On this date in 1899, Charlotte Reiniger was born in Berlin. As a child she was fascinated with the Chinese art of paper cutting of silhouette puppetry, and even built her own puppet theatre so that she could put on shows for her family and friends. She later studied at Charlottenburger Waldschule, the first open-air school, where she learned the art of scherenschnitte, the German art of silhouette, inspired by the ancient Chinese art. As a teenager, Reiniger developed a love of cinema, including the films of Paul Wegener, a German actor, writer, and director. She enrolled in the acting group to which Wegener belonged and began by making costumes and props and working backstage for Wegener's play productions. She made silhouette portraits of her classmates and the actors around her. In 1918, Reiniger animated wooden rats and the intertitles for Wegener's Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Pied Piper of Hamelin). She was admitted into the Institut für Kulturforschung (Institute for Cultural Research) and began animating films of her own. With the rise of the Nazi Party, Reiniger and her husband tried to emigrate, but they couldn't get permanent visas, so they moved from country to country, working with filmmakers wherever they were. They made twelve films during this period. They later were able to settle in London. Reiniger's black silhouettes are a popular aesthetic referenced in modern films and art. Disney Studios used the multiplane camera extensively in films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Old Mill, based on the technology that Reiniger originally developed. Awards are given in her name, and her works are included in permanent exhibitions in European museums. Credit: https://w.wiki/6t7j Photo: Christel Strobel, 1922 Free Work https://w.wiki/Qa9H I joined the A ride. There were dozens of riders at the start, all but four of us for the B ride. I've ridden over the hill to Lexington Reservoir several times, but never in both directions, I think. I was sorely tempted to bail out once we got to Summit Road, knowing the climb back up from the reservoir is a challenge, even if not as big or steep as Mountain Charlie. It was a lot, but I was glad I stuck with the club route to the end. Again I rode the Straggler. A friend questioned that decision before I started, but I just said, "It's hard to give up that low gear!" And I did enjoy being able to keep a reasonable cadence on the steep stuff.