How many piercings and tattoos does Natasha Kai have?

“How many piercings and tattoos does Natasha Kai have?” This inquiry required a follow-up by the Newton Falls Public Library staff, as we weren’t familiar with the lady in question. The patron informed us that Natasha is a soccer player. She is also a member of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and 2008 gold medal winner. Checking the library’s catalog showed that Mia Hamm is the only female soccer player about whom we have a book.

The online search began with finding out more about Natasha Kai, a 25-year-old from Hawaii. The Team USA website [http://soccer.teamusa.org] states that she has 19 tattoos. The U.S. Soccer site [http://ussoccer.com] concurs, noting her famous ‘sleeve’ tattoo and the newest one which is stars on the back of her neck.

ESPN Soccer [http://soccernet.espn.go.com] mentions her multiple piercings but does not give a count. None of the previously mentioned websites gives any information about her piercings, though we can see from the photograph on the U.S. Soccer site that both ears and her bottom lip are pierced. Other than several websites mentioning facial piercings, none gave an exact number for us to tell our patron. However, the staff did learn some very interesting information about Natasha, whose full name is Natasha Kanani Janine Kai. The oldest child of her father who is a professional singer/performer at the Polynesian Cultural Center of Oahu and Hawaiian history teacher and her mother who is also a teacher, she is the first player from Hawaii to play on the Women's National Team and a Women's World Cup Team. There is a very interesting online video with Natasha from USSoccer.com on You Tube [www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrs-0L6NNcc]; she speaks about playing soccer and her family.

Tattoos are a subject about which other patrons often make inquiries, especially those considering ideas for their body art. The library’s collection has several books on the topic, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo by John Reardon, Tattoos and Body Piercing by Leanne K. Currie-McGhee, and Ink: the not-just-skin-deep guide to getting a tattoo and The Tattoo Encyclopedia: a guide to choosing your tattoo both by Terisa Green. Many considering tattoos look at the books on calligraphy for inspiration such as Chinese Calligraphy Made Easy: a structured course in creating beautiful brush lettering by Rebecca Yue and The Calligrapher's Bible: 100 complete alphabets and how to draw them by David Harris. One of the library’s many art books may also be a source of creative ideas for those considering getting a tattoo.

Can Tropical Birds Survive in Ohio?

“I heard that birds like cockatiels and parakeets can’t survive outside in Ohio. Why not, they’re birds; they have feathers like the other birds and they do live in the wild somewhere.” The Newton Falls Public Library patron asking the question went on to explain that they are trying to catch a cockatiel which they spotted flying outside their home, and a few years ago her husband climbed the roof to have a parakeet land on his hand. The library staff hasn’t had a bird question since our insistent cardinal last spring so it was fun looking into this one.

Parakeets and cockatiels are both small parrots. In Cockatiels: everything about acquisition, care, nutrition, and diseases by Annette Wolter [p.60] it states that they are from Australia and are used to dry heat, where the temperatures can range from 86 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the day to below freezing at night. Slow changes in temperature do not bother them, but sudden drops can cause sickness and death. According to Birds for Dummies by Gina Spadafori and Brian L. Speer, what we commonly refer to as a parakeet is actually a budgerigar or budgie, also from Australia. The latter book gives advice on what to do if your bird escapes, including the hint to leave its cage outside with the door open as it may decide to return home. In the section on escaping birds, there is a note of encouragement to owners of missing birds to not give up hope as some birds are “found after months ‘on wing’” [p. 131].

Remembering that both budgerigars and cockatiels are wild birds as well as pets, the staff also examined some of the library’s collection of wild bird books including Birds of the World: a photographic guide and Birds--their life, their ways, their world. While the photographs in the first are fantastic, Birds--their life, their ways, their world has more detailed information including what they feed upon when not in captivity. Vegetables are the primary food of the parrots’ diet, though budgerigars seem to prefer seeds, and both will also eat some fruits, berries and insects. This would seem to answer our patron’s question in that some birds do manage to survive, as long as the changes in temperature are not too extreme and there are sources of acceptable food.

I Need a Form for . . .

“I need a form for the dissolution of my marriage.” “Do you have information on how to write a living will?” “I’m looking for a survivorship deed.” While the staff of the Newton Falls Public Library cannot give legal advice, we can direct people to resources which might assist them in making their decisions.

Some of the books are Ohio specific: Divorce in Ohio: a people's guide to marriage, divorce, dissolution, spousal support, child custody, child support, visitation rights by John Gilchrist and Ohio Forms and Transactions. Consider using How to Write Your Own Living Will by Edward A. Haman. This book includes detailed information for each state as well as forms, and the statutes and laws governing living wills. The online version of the Ohio Revised Code [http://codes.ohio.gov] also has some useful form guidelines. For example, “3701-62-04 Do-not-resuscitate identification” has information needed in case of a medical emergency. Couse's Ohio Form Book, in the library’s reference collection, has a variety of deed formats, including the statutory form of survivorship deed.

The library also has more general books available such as The Complete Book of Personal Legal Forms: + CD-ROM by Mark Warda, James C. Ray, 101 Law Forms for Personal Use by Ralph Warner & Robin Leonard and Everyday Legal forms and Agreements Made E-Z compiled by Mario D. German. There are books for such specific topics as starting and running a small business and non-profits, registering trademarks and copyrights, landlord and tenant agreements, child custody, and pre-nuptials.

These library resources are a place to begin getting information when dealing with legal questions, but in many cases it would be wise to also contact an attorney. For low income and senior Ohioans, Community Legal Aid Services, Inc. [http://www.communitylegalaid.org] is a non-profit law firm serving the legal needs of those in Columbiana, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne Counties.

UFOs in Trumbull County?

“I was watching a television show about UFOs and it said that one been sighted in Trumbull County. Can you find me some information about it?” This question may not be any more alien than ones about the other type of flying objects, such as witches, pumpkins, ghosts, turkeys, sleighs and reindeer, that the Newton Falls Public Library staff answer in late autumn and early winter.

We could not find information in books such as The Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters: a definitive, illustrated A-Z guide to all things alien or any of the library’s other Unidentified Flying Object books. Ohio UFOs & Extraterrestrials: a look at the sightings & science in our state by Carole Marsh can be borrowed through our TiPL [Trumbull Independent Public Library Consortium] online catalog. The Newton Falls Public Library staff will be happy to assist you in placing a hold on this or other UFO materials at our library, or the public libraries of Bristol, Girard, Hubbard, Kinsman and McKinley (Niles).

The show our patron had watched was the History Channel’s UFO Hunters’ [www.history.com/] program UFO Emergency. On December 14, 1994 Trumbull County police departments started getting 911 calls of strange lights in the sky. This incident is mentioned on many websites. UFO Research: Cincinnati! [http://kenny.anomalyresponse.org/Trumbull_Q_and_A.htm] reports: “The incident actually began before 12:01 a.m. in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 14, 1994. Before midnight, the Trumbull County 9-1-1 center had already logged several UFO reports from residents near the Sampson Road vicinity. Curiously, UFOs were reported in the area the previous evening, as well as two weeks prior. Where, exactly, did this occur? In an area within Liberty Township, about 4-miles north of Youngstown, surrounded by Weathersfield Township to the west, Vienna Township to the north and Hubbard Township to the east.”

According to Internet sites there have been numerous incidents of UFO sightings in our county. The first we found was Rense.com [www.rense.com/general4/ohio.htm] which reported that on April 17, 1966 a low flying object was seen traveling from Portage County on through Trumbull County to Pennsylvania. This site also included the Trumbull sightings of December 14, 1994 in Liberty Township, July 22, 2000 on Rt. 11 between East Liverpool and Ashtabula, and September 9, 2000 when one traveled from Ravenna to Girard. UFO Hunter Bill Birnes also refers to these 2000 sightings on his UFO Hunters’ blog, Bill’s Blog. [www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=60818&display_order=4&mini_id=57826]

Is It Harebrained or Hairbrained?

“I know this may sound odd. I was telling someone about something that was harebrained; then I wondered where that expression came from and if it is spelled harebrained or hairbrained?” The Newton Falls Public Library staff enjoys answering questions and finds ones about words and language to be intriguing.

According to A Dictionary of American Idioms by Adam Makkai, M.T. Boatner, and J.E. Gates, this thoughtless and foolish meaning word is spelled harebrained. Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner refers those looking under hairbrained to see harebrained; “hairbrained is the common blunder. The misspelling falls just short of being what it attempts to denote” [p. 398].

While we know the spelling, that still doesn’t explain where the expression came from. It seemed logical to try A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, but it only had three hare words – hare, hare fly and hare-lip sucker (a species of sucker). The thirteen volumes of The Oxford English Dictionary was the resource we should have checked first. There it states that harebrayne was used in a book written in 1550 and denoted someone who had “a brain like a hare’s, or no more brain than a hare; a giddy or reckless person” [v. 5, p. 91]. Around the turn of the 16th century the spelling seems to have changed to harebrain. The website World Wide Words [www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hai1.htm] also discusses the question of the use ‘hare’ vs. ‘hair’ over the centuries. The author, Michael Quinion ultimately recommends going with harebrained.

Out of curiosity, the staff used a search engine to see how harebrain(ed) appears online. In Minnesota there is a company named Harebrain Inc. which developed an acoustical voice-feedback headset called WhisperPhone. On MySpace.com there is a music group from Oregon,
Ky & HareBrain Media. Master Shortrod Harebrain, a jealous husband, is a character in A Mad World, My Masters, a Jacobean stage play written by Thomas Middleton. This “comedy first performed around 1605 and first published in 1608. (The title is proverbial, and was used by a pamphleteer, Nicholas Breton, in 1603)” [http://www.wikipedia.com/]. You can contact Dave Carter, Founder of Harebrained Schemes, LLC. at www.harebrained.com. Harebrained Films, Holidays, and Shop at Etsy can be found on the Internet as well as harebrained tax schemes at www.irs.gov.

How Long and How Far Can Horses Run?

“I was watching a western and in it the horses seemed able to run a long time. How far or how long can horses actually run in a day?” The first place the Newton Falls Public Library staff checked was in the library’s collection of horse books. Both Horses for Dummies by Audrey Pavia and The Complete Horse Book had sections about endurance racing. In this type of competition, the horse and rider attempt to cover a set number of miles in the shortest time. Most consist of 50 – 100 mile per day rides, or multi-day rides covering 50 miles a day over four to six days. A special endurance saddle is used as the rider has to spend long periods of time sitting on it. According to The Encyclopedia of the Horse by Elwyn Hartley Edwards [p.356], in 1919 “the United States Cavalry conducted endurance tests to assess the quality of . . . horses as remounts.” They had to cover 300 miles in 5 days, while carrying 200-245 pounds.

Searching online for farthest running horse brings up a website [www.frankhopkins.com] which includes an article written by Anthony Amaral in Western Horseman Magazine [1969],“Frank Hopkins. . . Best of Endurance Riders?” Frank Hopkins rode in approximately 400 endurance races including in 1890 a 3,000 mile one in Arabia on the western mustang, Hidalgo, against Arabian desert horses. In the “Brains Plus Endurance" by Charles B. Roth [The Horse–Official Journal of the U.S. Remount Service 1935], Hopkins is quoted saying he once rode a horse 124 miles in 20 hours. Today there are very strict rules and training guidelines for those wishing to participate in endurance riding. Depending on the event, qualifying rides may be required, as well as mandatory stops for veterinary checks of the animals. More information can be learned about the classic races in The Complete Horse Book and the Equiworld website [www.equiworld.net/endurance].

One of the most memorable uses of endurance running by men was the Pony Express. From April 1860 to October 1861, the riders carried mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. In Stagecoaches and the Pony Express by Sally Senzell Isaacs, the horses usually only ran 10 miles at a time, while riders rode about 75 miles before passing on the saddlebag.

Should I Turn My Heat Off or Lower the Thermostat?

“To conserve energy and save money, should I turn my heat off or just lower the thermostat when I leave for work?” Like everyone today, the Newton Falls Public Library staff can understand the economic need of conserving energy.

The appropriately named book, This Cold House: the simple science of energy efficiency by Colin Smith was the first place we looked. Smith suggests setting your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature in the winter. “Heating costs are reduced by about 2% for every 1% F reduction in settings [p. 189].” Information about different heating systems, insulation, and basic equations to assist homeowners in determining possible savings are included. The use of ceiling fans to blow and circulate warmer air can make people feel more comfortable.

The library has two new books about home energy savings, Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings by Jennifer Thorne Amann, Alex Wilson and Katie Ackerly and Save Energy Save Money: 201 do-it-yourself projects, tips, and ideas by Family Handyman. The Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings includes practical information about ways to reduce costs and offers additional ideas at their website www.consumerreports.org/energy. The site has numerous calculators for things such as determining the most economical insulation level for your home and how much money a programmable thermostat will save. The Family Handyman book addresses the misconception that lowering the thermostat requires more energy to reheat the house; when in fact the fuel saved by the dropping temperature is about equal to the amount used restoring it, so the time spent at the lower temperature is reducing your energy use. “Studies show you can cut cost by as much as 20 percent by lowering your thermostat 5 degrees F at night and 10 degrees during the day when no one is home [p.66].”

You can also conserve your energy and save money by visiting the library. With one stop, you can borrow books, audiobooks, movies, CDs, CD-Roms for your computer, magazines, newspapers, and access the Internet from the Wi-Fi computers. There are programs such as story times, craft programs, movie events, and book discussions. Travel back in time when you visit the Local History Room. Visiting the library is a great opportunity to share and learn more about your family, where they came from, and where they have lived. While a little dated, Oral History for the Local Historical Society by Willa K. Baum has excellent ideas on how to create an oral history, learning from older family members about their lives. Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood by Betsy J. Green is another interesting resource. In conjunction with Ms. Green’s book, the Haines directories and Sanborne Fire Insurance Maps (found in Ohio Web Library’s Genealogy section) will assist you in researching where your family has lived. If your family moved to Newton Falls during the growth of the steel mills, you might find it interesting to view the tools belonging to contractor Nicholas Risko. Mr. Risko built many of the homes for families who came during this era. A relative of the Longenberger family, Grandma Caroline Gamber [1836-1928], would be blushing to know that there is a display of her clothing, including undergarments, in the library’s Local History Room.