer team, F.C. Bologna, referred to by fans as rossoblu (after the team's red and blue colors). It's also the place he spent his childhood summers with his mother's family. Each summer he grew more enamored with the food and culture that would one day drive him to abandon a prospective career as a doctor to become a chef.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ_CPxNB-P8/?taken-by=rossoblula
There will be pasta
Dishes at Rossoblu will be modeled after the cooking of Samson's grandparents. Samson will focus equally on handmade pastas and an extensive in-house charcuterie and butchery program.
"My grandmother was always the one who would make the pasta growing up," Samson said. "But whenever we would go to the mountains, my grandfather would build a fire in the fireplace and cook all the meat. Things like fresh sausages and pork chops, cooking over this little grill in the fire. Just very simple. So that's what we modeled the restaurant after."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKi9dDSgrCI/?taken-by=rossoblula
The beautifully designed space is large enough to easily seat 100 people in its sprawling outdoor patio and private dining room, but it's in the basement that you'll find the beating heart of Rossoblu in the form of a pasta workshop and butcher box. Both rooms are walled in glass so you can watch as paper-thin sheets of pasta are rolled out to join ragu bolognese or a rope of salumi or a freshly butchered rib-eye is hung to age.
Charcuterie made in-house
"We're going to make our own sausage and salumi and bring in whole animals," said Samson. "We'll also try and use every piece, one way or another." To do so, Samson tapped famed butcher and charcuterie expert Michael Sullivan, alum of the esteemed Blackberry Farms, to get the heritage meat heavy charcuterie program up and running. Expect to find a Los Angeles salumi board with felino, sotto cenere, coppa and testa as well as an Emilia-Romagna board with mortadella, prosciutto crudo and stracchino.
Chef Steve Samson checks in on some meat in the butcher locker at Rossoblu. (Rossoblu)
But just because they have the space and resources to make everything in-house doesn't mean they will. "My philosophy is always, don't make anything unless you can't buy it better," said Samson. "You shouldn't make something just for the sake of making it."
Beyond the charcuterie program, you can expect simply grilled, whole local seafood such as Santa Barbara spot prawns with roe, herbs and lemon bread crumbs, as well as a 40-day dry-aged rib-eye cooked over the coals.
Rossoblu will also house a wood-burning hearth complete with a cross for roasting whole aged ducks, chickens and, fingers crossed, suckling pigs — a type of pig that, while common in Europe, can be challenging to find in the states. Luckily, Samson's got a guy.
Steve Samson will open Rossoblu in downtown L.A. later this month. (Frank Wonho Lee )
While Rossoblu does have a menu inspired by the Emilia-Romagna region, Samson hopes people will see it as an L.A. restaurant as much as it is Italian.
"I don't want it to be just another Italian restaurant, not that that's a bad thing," said Samson. "I want Rossoblu to tell my story, and my story is just as much about Los Angeles because I grew up in L.A.
"This is my once in a lifetime restaurant," Samson continued. "If it doesn't work out, I'll be OK. I'll go back and make pizza or something. But we decided to go big."
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'Kiwi Queen' Frieda Caplan, produce-industry pioneer, dies at 96
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Filipinos love their food and yes they definitely should!
The traditional events such as various colorful festivals , family fiesta is a combination of different culinary influences and flavors drawn from numerous cultures. In fact, the number of Filipino cuisine is a reflection of the Philippine's rich history.
Today I'll be talking about my fresh culinary trip to the seafood capital of the Philippines— Roxas City, Capiz.
This trip was made possible by non other than the amazing team of Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (TPB) who gathered a number of social media travel influencers, bloggers, writers and journalists to experience and be astonished by what Roxas City, Capiz is truly made of.
Here you'll find a TPB inspired itinerary for your next adventure to the Seafood Capital of the Philippines.
Cafe Terraza is situated at Pueblo Panay, up on a hill where you can enjoy your coffee with an overlooking view of the whole Roxas City.
Another version of the same Cafe can also be found at the corner of Pueblo de Panay's intersection named as Plant Farm- Pueblo de Panay where cuisines are served inside a hispanic inspired restaurant or you may also opt to enjoy a unique dining experience by the pond outdoors.
Here you may enjoy dining with a view. The place also offers a diverse array of culinary influences such as Chinese, Malay, Hispanic and some Western cuisine.
Best for road trips with family or with friends. I recommend you come here early in the morning before you begin your tour around Roxas city or for sunset chasers like me, come before the sun begins to bid it's good bye as the moon replaces the view for earthlings under a starry night.
Another stop you can take. Here you can light up candles as you pray and devote your self to our dearest Creator. People would usually come here during the Holy week and other religious events for that matter. Getting here would require you to bring your own vehicle or take a public tricycle to reach the top. A giant image of the Sacred heart of Jesus awaits on top of this hill.
Here you'll find the well kept collections of the Roxas clan.
A house around the corner was also said to be the birthplace of Manuel Roxas.
Most historical artifacts of Capiznon people or the locals of Roxas Capiz are to be found here.
A super unique experience for metro people like me. Imagine you and your loved ones having lunch with fresh seafood at the table, like crabs, baked oysters, shrimp, fish and a lot more while being serenaded by local Capiznon singers in a floating 'Kubo' (floating cottage) and a tour around Cadamihan River.
As you begin enjoying your sweet fruits after the main course, an educational demonstration of how crabs are caught and oysters are manually multiplied is being taught by a local Capiznon aboard your floating cottage.
I've never had anything as authentic as this experience in Panay other than what Palina Greenbelt Eco-park gave us that day. It was wholesome, serene, very much intellectual and scrumptious tour.
Highly recommended for Family gatherings and Big 'barkada' getaways.
TPB took us here to witness the biggest Catholic Bell church in Asia. To see it for ourselves we had to climb the stairs inside a tower full of bats (Don't worry, a tour guide will be present while you're on your way to the top of the tower, everything's safe.), a tall dimmed tower with a sunlight peeking on top of it, asking every curious heart to discover the biggest bell in Asia.
The Holy Ground Cafe is found in front of the Pan-ay Church. Your choice if you want to enjoy your sweet sticky rice with a hot cup of pure chocolate or a native coffee prepared by locals.
Best Hot choco by the way!
Something that will make your hearts beat fast. Have you ever tried catching milk fish with your bare hands? That's what Singuin offers!
Here the tourists or travelers may choose to harvest their meal for the evening, may it be fish or crab. Crab harvest and crab tying demo is also presented by locals here before you head to dinner. It's like a 'farm to table' experience, only that this time you'll harvest live fishes and crabs before you devour them on your plates during dinner.
The Singuin Experience isn't open for the public yet. The Operators said that they are formally opening this to the public anytime this 2019. As for alternative, you may also have dinner in Bay-bay Roxas Capiz where fresh seafood cuisines are served in huge portions, not to mention the sound of the waves while you dine and the view of the beach.
Our one day tour of Roxas Capiz ends here. If you're wondering how I feel about this trip, I'd have to insist that this is one for the books. As someone who was born in Metro Iloilo yet was raised in Manila, following this itinerary will open your hearts to immerse your self to more cultural based trips and not just go spend time on random tours with taking photos for social media as your main goal.
Go beyond that, travel should make you grow as a person. I mean, what I'm saying is, this trip totally enticed me to go beyond what's mainstream and involve my self with locals. Get to know how they live and understand the deeper meaning of the language they speak, what their hearts are composed of, how cuisines are cooked and know the history of a wonderful tale behind every mouthwatering dish in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines.
Stay tuned for my next travel blogs as I share more delicious tales about Capiz: A Panay Loop Tour.
Stay safe during your adventures!


Wherein the FRC received a draft on a new Alchemist Class. Chris Seals replaced Brad Evenson on the Special Task Force. Northern Alabama Chapter has been contacted by the "Let's Connect North Alabama" podcast. The Board recommends that the Optional Character Abilities (OCA) remain in the rulebook appendices as optional rules, which chapters can choose to allow if their members are interested.
The 8/15/18 Society Board Meeting was called to order at 8:01 p.m. Eastern Time, via Discord. Present were Board Members John Jones, Brad Evenson, Sarah Gibson, Hugh Greene, Olan Knight, Pat McGehearty, and David Spence. Sarah Gibson arrived late. David Gibson and Society Clerk Janice Gott arrived late. Melanie Greene from the Northern Alabama Chapter, Bret Halford from the Denver/Boulder Chapter, Allie Englerth from Dallas Chapter and Shelly Ralston from ORV Chapter also attended.
MINUTES: MOTION: To approve the minutes of the 7/18/18 Board Meeting (Evenson, Knight, by acclaim).
RATIFICATION OF IN-BETWEEN MEETING MOTION: As Brad Evenson had to resign from the Special Task Force, to accept the recommendation of the Task Force to assign Chris Seals as the third member (Knight, Spence, by acclaim).
FRC REPORT: The FRC has received a draft of a new character class submitted by Hugh Greene, the Alchemist Class.
SSC REPORT: No new activity.
REGISTRY: Knight communicated with the Central Ohio Provisional Chapter clarifying how chapter status is modified.
GENERAL PROMOTIONS: Gibson reports no new info from LARP box. Greene says NAL has been contacted by the "Let's Connect North Alabama" podcast. Greene says he will probably be interviewed and asked for info that he should try to provide. Attendees made various suggestions about what topics to discuss.
CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW TASK FORCE: Greene will write the final amendments proposal and submit it to the Board prior to the November Society election.
CHAPTER LIAISON UPDATES: Denver/Boulder Chapter has interest being shown on Facebook in reviving the chapter for the first time in a while. Greene suggests that people contact older members in the Atlanta area both for participation and to perhaps start another chapter in that section of CONUS.
CHARACTER CREATION SYSTEM: Spence suggests that the Optional Character Abilities are, in fact, the core of the proposed Society-level Character Creation system. Dallas has had this system in place for over three years as they are playtesting the Optional Character Abilities rules. He asked the Board whether the Board would like the FRC to go ahead and move to a set of rules that are a character creation system. McGehearty noted that the OCA characters are more powerful, and the corresponding NPCs need to be more powerful. Spence said the FRC is currently including the OCA in the Rulebook appendix as optional rules. Evenson suggests that the OCAs be accepted or declined at the Chapter level. Greene notes that in new chapters there are so many new people that there is enough of a struggle to learn the regular rules. Evenson said that at the last few D/B Chapter games there was also little interest in them. Dallas Chapter, on the other hand, has been running many games and players are looking for more variety. Spence noted that converting a high level character has a higher learning curve than starting a new character in the new rules. Knight observed that if someone does not have the Rules down cold, the OCAs can be overwhelming. Jones suggests that Dallas can keep refining the system, and other chapters can pick it up if and when they are ready. The Board concurred that they should remain as optional rules.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Board moved into an executive session at 8:39 p.m. They exited the executive session at 8:46 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: The next Board Meeting will be on Wednesday September 12th. Times for the meeting are 5 pm Pacific, 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, and 8 pm EST. The meeting will be held on Discord. The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 pm EST.


How did African-American slaves view their white masters? As demons, deities or another race entirely? When nineteenth-century white Americans proclaimed their innate superiority, did blacks agree? If not, why not? How did blacks assess the status of the white race? Mia Bay traces African-American perceptions of whites between 1830 and 1925 to depict America's shifting attitudes about race in a period that saw slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, and urban migration.
Much has been written about how the whites of this time viewed blacks, and about how blacks viewed themselves. By contrast, the ways in which blacks saw whites have remained a historical and intellectual mystery. Reversing the focus of such fundamental studies as George Fredrickson's The Black Image in the White Mind, Bay investigates this mystery. In doing so, she uncovers and elucidates the racial thought of a wide range of nineteenth-century African-Americans--educated and unlettered, male and female, free and enslaved.
Mia Bay is Assistant Professor of History and Co-Director of the Center for Historical Analysis at Rutgers University.