text:
**New Site**
The Game, etc.
& what about Elton
Luv Letters
HIV Stories
Love Positive Women
Every Where Alien
Humans As Hosts
House of Zion
E&H LAB
ANKH Association
Luciérnagas
MetaMorphineMachine FuriosaXXX
Nhimbe Trust
ArtHIVism
ACT I
Author: Brad Walrond
Every Where Alien's POETICS + PANDEMICS
Brad Walrond	on September 18, 2020
Pictured: Brad Walrond and Alberto Pereira Jr.
poetics & pandemics is conceived as a Quarterly virtual publishing & performance platform that takes seriously the role of word, voice, ideas, and semiotics in framing how pandemics like HIV & Covid-19 root themselves in cultural landscapes. We will curate a quarterly open mic that features the written and performance work of artists, poets, critical thinkers. Open mic will be a mix of performance and interview as we engage contributors work and ideas in context to the current and historical events delimited by a focus on our anticipated changing theme.
To make the most of our time our exhibitions, curated open mics, art/artist/artivist showcases will be framed among four key themes:
race: dna of disparities and underlying conditions
health disparities and co-morbidities are not new; pandemics do however occasion the re-opening of these systemic, pervasive, insistent sores and pushes them in the face of new publics in arresting uncomfortable ways. through the voices of keen artivists and organizers whose lifework and cultural contributions make way for the artivist spaces we occupy now
we want to animate our lived and living histories and hold these in conversation with contemporary voices and movements. In the American context COVID-19 lays bare
how these disparities structure around world historical organizing principles like race and white supremacy. The focus here hopes to hold the emergent themes surrounding this new pandemic in conversation with that of HIV/AIDS in the American and global contexts.
[Other Countries, Colin Robinson]
desire: the 3-D & the geosocial
the logics of DNA everywhere is bio-diversity and reproduction. Human DNA is no different. Pandemics invariably change how humans weigh the temporary and long-term risk of all things conjugal. We explore here how cultures mitigate the sex, sex work, sexual acts, gender and sexual identities, and norms attendant to desire against the imagined and real-life risks of transmission, illness, and death.
We insist on being a venue that centers the voices of all bodies, gender and sex expansive identities and communities. By zooming in on desire and each its tidy and untidy manifestations we hope to place how bodies find themselves and each other in virtual and 3-D spaces in conversation with public and political norms contending with the new realities pandemic induce.
poli-cliques: political and culture war
pandemics cleave to the boundaries and fissures in society and twist them into new, often malignant nodes. The terror associated with disease, risk, exposure, and spread grab hold of our penchant for groups and induce anticipatable and unexpected realignments. In the social media age this reconfiguring is catalyzed and amplified perhaps like no other time in human history
poisoned pill: science, faith & myth
pandemics create new worlds out of our collective and individual imaginations. These new terroires are rife with opportunities to spur scientific and cultural innovation. They are also fraught with new corrosive incentives to aggrandize and succumb to our darkest fears and genocidal inclinations. Explore how the life of the mind push and pull societies across the beautiful and brutal provinces of science, myth, and myth.
To do this work in a way that is both exciting, engaging, interactive, and nuanced, our collaborators and cultural production will be anchored along four key axis:
generational: survivor insight & instincts
showcase the first-hand expertise, insight, and lived experience of survivors, artists, activists infected or deeply impacted by these pandemics;
context: parochial, regional, & global
common/familiar themes live very different lives as we move in, through, and out of local and region discourse and territories into global ones; our work hopes to elucidate these distinctions and explore how they engage and co-create even as they influence unique and sometimes divergent outlooks and outcomes
dimension: disciplines & praxis
we will enlist a multi-disciplinary approach as we curate the work of our collaborators across a range of academic and creative disciplines and praxis; our systems level approach understands the value-added to curating work that arises out of multiple contexts and diverse voices.
innovation: posters and PSAs:
pandemics are dynamic material and non-material environments. They create and produce language, discourse and semiotics that marshal new communities and organizing principles. We aim to explore these histories as they draw upon discipline specific jargon(s) and historical and contemporary cultural memory to deploy instrumental and transformational memes in our virtual and physical worlds both old and new.
1986: An Elegy for Our Coldest War
Brad Walrond	on April 27, 2020
Could Be The Ballroom was always our Nuclear option
A rock scrabble bunker become a threshing floor
How we survived our Coldest War
A Mother a Father an entire house full of babies
tucked into mangers woven out of street corner filament
limber enough to parent those of us:
born with and with out parents
with and without islands
begat inside flags with and without stripes
while reading for A-level exams
stretched astride Empires and Queens
too Black to be British
too gay to be queer—
too poor for the crowns we deserve
Boys and girls born beyond signage
onto intersections above and below 42nd street
where hormones traffic themselves,
Run all the rules. Busts all the lights
cum shot out of blackness too Pentecostal
for its own beneficence
Could Be the Ballroom Scene laid its own bedrock
atop an inference. As if by subterfuge.
As if by stagecraft. As if by premonition:
The way we live
The way we die
The way we transition
In and out of space
In and out of time
In and out of academies & boarding schools
With and without degrees.
In and out of dimension
The lives we all span is a performance
1986: What a performance it was!
In the year of our Lord June 30, 1986
adjudicating case: 478 U.S. 186 otherwise known as Bowers v. Hardwick the Supreme Court upheld Georgia's Sodomy laws in a 5-4 decision.[1]
This year 1986 according to dissenting Justice Blackmun—enjoined by William Brennan Jr.,
Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Stevens—our nation's highest court became "obsessively focused on homosexual activity"
So happens this same year 1986
a midsummer night's dream is bequeathed
to Reverend Charles Angel;[2] a new faith begins its practice inside the living rooms of Black Gay men
fagged playing Russian roulette with their secrets the waters break. Gay Men of African Descent[3] is born
Daniel Garret[4] freebases on a James Baldwin line:
"Our history is each other" and a group of Black Gay Men
exhale enough pride inside a writer's workshop
to inscribe for themselves a new nation:
Other Countries[5]
write themselves out of a BlackHeart
Collecting the floodlit life-force condensed
inside Joseph's Beam[6]
In some ways we all still live huddled, impatient,
un-relented inside Joseph's hologram
If There's a Cure For This I Don't Want It[7]
Craig Harris[8] black gay living
with AIDS and walking realness
grabs the mic from the San Francisco Health Commissioner at the American Public Health's Assoc. first AIDS workshop speaking for all of us he proclaims: "I Will Be Heard"
before Craig's mic drops
National Minority AIDS Council is born
Craig Harris, Paul Kawata, Gil Gerard,
Suki Ports, Marie St. Cyr[9]
invite our colored selves to the Ball
because the rainbow was never enough.
On this runway Audre Lorde cries Dear Joe[10]
& the tinny juke box music comes up
through the floor of our shoes
This runway is a Battle
This runway is an Extravaganza
Watch listen learn
This Battle Is and Is Not Yours
The Old Way : The New Way :
either way spells perseverance
crafted out of imaginary high school diplomas
out of nothing besides our poverty, our disease,
our sex, our privilege, our shame, our death,
A people a culture an art form a wellspring is born.
When lifespans splinter into foreshortened seasons
a phallus engorged pandemic goes jackhammer & rogue
sometimes God opens the second door
1986 is a second door
a portal in time manned by the
Queens of the Damned
a middle passage collects itself onto dry ground
An ADODI[11] river collapses alongside a
New York City Nile
Shamans sing:
in & out of gender
in & out of place.
Yoruba priests
walk bizarre
When My Brother Fell[12]
I cared not how rich he was
How Caribbean he was
How Ivy League his poison oak
How much southern fruit pickled his veins
When My Brother Fell
I cared not how many Prospect Park trees[13]
bear witness to his lovemaking. I paid no attention
to which butch-queen-voguing-fem
he was fucking
in between bushes
Or to how big
how thick
how heavy
the thorns
he let ride his back into Heaven
I picked up his weapons and never questioned
The category he walked
how much make-up he had on
or which label she wore
I never questioned
If his momma knew
If his daddy cared
I kept walking
Essex said, "there was no one lonelier than you Joseph"
30 years later, we not gon' do it that way this time
The Ballroom collapses whole classes into nations
Every call gets a response
Every name every category
every non-binary
is an intention
A Universal law makes its own rules
Divines its own boundaries
causing legends to be born
While Paris Burns
Assoto's Saints[14] and Willie's Ninjas[15]
stand guard
a whole river of boys born without bones
boys born without spoons let alone silver
bright boys born on islands in between boroughs
that rupture beneath their salt water promise
Somehow the Ballroom always knew why
Boys and Girls born too-fluid-for-homes
need Houses
Essex said, "If we must die on the front line
don't let loneliness Kill us"
If There's a Cure For This I Don't Want It
1986 1986 1986 is a house song at morning mass a break beat, a beat box, a carol, a love song, a dirge
a Brooklyn Children's Museum born again
inside a Donald Woods'[16] forest
1986 is
a GMAD, an NMAC, an ADODI
a god-accented ebonic surviving for Joseph,
for Essex, for Donald, for Willie,
for Assoto Saint, for Craig Harris
For all Us born Survivors of the Coldest War
With and without parents.
Born too gay,
too queer for the crowns
we deserve.
*Images are from 'Bobó for Yemanjá', a February 9th event celebrating Love Positive Women 2020 in NYC at which Brad performed 1986 and other poems.
[1] In Atlanta, Georgia, August 1982 Michael Hardwick was issued a citation for drinking in public. Hardwick missed his court date and an arrest warrant was issued. However, before receiving the warrant, Hardwick paid the $50 fine. Nevertheless, two weeks later, police arrived at Harwick's home, were admitted by roommate, and found Hardwick in his bedroom having sex with another man. The police arrested Hardwick and his companion for sodomy, a felony under Georgia law. Hardwick challenged the statute's constitutionality in Federal District Court with the support of the ACLU. The case challenging the constitutionality of Georgia's sodomy laws reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986. The Court issued a divided opinion holding that there was no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy, and that states could outlaw those practices. The case drew attention to sodomy laws across the country and in the years that followed several state legislatures repealed such laws. Finally, in 2003, in Lawrence v. Texas the Supreme Court overturned its ruling in the Bowers v. Hardwick case and invalidated the 13 remaining state sodomy laws insofar as they applied to private consensual conduct among adults.
[2] Charles Angel (1952-1986), a Pentecostal minister, community organizer, social advocate, and activist, who helped found the organization, Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD).
[3] Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) was founded in 1986 with the mission of advancing the welfare of black gay men through education, social support, political advocacy, and health and wellness promotion. (For more information see the NYPL Archives and Manuscripts)
[4] Daniel Garret was a member of the Blackheart Collective, founded in 1980 by the Harlem-born Isaac Jackson. Blackheart members, all New York City-based black gay artists, produced a literary journal. The publication sought to queer dominant black intellectual traditions such as Afrocentrism and extend the gay liberation movement's concern with prisoner rights and prison reform to a broader race- and class-based critique of carceral state power. The Blackheart collective disbanded in 1985.
[5] Other Countries was a writer's workshop formed to develop, disseminate, and preserve the diverse cultural expressions of black gay men. The group produced two journals in the early years of the AIDS crisis, Other Countries: Black Gay Voices (1988) and the book-length Sojourner: Black Gay Voices in the Age of AIDS (1993).
[6] Joseph Beam was born December 30, 1954, in Philadelphia. He studied journalism at Franklin College in Indiana where he was an active member of the Black Student Union. Back in Philadelphia in the early 1980s, Beam got a job at Giovanni's Room, a GLBT bookstore and began writing news articles, personal essays, poetry, and short stories that reflected the life experiences of black Gay men. In 1984, the Lesbian and Gay Press Association honored him with an award for outstanding achievement by a minority journalist. Disappointed at the lack of published gay black male voices, he edited the pioneering anthology, In the Life (1986). Beam helped resurrect the flagging National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays—originally founded in 1978—joining the executive committee and editing the organization's journal, Black/Out. He died of complications related to AIDS in December 1988, just three days shy of his 34th birthday. After his death, Beam's mother and his friend Essex Hemphill completed a second anthology of black Gay men's writing, Brother to Brother (1991), which Beam was working on when he died (extract from Liz Highleyman's article, "Who was Joseph Beam?" for Seattle News.)
[7] The refrain from Diana Ross's 1976 hit song, "Love Hangover," written by Pamela Sawyer and Marilyn McLeod. The song is one of the anthems of the House and Ballroom community.
[8] In 1986, the American Public Health Association (APHA) had its first AIDS workshop, and neglected to invite any HIV/AIDS or medical leaders of color to the event. Craig Harris crashed the meeting, taking the stage and the microphone from Dr. Merv Silverman, the San Francisco Health Commissioner. This was the genesis of a national movement and the founding moment of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) that quickly became a voice for communities of color, spreading awareness of the disproportionate impact that HIV/AIDS had on their communities (see https://gay-sd.com/the-national-minority-aids-council-they-will-be-heard/).
[9] Leaders of prominent minority AIDS organization nationwide – including Paul Kawata, Gil Gerald, Calu Lester, Don Edwards, Timm Offutt, Norm Nickens, Craig Harris, Carl Bean, Suki Ports, Marie St.Cyr and Sandra McDonald – started the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) in response to the American Public Health Association's (APHA) failure to invite anyone of color to participate on the panel at its first ever AIDS workshop in 1986. NMAC members met with U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop when he was writing his historic report on the AIDS. Originally scheduled for just 15 minutes the meeting lasted nearly two and half hours. More than three decades later, HIV still disproportionately impacts communities of color and NMAC continues to provide public policy education programs, conferences, treatment and research programs initiatives, trainings, and electronic and printed resource materials (see http://www.nmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/History.pdf).
[10] Audre Lorde (1934-1992) dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Lorde was born in New York City to West Indian immigrant parents. She earned her BA from Hunter College and Master in Library Sciences from Columbia University. She was a librarian in the New York public schools throughout the 1960s. She had two children with her husband, Edward Rollins, a white, gay man, before they divorced in 1970. In 1972, Lorde met her long-time partner, Frances Clayton and began teaching as poet-in-residence at Tougaloo College. Lorde articulated early on the intersections of race, class, and gender in canonical essays such as "The Master's Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master's House." Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984) collected Lorde's nonfiction prose and has become a canonical text in Black studies, women's studies, and queer theory. In the late 1980s Lorde and fellow writer Barbara Smith founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, which was dedicated to furthering the writings of black feminists.
[11] ADODI was born in 1986 in Philadelphia as a movement of same gender loving men of African descent. "Adodi" is the plural of "Ado," a Yoruba word that describes a man who "loves" another man. The Adodi of the tribe are thought to embody both male and female ways of being and were revered as shamans, sages. and leaders. Adodi currently has chapters in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, DC. (see: http://www.adodi.org/)
[12] Essex Hemphill (1967-1995) was a writer who addressed race, identity, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and the family in his work. His first full-length poetry collection, Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry (1992), won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. He edited the anthology Brother to Brother: New Writing by Black Gay Men (1991). His work is featured in the documentaries Tongues Untied (1989), Black Is … Black Ain't (1994), and Looking for Langston (1989). Hemphill died of complications from AIDS in 1995.
[13] The Vale of Cashmere is a secluded patch of wilderness in Prospect Park that's been the unofficial locus of gay cruising in Brooklyn since the 1970s. In his short story, "Summer Chills" in Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, Rory Buchanan writes: "When I got there, I found the park filled with men in the same horny, hungry state of mind I was in … I can't remember ever seeing so many gorgeous black men in any one place."
[14] Assotto Saint (1957-1994) was a Haitian-born, pioneering poet, author, performance artist, musician, editor, human rights and AIDS activist, theatrical founder, and dancer. Saint was among the first Black activists to disclose his HIV positive status, and one of the first poets to include the AIDS crisis in his work. After graduating from Jamaica High School in New York City, he enrolled as a pre-med student at Queens College. In 1980, Saint fell in love with Jaan Urban Holmgren, a Swedish-born composer with whom he began collaborating on a number of theatrical and musical projects. Their relationship would last 14 years. They were both diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987. The death of his partner Jaan Urban Holmgren in 1993 profoundly affected Saint. In his poem, "Wishing for Wings," he concludes that no words can convey his despair over Holmgren's death. Saint died of AIDS-related complications on June 29, 1994. He had requested that, in protest of the indifference of American society to those dying of AIDS, that the American flag be burned at his funeral and its ashes scattered on his grave. Holmgren and Saint are buried side-by-side at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn.
[15] Willi Ninja (1961-2006) was a dancer, performance artist, and choreographer who was featured in "Paris is Burning." He was a self-taught dancer who was perfecting his vogueing style by his twenties. As mother of the House of Ninja, he became a New York celebrity, and give modelling stars like Naomi Campbell pointers early in their careers. He also inspired Madonna and her 1990 hit song and music video, "Vogue." In 2004, Willi Ninja opened a modelling agency, EON (Elements of Ninja), but continued to dance, appearing on the television series "America's Next Top Model" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and dropping in at local clubs. Willie Ninja died of AIDS-related heart failure in New York City on September 2, 2006, at the age of 45.
[16] Donald Woods (1958-1992) was a poet, singer, and creative worker based in Brooklyn. He earned a bachelor's degree at The New School and did postgraduate study in arts administration. His work as a writer began with his involvement in the Blackheart Collective. He studied with Audre Lorde and participated in Other Countries, a black gay men's writing workshop. Woods was one of several authors of "Tongues Untied," Marlon T. Riggs's film about black gay men. He also appeared in Riggs's film, "No Regrets." (see: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/29/obituaries/donald-w-woods-34-aids-film-executive.html)
This article was originally published in ArtsEverywhere on Feb 27th, 2020.
*See Every Where Alien in the LUV coalition. And, check out Brad Walrond's Launch Pad column in our Features.
A pre-Covid 19 estimation of LUV
Brainstorming in New York at the Goethe Institut
[*From February 9-11, 2020, Luv 'til it Hurts was busy in NYC. LUV participated in Love Positive Women (a project by Jessica Lynn Whitbread) with a poetry and food-inspired event 'LUV YEMANJÁ'. Food and a series of handmade porcelain candles were offered by artist Thiago Gonçalves and poet Brad Walrond offered a version of his work '1986' paired with other poems to suit the occasion. On the following two days, a group including Jakub Szczęsny, Eric Rhein, Todd Lester, Brad Walrond, Paula Nishijima, Paula Querido Van Erven worked on the hopeful next phase of the LUV project. Within this process were statements describing the project from individual viewpoints, such as this one by Brad. xo Todd]
Luv 'til it Hurts reminds us how proximal and interwoven our histories [are] regardless the presumed, apparent distances between the bodies, identities, and castes our worlds have suited for us. Perhaps in each [of] the futures we all must inevitably occupy, HIV/AIDS will have always been more metaphor than acronym; the Universe—even the portion that belongs to Us—is the occupant of an accident recovering it's purpose. A virus expresses as much as it destroys; binds, deconstructs, creates, recreates its own kinds of becoming.
That pleural vacuum into which it catapults us, it's undertow of grief, stigma, loss, shame pulls us each closer towards a corporal remuneration of our otherwise carefully tilled, fiercely guarded boundaries. Perhaps we discover, by the sheer performance of survival, that the threads now begging us together, have been there all along. Survival here becomes the enactment of hope against hope—a remaking, a re-fashioning, a reconfiguring, a re-imagining of our lost and future selves.
It is as if our bodies are made to become sites of discovery unto themselves. As if by force of opportunity and accident we infect a kind of prescience replicating inside an utterly human omen—being whomever we were cannot achieve us a habitable future. Perhaps living with and being impacted by some thing so summarily universal that has already changed the future, has already, by its sheer defiance, made its own impression on a species' ambition and dreams, shows us life itself can be renewed. Shows us there must always be novel, crucial, life-giving ways for a human kind to rub and touch and agree.
Luv 'til it Hurts as a moving recombinant collaborative show quite literally embodies the terror and the hope of this global pandemic. It represents unique opportunities to document and reveal global and parochial histories of the infected and affected while engaging communities in a viral generative praxis of encounter, transmission, deconstruction, reconstruction, remaking, reimagining and recovery.
closing doors
Brad Walrond	on January 17, 2020
borinquen
Brad Walrond	on January 9, 2020
Luv 'Til It Hurts
Brad Walrond	on May 16, 2019
Luv 'Til It Hurts: the Launch, by Brad Walrond
Luv 'Til It Hurts: the Launch
Luv 'Til It Hurts was formally launched October 27, 2018 at the historic LGBTQ Center in New York City. In keeping with Luv 'til it Hurts stated mission,
''to be a porous container, it aspires to 'hold' people together
long enough for essential introductions and exchange ideas''
for me at the time of this writing, April 2019 it has already been a ravishing success. I launched Every Where Alien [my arts culture and content producing brand and company] in January 2019. My first project is in the form of a narrative documentary and requires travel to São Paulo. I'm thrilled Luv 'Til It Hurts, found Every Where Alien's project worthy of support.
I am equally thrilled by how this journey with Luv 'Til It Hurts has placed me proximal to several astonishing artists and HIV/AIDS activists from around the world. In September by the time I walked into Kairon Liu's New York Humans as Hosts solo photography exhibition I understood. This experience, for me, had to be more than a fiscal exchange. Kai is brave and brilliant. His art is breathtaking and layered and provocative. I was here to learn, to hear, to witness, and to breathe.
Simply put I would not have met Kai were it not for Luv 'Til It Hurts. Quite likely neither would I have met Malaya Lakas, Philip Miner, Theodore Kerr —each all, in their own right, gifted and prodigious HIV/AIDS activists, administrators and artists.
Mine and Pony Zion's trip to Brazil in January 2019 gave occasion for me to deepen my relationships and collaboration with the truly legendary artivist innovators Flip Couto of Festa AMEM and Félix Pimenta of the House of Zion in Brazil. I had the honor to work with the unmitigated genius of Coletivo Coloteres in capturing the footage as the two-week residency in São Paulo unfolded. And of course I got to witness firsthand the life and work of Luv 'Til It Hurts' founder Todd Lester.
In the course of doing this work to research and write this poem chronicling Luv 'Til It Hurts Launch I've been gifted with new friendships, inspired by world-class art and activism, and the prospect of vanguard globe-spanning collaborations.
And for me, as an often reluctant and sometimes burnt out longtime HIV/AIDS activist perhaps the greatest surprise is to realize, even now after all these years, there is so much this pandemic and its survivors and activists have to teach us about but what it can plausibly mean to be human beings, and how we might co-create freer safer more vital societies for our kin—even when either ourselves, our families, our friends, our communities, are faced with withering stigma, economic injustice, health and healthcare access disparities, and yet still the prospect of dying too soon.
On the night of October 27, 2018 Pony Zion opened the Luv 'Til It Hurts launch with a group dance performance performed to a song he wrote and produced. Flip Couto and Festa Amem and Félix Pimenta shared a video about their work and travels. I shared a poem chronicling 30 years of black queer art activist organizing and the House Ballroom Scene in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in New York City. Pony and I shared a bit about our then forthcoming Luv 'Til it Hurts and #houselivesmatter supported residency in São Paulo. We joined our co-presenters Malaya, Phillip, Theodore (Ted) and the panel began curated and co-facilitated by Kairon Liu and Todd Lanier Lester.
To write this poem I interviewed, in the course of six months, the principal contributors to the panel at the Luv 'Til It Hurts launch. I wanted to hear from them firsthand how and why they were drawn to the project? I wanted to learn how HIV/AIDS, art, activism and stigma has impacted their lives? I wanted to hear from them their sense of what proved meaningful in the discourse, process and exchange with the project and the audience during the event. Above all I wanted to hear their heart. I am blessed to have been present with them and I am blessed to have borne witness through their eyes and my own the legacies of HIV/AIDS then and now.
The poem is written in five parts. I wrote each section as I completed either an individual interview or a set of interviews. I wanted each section to be able to live on its own and tell its own story. I hoped to discover through the sections' iterative and evolving interactions what the poem was truly about and how the emergent themes related to one another to tell a bigger story. I pray, however flawed, I have succeeded in hearing their hearts and learning a bit more of my own.
Luv 'Til it Hurts, by Brad Walrond
Luv 'til it Hurts
Brad Walrond	on November 16, 2018
Across generations of continents
What do it mean to be haunted?
by a virus. A bluegrass
grandma in Sparta, Tennessee died today;
So did Ntozake Shange.
I wonder is it was they knew each other?
Ntozake and grandma?
the yellow / the red / the Asian pacific islander /
the poor poor white / the black / the trans girl /
the doula / the woman / the social worker / the rich /
the nuyorican / the new yawker /the southern belle /
the global south /Brasil / the brown-black / AMEM
and thank you /the activist / the artivist / the Zion / the poet /
the visual artist / the scholar / the writer / the shunned /
the convener / the loved / the forsaken
Ain't it
a Universe of Us?
got queer children in common?
Somewhere in the beveled glitter of rainbows
A proximal history melts us into lemon drops
America's punk daughters and sons sure know how to tie a not
How else to cut down a noose?
cept with the knife's edge of a fem queen's heel
and an icon's death drop
tonight Love 'til it Hurts launched
right where we landed simulcast in this
historic nyc LGBT Center Auditorium
on 13th Street just west of Seventh Avenue South
breathing the unrequited ash suffusing St. Vincent's biosphere
in this west village five to six block radius
a repurposed hospital building ain't never lose it's mission
here lies a fertile field endlessly pregnant with ghosts
Where NYC's AIDS patients had flooded-in parched
for something like water & comfort on the hapless occasion
of their tsunami life and death
what do it mean to be haunted by a virus?
Tonight there is a Taipei hiv-positive gay boy in here
lending us an innervision. A love petri dish is bubbling over
in his terrified eyes
He's going back home soon; His country everywhere
infectious with stigma
the medicine men don't make pills for that.
Kai's momma don't know yet his secret.
Her son a host.
His soul-force, warm porcelain, nurses a kindling tide
swayed with tenderness and courage and rage
and grief and joy we can all touch
when we meet him
he has tasted here in nyc some portion of his soul's own freedom
the call. we hear it. don't u?
its in the blood its in the blood-water
earnest and quiet and true
It hurts to spring out of a cage smiling
It hurts to bounce too hard against a Tree
In the photos he has shown us.
He is calling us home
He is a gift.
He does not quite know how powerful he is yet.
row after freckled row in this ancestor scented auditorium
every where in view an horizon of all-american fauna
sat blowing in the fall wind
we watch at the intersection
wave after seceding wave
ntozake's fresh unencumbered ghost
laughs in panorama with all the traffic lights
sitting to my right a tsunami flew in from Edmonton
a boy burning himself to the bone
body fluid born too hot
for a working class town
finds a hungry pandemic after its stolen
the lion share of his bedfellows and wet-dreams
left him spurned already in a hotbed
of First Nation descendants and poor immigrants
a psychic says his former lover in a past life must have been a dandy
from the high hills of america's west coast
AIDS always had such fashion sense
Here today gone tomorrow
baroque Baudeliere bad ass.
negative [survey says] is a positive health outcome
if only it were so simple in these blood rich oil fields
reverse transcriptase trenches mine with the nuclear
parochial sanctimony of a moral majority
plus and minus everybody else
the top's bottom
the bottom's top
the infected and the un-infected
the bound and the unbound
the buttoned down and the unbuttoned
the prude and the wanderlust
if only our kind came readied to nurse
each ours very own chance at living?
meanwhile Kai's photos stream behind us un-announced
powerful enough?
[A prayer becomes an affirmation]
to tell their own story
to teach us?
[if even by omission]
the history of unintended
how silent and unbeknownst a virus haunts what it hunts
to occupy the hearts and minds of its prey
This project warrants no apology
the activists job is never done.
Perhaps the best ones wrastle
the too tight tendons
of their own too tidy towns
their own dissembled selves
born biting at the bit
kicking the stables
cut their teeth earn their chops
cross the stigma-shorn frontiers
imbued to their own origins
to discover the wealth
of what it could mean to survive
a pandemic before it kills you.
Whether you have it or not
Whether you will get it
To find a cause, greater than oneself,
throbbing with its own life
beyond the boundaries of caste
and circumstance
to lay among the shunned and the dying
the survived and the surviving
the besieged and the otherwise well off
the castaway and the unmoored
in search of what is possible of a self
inside the catacombs of a womanist's theory
breathing still at Union Theological Seminary
right where it was found
inside the bodies of black women
who had to have known
long before they got there
the evidence of their own being
must be for all civilization
a salvation unto itself.
Now are you gonna start dressing like a girl?
Some questions bury their own answers
inside the ferment whisper of unasked breath.
She was born inside the navel concave of a question
marked for transition from the beginning
a Filipina girl born into someone else's body
run up the west coast Interstate 5 like a spine
run up the American dream like a tourist with tangled roots
immigrant parents born knowing tourism must be a fantasy
long before it is a business.
A brother in Redding California asks his teenage sibling an answer
to his own redwood question
Before he outs him for talking to a boy
so seismic a proposition to ask a world for: an understanding.
boys and girls are born whole and un-belonging
these parts
they are shells
we can take them on
we can take them off
for the sake of our selves
we are quite simply who we feel we are
Malaya Malaya
Rehearse with me the freedom wolverine-knit
into the soul–spine of that name
She is a brook delicate and frothing
There is fertility in her bones
Like any fresh water river she is born caretaking
A sea of west coast salmon yelping against the tide
She is an undertaking
her own precious project
She intends on becoming the name of herself
feminist courses are no panacea
each intersection
corset a millstone to its own precipice
we who believe in freedom can not rest
we who believe in freedom can not rest until comes
for women of color
there is no way made for us
we must make our way
each every time
Kai too is the beginning of an answer
To Malaya's own unasked question
To see herself?
freed inside the swelling shadow of her own story
To bear witness how her light must-will,
so numinously, contend with that darkness
A heart pricked too young by a virus
for the which she was offered no viable
first or second language
with which to negotiate an actionable line of defense
PrEP PEP
Had not quite begun their rally
A whole body of stories snagged between
the too-titan lexicon of an aeon. AIDS HIV unspelling
their own death sentence
whole acronyms still sneezing mouth uncovered
their nubile stigma into a generation's consciousness
before and after they
re-imagine themselves
a desiccate and crumbled fiction
beneath the hard-packed weight
of their own histories
There is a new way.
We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes
these young ones are making it up as they go
the olde warrior's stories are not enough
for these young bloods
navigating a new virus
in a haint town
in a new time
they will teach us how to read the next chapter
they will teach us how to listen.
©2020 Luv 'til it Hurts


text:
Katie Phillips Creative Services
Create. Explore. Illuminate.
Editing & Coaching
BREAKTHROUGH: A 1:1 Coaching Intensive
Why You Can't Afford an Editor
Writing is an awfully expensive journey, isn't it? Let's keep it uber real here today, friend. Honest with each other over a cup of my favorite peach tea. The author's road is a hard one. Been there, got the t-shirt. Your laptop is not exactly cheap. Add to that a word processing program, office supplies,…
Creating Your Author Brand (Pt. 2): Your Authentic Voice
It's my privilege to welcome Lisa to my blog today. I've known her for several years now and have watched her journey through difficult circumstances to find her bold, unique voice that is at once compassionate and compelling. Who better to share her story of discovering her authentic voice than this beautiful woman who has…
How to Create Your Author Brand (Pt. 1)
Your author brand is nothing more than your authentic story. Let's set aside all the fancy talk of platforms and networking, fonts and social media strategies, logos and websites, brand archetypes and all the "expert advice." Because none of that matters until you know your story. You probably think your story is your book. Your…
Why a writing coach is your best friend
People live at the heart of your story. You may think your book is about you. And it absolutely is. Your unique voice breathes life into a story that only you can tell. But it's not JUST about you. It takes a village of beta readers, critique partners, writing coaches, editors, agents, proofreaders, graphic designers,…
The Introvert's Guide to Networking
What's a word that will make almost any introverted writer shudder? Networking. Or perhaps its cousin, platform. Ugh. I have to talk to people? Can't I just hide in my back bedroom and create such an enthralling novel that everyone will buy it on the merit of craft alone (without the unpleasantness of social interaction…
The Introvert's Guide to Writing in Community
When people think of writers, they don't really think of community. More often, the stereotype of the solitary author skipping meals and pounding away at a keyboard in some attic comes to mind instead! (And let's be real, that stereotype exists for a reason. It happens. *deadline* *cough*). But the creative process doesn't happen in…
Depression, Anxiety and the Creative Writer
Creative writers often jokingly refer to the strangeness of the writing experience in terms of a mental illness. Multiple personalities (Characters that talk back? Say, whaaat?), obsessive behavior, the "tortured artist" stereotype, all the feels, etc. But there's a darker underbelly beneath all the joking. The sensitive, artistic personality types who tend to express their…
A Writing Conference Survival Guide for the insecure author
I was a 19-year-old kid who didn't know much of anything when I went to my first writing conference. In fact, I was mainly going because I'd enjoyed writing stories with friends in high school, and I wanted an excuse to hang out with my best friend. 🙂 It was one of the most terrifying…
How to impress an agent or editor in 15 minutes or less
They say public speaking is people's most common fear, even more than dying. So I suppose it's not surprising that most writers fear pitching to agents and editors more than any other aspect of the writing and publishing process. Oh. And then there's the bit where a disproportionate number of writers are shy introverts. That…
What kind of edit does your book need?
What's involved in a book edit? Are there different types of edits? How do I know which kind of edit my book needs? Fair questions, and ones I hear often when talking to other authors and clients. But finding a simple, clear answer is surprisingly hard to come by. Terms are used interchangeably, and opinions…
How to save time and money with a manuscript consult
Have you ever written most of the first draft of your novel, only to realize there are major problems in your plot and character arcs that will require massive rewrites? I have. It's so incredibly frustrating. You have to throw out whole scenes, chapters, even the majority of your manuscript because you were so in love…
The key to thriving when you want to give up
Have you ever felt like giving up? Not just when life gets a little hard or you think it'd be easier to just quit. I'm talking about those times when you've not let yourself quit time after time, and you just start feeling like your situation is never going to change. You feel like you're…
How do I choose the right editor?
The question of how to choose the right editor is one of the most common queries I see floating around writer communities, and for good reason. It's an important question! A quality book editor represents a substantial investment of time and money for most authors (I'm guessing you fall into that category, since you're reading this…
Exercise solutions for the stressed-out creative entrepreneur
Almost six months ago I embarked on a journey far crazier and more difficult than anything I had previously attempted (which, by the way, includes traveling to Siberia and interviewing an ex-Buddhist monk in Myanmar). I knew I'd need to be at the top of my game, mentally and physically. I knew I'd have to…
Show vs. Tell: Draw Your Reader into Your Story
In my career as a full-time fiction book editor, I'm sometimes asked the most common problems plaguing manuscripts. And I always know exactly what to tell writers. Show versus tell. No matter how interesting the characters or unique the concept, telling instead of showing in your prose will kill your story every single time. Most authors…
Rest: The Ultimate Creativity Boost
Writers and other creatives really are their own worst enemies. Have you noticed that? Isn't it crazy? We are always the first people to criticize our work, run ourselves into the ground striving for impossible perfection, and just generally try to do ALL THE THINGS perfectly ALL THE TIME, convinced that everyone else totally has their act together and…
Be brave enough to tell your hard stories
A year ago Sunday, my beloved aunt tried to take her own life after a long battle with depression and anxiety. A year ago, I received a phone call from my younger cousin telling me her mom shot herself and would I please come and stay with her and her siblings. A year ago, I…
Harry Potter Meets X-Men in 1940s England: A WIPjoy Summary
At the beginning of January, you may remember my post about #JaNoWriMo and #WIPjoy and marveled at the eccentricities that are writerdom. I've had a wonderful time this month chatting with authors and readers about my latest WIP (otherwise known as a work-in-progress) on social media, particularly about Twitter, and answering the daily challenge questions…
Overcoming the Fear of Failure: Every Creative's Battle
Recently I was writing down answers for an online author challenge called #authorconfession (see my blog post on writer hashtag communities on the Crosshair Press page) and I came across an interesting question. What are you most afraid of as a writer? It kind of took me aback and I had to consider the question…
My Goal for 2017: Live Well
'Tis the season of New Year's resolutions (although by now, most will have given up on theirs) and goal-setting. All around me my writer friends are setting word count goals and plotting how many novels they're going to churn out this year. And there's not necessarily anything wrong with setting those kinds of creative goals….
When you have no words (and that's okay)
I ask my friend in the Dillons parking lot, shoppers passing by with carts full of riches untold for most of the people in this world. "Do you ever feel like you don't have any words left, or maybe that there's too much to say for words?" Like you just need to be with the people you…
Celebrating 2016 (*passes the champagne and popcorn*)
Have you ever noticed that Christians (creative ones in particular) aren't very good at celebrating accomplishments? Making to-do lists, sure. Crossing things off the list, sure. Maybe even mentioning something to a close friend over coffee, as long as you're careful to enumerate all the ways the accomplishment is imperfect in the process. But celebrating…
JaNoWriMo, WIPjoy, and other weird things writers say
Writers are a strange breed. No, really. I mean, we search Google for the best ways to kill people. ("As a mental exercise, I've often planned the murder of friends and colleagues." BBC Sherlock, Sign of Three) We wax eloquent about pacing and syntax, identify ourselves as "pantsers" or "plotters," talk to imaginary people and…
Courage to Laugh at the New Year
My best friend loves to give quirky and/or homemade gifts for Christmas, and this year was no exception. In addition to a hilarious photo book of our escapades the last couple years, she gave me a framed typography Scripture verse that she colored during one of our many nights watching movies together on the basement…
Finding joy in every season
Every season has its charms. The flowering trees and new warmth of spring. The carefree, lemonade-sipping dog days of summer. The crisp fall air, perfect for walks in brilliantly-colored leaves. And then the Christmas season, where the dark comes sooner and the days grow colder, yet all over the world people put up lights and…
Okay, I'll admit it. I went into Fantastic Beasts cautiously excited and more than a little skeptical. I love the Harry Potter world and series (both the movies and the books) and I was prepared to be disappointed by a completely different story line, time period, and cast of characters. Instead, I was utterly charmed…
DON'T WRITE EMOTION IN ALL CAPS
Have you ever had that happen to you? You're going along, calmly minding your own business when *ding* you get an email or text message from your friend or relative. You grin, humming the tune to "You've Got Mail," and click on the message. HELLO!!!!! HOW ARE YOU?????!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 😛 😉 The…
Home for the Holidays: Writing Family Roles in Fiction
There's one in every family. You know who you are. (If you don't know, it's probably you). There's always a black sheep of the family, just like there's the quirky aunt who gives you horrible knitted sweaters for Christmas, or the grandparent who forgets you grew into an adult 10 years ago, or the screaming…
Mulan, dragons, and embracing your creative inner child
When I was growing up, every night before bed my dad would read to me, while I colored in my Audubon bird coloring book (yes, I was homeschooled). At first it was short chapter books, like the Whitey series and Hank, The Cow Dog. Then we graduated to longer classics, mostly historical fiction related to…
5 Autumn Staples for the Weary Writer
It's that time of year again, the season of colorful leaves and walks in crisp fall air and bleary-eyed writers stabbing wearily at keyboards in a mad attempt to pound out a novel in a month. The struggle is real, my friends. The struggle is real. If you're the unfortunate friend or family member of…
How to Find Inspiration in Everyday Life
What do you do when you're not feeling inspired? For me, lack of creative inspiration manifests in compulsive house cleaning (a revealing tell for my friends and family, as I hate cleaning), eating copious amounts of chocolate ice cream, and staring morosely at my computer screen. Alas, these activities rarely produce the desired effect–brilliant, creative…
The Power of Story
I've always thought there had to be a pretty compelling reason Jesus told stories all the time. I mean, He was God. He had infinite powers, infinite understanding, infinite ability to say just the right words to make people do what He wanted them to do. And He chose to tell us a story about an…
Your Novel Check-Up (Part 2)
Welcome back to the novel doctor's office! This week we'll be taking a look at your story structure and whether it hits all the key notes. Inciting Incident: What jump-starts your story and takes your character out of their normal into their not-normal? Terrorists attack a key government building. Harry receives his letter to Hogwarts/visit…
What does the Sorting Hat say?
I'm a total Potterhead. Unashamedly. I love the Harry Potter series, with its fantastic characters, complex plot, and rich world building. I love the concept of the different personalities of the houses, and, as an INFJ, am acutely fascinated by differing personality types and quizzes like the Meyers-Briggs test. Often writers tend to create characters…
Preventing creative burn-out
Burn-out. Such an ugly phrase. I prefer to use other, nicer words like tired or stressed or encountering writers' block, but the result is the same. I end up discouraged and depressed, banging my head on a mental wall and desperately squeezing every last drop of creativity from my soul to meet real (or self-imposed)…
Why dressing professionally is like writing a book
Can I make a confession? I love fashion. Yes, I'm a slightly nerdy tomboy who loves action movies and rolls my eyes at drama. But I also love fashion. For artsy "free expression" types (that means me, by the way) "fashion" is usually whatever we feel like wearing. For introverts, fashion is often just another word for…
Musical Cues for the Creative Writer
Few creative mediums instantly set the tone and affect our emotions so immediately and powerfully as music. Think about the Indiana Jones theme. Now the Imperial March from Star Wars. You're humming it, aren't you? How did they make you feel? Were they different emotions, or the same? Now think about Lily's theme from the last…
10 Tips for Working with an Editor
Congratulations! You've completed your manuscript, chosen your editor, and are ready to make your baby shine. In fact, a good edit (or several) are all that stand between you and glorious publication. Right? Well, it's not quite that simple. Editing is a lot of work. Re-writing is a lot of work. And working with an…
Planning a "Workation" on a Budget
I curled up in an overstuffed armchair with a mug of my mostly-milk Mexican chocolate brew, editing an Appalachian-themed historical novel in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Fifty pages later, I set aside my work for a jaunt to the stunningly gorgeous Lily Lake outside of Estes, Colorado, to stretch my legs, enjoy the…
30 Years of Blessings – Looking Back to Move Ahead
Today, as I look ahead to the New Year, I'm also celebrating another big milestone. Today, I turn 30. And while I'm definitely feeling a wee bit old, I'm also feeling tremendously thankful. For the health and energy to pursue my dreams. For long-time faithful friends and a family I adore. For the privilege of…
Ice, rice, and paradise
No matter how hard I try, my life just can't be normal. Sometimes it fools me for awhile. I start to have foolish ambitions of being the cool kid who actually has things together and enjoys a nice, boring, normal life where crazy, random things don't happen on a regular basis. Despite a plethora of…
🎉 MARVEL FANS ASSEMBLE!!! 🎉 Roll call in the comments with your favorite Avenger or MCU character, because we're talking epic superheroes and superpowers today! More specifically, we're celebrating the reveal of this super fun cover by artist Kristen Hildebrand for a new superhero series by @free2bfearless!!!! You guys. I'm seriously so excited for this series. It's Marvel meets Voltron with a little Pacific Rim thrown in. It's super-powered sentient samurai armors with elemental abilities. It's robot soldiers trying to take over San Francisco. It's more snarky one-liners than you can shake a stick at, plus characters you'll fall in love with from the moment you meet them. It's found family and hilarious and epic all at the same time. Also, the MC is basically Tom Holland @karaswansonauthor). Sooo, there's that... Here's the blurb——————————— "I always thought America was full of cowboys, but turns out it's mostly hipsters and beach bums. Or maybe that's just San Fran. I'm Stan Hawthorne—undercover superhero and first chair violin in my year 9 orchestra—but the bad guys call me Kagami, after my samurai water armor. It's like my secret identity. Brilliant, eh? I live in a giant mansion near the bay with an old archeologist and a bunch of other boys he adopted who also have armors. We're supposed to save the world, but mostly the lads just fight with each other, while I try not to fail Algebra. Every once in awhile, a little robot soldier shows up, just to make life interesting. Usually when I'm trying not to be awkward around a girl. Or when my best mate, Karl, is too busy stuffing his face with tacos to be helpful. But a few days ago, on the way home from school, I tangled with a soldier who wasn't like any of the others. I mean, this bloke was bad news. I thought fighting robot soldiers was bad. Blimey, was I wrong." ————————— *squeeeaaall* This novella will be available at @realmmakers and will be followed by a full-length novel later this year. Be sure and check it out on Amazon! #thisisbookishcommunity @mollieereeder @mj_mcgriff @free2bfearless QotD: If you had a super-powered samurai armor, what would be your secret superpower?
🎉 COVER REVEAL!!! 🎉 I love this absolutely stunning beauty from @sharonhinck, coming out from @enclavepublishing in January 2020! Y'all know my hubby has performed ballet and several other forms of dance for many years, so I was thrilled to see this as a theme and can't wait to read this book! Here's the blurb: ————————————- The dancers of the Order direct their floating world of Meriel with their movements, but are they steering it toward destruction? Calara spent her life learning dance patterns and seeking to become the perfect servant to her people. When she discovers the work of the Order is built on lies, she flees with a rough-edged herder, Brantley of Windswell. Pursued by soldiers, her journey through the suffering villages of the rim leads her to a forgotten truth that sends ripples through her world-and through her soul. Calara seeks clues to her forgotten family and discovers newfound courage in the face of danger, while her quest awakens a growing but forbidden affection for Brantley. Yet even his support can't fully be trusted, since he'd rather destroy the Order than bring reform. She is a lone woman facing opposition from rim villages and treachery from the all-powerful Order. Can she restore the dance to its true purpose and bring freedom and hope to her people? #hiddencurrent #thedancingrealms #thedancingrealmsseries #sharonhinck #fantasy #mustread #preorder #coverlove #coverreveal #enclavepublishing #january2020 #booklover #newrelease #amreading #fantasybooks #amreadingfantasy #dance #ballet
🎉 IT'S CELEBRATE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS DAY!!! 🎉 Seriously, there are so many. They wouldn't all fit in this picture. But I love them all. Ready for the shout-outs? Let's dive in!! For writing a sci-fi fairytale retelling I adore and giving hubby and I a book series we both enjoy, thank you @marissameyerauthor For being such a beautiful human and writing books like Storm Siren and To Best the Boys, and taking the time to have coffee with me and encourage me on my journey, the beautiful @maryweberauthor For being so positive and authentic and crafting such quality, soulful stories, @nadinebrandes. It's been a joy to watch your star rise. For writing the best found family series I've ever read and creating the first characters I truly remember loving, Dee Henderson. For taking the time to sit down and chat over coffee and showing me how to always push yourself to grow as an author, @morganlbusse. You're an inspiration. For being a true legend and showing me the power of story and never shying away from tackling the tough issues of life, Francine Rivers. For giving us all the gift of the Harry Potter series and showing us what was truly possible, @j.k.rowlings. Now we all want to move to Hogwarts. For writing the most hopeful, brave, and heart-wrenching WWII novel before the war was ever won, Constance Savery. For the most gorgeous, lush worldbuilding I've ever read and bringing history to life for me, Rosemary Sutcliff. I aspire. For nurturing my love of storytelling from an early age, bringing my favorite character to life, and always believing in me, @free2bfearless. For making me laugh and bringing me joy and wonder and magic in a hard, dark season of my life, and for being the embodiment of courage and determination every day, @mollieereeder. For trusting me with your book babies and giving me the joy of the best job in the world, though you're too many to name, my #katiepauthortribe. I love you all. QotD: Who are your auto-buy authors?
I HAVE A NEW BOOKSHELF! My book collection has been multiplying at an alarming rate, thanks to so many awesome books coming out this year. So, my sweet husband offered to buy me these gorgeous agate bookends on our recent trip to the Rockies! 😍 Yes. He's fabulous. He also talked me into splitting geods for the first time! So beautiful and so much fun. I'll be the first to admit that I don't like to spend money on myself and new things can be hard or intimidating, but it was just another needed reminder to live and enjoy life fully, embracing new experiences. When we push ourselves to step out of our comfort zone and try something new, we live our own story well and are always collecting fresh ideas! QotD: What's something you've always wanted to do, but have been scared to try? (For me, it's piercings. Because needles and pain).
WHO'S A REBEL YOU LOVE? Books are full of brave souls who went against the norm—against prejudices, against expected gender roles, against oppressive governments and systems, against the ideals of society—and by their courageous actions set an example that led to positive change for themselves and others. I always find it sobering to think of that little band of brave, ordinary men who stood up to the biggest world power of their time and said, "No more." They did not see the nation or world that we see today. The did not know the end of their story. Sight unseen, they pledged their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" for the cause they believed in—and most of them did lose everything. My favorite series about rebels and revolutions is the Lunar Chronicles by @marissameyerauthor. I read them for the first time last year and am now reading them aloud with my husband. Not only are our heroes fighting against an oppressive and cruel government, they also deal with parental and societal expectations, prejudices, unconventional gender roles, and economic backgrounds. Their strength gives me courage to stand for right in my own small battles. QotD: Who is your favorite rebel?
"THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING AND I MUST GO." Y'all. I am sooo tired after getting in at 3am last night from our weekend away visiting family in Colorado. But I couldn't wait to spam your feed with all my gorgeous mountain photos (plus videos of furry critters!). Check out my stories for the full experience! Though spending time with family can sometimes be complicated and stressful, I'm so thankful that hubby and I had the chance to go up and explore one of the most beautiful places in the country. And we got to pop into the most delightful coffee shops and book stores (pictured, in Estes), where I picked up the next book in the Lunar Chronicles by @marissameyerauthor for the drive home! We've just started reading aloud in the car to each other in road trips, and we're loving it! We started with my favorite series from last year, the Lunar Chronicles, and it's so much fun to hear hubby talking to the characters and guessing what's going to happen! 😂 Have you ever read aloud books in the car to pass the time on long road trips? Heading to go start unpacking, but don't forget that tomorrow we're talking your favorite bookish rebels and rebellions for the #thisisbookishcommunity challenge!
Karis Waters
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Mushi Ladybug is an enemy that spawns in Mushroom Biomes, both on the surface and below-ground in Hardmode, but only on the surface pre-Hardmode. Their high health and damage, quick movement and ability to fly short distances places them among the more dangerous enemies that can spawn before Hardmode.
The Mushi Ladybug is immune to Poisoned and Venom debuffs.
"Mushi" is the Japanese word for "insect".
This page was last edited on 14 April 2019, at 19:10.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Eurofurence.Companion.DataModel.Abstractions;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

namespace Eurofurence.Companion.DataModel.Api
{
    public class KnowledgeEntry : EntityBase, ISortOrderKeyProvider
    {
        public Guid KnowledgeGroupId { get; set; }

        public string Title { get; set; }
        public string Text { get; set; }
        public int Order { get; set; }

        public LinkFragment[] Links { get; set; }

        public Guid[] ImageIds { get; set; }

        public KnowledgeEntry()
        {
            Images = new List<Image>();
        }

        [JsonIgnore]
        public virtual List<Image> Images { get; set; }

        [JsonIgnore]
        public virtual KnowledgeGroup Group { get; set; }

        [JsonIgnore]
        public object SortOrderKey => Order;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
-- All Catalogs --Books---Air Combat World War II---Allied Uniforms------Soviet Uniforms and Medals---Axis---Eastern Front---General World War II------Airborne Infantry (Catalog)------War at Sea (Catalog)------War in the Air (Catalog)---German Memoirs---German Uniforms---German Weapons------Concord Series (Catalog)------Panzer Tracts (Catalog)------Tank Power Series (Catalog)---Heimdal---Kriegsmarine---Luftwaffe------LUFTWAFFE PROFILE SERIES---Pacific Theater---Specials------Group Sale-1------Group Sale-2---Tankograd------Hard Cover------World War 1 (1000)------Soviet (2000)------American (3000)------Wehrmacht (4000)------Militarfahrzeug-BW (5000)------Technical Manuals (6000)------Missions & Manoeuvres (7000)------International (8000)------British (9000)------In Detail------In Detail: Fast Track---Third Reich---Waffen SS---What's New
Free Shipping on orders of 8 or more books.
Applies to US Shipments only.
Please note, I do not add new books to my website until I actually have them in stock, as too many times in the past there have been the so called check's in the mail issues with problems from release dates to shipping and so on. Many of the new titles you see around I will carry and when I do have the book in stock they will be posted immediately.
You are here: Books : Eastern Front
HITLER'S WAR ON RUSSIA (AKA HITLER MOVES EAST)
Book Type: C
By Paul Carell.
This special limited edition of an all time classic on the war on the Eastern Front is based off the original British first edition. The dust jacket, photos and fold out map are reproduced exactly here as the original. The only small changes are upgrades on the binding, paper and overall production in which no expense was spared. Launched with an immense invasion force of three million men, Germany's surprise attack against Russia in 1941 was planned by Hitler to crush the Soviets within eight weeks. Instead, hampered by major strategic errors, fanatical Soviet resistance, and the severity of Russian winters, "Operation Barbarossa" lingered on until, in 1943, The German fighting machine finally broke down at Stalingrad in one of the most shattering defeats of the century. Rarely has this war of attrition be reconstructed in such authentic detail and with such starkly dramatic effects as it is in this account. Paul Carell, basing his story on official military records, the memoirs of commanders in both German and Russian armies, and extensive conversations with survivors of all ranks, has drawn an objective, extraordinary vivid pictures of a struggle which, in the size of the forces involved and the ferocity of the fighting, was unparalleled in the history of the war. Along "the greatest front in world history" three armoured spearheads advanced simultaneously in a Blitzkrieg aimed at the vital centers of Russia. Their superior direction of operations, the daring mobility of the Panzer Corps, and the toughness of the troops swept the Germans to within 60 miles of Moscow. But in 1942, while his generals were urging a direct attack upon the capital, Hitler ordered them to concentrate upon a drive south into the Ukraine and towards the oil of the Caucasus. The Germans rapidly penetrated as far as Stalingrad on the River Volga, and Hitler became obsessed with the necessity of capturing the city. By September his troops were fighting in its streets. But the Russians resisted heroically, and after breaking out from the city, encircled and captured a number of German divisions and high-ranking officers. It was this sudden collapse at Stalingrad which turned the tide of the war in Russia. Paul Carell demonstrates clearly in this definitive account the strategic issues of the Campaign, its origins and significance, Hitler's tactical blunders and his generals' achievements in spite of them. Includes stunning color and black and white photographs, that have easily stood the test of time in their dramatic appeal.
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Southborough officials: Golf Club is open for play
Jonathan Phelps @JPhelps_MW
SOUTHBOROUGH — The construction of the town's new public safety complex on part of the Southborough Golf Club might have some golfers thinking twice about booking a tee time.
But town officials and the course operator want to make it clear the course is open.
"It looks rather daunting when you drive by on Rte. 85 and see the construction site, trucks, heavy equipment and fences," said Andre Fortin, a member of the Golf Course Committee. "That entire area will be paved soon."
A parking lot is designated for golfers in the rear of the public safety building construction, where the clubhouse has been relocated. The nine-hole course, which is owned by the town and managed by New England Golf Corp. of Westwood, is open to the public.
Because of the construction, the course has a temporary first tee and ninth green. The town hired architect Stephen Kay to redesign those two holes.
"We are restoring the course the best we can with five or six less acres," Fortin said.
Selectmen earlier this year waived New England Golf Corp.'s rent because of the needed work. Rent is about $20,000 a year.
Town Administrator Mark Purple told selectmen earlier this month that Kay's plans are similar to those of a previous architect who is no longer on the project.
"Play can continue to go on while the construction is happening," Purple said.
He hopes work on the course can start in August or September.
Students from Marlborough's Assabet Valley Technical High School will renovate the cludhouse, which will include new siding, a roof and deck.
The town bought the course from St. Mark's School to help accommodate the construction of a new police and fire station, with the remaining land being preserved for golf and open space. Completion of the police/fire building is set for Aug. 13.
Previously, selectmen rejected three bids to reconstruct the first tee and ninth green because of costs. Bids for the work came in the range of $514,000 to $607,000, while the town only has $340,000 set aside in Community Preservation Act money, according to town officials.
Fortin said the preliminary plans look to be within the budget.
A new request for bids for the work is expected to go out in the next several weeks. The timeline for the golf course completion depends on when the bids are received.
"When the landscaping is done for the public safety building, there will be no question that there is a fully operational golf course on the site," he said.
Jonathan Phelps writes about business, development and real estate for the Daily News. He can be reached at 508-626-4338 or jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.


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A diszruptív szelekció, diverzifikáló szelekció vagy szétválasztó szelekció a populációgenetikában a természetes szelekció olyan típusának elnevezése, mely egy fenotípusos tulajdonság szélső értékeit támogatja a közepes értékekkel szemben. Ilyenkor a jelleg sokfélesége növekszik, és a populáció a jelleg alapján két eltérő csoportba oszlik.

Ezt az evolúciós folyamatot tartják a szimpatrikus speciáció egyik fő hajtóerejének.

Példa
Tételezzünk fel egy nyúlpopulációt, ahol az egyes nyulak színét két, részlegesen dominánsan öröklődő jelleg határozza meg: a fekete bunda, amit "B"-vel és a fehér bunda amit "b"-vel jelölünk.

Ebben a populációban a "BB" genotípusú nyúl fenotípusa a fekete szőrzet lenne, a "Bb" genotípusú szőrzete szürke lenne (keverten mutatna fekete és fehér jelleget) és a "bb" genotípusnak fehér lenne a szőrzete.

Ha ez a nyúlpopuláció olyan környezetben élne, aminek egyes részeit fekete, más részeit fehér sziklák borítják, a fekete szőrzetű nyulak hatékonyan el tudnának rejtőzni a ragadozók elől a fekete sziklákon, a fehér szőrzetű pedig a fehér sziklákon. A szürke szőrzettel rendelkező nyulak azonban az élőhely mindkét területén feltűnőek lennének, ezért nagyobb arányban pusztítanának közöttük a ragadozók.

Ez a szelekciós nyomás azzal a hatással lenne a hipotetikus nyúlpopulációra, hogy szétválasztó kiválasztódás történne a szőrzetszín szélső értékeire: a fehérre és a feketére, de nem a szürkére.

Jelentősége
A diverzifikáló szelekció különleges jelentőségű az evolúcióbiológia történetében, hiszen főszereplője az evolúció egyik sarkalatos esetének, méghozzá a Galápagos-szigeteken előforduló, Darwin által megfigyelt pintyekkel kapcsolatban.

Darwin észrevette, hogy a szigeteken élő pintyfajok kellően hasonlítanak egymásra ahhoz, hogy egyetlen faj leszármazottainak lehessen őket tekinteni. A csőrük méretében azonban az egyes fajok között jelentés eltérés mutatkozott. A variáció láthatólag az egyes szigeteken hozzáférhető magokhoz való adaptív alkalmazkodásból származott (nagy magvakhoz nagy csőr, kis magvakhoz kis csőr). A közepes méretű csőrrel nehéz lenne fölszedni az apró magvakat és nem elég kemény a nagyobb magvakhoz, ezért az maladaptívnak bizonyult.

Noha a diverzifikáló kiválasztódás fajképződéshez vezethet, ez nem olyan gyors vagy egyértelmű folyamat, mint más speciációs eseteknél vagy evolúciós változásoknál. Ennek az az oka, hogy a diszruptív szelekció eredményei kevésbé stabilak, mint a direkcionális szelekció eredményei (a direkcionális szelekció a spektrum egyik végén lévő egyedeket favorizálja).

Tekintsük újra a nyulak matematikailag egyszerű, bár biológiailag valószínűtlen esetét: tegyük fel, hogy direkcionális szelekció lép életbe. A mezőn csak sötét színű kövek vannak, tehát minél sötétebb a nyúl, annál jobb neki. Végül jó sok fekete nyúl lesz a populációban (tehát sok "B" allél) és valamivel kevesebb szürke nyúl (akik a kromoszómáik 50%-ával a "B" allélt, a másik 50%-kal a "b" allélt propagálják a populációban). Lesz egy kevés fehér nyúl is (nem sok, mivel kevés "b" allél van). Ez ahhoz vezethet, hogy a "b" allél kihal és kizárólag fekete nyulak maradnak, mivel nincs semmi, ami a "b" allélt előnyössé tenné. A számuk csak csökkenhez, és végül le is nullázódhat.

Tekintsük most a diverzifikáló szelekciót. Az eredmény azonos számú fekete és fehér nyúl, és így a "B" és "b" allél közel azonos számban vannak jelen. Minden alkalommal, ha egy fehér és egy fekete nyúl párosodik, szürke utódokat fognak a világra hozni. Ahhoz, hogy az eredmény igazán hatásos legyen, szükséges egy olyan erő, ami a fehér nyulakat arra készteti, hogy a fehér nyulakkal párosodjon, a feketéket pedig, hogy a feketékkel. A pintyek esetében ez az "erő" a földrajzi/niche izoláció volt.

Kapcsolódó szócikkek
 Természetes szelekció
 Negatív szelekció
 Direkcionális szelekció
 Stabilizáló szelekció
 Kiegyensúlyozó szelekció
 Válogató párosodás
 Hipergámia
 Koinofília

Jegyzetek

Fordítás

Evolúció
Populációgenetika

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Chattanooga lies in the south east region Tennessee, along the Tennessee River. Aside from the beautiful surrounding river, the city is located in a valley created by the Appalachian Mountains. The famous Lookout Mountain Incline Railway will take you to the breathtaking Ruby Falls and Rock City Gardens. Upon arriving at the top of the Lookout, you will find a Civil War Memorial at the Chattanooga Museum. Families can also explore the Tennessee Aquarium, 13 mile Riverwalk, Coolidge Park, or sail down the Tennessee River with the Southern Belle River cruise where if the kids get bored, they can just make their way to the burger bar on the 3rd deck and make themselves at home! The kids will also love the Creative Discovery Museum where they can experience a variety of activities! These include woodwork, sewing, drawing, sculpting, and really just anything creative you can think of! Camping allows you to make the most out of your trip here as you will me amongst the fun and scenery that a hotel would not allow.


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BEAUTIFUL STONE HOME ON THE CORNER OF 6TH AND MORRIS STREET. WOULD MAKE A GREAT STARTER HOME OR FOREVER HOME. SPACIOUS LIVINGROOM WITH NEW LAMINATE FLOORING AND GAS FIREPLACE. UPDATED KITCHEN WITH CERAMIC FLOORING. ADDITIONAL ROOM IN THE BASEMENT THAT WOULD MAKE A NICE GAMEROOM OR OFFICE. ALL THIS AND THE BENEFITS OF A ONE YEAR HSA HOME WARRANTY.


text:
Flax growers list
Abbey DuniryCounty GalwayAddergooleAhascraghAnnaghdownAthleagueBallymacward GurteenBallynacourtyBoyounaghCaltraCarginClonbernCongDonaghpatrickDunamonDuniryDunmoreKilbegnetKilbennanKilconlyKilcroanFohenagh Killure And KilgerrilKillimor BullogueKilkerrinKilleanyBallynakill KillianMullagh KilloranKillursaKiltormerLickmolassyMoyloughNewcastleTempletogherTuamTynaghPortumnaLoughrea
Recommended Sources in Local History Steve Dolan
Continuing our series on the sources of information available to local historians, here we are highlighting the Irish Flax Growers Bounty List of 1796. Often referenced for its genealogical value, the detail in same is also invaluable to anyone with interest in local or economic history. http://www.failteromhat.com/flax/galway.htm.
By the last quarter of the eighteenth century linen had became an important commodity, and by 1776 there were 300 looms in and around Loughrea - compared to 180 in Galway city. A Belfast Newsletter article (13 Jan 1886) also reported on the roaring success of the linen industry in Portumna, while Clanricarde's 1791 map of Loughrea shows a substantial linen hall at Barrack Street in what is now the abandoned cinema. Indeed, the good news story of the blossoming linen market in Loughrea even made the national headlines, as in the Freeman's Journal of 29 June 1792.
The referenced 1796 'Bounty List' details the name and addresses of all those who received awards (funds) from the Irish Linen Board that year. In total 640 people are listed within the county, almost all of whom were men. While all the flax 'worked' in the county was said to have been 'raised' in it, it is clear that Co Galway was not as large a pro-ducer of flax as comparable counties, particularly in the north. In any event, the distribution of the 640 people was:
Abbey (1), Addergoole (5), Ahascragh (3), Annaghdown (2), Athleague (6), Aughyart (14), Ballymacward (2), Bal-lynacourty (1), Ballynakill (90), Boyounagh (4), Caltra (8), Cargin (1), Clare (7), Clare Tuam (16), Clonbern (11), Cong (18), Donagh Patrick (10), Donkellan (2), Dunamon (1), Duniry (44), Dunmore (49), Kilbegnet (17), Kilbennan (17), Kilconla (30), Kilcroan (10), Kilgerrill (1), Kilimur (21), Kilkerrin (20), Killeany (4), Killian (27), Killoran (6), Killiursa (8), Kiltormer (1), Lickmolassy (23), Lismared (2), Minlogh (10), Moylough (13), Musickfield (42), New-castle (2), Nutgrove (1), Ross (25), Templetogher (3), Tiranascragh (1), Tuam (18), Tynagh (43).
Sadly, unfair taxation, absentee landlords, and various economic crises plagued the Irish flax-linen industries into the new century. A thorough picture of its importance and decline of can be pieced together by utilising various sources:
1. In the areas of the county for which the 1821 census data survives, a number of flax and wool spinners are listed.
2. The later 1838 Ordinance Survey Name Books also confirm that the growing of flax remained prominent around the county,
3. The gradual decline was undeniable however and the 'Returns of Agricultural Produce in Ireland' for the years around 1847 illustrates that flax had been abandoned in much of the county.
4. Newspapers, like the Western Star (Anglo-Celt article) on 1 June 1867, right, references a short-lived revival.
The above is taken from the Penny Illustrated Paper of 20 Jan 1864. A naive attaching article suggested that emigration could be ended if farmers simply changed to growing flax. The article noted that the Galway Board of Guardians had commenced a subscription 'for the purpose of paying an instructor to direct the movement for the cultivation of flax'. The church supported these efforts, though they would fail despite the increase in prices in the 1860s. Today, the broad greens for bleaching and drying the flax in various villages, e.g. at Monivea, are the legacy that remain.
This Chronicle was created using information originally published in the South East Galway Archaeological and Historical Society Newsletter No. 21.
Parishes Abbey Duniry (Galway)
Parishes Addergoole (Galway)
Parishes Ahascragh (Galway)
Buildings Associated with these Communities
Laghey Co Donegal


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Listed below are complete details about actress Emma Watson body measurements including height, weight, shoe, dress and bra size.
Both her father Chris Watson and Jacqueline Luesby are lawyers.
The actress has a special love for chocolates.
In real life, Emma Watson is a natural blonde.
Emma auditioned 8 times before finally being cast for the role of Hermoine Granger in Harry Potter film series.
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text:
Paul Stanley: KISS coming for 'victory lap' at Allentown Fair
By John J. Moser
Of The Morning Call |
The band will rock and roll all night at the Allentown Fair, its first Lehigh Valley stop in 24 years
Rock band KISS has never been about subtlety.
From its outlandish costumes and makeup to its over-the-top, fire-roasted stage shows and slogans such as "the biggest band in the world" and "you wanted the best — you got the best," KISS has made its mark by being big and bold.
So when KISS brings its "Freedom to Rock" tour to the Allentown Fair on Thursday, the show won't be burdened with deep cuts. And even though it's the 40th anniversary of both of KISS' biggest studio discs — "Destroyer" and "Rock and Roll Over" — KISS won't be doing an album show like many other classic rockers. Instead, the concert will be a show full of hits.
"The cream has always risen to the top, and the people expect certain songs and they'll get those," guitarist/singer and founder Paul Stanley says in a phone call from his California home. Recent shows have included them all: "Shout It Out Loud," "Beth," "Love Gun," "Detroit Rock City" and, of course, "Rock and Roll All Nite."
"The idea of playing obscure songs is only appealing to a die-hard fan who knows our albums inside out," Stanley says. "To go up on stage and play unknown songs for a handful of people as opposed to playing the songs that everybody wants to hear is really not in our best interests or the audience's.
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"We want to do the best show possible and we want to blow away people who get to see us once every two years, five years, 10 years. Those are the people who we put the show together for. If somebody comes night after night or sees 10 or 15 shows on a tour, well, they may be asking why we don't change the show up much. But the fact is we don't change it up that much because once it's great, you don't mess with it."
Wanting to reach people who see KISS infrequently is why KISS is coming to Allentown — and other "secondary markets" on the current tour, Stanley says. The 35-show jaunt, which started in July, has KISS playing more than 25 cities it hasn't visited in more than 10 years, and four first-time stops.
"One of the great things about this tour is going back to places that somehow, for one reason or another, have been off the touring grid," he says. "And it's a thrill. I mean, I have to say it's great to play these great big metropolises, but truth be told, we made our name by playing the smaller cities.
"And this only reaffirms for us why we should be doing this — is to go full circle and go back to where it all started."
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The Lehigh Valley certainly qualifies as one of the places it all started for KISS.
In 1975, the band, which was born in New York City, played two shows on the same day at Northampton's Roxy Theatre, on the very day it released its third disc, "Dressed to Kill," which included "Rock and Roll All Nite."
Eight months later, KISS played Allentown Fairground's Agricultural Hall, days after releasing what would become its first gold disc, "Alive." In 1984, it kicked off its North American tour for its "Animalize" album at Bethlehem's Stabler Arena, after rehearsing the tour there. It was the first area show for the band without its signature makeup.
It played the fairgrounds again in 1990 and Stabler again in 1992, both times without makeup. That means the fair show will be KISS' first in the Lehigh Valley in 24 years and first with makeup in more than 40 years.
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"It's not the first time," Stanley says about playing Allentown. "We played around. But yes, I remember, certainly, coming to Allentown."
Asked why it has taken so long to return, Stanley says, "I think Isaac Newton would say something along the lines of 'You can only be in one place at a time.' And when we're touring, we have to pick and sometimes we're told what is the most advantageous place to play, or where we can play to the most people. Because honestly … you want to maximize your time on tour. And that usually means playing bigger cities and bigger venues."
But coming back "feels right," he says.
Something else that put KISS on track to return is that it devised a version of its famously bombastic stage show for a smaller venue: its residency at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 2014, as part of its 40th anniversary tour.
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A DVD of those shows, "KISS Rocks Vegas," was released Saturday, after a one-day theatrical release in May.
"The band sounded great, and it was a very unique situation where we got a chance to put together a stage show that didn't have to travel," Stanley says. "So we were playing a much smaller venue than we would normally play and yet we were doing a much bigger show than perhaps we could do in some arenas.
"So to be able to kind of set ourselves down and plant ourselves in one location gave us the opportunity to do a different kind of set and a different kind of show. And it was gangbusters. I want to go back and do another residency in Vegas."
Stanley says the show is still a massive KISS production. "Oh, it's a great show; it's one of my favorites," he says.
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Fair Marketing Director Bonnie Brosious confirms it's "an elaborately produced stage show … one for the ages" with "lots of trucks" and "lots of pyro."
Reports from previous shows say both Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons fly during the show.
But Stanley says the production is only part of the attraction.
"Honestly, at this point, after all the shows we've done, it's come to a point where any band with money can do a KISS show," he says. "Any band out there can get fire and bombs and anything they want. But they'll never be KISS.
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"It's a great, great show … but there's a great band on stage."
Another reason KISS won't be doing new music on the tour is that it's been four years since KISS released a new album, 2012's "Monster."
A decade ago, Stanley said KISS might never make another new album, but since then its past two discs — it released "Sonic Boom" in 2009 — gave the band its two highest-charting discs ever, at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. So does Stanley foresee new music?
"Each album we did, there was a justification for before we started it — and I don't mean by fans, but within the band, and at least with me, in particular," he says. "And I'm feeling more now that I could see it happening in the not-too-distant future. It's just I don't want to do 'Sonic Boom Part II.' I don't want to do 'Monster Part II.'
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"If we can do something different and yet retain who we are, that's much more interesting at this point to me. I don't want concept albums; I don't want to try to over think it. And at the same time I don't want to do the same thing again. If everybody's on the same page, then I sure we'll go in the studio sooner than later."
In the meantime, Stanley recently joined with former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley on a cover of the Free song "Fire and Water" for Frehley's new album "Origins Vol. 1," released in April. It was the first time the two appeared on the same studio recording since KISS' 1998 reunion album "Psycho Circus." Stanley also appeared in the video for the song.
"Ace called me and asked me if I would do something on his album, and I didn't have to think two seconds. I said, 'Of course,'" Stanley says. "I mean, it was a no-brainer to me. We have far, far, far too much history together to let differences — which will always be there — get in the way.
"We started something together, and we are connected and always will be. So to record, and then he asked me if I would do a video, and again I said 'Yeah.' And we had a terrific time. It was great seeing him. And I'm really happy to see him clear-headed and nice to have him back in the circle, in my circle.
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"He is one-of-a-kind, and as unique as they come. But he's in great shape and I had a great time."
Stanley also defends his partner Simmons against recent criticism after Simmons in May suggested that music icon Prince's death was "a choice" because of his addiction to painkillers.
Stanley at the time tweeted that he was "embarrassed by cold clueless statements re Prince's death" (Simmons also later apologized), but Stanley also later criticized Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx for saying he had "no respect for Gene Simmons anymore — nobody in rock does."
"I think that sometimes Gene lacks a filter, and that's unfortunate," Stanley says in the interview. "But Gene's a great guy and does a lot of amazing things for people less fortunate, for kids, for charities."
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With Stanley now 64 and Simmons 67, is there talk about the band's long-term future?
"I just think the band will continue," Stanley says. "I've said it all along: With or without me, the band will continue. And should. People … said in the beginning that the original band was the only band — and I was one of them, until I realized that everybody wasn't on the same page anymore, or somebody wasn't playing well, or didn't want to do the same thing.
"And at that point, you go, 'Well, do we stop what we're doing because somebody isn't holding up their end? Or do we keep going? … at some point, it becomes about what I want to do. And this point, the people who thought that it had to be the original guys, those people are 50 percent wrong now."
That alludes to the fact that Frehley and founding drummer Peter Criss have been replaced by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, respectively — who both now have been in the band longer than the originals.
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"And trust me — when we're playing, nobody is wondering where someone who was once in the band is," Stanley says. "You know, KISS is beyond that."
Will Stanley be around in eight years for the 50th anniversary of KISS?
"I have no idea," he says. "It's just interesting when people say, 'Hey, it's the 40th anniversary, are you going to do something different?' And I go, 'Every year is an anniversary. Every day is an anniversary.' You know, KISS at this point, everything we do is a victory lap."
jmoser@mcall.com
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•Parking: On-site through Tunnel Gate 7 off of Liberty Street, $8 per vehicle. Liberty is one-way west 4-8 p.m. $25 premium guaranteed parking. Free street parking and paid parking in lots surrounding fairgrounds.
[More Entertainment] Brighten up your gray winter at Allentown Art Museum's colorful Durham Press show »
with The Dead Daisies
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1
Where: Allentown Fair grandstand, 17th and Liberty streets,
How much: $63-$83
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Set list: Hits such as "Shout It Out Loud," "Beth," "Love Gun" and "Rock and Roll All Nite"
Info: www.allentownfairpa.org, 610-433-7541
ALLENTOWN FAIR DETAILS
•When: Through Monday
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•Hours: Noon-11 p.m. through Sunday; noon-10 p.m. Sept. 5. Weather permitting, rides and games open at 2 p.m. through Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday through Monday.
•How much: Admission is $8; free, ages 12 and younger, and everyone noon-2 p.m. through Friday.
•Ride tickets: One-day ride wristbands are $22. Wristbands do not include specialty rides. Individual ride tickets are four for $5, or 22 for $20. Most rides are 3 or 4 tickets, spectacular rides 5 and specialty rides up to 8.
KISS (music group)
Great Allentown Fair
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NIGHTCRAWLER: Bear Creek Mountain Resort


Mid-Atlantic Ridge Underwater topographic feature along the margin between the diverging American crustal plate on one side and the European and African plates on the other. It runs for 14,000km (8700mi) along the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland is located on the ridge itself, and was formed by the outpourings of volcanic lava.
"Mid-Atlantic Ridge." World Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge The oceanic ridge which separates the North and South American Plates from the African and Eurasian Plates. It is a slow-spreading ridge, with rugged topography and a well-developed median valley.
"Mid-Atlantic Ridge." A Dictionary of Ecology. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge: see Atlantic Ocean.
"Mid-Atlantic Ridge." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.


Refresh your bed linen with our superking fitted sheets. Elasticated around the edges, these designs stay in place each time you go to bed. If you're looking for an indulgent night's sleep, invest in silk or the finest Egyptian cotton with a 500-thread count. Linen and cotton superking-size fitted sheet styles are breathable and smooth against your skin, and will hold their shape wash after wash. For a flash of colour, layer one of our patterned pieces beneath muted plain duvet covers and pillowcases.


Diageo's annual Special Release series has arrived for 2018, and we're kicking off our coverage of the ten available in the U.S. by looking at a perennial favorite (and one which is much less expensive than the rest of the field): Caol Ila's annual unpeated release.
This year's release is 15 years old, aged in a mix of refill and rejuvenated American oak hogsheads plus ex-sherry butts, putting it in line with the 2016 version of the whisky.
As is common with this release, it's uncomplicated but initially engaging, a fresh and surprisingly fruity whisky that offers notes of lemon peel, toasty brioche, and just a hint of ashy coal fires on the nose. There's a floral, jasmine-like note here, just under the surface, and on the palate that helps to give a bit of a lift to a fairly grain-heavy underpinning, tempered to some degree by notes of caramel, walnuts, and a hint of rubber.
The finish isn't thrilling, a bit flat and plasticky, with a somewhat gummy aftertaste that mars what is otherwise a fine expression of Caol Ila, sans the peat.
Stay tuned for reviews of the next nine whiskies in the Diageo Special Releases for 2018!


Artist And Art Manager/Commissioner And Writer And Researcher And Disaster Response Worker. Other Things Too. Based In Limerick, Ireland. The Art Is About Belonging And Place And Migration, Mostly. The Art Managing/Commissioning Is Connected To Othered Or Emerging Communities. The Writing Is All Sorts Of Writing And Sometimes Connected To The Researching. Researching Is How I Describe All That Does Not Fit Into The Previous Categories.
She Was No Hands Pedaling And Singing Through A Flood Damaged Neighbourhood In Detroit And We Were Sitting In Our Van Feeling Worn Out From It All.


Check out this interesting interview with Black Swan costume designer Amy Westcott, surrounding the controversy over Rodarte's contribution to the film's costumes. The interview raises the question of who should be credited (and how) when a well- known fashion designer collaborates with a lesser-known costume designer. Not to say that this is the case, but it does bring to mind Edith Head's Academy Award for Costume Design for the 1954 film Sabrina, despite the fact that Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe was in fact designed by Hubert de Givenchy. the question of who should get the credit- the one conceptualizing the over look of the film and its atmosphere through costume design, or the one who created a few key costumes (be them iconic or not) for the leading character- is an interesting one and it is worth further exploring.
This entry was posted in interviews and tagged Amy Westcott, Audrey Hepburn, Black Swan, Costume Design, Edith Head, Hubert de Givenchy, Rodarte, Sabrina. Bookmark the permalink.