text:
From/to
Around this date
To Asa Gray 30 June [1874]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
My dear Gray
I have received your two letters2 & have forwarded the enclosure, with the page inserted, to Nature; & I hope the Ed will publish it.3 It was very good of you to send me the Sarracenia;4 I soaked it & then stuffed it with cotton wool, so that I have now an excellent idea of the plant. It is as wonderful a case as any orchid Drosera or Dionæa & I cannot say more in honour of a plant.5 I see that the lid is brightly coloured, no doubt to attract insects.
I read with interest your semi-theological review, & have got the book.6 but I think your review will satisfy me. The more I reflect on the subject, the more perplexed I grow.
I wrote a week since to ask you to observe if possible Pinguicula.7 I forget whether I mentioned that the margins of the leaves have the power of movement when excited by solid objects such as bits of glass or by nutritious fluids, but best of all by the two stimulants combined. I believe the purpose of this movement (but I am not yet sure) is to push flies further on to the leaf, when washed by rain into the narrow channel formed by the naturally involuted edge8
Yours most sincerely | Ch. Darwin
P.S. I do not think that I wrote a bit too strongly about your article on me.—9
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letters from Asa Gray, 16 June 1874 and 19 June 1874 (see n. 2, below).
Letters from Asa Gray, 16 June 1874 and 19 June 1874.
See letter from Asa Gray, 19 June 1874 and nn. 2 and 4. The editor of Nature was Joseph Norman Lockyer.
See letter from Asa Gray, 16 June 1874.
See letter to Asa Gray, 3 June [1874] and n. 5. Drosera is the sundew and Dionaea the Venus fly trap.
Gray had sent CD a copy of his review of Charles Hodge's What is Darwinism? (Hodge 1874; [A. Gray] 1874d; see letter from Asa Gray, 16 June 1874). Hodge had equated CD's theories with atheism, a position that Gray rejected. CD's copy of Hodge 1874 is in the Darwin Library–Down.
Letter to Asa Gray, 25 June 1874.
In Insectivorous plants, pp. 378–9, CD concluded that the inward movement of the edge of the leaf in Pinguicula (butterwort) both helped to prevent insects being washed away by rain, and brought them into contact with more of the surface area of the leaf, thus stimulating more digestive fluid.
See letters to Asa Gray, 3 June [1874] and 5 June [1874]. CD refers to Gray's profile of him published in Nature (A. Gray 1874c).
Thanks for Sarracenia, which is as wonderful as any orchid.
Asks AG to observe Pinguicula.
Has read AG's semi-theological review [Nation 18 (1874): 348–51] with interest
and has obtained the book [C. Hodge, What is Darwinism? (1874)].
Letter details
Letter no.
DCP-LETT-9520
Charles Robert Darwin
Asa Gray
Source of text
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (109)
3pp
Darwin, C. R.
Gray, Asa
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, "Letter no. 9520," accessed on 18 July 2019, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/DCP-LETT-9520.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22


text:
Biz 417 Biz Blog The New Way to Manage Stress At Work
The New Way to Manage Stress At Work
These are the four questions you should ask yourself and your team to gauge your workplace's grasp on mental health.
by Ettie Berneking
Mar 09 2021 at 8 a.m.
Photo courtesy Grooms Office EnvironmentsEven before COVID, Grooms Office Environments was working with businesses of all sizes to design and furnish smaller meeting spaces. The trend gave teams more options on where to gather, and it also allows businesses to add some unexpected elements like murals, ping pong conference tables and pops of color that can help teams relax and tap into their creative side without sacrificing the office's one professional conference room.
It's no shock that, thanks to COVID-19, many of us felt more stressed out than normal in 2020. But it might surprise you to learn that all that stress is still having an impact, and few know this better than Shelly Farnan, vice president of Be Well Initiatives at Burrell Behavioral Health. "The American Psychological Association does an annual report, and what they found in the last year is a serious mental health crisis," Farnan says. "It's due to all that has happened in the past year; COVID, social injustice, natural disasters, even the recent winter storm we came out of and that's all on top of the normal grief we go through."
From students on up to CEOs, people's stress levels are high, and workplaces are realizing the importance of addressing stress, grief and mental health and its impact. Oftentimes, Farnan says, this is the first time companies have had to talk about grief and stress management with their teams. To help, Burrell launched the Be Well Community—a wellness experience grounded in science and facilitated by a team of experts that uses Zoom and Facebook live sessions for 30 minutes each day. People can join the session and take part in self-assessment, guided meditation, engaging self-care strategies, healing connection, and receive access to research-based resources and strategies. Burrell also started offering private Be Well sessions for groups and offices who are investing in the mental health of their teams. If your office is experiencing a spike in stress, Farnan offers these four questions to help guide your organization.
Photo courtesy Grooms Office EnvironmentsGrooms Office Environments furnished this creative break space at Mid Missouri Bank as a place where everyone could take a break and relax. Grooms says its seeing more offices include relaxation rooms and smaller break spaces where teams can unwind.
1. Is there a plan in place to address wellness and mental health?
Farnan says this is probably the most important question to ask about your company. She says the team at Burrell realized once COVID hit gaps in addressing mental health and wellness were realized. If a team member loses a loved one or is experiencing significant stress, it can and likely will impact their work. Having a plan that lays out what the health and wellness opportunities are, who the team member can talk with, what time off is available, which mental health services are accessible and how open the office is to sharing personal information like this can make tough times like loss or stress much easier to navigate.
2. How are you talking about mental health at work?
"Prior to COVID, and throughout history, mental health has been stigmatized and difficult to talk about." Farnan says. "But when we moved into COVID, we saw a 15% increase in demand for our mental health services. That's from students, teachers, health care workers, CEOs and employees." Suddenly, everyone was impacted by the pandemic and stress was especially high. Farnan says the increased stress is a big reason why Burrell's services saw a spike in demand. Not only were people not used to talking about their stress and grief at work, they didn't know if they could, and perhaps did not realize how much they needed to and deserved to. For those who need an easily accessible place to feel plugged in, focus on self-care, practice mindfulness and meditation, and support and feel connected to a team who is ready to help connect anyone to more traditional therapies, Burrell launched the Be Well Community on Facebook. The daily 30-minute live session gives followers a chance to go through some guided meditation, breathing exercises and self care check-ins.
3. How are your team members doing?
Farnan says this question might seem basic, but it often gets missed. Asking your team how they're doing can reveal some pretty big needs. And it's not just the team that likely needs to unload their stress. Farnan says she's seen an increase in the number of executives and business leaders who need an outlet and community where they can safely talk about their stress and grief.
Photo courtesy Grooms Office EnvironmentsIt's not just front line team members who are feeling extra stressed. CEOs and company leaders are also experiencing higher levels of stress. Grooms designed this executive suite at Rooney McBride & Smith and included furnishings that give the office a homey atmosphere. The goal was to create a space that could be a productive work environment but also provide space for the executive to take a mental break and meet with clients in a relaxed setting when needed.
4. When was the last time you talked with a trusted person about how you're doing?
This is something you probably haven't asked yourself in a while, but it's important. In several of the private sessions Farnan and the Burrell team have led with business leaders, several leaders realized they had not asked themselves how they were handling things during this unusual year. "We're not teaching people how to self-care or self-assess," Farnan says. But that's changing. "The pandemic has caused us to realize we deserve and need to self-asses and check in on our mental health." If this can be encouraged at work, it can help teams talk about stresses before they become overwhelming. Farnan also points out that checking in with your stress levels goes beyond asking yourself if you're feeling stressed. It includes looking at physical symptoms of stress. "Sometimes, you notice aches and pains and headaches that are actually physical symptoms of stress," she says. "We see this all the time, and most people don't realize those symptoms are a direct result of stress and of not effectively caring for that stress."
Grooms Office Environments
For more than 40 years, Grooms Office Environment has provided commercial interior design services including space planning, project and move management, healthcare and systems furniture as a full-service Herman Miller dealership. Whether you need to furnish a single office, a new building or even a single workout space, Grooms' expertise can work for you. Grooms clients include Jack Henry, Prime Trucking, Guaranty Bank and CoxHealth Network.
Companies Native Content
Grooms Office Environments Burrell Behavioral Health
The Big Pivot: How Southwest Missouri Businesses Responded to the COVID-19 Crisis
33 southwest Missouri businesses share their COVID-19 success hacks and strategies that helped them quickly pivot into a new way of doing...
may 2020 | Companies, E-Commerce, Features, Health
Meet the 2020 Biz 100
Our annual list of the most powerful and influential business leaders in southwest Missouri is back for year five.
nov 2020 | Automotive, Biz 100, Business Services, Companies
Meet Southwest Missouri's Cutest Office Pets
Golden retrievers, Maine coons and terriers, oh my! Local businesses are becoming second homes for southwest Missouri's furry friends, and...
apr 03 2018 | Companies, Downtown Springfield, Native Content, Pets
How to Reopen Your Office During the COVID-19 Pandemic
We've gathered tips from locals across multiple industries to maintain safety in the office as 417-land businesses re-open.
jun 03 2020 | Business Services, Companies, Design, Health

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court
'He feared the repercussions...' - Cocaine-snorting dad, 29, made 180-mile trip to Stoke-on-Trent to deal drugs to pay off debt
Albanian national Artur Dauti has now been jailed for three years
Ruby DaviesSenior Live News Reporter
Artur Dauti arriving at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court (Image: Stoke Sentinel)
Drug dealer Artur Dauti travelled 180 miles to sell cocaine on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.
The 29-year-old Albanian national's Peugeot was pulled over in St John's Avenue, Trent Vale, by police after they received a tip-off.
Officers saw a cigarette packet being placed in the footwell which had 13 wraps inside.
In total, almost six grams of cocaine with a value of £650 was seized along with £140 cash.
The defendant's phone was analysed and contained messages showing he was involved in dealing.
Now Dauti has been jailed for three years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Phil Brunt said the defendant's car was searched on December 7 last year.
'Have you slept with him?'- Drunken barmaid, 29, launched attack on woman after accusing her of having sex with her boyfriend
He said: "The defendant was the driver and police officers saw a cigarette packet being placed in the footwell of the vehicle. In that cigarette packet police found it contained 13 separate packages of a white powder and analysis confirmed it was cocaine.
"Within the 13 packages was just shy of six grams of cocaine. It was 13 packages of half a gram deals worth a total of £650, £50 per deal. In the vehicle they found a telephone with messages on it in Albanian.
"Translations show a pattern of post codes within the body of text messages. Looking through the messages the text messages contain over a hundred different postcodes and references to sums of money.
"On the basis that there is one deal to each of these 100 postcodes there is thousands of pounds worth of dealing going on. £140 cash was also seized from him."
'She thought it was going to pull her foot off' - Dog owner jailed for 19 months after Staffordshire bull terrier attacks woman
The court heard Dauti, of The Drove, Hampshire, moved to the UK from Albania five years ago and has no previous convictions in this country.
He pleaded guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.
Latest cases from the courts in North Staffordshire
Rapist spent nights iwith children
North Staffordshire paedophile jailed
Moment copper pepper sprays thug
Hammer-wielding man jailed after attack
Catherine O'Reilly, mitigating, said: "It's a similar story heard in this court as in many courts up and down the land.
"He made a decision to participate in taking cocaine and as a result of making that bad decision, for which he has got no-one to blame but himself, he found himself in debt to people who wanted to be paid.
"He feared if he did not pay he would face repercussions and as a result he agreed to deal. He accepts he came to the Stoke-on-Trent area to carry out these deals and makes no excuse for making this very poor choice and bad decision.
"He knows he's placed himself in a very difficult position. On the last occasion I met Mr Dauti it was clear to me he was still taking recreational drugs. The difference between that occasion and the man who presents himself today is obvious.
Tragic death of man, 45, flung from out-of-control mobility scooter when wheel came off at 22mph on Stoke-on-Trent road
"He has weaned himself off cocaine and he has been a more supportive partner. He has a young daughter who has little communication ability and I know Mr Dauti's wife relies heavily on him for the care of their daughter.
"That's something he will have to live with being away from his family."
Recorder John Butterfield ordered the forfeiture of the £140 and the destruction of the drugs.
He said: "The cocaine was of very high purity - 95 per cent - and you had a phone with messages on it with over a 100 different postcodes being provided as well as sums of money."
Top stories on StokeonTrentLive
Man arrested after three-car crash
Hanley Wetherspoon pub to be cleaned up
Ex-bouncer found dead in living room
'Nuisance' banned from city is jailed
Staffordshire Police
Trent Vale


text:
Don Garber
Chief Executive Officer at Soccer United Marketing LLC
Soccer United Marketing LLC
Montclair, NJ, United States
Trying to get in touch with Don Garber? Subscribe today to access their professional contact information and receive a one time promotion of free Contact Data credits!
RelSci Relationships are individuals Don Garber likely has professional access to. A relationship does not necessarily indicate a personal connection.
Alan I. Rothenberg
Founder at United States Soccer Federation Foundation
JoAnn Neale
President & Chief Administrative Officer at Major League Soccer LLC
Carlos Cordeiro
Former Executive Vice President at U.S. Soccer Federation
Sunil K. Gulati
President at Kraft Soccer Properties
Advisor at Stadia Ventures LLC
Donna Shalala
Former President at Clinton Global Initiative, Inc.
Mallika Pereira
Senior Director of Partnership Marketing at Major League Soccer LLC
Robert S. Kapito
Co-Founder at BlackRock, Inc.
Mike Edwards
Former Director & Executive Vice President at U.S. Soccer Federation
Edward Foster-Simeon
President & Chief Executive Officer at United States Soccer Federation Foundation
The Salt Lake Tribune
MLS, players union remain at odds over CBA discussions after league invoked 'force majeure' clause
Targeted News Service
Sen. Feinstein Calls on Professional Sports Teams to Promote Mask Use, Physical Distancing
The Miami Herald
Black Players for Change group wins MLS Humanitarian award
Coronavirus: Major League Soccer announces $1bn (£750m) loss of revenue
Players Have Been Kneeling for Months. Now What?
Paths to Don Garber
Founded in 1831, New York University is now one of the largest private universities in the United States. Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in America, New York University is one of only 60 member institutions of the distinguished Association of American Universities. From a student body of 158 during NYU's very first semester, enrollment has grown to more than 40,000 students attending 18 schools and colleges at five major centers in Manhattan and in sites in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Today, students come from every state in the union and from 133 foreign countries. The faculty, which initially consisted of fourteen professors and lecturers (among them artist and inventor Samuel F. B. Morse), now totals over 3,100 full-time members whose research and teaching encompasses the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences; the law; medicine; business; education; the fine arts, studio art, and the performing and cinematic arts; music; social work; public administration; the ancient world; and continuing and professional studies. With more than 2,500 courses offered, the University awards more than 25 different degrees. Although overall the University is large, the individuals schools and colleges are small- to moderate-sized units—each with its own traditions, programs, and faculty – and there are many communities to be found within the NYU community based on interests, activities, and shared experiences. The center of NYU is its Washington Square campus in the heart of Greenwich Village. One of the city's most creative and energetic communities, the Village is a historic neighborhood that has attracted generations of writers, musicians, artists, and intellectuals. NYU, in keeping with its founder's vision, is "in and of the city": the University – which has no walls and no gates – is deeply intertwined with New York City, drawing inspiration from its vitality. In addition to its Manhattan locations, the University is also formally affiliated the Polytechnic Institute of NYU in Brooklyn, the second oldest school of engineering and technology in the country, and has research facilities, notably the Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine, in Sterling Forest, near Tuxedo, New York. And NYU has established itself as the first global network university, with a comprehensive liberal arts campus in Abu Dhabi – the first to be operated abroad by a major U.S. research university – and other sites for study and research in Accra, Ghana; Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Florence, Italy; London, England; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Prague, the Czech Republic; Shanghai, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel, among other locations.
State University of New York College at Oneonta
SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneonta Normal School. It was located in a building nicknamed "Old Main" at the top of Maple Street in the city of Oneonta. The school's first principal was James M. Milne, for whom the college's current library is named. For nearly 40 years, Old Main was the only building on campus, until 1933 when Bugbee School was built. Named after Percy I. Bugbee, the second principal of the Oneonta Normal School, Bugbee School provided an on-campus training facility for the student teachers attending the normal school. In 1948, the college became a founding member of the State University of New York system, and the Oneonta Normal School was officially renamed the State University College of Education in 1951.
Soccer United Marketing LLC engages in the provision of promotional and marketing rights to soccer properties. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
Major League Soccer LLC
Major League Soccer LLC operates as a soccer league club. It oversees rules and scheduling, regulates franchise ownership, negotiates marketing, and broadcasting partnerships. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
Tenure Unconfirmed
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States. UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, and it is the second-largest university in the United States by enrollment. The university was founded by the Florida Legislature in 1963, and opened in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the mission of providing personnel to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Florida's Space Coast. As the academic scope expanded beyond its original focus on engineering and technology, "Florida Tech" was renamed The University of Central Florida in 1978. Initial enrollment was only 1,948 students, as of 2014 enrollment consists of 59,770 students from over 140 countries, all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The majority of the student population is located on the university's 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) main campus approximately 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of downtown Orlando and 55 miles (89 km) south-southwest of Daytona Beach. The university offers over 200 degree options through twelve colleges and twelve satellite campuses throughout Central Florida. Since its founding, UCF has awarded almost 250,000 degrees, including 45,000 graduate, specialist and professional degrees, to over 230,000 alumni worldwide.
U.S. Soccer Federation
United States Soccer Federation, Inc. engages in the operation of a governing body of soccer in the United States. It offers development academy, coaching, club development, talent identification, referee, and development fund programs. The company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
FC Harlem/Harlem Youth Soccer
USA Bid Committee, Inc.
The USA Bid Committee is a non-profit organization created to prepare a successful application to host the FIFA World Cup™ in 2018 or 2022 on behalf of the United States Soccer Federation.
Non-Profit Donations & Grants
Learn how non-profit organizations benefit from RelSci
United States Soccer Federation Foundation
U.S. Soccer Foundation provides sports programs. The firm's mission is to enhance, assist, and grow the sport of soccer in the United States with a special emphasis on underserved communities. The company was founded by Alan I. Rothenberg in 1994 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Political Donations
Senator from New Jersey
Jon Stevens Corzine
Former Governor of New Jersey
Don Garber is affiliated with Soccer United Marketing LLC, Major League Soccer LLC, University of Central Florida, National Football League, National Football League Properties, Inc., Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports, USA, Ruder Finn Group, Inc., Burson-Marsteller LLC, Major League Soccer LLC, U.S. Soccer Federation, FC Harlem/Harlem Youth Soccer, USA Bid Committee, Inc.
This web site is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, maintained, authorized, or sponsored by Don Garber. The use of any trade name or trademark is for identification and reference purposes only and does not imply any association with the trademark holder. The Presence of Don Garber's profile does not indicate a business or promotional relationship of any kind between RelSci and Don Garber.


text:
Wi-Fi on wheels leaves no child offline
Mar 7, 2016 8:13 PM EDT
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/wi-fi-on-wheels-leaves-no-child-offline
Transcript Audio
The digital divide and lack of reliable Internet access at home can put low-income and rural students at a real disadvantage. So when superintendent Darryl Adams took over one of the poorest school districts in the nation, he made it a top priority to help his students get online 24/7. Special correspondent David Nazar of PBS SoCal reports with PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs.
HARI SREENIVASAN:
Tonight: an innovative solution to bridging the digital divide for students.
Too frequently, kids and their parents in rural low-income communities don't have access to the Internet and high-quality learning technologies. But, in California, a unique project is providing free home access to the Web in one of the nation's poorest districts.
Much of the footage for this story was shot by teenagers who are part of our Student Reporting Labs network, in collaboration with PBS SoCal in Southern California.
The correspondent is David Nazar.
DAVID NAZAR:
Thirty minutes west of the wealthy suburbs of Palm Springs is a desert oasis best known its annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
But behind the parties and concerts stretches a vast and isolated landscape, home to the second poorest school district in the country, where most families live below the poverty line and struggle just to pay the rent.
DARRYL ADAMS, Superintendent, Coachella Valley Unified School District:
We have some of the poorest of the poor in our country, very economically challenged, and 100 percent of our students are on free and reduced lunch. Some of them living at trailer home parks that some have been condemned recently, or some in railroad, abandoned railroad cars. It's just unbelievable, some of the challenges they face.
Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent Darryl Adams believes the right use of technology is critical for the families in this area, like Norma Olivas and her daughter, Anisa Perez.
NORMA OLIVAS, Anisa's Mother:
I do see students sometimes struggling, and, right now, sometimes, some of the kids struggling to get school, to do certain things. And I wouldn't want my daughter to go through any that. I wouldn't want her to be a dropout.
When Adams took the job in 2011, the graduation rate was 70 percent, according to the district. One of his key initiatives was to get every student an iPad and Wi-Fi service, but he knew it would be challenge.
DARRYL ADAMS:
We have 1,250 square miles to cover, larger than the state of Rhode Island. So, when we out there were spots in every which way, students weren't connected, we said, well, how can we get them connected?
And so one of the ways, we said, look, we got 100 buses. Let's put Wi-Fi routers on those buses. And let's park them where the need is.
Finding the funding for this fleet of buses was no easy tasks. Nevertheless, in 2012, the community voted for and passed Measure X, a nearly $45 million school bond to fund the Mobile Learning Initiative over 10 years. They called the program Wi-Fi on Wheels.
ANISA PEREZ, Student, Desert Mirage High School:
In the bus, it's kind of cool that we have Internet, because when the project is due the next day, we can actually spend time to do it.
Completing assignments was difficult for Anisa before getting her iPad and Wi-Fi service at home.
NORMA OLIVAS:
We would have to travel actually to go in, go to the library, get the books she needed to look up the information and go home. I don't make a lot of money, but I will do whatever it takes to make sure she does get a better education.
Adams is doing whatever he can to make sure that the 20,000 students in his schools, 98 percent Hispanic and about 10 percent undocumented, develop the skills they need to graduate.
So we realized that we had to provide this to our students in order for them to compete in the 21st century.
Installing solar panels on rooftops of the school buses to power the state-of-the-art Wi-Fi routers was a solution proposed by Adams.
Being a musician by trade — I was a music teacher from L.A. Unified when I started out 30 years ago — and, as a musician, you're always creating and thinking of different ways to do things or to play things or to hear things.
And so I brought that to my career in education. And I have had some difficulty in the past, because some people weren't really kind of ready for Adams' crazy ideas. But this district was. And just about anything we do that's maybe different and is good for kids, we go with it.
CVUSD's director of technical services, Israel Oliveros, provides the technical support for the entire district.
ISRAEL OLIVEROS, Director, Technology Services CVUSD:
We run power through a conduit that is already existing on the bus. It goes through the front of the bus. That's where the router is located. Then we do have the antennas pointed in different directions. For the students, that will cover a 150-foot radius.
The school districts allows a few of these buses to be parked throughout the East Valley overnight. For students, it's a lifeline to the outside world.
We wanted to ensure that students have 24/7 access to the Internet, because learning doesn't stop at the end of the school day.
Megan Smith is the chief technology officer of the United States. It's her job to advise the president on technology and innovation that will improve the future.
MEGAN SMITH, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy: Coachella is an incredibly creative idea. Being able to flip the classroom and be involved in — have video at home, instead of the classroom has a lecture. So, a lot of work to do in the rural areas.
There are federal programs in place to help provide Wi-Fi to rural school districts, like the FCC's E-rate program, which provides about $1.5 billion each year to schools. However, census data shows that there are still five million households with school-age children who are not effectively connected to the Internet.
Smith says that has to change.
MEGAN SMITH:
There is a lot of creativity that American people have.
And so whether it's going to come from a school district, a municipal leader, or one of our national players, we need everybody in on this game working on it. It's a very, very important, fundamental resource for all of our people. And it drives our economy. And it drives our community and our interconnections.
With Adams at the wheel, the graduation rate jumped from 70 percent to 80 percent. Now the superintendent has aspirations beyond students getting their homework done. He wants to connect everyone in the East Valley.
Because we found that we had a problem with some of the third-party Internet service provider companies not willing to go into some of the areas where we serve. So, in the long run, we would like to become our own Time Warner or our own Cox Communication and provide this for our students. It's too crucial for them to have this access for us not to go down this path.
Anisa recognizes that technology and the Wi-Fi on Wheels program is playing a vital role in her education.
ANISA PEREZ:
I want to do this for my mom, because my mom didn't really get to finish school. So that's what motivates me to actually do — to finish school and complete my work and get the job I want.
I would want her to have a better life than what I have right now. I would want her to do really, really good in school, so she can get all these ideas that she wants, nice restaurants, different things like that. That's one thing she always wants to do, travel. And that's what she's hoping to go for.
For the PBS NewsHour, I'm David Nazar in Coachella Valley, California.
Two of our Student Reporting Labs, Etiwanda High School and West Ranch High School, traveled to the Coachella Valley to shoot the video for this story.
Listen to this Segment
Watch the Full Episode
PBS NewsHour from Mar 07, 2016
More From This Episode
A chronicle of Afghanistan's modern-day Romeo and Juliet
By PBS NewsHour


You say "No former winner has taken part in the international final since Dana International failed to progress from the semi final in 2011"...yet technically Lena was after that.
I like Alexander and his song and agree it will do well. Johnny Logan will be hopping mad if he wins. Johnny always says he has won three times, but if Alexander wins by the same count that will be four times!


text:
About RPG »
RPG is a community of over 100,000 roleplayers from all around the world.
We build virtual worlds.
Writing Tool
👥 Authors
🥇 Achievements
₿ Contribute
Official Patreon »
Donate Now with Internet Money
Clicking the code below will launch your Bitcoin wallet, or you can simply scan it with your mobile wallet. Don't have one? Install Copay »
3BZssGaw5HJEeZPhQDR3ExSqfSn1sFWb46
👻 Etherpad
🏦 Market
🎙 News
Introducing RPG Achievements
RPG's New Design Team
Now Open: RPG Staff Applications
Our Greatest Quest Yet
The Multiverse: A Renewal
10 Years of RolePlayGateway: Share Your Story
☰ Scenes
🏛 Forum
Roleplayers Wanted
Roleplay Online
Forum Roleplay
📣 Chat
#beta Desktop & Mobile App
🌐 Universes
Create New Universe »
⛩ Places
Announcements: Changes to Universe of the Week! » RPG: Season of Giving 2020 » Universe of the Week! » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newbies » RPG Chat — the official app » USERNAME CHANGES » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »
Latest Discussions: Surviving the post-holiday apocalypse. » SL: 1097 Bestiary of Monsters » What latest tech excites me? » A question about 'hyperspace travel' and its use as a weapon » NaNoWriMo 2020 » A vacuum salesman in the Multiverse. » Being bored at work makes you do crazy things » Question here from the FNG » Recommendations of Reading material. » Do you "follow" characters to receive notifications? » My 2 Fav Poems! » Simple Vs. Detailed RPG Layouts » Warning About Communist-Inspired Upheaval and Revolution » The Best Sentence » Universe of the Week Nominations » The SCPF Wiki Project (not related to SCP Project in 2016) » What influences you as you write? And why? » Preventing Bitrot by Hosting Images on RPG » Interesting YouTube Videos » Xamoyan Bestiary »
Players Wanted: Veilbrand: The Revolution » Gonna do this anyway. » Looking for Kamen Rider Players » Elysium » Looking for roleplayers for a dystopian past! » Revamping Fantasy Adventure RPG, need new players » Here, At the End of the World (supernatural mystery drama) » Seeking Role Players for a TOG Based RP » so I made a Stranger Things RP idk why not come join » LFP - New Roleplay » Gifted/Mutant individuals escaping the gov » Spaceship Zero! A retro horror sci fi RP with rayguns :D » mahou shoujo rp » Avolair: Academy For The Supernatural [NEW][OPEN] » Calling for adventurers to explore Xamoyos » roleplayers wanted for shifters world. » The UCF- a (soon to be) group in the MV » Neothea: Phyrian Galaxy (Open) » Students Wanted: Arcane and Human alike » A Once Upon a Time Adventure. »
Season of Giving 2020
At the end of perhaps our craziest year yet, we choose to celebrate our writing family with that extra touch of gratitude. Tip your fellow authors for a chance to win 10,000 INK, with leaderboards updated daily.
Merry Christmas from RPG! 🎅
🎁 Join the Givers »
member for years
has written words
(~ full-length novels)
You're about to delete the following post:
This post was originally posted via chat:
Deleting content will cause content on this and all subsequent pages to move closer to the front of the universe, creating a bizarre instance in the space-time continuum where previously-saved hyperlinks that others have used may no longer point at their correct destinations.
This is generally undesirable.
Are you sure you want permanently delete both the original chat message and the referenced post?
`); } }); }); $(document).on('click', '*[data-action="toggle-source"]', function (e) { e.preventDefault(); $('#source').slideToggle(); return false; });
Orion Abernathy
"Greatness is a choice." (NPC)
0 · 77 views · located in Hogwarts
a character in "Hogwarts: A Dark New Age", as played by partially-stars
███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
F U L LXN A M E
N I C K N A M E (S)
Ri, Calderon
A G E
Y E A R
Seventh Year
S E X U A L I T Y
E T H N I C I T Y
White English
H O M E T O W N
Cambridge, England
H E X
Orion is the type of person that makes even the same old Hogwarts uniform look a little more classy. Sleeves rolled up and a slightly askew tie is stylishly undone as opposed to messy. Even in his pyjamas, even at his least glamorous, he looks put together. But his family is the type of family that doesn't dress down. He's pretty much always in a button down and slacks at the least, layering it with a jumper or jacket when it's cold or simply rolling the sleeves up when it's warm. It's gotten to the point where he feels uncomfortable in even a t-shirt. He's got no tattoos or piercings, his family deeming both unsavoury.
H E I G H T & W E I G H T
6'0", 155lb
A P P E A R A N C E
Orion is, undeniably, attractive. With a jaw that could cut glass and big dark eyes, he's a natural charmer. Everything about him is frustratingly effortless- that easy, charming smile, dark, soft brown hair that always falls just right, long dark lashes that frame those eyes perfectly for seduction... His whole body is scar free, unmarked by everything but a small birthmark on the right side of his right thigh.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Orion is far from the most popular of Gryffindors. Arrogant, stubborn, entitled, he seems to represent all the negative traits associated with the house, and very few of the good. He believes Gryffindor to be the superior house by far. He's a constant source of frustration to the teachers, because he excels in the classes he deems interesting and relevant, and slacks off in the ones he doesn't. And despite apparently not caring about those classes, he passes them easily. He's a master Dueller and seems to have mastered non-verbal magic already.
The Abernathy dynasty is an old and proud family, and Orion is a pillar of that family. He's the oldest son and heir, the son with a special gift, the son chosen for great things. Hearing that from the moment you were old enough to understand what it meant tends to have an effect on a kid, and Orion is no different. It's no wonder he's so arrogant, really, being built up for greatness from the moment he showed the first signs of being a little bit different. It's also a lot of pressure too. He feels he doesn't have any other option other than greatness- and his family wants him to believe that. Orion has been blinded by his family and his arrogance and he can't see when he's being manipulated. And even if he ever began to suspect that, the message is clear. Family comes first. No matter what.
Orion's never really had anyone to tell him no, to tell him the truth, or to tell him that he doesn't have to be great. He's never had a friend that his family hadn't chosen specifically for him. If his arrogance doesn't keep people at arm's length from him, the fact that he doesn't know how to be a good friend does. For years, he's been surrounded by people clamoring for greatness, who want to be associated with him. The only people that are anything like friends to him are the people who tell him how he'll achieve greatness, who are working within the school for that greatness, even if it seems... well, wrong. His family has zero morals and Orion is no different, but there's a nagging feeling telling him that something is wrong.
The ironic thing is, Orion would probably be less insufferable if he had a decent group of friends around him who would call him out on his behaviour and who could balance his family's negative messaging. But it's that behaviour that pushes everyone away and leads him to a vicious cycle. He believes himself to just be better than them. Really, he was the perfect candidate to tempt towards the Dark Arts. He's got delusions of grandeur, a lack of a support system to tell him no, a family that already had blood supremacist leanings, a hell of a lot of talent, and a complete lack of awareness with regards to his own manipulation. His "friends" have continued to do what his family has been doing his whole life and he's completely unaware that he's being used.
Orion's family is an old pureblood family, the type that can trace their roots back for generations. His family comes from a variety of houses, but Gryffindor and Slytherins have always been the most prevalent houses. Both of Orion's parents were Gryffindor and expected that their son would end up in the same house. He was their only child and their golden boy, and they raised him to know he would inherit their greatness. And then his retrocognition became evident at the age of seven, and they believed it was a sign that he was destined for greatness. His grandparents also saw his ability as a tool. They began using it, using it to enforce their blood supremacist views. Orion's parents didn't totally agree with this but didn't dare argue with them. They echoed the message that his ability showed he was meant for greatness, even after an accidental touch of an artifact at a museum terrified and traumatized him.
By the time Orion's Hogwarts letter came, he was brainwashed into believing that purebloods were superior and that he was going to be something great, something memorable. They had brainwashed him into believing lies about his own family and Orion never had any reason to question it. If he's insufferable now, he was even more so then. He was the worst type of Gryffindor, arrogant, proud, and entitled. He drove away anyone who had potential to be a "real" friend and ended up with a group of friends who ended up being little better than his family.
But against the odds, he somehow managed with one or two genuine friends. Most of them started out as hookups, nothing more, and yet Orion found an actual friendship brewing. The casual hookups and friends-with-benefits seemed to be the only relationships that seemed to challenge him, challenge what he knew. For six years, he's followed his family and their plans without question, believing everything he was told. But now, something in his head is beginning to question that. He's beginning to wonder if what he's been told is true- and what that means for him and his "destiny".
B L O O DXS T A T U S
Pureblood
W A N D
Elm, Phoenix feather, 10.5", unyielding
P A T R O N U S
H O U S E
B O G G A R T
Himself, bloodied and in a Muggle military uniform like he saw when he touched the helmet
F A M I L I A R
A white Persian cat named Merlin
S P E C I A L I Z E SXI N
F A V O R I T EXC L A S S
Defense Against The Dark Arts
R E T R O C O G N I T I O N
Nobody knows why Ri has this "gift" or where it came from, but it's made him the pride of his family. Touching an object can bring back memories of its history, ranging from just the emotions associated with it to vivid flashbacks that make him feel like he's there. The intensity depends on the emotion associated with the memory and the strength of the memory itself. Touching a helmet from WWII gave him the most vivid flashbacks he's ever had, and the fear and the anxiety associated with that persisted for days after. Visions often leave him with headaches and exhaust him..
So begins...
Orion Abernathy's Story
Seen 1 Times • Page 1 of 1
Characters Present
Tag Characters »
Tag Them! »
Add to Arc »
new arc »
0.00 INK
# 2020-08-31 18:17:54 , as written by Kohananinja
McKenna James // Gryffindor// 7th Year Animagus // Location: Great Hall
Mac hated Christmas. Not a popular opinion to have among her peers, but it was true. It had nothing to do with the weather, or decorations, or an abundance of grinchy tendencies, just that the holiday season hadn't held a lot of cheer for her since Mac was ten. Christmas meant either empty halls in a too quiet castle, or awkward stilted silence with her mother in her boyfriend's new townhouse. Living in the muggle world was like trying to fit herself into a skin that was too small, too itchy to keep on for long. It was claustrophobic, not to mention exhausting trying to play act at being something she wasn't. It was a farce she'd never been able to keep up for long, and there lay the problem. Her mother never said it aloud, but Mac knew magic made her uncomfortable. Andy, Mac's step father to be if she was reading the signs right, was a nice man, as average and muggle as they came. He had no clue what Mac was, nor had they ever really made it past the stilted pleasantries of near strangers enough for her to believe that was ever going to be a wise thing to change. Magic had ruined one chance at love and happiness for her mother, the least Mac could do was not sabotage her second. So mostly Mac just stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday, and no one ever protested too loudly, if at all. It was just easier for everyone that way.
Mac wasn't alone at Hogwarts exactly, there were others even in her own house, like Coal and Shane, who usually stayed as well. But Shane was well…Shane, no amount of holiday misery bonding was really going to change that, and even Coal tended to be unusually...quiet. It was the only time of year Hogwarts felt cold to her, though Mac infinitely preferred staying in the only place that had felt like home to her in a very long time. Still, it left her antsy, anxious for a return to the usual noise and bustle of students in the castle. Excitement pent up during the weeks of their absence. So if Mac went a little overboard once everyone returned well...who could blame her really? Harvey apparently, as he gave her an impression of his best 'disapproving prefect' stink eye as he blandly ate his oatmeal. They both knew who was behind the army of purple origami otters currently running amok across the Hufflepuff table, and her smug glance as she watched a few of her brave little minions nestling up into the dark curls of Roan's hair did nothing to dissuade her friend's suspicions. Mac had been on something of a tear lately, not unusual for the first couple weeks back, but considering they had a game today, her focus was usually more single minded toward quidditch.
"For the love of Merlin, please tell me that's all you did." Harvey groused with a sour look, watching as some of the otters started swimming figure eights in some of the goblets of unsuspecting Hufflepuffs, including their Care of Magical Creatures Professor, who had picked up a few to take with him to the staff table so he could examine them more closely. The far more amiable of the Leahy Professors seems to have befriended her little creatures, which...wasn't really surprising given what she knew of the man. "Now?! Really?! We have a game today Mac, I think Professor Leahy might actually murder me if we lose." Harvey hissed, appearing genuinely nauseous at the thought of reporting into their head of house should they not perform at their absolute highest caliber today. A quick glance at their DADA professor and her sharp green eyes burning a hole in Mac's back was all it took to know that the head of Gryffindor had also pinpointed very quickly who was behind the lavender otter hoard menacing the Great Hall, though so far she's made no move to stop it. Mac shot her a cheeky grin, which earned a golden brow raised in return. "Gibs, I am shocked and offended by those hurtful accusations. How could you ever think me capable of such a thing?" Mac shot back a transparent denial. Coal's snort was immediate, but he didn't comment further.
"I would never-" Mac's defense was suddenly cut off by a loud series of popping noises emanating from farther down the Gryffindor table, pink glittery foam bubbling forth from Orion's bag, sticky and clinging stubbornly to anything it touched, namely the boy in question as it grew larger and began spreading out and up. "Do any such thing to someone we're playing against today…" Mac finished with a sour look of her own. She was going to have to tinker with the formula there a bit. That little present wasn't supposed to go off until potions class.
"The sparkles were a nice touch." Coal added mildly. "Maybe a pinch of itching powder next time though to really give it some flare.." Mac's eyes lit up at the suggestion. Now that was some helpful feedback, so not a total loss it seemed.
Harvey Gibson // Gryffindor// 7th Year // Location: Great Hall
Harvey's eye honest to god twitched. This was it, today was the day they drove him over the edge. There was a nice padded room waiting for him in St. Mungo's, because reining in this bunch was driving him insane! Between Mac's antics, Coal cheering her on, and now Shane actively antagonizing the Slytherin quidditch team, there was never a moment's peace. Cassie retorting back at the Slytherin team's heckling was fair enough, but that was all it took for Cal to jump up in his seat no doubt prepared to start spouting a litany of taunts all his own, and Harvey had to physically yank him down by the shirt tail. "Sit down and eat your breakfast. Protein go!" Harvey barked, and the younger Gryffindor chaser grudgingly complied, shoveling a whole slice of bacon in his mouth as he chewed with a pointedly grumpy look at the Slytherin table. Cal was a good kid, but a little excitable sometimes. Harvey didn't need him doing something stupid to get tossed out of the game before it had even started.
As Cassie turned the subject to the tournament, Harvey's demeanor became a bit more uncomfortable. Of course he'd signed up, how could he not? It was a proving ground only a handful of witches and wizards each generation were chosen worthy to even compete in. And there was the problem. Signing up wasn't the same thing as being chosen. There was a part of him dreading the upcoming ceremony, that knew what the goblet's decision was going to be. Harvey had never exactly measured up to the Gibson name, his famous siblings each shining stars in their respective fields. How was he ever going to look any of them in the face again after so public an admission of his inadequacies? Part of him didn't even want to admit having signed up, plausible deniability and all that, but Cassie had asked, and he wasn't going to lie about it either, so instead he just nodded, pensively taking another bite of his oatmeal.
"Yeah, did you?" Mac replied to Cassie's question cheerfully, and Harvey was glad to let her take over the conversation from there.
About · Code of Conduct · Source Code
© Quill, Inc.


Book online and Save! You will still be contacted personally on receipt of your booking. The booking fee online is $15 per date booked per babysitter. For phone and email bookings the booking fee is $20 per date booked per babysitter. Travel fees apply beyond 10 km from Queenstown CBD. All Fees are paid directly to your babysitter.
Our office hours are 9 am to 6.30 pm. Please call us on +64 3 442 0409 for short notice inquiries. Please do not text or email for on the day bookings. If you book online please note your booking is not confirmed until the nanny has been allocated and you have been advised. This booking system is 'Available' to take your booking but does not guarantee a carer's availability.
Please select 'Details' for the number of children relevant to your booking for full pricing information. Or refer to our Rates 1-4 Children or Rates 5-8 Children.If you have any problems during the booking process or you would rather let us book on your behalf simply call us or email Around The Clock Childcare.


text:
package silhouette.provider.oauth2

import java.time.Clock

import cats.effect.Async
import cats.syntax.all._
import io.circe.Json
import silhouette.LoginInfo
import silhouette.http.BearerAuthorizationHeader
import silhouette.provider.UnexpectedResponseException
import silhouette.provider.oauth2.GitHubProvider._
import silhouette.provider.oauth2.OAuth2Provider._
import silhouette.provider.social._
import sttp.client3.circe.asJson
import sttp.client3.{ basicRequest, SttpBackend }
import sttp.model.Header
import sttp.model.Uri._

/**
 * Base GitHub OAuth2 Provider.
 *
 * @see https://developer.github.com/v3/oauth/
 * @see https://developer.github.com/v3/users/
 *
 * @tparam F The type of the IO monad.
 */
trait BaseGitHubProvider[F[_]] extends OAuth2Provider[F] {

  /**
   * The provider ID.
   */
  override val id = ID

  /**
   * A list with headers to send to the API.
   *
   * Without defining the accept header, the response will take the following form:
   * access_token=e72e16c7e42f292c6912e7710c838347ae178b4a&scope=user%2Cgist&token_type=bearer
   *
   * @see https://developer.github.com/v3/oauth/#response
   */
  override protected val accessTokenHeaders = Seq(Header.accept("application/json"))

  /**
   * Builds the social profile.
   *
   * @param authInfo The auth info received from the provider.
   * @return On success the build social profile, otherwise a failure.
   */
  override protected def buildProfile(authInfo: OAuth2Info): F[Profile] = {
    val uri = config.apiUri.getOrElse(DefaultApiUri)
    basicRequest
      .get(uri)
      .header(BearerAuthorizationHeader(authInfo.accessToken))
      .response(asJson[Json])
      .send(sttpBackend)
      .flatMap { response =>
        response.body match {
          case Left(error) =>
            F.raiseError(
              new UnexpectedResponseException(UnexpectedResponse.format(id, error.getMessage, response.code))
            )
          case Right(json) =>
            profileParser.parse(json, authInfo)
        }
      }
  }
}

/**
 * The profile parser for the common social profile.
 *
 * @tparam F The type of the IO monad.
 */
class GitHubProfileParser[F[_]: Async] extends SocialProfileParser[F, Json, CommonSocialProfile, OAuth2Info] {

  /**
   * Parses the social profile.
   *
   * @param json     The content returned from the provider.
   * @param authInfo The auth info to query the provider again for additional data.
   * @return The social profile from the given result.
   */
  override def parse(json: Json, authInfo: OAuth2Info): F[CommonSocialProfile] =
    Async[F].fromTry(json.hcursor.downField("id").as[Long].getOrError(json, "id", ID)).map { id =>
      CommonSocialProfile(
        loginInfo = LoginInfo(ID, id.toString),
        fullName = json.hcursor.downField("name").as[String].toOption,
        email = json.hcursor.downField("email").as[String].toOption,
        avatarUri = json.hcursor.downField("avatar_url").as[String].toOption.map(uri => uri"$uri")
      )
    }
}

/**
 * The GitHub OAuth2 Provider.
 *
 * @param clock       The current clock instance.
 * @param config      The provider config.
 * @param sttpBackend The STTP backend.
 * @param F           The IO monad type class.
 * @tparam F The type of the IO monad.
 */
class GitHubProvider[F[_]](
  protected val clock: Clock,
  val config: OAuth2Config
)(
  implicit
  protected val sttpBackend: SttpBackend[F, Any],
  protected val F: Async[F]
) extends BaseGitHubProvider[F]
    with CommonProfileBuilder[F] {

  /**
   * The type of this class.
   */
  override type Self = GitHubProvider[F]

  /**
   * The profile parser implementation.
   */
  override val profileParser = new GitHubProfileParser

  /**
   * Gets a provider initialized with a new config object.
   *
   * @param f A function which gets the config passed and returns different config.
   * @return An instance of the provider initialized with new config.
   */
  override def withConfig(f: OAuth2Config => OAuth2Config): Self = new GitHubProvider(clock, f(config))
}

/**
 * The companion object.
 */
object GitHubProvider {

  /**
   * The provider ID.
   */
  val ID = "github"

  /**
   * Default provider endpoint.
   */
  val DefaultApiUri = uri"https://api.github.com/user"
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Patricia Sundgren Smith: "I wanted to do something life-affirming and uplifting in the new year, so I've been focusing on birds and birds' nest imagery. I've been using two of my favorite techniques -- linocut printmaking and drawing with Prismacolor, graphite, and ink. I hope that viewers will enjoy the images as much as I did in making them."
Tom Kingshill is an artist inspired by the great lumber of his surrounding landscape. Tom takes foraged sections of local trees and using a wood lathe, creates decorative vessels for the home. Tom challenges himself in the wood shop, and his speciality are his natural edge bowls. He is an artist constantly driven to improve on his craftsmanship in an attempt to reveal a combination of handmade and natural beauty.


text:
A Weekly Review of NFTs
More sports teams are endorsing NFTs, Dame Dash responds to Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" drama, and Instagram is said to be incorporating NFT capabilities in-app. All of this happened in the last seven days. Let's take a closer look at the newest non-fungible token news this week.
Building NFT Features on Instagram?
Instagram is introducing NFT functionality in its app, according to leaker and mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi. Instagram could be the newest social media platform to join the ranks of Twitter and Reddit. Could Instagram be paving the way for more simplified ways for creators to be compensated for their work on the platform?
NFTs for the Next Sports Team
Only a few NBA franchises have entered the crypto sector, and the Cleveland Cavaliers became the latest to do so this week. The team is incorporating NFTs into their public art initiative, presenting them as part of a larger multimedia collection that can be viewed on large digital displays throughout the team's downtown arena.
The Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards' owners, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, also unveiled their inaugural NFT project this week. Limited edition NFTs are being created by the two teams in collaboration with two local artists. These are expected to hit the market later this month.
The NFT Winners on Twitter are Coming Together
This week's social media NFT headlines aren't all about Instagram. The winners of Twitter's NFT giveaway, have created a group to protect the value of their mementos. The group now has just under 50 members, as well as two Twitter reps.
Dame Dash Responds to Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" NFT
Former colleagues Dame Dash and Jay-Z have a never-ending feud. Jay's camp, according to Dame Dash, simply sought a temporary restraining order rather than preventing Dash from selling his NFT. Furthermore, Dash claims that the two parties have already gone to court and are negotiating the terms of a settlement that might still result in Dame Dash selling his Roc-A-Fella share via NFT.
Q2 Went Well for NFTs
According to a report published this week by DappRadar, the number of NFT transactions reached a new quarterly high of $1.24 billion. In the first half of 2020, NFT sales totaled around $13.7 million, signaling a major shift in digital art sales.
NFTs Have a Bright Future After "Death"
In Q2 2021, the Top 15 Highest-grossing NFTs Sold for More Than $37 million.
The Rug Has Been Ripped Out from under Frosties NFT Investors, who have Lost Almost $1 Million


text:
science + media
Five Questions for Finalists: Sonic Sea
We reached out to our Science Media Awards finalists with five questions about the experience of making their projects.
Sonic Sea is a finalist in the categories Science of Life, Science Journalism, and Changing Planet.
What inspired this story?
Sonic Sea was inspired by the whales, dolphins and other marine life that are suffering and dying from our mindless sonic assault. Whales evolved over millions of years to favor sound over light. But the intense noises we're making in the ocean with massive ships, oil and gas surveys and military sonar are killing marine mammals, driving some populations toward extinction and making it harder for many species to prosper. We can save these majestic creatures and restore the acoustic habitat they depend on for their survival, but only by raising global awareness of the problem and showing that there is real hope for a solution.
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film?
The biggest challenge making Sonic Sea was that its subject – sound in the ocean – is both invisible and outside normal human experience. Whereas people depend primarily on their sense of sight, whales and many other marine species depend primarily on making and hearing sounds. In order to convey what their acoustic life is like, we used animations to depict sound visually, and also built a rich sound design based on thousands of actual underwater recordings. Our goal was to plunge the audience through the waves and deep into an ocean flowing with sound.
How do you approach science storytelling?
Our approach to science storytelling is first to ensure that we are accurate and fair. Next, it is to tell a scientific story in a way that is intriguing and suspenseful. Sonic Sea is therefore constructed like a crime drama. It opens with a mysterious mass stranding and mortality of whales. The story of solving that mystery – the investigation into what killed the whales and who was responsible – forms the central dramatic arc of the film. Along the way, other scientific findings about the behavior and impact of sound in the ocean provide moments of realization, wonder and amazement.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
Our hope is that Sonic Sea is emotionally engaging and scientifically informative enough to propel change. We can solve the problem of ocean noise pollution with better technology and policy. But that will only happen if a critical mass of people is aware of the problem and understands that solutions are feasible. Sonic Sea is being seen by millions of people around the world on Discovery Network and by tens of thousands of people in screenings targeted at students, ocean enthusiasts, ocean industry professionals, legislators and ocean policy makers. We believe the film has put the issue of ocean noise pollution on the table for discussion.
Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
Making Sonic Sea was an adventure because the film introduced us to fascinating people dedicated to understanding and protecting marine life. For instance, we visited Paul Spong, PhD., the founder of Orca Lab, a small land-based whale research station nestled against the evergreen forest of Hanson Island in the waters of the "Inside Passage" of northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Paul and his team use hydrophones to listen to and record orcas. They can identify every pod and even every whale by their distinct dialect and calls. Hanson Island is a remarkably beautiful and peaceful place and the lab's work is adding enormously to our understanding of whales without interfering with their lives or habitat.
Sonic Sea also led us to Ken Balcomb, the former Navy pilot and acoustics expert who proved to the world that naval sonar is killing whales. His work has led to extensive reforms in the way the U.S. and other nations use sonar in testing and training. Ken's Whale Research Center, on San Juan Island in Washington State, is a perfectly situated post from which to observe whales in Haro Strait. The building is full of amazing artifacts, including several enormous whale skulls that dominate the main room and shock first-time visitors. One of the most satisfying moments in making the film was meeting our narrator, the wonderfully talented actress Rachel McAdams. When Rachel arrived to record the narration she told us she'd just watched the film a second time and that it had once again reduced her to tears.
Is the World a Safer Place?
By: Kathryn Jeffords
On Thursday, September 22, the renowned psychologist Steven Pinker and primatologist Richard Wrangham will sit down with Marco Werman, host of PRI's The World, to discuss the past and future of violence in humanity. Their discussion may surprise you. Despite the perception of worsening war and global conflict, both scholars provide a reality check on our views of violence today. Here's a sneak peek of what they might discuss.
1. Let's Quit Romanticizing the Past
When you ask them, virtually everyone believes that violence has increased over time. In fact, you've probably already read about a senseless act of violence or a terrorist bombing in today's news. In a time of ISIS, Syria, and 9/11, the claim that we are living in an unusually peaceful time may seem hallucinatory. However, the data disproves this on every count.* Steven Pinker argues that this information is fundamental to the human existence. Despite popular belief, we are actually making things better on Earth. Declines in violence are a product of social, cultural and material conditions. If these conditions persist, violence will remain low or decline further.
2. Media creates a sense of solidarity and interconnectedness but…
It also allows the weak to look strong. Modern terrorist groups like ISIS seek publicity and attention to inspire fear. Terrorism is a form of asymmetrical warfare: a battle of the weak vs. the strong. Terrorist groups leverage fear and emotional damage that is disproportionate to the actual damage to our lives or land. According to Pinker, Americans are 300 times more likely to be murdered in an everyday homicide than in a terrorist attack, and 3,000 times more likely to die in an accident.* Unfortunately, the human brain is unable to accurately perceive the true risk of groups like ISIS. Fallacies in risk perception cause us to exaggerate threats and thus distort public policy.
3. In Areas Where Women are Empowered, There is Less Violence
It's very clear that in primates and humans, males are more aggressive than women. Richard Wrangham's research shows that juvenile female chimpanzees use sticks as play things or sit with it while they are feeding. Juvenile male chimpanzees use them as weapons. As leaders, women are more thoughtful about the outcome of potential conflict; they are better at taking the perspective of the opponent and less likely to be ego driven.* For example Rwanda became the first country to have more women in the legislature. Pinker's research identifies feminism as an "angel of our kind," or a main factor in the decline of violence over time.
Want to learn more about the science of human nature? Join us at the Science Media Awards and Summit in the Hub (SMASH) this September, where Marco Werman of PRI's The World will be leading the closing keynote with Richard Wrangham and Steven Pinker. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/1OgXfXD. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @scienceSMASH, #sciencemedia.
*Pinker, Steven. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York: Viking, 2011. Print.
*Wrangham, Richard. "Why We Kill" and "Powerful Women = Fewer Wars," online interview with Big Think. http://bigthink.com/experts/richardwrangham
*Washington Blog. "What is the Real Risk from Terrorism in America." Centre for Research on Globalization. June 2015. http://www.globalresearch.ca/what-is-the-real-risk-from-terrorism-in-america/5454480
Five Questions for Finalists: HoloAnatomy
HoloAnatomy is a finalist the Virtual Reality category.
This story began with a new building. Case Western Reserve University is constructing a new Health Education Campus in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic that will open in 2019. This campus will be the centerpiece of a new way to educate physicians, nurses and dentists. Right now, each of these different professions are educated in isolation, but are then thrown together in the clinic and often struggle to understand their part in the broader patient-care team. They're not always familiar with the capabilities of their colleagues. This new building was meant to change that. Students will be educated together, and will come out of school as a team. Early on in this building planning, we committed to bringing our students the best possible technology. As part of this, our team was specifically tasked with finding a way to replace hundreds of years of anatomy education with digital technology. The augmented reality experience we're showing this year is just a taste of the kinds of educational programs that we'll be offering in this new space using Microsoft HoloLens.
Nobody has ever had access to Microsoft HoloLens before, and nobody has ever taught a large class with this kind of technology, so nearly everything has been challenging. We've even had to develop a new language to describe what's happening, for example, how do you describe what is "real" in a physical sense versus what is "real" in a holographic sense? It has completely distorted our view as to whether something is present in our space or not. Because of this, probably the most challenging part of the past year has been trying to explain our work to people who haven't experienced HoloLens. It is a technology you truly have to see to believe.
We hope this augmented reality anatomy experience will be a first step towards changing the way medical professionals are educated across the globe. Cadaver labs are incredibly difficult to establish and maintain, so if we are successful, this could provide access to high-quality anatomy and physiology education to all kinds of students. Longer term, we hope that this type of technology can be used to teach any subject at any level. Case Western Reserve University has committed to this technology because we truly believe Microsoft HoloLens is a key part of the future of education and research.
We have had more than 300 people go through our experience. Every time we ask people to walk from one side of the model to the other, 100 percent of the time, they walk AROUND our holographic person—even though he's not physically there. It's amazing how quickly our brains adapt to believing that this hologram is in the room with us.
Another fascinating experience is siting without a HoloLens and watching groups of people interacting with holographic data. You see groups of people intently focusing and pointing at things in thin air. They are definitely talking about something that is real to them, but from the outside we see nothing. It is highly entertaining!
Over the next year, we will be continuing our educational developments. We will also be bringing this kind of experience into new and diverse areas, such as museums and manufacturing facilities. It's amazing how much overlap we see in terms of needs and requests from very different disciplines and industries.
Any tips for those interested in exploring VR/AR production?
Be prepared to make a lot of mistakes, but don't stop trying new ways to approach the medium. This is truly a new way of seeing and interacting with the world, and we are far from having this figured out. Do a lot of experiments with people who aren't on your team. They will give you insight you would never find on your own.
Your Science-y Late-Summer Reading List
By Caitlin Kossmann
It's almost the end of summer, and your summer reading goals have fallen woefully by the wayside. But it's not too late to start now! Are you looking for something fun, something science-y, something deep and and insightful into what it means to be human? We've gathered a few of this summer's releases to fulfill all three criteria:
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
HarperCollins (Ecco), August 2016
Just released today, August 9, I Contain Multitudes is the first book of renowned and prolific British science writer Ed Yong. He has written for Wired Magazine, Nature, The New Yorker, Scientific American, National Geographic, and The Atlantic, among others. Those familiar with his work will know that Yong has long been interested in the role of microorganisms in human health for a while, and this book is his deepest dive yet. Learn about all the roles microbes play in our health—not just in digestion, but in our immunity, providing immunity to infants via mother's milk, our moods, and even our genetics. And we're not the only organisms to have such intimate relationships with microbe. But I'll let him tell you about that. Written in Yong's accessible and humorous style, this hot new read will remind you that we're all connected, and you're never alone, even in your own body.
The Human Superorganism: How the Microbiome is Revolutionizing the Pursuit of a Healthy Life by Rodney Dietert
Penguin (Dutton), July 2016
Ok, so you respect Ed Yong. But if you want to go further into the science of this microbiome thing, try The Human Superorganism by Rodney Dietert. Dietert is a professor of immunotoxicology at Cornell University with several academic books on disease and immunity to his name. The Human Superorganism addresses much of what we've heard through the media grapevine regarding modern ailments—obesity, allergies, depression, even cancer—from a practicing scientist's perspective. We aren't just in a symbiosis, we're an ecological system. And as any ecologist can tell you, diversity and species distribution matter for the ecosystem's overall health. Dietert wants to tell us what we can do with this information, too, focusing on changes that could be made in health care as well as do-it-yourself tips for maintaining a happy community. Wow your friends with your new medical knowledge—and feel free to start using the Royal We.
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Scribner, May 2016
This one came out a bit before summer, but no science summer reading list would be complete without it. Mukherjee is a distinguished physician, scientist, and author of one of the most-read and best-written books on cancer out there, The Emperor of All Maladies (Scribner, 2010). He returns six years later for an equally moving and comprehensive look at the concept of the gene. It's a carefully researched work of scientific and medical history, but it's also deeply personal. Mukherjee weaves in stories of familial mental illness, and how their conditions drove his interest in understanding genes—what they are, what they do, how they do it. He also focuses on ethical and philosophical questions. If that sounds too heavy for a summer read, don't get scared away! Mukherjee is one of our truly talented science writers. Not only does he have a firm understanding of science and medicine, and communicate it clearly, but he's a good enough writer to scratch that literary reading itch. This one's a tome, but, really, it's worth it.
Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich
Random House, August 2016
Another of today's releases, Patient H.M. tackles the oft-cited but not deeply known story of Henry Molaison, a factory worker who became the most-studied subject in all of neuroscience. Known in studies as simply "H.M.", Molaison suffered complete amnesia after undergoing brain surgery for epilepsy. Like Mukherjee, Dittrich writes about his personal connection to the story: Dittrich's grandfather was one of the surgeons who operated on Molaison. If the previous suggestions weren't soul-searching enough for you, give this one a try. Dittrich tackles the science of memory as well as the emotional resonance of memories through generations, melding a history of science with modern science writing and memoir. He raises thorny questions about human subjects in science—what do we do if taking inappropriate advantage of one subject led to important advances in neuroscience and subsequent patient care? This story is eerie and fascinating, with a touch of the tabloid exposé (the seedy underbelly of neuroscience's history!), and it will keep you reading into the night like a good thriller.
Want to learn more about the science of human nature? Join us at the Science Media Awards and Summit in the Hub (SMASH) this September, where Graham Townsley will be leading a session on "Being Human." Check it out here: http://www.sciencemediasummit.org/programming.html. To register for the conference or learn more about SMASH, check out our website at http://www.sciencemediasummit.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @scienceSMASH, #sciencemedia.
Caitlin Kossmann is an assistant producer for SMASH.
As the curators of the Science Media Awards Summit in the Hub (SMASH), we believe storytelling is a common thread in our shared human experience, and that new media allows us to convey the wonders of scientific discovery in new and compelling ways.


text:
CrimeNewsPolitics
LGBTQ mayoral candidate's vehicle stolen in Atlanta
By Matt Hennie
Atlanta City Council member Antonio Brown said four young men stole his vehicle as he stood a few feet away on Wednesday. (Photo by Matt Hennie)
Atlanta City Council member Antonio Brown – running to become the city's first LGBTQ mayor – had his sport utility vehicle stolen and was dragged several feet along a street on Wednesday morning.
A group of four young men – Brown told a 911 operator they appeared to be 14 years old and younger – jumped in his 2016 Mercedes 450 GLE about 11:45 a.m. as he stood a few feet away. Brown left the vehicle unlocked with the key fob inside, according to WSB. The incident took place on Verbena Street near its intersection with Sewanee Avenue in northwest Atlanta.
The thieves left with his cellphone in the SUV, according to an incident report from the Atlanta Police Department.
When one of the young men entered the vehicle on its passenger side, Brown and the person he was speaking with went to the driver's side. Brown held on as the vehicle pulled away.
"While trying to open the door, Mr. Brown stated that the male put the vehicle in drive pulling Mr. Brown before letting go of the vehicle traveling northwest on Verbena Street," according to the incident report.
Brown said the incident could have escalated.
"He started to speed up and I knew that if I had not let go, I could have probably killed myself because he was going so fast," Brown told WSB.
WSB reported that one of the young men motioned that he had a weapon underneath his clothes. Despite that, Brown told a 911 operator that he and another person left Verbena Street to search for the stolen vehicle.
"We went to try to find the car," Brown told the operator.
The vehicle was tracked to several locations as the driver traveled to East Point, according to an incident report. The vehicle was still missing on Thursday.
Brown identified himself as a city council member three times during his nearly two-minute conversation with a 911 operator. It took police 40 minutes to arrive, according to the incident report.
Brown told media outlets that if police identify who stole the vehicle, he does not want to press criminal charges.
"I don't know if someone else put them up to doing it. I don't know what the circumstance was. But it was just unfortunate to see kids that young engaging in criminal behavior," Brown told WSB.
In an interview with CBS 46, Brown questioned why the young men weren't in school and called for the city to open recreation centers. Atlanta Public Schools ended its school year on Wednesday. Most city-operated facilities are closed under coronavirus pandemic protocols. On Thursday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced city swimming pools will reopen on Saturday.
"The reality is it's extremely unfortunate because why aren't they in school? I mean these are little kids that I would have never thought in a million years would be attempting to steal my vehicle. They are the age of my siblings," Brown told CBS 46.
"They live in this community, they have to. For them to be walking in this community, they live in this generational poverty right now," he added.
City Council member Antonio Brown asked voters to help him 'reimagine Atlanta' as he formally launched his campaign for mayor on May 14. (Photo by Matt Hennie)
'Reimagine public safety'
Brown launched his mayoral campaign on May 14, calling on voters to help him "reimagine Atlanta" – including the city's troubled police department. Atlanta and jurisdictions across the region are experiencing a spike in crime.
"I ask that you join me as we begin the journey of reimagining Atlanta together – a journey to create an inclusive ecosystem that reimagines public safety and empowers safe communities, improves our transportation and our crumbling infrastructure, provides quality jobs and affordable housing while recognizing the needs of our most vulnerable residents, our youth, our seniors, our LGBTQ+ community, our working middle class and our unsheltered population," Brown said.
As a city council member, Brown introduced legislation to create a city Department of Public Safety & Wellness to coordinate public safety and non-emergency response efforts.
On Wednesday, he said putting more officers on the streets wouldn't prevent auto thefts like the one he experienced.
"It's no matter how many officers you would have put on the street that could have kept this from happening. These are kids that are coming from nothing and they see an opportunity of a Mercedes sitting in front of them and for them to risk their lives to steal this vehicle speaks volumes about their economic condition in this city," Brown told CBS 46.
In July, a federal grand jury indicted Brown on seven fraud charges. Among the allegations is that Brown faked loan documents to buy a Mercedes and a Range Rover. He spent $24,742 on a 2008 Mercedes C300 and $37,748 on a 2008 Range Rover, according to the indictment. The vehicle stolen on Wednesday was a 2016 Mercedes 450 GLE.
. #BreakingNews Atlanta City Councilman @AntonioforATL says 4 kids, around 7-11years old, jumped into his car while he was standing outside it & took off. He says he was meeting an investor to talk about developing affordable housing. Police looking for vehicle. His reaction: pic.twitter.com/6OXonkBVqS
— Brittany Edney (@BrittanyEdney) May 26, 2021
Everton Blair would be Georgia's first gay schools superintendent
After becoming the youngest, first Black and first gay school board member in Gwinnett County, Everton Blair topped it to become chair. On Friday,...
Atlanta City Council member Matt Westmoreland comes out as LGBTQ
When swearing in of a new administration happens in the City of Atlanta on Monday, an unexpected fourth member of the newly elected City...


Sensei (Teacher) – Jonathan Aronson Sensei a 3rd degree black belt (san-dan), fuko-shidoin (certified insrtructor) in the United States Aikido Federation (USAF). The USAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading and maintaining the Japanese martial art of Aikido as created and maintained by it's founder, Morihei Ueshiba. Sensei-Aronson has been practicing Aikido for 25 years. He has 15 years experience teaching Aikido to children at Albany Aikido under the instruction of Irving Faust Shihan Sensei (7th degree black belt). Sensei-Aronson started his own Dojo in Saratoga 4 years ago teaching both adults and children traditional Aikido. He also has 8 years experience working with adults and children with special needs and disabilities. His passion for Aikido has led him to study many different types of eastern philosophies.
Sensei-Aronson's own Sensei, Irving Faust Shihan (7th degree black belt), has been teaching traditional Aikido for 35 years in the Capital District. Faust Shihan will test and certify all students of Saratoga Aikido who meet the USAF requirements. Saratoga Aikido will also have other select Senseis in the Capital Region and New England teach and conduct seminars at the dojo from time to time.


text:
Gabino Iglesias Reviews Near the Bone by Christina Henry
October 1, 2021 September 9, 2021 locusmag 0 Comments Gabino Iglesias
Near the Bone, Christina Henry (Berkley 978-0-59319-976-6, $17.00, 336pp, tp) April 2021. Cover by Spencer Fuller.
Christina Henry's Near the Bone is a horror novel that brings together real life horrors and monsters that walk a fine line between the supernatural and the what-if world of cryptozoology. At once a narrative about abuse and survival and a tale of creatures stalking people up on a snow-covered mountain, Near the Bone is a tense, entertaining read with some great explosions of violence and a story of kidnapping and battling identities at its core.
Mattie lives in a small cabin with her husband William. She doesn't remember a time before William and life in the cabin, which has no indoor plumbing. Mattie's existence is about chores, following orders, performing her wifely duties in an attempt to give William the sons he desperately craves, and surviving William's short temper and constant – and brutal – physical abuse. When Mattie finds the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, things change quickly. William and Mattie go exploring and find a cave full of carefully arranged bones and a pile of viscera. There's something out in the woods, something big, something that could hurt them, and soon others come looking for it as well. Interacting with strangers, which Mattie never does, sets her on a path to freedom and helps her remember she's not Mattie; she's Samantha. As her previous life comes back in bits and pieces, it crashes against Mattie's reality and the perilous situation she finds herself in: hurt, barely able to talk, and on the run from William and whatever is hiding in the woods, in the company of three strangers.
The beauty of Near the Bone is that it delivers big, bad monsters hiding in the woods but also a very human one, and the human one is often worse than the supernatural ones. William is a despicable character. He kidnapped, groomed, and then more-or-less enslaved Samantha, turning her into Mattie via physical and psychological abuse, religious zealotry, and deprivation. More than a wife, William raised himself a slave, and he does everything in his power to keep her and the crimes he committed to get her from the rest of the world. Luckily, Mattie's arc includes many important realizations, and her anger at William blossoms into hatred and a thirst for revenge that feels righteous.
Horror fiction can make readers feel a plethora of things, and the sadness in this novel overpowers the horror. Yes, piles of bones, dead animals hung from trees, and a huge creature silently stalking people in the dark are pure horror, but Mattie's inner world is even darker, and the way Henry writes about it is brilliant:
Mattie didn't believe in happy endings. She didn't even believe in happy middles. It was only at the beginning part of the story, when you were young and didn't know any better, that you could be happy and carefree. Once life piled up on you, happiness was impossible.
Mattie/Samatha's life slowly comes back to her, and as it does, it is revealed to readers. The slow unveiling of her past and the way she came to be trapped with William in that cabin is chilling and makes Near the Bone a psychological thriller and a crime novel as much as it is a horror narrative. As Mattie tries to escape with the people that came up to the mountain looking for the mysterious cryptid inhabiting its woods, she is exposed to a different way of doing things, and this forces her to internalize what her life has been and how her behavior has changed from what she knows would be right to what she actually did. In a way, her self-analysis is as devastating as William's fists:
Jen watched Mattie closely, and Mattie felt a sudden flush of shame. How could Mattie explain to this woman, this woman so free and easy and independent, how one man had kept Mattie locked in a cabin for so many years? How could she explain that after a time she had allowed him to do that? Mattie should have fought. She should have run. She should have tried harder, instead of just accepting her fate.
Near the Bone packs a perfect combination of creature-feature aesthetics and tension with a deep, emotionally gritty story about a young woman ripped from a comfortable life and brainwashed into thinking that getting punched regularly and living without indoor plumbing and no human contact other than her husband is acceptable. Those two things intertwine perfectly here and give the novel a strange depth that makes it at once heart wrenching and deliciously pulpy. Henry is a talented storyteller, and this novel entertains while also delivering a message about agency, taking control, and how sometimes vengeance is completely acceptable. That it does all that, while also delivering monsters that are always there but only show glimpses of themselves until the end, is icing on the horrific cake.
← Previous Issue 729 Table of Contents, October 2021
2021 Salam Award Next →
Carolyn Cushman Reviews The Way of the Shield by Marshall Ryan Maresca and Séances Are for Suckers by Tamara Berry
Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Amy Goldschlager Reviews Mad Hatters and March Hares Audiobook, Edited by Ellen Datlow
July 24, 2018 locusmag 0
Latest ReviewsView All
Russell Letson reviews The Book of All Skies by Greg Egan
Reviews Short Fiction
Paula Guran Reviews Short Fiction: Flash Fiction Online, Nightmare, and Fantasy
Tom Doherty on Locus
May 11, 2010 admin Comments Off on Tom Doherty on Locus
"If you love science fiction and fantasy, LOCUS is a must. I've been reading it for nearly 50 years; rarely missing an issue. With it's extensive and entertaining coverage of our community and it's works, it is truly 'THE MAGAZINE OF THE SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY FIELD.'"


Please begin the volunteer process by filling out the form below in it's entirety. Upon receiving the completed form, a volunteer coordinator will reach out to you within 7 days to arrange for a more in depth interview process.
All volunteers are required to read and abide by the Volunteer Policies Guidelines found on our Volunteer Page.
Do you have previous horse experience?
If you answered yes, please elaborate.
Why are you interested in volunteering with Noble?
Are you choosing to volunteer in order to fulfill a community service requirement?
We rely on our volunteers and request a 48 hour cancellation notice, if possible. If you are unable to routinely arrive on time for your scheduled time, you will be relieved of your volunteer position.
I have read the Volunteer Policies & Guidelines and understand there is a time commitment upon deciding to volunteer.


If you follow any celebrities on Instagram, you're probably familiar with the Instagram feature Story Question Stickers. The feature allows an Instagram user to survey their audience by posting a sticker to their Instagram Story that poses a question. Followers then submit answers, which can be shared over an image of the user's choice. While this feature is commonly used for celebrities to interact with their fans, it can also be effectively used for recruitment.
A great way to utilize the Questions feature is to host an Ask a Recruiter Q&A session. Promote the session on your Instagram stories a few days ahead of time as a chance for candidates to ask any questions they have about working at your company, or about the recruitment process as a whole. When answering their questions, use background images that show off your office or your company culture.
Your employees are an easily accessible resource for sharing your company experience. Post a question for your employees on your Instagram Story, and then display their answers for your followers to see. This supplies candidates with genuine experiences from real employees and has the added benefit of boosting employee engagement. You can share employee portraits along with their answers (while keeping their personal Instagram profiles anonymous) so that candidates can view their potential future co-workers. Or, post an image that is relevant to the employee's answer (for example, if an employee raves about the company cafeteria, share a photo of the food bar in the background of their answer).
What kind of company culture are you looking for?
What questions do you have about our interview process?
What do you want to know about life at our company?
You can post these responses and share how your company fits them. Or, you can hold on to these responses and review them internally. This will give you an inner look at your candidates' thoughts on the recruitment process, and help you to better communicate with them in the future.
Save the Instagram Story in Highlights so that candidates can easily find the information and refer back to it. For other ways to use Instagram Stories for recruitment, check out our Instagram Story blog post here.


text:
Making Springfield a better place
Readers recall Shadid's Book Mart
By James Krohe Jr.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE SANGAMON VALLEY COLLECTION
Shadid's at 322 S. Sixth St. circa 1971.
"'Intellectual oasis' might be asking the venerable place to shoulder more weight than it could plausibly bear, but homage is overdue." I was trading anecdotes about Shadid's when Michael Skube said that. He is the Eastsider who went from a cub reporter covering prep games for the old Illinois State Journal to book critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a winner of a Pulitzer Prize in criticism, among other awards. "Shadid's" is Shadid's Book Mart, which for a generation of book-lovers was the most interesting and the most important part of Springfield.
It has been more than 20 years since the original Shadid's closed its doors at 322 Sixth St. It was not the only place in downtown Springfield to buy interesting books — I bought Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver by Jack Douglas off a rack at the Walgreen's that used to occupy the old lobby of what had been the Ridgely Bank at Fifth and Monroe. It wasn't even the best bookstore, if you were one of the many readers who believe that a good bookstore is a bookstore that makes it easy to find and buy the book that everyone else is reading. But it was the only bookstore for the serious reader.
It might better have been called Shadids', as it was a family enterprise owned and managed by second-generation immigrants from Lebanon — brothers Mitch, Woody and Phillip Shadid, with the help of sisters Gladys and Linda. They got their feet wet in the book and magazine business — not to mention frostbit — running a downtown newsstand. They came in out of the cold in 1958, when they opened a shotgun house sort of store, maybe 15 feet wide and several times that deep, across the street from the Leland Hotel.
The crowded front of the store was where the gift books and best-sellers and new hardbacks were displayed. The back half of the store (especially the north wall) had little to tempt casual tourists to the bookish world. Shadid's stocked judiciously chosen lines aimed at the non-academic reader who was cultured rather than credentialed. For example, Skube found there George H. Sabine's A History of Political Theory in 1966, a book he says "I own and cherish to this day."
Cramming a large selection of wares into a small shop meant that many of them had to be displayed edge-on. This is a discouragement to all but the most motivated browser. Those of us who were spent hours, heads cockeyed as we read titles sideways, like paleontologists bent over a fossil bed until we caught a glimpse of something tantalizing that, pulled out and examined, revealed unexpected worlds.
"I remember seeing all the Penguin books and thinking that this made Springfield suddenly a much better place," recalls John Garvey, an Orthodox priest and longtime columnist for Commonweal magazine whose most recent book is Seeds of the Word: Orthodox Thinking on Other Religions. "I learned where the small stock of City Lights books were. I was able to get books by Beckett and Kerouac and Ginsberg, not to speak of the Odes of Pindar — the world's first sports writer, I'd bet."
Shadid's back-of-the-store stock was shelved by publisher rather than by subject or author. To this day I recall not only the names of favorite authors but their publishers, including most of the "quality paperback" lines of major houses from New York, Boston and San Francisco — the Viking Portable Library, Penguin, Anchor Doubleday, Harper Colophon, the Vintage Library from Random House (portable and affordable hardbacks) Modern Library, Grove, New Directions. We quickly learned which publishers were congenial to us, and returned often to their shelf as one returns to a favorite restaurant, knowing that even a dish you haven't tried before will be good because you have confidence in the chef.
The eccentric system rewarded the industrious browser. "You come in here, you look for a particular book. By the time you find it, you've found three others you want to buy too but didn't know were back there," Mitch Shadid once told me. "I'm happy, you're happy." Brother Woody, who has his waggish side, once explained that they resorted to the display-by-publisher system because "We didn't know where [into which category] to put half the stuff anyway."
Shadid's customers were as varied as their stock. They ran the gamut from Pearl Buck and Red Skelton to George Bunn, Jr., the bookman turned banker who ran Marine Bank, as it then was. Such people went there to buy books. Bookish boys my age went there to discover them. Not a few of us went on to adult lives spent happily in the world that spins between printed covers that we first encountered at the Book Mart.
"Years after I left Springfield," says Skube, "I would make pilgrimages to bookdom's holy places – Powell's in Portland, the Strand in New York, City Lights in San Francisco – but I owe to Shadids' little shop on Sixth Street and the South Branch of the Lincoln Library on South Grand Avenue no small part of the person I became."
Mr. Krohe wrote about the store for this paper in "Shadid's Book Mart," Jan. 21-27, 1977.
Contact James Krohe Jr. at peptobiz@mindspring.com.
Illinois - James Krohe Jr
Speaking of Illinois - James Krohe Jr
A pause to reflect
Springfield, reimagined
In the crosshairs
More by James Krohe Jr.
PAUL FINDLEY June 23, 1921-Aug. 9, 2019
Reining in government spending will be tough
By Lee H. Hamilton
Protect prime farmland from solar
By John Hawkins
Help restore civility to Congress
By Ray LaHood
More Opinion »
All News & Opinion »
Education bill to revamp social studies
Young writers put fears aside to write This I Believe
By Liz Murer
"I can't breathe"
By Bruce Rushton