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Until I Fall Cover Reveal + Giveaway
Title: Until I Fall
Author: Claudia Burgoa
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Cover Design: Hang Le
ER doctor, Aspen Zimmerman is no stranger to pain and loss. The tragic death of her fiancé catapults her life into a promise of healing–of being the best damn ER doctor her hospital has ever encountered. After all, it makes her feel like she's making a difference when she couldn't so long ago. And when her most beloved patient suffers horrifically, all Aspen cares about is healing her–even though her son has a special way of igniting a fire she thought fizzled out long ago.
As a private security officer, Anderson Hawkins puts everyone's life before his own. With his mother fighting for her life in the hospital, Anderson is hellbent on finding a way to save her. On the plus side, he gets to spend his time with a sexy and fiery ER doctor who would do anything for his mother. Though Aspen seems to be pulling back—away from any feelings she may have for him. Now, it's up to Anderson to prove that they can build a future together if they both let go of the past. Can Aspen trust her heart with someone when she already feels "dead on arrival?"
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is available on Amazon
Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so
mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled
a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands
of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new
She now lives in Colorado working for a small IT company,
managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two
daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he's the boss of the house.
To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting
through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the
last threads of sanity intact.
GOODREADS GROUP
There is a giveaway for 3 x $10 Amazon gift cards and 5 x ARCs of Until I Fall (8 winners)
Special Delivery Cover Reveal
by Judi Lynn
Pub Date: 11/7/2017
In Mill Pond, Indiana, neighbors
always look out for each other. And even though tourists are drawn to
the small town's charms, it's the locals who fill it with warmth
Traveling nurse Karli Redding doesn't
have many fond memories of her aging grandfather, Axel—or of Mill
Pond. But with Axel's health in decline and Karli on a month's
hiatus between jobs, she volunteers to set him up with the help he
needs. The house and her grandfather could both use some TLC. Good
thing Keagan Monroe, the very attractive mailman next door, is always
ready to lend a hand…
Not a lot slips by a mailman, and
Keagan appreciates Karli's dogged attempts to spruce up the
neglected property. Painting, fixing the sagging porch, delivering a
constant stream of casseroles from caring neighbors—he'll help
however he can, all while keeping his feelings under wraps. A
short-term fling just doesn't fit into his schedule. But with each
passing day, Karli's bond with the town grows a little deeper. Has
fate sent her exactly where she needs to be? Karli's willing to
find out, and the first step is figuring out the perfect route to
Keagan's heart…
Amazon * B&N * GooglePlay * Kobo * Apple
Judi Lynn received a
Master's Degree from Indiana University as an elementary school
teacher after attending the IPFW campus. She taught 1st, 2nd, and 4th
grades for six years before having her two daughters. She loves
gardening, cooking and trying new recipes. Readers can visit her
website at judithpostswritingmusings.com and
her blog writingmusings.com.
Website * Facebook * Blog
The Banker Cover Reveal + Giveaway
Title: The Banker
Series: Modern Love #3
Author: Piper Rayne
Cover Design: Djordje Grbic
Who knew my brother's friend could be Mr.
Right, and not just Mr. Right Now?
My brother refused to introduce me, so I blame him. If he'd just
caved, and introduced me to Jasper, I wouldn't be in this mess. I mean, really,
what's the big deal? I'm not interested in the guy's looks.
Oh no, I want his cold hard cash. (Be honest, you were expecting
that other four letter 'c' word weren't you?)
Now, before you go getting all judgy, I'm not a gold digger. I
have a legitimate business opportunity for Jasper to invest in. The problem is
that my stick-up-his-ass brother is embarrassed that his twin sister invents
kick ass sex toys. His problem, not mine.
So, I took matters into my own hands. Defeat isn't a word in
Lennon Hart's dictionary.
Using my stealthy P.I. moves, I narrowed my search to a time and
place where I knew I could find him. It was completely innocent. A chance
meeting that would give me the opportunity to pitch my business.
It wasn't until I sat down across from the gorgeous panty soaking
man in front of me, that I realized I wanted so much more than just his money.
I could very well want his heart if I wasn't careful.
Apparently my P.I. skills aren't as stellar as I thought because
Jasper had his own secret—and it changed EVERYTHING.
$2.99 pre-order price
99c and free in Kindle Unlimited
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we're not one author, we're two. Yep, you get two established authors for the price of one. You might be wondering if you know us? Maybe you'll read our books and figure it out. Maybe you won't. Does it really matter?
We aren't trying to stamp ourselves with a top-secret label. We wanted to write without apology. We wanted to not be pigeon holed into a specific outline. We wanted to give readers a story without them assuming how the story will flow. Everyone has their favorite authors, right? And when you pick up their books, you expect something from them. Whether it's an alpha male, heavy angst, a happily ever after, there's something you are absolutely certain the book will contain. Heck, we're readers, too, we get it.
What can we tell you about ourselves? We both have kindle's full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
There is a giveaway for a signed paperback of The Bartender (open internationally)
Reclaiming Me Cover Reveal + Giveaway
Cover Design: John Pacheco
Addilyn Montgomery made a promise. Even though she never intended to break it, she can't allow RJ to give up his own future to follow hers. But after shouldering its weight for seven years, she begins to wonder how much longer she can stay upright.
RJ Watson never wanted anyone other than Addilyn. He thought he could trust her word, but his broken heart is proof that she's a liar. Yet, it doesn't matter how badly she broke his heart or how much time has passed, he still loves her.
When an unexpected tragedy hits and forces Addilyn and RJ together again, will they put their differences aside and accept forgiveness?
Or will they walk away from a promise that should have never been broken?
One of Five ARC's for Reclaiming Us
Nicole was born and raised and currently resides in Hawaii with her family.
At an adolescent age she took a strong liking to reading and even had a pipe dream of writing her own book. Life and growing up had put reading on the far end back burner, but her dream recently came true with her debut novel The Beauty of Grace, book one in the She's Beautiful Series.
A hopeless romantic, she has a love for romance novels which she credits her late mother passing on to her and now an even stronger love to write her own stories.
Connect with Nicole Richard
Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2n54eHL
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Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbfJ23
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2mScIkH
Cover Design: By Hang Le
Amazon Live Alert: https://is.gd/TfypSQ
One of Three $10 Amazon Gift Cards
Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. She lives in Colorado, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, a techy-nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he's the boss of the house. To survive, she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.
Connect with Claudia
Website: http://www.claudiayburgoa.com/
Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2dq1gfX
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2dxrwBo
Instagram: http://instagram.com/claudia_b30/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_ClaudiaB
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/yuribeans
Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2d1A9F8
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1sgav4Q
BookBub Author Page: http://bit.ly/2dpIK2X
Who knew my brother's friend could be Mr. Right, and not just Mr. Right Now?
My brother refused to introduce me, so I blame him. If he'd just caved, and introduced me to Jasper, I wouldn't be in this mess. I mean, really, what's the big deal? I'm not interested in the guy's looks.
Oh no, I want his cold hard cash. (Be honest, you were expecting that other four letter 'c' word weren't you?)
Now, before you go getting all judgy, I'm not a gold digger. I have a legitimate business opportunity for Jasper to invest in. The problem is that my stick-up-his-ass brother is embarrassed that his twin sister invents kick ass sex toys. His problem, not mine.
So, I took matters into my own hands. Defeat isn't a word in Lennon Hart's dictionary.
Using my stealthy P.I. moves, I narrowed my search to a time and place where I knew I could find him. It was completely innocent. A chance meeting that would give me the opportunity to pitch my business.
It wasn't until I sat down across from the gorgeous panty soaking man in front of me, that I realized I wanted so much more than just his money. I could very well want his heart if I wasn't careful.
Apparently my P.I. skills aren't as stellar as I thought because Jasper had his own secret—and it changed EVERYTHING.
Preorder Links
Amazon US ~ http://amzn.to/2nYprCz
Amazon UK ~ http://amzn.to/2nYepgq
Amazon CA ~ http://amzn.to/2n7YyP0
Amazon AU ~http://amzn.to/2nYiyB4
One of Five ARC's for The Banker
Connect with Piper Rayne
Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2l84PKd
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Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2lcsdG6
A Brut Unexpected Cover Reveal + Giveaway
Cover Design: Sarah Hansen / Okay Creations
Release Blitz: April 10, 2017
How do you know when a fake relationship turns into a real one? #AskingForAFriend
Claire is not:
– A natural athlete
– Very good with mornings
– Greyson Vaughn's real girlfriend
But she pretends to be his girlfriend on television. And Twitter. And the gossip websites that question Every. Single. Thing. about his movie star existence. Including the question on everyone's lips — #WhosThatGirl?
Enlisted by her grandmother to act as Greyson's "mysterious English girlfriend" during a weekend at Castle Calder, Claire agrees to help the Hollywood hottie combat rumors of stalking his pop-star ex. She needs a distraction — from grad school, bills and her dull-as-dishwater love life — and, well, it's only for a weekend.
Until Greyson asks her to continue the ruse through his upcoming London premiere. And another trip to Castle Calder for a sexy weekend escape. Where there are no cameras and no reporters. Nothing but the two of them and a "fake" relationship that's starting to feel very, very real.
One of Five ARC's for A Brit Unexpected
Brenda is a displaced New Yorker living in the English countryside. She writes novels about teens and twenty-somethings kissing. Her characters do other things, too, but there's always kissing.
When she's not writing, Brenda enjoys hiking, running and reading. In theory, she also enjoys cooking, but it's more that she enjoys eating and, try as she might, she can't live on Doritos alone.
Connect with Brenda St John Brown
Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2mK4lqx
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Twitter: http://bit.ly/2n2Ajjm
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Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2mnx3SB
Three Wishes Release & Cover Reveal
By stacey0829 ¶ Posted in Book Release Blitz, cover reveal	¶ Leave a comment
THREE WISHES is now available in paperback for the first time! This heartwarming and epic love story from New York Times bestselling author, Kristen Ashley, returns with an amazing new cover!
And that's not all!
THREE WISHES is being re-released in eBook form with beautiful, new formatting! So make a wish, grab your copy, and prepare to fall in love all over again!
When Lily Jacobs was born, she inherited Fazire – a genie. Her family had three wishes and they'd only ever used one so Fazire was stuck in the human world. This worked since he'd become a member of the family anyway.
Even with a genie, Lily's young life wasn't perfect. To escape the kids making her miserable at school, Lily buried herself in romance novels. One day, when the teasing was just too much, she used one of her wishes. She told Fazire she wanted to find a man like in her books and she made the most complicated wish Fazire had ever heard. Her wished-for man had to be impossibly handsome, virile, fierce, rugged and ruthless (amongst a dozen other things).
He also had to think she was beautiful and he had to love her more than anything in the world.
Nathaniel McAllister wasn't born to a life where there were such things as genies granting wishes. His life was filled with drugs, crime and neglect. He was running errands for a gangster before he was in his teens and, even though life and hard work led him to wealth and respectability, he always knew, deep down, he was dirty. When Nate met Lily he knew he was no good for her but as virile, fierce, rugged and ruthless as he was, Nate was no match for the pull of sweet, innocent Lily.
Unfortunately, Lily's wish included that she and her hero go through trials and tribulations to test their love. And Fazire wasn't only a good genie, he loved Lily – so he gave her exactly what she wanted.
Order THREE WISHES here!
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * GooglePlay *iBooks* Kobo
Add it to your Goodreads Now!
Nate didn't know what he wanted but whatever it was, it certainly was not Georgia.
He was saved from answering Victor when he spied a youth wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, the hood worn up even though it was a warm day. The boy was slouching down the pavement, head bowed, hands in the front pocket of the sweatshirt, his head swinging this way and that, looking for his mark.
Nate's guard, already on alert—always on alert—went into overdrive.
Nate's eyes narrowed as he watched the youth, and Victor started to get into the Rolls. Then, as expected, the boy darted toward his target and Nate heard a woman's outraged cry.
"Hey!" she yelled.
He watched the boy snatch the woman's purse, his body tensing for action.
And then his eyes moved to the woman and uncharacteristically, he froze.
"Hey! He stole my purse! Stop him! He stole my purse!" she shouted.
Nate vaguely registered she was an American tourist. Nate also absently noticed that no one moved to assist.
In that brief moment in time, Nate was too busy drinking in the vision that was her, he himself didn't move a muscle.
She was tall, incredibly tall.
And curvy, delectably curvy.
She had the most unusual colored hair. Hair that he knew from vast experience living in a house with Laura and Danielle for years came through a supremely talented and expensive stylist's hands.
And she had an exquisite face, flawless skin and a bearing that was extraordinary. She had been given a wide berth around her even on the crowded pavement. Not because she was screaming her head off but instead because she was majestic, radiant, elegant…
Untouchable.
In a stupor from simply looking at her, the boy with her purse charged right by Nate.
Not in a stupor, she realized no one was going to help her, gave up screaming and charged right after the boy.
At the noise, Victor turned away from the car and Nate shifted to watch in astonishment as she deftly and agilely dodged the crowd, her long legs a match for the short boy. Then Nate watched in stunned surprise as she jumped onto the thief's back with a graceful leap.
Everyone stared in shock but no one lifted a finger except a few started to take photographs.
"Give me back my purse, you thug!" she shouted.
Wrapping her long legs around her prey, one arm around his neck, she slapped him around the head with the other hand.
The thief staggered back then he staggered with intent and slammed her against the side of the building. Her head snapped back and cracked against the stone so loudly Nate could hear it from where he stood twenty paces away.
At the sound Nate jerked out of his stupor and forged forward.
About Kristen Ashley:
Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). Kristen's Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning.
Nothing's changed.
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she's blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.
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text:
MCA & Gerakan Chickens
Empty vassals make the most noise.
The proverb couldn't have been more appropriate for MCA and Gerakan, "key" component parties of the Barisan Nasional government.
Both parties made so much unbelievable noises at their respective party congress and conferences, that they are all for reform in the current draconian laws, the Internal Security Act, the Printing & Publications Act, the University & University Colleges Act and so on. The printed media gave them a field day to demonstrate that these parties have learnt their lesson from the March 8th elections.
However, when it comes to the crunch where it really counts, they scatter like frightened little chickens.
Two to three weeks ago, we initiated a signature campaign among Members of Parliament to request the Prime Minister to prioritise a motion to debate on the Internal Security Act (ISA) in parliament. Note that it was not even a motion to amend or change or abolish the Act. It was just a request to "debate" it.
Surprise, surprise, when we finally submitted the petition on 23 Oct, only 1 Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) BN MP, Billy Abit Joo of Hulu Rejang signed the petition. Where did all the 15 MCA and 2 Gerakan MPs disappear to?
As reported by The NutGraph, Deputy Education Minister, and new MCA Youth Chief, Dr Wee Ka Siong gave his excuse:
"If we (MCA MPs) did not sign the petition, it did not mean that we have no guts. It's just that the ruling coalition has a different way of doing things from the opposition," said Wee, who is also Deputy Education Minister and MP for Ayer Hitam.
He said debating an act, for it to be amended, was a passive way of solving the problem as all acts needed the cabinet's approval before amendment.
"Even if they are allowed to debate about it, they can keep debating until the cows come home but the law will still remain the same. We have to go back to the conventional structure, which is to go through the cabinet, if we want to amend any law," he said.
MCA's Chua Tee Yong, who took over his father, and the newly elected MCA Deputy President's former parliamentary seat, Labis "believed there would eventually be changes in the act but not now."
"MCA has called for the act to be reviewed because we believe that such law is needed in the country, just as in other countries, to keep law and order. But we want the act to be reviewed so that it will not be easily abused," he said.
Chua, however, said he could not recall if the caucus had approached him to sign the petition but he was confident that it was merely an attempt at gaining political mileage for the opposition.
Wanita Gerakan chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, MP for Gerik and Deputy Minister of Information claims that:
"I do not want to support the petition because I do not want other people to ride on us (Gerakan) for political mileage."
The above excuses are completely unacceptable for many many reasons:
By claiming that only the Cabinet can initiate a review of the ISA (and not the Parliament), makes a complete mockery of the independence of the Parliament, which is the highest law-making body of the country. Are we MPs all subservient to the Executive and cannot have our own say? (Well, to the BN parties, it obviously is!)
By claiming that there will "eventually" be changes in the act but not now, it's the clearest indication that MCA/Gerakan are not at all sincere in their attempts to amend or abolish the ISA! If it's an evil act, why wait? Why not now? Because it still serves the purpose of BN to suppress dissent?
What's worse is that all the above comments flies in the face of statement issued by all the top UMNO leaders, that is the ISA will neither be repealed nor amended, and clearly MCA and Gerakan are just toeing the line. No more, no less.
MCA has elected a new Party President who is reputedly "brave" and "outspoken" and will do what is right for the people. I must say I'm disappointed that he has not taken up this opportune moment to mean what he says, and to signal that MCA will clearly depart from its broken past.
Since MCA and Gerakan are so happy to say that the opposition are just claiming political mileage in the above exercise. On the contrary, it is when they actually refuse to join the petition that the opposition parties actually get to gain political mileage!
Regardless, I then hereby challenge that they lead the way and organise a petition, forum, signature campaign, or even a big walk, be it among MPs or the civil society in general to review, amend or even abolish ISA. I for one, and many others from DAP and other Pakatan parties will certainly be more than happy to cross the political divide and take full part in their campaign.
I don't care who the "political mileage" goes to, as long as the draconian ISA laws gets abolished. So who's politicising the issue? MCA and Gerakan's stand on these issues and their unwillingness to take concrete action merely demonstrates their hopelessness in furthering the cause for Malaysia.
Labels: ISA, Parliament
I know. I don't understand why people don't see this. I wrote the same (although not as comprehensive) on my blog:
http://tinyurl.com/5v6xb8
http://tinyurl.com/6lk7lz
vessels! not vassals!
Bentoh said...
Did the 3 backbenchers from MCA and Gerakan debated about the ISA in parliament?
I just think of MCA and Gerakan as spineless. Somebody control their rice bowl. Example. Chew Mei Fun. After she lost the election she was appointed a director of a Ministry of Tourism company with 10K a month, a car and driver. How many Chew Mei Funs are out there?
They can only talk the talk, but not walk the walk. All bark and no bite.
Dear Tony,
You're absolutely correct!
The same goes to MIC too! This picture depicts what exactly they are:
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr213/justice_fighter/flattery-1.jpg
Lastly, this picture is attributed to the 'courage' of the new MCA President:
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr213/justice_fighter/OTK-1.jpg
MCA and Gerakan always claim that they prefer to use the soft closed door approach. This is only an excuse. Looking at how things are turning out, the real reason can only be that they don't want the rakyat to see how they get bashed up by UMNO during those session. What hopeless bunch of so-called leaders!
chicken indeed. perhaps its time pkr and dap to form a sub/new party for sarawak and sabah? globalization -> localization!
3rd dimension said...
You are right! MCA only talk no action. It has been all these years.
Political Mileage? I think all the BN parties that pass motions in their Conventions/Assemblies to abolish/review ISA are absolutely gaining political mileage. There is absolutely no sincerity, just a show to people and say what people like to hear. They have no gumption, no determination to push this through.
Secondly, they are afraid of loosing their positions and lots of $$$$. What if What if What if we supported and they take action against us. That is why we should get rid of these hypocrites what fight for who - do you know? Obvious.
one of the reasons for Obama's popularity is that general population is sick and tired of partisanship. meantime, real issues and problems have to take a back seat.
For the same reason, the discrimination against Pakatan states by the Federal Govt will not dilute the people's support for you all but only makes the general populae to harden their stance against injustice and fraud perpetrated by BN.
Work hard with fairness and discard partisanship for the well being of the people. coz 4 years from now, you will reap the ultimate reward which is to claim management of this country.
God speed.
To Anonymous 3.15 PM-
perhaps tony meant "vassals" as a pun on "vessels"? :p since "vassal" could be referring to a vassal/king (=subordinate/master) relationship between our BN parties.... hehheh... all ye "empty vassals"
Spineless like big fat lumps of protoplasm. Telur kecut when it comes to the crunch. NATO NATO NATO.
Don't insult the chickens by comparing them to MCA and Gerakan. If you ever see a fighting cock, you realized that chickens have more in them than MCA & Gerakan.
Frankly if Chinese Malaysian don't get it by now that MCA and Gerakan are really Eunuchs than they deserve all the crap they get. Emperor Pu Yi realized too late that he had to get rid of the Eunuchs to reform the palace. If Chinese Malaysian repeat the same mistake, then seriously we have to look at ourselves really hard and wonder whether we do not deserve to complain.
To further a point on your piece, after Emperor Pu Yi threw out the Eunuchs and Qing dynasty fell, the Eunuch was actually the last people that gave up on the immperial system. In other words, even after UMNO gets thrown out of office, there will still be MCA and Gerakan die hards that will not give up on BN. Koh Tsu Koon behaviour is just the same.
MCA Faces Identity Crisis?
"2008 Celebrating Hope & Change" Dinner
PAS & Prohibition
Who Is In Charge of Licensed Money Lenders?
Released from Police Bail
Taxi!
Visit To Parliament
Tokyo - A Livable Metropolis?
MPs and Mamak Stalls
Freeze High Density Development in PJ?
Najib: Liberate the Minds of Students
Asia 21 Society Conference in Tokyo
Civil Dissent Debate
Why SingThe National Anthem?
DAP Petaling Jaya Dinners 2008/9
Why The Unnecessary Force?
Lying Chief Police Officer
Released and Back in Parliament
Sarah Palin: Video Spoofs
'Stateless' Malaysians
Where Is My Condensed Milk?
Indonesia Passed Anti-Discrimination Bill
Najib Needs Better Economic Advisors
ValueCap: Stop the Half-Truths!
Eurocopters - All Is Well?
Silterra: Never Ending Losses?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Oconomowoc, WIS, July 17, 2017 – All Testing Specialists, LLC (ATS), an independent field observation, inspection and materials testing laboratory located in Oconomowoc, WI announced today that it has acquired Wisconsin Testing Laboratories, LLC, a geotechnical engineering and materials testing firm located in Menomonee Falls, WI. The acquisition will allow ATS to provide expanded construction materials testing and engineering services for all of Southeastern Wisconsin. Offerings include a focus on soils, asphalt design and testing, concrete testing, aggregate testing, construction observation, construction inspection and more.
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All Testing Specialists, LLC is a Southeastern Wisconsin-based independent field observation, inspection and materials testing laboratory. From asphalt, aggregate, concrete, soils or masonry testing, ATS' laboratory team is a key resource for quality control managers. You can learn more about ATS at www.alltestingspecialists.com.


text:
Watch This Grocery Store Erupt In Song For The Man The Entire World Loved
When the news broke that beloved and revered civil rights icon Nelson Mandela had passed, it felt like the entire world took a collective sigh as we mourned the loss of one of the greatest heroes of a generation. The Woolworths in South Africa was planning a Christmastime fundraiser with a flash mob. At the last minute, they dropped the Christmas song they were going to sing and chose to pay tribute to "Tata Madiba." The song they chose is by British musician Johnny Clegg called "Asimbonanga," which was written in the 1980s calling for Mandela's release from prison. I can think of no better way for this flash mob to honor the legacy of a man who for many represented the heart and soul of the fight for freedom.
Deepa Kunapuli
democracy humanity and culture inspiration general inspirational citizenship democracy international


text:
RECONOMICS
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Get a Masters degree in designing sustainable futures at Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, Georgia)
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in lovely, historic Savannah, Georgia offers two Masters in the design of sustainable futures, an M.A. in design for sustainability, and an M.F.A. in design for sustainability .
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The Savannah College of Art and Design was founded in 1978 by Richard G. Rowan, Paula Wallace, May L. Poetter, and Paul E. Poetter to provide college degree programs not previously available in southeast Georgia and to create a specialized professional art college to attract students from throughout the United States and abroad.
The curriculum was established with dual goals of excellent arts education and effective career preparation for students. Today, with multiple locations and online distance education offerings, SCAD continues to assiduously adhere to these goals.
In the spring of 1979, SCAD purchased and renovated the Savannah Volunteer Guard Armory to serve as the first classroom and administration building. The historic significance of the 1892 structure was recognized by its nomination for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Named Poetter Hall in honor of two of the founders, the building remains in active use by SCAD today.
See SCAD Design for Sustainability webpage & photo credit.
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Asimov's March 2007
I found only one story and one poem I liked in this issue:
1. "Breeze from the Stars" by Mary Rosenblum -- near-space safety requires the right person born in Ophiuchus.
1. "They Arrived" by Mark Rich -- aliens want to change us, but they're just another batch of illegal immigrants.
There was one that was close, but I got the solution long before the protagonist did, and part of the story is that he gets it before everybody else. This was "Public Safety" by Matthew Johnson. I frequently get the solution before the characters do, but to have a character who was supposed to be really good get it after me defeats the purpose of the story.
This issue also included "Doctor Muffet's Island" by Brian Stableford, which is a novelization of a 1950's B movie where a famous explorer runs into giant spiders from the moon.
Or crazy drivers, I suppose. I was out about 3.5 hours today. On the way to a medium-distance Kaiser clinic to get visual fields done on the left eye, I saw two different cars swoop from the left lane across the right lane to turn right or turn into a business on the right. A mile or so on, a car that was behind me in the right lane swooped around from behind me and squeezed in between me and the car in front (missed my bumper by about five inches) and then stood on the brakes so as not to hit the car in front, and then half-a-mile on, turned right.
I was early for the appt and got my glasses adjusted. The left earpiece was digging a hole into the side of my head. The tech took me about 20 minutes late and then had me repeat part of the test, so just as I was gathering things to go, the next person was screaming out in the lobby that he'd had to wait for 30 minutes.
I wore my hat/scarf combination today so I was quite warm even though it was 22F outside, but maybe I am still allergic to wool. I used to be so allergic to wool that resting it against my arm for a minute would produce a rash. This time, after wearing the hat & attached scarf for about 20 minutes, I itched where it hit my skin. No rash. The scarf is Wool-ease, a washable wool, and I thought it would probably work but maybe it will get given to the local charity and I'll make one out of acrylic. I have to sit down to get the hat on and the scarf part wound about and after doing that, I headed home.
I had planned to go to PetSmart on the way home, but I was not up for that so I decided to flip with tomorrow and go to the Giant. I planned to drop a DVD off at the post office parking lot box and put my blinker on about a block away but the guy behind me was still on my bumper and I ended up turning wide so he wouldn't run into me. Then I spent four minutes in line behind another woman at the box. She spent most of that time doing something in the car and then when she got out, took the mail to a box out on the street. She could have parked in a spot just feet away to do that and let me and the three cars behind me go through.
I had three things on the list for the Giant and they only had one so I abandoned the shopping cart a short distance from the checkout and then walked toward the door with just the bag in my hand. A little boy dashed out and fell in front of me and I managed to stop and grab a desk where a guy was giving out the local paper free and haul myself back up from about halfway down (and he grabbed me and had me sit in his chair for a bit). The mother admonished the boy but I don't think it will keep him from dashing in the future.
Then on the way home in the right lane, the car in front of me swooped around the car in front of it and, yes, in about a half-mile, turned right. It was a car-and-a-half further along. What a stupid thing to do.
annoyances, health
bfac
sparkle balls


Hudson Fasching scored 1:08 into overtime and the Minnesota Gophers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Ohio State 3-2 in overtime Friday night at Mariucci Arena.
After the Buckeyes scored in the first and second to build a 2-0 lead, the Gophers rallied for three goals.
Tyler Sheehy scored at the 6:10 mark of the third period to cut the lead to one, then Tommy Novak tied it up with an assist from Fasching.
Fasching and Novak each had a goal and an assist. Steve Johnson added a pair of assists for the Gophers.
The series continues on Saturday at Mariucci.
Robby Jackson had a pair of goals and St. Cloud State beat Nebraska-Omaha 4-1 Friday night in St. Cloud.
Kalle Kossila added a pair of assists for St. Cloud.
The win improves the Huskies to 12-3 on the season and 6-1 in the NCHC. The series continues Saturday at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Minnesota Duluth scored four power play goals and shutout Western Michigan 7-0 Friday night in Duluth.
Karson Kuhlman scored a pair of goals and Andy Welinski had three assists in the victory. Austin Farley also added two assists for the Bulldogs.
The series continues on Saturday in Duluth.
Michael Bitzer stopped all 25 shots that he faced as Bemidji State beat Ferris State 2-0.
Brendan Harms gave the Beavers the lead in the first with his third goal of the season, and Markus Gerbrandt put the game away with an insurance goal late in the third.
The series will continue Saturday in Bemidji.
Zeb Knutson and Michael Huntebrinker each scored, but Minnesota State wasn't able to hold onto their two goal lead and finished in a 2-2 tie with Bowling Green.
With Minnesota State leading by two, Bowling Green came back with goals from Brandon Hawkins and Ben Murphy to pull even.
After the five minute overtime, the game finished tied at 2.
The series will continue on Saturday at Bowling Green.


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Home > Faculty > Featured Faculty Experts >Olivas – SCOTUS and Rap Lyrics
Olivas – SCOTUS and Rap Lyrics
Michael A. Olivas
June 1, 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court today reversed and remanded a lower court decision that had ruled profane and hateful rap lyrics directed at another person constituted a threat of violence. The court ordered the review under criminal law rather than civil law standards. University of Houston Law Center Professor Michael A. Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law, director of the Institute of Higher Education Law & Governance, and renowned authority on popular music, explains the decision and the effect it may have on future free speech and social media issues.
I Shot the Sheriff, But Not Really: Supreme Court Overturns Rap Lyrics Case
After a serious domestic dispute, Anthony Douglas Elonis went on Facebook and uploaded a form of hateful rap lyrics that were taken as threats by his wife and others, including an FBI agent who was investigating the postings, which were nasty and graphic. He lost his job as a result of the matter. After a jury trial, he was convicted of several federal counts of communicating "any threat [that would] injure the person of another." He argued that his postings did not constitute a "true threat" and that he was entitled by the First Amendment to post his thoughts. The trial court and the Third Circuit held that a "reasonable person" standard of negligence applied and that the language was understood by the intended parties as genuine threats. In recent years, a number of rappers and social media posters have been both charged and convicted of a series of crimes involving such rantings and angry language as Elonis employed, even though he also posted that they were not threatening and that he was venting.
In a 7-2 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded to the lower courts, ordering them to revisit the issue under a different standard, one more in conformity with criminal law requirements, particularly ones that exacted more of an element of intention and foreseeability: Chief Justice Roberts wrote that "Elonis's conviction was premised solely on how his posts would be viewed by a reasonable person, a standard feature of civil liability in tort law inconsistent with the conventional criminal conduct requirement of 'awareness of some wrongdoing.'"
This Elonis v. U.S. decision will not resolve the tension between free speech and criminal law concerns about stalking and violent threats, but it does require that courts provide clearer instructions and better account for a greater " mental state requirement." Given the rise of social media, immediate access to large audiences, and the ease with which virtual postings can circle the world, cases such as this are sure to return, no matter the review by the lower courts on remand.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/13-983_7l48.pdf (Elonis v. US decision)
Olivas is also the host of a weekly show ("The Law of Rock and Roll") which appears on the Albuquerque, New Mexico NPR station, KANW.


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Programa presidencial
Biografía de Howie Hawkins
Biografía de Angela Walker
Menciones en la prensa mundial
About Howie
Why I'm Running
The Original Green New Dealer
Profiles of Howie
Profiles of Angela
Howie's Op-Eds
The Ecosocialist Green New Deal
The Ecosocialist Green New Deal Budget
Community Control of the Police
Economic Bill of Rights
Perspectives and Policies
Federal Matching Funds
Volunteer Field Materials Download
7/29/20: Green Party, with bi VP candidate, fights to get on state ballots – Bay Area Reporter
Download pdf of the article
In addition to battling for the attention of both the media and voters while their barnstorming is constrained due to COVID-19, Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins and his running mate Angela Walker, who is bisexual and was the Socialist Party's vice presidential candidate in 2016, are also fighting to get onto the fall ballot in all 50 states.
As of this month, the Green Party had guaranteed its candidates would be on ballots in 25 states, including California, and in Washington, D.C. They account for more than 300 Electoral College votes, so enough to win the election.
Nonetheless, the party is waging court fights in a number of the remaining states to get on their November ballots. In other states it is asking election officials to rescind requirements that they gather signatures in person from a certain threshold of voters due to the health crisis.
"In this coronavirus pandemic, we are appealing to state governments to let us get on the ballot other than having to physically gather petition signatures, which is against public health guidelines," said Hawkins during a recent video interview with the Bay Area Reporter. "The response varies state to state."
In Vermont, for instance, state officials allowed the Greens ballot access since the party had done so in past elections, said Hawkins. Other states, like Maryland and New Jersey, he said granted permission for the party to submit digitally gathered signatures. But the party has had to go to court in other states, such as Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, and Oklahoma, to ensure its candidates are included on the ballot.
"One of the complications of running for president as a third party candidate is you have to worry about getting on the ballot. It is a big job," noted Hawkins, who was his party's gubernatorial candidate in New York the last three election cycles for that office.
Hawkins, 67, was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo. Drafted into the Vietnam War in 1972, he enlisted with the Marine Corps. He left the Bay Area for Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and ended up staying in New England.
In 1984, he helped form the Green Party. Hawkins is now retired from his Teamster job unloading trucks for UPS and lives in Syracuse, New York, which he has called home for nearly 30 years.
Walker, 46, grew up in Milwaukee in a working-class Black family and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1993 with her daughter, Epiphany. She studied education then history at a local university before dropping out in 2001 to become a school bus driver.
In 2009, Walker returned to her hometown in Wisconsin and landed a job with the local transit system. As a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 Walker took part in the protests against then-governor Scott Walker and his anti-labor policies, leading her to be hired as her union's legislative director.
She ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2014 and, following the last presidential election, relocated to Florence, South Carolina. Now a grandmother of five, Walker works as a dump truck driver. It was her bid for sheriff that first brought her to the attention of Hawkins, as they were invited that year to speak on the same panel by a New York socialist group.
"I don't think I told her then, but I was very impressed. She speaks very well and very clearly with a conviction you can feel," recalled Hawkins, adding that when the socialists tapped her four years ago, "I said, 'Damn! The Greens let her get away.'"
Walker was at the top of his list for potential running mates, and in April Hawkins reached out to ask her to join his ticket.
"I was sitting here minding my own business," joked Walker, admitting she at first thought Hawkins was calling to seek her endorsement. "That was not what he asked for."
His platform's focus on environmental issues appealed to her — their campaign tagline is "We want an Ecosocialist Green New Deal!" — and she was impressed by Hawkins' convictions on myriad issues. She also saw his invitation as a way to press for passage of the Equality Act, the federal legislation that would end discrimination against LGBTQ people in numerous areas like housing and employment.
"Making sure it has teeth in it so all of us on the rainbow are protected and it is codified into law so we can not be discriminated against because of who we are, that is a big one for me," said Walker.
Her only hesitancy in being his running mate, said Walker, stemmed from having to return to the public spotlight. She had been enjoying being out of the limelight in her small Southern town.
"The hesitation came from the fact I am an introvert. I live a really quiet life on purpose. I don't necessarily enjoy the exposure of being a candidate, though I know how to handle it," said Walker. "Anyone else than Howie, I would have looked at them as stupid. But I know him and his character and integrity, so my hesitation was just on apart of I am going to be out front again."
As for seeking the White House as an out candidate, Walker said that precedent has already been set by past candidates, most recently Pete Buttigieg, the gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who had sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination this year.
"I think because there are so many people who are on the rainbow and who are running for office, it's not something I feel like I am in a special box," said Walker, adding it would be interesting if lesbian Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is picked as the running mate of former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. "She is somebody I have respect for."
As for the contention their candidacies will steal votes away from the Democratic ticket and hand President Donald Trump a second term, Hawkins and Walker said the Democratic Party would have no one to blame but itself should its candidates lose. There is a solution, noted Hawkins, to ensuring the winner of the popular vote becomes president.
"We should replace the Electoral College with ranked choice and go by the popular vote for president. But the Democrats, they don't embrace that. They don't talk about it," he said. "Instead, they try to keep us off the ballot. Party suppression is a form of voter suppression."
He pointed to exit polling that found 60% of the people who voted for the Green Party's presidential candidate in 2016, Jill Stein, would have just stayed home had she not been on the ballot. They would not have voted for Hillary Clinton, the Democrat's candidate four years ago, he said.
"So we bring new voters to the polls," said Hawkins. "A vote for the Green Party ticket is a vote against Trump. It is not a vote in his column, it is a vote in our column."
Ranked-choice voting, used in local races in cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, should be adopted nationwide, argued Hawkins.
"I have put it to Joe Biden, why don't you embrace that and solve the spoiler problem. That way, people can vote for the candidate they like the most," he said.
Walker said she understands why voters are afraid about the impact their choice on the ballot will have this year.
"There is a lot of trepidation about this individual — I refuse to say his name – retaining this office and the people who follow him," she said. "I give the same answer that Howie does, it is the Democrats' fault. If you continually nominate unpalatable, unelectable candidates that people don't like, you can't chastise them when they don't show up to vote."
Link: https://www.ebar.com/news/news/295426
← 7/29/20: Third parties – a wasted vote or an investment? – Post Register 7/30/20: Green Party presidential nominee sues for access to the ballot in Oklahoma – The Frontier →
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Neil Gaiman weighs in on his Sandman series being developed by Netflix
The tale of Dream, Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium has found a home on Netflix.
July 1, 2019 5:19 PM PDT
Sweet dreams aren't always in store when it comes to Neil Gaiman's comic Sandman.
If you love comics, chances are you've read (and loved) Neil Gaiman's Sandman series from Vertigo and DC Comics. The comic tells the story of the moody Lord of Dreams and his dysfunctional and sometimes destructive family members Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium.
Fans (me included) have long speculated about and dreamed of a TV version, even with rumors surfacing on occasion about a possible film from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but it looks like this might actually happen.
Netflix has signed what sources describe as a big financial deal with Warner Bros. Television to adapt the best-seller into a live-action TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday.
More Sandman
Neil Gaiman reawakens Dream for new 'Sandman' comics
Joseph Gordon-Levitt producing Neil Gaiman 'Sandman' film
With 'The Sandman: Overture,' the book that launched a business returns
"Sources familiar with the deal" say that "it is the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment has ever done," The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman) will write and serve as showrunner on the series, while Gaiman will executive produce with David Goyer.
Warner Bros., Netflix, DC Comics and Gaiman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
When asked about the Sandman TV series via Twitter, Gaiman responded on Monday.
"I'm hoping we can make something on television that feels as personal and true as the best of the Sandman comics did. Just set thirty years later than Sandman the comic," Gaiman tweeted.
I'm hoping we can make something on television that feels as personal and true as the best of the Sandman comics did. Just set thirty years later than Sandman the comic. https://t.co/Wy8y4aDbdE
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 1, 2019
DC Comics posted an official announcement that "The Sandman is coming to Netflix" on Monday, along with an encouraging quote from Channing Dungey, VP of Original Series at Netflix.
"We're thrilled to partner with the brilliant team that is Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg to finally bring Neil's iconic comic book series, The Sandman, to life onscreen," Dungey said. "From its rich characters and storylines to its intricately built-out worlds, we're excited to create an epic original series that dives deep into this multi-layered universe beloved by fans around the world."
No word yet on when the series will debut or who might be part of the cast, but chances are Sandman will attract big names to the project if Gaiman's other series already adapted for TV are any indication.
Those series, American Gods for Starz and Good Omens for Amazon, fared well with critics and fans alike.
Fingers crossed that a Sandman series isn't just a done deal, but also done well.
Originally published June 30.
Update, July 1: Adds Neil Gaiman, Netflix and DC Comics comments.
Preview: 'The Sandman: Overture' (pictures)
Comics DC Comics Amazon Netflix
Discuss: Neil Gaiman weighs in on his Sandman series being developed by Netflix


Stunning Bracelet featuring Genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Red Coral and Mother of Pearl inlaid between ribbons of Sterling Silver. Created by Zuni Artist Fabian Sheyka. Signed by the artist. The Zuni Pueblo is located in New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.


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Tag Archives: R.I.P.
The 27 Club Gets Another One
Amy Winehouse, dead at 27.
Not exactly a surprise, considering her lifestyle. Even the Vegas books took her off the board in "Dead Pools" more than once. But it's yet another tragic end to what could have been a dynamic career, and unlike most of her 27 Club predecessors, the culture of the times says she should have known better.
But she didn't want to go to rehab.
(Hey, I wouldn't want to room with Lindsay Lohan, either.)
From my perspective, as talented as she was, her legacy is too slim to rate alongside club peers like Joplin, Morrison, Hendrix and Jones. But she had friends, and she had family, and she had a boatload of fans. And for them it's as difficult a day as it was for a young Stones fan when that body was found floating in Winnie The Pooh's pool.
Who'll be the next in line?
Tagged as 27 Club, Amy Winehouse, Amy Winehouse dead, Announcement, Brian Jones, dead pool, Editorial, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Music, R.I.P., rehab
Not A Good Rock Birthday…
You can search just about every day on the calendar and find a plethora of musicians and actors who share a birthday. On occasion I'll run a column blogging about a few when some noteworthy ones share the day. And when looking over the lists last night, I discovered something.
July 15th is cursed.
If you're going to light a candle for these birthdays, they are probably in church rather than a cake. Johnny Thunders was born in 1952 and left us back in 1991; his last recordings possibly were the sessions he did right in my town along with The Chesterfield Kings.
Ian Curtis, the poster boy for depression, was born four years later and left Joy Division behind in 1908. Even Artimus Pyle, born in 1958 and still alive, went down in flames with Lynyrd Skynrd and survived only to be tossed out of the band afterwards.
So maybe before anyone else born on July 15th sings "hope I die before I get old" they might want to think twice.
Tagged as Announcement, Artimus Pyle, Editorial, Happy Birthday, Ian Curtis, Johnny Thunders, Joy Division, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Music, R.I.P., rock deaths, The Chesterfield Kings
June 26, 2011 · 10:00 pm
Five Angels, Four Years
It seems like yesterday and it seems like forever ago.
My daughter graduated high school four years ago, graduated college this year and is about to embark on the next chapter of her life. For five families in my town – including two who are neighbors and friends – their daughter's chapters ended four years ago in a fatal automobile accident.
Every year, we try to make something positive out of the negative. For some it's charitable events and community service. For others, a time of reflection and an appreciation of what really matters in life. For still others, a motivation to be a better person.
I don't understand why things like this happen, nor can I imagine what it is like to get up every day and have that cold slap of reality hit you in your first waking moment…she is gone. I don't know if I would have the strength to get out of bed. But my friends somehow do.
I don't expect you even to experience a sliver of what's going through my mind today. But look around your own street, your own neighborhood, your own social circles. Can you do one thing better than before? Can you forgive one person? Can you help one person?
Can you make something organically positive happen?
It's never too early. But if you wait it might be too late.
They would have graduated this year and have gone on to their next chapters. Instead, they will live on in other people's hearts. Five angels, four years.
Bailey's Book
Katie's Closet
Hannah's Hope
Filed under Editorials
Tagged as Angel Walk, Announcement, Bailey Goodman, Bailey's Book, Editorial, Fairport, Fairport angels, Five Angels, Hannah Congdon, Hannah's Hope, Katie Shirley, Katie's Closet, Meredith McLure, R.I.P., Sara Monnat
R.I.P. Peter Falk
With apologies to Philip Roth…Goodbye Columbo.
Peter Falk passed away yesterday at 83. Probably most famous to most people for his longtime role as the rumpled but intelligent Lt. Columbo, Peter Falk had a long and storied career as a film and television actor. In fact, his breakout role was as psychopathic hitman Abe Reles in 1960's Murder Inc., an Oscar-nominated performance.
Video: Murder Inc. trailer
I've always appreciated Falk's versatility. He could play serious or demented characters, but also excelled in comedy roles in Murder By Death, The Great Race and The In-Laws; even his cab driver cameo in It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World was memorable.
He was great friends with John Cassavetes and made several films with John, Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassell and Ben Gazzara. Husbands and A Woman Under The Influence got bigger press, but my favorite Cassavetes collaboration was Mikey and Nicky (directed by Elaine May), a story about a tragic and twisted friendship.
Video: Mikey and Nickey trailer.
And following on yesterday's TGIF about Boston criminals, I would be remiss in not mentioning The Brink's Job. Falk could do it all.
Just one more thing…goodbye Peter Falk. Thanks for a lifetime of great work.
Filed under Editorials, Film/TV
Tagged as A Woman Under The Influence, Abe Reles, Announcement, Ben Gazzara, Editorial, Elaine May, Film/TV, Gena Rowlands, Goodbye Columbo, Hollywood death, Husbands, It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, John Cassavetes, Just one more thing, Kid Twist, Lt. Columbo, Mikey and Nicky, Murder By Death, Murder Inc., Oscar, Peter Falk, Philip Roth, R.I.P., Seymour Cassell, The Brink's Job, The Great Race, The In-Laws
Rock and Rap Confidential
Yep, it used to be Rock and Roll Confidential. Times change.
Still an amazing read, and it's free by email, although a donation to the tip jar wouldn't be a bad thing. Interesting pieces, good links, some decent truths…albeit skeptical, but really, what truths aren't?
You can read the classic Steve Albini piece about major label deals, often reprinted as "Some of your friends are probably already this fucked". In a recurring column called "Why Do We Need The Music Industry?" you can read comments about the state of the industry from Tom Petty and Tommy Womack and Ice-T.
And there's often a brilliant piece, like the essay that Holly Gleason wrote about the late Steve Popovich. I thought I paid him a nice tribute, but Gleason's essay blew me out of the water:
I'm in a shitty hotel room, chattering and chilled to the bone. I've driven all day, and it doesn't even matter. Sometimes you do what you have to do – even when it doesn't make sense to the people that know you. It's not irrational. I know exactly why I'm here — shivering, waiting for the heat to actually kick in. And it's not just the funeral for an iconoclast with a huge heart and bigger balls, even though that's why I'm here. It is about the world in which we live, the vineyard in which I've toiled going on thirty years. It's the way I spent my life and the beliefs I've held. Especially at a time when doing the right thing, fighting for greatness, believing the music matters is at best quaint, but most likely is viewed – no matter what "they" say – as chump stuff.
Steve Popovich, who passed away June 8th in Murfreesboro, TN, would disagree. He'd tell you to fight for what's right, to stand up for what's different, believe in the music, not the business or the politics or the egos… to know great, no matter the guise, and make sure it gets heard. Steve Popovich was that kind of guy. That's how he lived… right til he died.
That kinda guy… big, bottomless heart. True believer. Fearless advocate for what he believed. Tireless in pursuit of great music – be it progressive polka bands like Brave Combo or Michael Jackson, Boston or David Allen Coe. When Meatloaf sold 200,000 copies of his first album and Epic Records informed him they'd done all they could do, Popovich went market-by-market and created a sensation, making Bat Out of Hell the biggest selling record that year.
That's the thing about true hearts and big dreams… they don't let go. They'll haunt you. Take hold and keep holding. Rarer than rubies, when you encounter one, you never forget. They will make you do things you can't believe you're doing…Like driving 10 hours dead exhausted at the end of a record launch and an Oscar winner on a red carpet… to sit in a church where I know barely anyone… to honor a legacy so many would never understand. Because it's just not done that way. Not any more. Not to the point where people even understand why it matters.And yet, if you know, experienced, saw or even glimpsed Steve Popovich in action, there was no way you could turn away. How could you? To see passion, raw and unfiltered, 250 proof and looking for matches… that was the kind of thing that left people speechless.Only Steve Popovich would never settle for that. He wouldn't let people stand by mute. He'd cajole and engage and encourage. He wanted you to know… for sure… but he wanted to know. All about you. And every single you in the room, the street, the world. What did you think? need? feel? what makes you thrill? ache? rage?
And that's just an excerpt. Things like this get emailed to subscribers all the time. Email me if you want the whole piece, because it's not on the website yet. Or subscribe for free and ask them to send it to you. It's a great read. It gives me faith that in an age of content, there are still writers who give a shit.
Kudos, Holly Gleason. Gotta love someone who once wrote "…in the end, there is no substitute. You can talk all you want, but you either rock or you don't." And that's why you come here, right? For the occasional moment when I earn your support with a decent essay? So today I repay your faith by asking you to sign up – for free – and double your odds.
As of today, 900 posts in the Prescription, and I'm still going. Please keep visiting. I'll try to get my batting average higher.
Holly Gleason's website
Tagged as Announcement, Editorial, Holly Gleason, Ice-T, Music, R.I.P., Rant, Rock and Rap Confidential, Rock and Roll Confidential, Some of your friends are probably already this fucked, Steve Albini, Steve Popovich, Tom Petty, Tommy Womack, Why Do We Need The Music Industry
R.I.P. Wild Man Fischer
One of the great things about college radio – at least back then – was that you could play anything you wanted to. I had a late night radio show where pretty much anything hit the airwaves depending upon my mood, whether it was progressive rock, powerpop or comedy. Since there were no commercials – and since I refused to play the news that was recorded and scheduled for the top of the hour – four hours of programming was a shape-shifting blob of whimsy.
Except for times when I would play a lengthy prog tune (often an entire album side) to buy myself time for a snack and a bathroom break, the world was my aural oyster. The station was serviced by most record companies, although thanks to collegiate theft, we usually had to bring our own vinyl. The station was usually staffed by the DJ and no one else, so many of the classics disappeared not long after their arrival.
One album that didn't was An Evening With Wild Man Fischer.
Look at that cover. And this was an effort blessed by Frank Zappa? If you're a college DJ in the early 70's, you have to put that on the turntable. And when you did, the first thing you heard was a deranged man yelping the refrain of "Merry Go Round" over percussion supplied by paint buckets and tambourines. You really don't want a song like this stuck in your head:
Come on, let's merry-go, MERRY-go, merry-go-round.
Boop-boop-boop.
Merry-go, MERRY-go, merry-go-round.
Boop-boop-boop. …
Video: "Merry Go Round"
And it just got stranger from there. Of course, when you're young and immature, you're not thinking to yourself "here's a guy who's obviously suffering from a mental disorder; this is sad". No…you're playing this for anyone who will listen and laughing your asses off in disbelief that anyone this atonal actually had a record deal. Given the times, an itinerant street poet dumping his thoughts into a microphone was perfectly acceptable. This was the counterculture, after all.
Video: Wild Man Fischer on the streets
But in reality, Larry Fischer was a man suffering from both acute schizophrenia and manic depression who had been institutionalized as a teen and now took to the streets selling songs for a dime whenever he felt the pep (his word for muse/inspiration, likely when his manic side kicked in). Soon his window of fame with Zappa would close, although he would later get more notoriety via Dr. Demento and by collaborating with Barnes and Barnes; he was also immortalized in comic form.
A quarter century later, on a much bigger stage, the entertainment industry would use William Hung for its own amusement in a far sicker display of public humiliation. But then again, as all television producers have learned, Americans will do anything to get on television, including debasing themselves, in pursuit of what is mistaken for celebrity. Several of the most popular shows on television are based upon the concept of people exposing their faults or fabricating a lifestyle to feed the voyeuristic, isolationist society that we have become. H.L. Menken once said that "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public". I don't think he realized an entire industry would be created in the process.
But these celebretards are all too eager to volunteer. Larry was drafted.
Knowing all that I do about Frank Zappa, what was once a benign thought is now a curious question. Was Frank simply flipping the bird to the pop culture establishment by posturing Fischer as a street poet genius while putting some coin in his and Larry's pockets? Or was Frank so prescient about the banality of pop culture that this was simply another absurdist cash cow, a latter day Elephant Man who would be carnival-barkered to the public for a short shelf-life and then disposed of when done?
Larry released three records for Rhino, but this original album has never been issued on CD because Gail Zappa owns the rights. (Apparently, Larry once threw a jar at her daughter's head, terminating his relationship with Frank. Gail can hold a grudge.)Ironically, last week I stumbled across a documentary about Larry's life entitled Derailroaded. While waiting for my copy to arrive, I hit the Internet on Friday in search of some reviews and comments about the film, which is how I learned of his passing on June 16th.
Larry Fischer, dead at 66.
The words rest in peace have rarely been more appropriate.
"My name is Larrrr-y..."
And just as was set to release the above post, I learned that The Big Man has sadly left us as well. Clarence Clemons died last night from complications following a recent stroke.
I'll let Bruce Springsteen's words say it for me:
"Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."
Filed under Comedy, Editorials, Music
Tagged as An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, Announcement, Bizarre Records, Bruce Springsteen's, celebretards, Clarence Clemons, Derailroaded, Dr. Demento, E Street Band, Editorial, Elephant Man, Film/TV, H. L. Menken, Larry Fischer, Merry Go Round, Music, R.I.P., Rant, Rhino Records, The Big Man, Wild Man Fischer, Wildman Fischer, William Hung
Life'll Kill Ya
It was on another long car trip this week that I slipped some Warren Zevon into the player, this time Genius, the collection issued in 2002. I knew every song, of course, and sang along loudly as I navigated the car through The Berkshires at night, my warble interrupted only by the occasional smack of a huge bug against the windshield and fenders. (I don't know what flies around there at night, but I'm sure glad I wasn't driving a convertible.)
Of course, no single disc could contain Zevon's genius, and is the case with most veteran artists, seeing a show or listening to a collection always leaves you wanting more. So when I got home, I made a beeline for this one.
I really, really miss Warren Zevon. I can only imagine what he'd be writing about these days.
From Consumable Online, February 2000…
Some see the glass as half-empty, while others see the glass as half-full. Warren Zevon sees the glass as broken – some of the contents spilled all over his pants, and the rest rolling around on the floor.
With superb backing from longtime ace Jorge Calderon and drummer Winston Watson, Zevon continues to avoid the "big sound" for a more stripped down folk'n'roll approach. Naturally, focus then shifts to voice and words, where Zevon is king. "I can saw a woman in two/ but you won't want to look in the box when I do," he says in the Springsteen-ish "For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer," which features Chuck Prophet on guitar. Taking the theme of "life sucks, then you die" to a new level, he explores the frailty of human existence and the quest for some sort of spiritual affirmation…which of course he's skeptical about. And, just for good measure, some songs about S&M and the self-inflicted demise of Elvis Presley.
Having suffered the slings and arrows of a professional musician, Zevon's weather-beaten attitude could be self-righteous or pastoral. Instead, underneath the surface of the crusty observer, you know he's got it figured out; life's too short to let the posturing and bullshit cramp our style.
"You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head/ and switch all my priorities around," he says in "I'll Slow You Down," a tale as applicable to religious uncertainty as it is to relationship angst. Maybe we can settle for a simple "don't let us get sick/don't let us get old/don't let us get stupid, alright?" Even the record's lone cover, Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life Again" at first seems an odd choice, but in the context of these takes on the inevitable, it's an ironic inclusion.
"You can dream the American Dream," Zevon says, "but you sleep with the lights on/and wake up with a scream." Acerbic and clever as ever, Warren Zevon remains a unique treasure among American songwriters.
Listen to clips and purchase here.
Tagged as Blast From The Past, Chuck Prophet, Consumable Online, Editorial, Elvis Presley, Genius, Jorge Calderon, Life'll Kill Ya, Music, R.I.P., Steve Winwood, Warren Zevon, Winston Watson


Google+ is still in field trial and signup's are only by invites. They open invites progressively only through users already in Google+.
Want to get notified / invited when Google+ is available for everyone?
Google has setup a online form which non google+ users can signup and get notified as soon as the network is available for everyone / public.
Here is the Google+ signup notification form.
Google+ Ios App 4.2.0 Now Available in 48 New Countries and Territories!


Addictive Warning...this game is highly addictive!!
UPDATED and IMPROVED!! – New controls, new ride zones, new challenges.
The OFFICIAL Putt Putt Golf game! The legendry name in mini-golf with over 90 holes of putting fun!
Use your slingshot to pop balloons and score as many points in this casual arcade game. Keep an eye out for special balloons worth bonus points!
Sensible Soccer Skills is back in time for the World Cup and for the very first time on the iPhone and iTouch with Series of 10 mini games. Train and guide your team to win the Cup!
Experience the thrill of OFFICIAL FORMULA ONE™ and immerse yourself into the OFFICIAL, adrenaline-fuelled world of FORMULA ONE racing with the new F1 2010 Game™!
Try this simple and yet addictive game. This game is easy to learn but tough to beat!
Tom Hanks' presents his first ever multi-dimensional animated series, "Electric City" with EXCLUSIVE HD downloadable episodes and Graphic Novels. Only available through this app.
99 cents for this weekend only!
Become a next iBMX Stunt Bike Champion! Compete with your friends by posting your high score on Facebook.
First time ever for 99 cents -The official T20 World cup game!
3rd edition. Have incorporated all the feedback.
Play the 'ICC WORLD TWENTY 20 ENGLAND 09'cricket game.
Special Sale - Staff Pick!


Angelica Muro's work addresses the different psychosocial codes of class and identity in California culture. Although San Jose, CA (where Muro is based) is home to a large Mexican and Vietnamese demographic, these two cultural groups rarely come together. Collaborating with artist Juan Luna-Avin, she proposes a narrative where these two cultures intersect in both a fictional space as well as a real location, an entertainment venue in downtown San Jose called Lido Night Club. The cultural balance at this venue teeters between a downstairs Mexican cantina and an upstairs Vietnamese dance club. Muro & Luna-Avin look at the cultural similarities of these two immigrant groups through the lens of this unique venue.


text:
Q: Doesn't work pre-populated sqlite database when I Install from Google store In my app I use pre-populated database. I copy it from assets. And when api is 28 I receved empty database.
I changed my SQLiteOpenHelper as written in a similar question (A pre-populated database does not work at API 28 throws "no such table" exception):
public class DBHelper extends SQLiteOpenHelper {
...
    @Override
    public void onConfigure(SQLiteDatabase db) {
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT == Build.VERSION_CODES.P) {
            db.disableWriteAheadLogging();
        }
        super.onConfigure(db);
    }
}

And it works when I install my app from Android Studio, but doesn't work when I get my app from the Google store.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Happy Holidays, Room 1 families!! I want to let you know how well our class is doing in all areas! We are making great progress having meaningful conversations and doing terrific work.
The holidays are fast approaching. We continue to work hard here in Room 1 !
We have been very busy during Writers Workshop writing funny narrative stories about Santa getting stuck in the chimney, how we will make the Grinch grin, and letters convincing Santa that we belong on his Nice List. These pieces will be coming home before the end of the week to enjoy over the holidays.
We finished our informational unit in Reader's Workshop and have transitioned back to fiction books. To end the unit, each child gave a book tour and taught the class some important facts they learned while becoming an "expert on a topic". They did a great job!! The kids are choosing a fiction series now where they will get to know the main character very well. Some characters we are getting to know are Jack and Annie, Mr. Putty, Horrible Harry, Stink, and Judy Moody. Thank you for encouraging your child to read every night at home.
We are having fun in Science learning about the states of Matter. Recently, we tested materials to see if they were durable, absorbent, waterproof, and flexible. They worked in pairs to see which material would be best to make a bridge. They tested each material (card stock, construction paper, cloth, wax paper, and aluminum foil) dry and wet and used pennies as the weights to test the durability. They concluded that using card stock wrapped in aluminum foil would work best because the card stock was durable and could hold up while the aluminum foil repelled the water and would keep the card stock dry. I loved listening to them have educated discussions and observations. We had a blast at the CT Science Center. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who were able to join us!!
We just completed our Geometry unit in Math. We continue to practice our math facts within 20 to become more fluent and our application skills when solving many different kinds of word problems. We will be starting Unit 3 which is addition and subtraction within 100.
Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year!
I can't believe it is already November! This year is flying by. It's true what they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!"
We have been working hard this autumn on all subjects. I am especially pleased with the social growth second graders are making in Room 1. We are working on taking responsibility for our actions, always trying our best, never giving up, viewing mistakes as welcome learning opportunities, and treating each other with respect and kindness.
I am so thankful for my wonderful students and their supportive families!
We are deep into our first informational (non-fiction) reading unit. The kids have enjoyed learning about all different kinds of things in the books they are choosing to read. I've been monitoring student progress in reading by conferring, small group instruction, and individual reading assessments.
Please continue to encourage your child to read at least 10 minutes a day and remember to log the reading minutes on your child's "About my Day" Sheet.
We have been writing lots of entertaining narrative stories in Room 1! They are becoming great young authors. The kids are including figurative language, great vocabulary to really "show" what is happening, not just "tell", and creating a scene instead of a summary for their action packed main events.
We are finishing up our Place Value Unit , where we are learning different ways to show a number (standard form, expanded form, picture form, and number words. They are enjoying Math Workshop where they get to communicate, create, and problem solve with partners and group members while becoming strong mathematicians. I love listening to their "math talk".
We have started our first Science unit on Matter. They children are exploring different objects and grouping them according to their attributes. They were able to explore balloons that were filled with air, water, and ice. They noticed and wondered lots of great things. As we progress through the unit, they will understand what materials would work BEST to build a strong, safe house for the 4th little pig so that the big bad wolf can't blow it down. Thank you all for helping by sending in paper towel and toilet paper rolls!
Halloween was very fun. Thank you to our room Moms, Julie Sass, Audrey Kane, and Lisa Seales, for organizing a fun filled afternoon w/ lots of goodies, crafts, books and games! You ladies rock! The kids looked great during the parade.
We have Pen Pals this year! Sienna's mom is a first grade teacher in Wallingford and we have started receiving and writing letters to get to know a new friend. The kids were so excited to get mail and to write back to their new pal. Great idea Erin Clark!
OFF TO A FANTASTIC AND FUN START!!
We have launched our Readers Workshop and are "Growing like Beanstalks" already! We are choosing reading spots and shopping for "just right" books. I am evaluating student reading levels with ongoing informal and formal assessments. We are building stamina and reading more and more everyday. I will be conferring with students daily to identify their goals for becoming more proficient readers and these conferences will naturally build their discussion and collaboration skills. Some of the teaching points we have learned and practiced as readers are: reading in bigger scoops, stopping to think about what we've read and retelling the important details in our minds, and jotting down important details about the main character and or plot on sticky notes. We are also becoming "Flexible word solvers". We "roll up our sleeves" when words are tricky to figure them out and we never give up. We can figure out unknown words by using the context of the story, looking through the whole word, looking for small words inside a big word, taking a guess and then checking the word for chunks and sounds to see if our guess matches, rereading to see if the word and sentence sound right, looking for prefixes and suffixes, and realizing some letters, and even groups of letters, make many sounds so we may have to try different sounds in a word. Please continue to encourage your child to read every night.
We have also launched Math Workshop this year!! We are having fun learning lots of different strategies to become more fluent with our math facts. We practice these everyday in math workshop stations. Some strategies you can practice at home are adding on with 0,1, 2, and 3, using doubles, doubles plus 1, ways to make ten, making ten from 8 and 9, using 10 to add, and finding key words in word problems to understand if we need to find a missing part of the whole in a problem. We will be starting the next unit on Place Value next week.
We are becoming great young authors as we learn how to write entertaining narrative stories. We are using entertaining beginnings to grab our audience's attention from the start, we are stopping action to describe our story's setting by "painting a picture with words" and using very specific instead of general words and sentences, and are creating suspense that is leading us to the main event. Stay tuned for our spooky haunted house stories.
We will begin our first unit on Properties of Matter in Science shortly.
We are having a blast in Room 1 collaborating , communicating, being creative, and using our critical thinking skills!
A BIG Thank You to Mrs. Vazquez for volunteering her time to plan a fun day of thinking and collaborating for the kids in Room 1! They worked in teams as engineers to build a new roller coaster!!
Informational reports on Google slides and STEM projects! Amazing collaboration and learning continues!
We are becoming Google experts in 2nd grade! Stop by and check out our informational reports that were typed in google docs and include images from Google, text features such as table of contents, index, and glossaries. Our young authors are excited to share their books with you. They have published fiction books as well with amazing illustrations. The students continue to collaborate, communicate, and work together in teams when tackling STEM projects. Check out pictures from our "Marshmallow Challenge" recently. I was given this challenge amongst 40 other teachers at a professional workshop and only ONE group out of 6 groups created a structure that could stand nevermind trying to make it tall! These kids amaze me everyday!
P.S. Stay tuned for photos and information from the special engineering project that Shayla's mom, Tara Vazquez, directed.
Happy New Year! 2017 has started off great in Room 1!
Second graders in Room 1 continue to collaborate, stay engaged, and learn together in 2017!
We are becoming great researches in Reader's and Writer's Workshop. We are experts on certain topics and are growing knowledge across many different books. We are noticing parts within multiple books that go together and adding to what we know as we read more and more. We are able to retell the BIG and main ideas about the topics we are reading about.
We have used this knowledge and these skills to help us with our informational writing as well. We are researching a topic of our choice using multiple websites as well as a variety of texts. Be on the look out for our informational reports that will include text features such as glossaries, photographs with captions, diagrams and more.
We loved chatting with new 2nd grade friends via Google Hangouts ! They joined us all the way from Wisconsin! Since they live in a different time zone, planning was difficult but we finally connected. They had 22 students in their class and the children were from all over the world. They represented every continent except Antarctica and Australia. We can't wait to connect with them again as we study different cultures.!
Collaboration and communication are key when working together on STEM activities! The students were given a minimal amount of materials, instructions, and expectations and off they went to try and make the largest paper chain as well as a paper Christmas tree that had to be able to stand on its own! I think we have some engineers among us.
In math we had fun exploring plane shapes and solid figures. We compared shapes, created new shapes, and sorted them noticing their many attributes. Now we are figuring out tough number patters and skip counting within numbers all the way to 1,000 while we continue to becoming more fluent with our addition and subtraction facts as well as problem solvers.
Coding has also been a favorite and something we enjoy doing to make us think and problem solve !
Great start to the 2016-2017 year!
We are off to a fabulous start in 2nd grade! Can't wait for more fun, laughter, and learning ahead!
Welcome Back to school 2nd Graders!!
Hello new 2nd grade friends! I am so excited to have each and every one of you in my class this year! I am very excited for a year filled with fun, learning, and laughter!
In our classroom....."We do second chances, we apologize, we forgive, we respect each other, we keep promises, we never give up, we encourage one another, we laugh OFTEN, we believe in ourselves and in each other, we learn, we have fun, we belong, we are a family"
And watched two sculptors there.
Were books, music, and art.
I promise to care about you. I promise to be patient with you. I promise to help you when you are struggling. I promise to be fair and consistent. I promise to believe in you. I promise to make learning interesting, fun, and meaningful. I promise to be trustworthy. I promise that I will challenge you to be your very best. I promise to do everything I can to help you succeed. I promise that no matter what, I will never give up on you!
Get ready for an exciting school year ahead! Leave a comment letting us all know something about yourself!!


A pink poop emoji candy machine!
From Julie: A pink poop emoji candy machine!
Current Music: Duran Duran, "Friends of Mine"
The Canucks had Pre-Season Game #8 (the last one!) against the Oilers tonight at 7, and won 3-2!
From Not Always Friendly: Hannette Cocoa Wolf?!
From Not Always Working: Fyva Prold?!
From Not Always Right: Allayna Groove?! That's not how you spell Alena, but I want to get down with that musical groove, baby!
From Not Always Right: Airynn Wolf?! That's not how you spell ERIN!
Current Music: Bootsauce, "Pass the Shotgun (Please)"


text:
NewsTop Story
SBU professor commends Attorney General's crack down on herbal supplements
Rachel Siford March 3, 2015
Popular chains like Target were targeted because of faulty store brands of herbal supplements. Brands were pulled from shelves for not correctly listing ingredients. CHRISTOPHER CAMERON / THE STATESMAN
The New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman delivered a cease and desist letter last month to GNC, Wal-Mart, Target and Walgreens because store brands of herbal supplements did not contain the ingredients stated on the labels.
Tests show the products did not contain any of the herbs they said they did. Instead of medicinal herbs, they are said to have fillers like houseplants, powdered rice and asparagus.
The Food and Drug Administration has had little control over the supplement industry. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 exempts supplements from the FDA's approval process for prescription drugs since they are considered foods, not drugs.
Dr. Arthur Grollman, director of Zickler Laboratory of Chemical Biology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, is considered an expert on the topic and was asked to comment.
"This study undertaken by Attorney General Schneiderman's office is a well-controlled, scientifically-based documentation of the outrageous degree of adulteration in the herbal supplement industry," Grollman said in the Attorney General's Feb. 3 press release.
Grollman has not done research on this specific case, but has testified in the past to get Ephedra, a supplement that was linked to health issues and deaths, off the shelf.
"It took the FDA 10 years to get Ephedra off the shelf, but it took 3 days for the Attorney General to take these supplements off," Grollman said.
Since there is no approval process, it is very easy for potentially dangerous supplements to reach the market and the FDA has an extremely limited control over supplements, Grollman said.
"There have been no penalties against these [herbal supplement] companies, which has allowed these type of things to happen," Grollman said.
Grollman has been a critic of the industry for some time now.
"I applaud the New York Attorney General for taking the additional step of seeking to remove these products from the marketplace," Grollman said in the Attorney General's statement, "as they can cause serious harm to consumers unaware of the actual ingredients in the pills and capsules they ingest."
Since the cease and desist letters three weeks ago, the Attorney General announced that he would be targeting the manufactures of these products. He is ordering manufacturers to report the process of creating their herbal supplements by March 13.
Schneiderman wrote a letter to four manufacturers, including NBTY, Inc., which is located in Ronkonkoma and produces Sundown Naturals, Nature's Bounty, Vitamin World and other brands.
"The scientific community, public health officials, and others have raised serious doubt about the steps taken to ensure the safety and efficacy of the herbal dietary supplements taken daily by millions of Americans," Schneiderman said in his letter.
Shneiderman also wrote that the New York Attorney General office will be conducting a broader investigation to see how retailers are going about representing and advertising their herbal supplements.
The current test used involves DNA, which allows scientists to identify plants and animals by looking for short strands of DNA and then comparing them to a national database. Some critics to this method say the companies use extracts of a plant's active ingredients that may not show up in a DNA test.
"This is going to be the most revealing part of this case," Grollman said about the mandatory reports on manufacturing.
Correction: March 3, 2015
A previous version of this article failed to identify the New York State Attorney General by his full name, Eric Schneiderman.
Rachel Siford
Rachel Siford is a senior majoring in journalism, currently in the five-year Fast Track MBA program. She joined The Statesman her freshman year, first in Copy, then Opinions, and later found her home and passion in News. She hopes to be either a news reporter for a publication or a business reporter when she graduates. Contact Rachel at: [email protected]
Tagged: Arthur Grollman Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 dna Ephedra Eric Schneiderman FDA Food and Drug Administration GNC herbal supplements herbs medicinal herbs Nature's Bounty New York State Attorney General News Rachel Siford Ronkonkoma Stony Brook University School of Medicine Sundown Naturals Target Vitamin World Wal-Mart Walgreens Zickler Laboratory of Chemical Biology Share
Arthur Grollman says:
As noted in the front page article in the NYT today (3/30), GNC, the major herbal company in the US has embraced fully the use of DNA barcoding for herbal supplements and will institute this procedure promptly for identification of plant sources of their future products while discarding those that were removed from the shelves nationally, even though the latter were approved by USP.
Hopefully, other supplement manufacturers and eventually USP will promptly follow suit. Consumers of dietary (herbal) supplements deserve no less than full transparencies
Usulaw says:
While Prof. Grollman might consider the AG's use of DNA identification on herbal extracts part of a "well designed study", he would do well to consider that no less an authority than the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has stated that this method is not fit for purpose and does not produce reliable results. http://qualitymatters.usp.org/dna-testing-herbal-supplements-does-it-work-or-doesnt-it
Brightspace garners mixed reactions from Stony Brook students and professors
Future of British monarchy is in question
Trans rights activist Aydian Dowling visits the Wang Center
Commuter Student Association hosts drive-in movie
New form of dementia linked to 9/11 first responders
A throwback to Wolfieland 2022 in photos


I am looking into buying a new pool table for cheap. Mainly the cheap billiard tables are made from MDF, and the problem most people have is warping in them.
So my question was just that how prone to warping is an MDF pool table and how unplayable is it when warped?
New slate pool tables can be found for as little as $1500.
Used slate pool tables can be found for as little as $600 (in decent condition) add to this $200-$250 for the table mechanic to move it.
Accept nothing less than slate for the bed of the table.
If an MDF pool table will last long enough for me to really care about the warping?
If I put it in my basement in how long until will it begin to warp?
And when it does warp, will it be really unplayable?
If that happens, then by how much will its value decrease?
Is a warped MDF pool table repairable in any way?
Sounds like you're asking how long a rope is. Virtually impossible questions to answer without knowing you on a very personal level.
Repairable? It would all depend on what you really want it for and your level of repair experience . (Should that even become necessary) Life is a gamble. You might get lucky and find a bargain that doesn't need much of anything but a good cleaning.
Here is another way to look at it. If you're not a perfectionist and you run across a table for a couple of bills, then I'm sure you will get at least that much entertainment out of it. ( It costs that much just for a concert or amusement park ) If it becomes un playable, toss it out and get another one.or use it for a different purpose. You loose nothing.
But if you're a perfectionist, don't take the cheap route. Spend a little more if you can or you will never be happy with it. If you have a good solid beginning you can always make improvements as you go .


The Schoolscapes Classic Planter Garden Combination provides you with a full range of teaching resources for the growing and studying of plants. The transparent viewing window of the 'Wormery' Planters allows the children to see plant roots as they develop and gives a fascinating insight into the lives of worms and various insect species. The unit provides lockable storage space for garden tools, bench seating for a quiet moment of reflection and a workbench for getting your seeds and pots organized. Each component is available separately for you to add units in the future. Components: 2 Wormery Window Planters, 2 Planters with Seating Bench, 1 Storage Planter.
Materials: Pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine with stainless steel hardware and HDPE plastic components.
The Schoolscapes Classic Planter Garden Combination provides lockable storage space for garden tools, bench seating and a workbench. The transparent viewing window of the 'Wormery' Planters allows the children to see plant roots as they develop.
Components: 2 Wormery Window Planters, 2 Planters with Seating Bench, 1 Storage Planter.