This might be it, but it's buried behind the Times Archives subscription.

Shelter Island / Sylvester Manor archeological dig

The Shelter Island dig is run by Umass.

I think this is the one I was thinking of. The oddness was that it was a slave-owning plantation in New York state, and the articles came from around 2003.

Here's some stuff on the excavations.

More on the dig from a different resource

I just wanna share a gracenote success story that has really warmed my heart.

A client came to me a few weeks ago, so depressed that life just didn't seem doable. She has so much going for her that her words of self-doubt seemed totally incongruent with reality...but that is the way she felt.

We talked several times before she finally came in...we worked hard and suddenly, without telling me, she quit her job. I was worried for her, but knew in my heart that it was the right choice...perhaps a bit sooner than I would have advised...

Today, she called to say that she took a new job (a week after quitting the old one) that will make her heart sing, reduce her commute by nearly 2 hours a day, and despite taking a pay cut, she actually makes money on reduced commuting costs.

She was so happy...and she said several times "I remembered what you said and it helped me to get through this."

This kind of thing doesn't just make my day...it makes my world. I love it.

Aww. That's great, Beej.

Sometimes a smile will make your day. Usually, it takes money or sex.

Bah. How frustrating that the interpretations of the dig are behind a pay wall.

Beej, that must just feel awesome.

That's beautiful Beej.

I think I have become a flake. Or I have to turn in my literacy card. I was supposed to be in Oakland for a 'new employee orientation' today. Somehow I decided that I needed to be there at 10. umm, no. 830. ( that is insane). I wasted my time. I look like a flake. There were public tears ( not in front of real people, but still) of anger. Then I got angry at DH , because I called him just to bitch - and he tried to fix the unfixable. Then I had to leave a message for my boss, just in case this matters to her( it shouldn't, this all happens on what is usually a non-working day) . I am sure that this will make no big deal difference in the long run, but I so rarely flake that this is really bugging me .

Congrats, Beej! That must feel really good.

Talk about psychic income, Beej!

Erin, my step-mother has had her high school students do a Shakespeare performance pretty much every year for the last 20 years - I could hook you guys up via email if you want; I'm sure she'd love to help.

I did R&J with 9th graders, about half of whom were ESL, but we just did scenes, not the whole thing. It was easier for them to learn their lines if they only had to learn manageable chunks. I made them responsible for learning lines and doing the preliminary blocking, costuming, and props, and then during class each group would perform their scene for feedback from the other students, basically workshopping. That was all before moving to the theater for the "real thing." It helped them with the stage fright to perform for small familiar groups first.

Also, what juliana said about stage fighting. Do not give these people swords or yardsticks or tennis rackets. (Although, the prep-school Hamlet with Laertes and Hamlet dueling with tennis rackets the seniors did was pretty good). Even if they can maintain in rehearsal (ha!) they'll get wired during performance, unless you have a professional, or a scary PE coach, or something.

R+J used guns for the weapons, but I don't recommend that either, as much as it would fit your idiom.

aw, beth, I'm sorry. I hate that flaky feeling... it really sucks.

Just keep telling yourself what you already know, that in the long run, this really doesn't matter. Everything's OK. Nothing is ruined.