Like most people, I first was introduced to the concept of virtual reality avatars with the movie of the same name. Now as VR technology becomes more advanced, Avatars are moving from science fiction to software programs. One area that is particularity interesting is the concept of your virtual reality avatar becoming a better version of yourself based on choices that you make in the virtual world.
By making better choices for education, exercise and eating habits, you will able to see an avatar of what you could have become. This may sound depressing but only if you do not use it as new motivation to change something in your real life.
Internet-based interactive games and social media outlets have become intertwined with the physical realities of millions of people around the world. When an individual strongly identifies with the cyber representation of themselves, known as an avatar, the electronic doppelganger can influence that person's health and appearance, according to a University of Missouri researcher's study. Harnessing the power of the virtual world could lead to new forms of obesity treatment and help break down racial and sexual prejudices.
"The creation of an avatar allows an individual to try on a new appearance and persona, with little risk or effort," said Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, assistant professor of communication in MU's College of Arts and Science.
That alter-ego can then have a positive influence on a person's life. For example, people seeking to lose weight could create fitter avatars to help visualize themselves as slimmer and healthier.
"This study found no evidence of negative effects of a high degree of self-presence in the virtual world on study participants; however, that doesn't rule out the possibility," said Behm-Morowitz.
Users should practice moderation. Virtual entertainment, like other forms of diversion such as books or television, can be used in unhealthy ways.
I am also interested in studying how using an avatar with a different race or ethnicity may increase empathy and decrease prejudice. This may occur through the process of identification with an avatar that is different from oneself, or through a virtual simulation that allows individuals to experience discrimination as a member of a non-dominant group might experience it.


text:
How High Can Hulk Jump
The Hulk is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk (May 1962). Within the Marvel Universe, the Hulk is regarded as one of the strongest beings in existence.
In his comic book appearances, the character is both physically powerful—able to lift mountains—and virtually invulnerable. He regenerates rapidly from any injury; his healing factor is so great that he has been known to regrow lost limbs and organs. However, emotional stress or anger can trigger a transformation into the savage "Hulk" persona who knows no fear, pain or mercy.
As such, he rampages through enemies and destroys everything in his path until he finally calms down and reverts back to Bruce Banner.
Are you asking how high the Hulk can jump in the comics? If so, then the answer is that he can jump pretty darn high. In one comic, he jumped from Earth to the moon!
Granted, he did have a running start, but still. That's pretty impressive. In the movies, however, it's a different story.
In The Incredible Hulk (2008), we see him jump from a building and land on another building across the street. But then later in the same movie, he jumps over a canyon. So it's hard to say how high he can really jump in those films.
But regardless of how high he can actually jump, one thing is for sure: The Hulk is one powerful guy who can definitely hold his own against anyone who tries to take him on!
How High Can Hulk Jump Mcu
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Hulk is able to jump incredibly high. In fact, in one scene in The Avengers, he is seen jumping from the top of a building and landing on top of a Chitauri alien. This shows just how powerful his legs are and how high he can jump.
However, it is important to note that the Hulk's jumps are not always consistent. In some scenes, he will jump much higher than others. This is likely due to the fact that the CGI used to create his jumps varies from scene to scene.
Can Hulk Jump to the Moon
Can Hulk Jump to the Moon? The answer, unfortunately, is no. The Hulk is a fictional character with superhuman strength who appears in Marvel Comics.
He is able to jump great distances, but his jumps are limited by gravity. If he were to try to jump to the moon, he would not be able to make it because the moon's gravitational pull is much weaker than Earth's.
How Fast Can Hulk Run
Assuming you are referring to the comic book character Hulk, here is some information on his abilities. Hulk is one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe and has vast superhuman strength. He has been clocked running at speeds of up to 700 mph, which is just under Mach 1.
In a race against Flash, Hulk was able to keep up with the speedster for a short time before being left in the dust. However, this was due more to Flash's reluctance to hurt Hulk than anything else. Overall, Hulk is not particularly fast compared to other superhumans, but his strength more than makes up for it.
Can the Hulk Jump from Planet to Planet
Yes, the Hulk can jump from planet to planet. In fact, the Hulk is one of the few beings in the Marvel Universe who possesses this ability. The Hulk's immense strength and durability allow him to withstand the rigors of interstellar travel, and his powerful legs give him the necessary propulsion to make enormous leaps across space.
The Hulk has used this ability on several occasions, most notably when he journeyed to Sakaar in order to battle The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #92-105. On that occasion, the Hulk made a series of massive jumps from planet to planet in order to reach his destination, eventually landing on Sakaar's moon where he began his battle with the Red King. The Hulk has also used this ability to travel from Earth to other planets in our solar system and beyond.
In The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #340, for example, the Jade Giant made a massive jump from Earth all the way out to Jupiter's moon Io in order to rescue Rick Jones from certain death. And in The Incredible Hulk Annual #11, the Hulk even managed to leap clear out of our solar system and into deep space! So there you have it: proof positive that the Incredible Hulk can indeed jump from planet to planet!
Next time someone tells you that something is impossible, just remember that for the Mighty Avenger known as Bruce Banner's alter ego, nothing is impossible!
How High Can She-Hulk Jump
In the Marvel Universe, there are few characters who can match the She-Hulk in terms of strength and power. The character is known for her superhuman strength, durability, and agility. But just how high can she jump?
According to official Marvel sources, the She-Hulk's vertical leap is 'incalculable'. In other words, we don't really know for sure. However, based on what we've seen in the comics and on screen, it's safe to say that her jumping ability is pretty damn impressive.
For example, in one issue of the comic book series, She-Hulk was able to jump over a moving train. And in the Incredible Hulk TV show from the 1970s/1980s, she cleared a 20-story building in a single bound. So yeah, she can jump pretty high!
Credit: www.youtube.com
How Far Could the Hulk Jump?
Assuming you are asking how far the Hulk could jump horizontally, it is difficult to estimate. The comics don't give many clear examples and the movies don't often show the Hulk jumping (he usually just runs really fast or jumps really high). However, there are a few things we can take into account.
The Hulk is incredibly strong. In fact, his strength is one of his defining characteristics. He has been quoted as saying "I'm always angry" and this rage gives him seemingly unlimited strength.
We see him lift cars, smash through walls, and throw tanks in the movies and comics. This same strength would also apply to his legs, meaning he could generate a lot of force when he jumps. In addition, the Hulk is very heavy.
He weighs around 1,400 pounds according to some estimates. This means that when he jumps, he has a lot of momentum behind him which would help him go further than someone who weighs less. So how far could the Hulk jump?
It's hard to say for sure, but if we had to guess we would say at least several hundred feet horizontally and several thousand feet vertically.
How Much Can Hulk Lift Lift?
The Hulk is one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe. He has been known to lift large objects like buildings and vehicles over his head with ease. But just how much can he lift?
According to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, The Hulk's maximum lifting capacity is 100 tons. This means that he can lift objects that weigh up to 100 tons (200,000 pounds). However, this is not his limit.
The Hulk has been shown to be able to lift far more than this in some cases. For example, during the World War Hulk storyline, The Hulk was able to pick up a massive piece of debris and throw it several miles away. In another instance, he lifted a giant boulder that weighed over 200 tons.
So while his maximum lifting capacity is 100 tons, it is clear that he can exceed this in certain situations. So how does The Hulk compare to other strong characters in the Marvel Universe? Well, there are few characters who can match his strength.
Thor, for example, is another extremely strong character who can lift around 85 tons under normal circumstances. Under extreme conditions however, Thor has been known tolift well over 100 tons (he once lifted a section of a bridge that weighed 150tons). Other characters like Hercules and She-Hulk are also incredibly strong but their exact lifting capacities have never been revealed.
In conclusion then, The Hulk is one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe and his maximum lifting capacity is an impressive 100 tons!
Can Hulk Jump to Space?
This is a question that has been asked by many people over the years. Can Hulk jump to space? The answer is yes, he can.
Hulk is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe and his strength knows no bounds. He has been known to lift mountains and throw tanks, so it stands to reason that he could jump high enough to reach outer space. There have been several instances in the comics where Hulk has jumped into space, usually to escape from Earth or pursue someone else.
So if you're wondering if Hulk can make the leap from our planet to the stars, rest assured, he definitely can!
Can Thanos Jump As High As Hulk?
This is a difficult question to answer accurately without more information. Thanos is a powerful character in the Marvel Universe and has been known to jump great heights, but whether or not he can jump as high as Hulk is unknown. Hulk is one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe and his strength allows him to perform feats that most other characters cannot, such as jumping incredibly high.
If Thanos was able to match Hulk's strength, then it's possible that he could jump just as high. However, without knowing exactly how strong each character is, it's impossible to say for sure who would win in a contest of jumps.
Hulk Jumping Scene – Hulk (2003) Movie Clip HD
In a recent blog post, Hulk's creator, Stan Lee, revealed that the big green guy can jump pretty high – up to 1,000 feet! That's higher than even the tallest building in the world! Of course, Hulk isn't always that big; he can grow and shrink as needed.
But when he's at his full size, there's almost nothing he can't leap over.
How Much is a Gallon of Illegal Moonshine
How to Undo Smooth in Maya
Are Onion Rings Good for You
How Long to Deep Fry Pizza Rolls
How to Exit 3D Mode Photoshop

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Daniel Fast is 24/7 for 21 days. No specific times to eat, so you can have breakfast.
Oatmeal, fruit, brown rice cakes with peanut butter are just a few of the ideas.
Hello susan on daniels fasting are you allowed to have breskfast?( I don't ) just a bit confussed and wondering why people are asking for breakfast idea. thought you can only eat in the evenings?
If it's from whole grain rice (i.e. brown rice).
Yes, take medication as needed to relieve the discomfort that you are in. Be Blessed!
Hello, I started the Daniel fast about about over a week ago. I've had an absess tooth in the past and it's flared up really bad, so I'm in pain and I don't know if I can take anything for it. I have dabbed clove oil on it but I have no more left and can't get to the store right now. Since tooth paste is allowed due to not actually being eaten, I'm gonna rub some anbesol on it, which is a oral anesthetic. Pleas let me know if this is ok.
The only beverage is water . . . plant-based milks can but used in recipes, but not to drink as a beverage.
If lemon in our hot water causes cramping . . . switch to plain water.
I hear ya about the cold weather. It's been sub-freezing temperatures where I live since long before Christmas! Thank God you have hot water!
I don't understand. Why are plant-based milks allowed, but not herbal teas? Isn't milk considered a beverage? It's very cold out right now, and I would enjoy a warm drink. I tried hot water with lemon, but every time I drink it, it causes cramping.
. . . except that the only beverage on the Daniel Fast is water. So the soy steamer will have to wait until after the Daniel Fast.
For hot drinks, try a soy steamer from Starbucks! Great substitute for coffee!
The only beverage on the Daniel Fast is water (see Daniel 1), so Pero will need to wait or be used in a recipe rather than as a beverage. Unsweetened almond milk is allowed as are other unsweetened plant-based milks.
The other items you mentioned are fine, but adopt the habit to READ THE LABLE on prepared foods so you can a review the ingredients to make sure the contents complies with the Daniel Fast.
Be blessed and have fun with your sis!
My sis and I are starting tomorrow..Jan3. She's in Atlanta and I am near Minneapolis…We are both stocking up today. I am making vegetarian split pea soup..and groc shopping later. We are texting back and forth and wondering about a few things and whether or not they are allowed. This is our 3rd year doing this, btw. Here are the items in question: Salt, pepper, almond milk, olive oil,olives, and Pero (a grain beverage that is similar to Postum, also a grain bev. ) Pero is a hot drink and quite a tasty and good substitute for coffee…Thanks for the tip on the caffeine withdrawl…I am NOT looking forward to THAT!
Yes, rice flour is allowed on the Daniel Fast when it originates from the whole grain.
can i eat something with rice flour as an ingredient?
Starting 3rd week Daniel fast. First time ever. Wish I had this website information at the beginning of fast as to dos and don'ts. Must confess that I have errored. I am glad to have read this website so that I can finish the last week of this fast the correct way.
Yes, caffeine withdrawals can be difficult. You can mitigate them by drinking a lot of water and taking extra Vitamin C. Also, eat bananas and cantaloupe.
I just started the fast yesterday — terrible headaches — went home from work and slept 3 hours. I am feeling somewhat normal today, but the caffeine withdrawls are rough. Thanks for this blog and the wonderful recipes! I am truly seeking God's face.
I drink hot water or water with lemons. Some folks add sliced cucumber. But you might start enjoying water, just plain!
Try to drink at least 1/2 gallon a day and you will find great benefits! It's the best cleanser and it also suppresses appetite!
can you have apple juice? I just started today and man am i missing caffeine but man GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!
In Daniel 1 we read that the prophet ate only vegetables and drank only water . . . so not only is Starbuck's off the list, but so are all other beverages except for the clear, fresh stuff. With that in mind, I often drink heated water on chilly days like we are having today in Central Washington (the State, not the city). We warmed up to 34 degrees!
Have been on the fast for 5 days now I was wondering, in these cold months is there a hot beverage you would recommend,(since we can't have that hot cup of Starbucks coffee???


text:
Verifying probability of precipitation - an example from Finland
24-hour and 48-hour forecasts of probability of precipitation were made by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) during 2003, for daily precipitation in the city of Tampere in south central Finland. Three precipitation categories were used:
Category 0: RR ≤ 0.2 mm
Category 1: 0.3 mm ≤ RR ≤ 4.4 mm
Category 2: RR ≥ 4.5 mm
The probability of rain in each category was predicted each day, with the probabilities across the three categories adding up to 1. Click here to view the data.
It is possible to verify these probabilistic forecasts using a variety of verification plots and statistics. Recall that verification of probability forecasts requires many samples in order to assess forecast quality, as it is not possible to say whether a single probability forecast (say, 30%) is right or wrong for a single outcome. The Tampere dataset gives forecasts for 365 days (actually a bit fewer since some days were missing), which is quite adequate for verifying probability forecasts.
First consider the probability of precipitation (POP), where "no precipitation" corresponds to Category 0, and "precipitation" corresponds to Categories 1 and 2 put together. This effectively treats the multi-category forecast like a forecast for a binary event. We can also consider the probablity of precipitation in the highest category (POPhi) by taking "not heavier precipitation" to correspond to Categories 0 and 1, and "heavier precipitation" to correspond to Category 2.
The Brier score measures the mean squared probability error. It can be decomposed into three terms, where the first term measures the reliability (this term should be small for good forecasts), the second term measures the resolution (this term should be large for good forecasts, and is subtracted), and the third term measures the climatological uncertainty (independent of the forecast quality). For the Tampere forecasts the values of these quantities were:
24-hour forecasts
POPhi
Brier score
Brier skill score
The Brier score had lower values for the 24-hour forecasts than for the 48-hour forecasts, which means that the 24-hour forecasts were more accurate. The difference was due mainly to the 24-hour forecasts having better resolution (i.e., they were better at separating "precipitation " from "no precipitation"). The differences in the uncertainties between the 24- and 48-hour forecasts relate to different days having missing data - for a complete dataset these values would be identical. The POPhi forecasts were more accurate than the POP forecasts. This is partly because heavier rainfall was rarer and the Brier score is heavily influenced by the no-event cases. To account for the relative frequency or rarity of events, the skill of the forecast relative to the sample climatology is often reported. The values of Brier skill score shown in the bottom row of the table show that the 24-hour forecasts for heavier rainfall occurrence were more skillful than for lighter rainfall or the longer forecast period.
The reliability of the forecasts, that is, the degree to which the forecast probabilities match the observed frequencies, can be assessed using a reliability diagram. The reliability of the 24-hour POP forecasts is shown by the heavy line in the diagram at left. If the forecasts had perfect reliability (i.e., no bias) this curve would lie along the diagonal 1:1 line. The dashed horizontal line shows the climatological frequency, and the dotted line midway between the 1:1 line and the horizontal denotes no skill relative to climatology. The location of the reliability curve to the right of the diagonal indicates that the probabilities were overestimated for all but the zero-probability cases, and only for the higher probability categories did the POP forecasts have more skill than climatology. The bar chart in the upper left of the plot shows the number of times each probability value was predicted.
The reliability diagram for the 24-hour POPhi forecasts (right) shows a reliability curve much closer to the diagonal at low probabilities, but veering sharply away for probabilities of 0.5 or greater. However, these higher probabilities were rarely forecast (only eight forecasts of POPhi equal to 0.5 or more) so the reliability curve is noisy because of undersampling. (In practice it is a good idea to plot data only when there are enough samples.)
The Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) is often used to measure how well the probabilistic forecasts discriminate between events and non-events (resolution). Because it is independent of bias it can be viewed as a kind of potential skill. The ROC curve for 24-hour POP forecasts is shown here. A forecast that discriminates perfectly would have a ROC curve that starts in the lower left and follows the y-axis (false alarm rate=0) up to the top left corner, then follows the top axis (hit rate=1) to the upper right corner. The area under the ROC curve is a scalar measure that is frequently used to summarize the resolution. The perfect value is 1.0 and the no-skill value is 0.5. For the Tampere forecasts the following ROC areas are obtained using both a simple trapezoid method and a curve-fitting method (preferred) to estimate the area under the curve:
ROC area (trapezoid rule)
ROC area (curve fitting)
These ROC areas suggest that the forecasts were able to resolve lighter and heavier rainfall with about the same ability. This similarity in the potential skill was not readily obvious from the Brier score, partly due to the bias in the POP forecasts.
Another diagnostic that is related to forecast resolution, but puts the performance into a decision-making context, is the relative value. This measures the usefulness of a forecast in minimizing the economic costs associated with protecting against the effects of bad weather and the losses incurred when bad weather occurs but the user did not take protective action. The improvement in economic value of the forecast is measured relative to that of a climatology forecast and usually plotted as a function of the cost/loss ratio. For probabilistic forecasts the curve of interest is actually an envelope of curves representing each of the probability values allowed by the forecast (in this case, 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, ... 1.0), and this envelope may look quite lumpy. The relative value curve shown here for the 24-hour POP forecasts is a case in point. The lighter curves represent the relative value as a function of cost/loss ratio using each of the probabilities as a yes/no threshold for the forecast, while the heavy curve is the outer envelope representing the maximum relative value possible. The maximum relative value of 0.57 occurred for a moderate cost/loss ratio of 0.23, which is the climatological frequency of rain in the sample. This plot shows that the POP forecasts have value for all decision makers except those with very low cost/loss ratios (who would always protect) or very high cost/loss ratios (who would never protect).
All of the plots and statistics shown so far have only considered the two-category cases of rain/no rain or heavier rain/not heavier rain. A summary score that takes multiple categories into account is the ranked probability score (RPS), which measures the closeness of the probability forecasts in all categories to the category in which the observation fell. For example, if the observation was in category 2, then a probability forecast for categories 0, 1, and 2 of [0.3, 0.6, 0.1] would score better than a forecast of [0.7, 0.2, 0.1] because the "weight" of the forecast was closer to the correct category. To put the ranked probability scores into context, the ranked probability skill score (RPSS) with respect to climatology is often used. For the year's worth of probability forecasts for Tampere the mean values of RPS, and the skill scores computed from these values, were:
RPSS
According to the RPSS, and in agreement with the Brier skill scores, both the 24-hour and 48-hour forecasts were skillful.
Many thanks to Dr. Pertti Nurmi of FMI for providing these data and the photo of Tampere.
Back to Forecast Verification - Methods and FAQ Download IDL POP verification code for this example


text:
Application Modernization in The Cloud Era
Technical Insights
May 10th, 2018 By Jeff DeVerter
Computer applications have existed quite literally since the advent of the computer - you need something to make that hardware do something! As the hardware would increase in capability and power - these applications could be updated/rewritten to take advantage of the additional capabilities. In the early days of computing, this gap in upgrades would be measured in years - there just wouldn't be that many advancements in the infrastructure that would require additional work. But as we moved from the mainframe era to the client server era, the need for updates became more pronounced - but marshalling a team to march in lock step to launch a single monolithic application were so vast that it still meant that major upgrades were still measured in years or at best - quarters.
There were some glimpses of improvement in the early/mid 2000's as application servers came into vogue and they employed the "message bus" which allowed the flow of data to be decoupled with the underlying business logic. This development gave birth to the blessed (and cursed) Service Oriented Architecture (or SOA). SOA has evolved a little over time but has been relegated to large enterprises who could deploy costly Application Servers on costly hardware. In my opinion - it was this cost that kept SOA from gaining wide popularity which in turn stifled innovation in other service areas (like database technology).
The modern cloud era
So what was the catalyst that has caused such accelerated growth not only in technology available but in development methodologies? The Hyperscale Cloud (which we will henceforth call the Cloud).
The cloud democratized technology allowing anyone with a credit card with a few dollars left on it to provision an environment that would have cost over a million dollars 5 years ago just to stand it up – and not be charged but a few cents for each transaction that flowed through it. Cloud providers are now racing to capture all the latest libraries, containers, functions, and services and make them available in every data center they own around the world.
So what does it mean to "modernize your application"?
It means to (in many cases) refactor your application to consume the services made available in the cloud and to refactor your development methodologies, tools, testing, and techniques. It means to move from a quarterly (at best) deployment of your application to a continuous integration and continuous deployment of aspects of your application - even many times per day.
The business benefits include:
Agile updates, improvements, and fixes of your application
Agile connections to new data-sources that could enhance the capability of the application
Transactional billing for your application giving your true cost of ownership to operate the application
Less (no) time worrying, planning for, and managing operating system management, patching, and security - that's the job of the Cloud provider. Your IT personnel can now be focused on driving business value and direction of your applications.
Ability to dynamically rewrite or modify any aspect of the application from the client tier, business logic, or even the database tier. Many modern applications now have the ability to distribute the data between multiple database technology - choosing the best one for the type of data it manages.
Unfortunately, modernizing your application is more than just adopting a new set of tools. By way of example a new set of tools from your favorite hardware store never built a house. To build a house you do need tools - but more importantly you need a team of talented craftsmen, sub-contractors who know how to use them and are all tightly orchestrated by a project manager and foreman following a detailed blueprint which was created by a skilled architect.
Examples of tools would include cloud specific capabilities like containers, compute instances, and serverless capabilities (not to mention a vast array of storage and networking capabilities) as well as one source frameworks and libraries. All of this gets glued together by code repositories like Github and Visual Studio Online and deployed though tools like Jenkins, Shippable, Electric Flow, or Octopus Deoloy (amount others including some specific to each cloud).
Not a destination, but a methodology
The Cloud has made possible a truly new era in computing and application development - but in order for a company to reap these rewards - the move to the Cloud must be accompanied by a refactoring/transformation of the application.
But here is the catch: you're never going to be done. Cloud providers will continue to innovate, and businesses will take advantage of the opportunity and innovate, so you will need to evolve to compete. Application Modernization isn't a destination but a methodology.
Watch Jeff's webinar on Application Modernization below.
Application Development and Management | BrightTALK
Jeff DeVerter
Jeff DeVerter, CTO of Cloudreach's Microsoft Azure Practice
What Is An 'Adaptable Organization' And Why Do You Need To Be One?
We are living in a time where a business's ability to rapidly respond to market changes has never been more essential. If you wish to fend off disruptors and stay one step ahead of your competitors, then your organization needs to have the agility to adapt. Cloud Strategist, Jeremy Ward, explains what it means to be an adaptable organization.
Cloudreach Serverless Arena: Urly Wurly
We challenged our internal serverless community to create a URL shortener using serverless technology and their favourite cloud provider. In this post, we would like to introduce the winner: Urly Wurly.


text:
Add To Your Shelf
Forever . . .
By Judy Blume
Is there a difference between first love and true love? Judy Blume's groundbreaking novel about teen sexuality has a fresh new look.
The bed is brass, covered with a patchwork quilt, and "nice and firm," Michael says, "in case you're interested."
Katherine is interested.
Katherine and Michael are in love, and Katherine knows it's forever—especially after she loses her virginity to him. But when they're separated for the summer, she begins to have feelings for another boy. What does this say about her love for Michael? And what does "forever" mean, anyway? Is this the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love?
Posts With This Book
7 Highly Anticipated Book-to-Screen Adaptations
Amy Lavigne January 22, 2023
23 Banned Books and Why They Were Banned
The Riveted Team March 3, 2022


Techno India Group, the largest private education group in Eastern India and one of the largest in the country. About 55,000 student base, 4000 Faculty & Staff Members . 15 Engineering Colleges (AICTE & University Approved).10 Business Schools + 11 Public Schools (Playgroup to Class XII).Overseas tie-ups Collaborations + 45 state of art campuses. State's first Private University - Techno India University.
Techno India Group Public School, Garia, a unit of Techno India Group, one of the largest knowledge management groups of the country and managed by the Institute of Computer Engineers (India) established in 2006 is spread over on more than two acres of green and pollution free land. The school strives at the holistic development of students with special emphasis on intellectual and moral growth. It recognizes and ignites the hidden potentials of young minds and in a pioneering effort, provides a stimulating congenial learning atmosphere, so as to give the learners a learning edge over others. Apart from commitment to academic excellence and providing all round development the school endeavors unlocking of creativity and widening intellectual horizon to meet global challenges.
Smart school effort is to develop new and effective approaches in and thus the concept of e-learning using digital technology in teaching. Adhering to the same teaching techniques that are being followed in higher education, a revolution is all set for the lower level as well. Techno India Group Public School , affiliated to CBSE , comprises of eight Co-educational English medium day schools and 3 Techno Model Schools and 7 Techno India Group Academia Schools affiliated to WBCHSE with day boarding and hostel facility in some schools situated in different important locales of West Bengal.


I just grabbed a book from my office at the school, put it on the passenger seat of my car, and had to chuckle. I wasn't chuckling because I expect the book to be all that amusing — it's a literature anthology; I chuckled because it's such a "grandma" thing to do. I give my mom direct credit for my interest in reading, but I give my grandma credit for my love of reading. She's the one who would talk to me about the books that she read when she was young; she's the one who would let me take old books home from her house; she's the one who will listen to me talk about the books that I'm reading, and she's the one who would always have a stack of books between the seats in her minivan. I think she always had at least two or three in rotation, books about natural remedies, homeschooling, politics. The content varied, but the stack of books was everpresent. And, today I thought, "Hm…grandma was on to something." Now when the dog park crowd is thin, I won't have to lament not having a book to read while Deogi runs around. When someone I need to meet is running late, I won't have to get irritated because I can kill the time reading. The book is just an old collection of stories, so it doesn't matter if it gets stuffed under the seats a few times, stepped on by the dog, or catches splashes of coffee. I'll be entertained,and I'll get the bonus of being reminded of my special bond with my grandma.


With NBC now presenting the EPL season in North America, they created a commercial to introduce it. Jason Sudeikis plays an American football coach who must now learn how to coach English soccer. It's a funny advertisement and I am happy for another channel to play EPL games.


A total of 3,625 athletes tested positive for meldonium in 2015, the year before its ban came into effect when the 2016 Prohibited List was published on 1 January. Figures published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) show that 6.2% of the 58,760 samples collected both in and out of competition tested positive for meldonium concentrations greater than 20ng/mL.
However, WADA's findings represent a concentration of meldonium at extremely low levels. In its Guidance Notice on meldonium, WADA recommends that anti-doping organisations should only process an adverse analytical finding (AAF) when the concentration of meldonium is between 1μg/mL and 15μg/mL and the doping control was undertaken on or after 1 March 2016. The 6.2% of samples represent positive tests for meldonium at a concentration of 0.02μg/mL. If a test was taken between 1 January and 1 March, it only recommends proceeding in processing an AAF if the concentration of meldonium is above 15μg/mL, or 15,000 ng/mL.
As our table shows, canoe/kayak returned the highest percentage of positive tests for meldonium in 2015. The highest number of meldonium positives (549) was returned by athletics, however this represented just 7.7% of the 7,065 athletes tested. The diversity of the sports featuring in the top ten could lend support to claims that the drug is used as an insurance policy against heart attacks and is not performance-enhancing.
In April, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said that there have been 172 meldonium positives since the 2016 Prohibited List was introduced on 1 January. Our table (below) shows how case management is progressing for those athletes who have tested positive.
The only known scientific study on excretion times for meldonium was published on 4 May this year. The study, which was performed on 'two healthy male volunteers' (not elite athletes), found that meldonium exited the body in two phases – a rapid phase followed by a slower elimination phase. It could provide some support for athletes who have tested positive for meldonium, but claim to have stopped taking it before the 2016 Prohibited List came into effect on 1 January.
• The Sports Integrity Initiative was alerted to the 2015 WADA study on meldonium by Dutch public broadcaster NOS. You can view its article, which was published today, by clicking here.


Outdoor Life is the go-to guide for the dedicated, adventurous wilderness sportsman. Great new gear tips and picks for hunting and fishing along with the best new updates on hiking, camping, game hunting and fishing.
Get every issue of Outdoor Life and unlimited access to over 200 top magazines in one app, including back issues. Cancel anytime.


(iii) At least 3 years teaching experience in the concerned speciality as Senior esident/Registrar/Tutor/Demonstrator in a Medical College/Teaching Institution.
(i) Master Degree in Fisheries Science or Bachelor Degree in Fisheries Science or Post graduate Diploma in Fisheries, failing which, Master Degree in Marine Science/Zoology/Marine Biology from a recognized University. (ii) Experience: 3 years in Research/field work in a Marine/Inland Fisheries/Aquaculture.


President Trump, in his State of the Union address, hammered a stake in the floor of the House of Representatives, "America will never be a socialist country. … We were born free, and we will stay free." A government big enough to give citizens all they want is a government big enough to take from them all that they have.
President Thomas Jefferson cautioned: "What is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." Instead of taking the wealth of the rich, citizens should try using their good old American work ethic. It's that drive over two centuries that has made America the most respected and prosperous country in the world.
Socialism has never worked, but politicians like Vermont progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders keep trying: "It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege."
In an interview, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained, "People are going to have to start paying their fair share in taxes." Democrats vying to become their 2020 presidential candidate are calling for universal health care. Even Ocasio-Cortez's plan to raise the top tax bracket to 70% won't come close to covering the cost.
Do the top 1% rich world citizens have a moral obligation to pay 70% of what they make to cover the world?The "top 1%" of the world's rich must be an exclusive club with money to spare. According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2018, the top 1% of adults account for more than 47% of household wealth globally. But surprisingly, The Global Rich List indicates that an income of a mere $32,400 a year puts you in the top 1% worldwide.
Some truths are best said with humor: "I remember back when a liberal was someone who was generous with his own money." It's time to put a stop to unfunded entitlements and bring back personal responsibility balanced with community charity and caring. It's local governments, families, friends, faith communities, and non-profits who are best at working together to help their neighbors. Depending on big government to do the caring while looking the other way from those in need is not American. Neither is electing politicians who will take from the rich to do your caring.
America's republic was created to protect citizens from the heavy-handed overreach of government. May America always choose freedom over "free" entitlements at the expense of our successful neighbors.


You're looking for a property in Tomakin and you're not sure of its state? It's a huge amount of coin and you don't want to make a mistake.
Now that's settled, how do you find a good building inspection business in Tomakin 2537?
That's how how you find a good building inspection business in Tomakin 2537?


text:
Der Kveim-Test (auch "Nickerson-Kveim-" oder "Kveim-Siltzbach-Test") ist ein medizinischer Hauttest, der zur Diagnostik bei Sarkoidoseverdacht eingesetzt wurde. Er wurde 1941 von dem Osloer Arzt Morten A. Kveim veröffentlicht, jedoch war ein ähnlicher Test bereits 1935 von Williams und Nickerson beschrieben worden. Der Test wird heute nicht mehr angewandt und besitzt insofern nur noch eine historische Bedeutung.

Zur Herstellung der flüssigen Testsubstanz wurde Milz- oder Lymphknotengewebe von Sarkoidosekranken benötigt. Dieses wurde zermahlen, aufgeschwemmt und wärmebehandelt, so dass eine sterile Suspension entstand. Hersteller waren amerikanische und australische Firmen, ferner einzelne Forscher, wobei durch die Uneinheitlichkeit der Testsubstanzen die Einheitlichkeit der Testergebnisse unbefriedigend war.

Prinzip

Zellhaltiges Material von Sarkoidosekranken ist in der Lage bei anderen Erkrankten eine sarkoidosetypische Knötchenbildung auszulösen. Der dieser Reaktion zu Grunde liegende Wirkstoff ist nicht bekannt.

Durchführung

0,15 ml der Testsubstanz werden am Unterarm hohlhandseitig streng intrakutan (in die oberste Hautschicht) eingespritzt. Die Injektionsstelle wird markiert. Nach 3 bis 6 Wochen wird aus dieser eine Gewebeprobe entnommen. Diese Entnahme ist zwingend erforderlich, unabhängig davon, ob sich ein typischer 2 bis 7 mm großer derber, bräunlich-rötlicher Hautknoten gebildet hat. Das Gewebe wird licht- oder elektronenmikroskopisch auf die Merkmale eines sarkoidoseähnlichen Knötchens (Granulom) hin untersucht.

Bewertung

Gesunde Personen reagieren auf die Einspritzung der Testsubstanz üblicherweise nicht. Eine falsch-positive Reaktion kann in bis zu 3 % der Fälle auftreten. Tatsächlich Sarkoidosekranke werden – abhängig von der Art des verwendeten Testmaterials, dem Stadium und der Lokalisation der Erkrankung – zu 70 bis 90 % positiv getestet. Eine Kortisontherapie schwächt die Hautreaktion ab. Die Reaktionsbereitschaft des Körpers bildet sich nach ausgeheilter Sarkoidose im Verlauf von Jahrzehnten zurück.

Probleme

Da eine Testsubstanz kaum noch zur Verfügung stand und seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre gar nicht mehr erhältlich war, kam der Kveim-Test außer Gebrauch. Auch konnte nicht ausgeschlossen werden, dass durch die Einspritzung des menschlichen Testmaterials eine Infektion mit Boviner spongiformer Enzephalopathie (BSE) ("Rinderwahn") hervorgerufen wird. Zudem war die Vortestung des Materials an Kranken und Gesunden zur Sicherung einer ausreichenden Wirksamkeit aufwändig, die mehrwöchige Testdauer problematisch und die Notwendigkeit eines kleinen chirurgischen Eingriffs (Hautgewebeentnahme) belastend. Hinzu kam die Verbesserung alternativer diagnostischer Methoden. Daher wurde seit Anfang der 1970er Jahre in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zunehmend Kritik laut, so dass der Test außer Gebrauch kam.

Alternative Untersuchungsmethoden

Lungengewebegewinnung mittels bronchialer Spiegelung (Bronchoskopie) oder Mediastinoskopie und anschließende mikroskopische Untersuchung.

Literatur und Weblinks
 D. Böttger: Sarkoidose – Theorie und Praxis; Leipzig 1982
 E. Braunwald et al.: Harrison – Prinzipien der Inneren Medizin; Basel 1989
 Kveim, A.: En ny og spesifikk kutan-reaksjon ved Boecks sarkoid, Nord. Med. 9 (1941) 169
 The Kveim test. In: British medical journal. Band 2, Nummer 5762, Juni 1971, S. 604, PMID 5580717, .

Einzelnachweise

Diagnostisches Verfahren in der Pneumologie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home » Interviews » Interview with Brandon "The Truth" Vera
Interview with Brandon "The Truth" Vera
Jeffrey Hu	April 21, 2021	Interviews
Brandon "The Truth" Vera is the epitome of a true martial artist. Born in Virginia to a Filipino father and Italian mother, Vera endured adversity in the form of prejudice and racism, including an encounter with Ku Klux Klan members at the age of just 8.
However, none of that stopped Brandon from becoming the man he is today. A decorated wrestler who also wrestled for the United States Air Force, "The Truth" has a martial arts pedigree that anyone would be proud of.
Several of his accolades including winning the WEC 13 Heavyweight Tournament; fighting legends such as Frank Mir, Randy Couture, Jon Jones and Tim Sylvia; and becoming the reigning and defending ONE Heavyweight Champion of the world. Kung Fu Kingdom had the recent opportunity to sit down with the American-born Filipino superstar.
As well as diving deep into Brandon's formative influences, early challenges, lifestyle, and mindset, we also reveal his views on the comparison between fighting under the UFC and under ONE, and much more…So without further ado, let's get the truth from "The Truth", in our exclusive interview with Brandon Vera!
Hello Brandon,
First off, it's great to connect with you, and we hope you're doing well? Welcome to Kung-Fu Kingdom!
Thank you for having me on Kung-Fu Kingdom Jeffrey, I appreciate it! How's it going man?
All is going great, how about you?
I can't complain, even with the world going on the way it is. I still feel blessed to split my time between my family, training and doing interviews like this!
Vera at a One Championship press conference
Very cool! What do you think of our mission which is to inspire 100 million people around the globe to get into martial arts?
This is a mission that I can definitely get behind. I think it's a big deal that everyone should be into martial arts, especially with how the world is going right now. And I don't say that from a political or religious standpoint or anything like that.
Just that people should be physically capable of taking care of themselves and understand how to take stress out of stressful situations, and I would say that martial arts gives you all of that. It's the only thing in the world that would give you all of the above.
There's no degree you could pay for, there's no school you could attend, or a secret magic pill that you could take to achieve this type of knowledge. You have to be into the martial arts lifestyle, of course it doesn't have to be as focused on it as we are! You have Kung-Fu Kingdom, and I'm living and training this lifestyle 24/7.
People could just train one hour a day. I'm a huge fan of that and I promise you from this day forward, I'm down to help with KFK's goal. That's an amazing mission statement to have.
Thanks Brandon, we really appreciate that. I get what you're saying about the pandemic and how it 'preys' on the weak of mind and body. It can really seem like a matter of survival of the fittest. What do you think of the name Kung-Fu Kingdom (KFK)?
I think it's a really awesome name. When I was typing it, I was like "Man, why didn't anyone ever think of that name before?" So I'm an anime fan, and I've been watching this anime called Dr. Stone. It's a new series and it's way different from any other previous anime.
So, this character goes through some trials and comes back to life and they call him Dr. Stone, and he figures out how to bring civilization back through science. So, his kingdom is called the scientific kingdom. There's another one with all these muscleheads who want to rule the world by force. They're like the barbarian kingdom, but man, a kung-fu kingdom would fit right in there!
Totally! Now let's start off with the basics, when and where were you born?
I was born on October 10, 1977 in Portsmouth, VA Naval Hospital.
What is your height and weight, including your walkaround weight?
Right now, 6'3" (1.90m) and 254lb (115kg) as of this morning.
Brandon's Main Influences
Thanks. So, which 5 figures have inspired you the most on your martial arts journey?
Number one would be Bruce Lee. Two, Chuck Norris. He had a huge influence on my life, I didn't train under him, I wasn't a huge fan of his style of karate. But he was everywhere and he was a true martial artist. So man, I knew of Chuck Norris.
Number three, and four I would say Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Five would be Saturday afternoon Kung Fu Theater on USA Network, as they would show every single title you'd never heard of, you know the really bad kung fu flicks. For instance, there would be a hit and the sound effect would be super delayed. The language and voiceovers were so bad, but the action was so awesome!
Brandon gets pumped for this bout
Brandon Vera with Rich Franklin at a One Championship open workout
Some really interesting choices there. Okay, so you have an extensive background in wrestling. You wrestled collegiately for Old Dominion, obtaining an athletic scholarship, as well as for the Air Force. You also did Taekwondo when you were a kid. You picked up BJJ when you trained with Lloyd Irvin and then you transitioned into MMA and you clearly have a Muay Thai background.
Brandon's Martial Arts Disciplines
What got you into Taekwondo and wrestling and did you practice any other disciplines growing up?
Both of those styles, I got bullied into doing. I didn't want to take Taekwondo, but growing up, that's what all the Asian kids were doing. Either Taekwondo at Mr. Park's karate dojo or a Chuck Norris school. That's kinda how it was. I guess today Chuck Norris would be like Cobra Kai.
A Penchant for Big Macs & French Fries…
As for wrestling, my eldest cousin actually told me that if I didn't go wrestling he was going to beat me up. But I ended up going to wrestling practice, just because I didn't want to get beaten up and I was fat. I was super-obese, I would eat four Big Macs, plus four portions of French fries, then I would eat everybody else's food that was left over.
I'm glad I got bullied in a way that my cousin forced me to get into wrestling practice, fast forward to today, I'm a world champion. But those two things, I got bullied into and I'm very glad I got bullied into them!
Wrestling, Muay Thai & Boxing…
Boxing, I started a little bit later on. I started with Muay Thai which I fell in love with because of the violence aspect of it, even though it was pretty basic. If somebody hits you, you hit them back, times two, and harder. I fell in love with Muay Thai, I started after wrestling. Actually, I wrestled my entire life since sixth grade until college, and up until today.
So first wrestling, then Muay Thai, then boxing because I started to appreciate the sweet science aspect of it. You listen to Bruce Lee when he talks about the 'art of fighting without fighting'. The more you could hit and not get hit, the better it is for you. I try to incorporate all of that.
Handling Racism while Growing Up
Of course! So you talked about dealing with racism growing up and your encounter with KKK members. You also talked about getting bullied into martial arts just now. Was that the bullying you were talking about, and were there other ways you handled racism growing up?
I dealt with racism intermittently. You walk down the street and someone will call you something racist or you would ask someone what this says and they'd say "Why? Your eyes don't work chink?!" When I say racism, there was real racism back in the day.
Now all of a sudden someone hears a word they don't like, they're screaming to the rafters that it's racism all of a sudden. No man, racism is different when you live through it, when you have people taunting you or mocking you, not for fun, but with malicious intent.
I remember going to places, driving to places and not stopping there because we didn't know if it was an okay town to stop in. You don't know if you would get strung up, you know?
Brandon Vera vs Jon Jones
Vera fought for the Light Heavyweight title against Aung La N Sang
There's No Racism on the West Coast!
So when I talk about racism, it's real. I grew up on the east coast in a Confederate state. There's Confederate flags everywhere. I'm from the south, and people say that the Confederate flag is racism? No man, that's your personal opinion. Everyone has their own personal opinion about the Confederate flag. I'm a fan of the Confederate flag. I think it shows that you're past the Mason-Dixon line.
I understand, though. I'm a man of duality, so I understand all of it, racism man, growing up there – there are just too many instances to relate.
I think it would take the entire interview to talk about things I put up with, things I said, things I heard, things I had to deal with just to talk about racism. That's why I laugh at everybody when they talk about racism, especially racism on the west coast. Like, what the hell? There's no racism on the west coast!
College & Joining the Air Force
Sorry that you had to endure all that. Moving onto your college and Air Force career, you spent a year at Old Dominion before joining the Air Force. What are your most memorable stories about your college and Air Force wrestling careers?
I remember getting beat up everyday at wrestling practice! Some of the best times of my life have been representing the United States of America on the Air Force wrestling team and trying to make the Olympic team at the Olympic Training Center. Those experiences made me grow up and understand a lot. I saw a lot, I understood a lot, and I started to become a man of duality by then.
Brandon's Elbow Injury & Recovery Story
Interesting. You injured your right elbow which got you medically discharged from the Air Force. You took some time off to recover from the injury and competed in Grapplers Quests competitions on your own. What steps did you take to recover, can you tell us a standout story or two around this period of your life?
Brandon vs Thiago Silva
To recover, the doctor told me bluntly, "Brandon if you ever hope to use your arm again, if you ever hope to wipe your a** again, you need to start using it all the time." At the time, it was hard for me to even pick up a spoon with my pinky and thumb. It was hard for me to even extend my arm, grab a spoon, put food on it and put it into my mouth. It would take at least 4-5 minutes to get one bite in! So I had to deal with that in public everyday.
One of my standout stories was eating with my family at a restaurant. I remembered struggling to eat and my hand was shaking. I felt my sister looking at me and I looked up thinking "What the hell?" Right when I looked at her, she started screaming, "What the f*** are you looking at?!" But it wasn't towards me. It was to the people sitting next to me. It didn't escalate past that, I guess the people got embarrassed. I finished eating, but I remember thinking; "Screw them, screw everybody, I need to make sure my arm starts working again."
"From that day, I stopped thinking of my arm as broken. I just thought of it as getting better."
I remembered that mind switch that day, it made my arm issue somehow easier. I didn't care anymore I started using my arm more and more, no matter where I was at, and finally it started getting better. The muscle started growing back, my skin used to sag like a t-shirt but soon my skin wasn't sagging like a t-shirt any more. There used to be no muscle and you could see the bones. There was no nerve so it couldn't work. From there, my arm started getting better. It started coming back.
Working as a Personal Trainer
I got a job as a personal trainer, because I was always working on myself, trying to work on my body. And the gym asked if I could work there. So I started working there. I did really, really well there. I won so many awards, corporate awards, for being the best person up and down the east coast. It was just some crazy stuff, and I started excelling. They said "Brandon what are you going to do with yourself?" I said, "Man, I'm not sure." Then one day I was watching Randy Couture fight. I thought to myself, "That's what I'm going to do."
Brandon Vera lands a high kick on Hideki Sekine
Brandon Vera performs his trademark victory dance
Brandon's Martial Arts Dreams, Fulfilled
From that moment on, everything started shifting in that direction. Since I could use my arm again, it became a dream worth having again. It became a dream that I could actually do martial arts again, and start competing over and above just hoping to wipe my butt.
Most definitely! And of course, you fought Randy Couture along the way. At some point, you met Lloyd Irvin as mentioned before, you trained with him for a while and that's when you were introduced to MMA. How was it training with Lloyd? How was your first professional MMA bout and amateur career (if you have one)?
I don't really remember my amateur career. I remember doing some events in some town where no one would show up, or there would be only 10 people there. When I met Master Lloyd, my life changed again. That guy taught me, I would say, 75% of everything I do now is because of him. Mentally, emotionally, business-wise, a lot is due to him. He was more than a coach, he was like a super-mentor for me.
One of my favorite things he ever told me was, "Listen shawty, if they're not helping you move forward, then they're literally holding you back. Screw them, let them go. You got to keep on moving." I remember thinking "Yeah, exactly! Man, I got stuff to do! Everyone else is messing around, I gotta get going!" From then on, I'm here in the Philippines as the One Heavyweight World Champion. I live here, I live in Guam. I've lived all over the world based off that one single lesson he gave me back then, I've taken that idea with me all across the world now.
Master Lloyd was like, "Brandon you're going to the Philippines, you're going to Asia! Are you crazy?!" It's the home of martial arts, it's where martial arts started. I was like, "I gotta go, bye!" I learned so much from him. Master Lloyd has taught me a lot, about being a man, being responsible.
Brandon Vera launches a spinning back elbow
Vera vs Shogun Rua
My Muay Thai coach is the same way. He's not just coaching me on how I pick my shots. He's coaching me on life because he thinks that however I handle myself in life is going to be how I handle myself in the fight game.
That's a good coach Jeffrey.
Winning the WEC Heavyweight Tournament
Alright, so before you signed with the UFC you won the WEC Heavyweight tournament back in 2005 at WEC 13. What's your most memorable highlight from those fights?
That was a really good one. I think I kicked one guy's leg until he didn't want to fight anymore. As for the guy I fought in the finals, I broke his nose, but he wouldn't stop fighting. He put me against the cage. I'm not a fan of blood, but he was leaning on me against the cage and I could feel his blood gushing out and down my thigh and leg. And when I looked, I almost threw up in the middle of the cage. I don't know what happened, but I remember going "Ughh" and right after I did that, I sprawled and I grabbed his nose and turned so that it would bleed more. And he stopped fighting after I did that. So the fight was over but I almost threw up because he was bleeding on me.
Fighting Under the UFC
Quite a story! Now, when you signed with the UFC, you fought with some of the best such as Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia. What are a couple of the most memorable fights or moments from your time with the UFC?
I would say Randy Couture and Shogun Rua. Randy Couture since I thought that I'd beat him and that was a match they took away from me. I think it was a business decision and that's why I was salty about that because I remembered telling Dana that I need a million dollar bonus right when I beat this guy. I was up to sign a contract right after this fight. So I really think it was a business decision.
As for Shogun Rua, that fight was at the L.A. Staples Center. That was one of the most banging fights in the history of this sport. We were just banging and beating on each other and just gave it to one another. Shogun was jumping out of the way of my leg kicks. Are you kidding me? Yeah, we just gave it to one another.
That was one of the best fights that I ever watched, that I was ever a part of. It was also so good that Shogun and I were in the back laughing, crying and hugging each other. It was ridiculous. We were all laughing and crying and being like "What the hell?" That was amazing, that was a good one!
Fighting Under ONE Championship
Awesome memories, thanks for sharing. So, after you left the UFC, you signed with ONE Championship, where you are of course, currently the heavyweight champion. Around last year, there was at least talk about you defending your title against Arjan Bhullar, the Kushti wrestler, who went 3-1 in the UFC and beat Mauro Cerilli who you also defeated. What do you think of Arjan as an opponent?
Arjan is an excellent opponent actually. He's got great boxing skills that no one ever talks about, and he's a legacy wrestler. His father was a wrestler, he's a wrestler. He's been through the Olympics. So he knows that even if he's not the greatest wrestler in the world, he's got great basics, great fundamentals.
It's not like you could take him down. As for his boxing, he's got some sick, mean-looking uppercuts. He hit Cerilli with a couple of good uppercuts when Cerilli stepped in. He's an amazing opponent we are slated to meet each other. I recently signed a contract. Listen, One Championship is not messing around. They've been coming out the gate into 2021 busting doors down man!
Right. Now out of those you've fought, who do you consider to be your most challenging opponents?
Well, I would say my losses. All my losses were my most challenging opponents, because I didn't win. So I would always cherish and relish the chance to do any of those fights again. But those would be my hardest opponents because I lost to them.
Solid answer! So you talked about making MMA the national sport of the Philippines. Do you have any other plans for your MMA future?
I would compete until I decide that I don't want to compete anymore and retire with the heavyweight belt from One Championship. Aspirations, hopes and dreams would be to be able to represent One Championship in a superfight against someone from a different organization, but other than that, I'm enjoying this.
My body still feels good, it doesn't hurt too bad. It's always felt like this. So, my aspirations are to show the world that you can be what you want, who you want, how you want, if you're willing to make the sacrifices needed to get there.
You don't have to be the smartest kid, you don't have to be the most gifted kid, you don't have to be the strongest, biggest or the most well-built person. I was a fat kid, and I made this happen. So I just hope to inspire people to get better all the time.
Brilliant aspirations! So how does fighting for ONE compare to fighting for the UFC?
One Championship is like Marvel, the UFC is like DC
I'm trying to say this in the most PG-13 way possible, so that everyone can understand. One Championship is like Marvel. UFC is like DC. Which would you choose?
At One, the Emphasis is on Honor, Respect, Discipline & Integrity
See, for One, it's not just production. It's the way they treat people, the respect that's given. This whole lifestyle and martial arts process that's put behind it, you know. One Championship's seven values of martial arts like honor, respect, discipline, integrity, etc. Those things permeate throughout the company. It's not just talking points or what athletes say. Every athlete, if you follow them around and what they're doing, that's what they do in their daily life.
Brandon is a UFC veteran
Chatri Sityodtong & Everyone at One has the Same Mindset
One Championship employees from Mr. Chatri to Victor Cui down to anybody working in the office; everyone is doing the exact same thing. I never met anybody that worked at One Championship that is not of this same mind. If they're not, they're usually gone.
They just make sure that people are taken care of, and I could tell you more, but there are inside situations that happen in this business, where it's usually the athlete that ends up eating or having to grunt the wear of the bear, if you know what I mean? If things are going to go bad, then usually it's the athlete that ends up taking it. But that's not the case at One Championship.
Taking Care of Business means Taking Care of the Fighters
They make sure the athlete never has to take it, and if something is wrong, then it's always fixed immediately. I don't know how to explain it without getting into specifics, but put it like this. Say you're showing up at your hotel, but it's not going to be ready until 2pm the next day due to check-in policies or whatever, but you show up at 3am and your hotel is not ready until 2pm. In some organizations, you would just be asked out.
At One, Everything Just Works
That's never going to happen at One Championship. You'll have your hotel room the day before, and that's like a really basic example. Simple, yet practical things like that, all the way up to the most extensive problem you could have. They fix it all the time. They make everything work out.
Training: Camp & Home
That's really cool to see positive politics at work like that. Alrighty, walk us through a day in the life of Brandon Vera – both when you're in training and when you're at home.
So when I'm training, I usually get up first before anybody. That could be anywhere from 4 to 7am. I'll try to get a workout in, either rope work or bike work. That'll be my first morning ride, so 25-30 minutes of that. Then I'll have coffee, and hang out with my family.
Next training session is usually around 10 or 10:30am. Then it's usually mitt work, lifting weights, or rolling, and then the evening session would start at around 5:30 to 7:30pm, for about one to two hours. It could consist of jiu-jitsu, wrestling or pad work. Mitt work is just hands, pad work is usually Thai pads. So it's a huge difference for me. And that's my day, over and over again. When I'm in camp, I watch videos of our opponents and play video games.
Vera in the Philippines
Vera lands a Punch on Mauro Cerilli
When I'm not in camp, I still wake up early. Every other morning I get on the bike, hang out with my family, then I lift maybe at 11am or 12pm. Then in the afternoon I would do some light mitts and some bag work just to stay in shape, keep the head moving, to keep all my basics and fundamental movements up and ready to go.
Stretching: Brandon's Secret Key to Longevity
You're in your 40's and obviously you have a belt. So what is your secret to staying in the game for so long and not deteriorating physically?
I would honestly say, it's physical therapy and stretching all day, every day. So once I'm done training I would sit there and stretch every 5 to 10 minutes. Doesn't seem like a long time, but then I shower, hang out and do something. And when I'm watching TV, I'll stretch for another 5 to 10 minutes.
As I'm doing the interview with you right now I'm stretching so that's why I've been moving around. I'm a fan of moving and stretching and I learned that from my brothers, who are not big workout people like we are. They don't work out all day long, but they're still in great shape, and I was wondering how they manage to do that. The thing is, they work out every day but they don't work out hard every day. They work out more consistently to maintain good shape and that's something I've learned because I never had that kind of life habit before.
When I'm training, when I'm hitting the bag – even though it's an easy day, I'm still banging on the bag. I have always trained with a purpose such as competing, being better, or faster. So even now at this age I'm still learning that you can do things to prolong your longevity.
Vera against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir
Vera walks out to center stage
Recovery & Nutrition
I see. So as you get older, you put a lot more emphasis on recovery.
Well, when I was growing up, in college, there were people doing this recovery stuff every day. And I was like, "What's wrong? Why are you here? You're wasting time. Nothing's wrong with you, why are you doing this?" I didn't know. They were doing then what I should've done back then. Icing, rehabbing, getting massages, I should have been doing all that!
I see. So what is your diet like leading up to fights, how do you stay strong and energetic for training and life?
I would say it's 60% veggies, 40% meat. Sometimes I go 80% veg, and 20% meat.
Brandon Vera's Top 3 Favourite Martial-Arts Movies
Okay. As we wrap, can you tell us your top 3 favourite martial-arts movies of all time?
Number one would have to be all the Bruce Lee films, number two, the original "Drunken Master" with Jackie Chan, and number three, the one where Jet Li fights starting off in a classroom, "Fist of Legend".
Any fights that stand out from movies for you?
One in particular, "Tai Chi Master" starring Jet Li, where he was wearing a man (or top) bun and everyone was wearing that blue kung-fu uniform.
It was one of those movies featured on Kung Fu Theater – part of the Wu-Tang Clan collection. They had their own favourite list of kung fu hits that they paid rights for, packaged together.
Well thanks Brandon – it's been an honour and a real pleasure to interview you and we wish you all the best of success with your upcoming fight on May 29.
Thanks Jeff, and all of you. Thanks for having me on Kung-Fu Kingdom.
We hope you enjoyed this interview with the reigning ONE Heavyweight Champion, Brandon Vera! Which of Brandon's fight moments do you rank as his finest?
And…which fighter would you like to see KFK'd next? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.
THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH…in the KINGDOM of FU of our Top 5 MMA series, along with these ONE Championship exclusive interviews with Eduard Folayang, Thanh Le, and Martin Nguyen as well as UFC-fighter specials on Lightweight Contenders for 2021, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Leon Edwards, and Jorge Masvidal!
STAY TRUE to your training in KFK wear, and subscribe for more FU of the HEAVYWEIGHT KIND on YouTube!
Gabi "She Hulk" Garcia: Top 5 MMA Finishes
Never Back Down 4: Revolt — Interview with Director, Kellie Madison
Tags: BJJBrandon Verafightfightingkaratekickboxingkung fumartial artsMMAMuay ThaiOne ChampionshipPhilippinesSan ShouSandaTaekwondoThe TruthUFCwrestlingWushu
Jeffrey Hu
Being first influenced by Tekken video games at the age of 13, Jeffrey Hu's martial arts journey began with Taekwondo and was self-trained due to living under a strict household. Five years later, Jeffrey received tutelage under Grandmaster Bill Dewart, (a student of pioneer S. Henry Cho) and earned his black belt a year later. Jeffrey's passion for martial arts grew as he went on to learn Muay Thai and Tai Chi. He's also a big fan of martial arts movies and enjoys movies featuring Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White and Iko Uwais.
Interview with Dolph Lundgren
AEW Wrestling: Interview with Tay Conti
ROGUE ORIGIN: Interview with Josh Mabie
Like Water (2011)


"A Baton Twirling Tradition in Northeastern Pennsylvania for 70 Years"
The Double "R" Twirlettes offers quality and professional training to students ages 4 years old and older in all phases of baton twirling, dance twirl, novelty twirl, marching/parade routines, two and three baton, and pom-pom. Students are taught the fundamentals of baton twirling as they learn proper twirling techniques. Twirls are incorporated with dance steps and music to enhance coordination, poise, and skill. The importance of self-confidence, sportsmanship, and teamwork are also stressed to make students more well rounded individuals.
All students have the opportunity to participate in local parades and performances, as well as the group's annual recital, twirl-a-thon, and summer performance vacation. Holiday parties, awards banquets, and other special activities are scheduled throughout the season to make lessons more enjoyable for all.
Students with previous baton twirling experience are welcome to join the group's performance corps. Private lessons are also available.
Classes in Scranton, Throop, & Daleville!
Watch news stories about our 40th annual twirl-a-thon!
Watch news stories on our 2018 twirl-a-thon to benefit St. Josephs Center!
See us at the St. Joseph's Center telethon on WNEP as we presented a check for $2,456.00 which were the proceeds from our annual twirl-a-thon.
Watch us on WNEP-TV 16 as we say "Good Morning Pennsylvania"
See us at the St. Joseph's Center telethon on WNEP as we presented a check for $3,192.00 which were the proceeds from our annual twirl-a-thon.


text:
Scented Beans Destroy Themselves
July 20, 2018 December 26, 2019 / phillyfrankdiamond
Chick Ernest had been chatting with other parents when his son nearly died. The basketball season ended around Thanksgiving and the Sharks went to Kat's Kradle, the name on the T-shirts. Coach Taylor made a speech in which Chick, assistant coach, finished his sentences. Everybody got a trophy (they'd won zero games).
When Gene Tarantino—Taro—held his aloft and declared, "We suck!" no one disagreed, and even some rah-rah parents laughed. Chick's smile brushed the floor.
The pizzas' arrival sparked bedlam and Chick ordered the boys to move to the last two tables in the place. The teammates jostled away, happy to fart, burp, and talk about sex and showing—finally!—their competitive sides.
This is what Chick learned later. Jason's choke cranks up quickly, from what might be clearing of the throat to a full-throttle gag eliciting "ewws" and "stop sprayings" from his teammates. Jason raises his hand, signally that he'll be right back and pivots around the corner to the bathroom.
When Taro immediately starts counting down from 10, the others join in even though they are perplexed about what game had begun. At zero, Taro races to the bathroom finding Jason slumped against the wall, wheezing, face blue.
Adrenaline, everybody agreed later. Taro is smaller than Jason, but he lifts Jason to his feet and begins the Heimlich maneuver. One kid screams "help!" and grownups bump tables and knock over chairs hurrying back. Too late, it turns out. Too late to save Jason, because he's already been saved. The pepperoni that had lodged in his throat had been launched and though still choking, it is the sound of recovery, not desperation. His face looks almost normal.
Karen slobbers over him; exactly the wrong thing for a boy who hates attention, and Jason will resent it later. Right now, he cries into the crook of his mother's neck, and the two shuffle awkwardly through the pizzeria and out the door.
Now a reporter from the local newspaper happens to be at Kat's and that woman gets the story from one of the delivery guys and even talks to Taro for a few minutes. As she Smartphones the scene she inquires—seemingly in a distracted way—about Jason.
"Wife took him to the emergency room," Chick says. And when the woman's focus intensifies he quickly adds, "Only as precaution. He is fine."
One of the moms, a nurse, corroborates.
Chick warns the reporter, "Do not go to that hospital."
"I've got three of my own," the woman says, handing Chick her card. "If you or your wife or Jason want to talk to me…." A flick of the hand, as if shooing a fly. "If not, that's fine. I get it, believe me."
Chick throws her card on a table, but she keeps smiling. The mom who's a nurse tells Chick later that the hospital got a call from the reporter about two minutes after she'd stepped out of Kat's Kradle.
Maggot.
The next day's headline reads: "12-Year-Old's Quick Action Saves Friend's Life." The jump page features a boxed quote from the police chief. "Thirty more seconds and that kid dies. Boy who saves him? Hero."
Dude wasn't even there.
For the next day or two, you turn on the news and there's Taro and, once, a quick shot of Jason. Karen phones the TV station and in her just-between-you-and-me voice threatens to sue everybody involved. (It never bruised Chick in the least that lawyer Karen makes more money; but now that he's out of work….)
"Let me handle this," Chick demands, but no action's necessary. Jason's photograph doesn't appear again.
"What are Grace and Pel thinking?" Karen asks.
Chick blocks Karen's inclination to heart-to-heart their neighbors while it's still just impulse.
"You can't tell them what to do with their kid," Chick insists.
"But do they even know? They may not be aware. Every freak in the world now recognizes Taro."
"You're overreacting."
"Am I?"
Chick knew this was coming and scoops the Danville Ledger off the coffee table. It's a throw-away weekly; junk mail. The cover features a photo of the Ravens, the team that ran away with the championship. (They were slaughtering the Sharks 43–0 in the first quarter, triggering the mercy rule, thank God.)
Karen's about to counter, but Chick calls time out. He turns the Ledger to page three, which features the winner of the Rockland County Children's Beauty Pageant. She's all of 7.
"Maybe we're the weird ones," Chick says, "the overprotective ones, the helicopters."
Karen sighs, grabs the remote.
Meanwhile, Taro's fame grows. He's featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and makes an appearance on one of the local television talk shows, and the story even goes national on cable. For a few glorious weeks, the world cannot get enough of Gene Tarantino.
Until, suddenly, it can. Somebody in Western Pennsylvania left a waitress—a single mother of three about to be evicted—a $50,000 tip. Taro is old news.
"You were probably getting tired of all that anyway!" Karen says when Taro visits one afternoon over Christmas break. "All that laudation!" It's Friday, she's working from home. Chick's sending out resumes, surfing job sites. Karen likes pitching vocabulary, but Taro doesn't ask what "laudation" means.
"Back to being a normal kid, I guess, Mrs. Ernest," he says.
"Let me tell you about childhood movie stars sometime, Gene," Chick says.
Jason says, "Taro, Dad. It's Taro. Nobody calls him Gene."
As has been the case since kindergarten. Everybody calls him Taro, even Pel and Grace. Even the new teachers learn by Halloween. The kid prefers "Taro."
"I might get the good citizen award this year," Taro says. "At school."
Jason says, "Dude, could you be any more in love with yourself?" and punches his friend on the arm.
There had been prelude. About a half hour earlier, Chick had looked out his bedroom window at the driveway where the boys where playing basketball, and you could tell there was no ref. The fouls kept landing, until Jason just knocked Taro to the ground. Normally, Chick would have yelled down, broken it up, mostly because if he didn't cap it first, Karen would, and then that—normal boy-crap—would have spurred introspective family discussion, the kind that made both father and son hive-out.
Jason wags his finger at the supine Taro, then sticks his thumb into his own chest, making his point.
Do not kick him when he's down.
Instead, Jason helps Taro up and the game resumes. Back to being besties.
Jason now asks: "Can you drive us to the movies, Dad?"
Damn! Can't Pel take them this time? This being-out-of-work bullshit builds up a thirst. I need my beer.
Chick says: "No problem." He'll watch the tube until then; his day's officially done. Karen won't barrel out of her office for another few hours. She's holding some client's hand, no doubt; there's always a spooked client somewhere in the world.
So damn important, my wife.
Chick figures he won't get his first beer in until about 10; a hellish slog of sobriety awaits. The minutes crawl. And crawl. And crawl. And Chick drifts until:
"Dad! Wake up! Remember? The movie? Dad!"
Well, sleep's one way to bend time.
Chick stretches. "You want the keys to the car?"
"Come on, Dad!"
As they walk into the dark December afternoon, a neighbor's Christmas lights blink on.
Something else I need to do.
How did he get so much done when he worked? All the extra stuff, the errands and home repairs and, yes, putting up holiday decorations had been wedged into spare time. Now they're the main tasks and deadlines always nip. As he's about to get into the car, Chick pauses, breathes deliberately. Winter fine-tunes his senses, chases anxiety.
"Buckled, guys?"
Chick prepaid for the tickets, a good thing because the line for the sci-fi movie spills out the mall's doors.
"Remember what I told you," Chick calls after them as they tumble out of the car.
"Yeah, Dad. We'll be gentlemen."
When Chick gets home, Karen cross-examines: "Gentlemen? To whom?"
Chick shrugs.
"Girls? What do you know, Chick Ernest? You're guessing."
"I was once 12."
"Times have changed."
"Not that much."
"Inform me, Obi Wan."
That tone again, and it's not Chick's imagination. Karen, who tells him that getting fired might have been the best thing to have happened to him at this stage. Karen, who insists that he not settle in his job hunt. Chick's in his barcalounger; she stands before him arms akimbo. Some sort of Christmas decoration—a combination of ribbons, cord and bells—slung over her shoulder. He's curious, but not dumb enough to ask.
Chick explains: "Those looooong showers."
"You don't think."
"You remember Ronald the rat from work, right?"
"Such a nice man."
"He told me that once he was drinking beer and eating Cheetos and watching the tube and fell asleep. Woke up next morning with an orange penis."
"Such a nice man. And why is this relevant?"
"These days guys talk about jackin' off the way they talk about pissing. Seems like there's no shame attached to it any more. I was a kid, you didn't admit to it because of shame. And some boys started late because of shame."
"Shame," Karen intones robotically, looking into some middle distance.
"Shame gets a bad rap these days," Chick says, his volume rising.
Karen touches her forehead with an index finger, closes her eyes. "Yipes! STDs. Drugs. Guns."
"Karen, stop. You're on one of those things again. He's growing. He'll live to be a hundred."
"I wasn't ready for girls this soon."
"He's not going to get somebody pregnant."
"Give it time."
"He's into girls. It's normal and now they can meet them since Taro's a big man on campus. A hero."
"That poor kid," Karen says. "Grace and Pel. 'Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy.' F. Scott Fitzgerald."
Stuck in lawyer mode, again.
"Leave it," he says.
Karen's right, though. Emerson: "Every hero becomes a bore at last," and when Chick picks the boys up, they're woebegone.
"Doesn't seem like you had much fun."
"The movie was great," Jason mumbles.
"And the mall?" They'd asked him not to come for them right away, give them an hour or so to just hang.
"Pretty good," Taro says.
They'd been stood up. Welcome to the club, youngins'.
Chick asks, "What kind of pizza you guys want?"
"Not pepperoni, that's for damn sure," Jason says.
The boys huddle, ask if they can have cheesesteaks instead. Then, mostly, quiet. Two faces staring out opposite windows.
"I wonder why?" Taro asks at one point. Did the car lights trafficking by somehow hypnotize him? Such monotone.
"Why what, Taro?" Chick asks.
"The aliens. They never come."
For just the slightest moment, Chick weighs his answer. So un-Chick like. Should I even get into this? But what boy doesn't like talking about outer space? Mr. Spock. ET. Luke Skywalker. To a kid these are more real than teachers or parents, and certainly cooler.
"Mathematically, it seems very possible," Chick says finally.
"But they never come," Jason says.
"Sentient beings destroy themselves," Chick says.
"Great, more vocabulary," Jason says.
"It's science, Mr. Wiseass," Chick says. "A sentient being. Us. Humans. Beings that are aware of their own existence."
"Don't dogs know they're alive, Mr. Ernest?"
"Hmm. Maybe, but not the same way we know. Or" and Chick motions to the heavens, "they might know."
"If a lion could talk, we couldn't understand him." Who said that?
They've hit road construction, so what the hell, Chick tells the story of Enrico Fermi, a physicist who's one of Oppenheimer's boys. It's 1950, and Oppenheimer's team goes to the same diner everyday for lunch.
"Imagine that? Some of the great minds of that century rubbing elbows at a diner," Chick says. "Anywho, one day talking about the possibility of aliens. And Enrico looks up from his Reuben's reuben and says, 'Where is everybody?' And his friends laugh their fucking asses off."
Oops. The F-bomb. Karen would be pissed.
The boys don't seem to notice.
"But it's not funny," Jason points out.
Chick says, "Enrico is saying that given the high probability that there are thousands, maybe even millions, of planets in this universe much like Earth, we should have been visited by ET, not just once, but thousands of times. Mathematics, it is."
"Still not funny," Jason says.
"But Mr. Ernest if that's true, then why?"
"We don't really know, Taro. There are several schools of thought." Schools of thought. Chick glances in the rear-view. Did he lose them? No, actually they're attentive.
Try the deep-dive.
The fine-tuning it took to put sentient beings on earth might be impossible to replicate, Chick explains. Or, the size and the distances in space are so great that we'll never really know.
"And then Enrico says that highly intelligent civilizations have a tendency to destroy themselves before they can master interstellar travel."
"What is it again, Mr. Ernest?"
"Sentient beings destroy themselves."
Taro sort of hiccups, but that's merely pre-launch as suddenly his laugh crowds the car. "Scented beans, scented beans, the magical fruit," he chortles.
"That's not funny either," Jason says, but he's laughing as well, because Taro's laugh takes over. It's high-pitched, and so full of joy that everyone except the most constipated souls need to join in. Chick's laughing, for instance, and notices the tears rolling down the boy's face. Taro, the laughing Buddha.
They're about over it by the time they turn into the Tarantino's driveway, and the child gets out. He's still giggling, but Taro's giggle is a poor relation to his laugh. Grace comes to the car, stepping as if on a runway, tight white sweater, tighter black jeans, one long leg delicately placed before the other. Hubba, hubba. Pel and she have been partying. Sex, and then drinks.
How long for me and Karen?
"Well, they certainly had a good time," Grace drawls, and Chick can almost lick the chardonnay off her breath.
"Appears that way," Chick says, glancing at Taro going inside. The light of a three-quarter moon massages Grace's features. She leans into the car. Cleavage.
Down, boy!
"You guys need to come over, you and Karen. Have a grownups night. It's been a while." The exchange is this side of flirtatious and Grace must suddenly realize that, because she shakes her attention loose from Chick and toward the backseat. "Jason," she says, "did Mrs. Johnson…." And some involved question about a school project that Chick tunes out.
From the tracks across Muscle Road, a train whistle moans.
"A freight train," Grace decides, standing again. "That's one god-awful lonely sound."
Chick remembers all of this later as he searches for signs of absolution in the glare of a school psychiatrist's glasses. She doesn't sit silently waiting for you to figure things out, this stranger who was seated on the edge of the oak rocker in the den. Her short, gray hair helmeted, and the long skirt and oh-too-sensible shoes made her look Amish. She'd just spoken to Jason in Karen's office for a good hour. He's napping now.
"Jason might blame himself," she tells them. "It's important for you to reinforce that nothing he said or didn't say would have changed anything. That's your job, Mom and Dad."
Chick begins telling her the story of that sentient being conversation, but the shrink waves him off.
"I had a parent yesterday telling me that he'd mentioned to the boy about the suicide of a nephew who'd fought in Iraq. That parent was feeling guilty, too."
"Chick, whatever you said didn't make Genaro kill himself."
"Taro," Karen says.
The shrink nods.
"Taro," she concedes. "Let's focus on Jason. Don't let him blame himself, which is one of the cruelest legacies of suicide."
Karen says, "Cruel? Taro?"
The shrink holds up her hand, stopping Karen.
Impressive comeback.
"Jason wonders why his friend didn't come to him."
"We know that," Chick says.
Taro died ugly. He jumped in front of a SEPTA train on New Years Day. The obit: "Genaro Francis Tarantino, 12, suddenly." The second paragraph in the police blotter talked about Taro's 15 minutes, reminding readers about the young hero so recently celebrated, and now cruelly taken.
Chick could barely look at Pel and Grace at the funeral. Scratch. He could only look at Pel and Grace at the funeral unless they happened to glance his way. Then, he felt like he sometimes did at work walking behind a girl with a sweet ass and, when she flicks her hair, he goes eyes-to-the-ground. Did he fool any of them?
It has been abominably hard on everybody, this event. The school held a memorial service, and on the night of the wake, the road from the funeral home to Pel and Grace's had been lighted with luminary bags. The goal, of course, was not closure, for there isn't any. Ever. That point kept being stressed. The goal was to get the community through grief that blows in like snow riding a nor'easter. Mourning that blinds you.
Now, the shrink says: "Tell Jason that everybody close to"—and she still finds it difficult to say—"Taro wonders the same thing. Everybody, especially the parents. Obviously, that includes you. Nothing that someone said influenced events."
Bullshit!
Chick says: "But doctor, you read all the time about teens being bullied and killing themselves. Or somebody killing themself over a broken marriage, or a lot of things. Or nothing. Suicide doesn't come on like a cold."
"All I can tell you is that in this particular case, what someone said to the boy had nothing to do with his ultimate gesture."
The kid getting famous and suddenly unfamous did it, but she can't say that.
Karen has said it (of course, she would) but as far as Chick can see, Pel and Grace haven't made the connection. Hell is portioned out through the denial stage, apparently.
Karen leans over, grabs a few Kleenexes. Sobs for what must be a full minute as Chick stiffly rubs her back. She leans over again and grabs the entire box.
She shrugs, and the three of them laugh. Chick hears Jason: "But it's not funny."
Chick begins: "This closure thing…."
"Grieving thing," the shrink says. "There's…."
"Right, no such thing as closure. Jason wants to see the spot. I mean the exact spot where Taro jumped into that train."
"As he told me."
The therapy pause, first of the session. Nobody says anything and it becomes a test of wills.
Screw this.
Chick says, "From what you say, it's OK."
"I understand your concern. Karen. Chick. The whole copycat thing. I don't see any red flags in your son. But therapists have been wrong before. Tragically. But many in my position would tell you to let him see it."
"The 9/11 memorial. Cemeteries. Funeral services. All of it's a process. If, God forbid, Jason…. Remember this: Taking him to that spot was one of the things that worked against his killing himself."
"I am going to be ill," Karen says.
Chick pulls her closer, but she bends the other way, so it's almost as if he's trying to lift a sack.
When did we become such awkward couple?
But they do go to the exact spot that exact day—a family outing. They walk it. The train track is a half block from their home. Chick recalls that when they'd bought the house, the noise bothered him for a while, but closed windows and heat and air conditioning fixed that and then over the years he'd begun to like the noise, sometimes. Just like he liked the sound of the high school marching band playing in the distance on sunny autumn afternoons.
Traces of yellow cop tape still cling to parts of the rails, but if there's any doubt as to the location, the small shrine that had been erected on the side dispels it. There are bouquets, a big picture of a smiling Taro, trinkets, some baseball cards, a yearbook—meaningful clutter. There's also a blown-up headline: "12-Year-Old's Quick Action Saves Friend's Life."
No train is coming, but Chick slowly and pointedly looks up and down the tracks, making sure Jason understands. Then they step onto tragedy.
"Right here, buddy," Chick says.
A nasty wind stings their faces, making them bury their hands in their pockets. Thirty-four degrees, everything hard and unforgiving. Jason looks at his feet. The rust on the tracks reminds Chick of old blood.
"Can we get the hell out of here, now?" Karen asks after about 10 seconds.
"Ready buddy?"
He'd told his son this morning that it was OK to cry and it must have been one too many times the kid had heard it because he snapped.
"I know!" Jason yelled.
Still, Chick has to restrain himself from saying it yet again.
All the unanswered questions will need to be addressed somehow. All the rock-hard grief will need to be chipped at, and it will take lifetimes.
Taro killed himself at around 12:30 on New Years Day. He must have awoken already having made the decision.
He did not communicate with Jason at all that morning.
And the text messages and Facebook back-and-forths after midnight, with the pots and pans clanging and fireworks coloring the sky, were the carefree sort that 12-year-old boys exchange when they're allowed to stay up late, and don't have to think about school for another few days. Nothing dark or foreboding. Only one strange thing: the sign-off. Taro wrote, "You know I luv u, bro!"
Jason would usually just leave it at that but this time—thank God—he answers sincerely. "We will always be bros! Bro-hug!!!" He didn't use the L word, but it was understood.
That should help, maybe. But Taro had to walk right pass their house to get to the railroad tracks. Jason knows this. Taro was supposed to visit New Year's Day, but instead decided to step into the abyss. That's what worries. That.
Chick and Karen don't sleep much that night. Chick decides to stay downstairs, surrendering to a weird urge to guard the exits. He pulls the lever, unfolding the recliner so that a dentist could get a good look. He mutes the television. As the occasional train rumbles by, he imagines its high-beams tunneling the dark.
The sounds the house makes at night come out, creeping through drywall and flooring. Every bump, knock, sigh of the heater. Ice dropping in the refrigerator. Karen getting up once and checking on Jason. Chick hears her hesitate at the top of the stairs, debating whether to call her husband to bed. She pads back to the bedroom. So, Chick waits. He's good at it.
Most of parenthood is about waiting.
← The Tears of the World
Good Night Moon →


What Does a Collision Repair Service Do?
Driving down a long winding road watching the sunset is a lovely thought. But, what if your vehicle is suddenly involved in an accident? Collisions are becoming very common these days due to negligence or reckless driving.


Government politicians are seizing on the opposition leader's comments suggesting he's open to the idea of rebuilding two Sydney stadiums.
Luke Foley has spent months opposing the plan but conceded to Ray yesterday that money needs to be invested in ANZ Stadium.
The admission was escalated into question time yesterday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian quoting Ray's interview in a stinging attack on Labor.
Mr Foley maintains his schools and hospitals first policy hasn't changed, but Sports Minister Stuart Ayres tells Ray he's being deceptive.
"The cat's out of the bag here. Luke Foley's always planned to do Parramatta, always planned to rebuild ANZ Stadium into a rectangular stadium, we know that's what it needs to do.
"But unfortunately he's been telling the public for three months that he's not interested in building stadiums.