Follow and read Jeff Keni Pulver (@jeffpulver)'s SNS at Flitto in English.
RT @jakevale: Going to be a great event.
RT @SimpleICO: Awesome blockchain panel! Our co-founders shared the stage with the Guatemala bank regulators and central bank.
RT @speakingcrypto: This came up in my podcast with @jeffpulver and it really hit home!!
Anyone else put limits on their own potential?
RT @hardlynormal: Every time I watch the #Oscars I'm reminded I used to panhandle out in front, and how grateful I am that @jeffpulver put me on that stage to talk about homelessness and the #140conf community gave me a standing ovation!
RT @speakingcrypto: @jeffpulver @TrendingTokens @RyanStar @STATIONHEAD Many thank yous to Ryan and Serena and @STATIONHEAD for the awesome studio!! And, absolutely @jeffpulver!! Thanks for the deep conversation!!


text:
package net.sproutlab.kmufood.dialog;

import android.app.Dialog;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.TextView;

import net.sproutlab.kmufood.R;

/**
 * Created by kde713 on 2016. 9. 7..
 */
public class FoodInfoDialog extends Dialog implements View.OnClickListener {

    public FoodInfoDialog(Context context, String title, String content) {
        super(context);
        setContentView(R.layout.dialog_foodinfo);

        findViewById(R.id.btn_close).setOnClickListener(this);

        ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.dialog_title)).setText(String.format(context.getString(R.string.dialog_foodinfo_title), title));
        ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.dialog_content)).setText(content);
    }

    @Override
    public void onClick(View view) {
        switch (view.getId()) {
            case R.id.btn_close:
                dismiss();
                break;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The US in recent years has supported an unsuccessful attempt at regime change in Syria, primarily through the backing of armed militias. Forces the US has backed have ended up in tacit and explicit alliances with Al Qaeda linked Al Nusra and ISIS and much of the weapons and resources provided by the US has ended up in the hands of such sworn enemies of the United States. In response to unproven accusations of use of chemical weapons by Syria, the US recently launched a bombardment of 55 cruise missiles at a military airport in Syria. The US has conducted massive bombings inside Syria resulting in 1000s of civilian casualties - ostensibly targeting ISIS but often striking Syrian and Iranian forces and the allied Hezbollah militia forces.
The number of US troops inside of Syria is uncertain - it was said to be 500 but recently a US general suggested it could be much higher number. There are about 10 US military bases inside of Syria.
The US has attempted to justify its presence inside Syria as intended to counter ISIS but Russia and Syria are claiming that ISIS has effectively been eliminated so that justification, flawed as it was, is no longer valid.
For its part, Israel regularly conducts bombardment and aerial patrol over Syria, and has threatened to take out Syria's air defenses, a threat often echoed from within US's foreign policy establishment.
While Trump has stated that there are pending agreements with Russia to de-escalate and possibly begin to resolve the Syrian war, there does not seem to be any intent to withdraw US forces or draw back US participation in supporting armed groups, The US is also imposing sanctions upon Syria that harm the people the most, driving up costs and reducing available food and medicines.
We need to demand an immediate halt to US bombings and other military operations, a withdrawal of US troops and privatized mercenary forces, the shutting of the US bases and an end to sanctions. The US needs to abandon its regime change strategy and its support for armed groups and let the Syrians settle their own matters.
While these two countries have vastly different situations and histories they now have fallen in common crosshairs. Israel and Saudi Arabia have formed a tacit alliance and are pressing hard for a war targeting both nations. Lebanon based Hezbollah militias and Iran have both worked with Syria to oppose regime change. Iran supported Hezbollah has expelled past Israeli aggression on Lebanon. Former Lebanon Prime Minister Hariri on a visit to Saudi Arabia has resigned and denounced the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. There is a major shake up in Saudi Arabie that could be a prelude for wider war.
Similar threatening noise emanates regularly from all sectors of the US foreign policy establishment as well, The US is threatening to abrogate the nuclear treaty with Iran which would imply increased sanctions and US hostilities and threats and possible military action. The US has also bombed Iranian forces and Hezbollah soldiers inside of Syria. US designs in Iraq are also challenged by Iran which is heavily influencial in the Shiite influenced Iraqi government. When Trump did the sword dance with the now fratricidal Saudi royalists in Riyadh he bombastically threatened Iran and accused Hezbollah of terrorism.
We need to recognize the seriousness of these threats and call upon the USA to denounce any threats to attack Iran and Lebanon. We need to demand that the US communicate to Israel and Saudi Arabia that it opposes an attack on Iran and Lebanon and will not support either in such an endeavor. We need to demand the halt of all bombardments of Iranian and Hezbollah forces in Syria, reassert the support for the nuclear treaty and lift the sanctions upon Iran.
The U.S. has spent over $8 trillion on military forces in the Persian Gulf in the last four decades, supposedly protecting the Gulf from the then-Soviet Union and Iran. The effect has been to give backing to an absolute monarchy that opposes religious freedom, female equality and humane treatment of migrant workers-- the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The hereditary despots of Saudi Arabia are infamous for beheading and/or and floggings political dissidents. In January 2016 alone, the Saudi government beheaded 47 people, some of whom were guilty of such "crimes" as political activism. Between March 2015-2016, Saudi Arabia massacred over 6,000 people in a war of aggression against Yemen, and at least half of them were civilians.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led an international coalition (backed by the United States) to launch air strikes against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, sparking a full-blown armed conflict.
The increase in violence exacerbated the existing issues that have blighted Yemen for years: poor governance, lack of rule of law, widespread poverty, and insufficient access to basic healthcare and water, among others.
Four out of five Yemenis today rely on humanitarian assistance for their survival. There is no access to essential services such as clean water and electricity, and food prices have soared creating a desperate situation for millions. Yet Saudi Arabia continues its brutal campaign against the poorest country in the Middle East.
Now, a blockade on Yemen by Saudi Arabia supported by the US has restricted access to food and aid with reports that 130 are dying each day with expectations that 50,000 dying by the end of 2017 as a result, with another 400,000 children will need treatment for acute malnutrition, according to the Save the Children charity.
The US has participated in military operations and often has hit civilian targets with drone missile strikes, causing scores of civilian casualties.
While there has been an attempt in Congress to pass a resolution stating that US involvement in the war in Yemen is "unauthorized" - the US continues its support for Saudi Arabia's genocidal action.
Our anti-war forces need to demand and immediate cessation of US military support and shipments to Saudi Arabia and an immediate end to US direct and indirect involvement in the war on Yemen.
1. The US led war to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait including the massive slaughter of 10s of 1000s of retreating Iraqi forces.
2. That was followed by a dozen years of genocidal sanctions causing over a million casualties due to access to food, medical supplies and clean potable water.
3. Then came the US slaughter of Iraq starting in 2003 that resulted in over a million deaths and with resultant death and suffering from the long lasting affect continuing today.
While the Obama administration had pledged to withdraw from Iraq, the final withdrawal never occurred.
One of the results of the destabilization by the US invasion was the polarization of Iraq between the Shia allied forces which now for the most part control the government and the Sunni, which earlier on led the resistance to the occupation and in more recent years have been taken over by ISIS led militias. The US has used the ISIS presence as the primary reason to continue military operations in Iraq - participating in massive bombardments with 1000s of civilian casualties. As a result of failures by the US and the Iraqi armed forces, over 2000 US HUMV's and other weapons and supplies have fallen into ISIS hands.
The US needs to withdraw its forces from Iraq and to stop utilizing its presence in Iraq in pursuit of its strategic and military goals in the region. The US needs to instead repair the immense damage to Iraq from over a decade of deadly sanctions followed by over a decade of war and occupation. Relief is needed from the deadly aftermath of use of depleted uranium which has caused birth defects around Fallujah worse than the result of the nuclear weapons used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.


text:
Waters Of March
Waters Of March Letra
A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road
It's the rest of a stump, it's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass, it is life, it's the sun
It's the night, it is death, it's a trap. it's a gun
The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush
The knot of the wood, the song of a thrush
The wood of the wind, a cliff, a fall
A scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all
It's the wind blowing free, it's the end of the slope
It's a beam, it's a void, it's a hunch, it's a hope
And the river bank talks of the waters of March
It's the end of the strain
It's the joy in your heart

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Daddy-O – Happy Father's Day!
An exclusive playlist for Father's Day with tunes by music legends who have sung some of these songs for their children or fathers. Happy Father's Day to all you awesome dads out there!


With European legal standards for erucic acid in rapeseed oil for food products likely to be tightened from 5% to just 2% in the near future, OSR growers across the country must step-up their efforts to minimise the risk of contamination in their double low deliveries. Especially so in the face of growing claims and rejections for breaching existing supply contract limits.
This was the clear warning from NFU combinable crops adviser, Tori Morgan at the Dekalb-sponsored OSR quality and weed management hub at this year's CropTec.
"The number of double low rapeseed deliveries with erucic acid levels over the current 2% contractual maximum is definitely increasing and, with it, claims and in some cases rejections," she explained.


Textbook publishers have but a fleeting opportunity to sell their books to students. Each student for that Psych 101 textbook is replaced from one semester to another. Despite owning "franchise" titles which hold high value for the purchase decision makers – administrators, board members and faculty – the student is generally indifferent, exerts little control over the selection of this content and frequently they don't even buy it. In the best of cases, the publisher has a 'one-off' relationship with the student and over the past 15 years the only thing making this a sustainable model for publishers has been the constant raising of textbook prices.
Looking forward, sustainability for textbooks publishers will be defined by the significant macro-economic changes which are forcing them to reexamine every aspect of their business – no longer just the price, but their addressable market, the concept of 'product' and their delivery options. Some publishers, such as Cengage, are showing flexibility and creativity as these challenges manifest, but many will find it difficult or impossible. My consulting work with publishing company executives provides me with a unique opportunity to evaluate how publishers are addressing these changes. Success is far from certain as more focused and nimble competitors present themselves.
Market expansion: The order breaks down.
The paradigm for delivering education content is largely the same as it was 100 years ago: Top down, prescriptive and generic. In today's environment, as technology and culture change at an ever-faster rate, it becomes increasingly clear that not only do our skills not match basic job requirements, but they fall short at an ever-increasing rate. So, education needs to do two things: Provide a solid basis for students entering the workforce and supply a mechanism to further develop and expand skills to meet new and changing job requirements across their career. The good news for publishers is that their addressable market has expanded significantly: There are 200 million people of working age in the US.
One particular issue facing college students concerns the relevancy of their education program. The bottom line is will it provide them with meaningful employment when they graduate? (43% of college graduates are underemployed in their first job). Evidence shows that students (and their parents) are becoming more discriminating about education choices based on desired outcomes, and prospective students are forcing schools to provide real data that proves the ability of the school to graduate employable students. Additionally, these students are also exerting influence over the career management advice and skills guidance they receive during their schooling.
As students question the practicality and relevancy of their educational choices and concern themselves more deeply with the outcome of their education programs, we will see a breakdown of the traditional four- year degree program. Students will increasingly want to 'drop in and drop out' of structured education as they make early career choices, adopt new interests and seek fresh skills. This doesn't mean they won't graduate with BAs and MBAs but they may also get certifications, credits, badges and other credentials. Collectively these awards establish core foundations and will contribute credits toward traditional degree programs and give employers confidence in the abilities of the student. Parchment as one example is helping students in this space.
So education will not end with the "traditional" degree. Recent research shows that a newly graduated engineer will hit a career roadblock within 10 years of graduation. That exerts tremendous costs on the employer not least because many workers exit their chosen career at this point. Businesses also suffer as they must continually find and train brand new employees. A far better and more cost-effective outcome would be for employers to develop proactive continuing education programs to help employees maintain and develop their skills. We are beginning to see publishers, educational institutions and businesses partner to create a broader market for their content, materials and programs. Education and life-long learning programs tied to continued employment success will eventually play a far larger role in our lives from 'cradle to first job' to 'cradle to retirement'. Increasingly the greater market opportunity for education is not in the delivery of foundational skills (K-16) but in the delivery of life skills, career-based programs and personal fulfillment. As noted, this market is several orders of magnitude larger than the market for traditional education.
Traditional textbook publishers are adapting and changing to address the larger market opportunities springing up and some have made acquisitions to broaden their product lines. But more fundamental changes are in play. When education needs to be delivered 'on demand', the content must be decoupled from traditional "containers" and processes. This is happening fastest around the edges of the traditional education marketplace which is developing into a vibrant and expanding marketplace, of 'alternative' education services and providers. These encompass skills-based training (such as code academies) as well as companies like UConnect which help students pass assessment and accreditation tests. Additionally, traditional modes of education delivery are being expanded as colleges and universities leverage their brands and educational reputations to wider regional and global markets. Companies such as Embanet, 2U and Wiley offer Online Program Manager (OPM) solutions to universities to do just this and Wiley recently paid $200mm to acquire Learning House an OPM provider.
Textbook content can be expensive to produce, franchise product market share can be hard to break down and direct connection to students hard to establish. In a decoupled world, business cases, problem sets, test prep and other similar components can attain more value than a full textbook especially when those component items are tied directly to achievement and/or certifications. This environment provides new market entrants the opportunity to think differently about the competitive environment and dispense with old assumptions about content development, marketing and sales.
Perhaps creating a whole educational program is not the right approach to entering the market. I met a company recently named UConnect. They are not an 'educational publisher' in the traditional sense, yet they have been able to draw a direct connection between the 'publishing' content they produce and student achievement. UConnect is building a highly profitable and expanding business based on creating problem sets, test prep and achievement tests tied to established test programs such as MCAT, LSAT, NCLEX and even SAT and AP. Not only is their approach to "content" creation (building test modules) different from traditional publishers but their subscription model for students is easy and simple to understand. Proof of their different approach and their aspirations can be seen in the types of employees they are seeking to hire. UConnect understands that in a decoupled content environment they can draw a distinct line between the students skills and knowledge – which their products help assess – and the students' ability to pass a critical achievement test.
Delivery isn't only about the method of delivery, but also about the form and function of the delivery. If education occurs increasingly throughout a person's life and career, the delivery can't (only) be via a structured program. Those companies and institutions which benefited from the old paradigm where methods were tightly prescribed, and outcomes hazily defined (or completely ignored) will need to adapt or die. Partnerships between traditional publishers and corporations as well as investment by large companies like Oracle in learning platforms indicate how important the post-college education market has become. Employers have a lot at stake: They want to retain employees who have basic skills when hired to easily source new skills over their career to match the company's changed priorities. HR policies will not only become oriented around career development but should also become competitive advantages. Publishers which maintain large content libraries have advantages if they can de-couple that content from traditional packaging (as do legacy education institutions, which still retain significant market brand power). UConnect's product offering genesis evolved out of a medical student's specific problem: How to better prepare for the MCAT test. By placing a relentless focus on the goal of the student (acing a test) the company has expanded their products significantly and grown dramatically.
All traditional publishers have test banks, but they don't necessarily think of them as foundational or standalone products (or product platforms in and of themselves). Their publishing activities are still tied to the limited textbook 'container,' which is a liability in a decoupled world. Another advantage UConnect (and companies like them) have established is a direct sales relationship with the student and they use this access to seek their advice during their product development cycles. This is very different from the model of traditional publishers who rarely dealt directly with students and certainly would not allow them an active role in the product development as UConnect does.
The dynamics of the education market are changing rapidly, in part due to macro-economic changes in the way education supports career development, corporate objectives and student fulfillment. We all want to feel valued and fulfilled in our personal and work lives and how we interact with learning sources will become more dynamic and more evenly distributed over our lives. Current and future generations of K-16 students will expect to be continually educated over their lifetimes and traditional publishers, institutions and employers will need to position themselves to support those expectations. And if that is not enough change, the direction of education on a global level will be even more profound as globalization creates large middle-class populations in developing nations who will demand education programs to support their personal and professional objects.
Publishers and institutions which fail to understand the relevance of the macro changes impacting education and fail to position themselves to participate in the market for career and life long learning will be pushed aside. The bigger market opportunity will dwarf traditional education markets and will produce larger, more aggressive competitors and, if traditional education players aren't ready, they will fail their biggest test.
Michael Cairns is a business strategy consultant and executive. He can be reached at michael.cairns@infomediapartners.com or (908) 938 4889 for project work or executive roles.


text:
How to Identify Wildflowers Without Bothering to Get Off the Highway
According to a scientist's satirical guide, flowers are even more beautiful when you can only kind of see them.
by Sabrina Imbler January 23, 2020
Butterfly milkweed (at 70 mph). Chris Helzer
Let's say you're cruising down a highway in Nebraska at the speed limit of 70 miles per hour. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a purple-pink blur by the side of the road. You'd crane your neck or take a picture, but you have to keep your hands on the wheel. So you drive onward, haunted by a question: What wildflower did you see?
Worry no more. Chris Helzer, the creator of The Prairie Ecologist blog and director of science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska, has written "a practical guide" for identifying flowers without so much as getting off the highway. "Most wildflower field guides are nearly useless for roadside flower viewing, written for the eccentric botanical enthusiast who wanders slowly through prairies, stooping low to determine whether the sepals of a flower are hispid or hirsute," Helzer writes in the guide, using the technical terms for hair-like structures found on plants. His tongue-in-cheek blog post continues: "But what about the silent majority who prefer to experience wildflowers the way General Motors intended–by whizzing past them in a fast, comfortable automobile?"
Black-eyed Susans (at 70 mph). Chris Helzer
The resulting e-booklet, "A Field Guide to Roadside Wildflowers at Full Speed," blurrily documents the different species of wildflowers one might encounter near highways in the central Great Plains, which includes states such as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Butterfly milkweed, a beautiful orange flower with delicate pom-poms of florets, appears as an undulating orange smear against shades of green. Black-eyed Susans, the yellow, daisy-like flower with a dark center, also look like a smear, only this time brown and yellow, like a wayward bumblebee that got caught in a windshield wiper. And repeating bands of purple-pink are none other than the stick-like flower gayfeather, also known as blazing star (though bands of a darker pink could also be purple loosestrife). Each flower is accompanied with accurate descriptions of the species' bloom times, habitat, and similar species. "Technically there's nothing untrue in the book," Helzer says. "And 99 percent of people understand that it's a joke."
Purple loosestrife (at 70 mph). Chris Helzer
Helzer, who is also a photographer, came up with the project over 10 years ago, but only finished it when he was bored over the winter holidays. "I started out by just making a couple of images, taking good wildflower photos and smearing them in Photoshop to look blurry," he says. "The more I got into it, I figured I might as well make the whole book." He admits the edited images are exaggerated, as most people hoping to see wildflowers out the window would likely focus on one spot as they drove by. "But if you turned your head sideways and just kind of focus in one direction, they look just like blurs of color," he says.
Though Helzer had no grand agenda for the project, he's been surprised by people's reactions. "I did not expect this stupid field guide idea to blow up," he says. "But I'm glad it has, and I'm hoping a side effect is that it convinces people there's something else to see in prairies besides just something to drive through to get to the mountains or the ocean." In his job at The Nature Conservancy, Helzer spends much of his time wandering the grasslands at more like three miles per hour. He manages prairies with prescribed fire, helps ranchers manage their lands for grazing livestock, and monitors biodiversity. "The guide is pretty facetious about how you'd have to be crazy to go around and wander and just stare at flowers," he says. "But I guess that's my actual job."
Unseasonably Cold Weather Littered South Florida With Stunned Iguanas
The weather forecast warned it would be raining reptiles.
how toflowerscarsroadside attractionsnature
Podcast: Atlas Obscura Presents How To!
Setting up a roadside attraction with How To! host Amanda Ripley.
Video: The Garden Where Nature Comes to Life
Riverside Nature Center is a 2-acre property that packs in over 200 species of wildflowers, grasses, and ferns, 140 species of trees, and a Monarch Waystation for butterflies to stopover on their way from Canada to Mexico.
Sponsored by Kerrville Convention & Visitors Bureau
Podcast: Civic Musical Road
The Podcast Team March 2, 2022
Podcast: The Thousand-Year Rose
Video • Wonder From Home
Show & Tell With Drag-Racing Legend Al Young
The Hidden Wonders of the Hudson Valley
Sponsored by Defender
The World's Most Beautiful Public Toilet
Meet the Man Who Built North Dakota's Enchanted Highway
Meet the Man Behind Ohio's Whimsical Temple of Tolerance
Meet the Owner of America's Best Roadside Attraction
On Scotland's Electric Brae, Cars Really Do Seem to Roll Uphill
Show & Tell With the Genius Behind America's Best Roadside Attraction
Watch the Cutest Little Hummingbird on Its 3,000-Mile Migration
The Giant Megaphones Tucked Inside a Remote Estonian Forest
Surfing Alaska's Unique Bore Tide


text:
Natalie Heard Hackett
montclair TAP into Montclair Your Neighborhood News Online
TAP into Montclair Your Neighborhood News Online
Montclair Councilman Spiller Calls for Apology from Montclair Leader
Credits: Township of Montclair
Montclair, NJ - Montclair 3rd Ward Councilor Sean Spiller released the following statement calling for an apology from James Harris after remarks made at a December 30th community meeting.
According to published reports, Harris has issued an apology and has invited anyone to meet with him to discuss. TAP staff has reached out to Harris to obtain a statement and there has not yet been a response, at the time of publication. As details emerge, updates will be provided.
Following the meeting hosted by Councilwoman Renee Baskerville on Monday, with nearly a hundred people in attendance, New Jersey Association of Black Educators President James Harris, who also serves as the Montclair NAACP Education Chair, was rebuked by Rabbi David Greenstein after making remarks about Hasidic Jews.
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On Friday, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill had also called for Harris to apologize for his remarks. Mayor Robert Jackson, who was also in attendance, has since announced plans to gather the African-American and Jewish community within the next 48 hours to discuss. A meeting with clergy took place on Monday, Jan. 6.
Spiller said the following in a release:
"Montclair is more than a place--it's an ideal. Montclair serves as a beacon of progressivism, hope, acceptance, and diversity. We are a community that not only welcomes people of all faiths, backgrounds, races, and creeds, but we are also deeply committed to standing up against injustice and bigotry.
Preserving the Montclair ideal--what we stand for--takes commitment. Last week, intolerance reared its head at a community meeting in Montclair, when Mr. James Harris made divisive and anti-Semitic comments. While I was not in attendance at the meeting, the comments are nonetheless dangerous and hurtful not only to our Jewish brothers and sisters, but to our community as a whole.
Mr. Harris should apologize for his remarks, but we must go beyond apologies. We must go further and work harder to foster understanding, tolerance, and to promote healing. To that end, I look forward to attending a meeting later today, called by Mayor Jackson between faith leaders in the African-American and Jewish communities in Montclair to begin the process of healing. I sincerely hope and believe that Mr. Harris can and will be a part of that healing process.
We must continue to be vigilant and thoughtful in defending the Montclair ideal. That means having difficult conversations but always doing so respectfully. When we stand together, we are stronger."
A Message from Councilwoman Baskerville
Montclair Mayor Jackson: Setting Meeting Between African-American and Jewish Communities
Congresswoman Sherrill Calls for Apology From Montclair Leader
NJ Association of Black Educators Criticizes Hasidic Jews During Community Forum
Three Swastikas Found on Montclair HS Desks
Montclair Residents Gather in Solidarity During the Grand Menorah Lighting on the 8th Night
Hate Symbols, Threatening Messages Found in Two Montclair Schools
Montclair Mayor Announces Zero Municipal Tax Increase in 2020 Budget
Wed, January 29, 2:00 pm Montclair Every Wednesday Matinee at MPL
Wed, January 29, 4:00 pm Montclair 5 Ingredient Meals (Grades 6-12)
ESSEX COUNTY NEWS
Thousands of Trump Supporters Brave the Cold in Wildwood to Attend ...
WILDWOOD, NJ – Thousands of President Trump supporters bundled up and wrapped ...
Ridgers Get Back on Track with a Pair of Victories as Melbourne and ...
Booker, Menendez Push for Coronavirus Screening at Newark Liberty ...
By TAPINTO STAFF
NJ's Anthony Fontanez Overcomes 'Llama Drama' to Keep Going in 'Kids Baking Championship'
By CATHY GOETZ
BELMAR, NJ — Despite all the "llama drama" Monday night, Belmar's Anthony Fontanez made it to the next round of the "Kids Baking Championship."
In the show's January 28 episode, the 12-year-old was among nine contestants who came up short in creating a dozen of cupcakes decorated with llama faces Even Fontanez's cupcake tops looked more like bunnies.
"Everyone's cupcakes don't look like ...
BELMAR, NJ — Despite all the "llama drama" Monday night, Belmar's Anthony Fontanez made it to the ...
MONTCLAIR, NJ - Seton Hall University will be honoring the basketball legacy of Robert Hurt, Sr. on Saturday, February 1, 2020, his family announced.
According to his family, Hurt was the first African-American male to play basketball at the University in 1948. He is known most for using his left hand to play the sport, thue earning him the nickname, "Left Hand."
Hurt is the father of the ...
MONTCLAIR, NJ - Seton Hall University will be honoring the basketball legacy of Robert Hurt, Sr. on ...
Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center's Stroke Support Group To Focus on Needs of Patients and Their Families
By MOUNTAINSIDE MEDICAL CENTER
MONTCLAIR, N.J.,- Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center's Stroke/Aneurysm Support Group invites affected patients and families to share their experiences and challenges within a supportive environment to learn valuable information to help one other. The group is led by Melissa Santoro, R.N., BSN, NVRN-BC, stroke coordinator.
"Having a stroke or aneurysm can be devastating. In ...
MONTCLAIR, N.J.,- Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center's Stroke/Aneurysm Support ...
BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- The Township of Bloomfield has taken another important step in becoming more sustainable, recently purchasing and putting into use four new Chevy Bolts. These electric-powered vehicles were purchased with funding from the capital budget and the water utility fund. The cars will be used by construction code officials and water meter personnel. These functions of the township ...
BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- The Township of Bloomfield has taken another important step in becoming more ...
Murals in Montclair Center Are Complete
The Montclair Center BID is proud to announce the completion of the inaugural project of their Art Connects program, with four murals throughout downtown. The murals, funded in part by the State of New Jersey's Main Street Program, comprise four works by artists Chady Abousleiman (North Brunswick, NJ) for 180 Bloomfield Ave; Holly Rader (Clifton, NJ) for 219 Glenridge Ave; Amol Saraf (Johns ...
The Montclair Center BID is proud to announce the completion of the inaugural project of their Art ...
Red Solo Cup Used for Wrong Kind of Alcohol in Glen Rock
GLEN ROCK, NJ - Getting 'gassed-up' took on another meaning when a New York City woman attempted to fill a red Solo cup with gasoline at the Glen Rock Exxon.
On Jan. 26 at approximately 6:30 p.m., a 31-year-old New York City woman attempted to serve herself a cup of gas, 10% of which is ethanol, in a red Solo cup, police said. When a female attendant told her she needed to purchase a gas ...
GLEN ROCK, NJ - Getting 'gassed-up' took on another meaning when a New York City woman attempted to ...
The Junior League Presents Sleep Out: Montclair Community Edition, Mar. 6
By JUNIOR LEAGUE OF MONTCLAIR-NEWARK
MONTCLAIR, NJ - On March 6th, 2020 Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ) supporters from across Essex County along with the members of the Junior League of Montclair-Newark (JLMN) will trade their beds for a box and sleeping bag to help raise awareness and funds for the thousands of youth CHNJ serves each year. The Sleep Out will be held at the Montclair Women's Club. CHNJ is proud to be partnering ...
MONTCLAIR, NJ - On March 6th, 2020 Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ) supporters from across Essex ...
Montclair!


text:
Breon Arzell and Daniel Kyri On Goals, Creating, Representation, and Self-Care
Pictured: Breon Arzell (Zaza Workolo) and Daniel Kyri (Shedrick Yarkpai) in Goodman's OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR. Photo by Liz Lauren.
By Kyle Whalen
Breon Arzell and Daniel Kyri are both making their Goodman Theatre debuts in Charles Smith's Objects in the Mirror. Objects tells the story of Shedrick Yarkpai (played by Kyri), a Liberian refugee who eventually arrives in Australia. There, he began working as an actor, and met Charles Smith after being cast in a production of Smith's Free Man of Color. Objects in the Mirror grew out of their conversations about Yarkpai's journey.
Arzell has been seen all over Chicago, including several Hypocrites productions (All Our Tragic, You on the Moors Now, Johanna Faustus), Oracle Productions' The Hairy Ape, Raven Theatre's Direct from Death Row The Scottsboro Boys. He is also a celebrated choreographer. Kyri recently was seen in Monster at Steppenwolf, and in both parts of Chicago Shakespeare's Tug of War.
I spoke with Arzell and Kyri (and Goodman's wonderful media relations manager, Ramsey Carey, who listened in.) Conversing with these two talented men enriched me in a several ways. Revisiting their words, I was particularly drawn to Kyri's comments about what it means to have "loyalty to the present," how healing it is to celebrate the movement and existence of black and brown bodies, and Arzell's stories about struggling through Philando Castile's death, and about how taking care of yourself is one of your major responsibilities to other people.
Breon Arzell
Does working on Objects in the Mirror feel like a good next step in the progression of your career? You've both been in excellent, high-profile, well-received productions leading up to this—
ARZELL: I feel like for me, it was the next step, as far as the progression of my career and what I want from it—this was definitely a huge advancement forward from smaller companies. And it's just little things, it's not necessarily the work or the work ethic or anything like that, it's things like the budget, and resources, that are so drastically different, coming from a storefront theater that does public access free theater. You know, how that [public access theater] system is and how it's created compared to the Goodman—conglomerate. They're two totally opposite ends of the spectrum, you know what I'm saying? So, one of my fears doing a job here is: "Oh my God, I'm not going to want to go, I have to lock myself in the dressing room. I'm not going back there. I'm not. I'm not going back to wearing my own clothes for a show." I don't mean it as a knock to them, because you do what you have to do back in storefront theater—because you know the funds aren't necessarily always there. You do what you have to do to create a beautiful show. And I will say I've been very lucky that I've done the previous shows—You on the Moors Now and Hairy Ape and Scottsboro Boys—like all of those shows were beautiful processes and the work was quality. Heart wrenching, meaty work. You know? It wasn't fluff or anything like that, they were all beautifully done and they were artful and very…specific. Masterful. So, I've been very lucky to continue that frame because [Objects] is remarkable. It's beautiful. It's just a beautiful show. But it's been a progression on the business side.
KYRI: That's lit. [turning to me] So, I'm not 100 percent sure what your question meant.
I'm not, either. But Breon, you actually ended up talking about what I'd hoped you would, though I didn't ask well. Do you feel like Objects in the Mirror is in line with the kind of work you want to do? Does that help?
KYRI: That does help, yes. You know the thing that's been really, really interesting for me: I just like I feel like I looked up one day and I recognized this and realized this. Since I left school, I've been pretty much consistently doing only adaptations or new works. So, like the first thing that I did out of school was, I did the world premiere of a show called Look Away at TheaterSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas. And that was about this almost-lynching that had happened in the 1930s in that area of Arkansas. That's a story that felt like it needed to be told. And the fact that it was being told in that area of Arkansas for me was profound. I think what has been a part of my own artistic journey is in recognizing my naivete. I feel like I stumble on things and then I'm like, "Wait, yeah, no. That's a great idea." I'm very fortunate to find myself in certain rooms.
Daniel Kyri
KYRI: And so for awhile it kind of felt like things were like happening to me. And then from just sort of learning from those experiences in those situations it became something that was like a more active, like, "OK, this is a great story. I want to throw myself completely into that." And so, you know, fast forward you're doing the six hour [Tug of War with Chicago Shakespeare]. And I also feel like every project that I have been fortunate enough to work on. I've learned so much from like every project has been this extensive immersive masterclass. And I love the way that that feels because it feels like I never stop learning. And you know when you get to play and to share stages with fabulous actors like Larry Yando or Allen Gilmore or Lily Mojekwu and these folks who have such loyalty to the present and to the now and to the art. You can't help but steal little things from them.
ARZELL: We absorb everything around us. We absorb everything that they do.
KYRI: Exactly.
ARZELL: We didn't know about the cast list until they announced it to the world. And I was looking at it like: "Allen Gilmore is my dad. Allen Gilmore is my dad, guys! Are you kidding?" Because I just worship that man. I could watch him—I could watch him read the back of a cereal box. That man is amazing.
KYRI: He's mesmerizing.
ARZELL: Especially doing this? Like, now seeing his process, too?
KYRI: You feel so lucky. You're taking notes.
ARZELL: A behind the scenes special.
KYRI: It's a masterclass, every single time. And having the opportunity to work on a play like Monster, you're seeing this sort of adaptation process from book-formatted as a screenplay to an onstage production? So, so, so, so, so interesting. I gained so much perspective and respect for a part of the process that you don't normally get to be a part of as an actor. The thematic core of that show—what it's about is, essentially, a black boy in the prison-industrial complex.
Daniel Kyri (Shedrick Yarkpai) and Allen Gilmore in rehearsal. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Walter Dean Myers wrote it, right?
KYRI: Yeah.
I read it in middle school, I think.
KYRI: I feel like we all read it. [laughing] I mean I was like, "Wait, this can't be the same Monster." I mean, that was just so dope, and to recognize that: you're on a stage in a respected theatrical institution, able to do what you love, but also able to talk about real stuff and important stuff happening now? There's no better way to make art than that.
ARZELL: I feel like I'm in a place where I say no to things. Or, when I first got [to Chicago], every audition it was like, "Go, go, go!" Just for the experience, just to be seen. But now, I'm in a place where I look at something, and I'll read it, or read the play, or read the book, and I'll say: "Yeah. That's not for me." Or, "That's not what I want to represent." Or, if somebody offers something you're like, "This just isn't the type of show that I want to do," or, "this isn't in line with what I'm trying to do with my voice." I know this especially in this particular climate that we're currently living in.
ARZELL: I've become a lot more selective and a lot more political in a lot of ways, about what shows I do and what voice I'm giving to [shows], because even if it's a show that I like, it's like, "What are you casting me as?" I'm not going to be that token black person. Or, I'm not going to be this character saying this, because I know I can't say I'm behind it. Before, I would say yes to everything. But now I'm not. I'm being a lot more selective because I am discovering what I want my voice in my career voice to be used for.
KYRI: I think for me, that instinct that you develop when you are navigating auditions and the material that's being passed your way—I have learned the thing about me is, it's less a hyper-cognitive decision-making and more it's just—
ARZELL: It's not cerebral.
KYRI: Yeah, even if I go out for an audition for something, if it doesn't affect me or doesn't speak to me the way Objects in the Mirror does, or Monster does, I instinctively find myself not as free, not as open. There's a connective tissue that happens when you find material that just fits. It feels right. And when you encounter [that type of material], you find yourself throwing yourself into it more and more and more. And those tend to be the roles that I book as an actor and performer.
Whether it's a recent change or something you've always done: What do you think an actor's responsibility to the community…like how can. Like how specifically…like how to be good—
KYRI: Like a good ally or voice or—?
Well, how do you conceive of your role as both a Chicagoan and an actor? Does that—
ARZELL: See, it's tricky. As an actor in general, your sole job is to realize someone's vision and be a vessel for that. And to work. That's your goal: to work. And so you want to say yes to everything. And when you turn things around and say no, it's like, "I'll never work again!" It's like a big drop in the pit of your stomach. But at the same time your heart is like: "No. This is the right thing, because you weren't fully behind that." And I think that's important. You have a certain responsibility, too, because you determine what the narrative is or what the political voice is. You are a part of the movement—like, you are the revolution. Nothing will change if you aren't on the right side of it, or if you're just letting it just glaze over. Many people do that! And it's no knock on them, that's just—that's their choice. I just realized that that's not my choice. And I've come to realize that the shows that I patronize or the shows that I go see, I don't go out, like—quite honestly, if I see a show that's an all white cast, I'm like, "I'm good." I'm not going to go watch it—because why? You know? Unless it's specifically written that way for a very specific reason. Then, OK. Dope. This is what they're doing. But if you whitewash a show? There's no reason why there can't be one person that's not hetero and white. And so—it may not make a huge mark—because usually I'm paying the industry rate or getting a comp anyway [laughing]—but I feel like karmically, it makes a ripple. Because it is me taking my spirit and my voice out of it. I can't support that.
I think that's really smart. As a white guy theatermaker, there are times where I'll be in a room with all or mostly white people who will suggest starting a company or producing a certain show. And then people arrive at the moment where they're like, "Now, how do we make sure it's diverse, representative?" We start from the top-down, when it seems like there's a much earlier choice to be made about living a less homogenous life: am I attending shows that are specific about their voice? Am I supporting artists of color's work? What friends am I making? So, I think that's really cool that you say that about being specific as an audience member.
ARZELL: And I think—oh, we're about to go down this rabbit hole. I feel like it goes so much deeper, too, because we can only do what we can do, right? And that's why even as of late I'm more on the other side of the table. I've been doing a lot of choreography stuff, because the change happens with those people. I can be an actor going for jobs any day. But, if there aren't the right people on the other side of the table to take a chance and cast me, then it's all to no avail. So that's why I've been trying to integrate myself more on the other side to be a voice of change. That's why I love working so closely with Sean Graney, because he addressed—like, two years ago, he totally flipped the game and was like: "You know what? This season"—he straight up said—"I don't want more than two straight white people in my shows this year. I want it to be a representation of the world we live in. We need different voices. We need to stop hearing from the same people and the same perspectives." It's all the more I can do that I might be a part of that [new] voice and be a part of that change. I think it will just cause ripples. There's that responsibility, like this is where we come in on the journey in the revolution, in the progression. Because the people that were before us, that fought for us to even be seen, they've done their job. Now it's our chance, now that we are being seen, to be like, "OK, now this is a crack, I'm gonna come kick this door down, blow it wide open." You know what I mean? It's so disheartening when you see a show that could have been so good if you had a different voice or if it had a splash of spice or something else in it that just made it. It's not just a race thing, it's a voice thing. What does this show say?
KYRI: I think when we talk about it in context of Chicago Theater, the conversation that's been dominating artistic processes of late has been this conversation of diversity and diversifying. A lot of times, it boils down to essentially nothing more than a buzzword, and that's because we get tripped up thinking that visibility and representation are the same thing. And I don't think that they necessarily are. Representation boils down to all levels of the artistic and creative process. It has to be more than what's on the stage. Me being in an adaptation of like Romeo and Juliet—it's visibility in a way that someone in the audience can see someone up on stage that looks like them. But where the representation comes in, it's just a little bit deeper than that. It has more roots. I am sort of a part of underground music here in Chicago, and also painters—I have an underground art space that I run out of Pilsen. And encountering artists of color, Latinx artists, trans artists, all of those folks, I developed this mentality that being an artist and being an activist aren't mutually exclusive things. I think a lot of the times they have to be the same thing, and to be an artist that's on the pulse of things like forward-thinking and you know someone who who's truly about their craft, you have to be talking about them, you have to stand for something, I think. Especially now. Especially when all of these things are happening outside of our that we feel are outside of our control. But there are ways in which we can exert control by saying, "Hey, let's talk about this. Let's be dialogue-seekers, in order to make change on these different levels." I am focused on the intersection of the lines on which these things exist and where they cross over, where these things—
Lily Mojekwu and Daniel Kyri in OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR. Photo by Liz Lauren.
When you say "these things," what—
KYRI: For instance, right now I am I'm in the process of writing and creating with Bea Cordelia. She's a trans artist here in Chicago. She's a writer. Brilliant speaker. Honestly she's just brilliant as all get out. And she and I just filmed our project that we're co-writing, producing, all this stuff. And it has the representation factor that I'm talking about—where [the project] exists on the intersection is that it's a story about a trans white woman with a queer black man and a Latina trans woman. And in that one character of the Latina trans woman, you're getting a person of color, a trans person, and a woman in a female-identifying story. That's where our stories intersect. And that's where we find the stories that need to be told: where issues intersect and overlap.
Do you feel your different artistic endeavors and roles and interests are compartmentalized or integrated? Daniel, I looked you up on Facebook—
ARZELL: [laughs]
KYRI: Oh?
—and saw pictures of you with the soul collective—
KYRI: So, I recently did a show at City Winery with the Chicago Soul Collective. We are a group of musicians and actors and comedians largely based here in Chicago. And—so, my first love actually is music. They were like, "We have this really great idea for a for a movie." And the name of the movie is A Voice in the Dark and we will be filming at the end of the summer. And Samantha Bailey—who just had a huge success with her web series Brown Girls—she is in the process of co-writing with them. I've been working on the music element, so they've been my collaborators. And so, Chicago Soul Collective was born because we were like OK we need to create buzz for this and we need to get funding for it. The story is it's about a queer black studio artist in the 1960s, played by moi. So, it does some of that [intersectionality] work as well because it talks about this fictional studio in that era of music-making and the community that came along with that. And what we want to try and put on a screen is this little bubble of a community of marginalized people who come together and created a lasting, powerful, healing space for a moment in time, and the importance of that community and building that community.
You'd also mentioned painters. What other kinds of artists are you connected with?
KYRI: So, the art space that I run out in Pilsen, it's called the Dojo. It kind of started from a place of me and a bunch of folks that I run the space with getting out of school and being like, "OK, what do we do now with these art degrees?" I didn't want it to just be about theater and actors, or just about musicians and singers, because I also had friends who were photographers, or cinematographers, or writers, or painters. So, we started curating these events that are interdisciplinary and multicultural. You walk in and there's usually a gallery set up with different painters or artists or photography. We also have an installation room that we set up for installation artists. And then we usually have music, or comedy, or spoken word, or storytelling, or sometimes dance. I just think that—like I said: Art exists on an intersection. I think the best art is born out of collaboration. I mean because that's what we do as theater artists and as activists.
I love that you both touch on the importance of what kind of art you support and consume, besides theater. Sometimes, I think I fall into the trap of forgetting there's any art besides the type of art I make.
KYRI: The danger I feel like we all face—especially in Chicago, because segregation is such a huge issue in the city—and I'm from the South Side, born and raised, you know what I'm saying? It's like a different world. It's a different city. This Chicago that I navigate most of the time now is not the Chicago I grew up in. And so the trap that we fall into is building this thing around us that's very homogenous. It doesn't offer another world view. But once we allow ourselves to get to these other places where we can collaborate with other artists—these other mediums or platforms or whatever—there's more texture. The world you're trying to build gains more color, more perspective, because that artist tells a story in a completely different way from how you tell the story. The possibilities just kind of blossom from there and grow, like, infinitely bigger. So, I've always had that instinct [to work with other disciplines], because storytellers who approach the story from different perspectives or angles or backgrounds are only going to make the conversation better.
What work would you like to create in the future? Do you have any dream roles or projects?
ARZELL:I'm always thinking about the next thing. Since I was a kid, I was thinking about what's next while I'm doing the current thing. Which is why I'm always doing six things at the same time. As far as dream projects go I want there to be—there are no sitcoms filmed in Chicago. There are dramas. Chicago's a drama city. Why aren't there any comedies here, or sitcoms? I mean, there used to be, in the 90s, there used to be real life comedies that were set in Chicago, like Family Matters and, like, little family shows and things like that. But there's nothing [now]. And my dream is to be on a sitcom. It's really strange. Before I came to Chicago I was a character actor, comedy guy. Since I've been in Chicago, it's all dramatic roles. And I thought, "I gotta pick better audition pieces or something."
KYRI: [laughs]
ARZELL: Like, I am a funny guy! I want to make people laugh! I'm good with dramatic—I love dramatic roles, because, I mean, that's our therapy, right? That's how I deal with the world. It's primal. You release all that through someone else, a person you created. I want Alyson Hannigan's career. This woman does not have to work another day in her life, because she had eight seasons with Buffy and then ten seasons with How I Met Your Mother, and they're both in constant syndication internationally. She literally doesn't have to do anything for the rest of her life. She's been making people laugh for ten years. To me, that is amazing. You know? I want my Buffy. I want my How I Met Your Mother. My ideal life would be filming something during the day, and going to rehearsal that night, and that day, you know, popping in on the show that I choreographed or whatever. That's the perfect world.
KYRI: That's lit.
ARZELL: And why not?! I feel like I am training myself to do that, as well. And like I was telling you, I was working on six shows at the same time. I've been training myself to multitask. I'm ready for that moment when the sitcom comes.
KYRI: That's what we in Chicago call "hustle."
ARZELL: That's Detroit hustle, honey.
KYRI: Well you know, I'm part Detroit.
ARZELL: That's that Detroit—
KYRI: I know all about it.
ARZELL: Everyone in Detroit is working on, like, twelve different things.
KYRI: That's every artist I know, though. All the musicians here [in Chicago], they don't play.
ARZELL: You have to [hustle.] Because in the world today, we need it even more, because you're feeling so much. All of these feelings that will be poured out of me in these different outlets. And if I didn't have this in all those projects…I don't know how Muggles made it through all of the shootings, the police shootings, because I, during all of that during that—I mean it's been happening for a while. But during the big surge of—
Of visibility?
ARZELL: Yeah, of visibility. During the course of that, I was doing Scottsboro Boys. And I was doing Hairy Ape. And I was working on choreography for these things. And if I did not have those shows and those people that I was in those shows with—which were majority young black men—like, I don't know how I would have made it through that time.
KYRI: I have to say—
ARZELL: You know what I mean?
KYRI: —that is very valuable, because I think that also when we talk about visibility versus representation or whatever. I mean it's also, like, we have to protect our artists in some ways because the crazy thing is, being a black man in America right now, or any marginalized group, in this country, it's being able to say, "I'm starring in a Goodman show on the Albert stage. But when I ride my bike home in Pilsen, I still get nervous whenever I pass a cop car." That feeling doesn't go away. And being in shows, or working on a project where you're able to talk about it, or touch on those themes, or even find community and reprieve with other performers of color or whatever.
I'm starring in a Goodman show on the Albert stage. But when I ride my bike home in Pilsen, I still get nervous whenever I pass a cop car.
Breon: Like the night that Philando Castile [was killed.]
DK: It was traumatic.
Breon: It was during the remount of Hairy Ape. And I just—because I'm away from home to my I'm the only one that's out here—all my family is in Detroit. And I'm thinking, when all these things are going on I'm thinking about my mom because I know that she's worrying. And I'm her only son, too. When that happened—we all [the cast of Hairy Ape] had a group chat. And I said to them, "I need my brothers right now." I just put that message out and we met at the theater at 5:30pm, like an hour before our call. Just sitting there. Not even talking a little bit. Just being with each other. Like, that was everything to me, because I was like, "I don't know if I can do this show." Especially with Monty's vision of The Hairy Ape, what we actually tackled in that show. "How are we going to do the show tonight?" There's a moment in the show where the lead character Hank, played by Julian Parker, he's getting choked by a police officer. And I watch it as a pedestrian, and for a hot second on this a day, it took me out of it, because I was looking at him and I was like: he could actually be in this situation where he leaves this theater. You know what I mean? And I had to snap back out of it before I completely lost it. You know? And that's what we need. Having that community there was everything. That's what we need.
KYRI: Yes.
ARZELL: That's how we deal. That's how artists deal like that. That's why we have to be able to be represented. We have to be able to tell the stories that we need to tell, [otherwise] you're stifling a voice that needs to be heard.
KYRI: It's all levels. Representation means that it affects all levels of the creative process. What you're speaking to right now is just so real, because you know when [Philando Castile died], I was doing Tug of War at Chicago Shakes. And it was fabulous and wonderful and brilliant—the entire production was and is. And as much as I learned from it, my rock through that show ended up being Karen Aldridge—who is brilliant and lovely and wonderful—because she is going through the same things, or feeling the same things that I was. Finding that connection is what helped me keep going.
Breon Arzell, Daniel Kyri and Allen Gilmore in OBJECT IN THE MIRROR. Photo by Liz Lauren.
KYRI: Those things are important. We have to protect our community in Chicago. And part of that service is done by adequate representation on our stages. Period. You know?
ARZELL: Yeah, sorry I don't know. I don't mean to take us, but here it is.
KYRI: Yeah. That stuff is hard. And I didn't want to see the video, but the way that the Internet works now, stuff like that is so hard to avoid. And I was alone when that happened, and it was traumatic. It was absolutely traumatic. I'm saying I couldn't sleep. And finding that community on stage or during the rehearsal process is vastly helpful you know? I don't think I ever answered your question because it got really real.
ARZELL: Hashtag "goals?"
KYRI: [laughs] I can answer or that or if you want to [continue], I'm chill.
Well, I mean I'd like to hear that too. But you both lead me to think: are there other ways besides community (if you can even compartmentalize that), that you recharge? Like, I read books. Things like that. Do you like to be alone, sit at a beach—? To maintain artistic health?
KYRI: It depends. I need different things at different times. I am an avid reader and love books. I spent the majority of my childhood like in a book. Best time of my life. [They laugh] But I love reading new things. My homie Alex Weisman, he always sends me book recommendations, so that's helpful.
He always has those Facebook posts, about like, Murakami.
KYRI: He's always on top of it! [Kyri claps with each syllable for emphasis.] He's always on top of it! But. For me, the thing that I go through to recharge is music.
KYRI: Creating music, writing music, having jam sessions, drum circles, you know? Also, the work that I do with the Dojo is a recharge, because I have a space to help facilitate other artists and see how they're approaching conversation and dialogue. And I get so much inspiration from seeing how folks navigate an event or art show that is centered around the positive representation of bodies of color, and seeing how that plays out in different ways. It's so healing. More healing than you could possibly imagine. Being able to see black and brown bodies moving in space in a celebratory manner is that recharge, because it does feel like community. Those are the ways that I recuperate, when I need to just take a deep breath and just watch something or see something or experience something, that's how I do it.
ARZELL: [after a pause] Baking.
KYRI: OK!
ARZELL: Is probably mine. I love cooking, baking, creating. Like just Monday night after Wiz closed and I had the family, I call it. I call them "the immediate family." But we had a family dinner. I got some of my close friends and they came over and we just had dinner. When they came over I was, like, in the kitchen frying chicken [he begins to mime rhythmically moving a frying pan over a stove] like my mom or something like somebody's auntie, my hair wrapped, calling like, "Get you a plate!" [DK and Ramsey laugh.] Straight up. Straight up. And everybody came. I just smiled. Everyone said "I just followed the smell of chicken to your door." Because we're on the ground floor and the window was open. "I literally just followed the smell of fried chicken from the street all the way up to where your apartment is," and I was like, "Hm. Well, there you go. Plates over there." That's just what I do. It's one of those things that I just do because, I mean—my sister…my older sister and I used to…that's funny, I'm just now realizing, in this moment: my sister and I used to bake a cake, like all the time whenever we were like upset or we would have extra time. We would go to the store or go to the corner store get like a mix of like Duncan Hines or whatever. Just straight up just bake like a thirteen by nine sheet cake together.
KYRI: [laughing] Yes!
ARZELL: And then usually eat it that same night. [laughs] Me and my older sister, we would always do that. It's just funny that I'm just now realizing that I cook and bake now, when things are a little off. Because I don't follow recipes. I cook by smell, how it feels and smells. I don't really do, like, measurements.
KYRI: So real. That's so real.
ARZELL: I feel like, I'll see the recipe, what goes in something, and be like, "OK, cool." Well I might try get consistencies. And solitude [is a way I recharge.] Because I feel like it's actually not only as an actor but as my personality, I'm always on, you know what I mean? Like no matter where I am, on stage or off, like I feel like I'm always on because I'm always having to make someone feel comfortable or pleased or like entertain my guests just I was just who I am. I actually discovered this when I was on tour because it was like four of us on tour always around each other. Eat, drink, slept, did shows, traveled – everything together. So I started taking one day a week. That was Sunday which was usually that we didn't have to like change locations or anything. I just told my group, "OK. On every Sunday, I'm not going to talk. I'm not going to talk to you. Please don't talk to me. It's not anything personal, it's just I just need a day to decompress. To reset and reboot." Like, I didn't go on Facebook. I didn't look at anything social media-wise. I just watched like five movies, or listen to a complete album or discography of one artist. It was just about being with me. Because people who come from larger families, we forget about ourselves, we forget about self-care, since we're always aiming to please somebody else. And people may think it's selfish, but it's like, "No, it's OK to take the time for you, because if you don't, you're no good to anybody." [Kyri snaps.] Don't give seventy percent of yourself because you're tired or you give seventy percent because your mind is thinking about five different things. Give them 100 percent of you—and the only way you can do that is by taking the time for you, to take care of you. So sit, go in your room, close the door, drink chamomile and just stare at the wall if you want to. But if that's what you need to do, do it. And there's nothing wrong with that, you don't need to feel bad about that. The world will keep spinning. The issues will be right there when you open that door.
KYRI: Right where you left them. Right where you left them.
ARZELL: Nothing's going to change. The world is not going to implode in just 24 hours or even 12 hours as you do this. Take the time for you. When I started doing that it was like it was a game changer. I realized that being on tour in a foreign country—my energy was different, because, when you're always on, you start to resent—to bottle things up. And so I noticed before I was doing it, I would always carry a little something with me during the day. If somebody did something the other day, it was in the back of my mind. But once I started taking that break to just go, everything was fresh, there wasn't any baggage with me. It was truly a reboot. That's mine. That's my recharge. Just being completely selfish one day or for a chunk of time, just self-care.
KYRI: Hashtag "self-care Sunday."
Now I'm reflecting on my own choices, like—
ARZELL: Because you get lost! Because in this hustle life that we have, it's about always moving, but. But whenever I have a day off and people were like, "Oh, what are you doing all day?" Like, nothing. I'm sitting. I'm literally not leaving my room. They're like, "What? Are you going to waste your day off?" You know six days out of the week, I'm always moving. On this here seventh day? I'm doing nothing.
If God rested, then I—
ARZELL: I am doing nothing. Because my life is ripping and running. I don't need to run errands, because I'm running errands when I'm going from one rehearsal to the next. I stop off and get groceries, or I'm off to do this. I'm not doing it on my day off. I'm taking the time for me and doing nothing.
Daniel Kyri in OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Before you have to go to call, Daniel, do you want to talk about "hashtag goals," since we skipped?
KYRI: I do think that I want to travel for work at some point. I've lived and operated out of Chicago my whole life since I was a shorty on the south side. [Ramsey Carey silently cheers.]
Where on the south side are you from?
KYRI: I grew up on 67th and East End, which is just east of Stony Island by Jeffrey where it turns into Lake Shore Drive over there. A very interesting neighborhood to grow up in. Actually, [to Ramsey] where are you from?
CAREY: The south side. Washington Park.
KYRI: Washington Park. Very interesting neighborhood—like, when I was younger, I would always take walks with my older sister, and you would start to see these really dope houses and these sprawling manors and stuff the more east you went. But then a few blocks west, that's where I lived, it was—not that. You know what I'm saying? And that also gave me, I think, a little bit of perspective on Chicago. Because like I said earlier, going downtown when I was young? It felt like going to a different city. And so I think that a lot of my inclination when I talk about making art intersectional is about desegregating the way we live together. Desegregating the way that we view art. The way that we make art. Because so much of it is so compartmentalized, so cut off from the other. So all I want to do is I want to make. I want to seek dialogue with other people and I want to start to heal those rifts, the societal divides between us. A lot of the problems that we see bubbling up now are from the lack of understanding between, like, police and communities of color. There's such a history of that. And it's something that we feed into constantly and consistently. I think that division creates most, if not all, of our problems. I want to make work that breaks down those divides. And I think I found a way to do it.
Breon, did you also have any other final stuff you wanted to mention?
ARZELL: I kind of decided to lay off the choreography for a second. Which is strange.
KYRI: What?
ARZELL: I know, I know, I know. Only because I felt people started calling me for choreography when I kind of just want to be in the show. Chicago likes to pigeonhole people. Chicago likes to put people in categories. They go, "Oh, so you're a choreographer" and it's like, "No, I'm an actor first." Lately, companies have called me in for interviews for choreographing a show and I'm like, "When did you have auditions to audition for this show? I would've loved to audition for this show!" So, I'm trying to shortcut that and not be [only] a choreographer, so I might take a little break. Just because I want to concentrate more on film, on-camera stuff and making this Chicago comedy happen. And, also where I'm trying to put together, I want to do a live In Living Color experience, like the show, where it's original comedic sketches, like a sketch comedy show. Because we haven't had a show like that since that show. And I want to do these events where it's one night only. I'm going to call it The Barbecue.
KYRI: That's fabulous.
ARZELL: It's because we're always talking about how a person [in unison] "ain't invited to the barbecue."
KYRI: [in unison] "Ain't invited to the barbecue!"
ARZELL: Patent pending Breon Arzell Jackson. Just in case anyone trying to steal it—I know you, Kyle, I know you got the recording. [everyone laughs] And that's kind of like a project with primarily artists of color. And for it to be about things [other than race]. Of course, there will be some that are racially based—that's who we are, we can't avoid it. But that's not all it is. One of the happiest times last year was being in You on the Moors Now, because I wasn't playing a black character. I was just playing a character. I wasn't black in that show. It was amazing because for once I can just be somebody, like I don't have to carry the entire weight of my race and my history with me. I can just play and just be. So yeah, creating that type of experience I'm trying to be a part of letting artists just be artists. Just let me act. Just let me act. Yeah. Don't tell me I can't be in Anna Karenina. Why? Just, let me act. Don't put a label or borders on what I can do.
Breon Arzell, Director Chuck Smith and Daniel Kyri in rehearsal. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Finally, what is one thing you've learned during the Objects process, and/or is there anything you hope audiences learn or take away from seeing it?
KYRI: The thing I have been meditating on a lot working on this story is the importance of recognizing the individual. So often, as a society, we paint things with broad brush strokes. Generalizing entire communities or issues to such a degree that we can no longer empathize with the humans involved. For example, in the news, a victim of police brutality may be described as a "thug" or "monster" or another moniker that connotes some unknowable trait that almost always equal inherent aggression or violence. This act strips a person of their individuality, their humanity. And it creates distance, a barrier between a largely unsympathetic public and, more often than not, the marginalized folks at the center of these narratives. We see this happening even in the national dialogue about Syrian refugees, undocumented peoples of the Latinx community, the Black Lives Matter movement (right wing media calling them "terrorists") etc. The language we use to discuss these issues, often, creates distance from the people involved. I believe Objects does some work to address that. Because we see a refugee story through the lens of this complicated family, we are actively putting a face to the crisis. We focus on the individual, the living and breathing human beings at the center of the narrative. And by doing that we begin chipping away at the "us and them" narrative. The individual people and all of their triumphs and failures and heartaches and joyful moments and the very real pain and love between them is what we see and empathize with. I hope audiences will take some of that with them when they leave the theater. I am hopeful that this kind of representation has a ripple effect for anyone who views Objects in the Mirror. That we cannot un-see the humanity in these types of stories. That when we see these headlines or video clips in the media, we think of the individual people who have to survive these things and we are able, as a society, to find our empathy for each other again. This is where our power as theater artists lies. The process for mounting this production has intimately reacquainted me to this truth."
ARZELL: It's not so much that I learned it, but this process was definitely an affirmation of the power of simplicity. Sometimes all you need is to tell the story. And, not only do I want audiences to walk away with a greater understanding of what is going on in the world around us, and a deeper sense of humanity and compassion, but also this quote from Shedrick: "What good is my life, without me?"
OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR runs through June 4th. For more information visit goodmantheatre.org.
Breon Arzell6 Charles Smith3 Chuck Smith5 Daniel Kyri4 Featured Stories161 Goodman Theatre81
Inside HER MAJESTY'S WILL Part One: Adapting the Novel
Inside HER MAJESTY'S WILL Part Two: Designing the Elizabethan Era for a Modern Audience
Kyle Whalen
Kyle Whalen is a Chicago writer and theatremaker. He has written for PerformInk and Chicago Stage Standard. He is a company member of Commission Theatre Co. Follow him on Instagram/Twitter @whalenschmalen.


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Students relocated due to severe storm
On Nov. 5, severe weather hit Millcreek Township and the City of Erie, damaging buildings, tearing down trees and costing two local men their lives.
Beginning at 6 p.m., the area began experiencing heavy rainfall — totaling 3 inches in just over an hour — and winds up to 90 miles per hour. This gave way to a tornado that touched down near Sterrettania Road, intensified towards Interstate 79 and eventually came to an end near Greengarden Boulevard.
The speed and severity of the storm caused city drains to be overfilled, leading to backups in the system and the eventual flooding of several homes and businesses. One Erie home was hit so severely that two men drowned in the 8 feet of water found in their house.
Effects on the Mercyhurst University campus were much less severe and were limited to minor building damage.
"Just about every building on campus was affected in some form or another," said director of facilities Thomas Fabrizio. "However, our campus fared extremely well considering the magnitude of the storm."
Zurn Hall and the Audrey Hirt Academic Center were the two academic buildings to experience the most damage. Residential buildings that were hit especially hard include 3525 Lewis, 3523 Lewis, 3830 Lewis and 3924 Briggs.
Students most commonly reported wet carpets, flooded hallways and a subsequent foul odor. Sophomore dance major Emily Black was among Lewis residents to experience such damages.
"I got back from rehearsal and I was nervous that our apartment would be flooded because we live on the bottom floor, but when I got back everything looked fine until I walked into my bedroom," said Black. "The carpet was soaked through with water like it had come up through the floor."
University employees responded to students quickly and helped students who were in need of alternative housing.
"Residence Life staff worked with students in the harder-hit buildings to relocate them quickly to dry accommodations in Baldwin and McAuley Halls," said Megan McKenna, director of residence life and student conduct. "Some students decided to stay in their current apartments if they felt comfortable; some students stayed with friends that night and then were relocated on Monday."
With the goal of getting all relocated students back into their apartments by Nov. 10, cleaning and reparative efforts began the following morning.
Aramark, the company that is responsible for Mercyhurst facilities, worked alongside ServiceMaster and Mammoth Restoration companies to dry out, sanitize and replace carpeting in affected areas. High-power dryers and heaters were also used to speed up the process.
Cleanup efforts were quick and successful due to the cooperation of students with their resident assistants as well as facilities and residence life employees.
"The students that we have been communicating with were very helpful and cooperative during this process which is more than helpful," said McKenna. "This is not ideal for anyone and we know that this can be a frustrating process especially to be relocated and out of your home, so to speak, so I do appreciate how cooperative everyone has been."
Black shared similar sentiments and said she is thankful for the help that she received.
"The school was really helpful," said Black. After we reported it, they got someone to remove the water just a couple hours later. We are back to normal now, thankfully."
MEPP, SafeNet and MU Counseling host 'Relationship Dance'
Erie Police Academy utilizes VR
Strategic Intelligence class briefs projects to U.S. decision makers
CPA shares experience at Business Club event
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month
Students explore service


Point Loma is a lovely seaside neighborhood found on a peninsula in San Diego County. "Loma" meaning slope in Spanish, therefore, Point Loma couldn't be a more suitable name for the city, which generally comprises of slopes. Placed minutes away from Downtown San Diego, with quick access to the sea and San Diego Bay, Point Loma gives an interesting shoreline getaway to its 45,000 inhabitants (counting Ocean Beach occupants). You can revel in the majority of this as well, with the assistance of Point Loma Realtor® Anthony Andaya from Andaya Homes.


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Olympic dream comes true for young b-boys and b-girls in Buenos Aires
Photos: OIS/IOC
The third edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) kicked off tonight with a spectacular Opening Ceremony in front of hundreds of thousands of people at the Obelisco de Buenos Aires at the heart of the Argentinian capital.
Breaking, which is making its Olympic debut at the Games, was mentioned throughout the one-and-a-half hour broadcast, and for the 24 b-boys and b-girls who will be at the centre of the sports world in Buenos Aires, the experience is a dream come true.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach addressed the massive crowd, which included athletes and heads of state, that were given free entry to view the spectacle.
"We all come from different parts of the world and have different cultures but we are all united by the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect," the 1976 Montreal Olympic gold-medal-winning fencer said. "Guided by these Olympic values, each one of you [athletes] makes a difference in sport and in life. And this experience will stay with you for all your life."
Argentinian President Mauricio Macri officially opened the Games ahead of the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games will run from 6-18 October and feature 4,000 young athletes between the ages of 15 and 18 from more than 200 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). They will participate in 239 events in 32 sports and 36 disciplines.
For the first time in Olympic history, the number of female and male athletes competing will be the same. Alongside Breaking, three other sports are making their debuts on the Olympic stage: Roller Sports, Karate and Sport Climbing. New disciplines and events are also joining the programme, including Kiteboarding, Beach Handball, BMX Freestyle and Acrobatic Gymnastics.
Breaking matches perfectly with the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games: it is athletic, youthful, creative, urban and popular with young people across the globe. In addition, breaking is universal. While its origins lie in the United States, today's top-level b-boys and b-girls come from all corners of the world – the 24 breakers competing in Buenos Aires, for example, represent 18 countries in total.
At the YOG, a number of big names from the Breaking scene (Crazy Legs and Storm ring a bell?) will support the running of the competitions, including the judging. In the run-up to the YOG, the same experts also helped define the qualifying system, which provided for the first ever online qualification process in Olympic history, open to any b-boy or b-girl across the globe.
In Buenos Aires, the breakers will compete in 1vs1 battles on 7 and 8 October, with 2vs2 mixed-gender battles taking place on 10 and 11 October. Click here for the full schedule. The last three days of competition will be streamed live on www.breakingforgold.com and on www.olympicchannel.com.
The sports at the YOG will be spread across four parks to ensure the entire city can enjoy the action. The Breaking events will take place in the Urban Park, where the public will be also able to join in Breaking initiation sessions.


Chairman of the Board of "National Research Cardiac Surgery Centre" JSC, graduate of the II Moscow State Medical Institute named after N.I. Pirogov, cardiac surgeon of international level, head freelance cardiac surgeon of the Ministry of Health of the RK, Doctor of Medical Science.
•	2006 г. - "Kazakstan Respublikasynyn Densaulyk saktau іsіnіn uzdіgі" Order.
•	"Densaulyk saktau іsіne koskan ulesі ushin" Order.
•	2012 г. – Winner of "Patriot of the Year" Title in the V National Forum of patriots of the country.
•	2012 г. – Winner of "Altyn Adam - Man of the Year" National Award in "Physician of the Year 2012" category.
Doctor of Medical Science, graduate of the II Moscow State Medical Institute named after N.I. Pirogov, cardiac surgeon of international level, head freelance cardiac surgeon under Ministry of Health of the RK.
He began his career in 1981 in the Tula city hospital, where he was an intern after graduating from medical institute in Moscow.
Then in 1982-1984 he worked at the Children's Hospital #3 of Frunze city, in 1984-1985 he worked as a cardiac surgeon at the Republican clinical hospital in Kyrgyzstan.
From 1985 to 1994 he was a cardiac surgeon at the National Center of Cardiology and Care at the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union he went to Turkey, where he worked at "Sani Konukoglu" Medical Center, and then he was invited to Kazakhstan to organize cardiac surgeon service.
Early in his career in 1984 - 1985 he passed clinical residency at the department of surgery at the National Center of Cardiology under Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan.
In 2003 he gained a diploma of candidate of medical science at the Bakoulev Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow. In 2010 the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation awarded the degree of Doctor of Medical Science.
In order to master new medical technologies he increased the qualification in the Kaunas Medical Institute, Bakoulev Center in Moscow, Kazakh Medical Academy in Astana, Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague. He passed training for heart transplantation in Vilnius, program for surgical training in University of Freiburg in Germany, training for valve restoration in Belgium, training for heart failure care in USA and various master classes in Astana. In addition, he took a course in "Public Health Care".
From 2010 to present he is the Chairman of the Board of "National Research Cardiac Surgery Centre" JSC of National Medical Holding of Nazarbayev University.
In 2006 he was awarded "Kazakstan Respublikasynyn Densaulyk saktau isinіn uzdіgі" Badge, in 2011 "Densaulyk saktau isine koskan ulesі ushin" and in 2012 "Patriot of the Year" Title in the V National Forum of patriots of the country, he was awarded "Altyn adam - Man of the Year" National Award in "Physician of the Year 2012" category. In the same year he was awarded "Parasat" Kazakhstan Order, in December 2013 he was awarded "Kazakhstannyn Enbek Eri" Title.


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Two Katrina stories
In the course of one day, two separate news stories from the Katrina-struck state of Louisiana affected me deeply. One almost made me cry; the other almost made me puke.
The first one is spreading over the internet quickly and it's from September 4th, when the rescue wasn't underway yet. The speaker is one Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, just by Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, being interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press. For people who are saying that this is no time to point fingers, Mr Broussard has the perfect answer:
Why did it happen? Who needs to be fired? And believe me, they need to be fired right away, because we still have weeks to go in this tragedy. We have months to go. We have years to go. And whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chain-sawed off and we've got to start with some new leadership.
Excellent point: if we can all agree that what happened in the first few days after the levees broke (read: nothing) can be categorized as a grade A fuck-up, why are the lunatics still running the asylum? Surely things can't get much worse than this?
Broussard continues, saying also that
FEMA needs to be empowered to do the things it was created to do. It needs to come somewhere, like New Orleans, with all of its force immediately, without red tape, without bureaucracy, act immediately with common sense and leadership, and save lives. Forget about the property. We can rebuild the property. It's got to be able to come in and save lives.
Another good point. Geraldo Rivera, standing in the New Orleans Convention Center with a black baby on his arm, begging Fox News reporters to explain to him why there was a checkpoint on the bridge preventing these people from getting to food, water and medicine, made the point implicitly: property is apparently more valuable than human life. If I lived in New Orleans and was lucky enough to have gotten out, I would have urged any of my fellow New Orleanians to break into my home, take my supplies, steal my car and drive it the hell out of there.
But wasn't local government also to blame? Why didn't the mayor of New Orleans evacuate everybody well in advance? Again, Mr Broussard has the answer.
MR. RUSSERT: Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn't the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn't they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?
MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.
As we know now, those hoofs did not belong to the cavalry, but to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And as a first sign of the horror that was to follow, Mr Broussard had the following story to relate.
The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night. Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.
This death cannot be attributed to meteorology or to an act of God. This man's mother died because of gross incompetence or, to use another term, as some have suggested, criminal negligence. And there will be thousands of stories like this. Is this not a time to point fingers? Like hell it isn't. People died by the hundreds, maybe thousands, through sheer incompetence. The issue is not preventing such mishaps in the future, the issue is bringing the assholes responsible now to justice now.
On to the next story, this one a bit less known. The small city of St Gabriel, Louisiana, population 6000, is home to a makeshift morgue in a local warehouse. CNN's Christiane Amanpour reported that refrigerated trucks full of bodies were driving into town. Not all the townspeople were happy with this development, citing a possible drop in property value, as well as health risks, as reasons. Personally, I'd pay good money to live in a town that did its bit in the disaster relief. Or rather, I might have, until Amanpour interviewed one Ms Theresa Roy, owner of a small grocery store. Ms Roy remarked (video here):
I'd rather have them here dead than alive and, you know, at least they're not robbing you and you don't have to worry about feeding them.
That's true. The dead three-year-old girl being driven to your town in a truck might otherwise have held you up at gunpoint and forced you to hand her all the chewing gum you had. It's a good thing she's dead, isn't it.
Ms Theresa Roy, it is a rare thing for me to hate a fellow human being, what else a total stranger, but you have managed to make it happen. Your remark was revolting in any context, but at a time like this, it is particularly loathsome. What you said next was ironic in the most bitter way possible:
They have to go somewhere, these are people's families. They have to have, they still have to have dignity.
They do indeed, Ms Roy. But you just took it away from them. I hope the ghosts of all of those dead people come to haunt you in your dreams.
Posted by cronopio at 01:10 PM, September 08, 2005


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Case Studies/IMCA Client H
IMCA Client H
H had been a resident at a Cardiff nursing home since 2012. A referral was made to the IMCA Team in respect of a proposed Long Term Move of Accommodation decision.
Barriers faced in being heard:
The IMCA attended the home and reviewed H's file. The IMCA also spoke to staff and met with H.
While accessing H's care file and records, the IMCA noted that a Capacity Assessment in respect of a Long Term Move of Accommodation had not been carried out, a DoLS Authorisation was not in place, and there was a DNAR in place since October 2016. H had no family or friends who are willing or able to be consulted with on the decision but there had been no consultation held with and IMCA.
The IMCA was informed by staff at the home that H had been in bed, in a darkened room, with the curtains drawn and the lights out and without any evidence of mental or physical stimulation since 2012. H was able to communicate but staff reported that he had made a conscious decision not to engage.
Advocacy undertaken:
The IMCA identified that there was no documentary evidence in H's notes or in the Care Plans of best interest meetings being held to discuss H's situation.
The IMCA contacted the DoLS team and H's GP to discuss H's situation.
The IMCA attempted to contact The Health Board Nurse Assessor on several occasions in order to raise concerns about the lack of mental and physical stimulation but was unable to speak with her about this case for some weeks.
Following IMCA involvement a DoLS Authorisation was applied for and authorised and a referral for a Paid RPR was made by the DoLS team.
Following concerns raised by the appointed IMCA, H's GP agreed to review the DNAR in place, and a SMT referral was made to the IMCA team.
The IMCA was informed by Health Board staff that new owners had taken over the nursing home and that the plan was to leave H where he was to give the new owners a chance to take over his care. The IMCA advised the Health Board that although her role in relation to a Long Term move of accommodation had ended, IMCA involvement would continue in relation to the SMT decision.
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Biologia:
 Creixement bacterià, increment en el nombre de cèl·lules en un cultiu bacterià
 Creixement cel·lular, increment en el nombre de cèl·lules en un organisme o colònia
 Demografia:
 Creixement de la població o demogràfic, variació en el nombre d'individus d'una població d'éssers vius en un determinat període
 Creixement vegetatiu
 Economia: Creixement econòmic, increment en el valor total dels béns i serveis produïts per una economia
 Psicologia: Creixement personal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia