Digging Around the Old Family Tree

In May, the Dordt College Concert Choir will be touring in the Netherlands, about which I'm very excited. One stop, especially, is exciting to me -- Joure in Friesland is the home of virtually the entire Kornelis clan, at least as far back as Jacob Kornelis (1799-1890), who farmed near Joure. Jacob was the middle son of Wieberen Kornelis (1756-1822) and Wiegertje Halbes Kornelis; according to family lore, stubborn Frisian (redundant, I know) Wieberen,when forced under Napoleonic law in 1811 to choose a surname, said that "Kornelis was good enough" ... and so took it twice, becoming Wieberen Kornelis Kornelis, the first of a few "Dubbele" Kornelises. With thanks to my brother Ray, I've been exploring my roots a little bit. On paper it doesn't look all that impressive; then I consider that I'll be in the Netherlands with my own son, who can go back to his great-great-great-great-Grandfather Wieberen -- pretty cool.

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Milli Vanilli at the Obamanauguration

OK, so by now we all know that the great musicians selected to perform at the Obama inauguration were forced to "lip-sync" (and "bow-sync" and "hand-sync") because the extreme temperatures would have made their temperamental instruments ill-tempered (ie, out of tune). But now we can also know what they were really playing! Interesting that it's 4'33" -- John Cage would be so proud.