text:
Gawker Slowdown
A small-town scandal 'bout the road less traveled that I took…
Gawker Slowdown (Blog)
Potty Politics
Published September 19, 2015 / by rmaddy / Leave a Comment
Merely 100 years after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the new Norman/English nation, led by King Henry II, extended its reach into Ireland, seizing a large swath of land starting at Dublin and extending northward up the Irish east coast. For centuries they tried (and ultimately failed) to preserve this area as a distinctly English enclave, separated from local blood, customs and language. They marked the contentious boundary between their lands and those of the native Irish with a series of stakes demarcating the territory that they claimed and were prepared to defend. Collectively, the stakes lent their name (Latin: palus) to the English lands within, although the stakes themselves gradually gave way to a series of defensive ditches and hedges which could not even restrain livestock. Nevertheless, psychologically the English separated themselves from the great unwashed–the uncouth, uncivilized heathens living "beyond the pale".
This quaint historical echo of English condescension resurfaced last month when New Jersey governor and playground bully Chris Christie referred to a bill changing the requirement for gender-corrected birth certificates for transgender New Jerseyans as once again, beyond the pale. Existing law allows such a change only for those who have had genital surgery; the new proposal, which Christie has now twice vetoed in consecutive years, amends this to those who can document "appropriate medical therapy." This year as last, Christie cited the possibility of fraud as justification for rejecting the bill.
While I don't believe for a minute that he actually believes such a bill would result in significant identity fraud, I am hardly surprised that, given his aspirations for the Republican Presidential nomination, Christie is not an early adopter of transgender rights. What caught my attention was not so much that he is unconvinced such a measure is right for New Jersey. He could have said that such an idea was "beyond the Hudson" without arousing much more than a confused shrug from those who slept through their high school geography class.1 Christie aroused my ire and news outlet scrutiny not because of his predictable conservative stance, but rather because he seems to have laughed derisively at the bill in public comment, misrepresented it as requiring nothing more than a capricious feeling on the part of the applicant, and casting it as somehow ridiculous, employing the colorful Anglo-Irish metaphor which merely two paragraphs ago inspired our rapt attention.
The extent to which Christie's meager 1% support in the polls owes to his stance on transgender rights is dubious. However, it is increasingly clear that in 2016, Presidential contenders will, at the very least, need to have a stance on such rights. To my upraised finger,2 this represents a huge shift in the political winds.
I digress. Thanks to my own nativity in the State of Confusion3, I already have a reissued birth certificate. It felt important at the time for me to obtain it, but it is my driver's license which daily proves my name/gender, and my passport which put an end to the extraordinary rate of rescanning, patting down, and in one case barely disguised groping I used to experience at TSA security. One year and a dozen flights later, they have not laid a hand on me since. Documents really do matter. Nevertheless, the signature battle for transgender rights will not occur at a government desk, but rather in your local restroom.
Transgender bathroom bills are all the rage this year. Culture warriors increasingly rally troops bruised by losses on gay marriage by pivoting to a front where they still feel like they can win–the legitimization of transgender discrimination. Whatever. Christie and other state/local officials may obstruct on birth certificates, but practically speaking, one usually isn't required until something is needed to staple to the equivalent death document. I expect to have to pee long before then. Transphobic activists are working overtime to put an end to such excretory nonsense.
Until I got to know more transgender people I wondered if I was becoming a bit lavatory-obsessed. Writing my Bathroom Song was the first sign. Then came the (unrecorded as far as you know) Garth Brooks spoof,4 riffing on the same theme. Was I stuck in a rut?
Well, it turns out that I have absolutely nothing on the fanaticism of transphobic activists and legislators. They propose laws which explicitly discriminate, well…indiscriminately against both FTM's and MTF's, although honestly they don't seem to have heard of the former. MTF's themselves are cast not as women in any sense, but posers and pretenders faking an identity crisis to justify legalized voyeurism. "The clothes make the man?" Pshaw…it's all about the naughty bits, and they are coming after your daughter.
The central assumption of anti-trans bathroom legislation is that a short and slippery slope exists between transgender identity and sexual predation. Further, the only way to prevent such acts of sexual violence is to ensure that people use the bathroom corresponding to those parts of their bodies which are unquestionably the least likely to be seen by others in a public restroom. Or, the hypothetical discomfort of born men/women with trans men/women in the Gents/Ladies5 is sufficient cause to compel transfolk to use facilities where they are actually uncomfortable and genuinely at risk for assault.
I have been called selfish for using the Women's room, but honestly never by anyone inside of it. Maybe no woman has ever had the heart to tell me. However, I suspect that the truth of the matter is that once I reached the point when I was thought it was more appropriate to use the women's room, most reasonable people agreed with me. Think about it. Is this or this really more comfortable for all parties concerned?
I'll wager that beyond some threshold of minimum facility cleanliness before dropping your drawers/lifting your shift you don't have a Bathroom Strategy, let alone one that rates capital letters. I'll let you decide if it reveals a potential threat to the common good or if it's merely neurotic as hell:
It starts with intelligence gathering. Are the rooms multistall or locking singles? Are there just the two options, or is there a door number three? How philosophically compromising, on a scale from 9 to 10, does door number three feel today? Can I tell which side the stalls will be on by the distance between the men's and women's doors? I look for temporary lulls in traffic like a golfer trying to time a shot between invisible gusts of wind. Wait, it's intermission…perhaps I can dart in quickly after they flick the lights to signal the rest of the patrons back to their seats.
Time to move. Eyes downcast, or at least distant and unfocused, I enter the bathroom hugging the wall. One stall will be larger–this time the handicapped designation doesn't seem to goad me. Being 6'3″ in a room full of ridiculously low toilets is handicap enough. Sitting down on one of those little toadstools captures 90% of the essence of falling ingloriously on one's ass. I might never rise again, and they'll find me stuck here during third shift cleaning. I bee line for the taller seat if available, but if not, then closest port in a storm.
Dear God, no…there's a line. Please, please, please don't talk to me. Maybe I can pretend I'm 20 and just stare at my phone. How convincingly can I say, No habla ingles? It's not too late to turn back. Two and a half hours…surely I can hold it for two and a half hours.
No, I can't. Hopefully there's somewhere else to stop on the way home–a gas station preferably. Good ol' single rooms. Fair odds in a fast food joint too. Not the roadside, though. There is no way in hell I'm going to be written up in the local paper as the transvestite[sic] cited for public urination. I go through life bouncing from one embarrassment to another, but some humiliations are simply beyond the pale.
Posted In Political | Transgender
Tagged bathroom | Transgender
What I Am Learning about Privilege
Land of the Free, Home of the Obtuse
The Audacity of Poop
Sweet Anonymity
Dunsinane. Within the Castle.
Check the Math
Out of the Woodwork
Vote Trans 2016
Puberty–The Sequel
Transgender Parenting
Outlawing Trans
I am NOT Cait.
Men are from Mars. Women are from…
Religious Liberty Laws
Highly Resolved
Transgender athletics
Milestones, Part III
Penny on One Small Step
Julie Harmon on One Small Step
Jim Gage on One Small Step
rmaddy on What I Am Learning about Privilege
Stephen Couture on What I Am Learning about Privilege
Gawker Slowdown Powered By: WordPress


In describing the information we collect, the term "personal information" refers to information that tells us specifically who you are, such as your name, company name, phone number, email or postal address. In many cases we need this information to provide the products or services that you have requested. Unless necessary to provide our products and services, the amount of personal information that you choose to disclose to Evolve PR Inc. is completely up to you. The only way we know something about you personally is if you provide it to us. In order to process certain transactions, we may also need to collect payment information from you (e.g., credit card information) which will not be shared with anyone outside of Evolve PR Inc., its affiliates and the financial institutions and vendors used to process payments. We do not intentionally collect any sensitive information, such as information concerning race, religion, health, sexual orientation or political beliefs. Please do not send any sensitive personal information to us.
When you request to create an account, we ask for your name, email address and your location.
When you participate in social actions or discussions on the Site, any information posted in these areas of the Site becomes public information, and you should exercise care when disclosing personal information.
Keep track of preferences you specify while you are using our Site.
Monitor and understand aggregate visitor usage patterns at the Site, as well as estimate and report our total visitor size and traffic at the Site.
Identify problems experienced by visitors as they use our Site and to conduct research and analysis to debug the content and services available at the Site.
Help us develop and improve our products, services and the design, layout and functionality of the Site.
Until you initiate a voluntary transaction with us, we do not collect any personal information about you. The information we collect is generally used to: enable us to communicate with you; provide you with our products and services; process requests for information or otherwise as necessary to perform an agreement between you and Evolve PR Inc.; improve or add features, functionality and content to our Site; provide you with a more personalized experience at the Site; notify you about our new products, services and/or special offers or updates or improvements to our existing products and services.
Our products and services may be provided using affiliates and other resources located in various countries around the world, including those outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), that may not have laws providing specific protection for personal data or that do not have an adequate level of data protection. Personal information collected through this Site or otherwise by us may be transferred across national boundaries and stored and processed in any of the countries around the world in which Evolve PR Inc., its affiliates or partners maintain offices, including the United States. By providing any personal information to us, you acknowledge that you are giving your consent to transfer your personal information to any Evolve PR Inc. affiliate or partner worldwide.
Evolve PR Inc. may submit personal information to third parties as required or necessary to fulfill its services and/or performance of obligations. For example, Evolve PR Inc. may share personal information with its partners to enable a partner to provide support to a customer or where required to make a sale in a particular country. From time to time Evolve PR Inc. may employ or engage other companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf. Examples include provision of accounting, legal and financial services, fulfilling orders, shipping packages, sending postal mail and email, processing credit card payments, and providing customer service. Such third parties may have access to your personal information if such is required in order to perform their service functions and may not use such information for any other purposes. Evolve PR Inc. maintains ownership and control of the information so used.
Evolve PR Inc. may release your personal information if it believes such release is necessary to comply with law.
We will update the specific records related to your request as promptly as practical. Note, however, that you may receive additional communications after you submit your request while we process the request. Additionally, your information may exist in multiple lists within Evolve PR Inc., and our technology limits the processing of opt-out requests to the specific list source.
We want any information you provide to be correct so you have the ability to change the information we have about you. You may object to the collection, transfer, storage and processing of your information at any time. In such a case, you may not be able to engage in an activity on the Site or Evolve PR Inc. may not be able to provide its products and services to you. You also may object to the use of your personal information for marketing purposes at any time without giving reasons via email at [email protected] If you wish to correct your information, or have any related questions or complaints, please contact us at [email protected] We reserve the right to reject or remove any information or content posted on our Site at our sole discretion.


text:
Wang Renhua (; born 1962) is a vice admiral (zhongjiang) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the current secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Central Military Commission.

Biography
Born in 1962, Wang served in the Political Work Bureau of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission before being appointed director of Political Department of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in 2012. In January 2015, he became director of the Political Department of the Army Equipment Research and Ordering Division of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, but having held the position for only one year, then he was made deputy director of the PLA Army Political Work Department. In January 2017, he was secretary of Commission for Discipline Inspection of the East Sea Fleet, the party's agency in charge of anti-corruption efforts. In 2018, he became deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Central Military Commission, rising to secretary in December 2019.

He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (Shaojiang) in 2013 and vice admiral (zhongjiang) in December 2019.

In October 2022, Wang was elected as a full member of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

References

1962 births
Living people
People's Liberation Army generals

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


University of Washington Housing Register & Pay Here!
Importantly, these rooms (like our conference venue) are built to a sustainability standard that uses passive ventilation. Air conditioning is not usually needed in Seattle, even in July (none of the organizers have air conditioned homes, for example), as nights are normally cool and dry.
These nights must be purchased as a package, even if you do not stay all four nights. The nights of 7/14, 7/15 and 7/20 and 7/21 can be added at a rate of $103.35 per night for a single, or $64.75 per person per night for a double.
As of June 1, a reasonable number of rooms are still available in the IIFET block. Please reserve as soon as possible to secure a room, because once the block fills, it may be not be impossible to accommodate additional bookings. More info about reservations can be found here.
Another option is to stay in a hotel downtown and take the light rail to campus each day. This generally also quite expensive.
There is a strong market for web-based short-term private space rental in Seattle. This is a good option if you have a group or family. Be mindful of reviews, and check the transit maps to ensure that access to campus will be easy. Driving to campus each day is not recommended, as parking is scarce and expensive.


St. James's is a parish of The Episcopal Church in Connecticut, and The Episcopal Church in Connecticut is one of over 100 domestic and overseas dioceses in The Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is one of 38 Episcopal or Anglican churches around the world that comprise the worldwide Anglican Communion. Congregations of the Church of England in the former American colonies formed the Episcopal Church in 1789. The word "Episcopal" means "having bishops"; it is derived from the Greek word for bishop, epishttp://www.episcopalchurch.orgkopos. Members of the Church are called Episcopalians. The Episcopal Church is also called Anglican because its heritage is English and because it is still in communion (affiliated) with the Church of England and other Anglican Churches around the world. These Churches make up the Anglican Communion, with nearly 80 million members in 44 regional and national member churches around the globe in over 160 countries. Bishops of the Anglican Communion meet every ten years at the Lambeth Conference in England.
Anglicanism includes both Catholic and Protestant traditions. In the 16th century, the Church of England, rejecting the claim of the Pope's universal authority, broke with the Roman Catholic Church, yet preserved the ancient apostolic faith, the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, and the sacraments, and so remained Catholic. However, Anglicans are at the same time Protestant, recognizing the importance of Scripture, tradition and reason in understanding God's will for any age and circumstance.
The worship, policy and program of the Episcopal Church are governed by its General Convention, which meets every three years. General Convention is composed of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, the latter made up of lay and clergy representatives from all the Church's dioceses and missionary districts. A Presiding Bishop is elected by the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies to act as the Church's chief pastor, and to represent the national Episcopal Church with respect to other faith communities and to the secular world. The Presiding Bishop also provides leadership in developing the policy of the Episcopal Church. The current Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, was elected at the General Convention in June of 2015 and consecrated that November.
The Book of Common Prayer serves as The Episcopal Church's source for how we worship together, and our readings from scripture are in accordance with The Revised Common Lectionary.
In the words of our current Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, "Jesus came and started a movement and we are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement."
The Episcopal Church in Connecticut is part of that - you might say that we are the Connecticut Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement.
The Episcopal Church in Connecticut ("ECCT") is the collective witness of its 168 parishes and worshiping communities across the state. We believe that in our Baptism, we are co-missioned to participate in God's mission of restoring and reconciling the world. We recognize the changes taking place in our society and in the institution of the church, and we are listening to where God is active so that we can join God's work of restoration and reconciliation. We are learning how to "travel lightly, into the neighborhood, following Jesus."
The basic unit of the Episcopal Church is the diocese, a geographic area. It is headed by a bishop. (The word "Episcopal" comes from the Greek "episcopos" meaning overseer). Our diocesan bishop is the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, 15th bishop of Connecticut.
He works with the Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan. Based on 2013 parish reports, there are about 54,000 active baptized members in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and average Sunday attendance is about 16,000. The annual business meeting of the diocese is called the Annual Convention, and takes place in October or November.


text:
about sylvain
learn about handpans
handpans for sale
Sylvain Paslier
The Mutant Cello — Mini-Series with Colin Foulke
This is how Colin redefined his relationship to the cello. New pegs, new tuning, added sitar string and a bluetooth speaker attached via magnet to play a drone over 10-minutes that resonates in the cello's chamber.
Classically trained on the cello, Colin slowly grew weary of jumping through the hoops of institutionalized western music... but then he discovered the handpan and embarked on a journey that would dramatically change his everyday life.
In part 2, Colin walks us through his discovery and development of hydroforming, a revolutionary process to shape handpan shells. He also re-visits the roots or the art form and reconnects with his first instrument, the cello.
Mini-Series Transcript:
Sylvain: Colin, what is that?
Colin: Yeah, this is, um, this is my attempt to rekindle my relationship with my cello. This is my, my original cello from when I graduated from my student cello. Um, so I've had this instrument for probably 15 years. I haven't played it much in the last 10. Um, but I've been encouraged to kind of rekindle my relationship with it. And part of that was I really wanted to break it away from classical music. So it's set up in a way that you'd be really hard pressed to play any kind of standard classical music. So I can kind of walk you through some of the changes. The first one was I replaced the tuning pegs from when I stopped playing to now there had been an invention in the world of tuning pegs that these are um, gear tuning pegs, which is new for the world of string instruments and I didn't know about it. Um, so they, they have internal planetary gears, meaning it makes the tuning of it really sensitive. A standard cello or violin peg is a friction-based peg, some kind of much more jumpy. And then you would come down here to the fine tuners and find tune it in, where these are about as sensitive as fine tuners. So that's been a really nice upgrade. So like, so if I go, ... They're lotus flowers is with based on like sitar tuners and I was like: that. I want that. So that was the first step. The second step was I was more interested in moving away from the standard, both tuning and string set up. Everything's tuned up, kind of a half step. So this is a C# and then I skipped the G. There is no G string anymore. It's just gone. And I went to the D string and tuned it down to half steps. I have C#, C#, and then from there I go to G#. So that's standard fifth jumps, I have like octave jump, fifth jump, uh, this would be your highest string on a traditional cello. And so then I also got, that they make, a fifth string for cello, which is an E. so it goes into the standard range of a violin just to the octave lower. Um, so that was really intriguing for me to not only kind of change the voice of it, but now the range. And by losing the G string, I can, I can get all those frequencies by just going higher up in my lower C# string. So it's not too much of a sacrifice. Uh, the next thing was I added, uh, uh, another string, which is down here. It's more of a drone string, meaning it can be bowed, but I can't actively play on it with my fingers, but it allows me to kind of go into this realm of impossible chords on a cello. There's a bunch of chords on here that I can do that are not impossible. Very, very hard to do on a standard cello. So this, this one I can kind of move around. I think right now it's at a E so it matches the high note, but it is, so if you go from high to low. ... So it reverses the order a little bit. Um, how did it feel when you drilled into your cello? There was a small moment when I was like, "Oh, my parents are going to kill me". And then I was like, "no, I'm um, other than adult, I can do this". So then the last kind of aspect, and it was another one of those cases where like I just, I dreamt all this, felt encouraged to turn it, turn it into reality. So the next one is that there are a second set of subsidiary strings that are just sympathetic strings and they sit across a bridge that was taken from a sitar. So they have the ability to, um, buzz like a sitar does. So if we pluck, ... and so they're just activated through sympathy. So if I pluck a string up here, it activates those ... sympathetics down, and it's a little more aggressive activation when you're bowing versus puking. Um, and so all of those, there's 8 strings in those just run, um, a full octave of E major or C# minor. So, um, it's all designed in tune from the handpan perspective of the scales that I usually make. So C#, minor. Same with G#, G# minor and then E to play more in E major. The last part is I have a little Bluetooth speaker, um, which I just give it a moment. Um, it's going to play. This is a drone in G#, so it's nice to play over a drone but the full effect is if I. So all I did was to attach it to the instrument but it has the ability to incur the sympathetic strings to be activated and also allows the player to have something to play over. And this will cycle through G#, E and C# over like 10 minutes. So it's a way to just kind of play in a few different moods and modes.
Sylvain: Can you play it for us?
Colin: Sure.
The Pantheon Connection — Mini-Series with Colin Foulke
The Fun Corner — Mini-Series with Colin Foulke
The Hydro Map — Mini-Series with Colin Foulke
Play Simply. Simply Play.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I highly recommend Main Floor Carpet One, a family-owned business that specializes in all types of flooring needs.
I hired Main Floor Carpet One to install vinyl flooring and carpeting throughout my entire basement. As the owner of an historic home (built in 1925) I was initially very concerned about how the installation would go because my floors aren't level and I had experienced some significant water damage in the basement prior to Main Floor Carpet One beginning its work. Thankfully, I had no need to worry! From the time the process started through completion, I was delighted with the team of consummate professionals that handled my account. I am thrilled with the outcome and would definitely hire this company again!


Cheese on top or cheese on the bottom?
Pizza and wine fest to launch in London, Ont.
Leawood, KS – Online and mobile food ordering provider Menufy and point-of-sale system provider SpeedLine Solutions have launched an integrated system to help pizzeria operators grow their off-premise order volume.
Toronto – McDonald's has launched a one-day virtual hiring event that will allow job seekers to instantly apply for a career at McDonald's restaurants through the Snapchat app.
When it comes to taking care of customers, sometimes people go a little further than expected, writes customer service expert Shep Hyken.
Wanting to start your own pizzeria? Fantastic! This article will discuss key elements to help guide you in your journey.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently hosted a free webinar on how small businesses can pay bills and get paid more efficiently. The emphasis was on how Interac e-Transfers work and their benefits for businesses.
If you want to surprise guests and keep them coming back to your pizzeria, pay special attention to the little things that can make a big difference during their visit.
Why is it so hard to get paid as a small business owner? There are no magic solutions for reluctant payers, but the ways you accept payments can have a big influence on cash flow.
Price, customer service and trust are all reasons your customers may choose to do business with you. Shep Hyken goes through 10 considerations behind the customer's decision.
Chicago – A consumer report from Technomic has promising findings for restaurant operators worried that delivery orders will overtake dine-in service and carryout orders.
The pizza industry is evolving. The needs, tastes and preferences of consumers are signficantly different than they were 10 years ago. The rise of third-party food delivery services means there is greater competition than ever, and economic factors are forcing pizzeria owners to consider changing the way they operate.
Montreal – Lallemand Baking has introduced Lal^Ferm as the new brand name and packaging for its Eagle brand fresh bakers yeast in North America.
All-Clad Canada is introducing a D3 Stainless Ovenware collection featuring seven new durable and versatile ovenware pieces that feature the brand's three-ply bonded technology.
An interactive, on-premise, self-service beer and wine experience from iPourIt is promoting consumer choice and sampling.
Meatheads Snack Company has a line of pizza-inspired jerky products that may increase your front counter sales.
LloydPans has introduced a line of pizza al taglio pans.
A system that uses induction to deliver hot food holding and precise temperature control in a waterless well has won an award from the National Restaurant Association.
Tuscanini Foods has introduced two flavours of sparkling Italian soft drinks that bring the taste of Italy to North America in what the company promises to be a "truly authentic Italian experience."
Vollrath Company has introduced a line of high-quality food delivery and transport bags that extend delivery range and help provide a restaurant-quality experience for customers at home.
Hostme and Lightspeed POS will integrate their technologies to help restaurateurs streamline their operations.
Just in time for Christmas, Hasbro Gaming has released a new pizza-themed Monopoly board game for kids ages 8 and up.
The compact Bluewater Pro reverse-osmosis system feeds contaminant-free water into a dishwasher to prevent the risk of a cloudy haze forming and cut the need for harsh detergents.
Edmonton – Berg Chilling Systems is setting up shop in Edmonton to provide Western Canadian businesses a comprehensive range of industrial refrigeration services that includes natural and HFC-based solutions.
People looking for home-cooked Italian fare in Cambridge, Ont., can find the real deal tucked away in a plaza near the workaday industrial area of the city.
Giuseppe Cortinovis never fails to surprise me. In the past, our Traditional Chef of the Year has wowed me with his dough experimentation, amazed me with his travels around the world in search of ideas and impressed me with his capacity to learn.
Milan, Italy – Gino Sorbillo is an enthusiastic and very successful pizza maker (with various pizzerias in Naples, Milan and New York and one about to open in Rome) who is keen to get his ideas across.
Forget Santa. We all know the holidays are about spending time with loved ones, showing kindness to others and sharing delicious food. I spoke with three pizza professionals who are helping unite their communities by making creative, delicious pizzas and serving them with love.
The five-year mark is big for restaurants. That's one reason The Catherwood and the Kiln threw a backyard party last spring to celebrate its milestone.
Pizza and bowling seem to go together. They are both fun, shareable experiences that are easily customizable. Bowlers can take their families, friends can join a league, folks young and old can enjoy a date night at the local lanes.
Justin Tanada, a sales trainer from Hamilton, Ont., loves pizza so much that he started an Instagram account dedicated to it. Known as Pizzatography the profile features photos and videos of pizza from all over the world.
The uniqueness of Maurizio Mascioli's pizza has made his season-driven shop popular with locals and a must-do for visitors of Parry Sound, Ont., and surrounding area.
A beautifully prepared sweet treat is not only the perfect way to round out a pizza order, it can also boost sales significantly. We're not talking about days-old packaged cookies here – we're talking handcrafted goodies made fresh daily that will have customers spreading the word on your behalf.
If the people who work for you are excited about being there, it has a positive impact on the strength of your brand. Experiences are delivered by people – and your people are your brand, so you should want them to be in a good place. It's great in theory but how does it look in practice?
When Marc Askenasi and Sam Hazan were kicking around a soccer ball together in the 1990s, they did not imagine teaming up in the pizza business.
Sofia Butera, owner of Il Sorriso Cafe & Pizzeria in Niagara Falls, Ont., has a pizza on her menu called Fragoni (also sometimes pronounced Fraguni). It's a version of the pizza rustica loved by many of Italian heritage and traditionally enjoyed – hot or cold – by so many at Easter and other family occasions.
Do you build your pizzas with the cheese on the top of the toppings, or do you put the cheese on the bottom, meaning, underneath the toppings? What's the difference? Is there a difference?
In celebration of Pi day on March 14, Lagostina cookware has shared a recipe developed by its corporate chef for mushroom and sausage pizza (including the dough).
I hope you had a nice holiday season and found a way to have some time off and away from your business.
This recipe was inspired by the fresh dill at Wenkai Vegetable Stand at the St. Norbert Farmers Market near Winnipeg where Red Ember Common owner Steffen Zinn shops for vegetables for the specials on the food truck.
The wood-fired oven outside the Montgomery Inn Museum in Etobicoke, Ont., is a 19th-century tool used to teach 21st-century students.
Verona, Italy – Veronafiere, a trade association in Italy, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council have signed an agreement and launched an initiative specifically dedicated to olive oil called the World of Olive Oil.
Toronto – The Canadian pizza scene is different from any other. The Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions celebrates the tradition, diversity and passion of Canadian pizza. It is the only event in Canada dedicated to the art and business of making pizza.
Chicago – A new report suggests the growing popularity of alternative proteins will increasingly overshadow beef and pork for health-conscious Canadians.
Younger Canadians appear to be eating cheese less often, a trend that could hamper the growth of cheese sales and consumption in Canada, says research company Mintel.
Turlock, CA – Interest in Eastern Mediterranean ingredients such as chickpeas, peppers, eggplant, mint, lemon and yogurt, is on the rise, according to a white paper by herb producer SupHerb Farms and research firm Technomic.
Retailers are in direct competition with restaurants for people wanting quick meal options, Technomic suggests in a new consumer trend report.
Anaheim, CA – The Pizza Press, a pizza chain out of California, has debuted the 'Extra Stinky Foodbeast' Pizza, featuring two cloves of roasted garlic, in partnership with digital publisher Foodbeast, The Anaheim Hotel and tourism organization Visit Anaheim.
Generation Z customers are just beginning to make their mark on dining out and eating trends and their top demand is for portability, suggests research by The NPD Group.
Nearly half of Canadian who buy better-for-you snacks feel that it is healthier to snack throughout the day than to eat three large meals, according to new research from data firm Mintel.
Detroit-style pizza major trend in U.S.
Cauliflower is the biggest thing to happen to pizza crusts since flour. Its bland flavour, colour and texture actually help position cauliflower to function as a chameleon in a recipe, shape-shifting to whatever taste profile is needed.
Chicago – Canadian full-service restaurants are seeing slightly less traffic and lower sales growth than they were two years ago, according to a new report from Technomic.
In the year ahead, the food-service landscape will evolve, driven by greater awareness of social and environmental responsibility and innovation in technology-enabled customer service, research firm Mintel said in a news release.


text:
Braminar Download (1987 Adventure Game)
Adventure Games:
Download full Braminar:
Download - Easy Setup (1.39 MB)
Braminar screenshots:
Fed up at text adventure "guess the verb" puzzles, the author has followed up the earlier Fantasia and concocted what he describes as "boolean interactive fiction" -- a game consisting of purely textual input and output occasionally prompting the player for confirmation of likely, valid actions in the style of many a BBS door game ("you may (S)teal food, (T)ake from trunk, or (L)eave"), mostly in answering Yes/No questions ("You come up to a hollow tree with a door. Enter?") or plugging in numbers for inventory management of a sort ("2 male and 8 female slaves have come down with: Turkey Pox. How many males to cure?")
Really the game chugs along pretty much on its own -- combat, for instance, being a do-or-die affair of pressing any key to proceed to the next round, the computer taking care of both parties' tactics and strategies (or, uh, lack thereof: it will quite happily run you straight into the ground against a stronger opponent). It dishes up a varied but randomized assortment of standard adventure environments (sylvan glades, abandoned shacks, villages, inclement weather, Gypsy gambling dens, the Dark Castle of the Mad King) to be explored at your discretion, though it's up to the player and tough lessons learned in their past experience with the game to determine for themselves if they're tough enough to deal with (or desperate enough to risk dealing with) what they're likely to find in each area, which is sometimes beneficial ("the gnome greets you and gives you 3 food"), sometimes negative ("You release a Rune Guardian which comes out and burns you"), and sometimes neither ("As you enter, a centurion says to you: 'Have you driven a Ford lately?'").
Yes, as with Legend of the Red Dragon and Kingdom of Loathing, the stock fantasy tropes of fighting orcs and ogres with swords are mixed with jarring glimpses of surreal preoccupations -- here with giant hamburgers, Duncin' [sic] Doughnuts, and Hellen Reddy [sic]. The absurdity is compounded upon when answering multiple choice questions from a statue of Pan in the woods:
You find a Statue of Pan. Approach the Statue? (Y/N)
The statue suddenly animates, & asks you the following riddle.
Who invented the first Hamburger?
1 - Cleavon Little
2 - Ernest Borgnine
3 - Howdy Duty
Choose (1, 2, 3):
...but these exchanges are necessary in order to have "the prime command" revealed to you -- a string of gibberish needed in order to activate the Staff of Aviatar, a prerequisite for penetrating the Mad Overlord's mystical fortifications.
Once the player has achieved the 20th level or beyond and accumulated both the Staff and the prime command, it is possible to enter the endgame, in which your total assets (largely, perhaps in a nod to Gor, consisting of male and female slaves) are converted into an army, one which automatically engages the Overlord's legions... their conflict depicted as two Progress Questian bars in a chart diminishing each other. Overwhelming forces will be needed to make even a dent in his waves of cannon fodder, but should you triumph over them, you then get to engage the Overlord in single combat. (An unsubstantiated rumour in the documentation suggests that in the unlikely eventuality of your ultimate victory, the game will automatically try to print you out certification of game completion.)
People who downloaded Braminar have also downloaded:
Breakers, Borrowed Time (a.k.a. Time to Die), Brimstone, Border Zone, Calixto Island, Black Sanctum, The, Bureaucracy, Blue Ice


text:
Home » Turkey Hill keeps it local
Dairy Foods & BeveragesDairy Processor NewsFrozen DessertsIce Cream/NoveltiesNon-Dairy Beverages
Turkey Hill keeps it local
As Turkey Hill's retail presence continues expanding geographically, its ties to the Lancaster County, Pa., community remain strong
Pictured are (l to r) Tom Aslin, vice president, sales and marketing; John Cox, president; Genise Wade, vice president, operations; and Derek Frey, director of logistics. Photo by Vito Palmisano
Turkey Hill was founded in the Great Depression by Armor Frey, who was trying to make extra money for his family by selling surplus milk.
Turkey Hill's Trio'politan ice cream line, which is a twist on traditional Neapolitan flavors, is one of the company's most successful product launches in years.
Turkey Hill is also a big player in the ready-to-drink iced tea category.
The Turkey Hill Experience is a place for fans of the company to learn more about its history and products, as well as try to make their own ice cream flavors. Photo by Vito Palmisano
Turkey Hill decided to build the Turkey Hill Experience in an abandoned silk mill as part of its commitment to the economic development of Lancaster County, Pa. Photo by Vito Palmisano
Anna Boisseau
KEYWORDS dairy processor / ice cream processing / ice cream processor / Ready-To-Drink
Turkey Hill, a high point overlooking the Susquehanna River, is a local landmark in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It is also the name of one of the most successful ice cream, frozen novelty and iced tea companies in the United States.
Turkey Hill Dairy's customer-focused, locally driven culture goes all the way back to the roots of its name. Derek Frey, director of logistics at Turkey Hill, said that when his great-grandfather Armor Frey founded the dairy in 1931 during the Great Depression, he was just trying to make money selling his family's extra milk. Originally, he called his company Armor P. Frey Dairy, but that didn't stick with his customers.
"Once he explained, 'It's the farm on Turkey Hill,' people got it. The first couple of years [it was called] Armor P. Frey Dairy Milk Bottles, and not too long after that it turned into Turkey Hill," Frey said. "So, the customers named us."
Turkey Hill, which is still headquartered on the same hilltop in Conestoga, Pa., remained a family business for over 50 years after its founding (and a Frey was president until five years ago). In 1947, three of Armor Frey's sons bought the business from him. In the 1950s, the Freys began making ice cream from leftover cream, and in the 1960s they introduced ice tea products.
Another early expansion came when home delivery was beginning to decline in the 1960s: The sons decided to open a chain of convenience stores to sell their products, Frey said.
When the Frey brothers reached retirement age in 1987, they decided to sell Turkey Hill to Dillon Companies Inc., a subsidiary of the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. This was when Turkey Hill shifted from a privately held family business to a publicly held corporation, and the company began to expand beyond its regional roots.
"[That's] when we would've started trying to really get into grocery in a major way," said Frey.
John Cox, president of Turkey Hill, concurred. He said the 1980s marked a change in the company's perspective, from "How do you think like a family-run business?" to "How do you think like more of a medium-sized business that's self-sustaining?"
Cox noted that Turkey Hill has continued to grow based on its existing relationships with customers. If one of its retail partners was selling products in another city, it used this connection to move into new markets.
When grocery stores consolidated in the 2010s, Turkey Hill further expanded its geographic reach. It now sells its products in 48 states and a dozen countries and has the fourth-largest-selling premium ice cream brand in the United States.
Turkey Hill has remained a subsidiary company of Kroger Co. since 1987. However, Kroger recently announced that it is selling Turkey Hill to Peak Rock Capital, an Austin, Texas-based middle-market private equity firm. The sale is expected to go through in the first quarter of Kroger's fiscal 2019, which ends in late May.
"We here at the dairy are excited about the new possibilities and opportunities that the sale will provide for our future," said Cox on Turkey's Hill's new parent company. "And for now, it's business as usual for us — we are going to keep making and sharing the great frozen treats and drinks that our customers have come to expect from Turkey Hill."
Quality wins
Retail trends bear out Turkey Hill's continued success. According to Tom Aslin, vice president, sales and marketing, in 2018, Turkey Hill sold about $500 million in retail and grew about 2%. Those sales came from of a broad range of products, including 52 premium ice cream offerings, 20 all-natural ice creams, 17 novelties and ice cream cakes, four types of soft-serve mix, nine dairy drinks, 19 premium iced teas and nine premium fruit drinks.
Despite having a plethora of products, Turkey Hill makes sure not to skimp on the quality of its lesser-selling offerings, Cox said.
"We don't look at the 23rd selling item and go, 'really doesn't matter what it tastes like because we don't sell that much of it anyway.'"
Aslin concurred. He said Turkey Hill cares just as much about its top-selling product (Vanilla ice cream) as every other product it produces as a company.
"[With] that superior quality, we're trying to delight people or wow them with our flavors or our product offerings, as opposed to some that are great and some that are just okay," he said.
Cox said this high quality comes from the exacting standards Turkey Hill has at its Conestoga, Pa., plant. Everything that Turkey Hill produces at its plant is Turkey Hill branded, though co-packers do also produce some Turkey Hill products.
"But everything's made to our standards whether it's made in our facility … or a third-party contract manufacturer," Aslin noted.
Progress through innovation
According to Aslin, while geographic expansion has helped Turkey Hill grow, another growth factor has been product innovation. To create new products, the company begins by identifying consumer trends. It then engages in different levels of trials and research, depending on the level of risk/complexity of its new product ideas.
In 2018, the company had one of its most successful product launches in years: a twist on the traditional Neapolitan ice cream flavor called "Trio'politan." According to Aslin, the new product was a response to the consumer trend of flavor exploration.
"What makes it different is rather than being just vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, it has three different flavors that you would not normally find in Neopolitan," Aslin added.
Trio'politan flavor combinations include All Natural Chocolate Raspberry Bliss (Vanilla ice cream, Chocolate ice cream and Raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips), American Dream (Blueberry ice cream, Vanilla ice cream with strawberry swirl and Strawberry ice cream with chocolate chips), Coco Loco (Caramel ice cream, Coconut ice cream with Toasted Coconut swirl and Chocolate ice cream) and Triple Chocolate (Milk Chocolate ice cream with fudge swirl, Dark Chocolate ice cream and Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips). Turkey Hill is expanding the line in 2019 to include flavors such as Triple Vanilla, which is Vanilla Bean ice cream, Brown Sugar Bourbon Vanilla ice cream with vanilla cookie crumb swirl and Homemade Vanilla ice cream.
"Who would have thought Triple Vanilla could be really exciting," Aslin said, "but it's an incredible product."
Another recent product launch is Decadent Delights frozen novelties, which come in two forms: premium ice cream bars swirled with fruit ribbons and dipped in fruit purée or chocolate and premium parfaits with fruit-flavored ice cream swirled with fruit puree and topped with whipped topping. The Decadent Delights bars come in Cherry, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Coconut, Neapolitan, Triple Chocolate and Tropical Mango flavors. The Trio'politan version launched earlier this year, Aslin noted. The parfaits come in Lemon Blueberry, Strawberry and Mixed Berry flavors.
He added that by combining fruit with decadent premium ice cream, Turkey Hill is responding to the consumer trend for permissive indulgence. The Decadent Delights are primarily marketed toward "the adults in the family," given the products' higher price point and premium ingredients.
Another consumer trend that Turkey Hill has responded to is clean label. It launched its All Natural ice cream line to attract consumers who want products containing simple ingredients. Aslin said that the All Natural line has been successful. Its 20 flavor varieties include Belgian-style Chocolate, Vanilla Almond Fudge, Blackberry Swirl and Salted Caramel.
"We also are in the process of reformulating those All Natural varieties to be non-GMO," Aslin said. "As consumer trends evolve, we'll continue to evolve the products."
Turkey Hill's product innovation isn't just on the ice cream side. The company also recently launched successful new teas, including Ginger Apple and Blueberry Oolong, Aslin said.
Turkey Hill has the typical repertoire of marketing strategies for its products: TV and digital advertising, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), PR sampling, events and couponing. But the company also goes above and beyond to connect with its many fans. According to Cox, Turkey Hill has a long history of hosting events to get to know its consumers personally.
"We have a giant cow, and we take it out to fairs and store openings," he said. "So we've done events and interacted with the community for a long time and have been very, very good at it."
Cox added that Turkey Hill's step into social media was very intentional. The company wanted to expand the personal relationships it had with customers on a local level to a much larger audience in the digital space.
To accomplish this goal, in 2017, Turkey Hill launched "Turkey Hill Nation," an online portal that allows it to connect with its "super fans." It currently has over 60,000 members, said Andrea Nikolaus, Turkey Hill's public relations and digital coordinator.
"We engage with our super fans and provide them with VIP opportunities," she added. "We will survey them; we'll give them opportunities to come out to events."
Turkey Hill also uses the portal to update its super fans on the latest news and flavors, often before the media are informed.
Aslin said that Turkey Hill wasn't expecting to get such a large number of members when it launched the platform.
"Our goal was 1,000 members," he said. "In the first year, we got over 30,000."
Another method Turkey Hill uses to connect with its customer base is the Turkey Hill Experience: a museum of sorts dedicated to Turkey Hill's history, production methods and flavors. The "Experience," as the company colloquially calls it, is located at an old silk plant in Columbia, Pa., 20 minutes from Turkey Hill's headquarters.
Aslin said the Turkey Hill Experience is an integral part of Turkey Hill's overall strategy: It provides a home for the brand where people can learn about its history and the quality of its products. Beyond learning about the brand, visitors have the opportunity to try Turkey Hill's latest flavors, as well as create their own.
"We're trying to give people the ability to sample more products and get excited about all the varieties we make and feature our new products," he added.
Cox said the Experience is part of "the relational piece" that makes Turkey Hill distinct from other companies.
"When you come to the Experience Center, that's the No. 1 goal we are marketing — [having] people go home and say, 'I've met a Turkey Hill employee and I like them,'" he said.
The Turkey Hill Experience has had visitors from all 50 states and many countries. It just had its millionth visitor in 2018, Cox noted. Interestingly, it was a family from Canada, where Turkey Hill's products aren't even sold.
"This family had come down to the states, became familiar with our products … and were so excited that it was actually their fourth visit," he said.
Nikolaus said Turkey Hill is very proud of its passionate fans. She recounted a story of a family who ordered its iced tea to their hotel in Disney World so it would be there when they arrived.
"We have this great variety, and people just get hooked," she added. "Whether it's the flavor [or] the quality, we like to provide something for everyone," she added.
Commitment to local community
In addition to being a way to connect with fans, the Turkey Hill Experience ties into the company's larger goals of improving its local community. According to Cox, Turkey Hill has been a part of the Economic Development Corp. of Lancaster County, which focuses on building up local business, for a number of years. So when the company was searching for a site for the Experience, it looked for an area where economic development was really needed.
Despite advice from consultants to choose greenfield land, Turkey Hill chose to house the Experience in an abandoned silk mill in Columbia, Pa. Cox said this is part of Turkey Hill's larger interest in sustainability. This year, Turkey Hill also saw its plant become one of the first ice cream or ice tea facilities to be run on 100% renewable energy.
The company's view of sustainability goes beyond environmental practices in its plant. It joined a number of local organizations in an effort to make the community more sustainable, to help grow business opportunities and to maintain the local farmland, which Cox said is considered the most productive nonirrigated land in the United States.
For example, along with the Development Corp. of Lancaster County, Turkey Hill partnered with the Lancaster Farmland Trust, which works to preserve the local farmland. Cox noted that this is part of a multifaceted approach to help the community.
"If you're gonna preserve that farmland, you also have to support urban redevelopment," he said. "So, it's a two-pronged attack."
Turkey Hill also partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA) to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay's water, Cox noted. To do this, Turkey Hill agreed to ask its milk suppliers to create a conservation plan to reduce nitrous phosphorus and sediment runoff into local rivers. The MDVA helps farmers secure funding to implement these plans, and then Turkey Hill pays a premium for milk from providers who comply with them.
"We think it's a very novel approach of supporting the farmers in achieving a goal they want to achieve, [and then] getting them help with funding to make it possible," Cox added.
Frey concurred.
"I think the cool thing about the milk partnership that we have is, you know, a lot of folks … really don't have the money to execute a lot of these projects. It's not a lack of will, it's a lack of resources," he said. "So, one of the neat things about the Alliance for the Chesapeake … [is] we're able to do is go out and secure a pretty large amount of grant money to make on-farm improvements. So far I think we're about $1.5 million."
Why does Turkey Hill have such a commitment to Lancaster County's sustainability efforts? The answer is simple, Cox said.
"It's the right thing to do," he said.
Recent Articles by Anna Boisseau
Readers choose the Best New Dairy Products of 2020
Go 'clean' with emulsifiers, stabilizers and gums
Health-promoting ingredients add something extra
2020 State of the Industry: Cheese is flying high
2020 State of the Industry: Ice cream is a category on fire
Anna Boisseau, managing editor of Dairy Foods, has a diverse background in journalism including experience writing about international relations and parenting issues. In her spare time, she works on documentaries. She received her master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
Turkey Hill's Conestoga, Pa., plant transitions to renewable energy
Turkey Hill Dairy lending support to local dairy farmers
It's all in the data at Oregon Ice Cream Co.'s plant