And so to Spanish! Arriving in Latin America was the first time we have really confronted a language barrier in our travels I suppose. Generalizing of course, but in most countries, with the notable exceptions of France and Iran (and the Middle East where you need to know how to count in Arabic), you can get by in basic English with a little help from the requisite "hellos", "please" and "thankyou's" in the local lingo. Often we try and pick up more as we go along, but most of the time you are in another country before you know it, starting the process all over again. Here of course, it is Spanish all the way and for the next 6 months or so there was no avoiding it. A survival imperative beckoned – learn some quickly and get on top of it from the outset.
Thankfully though, Spanish is not Japanese and more a second cousin of English. This when combined with the fact that many Spanish words through films and books had found their way onto my radar already created a lot of encouragement for the linguistically challenged such as myself. Megumi by the way, who has studied a little Spanish previously living in the US, is a little further ahead, though still having difficulty trying to untangle it from her Italian. I had planned ahead for this challenge a little bit. Before leaving Japan, I had taken the time to download quite a few different language courses in MP3 format, something you could just throw on the IPOD and get amongst. I had ignored all the other lessons I had squirreled away up to this point – Laotian, Hindi, Arabic and Farsi, but the 2 different in depth courses on Spanish were particularly good. Over numerous bus trips as we worked our way down through Mexico to Central America, I found myself sitting in the corner, headphones on, mumbling crazily over and over to myself, like many of the street freaks we left behind in LA, San Francisco and the States in an attempt to get ahead.
Of course this combined with our initial travel through Mexico and Guatemala really helped just to get the basics going and the ears attuned. For real lessons we had decided we needed some serious study and that Guatemala was our best bet. Cheap lessons, pleasant environments and Spanish schools of esteemed repute, it had the right kind of ring and being at the start of the trip, offered an ideal timeline for onward travel. Our original plan had called for a month of study, possibly as part of a home-stay with a local family. But as our schedule had fallen behind and the potential to have to cram South America into a shorter period became more of a reality, something had to be sacrificed and we decided 2 weeks would have to do. Rather than simplify things and do 2 weeks back to back at a single destination, we decided to break this into 2, one week sessions split between Guatemala's most famous Spanish teaching townships, Antigua and Quetzaltenango, more commonly referred to as Xela.
Antigua is a beautiful, colonial town, surrounded by volcanos on all sides, but a tourist mecca of sorts and very international. The cobblestone streets are full of pleasant cafés, international restaurants, churches and craft shops – all a welcome reprieve from the tortilla and bean diet simply unavoidable of late. Arriving on a Sunday, we found a comfortable place to stay and shopped around for a school. They are everywhere here and rather than investigate them all, we very quickly decided settled on a larger school, Maximo Nivel with a good reputation, customized textbook and opportunities for further study in Costa Rica or Peru. We booked in for a combined lesson starting the following afternoon.
Set around a pretty garden, we had 4 hours of lessons a day in a small room and quickly fell into a routine. We spent the morning working on memorizing vocabularies in one of the towns' pleasant breakfast cafés, then the afternoon ensconced in lessons with our local teacher. In the evenings, there was a bit of homework and some more word memorization as follow-up. A full schedule, but the theory goes, it we were actually investing in study we may as well make the absolute most of it. It also helped learning with Megumi – Japanese do have the art of study, work ethic and application thing down. Suffice to say, she, happily aligned with my guilty conscience, proved to be a very positive influence.
Within a few days I was starting to build up a basic vocabulary and getting my head around the grammatical essentials. It is a big step in Spanish to be able to move beyond the basics of Hola (hello), Gracias (thankyou) and Soy de Australia (I'm from Australia) to start understanding the overall structure and mechanics of a conversation. In Spanish the two big initial hurdles for me were: 1) Comprehending the gender rules for everything and how that affects a word (ie a restaurant is male 'el restaurante', whereas a city is female 'la ciudad') and 2) that verbs are conjugated based on the personal context – I, you, we or they plus tenses. For example "to go (ir) somewhere" becomes Voy (I go); Vas (you go); Va (he/she goes); Vamos (we go); Van (they go). Believe me, it's a big revelation understanding that you don't just have to memorize 5 different words here and that they are all related. By the end of the week, this had all been mapped out and while my head hurt it was starting to make sense. I at least had a basic vocabulary in place to start prying things apart and getting under the bonnet.
Finishing our lessons in Antigua, we promptly made the transition to Xela on the Saturday and went about the same process – finding a comfortable hostel and a school. Xela offered quite a different approach, while schools here were everywhere, Xela is focused on more serious study, necessitating a much longer term, integrated and immersive study approach. Lessons here tended to be one on one only and packaged typically to include both food and accommodation, as part of an immersive home-stay with a local family. The town and environment itself is also much less touristy and feels more like an authentic Central American experience (complete with gunshots going off late at night). After talking to a few schools and hostals etc, we found a couple of standout school options – Celas Maya and another school, 'Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco de Espanol', a non profit run by the community with a program that was quite political, activist orientated and interesting. We decided on Celas Maya and nixed the idea of a homestay in favour of a cheap, homey hostel, Casa Renaissance, with kitchen (Essential for vegetarian cooking) plus the luxury of wi-fi. We were ready to start school Monday morning.
Lessons at Celas Maya were immediately of a lot higher intensity. No English is spoken at any point and there was nowhere to hide from the personal attention. One on one private lessons for 5 hours a day (plus an hour or so of breaks) gets you focused pretty quickly. I was very grateful we had done the 1 week study in Antigua beforehand – jumping straight in here would have been almost too much from scratch without some English interpretation. I found myself slotting into the same ritual though – working on memorizing the rapidly expanding vocabulary in the evenings and early mornings, lessons from morning til early afternoon and then joining one of the schools activities in the afternoon. Each day the school did a different excursion or activity for students to join (in Spanish of course) – we visited the oldest church in Central America (lame), went to natural sauna (curious) and learnt some traditional cooking (Nothing to show off).
Lessons were structured in a way to provide a clear daily progression, but the majority of the time was spent practically applying everything with in depth conversation. Now in my world, 25 hours of conversation with anyone usually entails a lasting friendship or some kind of intimacy. My Guatemalan teacher, with 15 years of experience at prompting conversation somehow got me sounding off in Spanish on subjects like Buddhism and the destructive cultural impacts of Christianity. Mostly however, she had this curious, almost spooky preoccupation with Japanese and never missed an opportunity to direct my new conversational talents toward explanations of the quirkiness that is the Japanese people and culture and the habits of my betrothed. She never asked me once about Australia though?
By the time a week was up though I was starting to drown and getting sick of talking about Japan. I guess I had crossed a threshold, able to communicate a large range of subjects in my own curious way, but at the same time I felt I was rapidly falling behind. Too many new words and rules were leading to lots of silly, repetitive grammatical errors creeping into the basics of my conversation. It became frustrating, as simple things got lost in the over extension. Perhaps this is just a natural phase of learning and part of the hard work that is the next stage of making this all come naturally. Personally,, I was relieved to finish.
In hindsight, another week or two of this would probably have been ideal in terms of getting me over the line with Spanish. I could see a finish line and a point where I could become quite comfortable quickly. As it was with a bit of thought, I can construct questions and answers to most of the basic things I need to do and follow the gist of most conversations. I had come a long way in a couple of weeks. Over the next few weeks as we hit the road again and started to put this to the test, I surprised myself with how much I did perceive, I was still a bit slow to process things and sometimes come over as a little retarded as I lag a few seconds behind a conversation trying to think it all through, but nothing too far out of reach. I still keep at the mp3 tapes, which have now started to make a lot more sense and really help with their practical memory reinforcement and application.
Megumi is still significantly ahead of me of course, but we were now able to immerse ourselves in a Spanish conversation and largely survive. Even to the point of spending several days with Spanish only speaking local guides which, while not perfect, was pretty encouraging. There was still a long way to go and perhaps another week of intensive lessons at some point might be still on the cards but in all it has been a very positive experience and easy to measure progress. Motivation enough for me to think of seriously again of applying myself to learning Japanese properly when I get home perhaps – I wonder how long I will last this time?


West Feliciana High School Saints runner Kelly Goff recently signed a National Letter of Intent to run for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
She has earned a cross-country and track-and-field scholarship and will compete as a Ragin' Cajun next year. She is the daughter of Randy and Laurie Goff.


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Customer ratings and consumer reports on Air Separation Plant – company in Moncton, NB.


SOUTH INDIAN FOOD FOR YOU AT BANANA LEAF,SECTOR-5,SALTLAKE,KOLKATA.
Okay to start of this blog i must say i have been experiencing a lot of Non-Veg eating places lately and i needed a very small change in my eating pattern and that is when Banana Leaf situated at Sector -5 sounded exciting to me as i needed to have a Vegetarian meal affair and South Indian cuisine is something i always look forward too when i am giving Non-veg a break. The Sector-5 restaurant of Banana leaf is owned and operated by Rajesh Bala who owns three restaurants in the City with the same brand name BANANA LEAF .Like all its other restaurant outlets ,over here the same love and deliciousness of food is available for you. At first on reaching here Mr. Rajesh being the humble gentlemen that he is ,welcomed us all to have a food experience of a kind which i was very interested and anxious about.So in this blog you will get to know what all i had enjoyed eating along with my fellow respected food bloggers .
A) IDLY & SADA VADA – Well this combination of idly and vada in a plate was really some good eating. Loved the softness of the idly and the crispyness of the vada. Hot and fresh dipped and drenched in the accompanied sambhar ,chutney made it a wonderful moment .Have it for sure when you visit this place for being simple with a good balance of taste and presentation on a shaped banana leaf .
B) PAPER DOSA – I never knew a paper dosa would turn out to be a giant size on a plate untill the server came holding it and placing it right in front of me. On my first look it seemed impossible to have such a mighty dosa but thankfully my fellow bloggers were also along to go through that big paper dosa with an ease. On taste it had the right spot on and as usual it was served along with sambhar and chutney . On presentation this one was spread popping out of the plate approx the size of my full shoulder length and looked very tempting .
C) CHEESE ONION RAVA MASALA DOSA – Loaded with cheese inside out this dosa was very flavour enriched . It had a nice stuffing of mash aloo masala and generous portion of onions inside. This was served in a triangle shape along with sambhar and chutney . Very different than the regular dosas this one was made with rava wheat or semolina. A must have recommendation at my end if you love cheese and dosa combination.
D) UTTAPAM PLATTER – Something new here apart from the other things was this one which had small mini 5 uttapam loaded with different flavours from one another . All of them had their own character but still even after trying this i personally would just stick with the regular uttapams that you get here . Any uttapam lovers can have a go at this and its interesting for sure to do so.
E) DHANIA BUTTER MASALA DOSA – This dosa had a nice portion of butter added in the base of the dosa along with dhania and mint paste . And of course the masala aloo stuffing was there to add more pleasure. Actually the food we ate before out marked this one. It does taste and look well presented ,and its still a recommendation to try .Have it hot and have it fresh ,dont hold this one too long on the table.
F) RAVA KESARI- The dessert special of the day to end was Rava Kesari which is a popular South Indian sweet make ,every house person knows it in South.And being the kind of a place Banana Leaf is so definitely it kept up to the full expectations. I relished the bowl as it dazzled in orange and a red colour mix identity. Soft,warm and flavourful this one was just right on sweetness.Very well balanced everything was in place from the presentation to the taste,so end your food eating like we did with Rava Kesari here.
That ended my South Indian food eating affair along with my co-food bloggers and things looked so fine and tasted brilliant in Banana Leaf ,Sector-5 ,Kolkata that i am still taking time to get over it ,i guess i need a few visits there soon to get over my food enthusiastic mind treat, nevertheless i have some good news too that Banana Leaf is opening up at Southern Avenue as well very soon so you have location options to choose from now to reach Banana Leaf restaurant. Very well i have decided where to go when i need great south cuisine food,now you decide and visit where you want to grab your meal .
Lastly thanks to the staff of BANANA LEAF ! SECTOR -5 ,SALTLAKE ,KOLKATA for the experience and good wishes ahead to all.
ALL THE BLOGGERS ALONG WITH MR.RAJESH BALA IN A BLUE POLO T.SHIRT.
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Kate is kicking off our 21 day challenge.
We've decided to do a 21 day challenge for our community – that's you! – and we're calling it #21DaysOfMe. Get ready for free workouts, recipes and more … all guaranteed to bring about your best self in 2018!
Move into a full plank and then downward facing dog, as you touch your toe with your opposite hand. Move back through the push-up, repeating on opposite side.
Keeping your weight in your heel, lower into a squat. Press up to standing and bring your heel to your booty. Extend your leg back and repeat.
From table top, rotate your body open and to the sky, bringing your opposite knee to your elbow. Move back through center and repeat on the opposite side.
Bring your bottom leg forward as you reach your top arm directly towards the sky. Engage your core as you lift your leg to meet your hand at center.
Bring your legs wider than hip distance with heels in. Lower down into a squat and then explode up, bringing your feet together on your toes and arms overhead.
Lie on your back and lift your hips and extend your leg off the floor as you bend the knee and crunch it toward your hips.
Start in a forearm plank. Keep your hips stable as you reach your right arm out in front of you. Bring it back to starting position and repeat on the opposite side.
Kneel and lean over to one side, placing that arm on the floor. Extend your opposite leg and reach your top arm over your head. Reach, stretch and lift and crunch your knee to your elbow.
Bring your legs wider than hip distance with your heels in. Lower down into a squat, pulse 3 times, then push off your toes to explode into the sky.
Place a block between your feet. With knees together and heels hugging the outside of the block, sit up tall and slowly lower your glutes onto the block.
In a sitting position with your left leg straight out in front, placing your right foot high up the inner left thigh. Stretch your arms up, twist chest a little more left and reach towards left foot.
Start in a runner's lunge, left leg in front. The right leg should be straight, quad engaged and high on the ball of the right foot for this active variation.
Start in Dandasana, then open legs apart into a seated straddle and flex both heels. You have the option to stay seated upright, hands behind you, or even to sit on a block if it is tough to sit up tall.
Start from a low runner's lunge, left leg in front. Draw your hips back to lengthen the left leg and stack the right hip on top of the right knee arms straight on either side of left leg.
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As with most Apple device launches, the iPad 2 has successfully drawn plenty of consumers from around the world. The launch of the device in China on Friday resulted in thousands looking to snag one of the elusive devices.
The white iPad 2 is the most popular in China according to Apple Insider. Apple's Beijing store faced a 10 AM line of nearly a thousand dedicated enthusiasts along with scalpers looking to buy and sell the second edition iPad.
The launch of the next generation iOS tablet attracted more fanatics than its predecessor's last years release, which had to deal with extremely poor weather conditions.
That's not all — Apple's latest device is selling well in South Korea, too. According to Reuters, the device is flying off the shelves to the point where SK Telecom and Korea Telecom had to suspend sales following the April 29th launch.
As with most Apple products, iPad 2 sales specific to individual countries are impossible to get.


Do you wonder what like would be like, could be like, if our families had believed us?
How does your imagination play that out?
Some might prefer a movie.
Others might desire a personal testimony.
Many, however, might be open to a book, a book you could hold tightly and reread.
But what kind of book?
In the summer of 1974, Bobbie Rossi's life is near perfect. She's twenty-eight, has a teaching position at a junior college, a new lesbian lover, and a family she adores. There is only one problem. Her twin sister and her nieces live on the other side of Kansas with a man who is abusive, a man who absolutely hates his wife's twin and will do anything to prove that hatred.
In trying to help her sister and nieces escape the abuse, Bobbie sets into motion an explosive emotional prairie fire, with Bobbie's young niece, Gracie, caught in its direct path.
Now, in the aftermath, will working through the abuse of a family, and the guilt spawned by the assault of young Gracie, destroy the life that Bobbie has created? Or will it weave three women and three young girls together in a new family as only love and fire can?
Gum for Gracie is, in a way, a fantasy novel. While not a traditional literary fantasy, it is the fantasy that our families heard and believed us, then moved heaven and earth to get us what we needed to succeed in a world that tried to break us down. Gum for Gracie is a victory story for the survivor in all of us.
Author Bio: Ona Marae is a writer in a long line of creative women. She lives in Denver, Colorado, near her beloved Rocky Mountains, where she and her fiancé spend as much time as possible. She began writing in high school, publishing in the lesbian newspapers in Denver in the 1990's, and then focusing on short stories and creative non-fiction essays. This is her first full-length novel. She tries to live every day considering Mary Oliver's question "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?" She challenges you to do the same.
Additional Info on Author's Background Relevant To This Book: Ona Marae is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. While this story is not a historical, factual account of her childhood, she believes there is a truth greater-than-fact in story, and this story tells the truth of her childhood.
CATEGORIES: General Fiction. Lesbian Fiction. Sexual Abuse Survivor Fiction.


text:
Message-in-bottle pen pal has connection to Tooth Fairy
Denman Island's Jori Phillips was surprised when she received a response to a message in a bottle she didn't remember sending.
Renee Andor
DENMAN ISLAND'S JORI Phillips
Denman Island's Jori Phillips was surprised when she received a response to a message in a bottle she didn't remember sending.
Phillips, now 21, dropped her message off the shores of Denman Island about 15 years ago, when she just seven years old.
She forgot all about it over the years, until she received a response last week in the mail.
"I was just super surprised," says Phillips. "It was from Nova Scotia and it had stickers on the outside of it and I was like, 'Oh, that's sweet, it looks like it was written by a kid.' "
But, the letter was actually written by retired Nova Scotia dentist Mark Dickson, who found the two-litre pop bottle when he was on a fishing trip in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
"He found it and it was in such good condition that he assumed somebody had written it within a week (of him finding it)," says Phillips.
"He went back home to send it because he assumed he was sending a message to a seven-year-old, and I had written in the letter … 'Do you want to be my pen pal?' So, he thought, 'Well, if I was a kid I would enjoy getting a letter from across the country a lot more.'"
Phillips is amazed the plastic bottle held up so well after being in the ocean for that length of time.
"The fact that it was in the water for 15 years, and it was still legible by the end of that kind of blows my mind," says Phillips, adding water had seeped into the bottle a bit by the time it was found. "Apparently the letter was wet when he got it and he laid it out on the dashboard to dry, but it was still completely readable."
Phillips' childhood friend Madeline Keller-MacLeod had also contributed a letter to the bottle, and the two had asked similar questions about Pokémon and fairies.
Being a retired dentist, Dickson replied to Phillips that he certainly believes in fairies.
"I especially like tooth fairies as I am a dentist, so I have a special connection with them," he writes, ending the letter with, "I will put a special word in for you with the tooth fairy."
Phillips and Dickson spoke to each other when they both went on CBC Radio's The Early Edition Wednesday.
"It was really cool," says Phillips. "He sounds like such a sweetheart — and the fact that he took the time to write a letter back to a seven-year-old and he answered all my questions."
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Celebrated Hornby Island potter getting provincial award
China-bound trade minister researches Comox Valley businesses

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home » Entertainment Gist » Floxy Dumps Hardy For Sauw Blaze?
There has been speculations that Sauw Blaze is dating fellow singer, Floxy. The adorable female music sensation has been seen frequently with Sauw Blaze at every function in what they call a one-corner-like atmosphere.
Heaven knows what that means! Gossips claim that the Walawala one of Africa has been so desperate to pin her down that he recently featured her in a yet to be officially released song titled: Ijeoma.The song was performed for the first time by both of them at Imo State Valentine night that took place at Freedom Square on Feb. 14th. The chemistry that existed between them as they thrilled the audience again proved the gossips right. Sure they can run but not hide anymore.
Sauw Blaze has been on top of the game and his songs have been widely accepted. He recently dropped a new single titled, NWANTINTI and is planning the video shoot of his hit track WALAWALA. In the same vain, Floxy is set to shoot a new video for her hit song, COOPERATE. Nevertheless one thing that the gossips can never deny is that Floxy and Blaze are the best singers to have ever come out of Otown music scene. Nobody comes close to them for now.
Though the gossips had once rumored that the evergreen Floxy was dating her manager, Chinedu Nwadike, aka HARDY, it still will be nice to see these two amazing singers as couple, won't it?


Back in September, Arthur and I spent a few days camping at Bahia Honda State Park in the Middle Keys. One afternoon we took a break from snorkeling to visit the remarkable Turtle Hospital on Marathon.
The Turtle Hospital has an interesting history. Here is a brief overview (related from signage at the hospital; any factual errors are mine).
It started when a man named Richie Moretti purchased Marathon's Hidden Harbor Motel in 1981. The hotel had a 100,000 gallon saltwater pool, which was converted to display fish starting in 1984. The following year, local schools started visiting the hotel pool for marine education programs. Students asked, "where are the turtles?" Good question!
In 1986, Moretti obtained a permit to rehab sea turtles. The first patient arrived at the facility, now named the Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project, that same year. More patients arrived. Surgeries would be performed in re-purposed motel rooms.
The facility expanded in 1991 when the nightclub next door to the motel was purchased. The nightclub became The Turtle Hospital in 1992.
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit the motel and hospital hard. Flooding to the property was extensive and the motel ceased operation. The entire facility registered as a non-profit organization and continued as a rehabilitation center and turtle hospital. Today, the motel rooms are used (in part) for storage, and to house interns, visitors, and staff.
There's no doubt the facility used to be a motel!
In 2010 a brand new education facility, funded by the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate, opened at the hospital.
Educational tours are offered several times daily. Our tour began with a presentation on the different types of turtles that come to the hospital.
The hospital used to be a nightclub!
Next we got to see where injured turtles are admitted and where operations and procedures occur. We could see that the patients can be quite large!
A turtle was recovering from a procedure when our tour came through. A member of the staff must stay with any turtle as it comes out of anesthesia to help it breathe — unconscious turtles don't breathe on their own.
We learned about the rehabilitation pools. The original sea water pool houses permanent residents as well as turtles at the last stage of rehab before release. Today the facility also has additional smaller tanks that can house turtles at various stages in their rehabilitation.
We learned about some of the patients. Jack was a Green Sea Turtle with the condition Fibropapilloma Virus. This may manifest as large growths, which can be seen on Jack's front left flipper in this photo.
Xiomy was a Loggerhead Sea Turtle that was found in Islamorada as the victim of a boat strike. She had been admitted on July 29th, 2013. Xiomy was released in October.
We were surprised to learn that the hospital had an education turtle in residence. Zippy the Educational Ambassador is a Loggerhead Sea Turtle that came to the Hospital from Gumbo Limbo on July 28th, 2013. Florida Atlantic University has a research facility at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center; hatchling turtles are studied and then released. Zippy was kept to be an education ambassador; if I understood correctly, Zippy will eventually also be released back into the wild (with a very big head start!).
A few little hatchlings were in one of the tanks. These healthy little turtles would soon be released.
Finally we spent some time looking at the large pool, where we could see healthy turtles nearly ready for release as well as the hospital's permanent residents.
The hospital has capacity to care for adult sea turtles that are no longer able to survive in the wild due to their injuries. Note the three round masses on the back of turtle in the lower right of the below photo. Those are weights; the turtle is unable to properly regulate its buoyancy on its own. Another turtle in the photo has one weight on its back.
We had a great time visiting The Turtle Hospital, and seeing the great work they do there. They have released over 1000 rehabilitated sea turtles back into the wild since 1986. Sometimes they invite the public to release events — they just released two turtles on February 14th. Keep an eye on The Turtle Hospital Facebook page to keep up with the latest news.
During the weekend of December 7, Arthur attended a sea turtle rehabilitation conference in Marathon. Lucky me, I got to tag along and amuse myself for a day and a half in the Middle Keys. On Saturday, I spent nearly the entire day at beautiful and historic Crane Point, a rare wild space.
The first settler on the current Crane Point property was George Adderley, who came to the Keys from his home in the Bahamas in 1902. He built a traditional Bahamian stone home where he lived with his wife, Olivia, and their adopted daughter. Adderley made his living by sponging and making charcoal from wood. Adderley's restored home still sits on the property, in the area where a small settlement known as Adderley village once stood.
The Adderleys lived on their property until 1949, when they sold the mostly untouched land to Francis and Mary Crane, a wealthy couple from Massachusetts. The Cranes built a modern Art Deco-style home on the property, and added a few exotic trees and shrubs. For the most part, though, they left the hardwood hammock and other native habitats untouched. The Cranes lived on the property they renamed Crane Point until 1979.
Today the 63-acre property is owned and managed by the Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust. Along with Adderley's home, the site is also host to a history and nature museum, the Marathon Wild Bird Center (a bird hospital), the original Crane house, a replica Florida Cracker home which holds a collection of natural artifacts, and more. There are interpretive nature trails leading from the museum and gift shop to the end of the property as it reaches into Florida Bay. Visitors can explore the trails and attractions at their own pace. It's a good idea to start any visit with a viewing of a short documentary on the history of Crane Point.
I really enjoyed my visit to Crane Point. While not particularly birdy, I had a good time walking along the trails and reading the interpretive signs about the unique trees and plants found there. From the Point I saw a small Nurse Shark swimming in the shallow water. As I scrambled up the rocks to get a better look at the shark, I was extremely surprised to see an octopus working along the rocky edge of the island. I sat on the rocks for a good half hour waiting for the octopus to emerge; they have such amazing camouflage and are so clever I realized the creature may have slinked past my view out in the open and I may have missed it!
I wasn't done exploring by the time noon came around. I left to have a quick lunch at a nearby deli and returned in the afternoon to have a proper look at the museum and to walk the trails again. I saw even fewer birds than I had in the morning. I did get to see a pair of young raccoons slinking along the mangroves and further down the trail an agitated squirrel conveniently pointed out a corn snake slithering around a mangrove tree at about eye level. I spent more time at the Point, sitting at a picnic table in the Crane House gardens. There I had my best looks ever (but no photos) of a Magnificent Frigatebird, an adult with a bright red throat patch. It had a fish in its beak and was being chased by a couple of gulls. As I relaxed in the garden, Green Iguanas roamed around the Crane House grounds. I had a chance to photograph them as they sunned.
Crane Point is a wonderful piece of wild Florida in the Middle Keys and well worth a visit. I'm sure I'll be back again!
The Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs is an old Florida roadside attraction. The Gardens opened in the 1930's and operated as a botanical garden, zoo with both exotic and native wildlife, and animal rehabilitation center until April 2013.
The park closed briefly this spring, but a new lease was arranged by a local wildlife photographer, John Brady, who aims to save and modernize the attraction.
While in transition, the park re-opened on June 15th. Arthur and I paid a visit on June 24th. Many of the park's larger resident animals had already been moved to bigger accommodations at other Florida parks. During our visit we noticed that animal enclosures were being opened up or transformed into new exhibits. Some permanently injured birds and both native and exotic turtles and tortoises remain from the old days, along with a flock of flamingos. New animals were also moving in; a small flock of fancy domestic chickens had arrived the day prior to our visit. The park grounds hold onto a lot of old charms while the updates improve life for the resident animals and transform the park into a more modern attraction..
The small gift shop and museum were in transition, too. A portion of the exhibit space displays Brady's beautiful Florida nature photos, while old kitschy specimens and other educational displays remain.
An old map of the grounds revealed the large number of animals on display in the past. Older exhibits and resident animals included wild boar, black jaguar, rattlesnakes, a Bald Eagle, an otter pool, Black and King Vultures, a deer yard, and more.
A grand opening is planned for this fall. Read more about the Everglades Wonder Gardens at Visual Ephemera. Watch for news and learn more on the Everglades Wonder Gardens website and Facebook page.
My last two life birds, and owl and a sparrow, came in two different states.
Back in June, Arthur and I took a little sightseeing trip to southwestern Florida. We were based in Bonita Springs and spent a couple of days visiting nature centers and local beaches. A visit to the Pelican Boulevard ball fields in Cape Coral was on the agenda. We hoped to see the Burrowing Owls that live on the park grounds. Their burrows were roped off to protect the area.
There were babies as well as adults in the bunch. It was pouring rain when we pulled into the parking lot, but the owls didn't seem to mind.
Well, maybe they minded a little.
In July I had high hopes to finally pick up a long-overdue lifer. Dickcissels aren't all that uncommon around where we used to live in Illinois, but somehow I had never managed to see one. That was rectified on July 20 at Fort Sheridan FP. When we first found the male bird, he was singing with his mouth full.
It seemed no one answered him, so he ate his lunch alone and looked around the prairie before flying off.
Common Gallinules (the birds formerly known as Common Moorhens) are year-round residents at Gemini Springs. The local population peaks during the winter with migrants who breed further north in the summer; my winter counts get into double-digits through January.
During the summer I see far fewer gallinules at the park. Maybe the bayou isn't big enough to support harmony among more gallinules in the summer months? Anyway, this year I had fun watching a little family of Common Gallinules grow up. Note the dates on the following photos; many were taken just a few days apart.
June 16th was the last day I saw the young birds, but adults were still around.
While Arthur's parents visited us earlier this year, Arthur went to one of his regular volunteer days at the Marine Science Center (MSC) in Ponce Inlet. All four of us drove to the sea and while Arthur did turtle work, I went to Lighthouse Point Park with my in-laws. It was May 1st.
We had lunch and then we walked out on the jetty and had a look around. Here's a look back at the beach patrol tower from the jetty.
About 40 minutes later, we were walking back and I saw a large mass on the beach, about halfway between the tower and the waterline in the above photo. I started running, because I thought it might be a sea turtle. It was a beached Loggerhead. It had beached during the short time we were on the jetty.
I immediately called the Marine Science Center to let them know there was a turtle that needed to be rescued. Meanwhile, a beach patrol officer pulled up on a buggy and carried the turtle out of the waterline so it would not be washed back to sea. A beached turtle is always in trouble and should not be put back to sea without being examined first. We waited for turtle experts from MSC to arrive.
When MSC staff arrived, they evaluated the turtle. They realized they needed a larger vehicle to transport the turtle, which weighed in at over 100 pounds. We waited some more. A small crowd gathered.
With the right vehicle, the turtle was carried off and brought to MSC for examination and rehabilitation.
The Loggerhead was examined and given care. It was underweight and weak but had no major injuries. The cause of its beaching and ill health was unknown. The size of the turtle made sexing difficult, though I will now refer to it as she. She was given the name Zee, the Dutch word for sea and a shortened form of Zeeschildpad, the Dutch word for sea turtle, in honor of Arthur's Dutch family.
Rehabilitating turtles at MSC are kept in large saltwater tanks like the ones pictured below. These were taken earlier and do not show Zee.
Arthur took photos of Zee during her rehab. She was cleaned up and given care and nutritious food. She ate like a champ from the beginning, which was a very good sign.
We last saw her on July 10th. Arthur volunteered that day and I came along to visit the Marine Science Center.
After some months in rehab, Zee was determined healthy enough for release. She gained 18 pounds and was ready to go, along with two other smaller Loggerheads. MSC announced the August 6 release to the public. And the public showed up!
Just after 1PM, the guests of honor arrived in two vehicles. Seymour and Parker, 55 pounds and 85 pounds, respectively, came together. Big Zee got her own ride.
The releases were awesome. It was so great to hear the crowd cheer when the turtles came out and made their way back to the ocean. People were especially impressed with Zee, as she was so much larger than the others. I have a few photos and a video to share, but I was mostly watching, so I don't have great footage of everything. At the end of this post I will share some links to media sites with their coverage of the event.
Seymour was up first; you'll see him in the video at the end of this post. Seymour was found by Beach Patrol, so he was carried out by four Beach Patrol volunteers.
Next came Parker, who was carried out by MSC volunteers. Like Seymour, Parker was carried out in a sling. He was set down close to the waterline and the sling was removed.
Finally, it was Zee's turn. Staff and volunteers, including Arthur, carried her to sea.
After she entered the water, the crowd began to disperse. Those who kept watching were treated to several great looks at Zee surfacing for a breath.
Here is a video compilation of the releases.
It was awesome to be able to see Zee return to where she belongs. She is a sub-adult, meaning she is not yet sexually mature. When she is ready, she will come back to the ocean close to where she was hatched and find a mate. Good luck, Zee, Parker, and Seymour!
If I find more coverage I will add links here.
On April 10th, the 100th day of the year, I figured I had 23 "easy" birds left in the Bird-a-Day challenge. And with birding prospects bleak (house guests coming, a move to complete and new home to work on), I wondered if I would even make it that far.
Since the number of expected possible birds was relatively small, I used that handy prognosis list as the days wore on.
Nine of these were on my prognosis list. The one unforeseen species was a Least Tern. At least one LETE was seen at Ponce Inlet during a trip there with Arthur and my friend Kim who was visiting from Illinois. That left just 14 gimmes from the prognosis list. Lasting until May 23rd, to at least match my 2012 performance, seemed unlikely.
I lucked out here; half of this bunch weren't on the 'easy' list, even though a couple of them kind of were easy. When we went to Kennedy Space Center with Arthur's parents on the 28th, I knew before we even left the house that my bird would be Laughing Gull. I always can count on finding a Mallard at Disney, so it isn't so remarkable that it was my bird when we visited Animal Kingdom. A pair of unexpected Spotted Sandpipers at Audubon Park was a great bonus. And I was extremely excited to finally, finally get my FOY Limpkin on April 24th (!!). Finally, during a visit to Merritt Island with Kim, a marathon birding-by-car excursion yielded a very welcome Peregrine Falcon. With just five 'easy' birds used, I still had nine left. Could I make it another 23 days?
Another ten days, and another five "unexpected" birds. On a couple of day trips with my in-laws I managed to pick up Sandwich Tern and Royal Tern. An evening at Downtown Disney brought a flyover peenting Common Nighthawk, and a very quick visit to Mead Garden after a volunteer shift got me Northern Waterthrush. I also used Muscovy Duck in this group but I should have included it in the 'easy' list. That's a given at Gemini Springs lately, unfortunately.
It was during this period that I booked a flight for a quick trip up to visit my parents in northern Illinois for May 16-21. I had four easy birds left before my flight… four days later. Yikes.
Right off the bat I used a super-easy gimme: Red-shouldered Hawk. On May 12th Arthur and I took a walk at Lake Woodruff NWR and I heard a Clapper Rail which was the best bird of the day — even though I got my first Florida Bobolinks on the same walk. This was followed by the super-easy Boat-tailed Grackle and then a totally unexpected Caspian Tern flyby at Lake Monroe Boat Ramp. I had driven to the ramp to look for Barn Swallows but after the tern I didn't mind missing them.
After this group of ten birds I had one more day in Illinois and three days total to reach my target of May 23.
A Swainson's Thrush in my parents' back yard on my last day in Illinois was a good find. On May 22nd I again drove to Lake Monroe Boat Ramp to look for Barn Swallows. Again I struck out on my target, but a totally unexpected pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks saved the day — they flew by just as I was about to leave. My FOY BBWD too! On May 23rd I tried one last time to find Barn Swallows at the boat ramp, and struck out for the third and final time. I was happy to have made it as far as I did — after all, I had gimme Osprey left, and it was May 23rd. I used the same last bird from 2012 for this year's challenge, on the same date. I never thought I would make it so far, so I was actually well pleased. That is, until I realized that last year was a leap year. So I was out of the game on the same date, but one day short of last year's final. Yeah, that stings.
I am not yet sure if I will try again next year. In April I will (if all goes to plan) be spending 8 days at sea on a transatlantic voyage from Miami to Barcelona. I doubt I will be able to find birds each day during the crossing, so that may be a good excuse to forgo the challenge next year. We shall see! Meanwhile, tomorrow is June 1st and that means a new challenge awaits!
Are Grackles Birds of Prey?
Earlier this month, a question about Common Grackles was posed on the Illinois listserv: Are Grackles birds of prey? The reason for the question: the person who asked had witnessed a grackle preying upon nestling sparrows.
There are various definitions that apply to the term bird of prey. Birds of prey are hunters that capture food items (prey) using their specially adapted strong feet and sharp talons. Birds of prey mainly hunt vertebrates, including mammals and other birds. A bird of prey belongs to the taxonomical order Falconiformes*. Birds of prey are carnivores at the top of the food chain.
Common Grackles are omnivorous; they eat berries, seeds, and other plant material as well as eggs (raided from nests), frogs, insects, and fish (which they hunt). They are opportunists; they may hunt and kill prey including small birds and rodents in some circumstances. They forage and hunt mainly by using their beaks. Common Grackles belong to the large songbird order Passeriformes. According to The Birds of North America Online, year-round, Common Grackles eat a diet of 70 to 75% vegetable (seeds, fruits, etc).
So though a grackle may capture and kill a prey item, it is not a bird of prey. While visiting the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex with my family last month, I noticed a Common Grackle carrying a small anole (lizard) in its beak. It was hopping around the LC-39A walkway structure and vocalizing. I wondered if it was trying to get to hungry nestlings somewhere on the structure, but I had to leave before I could find out the bird's eventual destination.
*There are conflicting schools of thought on how some birds of prey should be classified. Depending on what taxonomy is followed, birds of prey may fall into one or two or more different orders.


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What is a Code of Conduct?
• A code of conduct is a statement that clarifies the values and mission of an organization. It is essentially a standard for professional conduct which is used as a benchmark to compare to the employee's and organization's performance. It is a common document that employees can use as a reference. It is the foundation and bedrock of the organization. Some values that you will find in a code of conduct would be the concern of health, safety and environment, the advancement of financial transparency and the respect of their employees. It also will outline the organization's ethics. A code of conduct is normally explicit and to the point so that is no room for interpretation. The language used should be clear so all employees can understand. When writing a code of conduct, an organization will ask for input from their staff and stakeholders.
• It is important for a company to have a code of conduct because it sets a standard for the employee behavior which leads to good public relations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires boards to use codes and if they do not, they must explain why not. A code of conduct also helps mitigate risk because it can show how an organization acted in "good faith" and help avoid government fines. The code of conduct is an important opportunity to establish the culture of the company. A company will review their code of conduct about every three to five years so that the code can change as the company grows and develops. Investors will sometimes look at a corporation's code of conduct to see if their values and ethics are similar. Overall, a code of conduct protects employees, holds an organization socially responsible, and sets high standards.
Code of Conduct vs. Code of Ethics
• A code of ethics and a code of conduct are not the same. They both try to encourage and promote a type of behavior but the code of ethics is less specific than a code of conduct. Conduct standards clearly states the expectations and ethics is a wide-ranging and is used for decision-making. Sometimes companies will put these two codes together.
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"The Red and the Black" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, directed by Carter and aired in the United States on March 8, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.0, being watched by 19.98 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received moderately positive reviews from critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Mulder has Scully put under hypnosis to learn the truth about her abduction after Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright) goes missing and her son Jeffrey (Chris Owens) angrily attempts to push his way up in the FBI. The Syndicate, meanwhile, quicken their tests for the black oil vaccine, sacrificing their own to do so.

"The Red and the Black" continues from the previous episode, "Patient X" and features the return of Mulder's belief in extraterrestrials, a belief he initially lost in the season opener "Redux". Director Rob Bowman was originally slated to direct the episode, but filming issues resulted in Carter directing it. Carter later described the episode, along with "Patient X", as being "the most challenging and logically complex projects of the season."

Plot

In the mountain wilderness of Canada, someone in a cabin writes a letter addressed to "Son" and expresses hopes that they may reconcile. The envelope is addressed to the FBI, and is given to a boy courier for mailing.

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) arrives at the Ruskin Dam and finds a number of burned corpses, including those belonging to Quiet Willy and Dmitri. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is found with only minor burns, one of approximately fifty survivors who were found nearby in the woods. Jeffrey Spender arrives looking for his mother, Cassandra (Veronica Cartwright), who is missing. Mulder meets with Scully about the incident, but she does not remember anything. Jeffrey sees Mulder and warns him not to get involved with his mother, who remains missing.

The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) and other Syndicate Elders watch as their black oil vaccine is administered to Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden), which has yet to work. Later, The Well-Manicured Man meets with Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea), who is being held captive aboard a Russian freighter. The Well-Manicured Man believes that the Russians possess a functional vaccine to the black oil, or else Krycek would not have infected the boy. With a working vaccine, resistance to the alien Colonists is possible.

A spacecraft crashes at Wiekamp Air Force base in West Virginia, and the surviving Rebel passenger is captured by the military. Mulder shows Scully more photos of the victims and, having found more implants in them, believes the implant in Scully may be able to answer all of their questions. The Syndicate meets over the capture of the Rebel. The Well-Manicured Man informs them of the existence of the Russian vaccine, believing that this makes resistance to the Colonists possible. If the vaccine is ineffective he proposes avoiding handing over the Rebel and instead forming an alliance with the Rebels, but the other Syndicate members believe this would be a suicidal course of action.

Under hypnosis, Scully recalls the Rebels burning her fellow abductees, as well as a Colonist spacecraft killing the Rebels and abducting Cassandra. During a meeting with Walter Skinner, Mulder continues to insist that the events have been orchestrated by the military and not by aliens. Meanwhile, the Russian vaccine seems to have no effect on Marita. The First Elder tells the Well-Manicured Man that they have already decided to turn the Rebel over to the Colonists. Jeffrey shows Scully a video of him talking about aliens while under hypnosis while he was a child, claiming his mother had forced him to make those statements.

Krycek is released and attacks Mulder in his apartment. He claims that a war is raging between the aliens and that the Rebel immolations are meant to halt the impending colonization of Earth. He also claims that the captured Rebel is critical to their plans and must not die. Scully visits Mulder and reveals she has been reconsidering her memories of abduction, while Mulder reveals he is newly taking them seriously as a result of his encounter with Krycek. Mulder and Scully head to Wiekamp Air Force Base, where the Alien Bounty Hunter—who is disguised as Quiet Willy—has come to kill the Rebel. However, Mulder witnesses a second Rebel arriving to seemingly kill the Bounty Hunter and rescue the captured Rebel. The Well-Manicured Man watches as the Russian vaccine is revealed to have been successful on Marita.  Mulder is released by the military but is confused by what he saw.   At FBI Headquarters, Spender receives the letter from Canada.  In Canada we see the boy return the unopened letter to the cabin and the sender is revealed to be  The Smoking Man (William B. Davis).

Production

Casting and filming

According to series creator Chris Carter, the cast list for the episode, along with "Patient X" was "longer than most cast lists you'll ever see on a TV series". This meant that the episode was substantially more expensive to film; the crew managed to talk Fox into allocating the money by arguing that the plot of the two episodes was "all leading up to [...] when the X-Files movie would be released." Rob Bowman originally intended to direct the episode but, due to reshoots, he was unable to do it, resulting in Carter assuming directorial duties. Bowman later recounted, "I was supposed to direct 'The Red and the Black' […] but we were prepping for the reshoots [of The X-Files movie] so I couldn't do it. […] Chris had to direct this episode. He was so mad at me." When filming the scene where Mulder and Scully go to a medic station, Carter made homage to the medical drama ER, filming it entirely with a Steadicam.

The opening scene was filmed at Grouse Mountain, north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Most of the scenes at the Ruskin Dam were shot approximately 50 miles east of Vancouver, while the abduction sequence set at this location involved a full-scale replica of the dam being built on a soundstage. The various scenes with the Syndicate testing the black oil vaccine on Marita Covarrubias were filmed at an abandoned hospital in Vancouver. The show selected the site because, according to Carter, it had "an interesting observation space above it that we used", which in the end proved to be a difficult place to film.

Effects

"The Red and the Black" was a technically demanding episode, which Carter later described, along with "Patient X", as "the most challenging and logically complex [project] of the season." The scene where Cassandra Spender is elevated into a colonist craft was shot by having a stuntwoman sit in a wheelchair, which was then lifted upward via a crane; the crane was then removed during post-production editing. The alien ship's lights were created with a lighting rig augmented by computer effects. The crashed alien spacecraft was sixty feet in diametertwice the length of any other spaceship seen before on the showand was forcibly dragged across the ground to create a deep gash in the earth. Twenty-five explosions were set off to simulate the saucer crash; the remains of the wreckage were then burned and filmed. The scene took a full night of production to shoot.

The opening scene featuring the alien rebels incinerating a group of Russian abductees was filmed without actual Russian cars. Picture car coordination Nigel Habgood noted, "I couldn't get real Russian cars, so I decided to get creative and go seriously European. We burned a couple Saabs, and a BMW 2002. I'm sorry we couldn't get any Yugos." For the scene in which Mulder discovers the charred remains of abductees, the prop and the production design departments had to create specialized fake bodies. Carter later noted that it's "harder than it looks to create a charred, dead body." The tagline for this episode is "Resist or Serve". The tagline was later used for The X-Files game, The X-Files: Resist or Serve as well as the official book covering the fifth season of the show.

Reception

"The Red and the Black" premiered on the Fox network in the United States on March 8, 1998. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 12.0, with an 18 share, meaning that roughly 12.0 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 19.98 million viewers. The episode was later included on The X-Files Mythology, Volume 3 – Colonization, a DVD collection that contains episodes involved with the alien Colonist's plans to take over the earth.

Critical reception to the episode was largely positive. The A.V. Club reviewer Zack Handlen gave "The Red and the Black" an A−, and wrote positively of the "galactic war" between the colonists and the rebels that is referenced in the episode, noting that it marked the point where "shit is about to get real". Despite this, Handlen criticized the series for not following through on its tale of alien war, noting that the premise "never really [took off]--at least […] I've never heard anyone refer to [the last seasons of the show] as 'the seasons when The X-Files mythology finally paid off.'" Handlen, however noted that "The Red and the Black" worked because "the performances are great as always, and because the second part of this two parter rarely feels bogged down or draggy." Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode three stars out of five. The two called the episode a "typical mythology runaround" and noted that the plot was "complicated but the simpler scenes of confrontation are very well handled." Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a positive review and awarded it three stars out of four. Vitaris praised the episode's premise and wrote that it represented "a second half of a two-parter that is as strong as the first half."

A variety of critics praised the hypnotism scene. Robert Shearman called the scene "gorgeous" and praised Gillian Anderson's acting abilities. Paula Vitaris was extremely impressed with the scene's blocking, calling the rendition "virtually orgasmic in intensity" and concluded that "Anderson is marvelous".

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

 "The Red and the Black" on TheXFiles.com

1998 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by Chris Carter
Television episodes written by Chris Carter
Television episodes about alien abduction
Television episodes set in Canada
Television episodes set in Maryland
Television episodes set in New York (state)
Television episodes set in Pennsylvania
The X-Files (season 5) episodes
Television episodes set in West Virginia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The Central Unit (C, previously the Imperial State Prison Farm and the Central State Prison Farm) was a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) men's prison in Sugar Land, Texas. The approximately  facility is  from the central part of the city of Sugar Land on U.S. Highway 90A.

The unit first opened in April 1909. The unit had 950 beds for men but related facilities increased capacity at the site.

Sugar Land Regional Airport was developed adjacent to this unit, with the runway between two parts of the prison property. The Central Unit was the only state prison within the city limits of Sugar Land which, since 1960, has been highly developed as a suburban, upscale residential and business city.

In August 2011, the TDCJ announced that the Central Unit would be the first prison in Texas to close without being replaced. The state wanted to save money at a time of budget shortfalls.

Since then, most of the former prison plantation land has been redeveloped by Newland Communities as a master-planned community known as Telfair. Newland Communities had bought the land in 2002 from the State of Texas, long planning such development. Two Camp, a former prison building, has been renovated as the Houston Museum of Natural Science Sugar Land. Other parts of the site are zoned for light industrial use to support the airport.

History

In 1878 the state began to lease convicts as laborers to private companies operating on the Imperial Sugar property. This practice was widespread in Texas and across the South after Reconstruction, when few states had prisons. Many states generated substantial revenues from the fees for convict leasing. They passed what were known as Black Codes, criminalizing behavior they believed associated with freedmen and charging them fees for convictions, for instance, for so-called vagrancy. Because in a cash-poor economy, men often couldn't pay the fee, they were required to work off the costs as convict laborers. The states made so much money that they had incentives to convict poor men for minor offenses. Convict leasing was little regulated; the state did not protect the convicts or oversee their treatment. This system was thoroughly explored and documented in Douglas A. Blackmon's Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008).

The State of Texas bought the  area in 1908. The Imperial State Prison Farm, one of the first penal institutions owned by the State of Texas, opened in 1909 in the Imperial Sugar plantation. Originally it had  and was the hub of the Texas state correctional agriculture production.

In 1930 the facility was renamed as the Central State Prison Farm. The name "Central" originates from the prison's status for many years as the central farming and distribution point of agricultural goods from correctional facilities. Construction of a new unit of the Central Farm, funded by the 41st Texas Legislature, began in late 1930. The $350,000 unit was completed in late 1932. It consisted of  of land, including a main building with administration and inmate housing, and an industrial facilities building with a canner, meatpacking plant, and powerhouse.

The state intended for Central to become the central intake and rehabilitation prison in the prison system. In the mid-1930s Central had nearly 700 prisoners. In 1935 Central housed both White and African American prisoners, who were segregated. In the 1950s the prison had over 1,000 inmates.

In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed first offenders and white male prisoners under 25 years of age. Central Unit II housed male African-American second offenders under the age of 25.

In 1991  of land was transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation for the construction of Texas State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway) and other highways; much of that land included territory that was originally a part of the Central Unit. By 2007 the state had sold land, and surrounding development over the years reduced the prison to .

In 2000 the prison operated the "Texas Fresh Approach" program, a collaborative developed by the TDCJ, Miller Brewing Co., and the Texas Association of Second Harvest Food Banks. As part of the program, prisoners grew vegetables, which were sent to food banks throughout Texas. The TDCJ officials said that the work supported helping others. Miller paid for the transportation of vegetables in the "Fighting Hunger in Texas" program.

In March 2007 39-year-old David Shane Roberts escaped from the Central Unit.

Closure
By 2007 residential development began to surround the prison. In addition, the Central Unit is in land zoned by the county for expansion of the Sugar Land Regional Airport. The airport was considering expansion of its facilities, and was seeking a $30 million federal grant to study those possibilities.

The City of Sugar Land made moving the facility one of its main priorities for the 2007 state legislative session. John Whitmire, a member of the Texas State Senate, advocated moving the facility to an area in Brazoria County, Texas near the community of Rosharon. The area has several existing TDCJ facilities. Whitmire said that a prison in that location would be less expensive to operate and would allow the state to alleviate a shortage of correction personnel by consolidating staff members. In 2007 TDCJ officials said that discussions to move the Central Unit from Sugar Land to Brazoria County were preliminary. During the same year, Whitmire promoted a bill calling for a study for the feasibility of selling the land of the Central Unit. The bill awaited the signature of Governor of Texas Rick Perry. As of that year the Texas General Land Office estimated the value of the land to $10.1 million.

Hal Croft, the acting deputy director of asset management of the land office, said in a press release "That property is like the center of a doughnut — prime property now because it has been surrounded by development." If the prison is sold, the resulting funds would be used to fund public schools; they cannot be used to build another prison facility.

By 2008 the city and the state were conducting a joint study researching whether the TDCJ should close the Central Unit and sell the land. Mayor of Sugar Land Dave Wallace said "Let's just say that a prison is not the highest and best use for that land right now." During that year the TDCJ granted the prison's access easements to the City of Sugar Land. By 2009 the City of Sugar Land had already zoned the land that the prison occupied to a light industrial commercial park zone.

Allen Bogard, the City Manager of Sugar Land, said that he believed that the Central Unit property "has a much higher purpose and value to the state of Texas to be utilized for economic development purposes." Some Sugar Land residents supported the idea of the prison leaving. Some residents feared that sexually oriented businesses, such as strip clubs, could open in a light industrial commercial park zone once the prison was closed. By 2009 the airport received a $2 million grant for airport expansion, and the grant could be used to buy the prison property. In 2009 the State of Texas authorized the purchase of the Smithville portion by the City of Sugar Land. If the prison closes, the TDCJ would lose the Central Unit's 1,060 prisoner beds.

By 2010, due to the expansion of Greater Houston, housing developments such as Chelsea Harbor were constructed within  of the prison grounds. In February 2011 the prison had  of land remaining.

In mid-2011 the State of Texas had a severe budget shortfall. State legislators determined they needed to close the Central Unit to save money. On May 30, 2011, the regular session of the 82nd Texas Legislature concluded. The legislature voted to close the Central Unit by removing funding on September 1 of that year. Mike Ward of the Austin American-Statesman said that, one week prior to the decision, "it appeared" that the Central Unit would remain open because legislators questioned whether removing capacity for 1,500 prisoners was a good decision.

In August 2011, Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced that the prison will be closing.  Spokesperson Michelle Lyons said it will become the first prison in Texas history to close and not be replaced. 71 prison guards will go to other prisons to work. On August 2, 2011, 200 prison guards and 80 prisoners remained to move the trucking hub and soap factory out of Central. The Roach Unit was scheduled to take the former Central soap factory and the Ramsey Unit was scheduled to take the trucking hub. By the end of August, the prison was scheduled to be completely vacant.

The state planned to spread the prisoners throughout the state, and not place too many Central prisoners at any remaining unit. Many prisoners went to the Jester State Prison Farm family of units, near Sugar Land, and the Darrington Unit. The legislature estimated that the closure would mean annual savings of $1.25 million. After the closure, the Texas General Land Office took possession of the property. Central Unit had operated for 112 years.

Mike Ward of the Austin American-Statesman stated that the three factors that led to the closure of the Central Unit were the expansion of suburban development, the stabilization of the state's adult prison population, and pressure to take budget cuts. Herman Weston was the unit's final warden.

Post-closure

As of 2014 the City of Sugar Land plans to convert much of the property into an industrial park. The city government of Sugar Land approved paying Hines Interests Limited Partnership $207,800 as part of a contract in order to do a feasibility study on the new usage of the land in mid-November 2014.

Operations and composition

The unit, with  of land, was located  from the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 90A.

The Central Unit property includes the main prison unit and the Smithville Prison Property (CPU). The prison property is adjacent to the Sugar Land Regional Airport. Prisoners grow crops on land next to the airport's runway. Many of the remaining buildings were constructed in an Art Deco architecture style. Several neighborhoods had been built nearby.

The unit was in proximity to Harris County and Hospital Galveston; as of 2009 Harris County sentenced more criminals into TDCJ than did any other county in Texas. The TDCJ assigned some prisoners to the Central Unit so that the prisoners resided closer to their former homes and could keep in touch with families. The proximity to Hospital Galveston also allowed for Central Unit prisoners to have convenient access to health care services.

As of 2004 Central served as a minimum security unit for about 1,000 prisoners. Most of its prisoners were first-time offenders. The prisoners were housed in the Main Building, twelve prefabricated dormitories separate from the main building but inside the compound, and in a trusty camp outside the prison compound. Prisoners grew crops several dozen yards from one of the runways at Sugar Land Regional Airport.

The compound included 113 housing units for staff members and their families; the units include 48 duplexes, 42 officer's quarters, 9 mobile home spaces, and 14 single family units. If Central closes, state employee housing would likely not be available for many TDCJ employees who transfer to other units.

Central Unit included a detergent and soap factory, a mechanic shop, a freight transportation terminal, and farming operations. Sugar Land Distribution Center (SLDC), a men's correctional facility supply warehouse, was inside the unit.

Main prison
In February 2011, the main prison property was located on  of land. 80% of the land was raw land.

The Central Barber Shop, the prison barber shop, was located in the tower structure. The Austin American-Statesman said that a cohort of the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde was said to have lived in a closet within the tower structure.

Smithville Prison property

The Smithville Prison Property (), near the northwest corner of Texas State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 90A and east of the runway of Sugar Land Regional Airport, had employee housing and farmland. In 2010 it had  of land. In February 2011 it had  of land. Smithville was adjacent to the airport's southeast corner. The road in Smithville was lined with trees. The prison warden and other top officials lived there.

The State of Texas agreed to allow the TDCJ to sell this property to Sugar Land in 2009. The City said that the current employee housing is "unusable". It plans to demolish the housing to make way for executive hangar sites.  of the land will be used for the relocation of a parallel airport taxiway, and the remaining land will contain related airport development. The City of Sugar Land stated that the acquisition of Smithville was a "key project for the Airport in fiscal year 2010."

History of prison

When the State of Texas acquired the land in 1908, the prison property had  of land. Since then the state has sold parcels of the Central Unit, reducing its size, and various local and state bodies have also claimed land, much of it to support transportation improvements. From 1921 to 1984, the state sold a total of  to private individuals and industries.

A 1935 resurvey by the Texas State Reclamation Department caused the facility to lose . In 1964  were transferred to the Texas State Highway Department. In 1985 the Texas State Highway and Public Transportation Commission took ownership of . In 1986 the Fort Bend Independent School District took control of . In 1991 the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation took . In 2001  were transferred to the Permanent School Fund.

In 1932 a concrete housing unit for 600 prisoners opened, replacing wooden barracks that were situated at three work camps. Prominent architects had designed the concrete building. It includes a cupola that prison guards once used as a lookout.

A Greek Revival brick building of the Central Unit located east of the Brazos River, named Two Camp, opened in 1939. At one time it housed 400 young African-American prisoners. The facility closed in 1969.

Don Hudson, a former employee of the Texas Prison System, stated that there were two possible reasons why Two Camp closed. Newspaper articles of the era said that it was antiquated, and Hudson said that prison officials may have intended to sell the land occupied by Two Camp to private developers.

The building remained unoccupied for several decades. In 2002 the State of Texas sold the parcel with the former dormitory to Newland Communities. Newland decided to restore the building, which had some broken windows and some loose exterior bricks. The company arranged to place a new metal roof on the building. City officials and local historians positively reacted to the restoration decision from Newland.

Around 2005 Newland began development of the Telfair subdivision, located on former prison property, around the former Two Camp Building.

In 2009 the  Two Camp Building and its nearby land were adapted and opened as the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Sugar Land. The subdivision donated the building and land to the City of Sugar Land, and the city leases the building to the museum. The museum spent $3 million to help renovate the building.

School zoning
Residents of the staff housing were zoned to the Fort Bend Independent School District. Residents of the main Central Unit property were zoned to Cornerstone Elementary School, Sartartia Middle School, and Austin High School. Residents of the Smithville property were zoned to Lakeview Elementary School, Sugar Land Middle School, and Kempner High School.

In 2006 Smithville was rezoned from Kempner to Austin, with grades 9-10 immediately zoned to Austin, and grades 11-12 zoned to Kempner, with a phasing in by grade. Smithville had since been rezoned back to Kempner.

Cemetery
The Imperial State Farm Cemetery, a small prison cemetery located on the south side of U.S. Highway 90A in the northwest part of Telfair, has graves of deceased prisoners. The cemetery, also known as the Old Imperial Farm Cemetery, has at least 33 graves, with the earliest three dated from 1912. Most graves are those of African-American inmates. The earliest are of men arrested on trumped-up charges under the discriminatory Black Codes, in order to supply labor for the state's convict lease system. This practice was widespread in the South before most states built prisons; some made a large portion of their budgets from convict leasing, which has been called "slavery by another name." The state conducted little regulation of treatment of prisoners, many of whom were abused, and poorly fed and housed by their employers. At least one grave notes that the inmate drowned while attempting to escape. Three graves are post dated to the 1930s.

The cemetery was once open to the public. It is now surrounded by two fences with the inner one locked to protect the site. It was declared an Historic Texas Cemetery in 2007. The city of Sugar Land announced in 2012 plans to build a park on the surrounding undeveloped land, and park plans were designed the same year. The park would include the cemetery with a walkway encircling it. However, a bond proposal to fund the park failed to gain passage in November 2013.

Reginald Moore, designated as caretaker of the cemetery by the Texas Historical Commission, who is a former Texas Department of Corrections employee, has criticized the City of Sugar Land and state of Texas for attempting to erase the history of the Black Codes and convict leasing by plans for the cemetery. Moore, the founder of the Texas Slave Descendant Society, and others such as anthropologist Fred McGhee, have called for commemoration of the graveyard and its occupants.

Sugar Land officials denied the claims of covering up the racial history of the city. It said that a historical marker to be erected at the site of the cemetery would memorialize injustices against African Americans in the Texas prison system during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Activists of the Texas Slave Descendant Society said that a museum would be more appropriate as commemoration. They complained that federal historical laws had been circumvented by the City in accepting the transfer of this property and making plans without consulting with appropriate parties on effects on the historical property. As a response, a United States federal agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, began an investigation into the issue in early 2014.

In March 2018 an employee doing excavation for the Fort Bend Independent School District near the former prison site, discovered a human bone that was not recent. The school district notified the Texas Historical Commission that there appeared to be a newly discovered burial ground. A grave with 95 bodies was found.

Notable inmates
 Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly)

Representation in other media
An episode of Ghost Adventures was about the Central Unit; it first aired on Friday, September 14, 2012.

References

External links

 "Central Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (Archive)
 "Feasibility Study of Relocating the Central Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. January 2009. (Archive)
 Grissom, Brandi. "Day 19: Sugar Land's Prison a Casualty of Budget Cuts." The Texas Tribune. August 19, 2011.
 "TDCJ Grants Easements to Sugar Land for Business Development." (Archive) City of Sugar Land. Thursday April 3, 2008
"Central Unit closes." (Archive, PDF, Archive) Criminal Justice Connections. September/October 2001.
 List of prisoners at the Central Unit - The Texas Observer

Sugar Land, Texas
Prisons in Fort Bend County, Texas
1909 establishments in Texas
2011 disestablishments in Texas
Reportedly haunted locations in Texas


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Songshan District is a district of Taipei, Taiwan. The Songshan Airport and the Taipei Arena are located here.

History
Songshan was originally named Malysyakkaw, a lowland Ketagalan word meaning "Where the river twists". Its written form () was abbreviated () in 1815 during Qing rule.

During Japanese rule (1895-1945), the area served as a prime tea-growing area in northern Taiwan. In 1920, the area's settlements were established as , Shichisei District, Taihoku Prefecture. The village, named after Matsuyama City in Japan, was incorporated into Taihoku City (modern-day Taipei) in 1938.

At the outset of one-party rule by the Kuomintang (1945-1990), the Mandarin Chinese reading of the kanji characters  (i.e. Sung-shan) was adopted as the name of the district, which in 1946 officially comprised 26 municipal villages (). In 1949, the area's tea estates gave way to military housing for lower-income Kuomintang refugee families. The bodies of many residents and political victims from Taiwan's martial law period are buried in hillside cemeteries that now overlook the Taipei 101 shopping district. By 1980, Songshan was the most populous area of the city.

In 1990, the southern half of Songshan District became Xinyi District while the northern half retained its original name. The boundary of this smaller Songshan District was altered in May 1994 when the course of Keelung River was moved slightly to the south.

Administrative divisions

Songshan is divided into four regions (), or secondary district (), which in turn are divided into 33 municipal villages.

Government institutions
 Institute of Transportation

Institutions
 Construction and Planning Agency
 Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association
 Belgian Office, Taipei
 Liaison Office of the Republic of South Africa
 Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre
 Manila Economic and Cultural Office

Economy

The district is a major financial center in Taipei, with many banking institutions located on Dunhua North Road () and Nanjing East Road ().

Mandarin Airlines, Daily Air and Far Eastern Air Transport have their headquarters in Songshan.

Before moving its headquarters to a new location at CAL Park, Taoyuan International Airport, China Airlines formerly had its headquarters in the location of its current Taipei Branch Office on Nanjing E. Rd. After the headquarters move, China Airlines developed part of the training center at Taipei Songshan Airport into a business aviation center.

Infrastructures
 Taiwan Adventist Hospital

Education
 National Open University — Taipei Learning Center ()
 Sungshan Community College (): located within Zhonglun Senior High School (), in Jixiang Village
 Taipei Municipal Zhonglun High School
 Taipei Municipal Xisong High School
 Yu Da High School of Commerce and Home Economics (, short ): a private vocational high school in Meiren Village
In addition, there are six middle schools, and eight elementary schools

Tourist attractions

 Breeze Center
 Ciyou Temple ()
 Puppetry Art Center of Taipei
 Raohe Street Night Market, organized in 1987, contains over 160 booths.
 Songshan Xiahai Chenghuang Temple () was built in 1753.
 Taipei-Fu Chenghuang Temple () was built in 1926.
 Fo Guang Shan Pumen Temple () is the Taipei branch monastery of Fo Guang Shan Order.
 Taipei Arena is a modern facility that hosts events ranging from sports to concerts.
 Taipei Gymnasium
 The Metropolitan Hall is a venue for music, dancing, and theatrical performances operated by Taipei City Arts Promotion Office
 Land Reform Museum
 Aurora Art Museum
 Taiwan Stock Museum
 Yingfeng Riverside Park
 Guanshan Riverside Park
 Sanmin Park
 Xinzhong Park
 Japanese Cultural Center

Transportation

Roads
Fuxing North Road () runs along the western boundary of the district. The other major north-south road is Dunhua North Road (). Several major east-west arteries include Minquan East Road (), Sec. 3-5; Minsheng East Road (), Sec. 3-5; Nanjing East Road (), Sec. 3-5; and  Bade Road (), Sec. 2-4.

The southern border is outlined by the Civic Blvd (). Meanwhile, National Highway 1 borders the northern part of the district.

Metro
The Taipei Metro serves the district via the following stations:
Zhongshan Junior High School metro station
Songshan Airport metro station
Taipei Arena metro station
Nanjing Sanmin metro station
Songshan station
Nanjing Fuxing metro station

Airport
Songshan Airport is located in Dongshe Region, accessible by the Taipei Metro Wenhu line's Songshan Airport metro station.

Notable natives
 Ying Wei-min, actor and singer

See also

 District (Taiwan)

References

External links

 Map of the Songshan District from Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior

Districts of Taipei


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module.exports = require('./lib/patch')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Irish adoption authorities confirm many of 15,000 illegal adoptions sent to USA
Evidence of names being changed, of cash payments being made, and children being adopted to the US have been confirmed, among other irregularities.
Frances Mulraney
@FrancesMulraney
Concerns have been raised by Ireland's family and child agency about a further 748 adoption cases from St Patrick's Guild adoption society. iStock
Concerns have been raised by Ireland's family and child agency about a further 748 adoption cases from St Patrick's Guild adoption society.
Ireland's illegal adoption scandal continues with concerns now raised about a further 748 adoption cases, some of which saw children being adopted to the US.
On May 30, Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone revealed the Irish child and family agency Tusla has confirmed 126 cases of incorrectly registered births over the course of two decades from St Patrick's Guild Society in Dublin.
According to the Irish Examiner, Tusla has also shown concern about over 700 further adoptions from St Patrick's Guild that show evidence of names being changed, cash payments being made, adoptions being made to the US and cases with no corresponding adoption order being found.
Read more: 15,000 illegal adoptions in Ireland, mothers told babies had died
Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone. Image: RollingNews.ie.
The details are shown in the notes of a March 13 meeting between representatives of Tusla, the Irish Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Adoption Authority of Ireland, which was acquired by the Irish Examiner through the Freedom of Information Act.
"Furthermore, Tusla said that a further examination of the scanned index cards had raised concerns in that some 700 index cards contain references to placements with no Irish adoption order, change of names and other matters that indicate irregularities," said the report from the March 13 meeting.
"Some of these 700 index cards relate to children that went to the USA.
"Tusla also noted that many of the index cards made reference to payments (often £100) being made to the Guild."
In the three interim reports created by Tusla between March and May following this meeting, the agency confirmed that 611 children were identified as having gone overseas but that further analysis and review was needed to reveal the process which saw these children leave the Irish jurisdiction.
Remember I said this was about more than illegal registrations. And here we are, now 748 adoption cases in one agency which raised concern. Payments, name changes and other irregularities. And yet I kept being told there was no point in an audit https://t.co/7ecc68IunM
— Conall Ó Fátharta (@ococonuts) June 12, 2018
The 748 cases in this second set, recorded as "Anomalies including Adoptions overseas," come on top of the 126 confirmed cases revealed in May.
These 126 people will now be contacted by social workers from Tusla to inform them that their adoptive parents were wrongly and illegally registered on their birth certificate as their birth parents. Tusla revealed that as many as 79 people in these cases may be "entirely unaware of the circumstances of their birth." The 126 established cases were registered by St Patrick's Guild adoption society between 946 and 1969. The youngest person affected is 49 and the oldest is 72.
The identified cases all came from the records of St. Patrick's Guild which closed its doors in 2004. In April 2015, the Irish Examiner revealed that the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) told the Irish Department for Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in 2013 of cases of illegal adoption they had confirmed, specifically naming St. Patrick's Guild in Dublin as an adoption agency guilty of the practice. The AAI also named well-known former private nursing home St Rita's in Dublin, in particular.
A sample of records from other Irish adoption agencies will now be examined to establish whether the illegal adoption practice occurred elsewhere, with Irish Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan claiming it is "highly likely" that other agencies were involved.
Read more: Illegal adoptions to US mean many Americans will never know they came from Ireland
Irish Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan. Image: RollingNews.ie.
In Ireland, the natural parents in an adoption are protected by a right to privacy which means adoptees have no right to information on their birth parents. The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 is set to alter this, allowing the subject of an illegal birth registration to birth certificate information and certain other information. The legislation is currently delayed, however, with Minister Zappone citing issues surrounding the natural parents' right to privacy.
Newly released letters sent in the 1950s between the controversial St. Patrick's Guild Adoption Society in Dublin and the Dublin Archbishop have given some insight into the practice of foreign adoptions out of Ireland in the mid-20th century; a practice that may have led to thousands of Americans today not knowing that they are Irish, or that they were adopted.
The Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors has called on the government to address the issue of illegal adoption https://t.co/V3XjXDkK4g
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) June 12, 2018
"Hitherto intending adopters - and those who had already adopted - hoped that there would be some form of legal adoption which would make the position of the child and themselves more secure. Now that they know this is out of the question they seem to have lost heart in the matter," wrote Sister Frances Elizabeth to Revd C. Mangan on May 10, 1951.
"We even have had some children returned to us when the adopting couple saw that the child would have to know later on that he (or she) did not really belong to them," continued Sister Elizabeth, referring to the then ongoing attempts to introduce an official Adoption Act in Ireland that would legislate for legal adoptions.
The main fear, it seemed, for couples in adopting from the society was that a new Act would allow in the future for "the child to be claimed by their natural mother."
Read more: Actress Jane Russell's adoption of Irish baby nearly ended her career
Image: Alison O'Reilly.
These fears ran deep for couples adopting from the US, in particular, and Sister Elizabeth can be seen to bemoan the now lack of eligible adoptive parents applying from America.
"The Americans have been a sad loss to our children," she writes.
"For almost twelve months no child had gone to the US and we think with longing of those grand Catholic homes which offered such love and security to our babes."
It is believed that St. Patrick's Guild alone may have organized as many as 2,000 unregistered and illegal adoptions, while adoptions to the US carried out in this manner throughout all the various adoption societies could value in the thousands.
Already in May 2018, IrishCentral covered the story of former Maine police officer Kevin Battle, who was denied access to his mother by Irish Catholic nuns and told she was dead. His mother, in turn, was told her son died and Battle was, unfortunately, to never discover the truth until she passed away.
H/T: Irish Examiner
Related: Crime


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Great Dane Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.
Receives 2014 President's Award from Carrier, Earning Honors as Outstanding Dealer
(CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MICHIIGAN, JUNE 4, 2014)
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