Animated Ancestors

The Glasgow City Council has added Scrooge McDuck to its list of famous Glaswegians.

[A spokeswoman said:] "We have carried out some research and were delighted to discover that Scrooge McDuck hails from Glasgow."

McDuck's nationality is obvious given his surname and his lugubrious Scottish brogue, but his hometown remained a mystery. But an obscure US comic called The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck, published in 1996, depicts the eponymous web-footed hero growing up as a humble shoeshine boy in Glasgow, which is shown as a grey metropolis of smoking chimneys and cobbled streets. [Link]

In case you're interested, here's the Duck family tree. Like mine, it has its share of loons and coots.

Four-Fingered Forebears

The Simpsons have the most extensive fictional family tree I've ever seen. Published in The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album, it reveals that Homer's 3rd-great-grandfather's sister married the brother of Mr. Burns' 2nd-great-grandmother, and that Lisa Simpson really does have Native American ancestors (though perhaps not of the Hitachi tribe). (Marge's ever-so-French ancestry—summarized here—also appears in the book.)

Godzilla Genealogy Bop

Ever wonder how Ernest Borgnine is related to Godzilla? The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 explain:

Spider-Mensch

It was debated in an episode of Seinfeld Friends whether "Spiderman" is a Jewish name. Now comes confirmation.

“Peter Parker’s a nerd who grew up in Forest Hills, his middle name is Benjamin and he’s motivated by guilt…I see a connection,” jokes Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, author of “Up, Up, And Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero."

Weinstein’s suspicions about Spider-Man were confirmed when he came across golden age comic book illustrator Patti Cochran, who told him that the Marvel Comics editorial staff always worked off the belief that Peter Parker was Jewish. [Link]

Genograms: They Work for Cartoons, Too

A recent post at Megan's Roots World mentioned genograms, which put me in mind of a shareware program called GenoPro that lets you diagram your family's dysfunction quickly and easily.

A GenoPro genogram can be a simple family tree with some additional medical information, or a complex web of diseased relations and regrettable affairs. Every sort of relationship is allowed—including "Non-sentimental cohabitation" and "Temporary relation/One night stand." You can also specify the emotional relationship between any two individuals, whether healthy (In Love, Best Friends) or unhealthy (Hostile, Indifferent/Apathetic). Even pets can be listed—in which case being "In Love" might also be unhealthy.

Here's a quick example I threw together for the Simpsons. As you can see, Homer and Marge are very much in love, but Homer has a "Close-Violent" relationship with his son ("The two individuals have frequent contacts, yet argue and have violent behavior when together"). Communication is limited between Homer and daughter Maggie, probably because of "lifestyle differences." And Bart and Lisa's relationship is characterized by distrust—as is that between the family's dog and the latest incarnation of their cat. I've colored one corner of Homer's symbol blue to signify an ongoing addiction to alcohol. Dead pets are omitted.

GenoPro is free to use for 30 days, and free to own for $39.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

So Much for the Nuclear Family

If you're wondering how to fit someone into your family tree who doesn't really belong—like Grandpa's "housekeeper" who never seems to do any vacuuming—check out the Star Wars Family Tree at Amazon.com. You'll learn that even Wookiees and droids have a place in the modern intergalactic family.

[tagged: genealogy]

Jughead Genealogy

From Comic Book Resources:

TRAVEL THROUGH TIME WITH ARCHIE & FRIENDS

by Arune Singh, Staff Writer
Posted: December 9, 2005

[snip]

One long-time mainstay of the Archie stories have been those stories which place the familiar Archie Comics characters in historical situations. Through the ages, "ancestors" of Archie and his friends have been through it all. Whether cavemen avoiding dinosaurs, ancient philosophers, medieval royalty, explorers discovering new worlds, inventors creating new innovations, lawmen in the old west, or simply Americans in an earlier decade, the Archie teens have reflected upon and kidded past history.

This April, a trio of stories built around historical themes is sure to carry on the Archie Comics tradition of thrills and laughter! BETTY #155, ships 4/5. 32-page, full color comic, $2.25 US. "Family Glee": Researching her family tree, Betty can't help but imagine if there were Archies and Veronicas in her ancestors' lives! SCRIPT: George Gladir. ART: Stan Goldberg.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Real Fake Families

Not all fake family trees are repugnant. With the fourth Harry Potter movie coming out Friday, I'm obliged to point out the Potter family tree at Wikipedia, and Random Genealogy's list of other Harry Potter genealogical links.

About Genealogy has links to other fictional family trees, as does Wikipedia. soapcentral.com has family trees from all the afternoon shows.

For those whose literary tastes extend beyond Hogwarts, William Faulkner on the Web offers family trees of the Bundren, Compson, McCaslin, Sartoris, Snopes, and Sutpen clans—as well as Faulkner's own genealogy. And the confounding Buendía family from the weird and wonderful One Hundred Years of Solitude is mapped out on Oprah's website.

Return of the Jedi GEDCOM

The good folks at German Roots have provided an updated genealogy of Luke Skywalker.

The Soundex Code for "Skywalker" is S426.

A search of the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names database shows that "Leia" was the 910th most popular name for girls born in 1978—the year after the original Star Wars movie was released. "Luke" has been rising in rank for decades. "Obi-wan" has never reached the top 1,000.

Ancestry.com asks "Is it possible 'The Force' may be in your bloodline as well?" Those anxious to find an online midi-chlorian-detection service will be disappointed to discover this is just a marketing ploy. Users can check to see if their surnames appear in the family trees of Star Wars actors, and then sign up for more info. The site promises only that you "might be related" to one of these actors—an important qualification, given that sharing a surname is no guarantee of common ancestry. (Those tempted by the offer of a 14-day free trial membership should be forewarned of the company's automatic renewal policy. Beware: the Empire grows stronger every day.)