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Tag Archives: moose

Buck Bad Venison

Hunter-chef Hank Shaw’s latest book takes on bucks and bulls, from kill to freezer to pan to plate.

By Randy King

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It was still dark when Hank Shaw and I sat down in the Idaho sagebrush. It was opening day of general rifle mule deer season and Shaw was on a mission. He was going to write a book on cooking venison and I was trying to help get him a buck. As we sat waiting for the sun to begin illuminating the hill to the east, a bull elk sounded off. Then another. It was too late for the rut, but the elk serenaded us anyway.

It felt like such an honor to be deer hunting with Shaw. The man’s a legend among the “cook what you kill” movement. His website, honest-food.net, is a James Beard Award winner – think Oscars for foodies – and I had met him a few years prior when he was promoting his first book, Hunt, Gather, Cook. I’d interviewed him for a local paper and was thrilled to find another person in the wild game chef sphere. He became a go-to source for my wild game culinary questions – a valuable one too. And he had single-handedly gotten me to look at the plants – not just the animals – around me as food. My wife made fun of me for being a “weed eater” as I examined and cooked the contents of my lawn one spring. And now this well-known and well-published author was looking to me for a deer. I did not want to disappoint.
AS SHOOTING LIGHT neared, I was feeling confident. I had hunted this general area hard in archery season and had even missed a doe near the spot we were sitting a month prior. In fact, I’d sent Shaw a map with two X s proclaiming the locations where he was likely to get his buck. We were overlooking one, playing the waiting game as the deer slowly moved uphill, away from the water and into bedding areas, as the morning began.

As the light grew so did our field of view. Two bull elk crested the horizon, antlers silhouetting on the ridgeline in the distance. We waited and glassed and waited and glassed. But nothing came; it was time to move to X number two.

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We were slowly backing out of our location and making a wide swing to a different ridgeline when Shaw caught sight of the first deer of the morning. “Flat head,” he declared in new-to-me terminology for a doe.

The deer was about 200 yards off and feeding away from us. A good sign, but not a buck. We glassed the sage and juniper country for a while longer, then Shaw caught sight of another deer.

“I think it’s a little buck,” he said. I had the better optics and gave the mule deer a gander. Sure enough, a little forked horn was feeding away from us. “Perfect shooter,” I replied.

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Hank Shaw is a West Coast hunter-chef who is coming out with his third book, Buck, Buck Moose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelope and Other Antlered Things, just in time for fall seasons. (HANK SHAW)

We were hunting a management unit that limits harvest of general season bucks to no more than 2 points on one side. This created a “trophy unit” for those lucky enough to draw the tag. It also created a “meat unit” for those who do not care about such things, so this 1½-year-old buck was a great legal option.

Shaw and I slipped in behind a large juniper in the distance and began to close in on the little buck. The lone tree created just enough of a shield to get us within 70 yards or so. He was in the lead when we caught better sight of the buck’s antlers. It was not a forky but a 2×1. Shaw turned and whispered to me, “You shoot this one; I want a forked horn at least.”

I slipped in front of Shaw and took up my shooting stick, anchoring it in a sage, and bore down on the buck. I watched as his ears flicked; I could see his chest move as he breathed in and
out. Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something else. I took my eye out of the scope to see another buck looking right at us. Quickly I pulled up my binoculars to check if he was legal – a perfect little 2×2! I turned to Shaw and handed him back the shooting stick.

“A forky!” I exclaimed, a little louder than I should have. Now both deer were looking at us.

Shaw took the stick back and began to pull up on the buck when it started to stot off.

“Shoot, shoot, shoot!” I exclaimed, perhaps a little too pushily.

“I don’t shoot running targets,” Shaw said, quieting me down and making me check my ethics. I would have shot; I felt a little ashamed. Both deer crisscrossed several times and then stopped under the shaded canopy of scrub brush at about 100 yards, broadside and looking at us. Shaw pulled up his .270, fired and one of the bucks dropped. I pulled up on the other buck, which looked at us for a few seconds, but could not squeeze the trigger. I was hoping to shoot my first whitetail that year and wanted to save my tag for later in the season. Plus, my main mission was now a success: Shaw had his Idaho mule deer on the ground.

Unfortunately in the chaos, he had shot the 2×1 he’d wanted to pass on. To this day, I feel guilty about pushing him into shooting. But his buck was legal and he seemed happy to have it, so no harm, no foul. What I know about little bucks is that they are delicious – this one would be no exception.

You learn a lot about a person while dragging a buck up a hill. You learn if they are tough, if they are patient and if they have grit to get a job done. Shaw does, and that was good to learn. We trudged the little buck up to a fence line, crossed and situated it in a meadow. I left to get the ATV.

We were back at camp by 9:30 a.m. and rested the remainder of the day. With meat secured, Shaw soon left for his home in California. We have since foraged, fished and hunted together a number of times, and fast forward three years and Buck, Buck Moose is about to hit the shelves. I might be riding coattails here, but I feel like I helped. Shaw needed a buck for his book and he got one. Oh, and by the way, he got it within 100 yards of one of those Xs on the map I sent him.

Shaw’s new book includes tips and photographs on “seam butchery,” a good way to disassemble large muscle masses like thighs. (HANK SHAW)

Shaw’s new book includes tips and photographs on “seam butchery,” a good way to disassemble large muscle masses like thighs. (HANK SHAW)

Randy King Book three, Hank – what is this one about?

Hank Shaw Buck, Buck, Moose is something of a follow-up to my last book, Duck, Duck, Goose. Where the duck book covered all things waterfowl, this one, as you might imagine, covers everything you might want to know about prepping and cooking venison – in all its forms. One of the reasons we named the book as we did was to give people a sense that it wasn’t just about whitetail deer – sure, deer bucks, but also antelope bucks, and moose and elk, etc … Also, well, we did think it was a fun title.

RK There are other venison cookbooks on the market. What makes Buck, Buck, Moose different?

HS It is far more comprehensive, in all respects. The book covers everything from the moment you have the deer on the ground all the way to the freezer, and beyond. I go over food safety, detail general differences in the various meats by species and region, and I offer a style of butchering that can literally be done with a pen knife and a pocket saw – although I’d suggest a proper boning knife and a Sawzall, if you have them.

Buck, Buck, Moose also looks at venison cookery from a nose-to-tail and a global perspective. You will see recipes for venison from all over the world. Why? Because every culture in the world has at least a historic tradition of eating deer, elk, gazelles, moose, antelopes and the like. Similarly, it is important to me to open up to home cooks new ways of cooking the animals we bring home to feed our families. I’ll never ask you to eat innards because I think you ought to out of some moral obligation. But I will ask you to try my recipes for things like hearts, livers, tongues and kidneys because they taste amazing. Give them a go and you’ll see.

RK This book was funded via Kickstarter – full disclosure: I am waiting for my copy – why did you choose the self-publish route versus the traditional publisher route?

HS Primarily for editorial control. I was able to create exactly the book I wanted to, and include as many photos as I wanted to, with no restrictions. It is liberating. Another huge reason is because many (but not all) mainstream, big-city publishers flat out told me they had no idea how to sell this book to the people they normally market books to. Remember, for the most part, people aren’t buying venison, they’re hunting it. It was an eye-opening look at a little sliver of this cultural divide we’re experiencing in this country. I don’t blame the editors for passing on the book, but it may have proved to be a blessing in disguise.

RK You are about to start the book tour – mind telling me what that entails? The life of a traveling author seems so glamorous, after all.

HS Oh, God. Yeah, it’s basically like a rock-and-roll tour, only with no explosions, groupies, money or drugs. Long hours in planning every detail – a 55-event tour has innumerable moving parts to it – driving endless miles solo, being in and out of airports (who doesn’t love the TSA?), nights in hotels watching ESPN. You lose your voice at least twice every tour, and Nyquil becomes your best friend because you invariably get sick meeting so many people.

But those are the down sides to this sort of tour. The upsides are the events themselves. Book dinners, presentations, parties, cooking demonstrations and classes. They’re all fun in their own way, but what really keeps me going on all those days on the road are the people I meet. Long-time readers, people who’ve never heard of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, rich people, poor people, rural, urban, left, right, black, white: I see all kinds when I am out there. And seeing each night how so many people of such disparate backgrounds come together over a shared love of wild food cements why I put myself through this. Gratifying is putting it mildly.

RK What is your “date night” recipe in Buck, Buck, Moose?

HS Oh, there are many of them. There are more than 120 recipes in the book, and most could be done for a date. But if I had to choose one, I’d say either venison loin with Cumberland sauce or Steak Diane. They are both classic dishes many modern cooks snub, but they are classics for a reason. Both are fairly easy to make, and taste more fancy than they are. If I were back in my 20s, I’d memorize these two dishes: They’d be an ace in my pocket for a hot date.

RK Give me a “top three” pieces of advice for cooking venison.

HS 1) Never cook the loin, tenderloin or whole-muscle roasts from the hind leg more than medium, and cook the shoulders, neck and shanks longer than you think you need to. 2) Don’t grind everything. I like burger as much as the next guy, but unless you are shooting lots and lots of deer (some people do), for the love of all that’s holy, please don’t grind the luxury cuts. 3) Don’t forget the bones for stock! Bones and little bits of sinew and gristle make the best stocks and broths. The only caveat to this is if you live or hunt in a place where there is widespread chronic wasting disease, where you might not want to keep the bones.

RK What exactly defines venison? A cow is not venison, but a moose is? What is the line in the sand for determining what is classified as venison? Is a wild goat venison?

HS Venison to some means deer and only deer. But most people in the English-speaking world use “venison” to mean any deer or deer-like animal. So elk, moose, all the deer and antelope, as well as caribou, would all be venison in this sense. This is the way I use venison in the book. The French use venison to mean all wild game. While I would not call wild goat or sheep or muskox or bison venison, you could use all of these meats as a stand-in for venison for any recipe in this book.

RK Can you tell me about your two prior books?

HS I’d mentioned my last book, Duck, Duck, Goose, which is a fullcolor, hardcover, comprehensive waterfowl cookbook. My first book, Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast, is something of a primer on the wild world. Experts in each of the many fishing, foraging and hunting sections of that book may not learn too much from the techniques I describe (although most will pick up at least a few new tricks). But the real value of the book is to open up extra skills to someone who loves self-sufficiency and being outdoors. Anglers might learn more about the wild edible plants they are around when they fish the banks and beaches. Hunters might pick up new tricks on foraging. Foragers might read the hunting section and decide to finally take the plunge and begin what can be a lifelong pursuit.

RK Can you tell me more about honest-food.net?

HS Hunter Angler Gardener Cook is the core of what I do. Honestfood.net is the URL to get there, and I gave it that name initially back in 2007 because I wanted to deal with what I call honest food: Nothing industrial, nothing overly processed and certainly nothing that came from a lab. Honest food does not have to be wild, but that is my area of expertise. So the site, over the years, has become the largest source of wild food recipes on the internet. There are almost 1,000 recipes, tips and technique posts covering everything from wild game to fishing, clamming, foraging, mushrooms – you name it. I post every week, and often twice a week, and this is the home of most of my more thoughtful essays on this wild, edible world we live in.

RK And just what is a James Beard Award?

HS Quite simply, it is the Oscars of the food world. There are few higher honors for a chef or a food writer. I was honored to be nominated, which means top three, in 2009 and 2010, and was overjoyed to have won the award in 2013.

RK I know you and Steve Rinella, “The MeatEater,” are friends, but in Steve’s new book he proclaims that most red meat is interchangeable with other red meat in recipes – especially in big game. How do you feel about that? Do you think a person can substitute antelope for mule deer in a recipe?

HS Sort of. There are differences, especially if you begin to stray into more esoteric red meats, like beaver or jackrabbit or mountain goat. These are all red, yes, but some can be strongly flavored. Sticking to venison, there are subtle differences in texture, color and flavor, but most of the flavor differences have to do with diet, age of the animal and proper field care, not species. One important and true difference is size. You cannot sub a moose shoulder for a whitetail doe shoulder in the same recipe without major adjustments. Sure, in the end they might taste similar, but things like cooking time and the amount of additional ingredients will be vastly different. But at its core, Steve’s right: You won’t see too many recipes in Buck, Buck, Moose that demand you use, say, antelope loin as opposed to whitetail or muley loin. You might see things like, “Use a young animal,” or “This one’s for a big animal, like a moose, elk or big muley buck,” but no species-specific recipes.

RK I hear you did one helluva dinner at the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers convention last year. Care to tell us what was on the menu?

HS Ha! Yeah, I busted out a technique from the 1600s called à la Ficelle, which means “on a string.” I had a bunch of antelope hind legs to cook, and I seasoned them simply with olive oil, herbs, salt and lemon, jammed a bunch of garlic cloves in the meat, and then hung them over hot coals. I twisted the twine holding them up to the point where they’d spin on their own, basting themselves and making sure they cooked evenly. They came out great.

RK Speaking of podcasts – and awkward transitions – care to elaborate?

HS Sure. I started a podcast called Hunt Gather Talk. It is a great way to have fun and talk to interesting people about all kinds of topics that touch the wild world. I’ve done solo episodes, which are something of an audible essay, a few where I answer listeners’ questions, but mostly they are conversations. It’s been a lot of work, but I am learning new skills, like audio editing, and I’ve had a great response.

RK I ran out of gas one time with you in my truck, yet you still came back to Idaho to hunt with me. You either really like to hunt Idaho or are crazy.

HS Both, probably. And my ability to give you a hard time about it until we’re both old and senile was more than worth it. Hunting Idaho is still new to me, though. I’ve hunted deer there, quail, rabbits, grouse. I am hoping to get a sage hen this season, and someday draw an elk tag, or maybe even a moose. You can be sure I’ll be back to bother you every year.

RK Can you tell me some of your favorite activities in the Pacific Northwest?

HS Geez, that’s a hard one. The PNW is a wonderland for a guy like me. Mushroom hunting, wild berries up the ying-yang, salmon, albacore, trout, sturgeon. Blue grouse hunting in the mountains, quail in the lowlands, some of the best clamming on planet Earth. You name it.

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RK What is your go-to hunt at home?

HS Ducks. Northern California is one of the best places to hunt waterfowl in North America. I probably spend more time hunting ducks and geese than anything else. It is the one kind of hunting where I feel very comfortable in the role of a guide.

RK If you weren’t on the book tour, what would you spend September doing in the woods? Foraging, fishing, hunting?

HS Yes. All of the above. Albacore offshore, mushrooms in the
woods, grouse in the mountains, doves on Labor Day, blacktail deer hunting on the Sonoma Coast. There is always something going on.

RK What book can we look forward to next?

HS To complete the hunting trilogy, my next book will be all about small game, from upland birds to small mammals. As this was what first got me into hunting, I am really looking forward to it. NS


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Let me give you an example of Paul’s deliberate twisting of scripture. But first, let’s take a look at a verse.

As it is written:
Judge not, that ye be not judged. Judge no man, for all who judge shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Now, you may have realized that nowhere is this passage found written anywhere in the bible; nowhere is this verse found “as it is written” anywhere in scripture.  If you are fluent and well-versed in the bible, you would immediately recognize that this passage was pulled together from three separate verses (Matthew 7:1, John 8:15 and Revelation 21:8) to make the point that we should not judge another person. This method is how someone can pick and choose parts of the text to espouse a fallacious doctrine that is not taught anywhere else in scripture.

As it is written:
Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1)
Judge no man, (John 8:15)
for all who judge shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

Does Jesus, in fact, teach us not to judge another? If we rip the verses out of context then it would certainly seem so, but if we read them in its proper context we get a different message.  Matthew 7:1-5 read in its entirety only teaches us not to be hypocrites when it comes to judging others.  It does not say that we should not judge others, but that we must first remove the beam out of our own eyes, so that we can see clearly to remove the mote out of our brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:1-5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (KJV)

In fact, Jesus teaches that we are to judge righteously and impartially (Luke 12:57; John 7:24).

Luke 12:57
57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? (KJV)

John 7:24
24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (KJV)

So what happened here is the classic twisting of scripture, by taking words out of context and twisting it to fit a particular teaching, and feeding it to the unknowing.  This is clearly wrong, yet people do not realize that this is exactly what Paul does.

Romans 3:9-18
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”(Psalms 14:1-3, 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20)
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”(Psalm 5:9)
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”(Psalm 140:3)
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”(Psalm 10:7)
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”(Isaiah 59:7,8)
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”(Psalm 36:1) (NIV)

Paul strung together bits and pieces from no less than six different passages and passed it off as scripture to the Romans.  The Romans, of course, being Gentiles were unfamiliar with what was written in the Tanakh.  Had they known, they would’ve immediately recognized that there was nowhere in scripture where this entire passage is found “as it is written”.  Keep in mind there are no chapters and verse numbers in the original writings. Paul wanted people to believe that they were incapable of being righteous by works, only righteous by believing. He fooled the Romans into thinking that in all of humanity there were none righteous, none that seek God and none that does good, NOT EVEN ONE!
Click here for entire passage

What does Psalms 14:1-3 and 53:1-3 really say?  Does it actually teach that there are none righteous?  If we read the entire passage, we find that there are indeed righteous people in the bible (verse 5).  Those who do not seek God or does good were a specific reference to ATHEISTS and unbelievers (verse 1), and NOT ALL OF HUMANITY as Paul taught.
Click here for entire passage

Psalms 14:1-7
1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the RIGHTEOUS.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! (NIV)

The bible is replete with passages of individuals who were righteous (Genesis 7:1; Deuteronomy 16:19, 25:1, Psalms 1:5-6, 5:12, 7:9-11, 31:18, Proverbs 14:9, 15:29; Ezekiel 3:21, 14:14; Matthew 23:35; Luke 1:5-6; James 5:16; 1 John 3:7).

Luke 1:5-6
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both RIGHTEOUS before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (KJV)

And there were many who set their hearts out to seek God (2 Chronicles 11:16, 15:12, 20:3-4; Ezra 6:21).

2 Chronicles 11:16
16 And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers. (KJV)

And there were many who did good (2 Chronicles 14:2, 24:15-16, 31:20; Psalms 125:4; Proverbs 11:17; Matthew 12:35, 26:10; 3 John 1:11).

2 Chronicles 14:2
2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: (KJV)

This was deceitfulness on Paul’s part to twist scripture to mislead the church in Rome to further his “faith” doctrine. Setting aside the heresy Paul taught, there are righteous people who seek God and does what is right in God’s eyes.

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Monday, April 27, 2009

Mayor's plan for non-profits in NYC

On April 6th, Mayor Bloomberg announced his "new initiatives to help New York City nonprofits cope with (the) cash crunch as a result of the economic downturn."

The press release lays out the Mayor's plan to provide services and resources for the more than 40,000 cultural, health and social nonprofit organizations in NYC. It addresses issues such as; reducing fixed costs, improving the city's contracting procedures (so that non-profits have a better chance when competing for city contracts), and providing dedicated support for nonprofits.

While the Mayor has identified areas where the city will be directing its efforts, there were few details about specific initiatives or programs.

Several Community Boards have expressed their intent to respond to the Mayor's efforts and will be drafting letters that suggest improvements, specific programs and additional initiatives.

So, here is your chance OOB -- Do you think the Mayor's 10-point plan provides for our community? What are your suggestions?

We will compile a list of suggestions and comments and present them to the Community Boards.

1 comment:

  1. Well, hey. Let's hope this is a step in the right direction.


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Sometime late Wednesday night, it hit him. Jim Fassel knew his depth-depleted team had been fortunate to escape any serious injuries in the first half of the season.

Fassel knew staying healthy was going to be a key for the Giants as they began their second-half playoff push. And then it hit him how suddenly these injuries can arise.

Fassel yesterday announced that two important backup players, cornerback Andre Weathers and tackle Chris Ziemann, are done for the season after tearing anterior cruciate knee ligaments. While these are not crushing blows, they do hit key areas and make it more imperative for the Giants that their starters remain intact.

“After practice the other night it really hit me,” Fassel said. “Dang it. We got a double dose of real bad news.”

This is especially cruel news for Weathers, who last Sunday made his debut this season. A rookie in 1999, Weathers showed plenty of promise before tearing his left ACL in the ninth game of the season. The Giants were cautious in bringing Weathers back, but he reinjured the same knee in the 24-7 victory over the Eagles, will again need surgery and faces another year-long rehab.

“Back to square one,” Fassel said glumly.

Ziemann, a rookie offensive lineman from Michigan, played on special teams in all eight games but was never used with the offense. If anything happened to either Lomas Brown or Luke Petitgout, though, Ziemann was to be the first tackle in as the replacement.

Ziemann was injured on Wednesday when he simply stepped wrong in practice and tore knee ligaments. Both Weathers and Ziemann were placed on injured reserve.

Depth takes a hit here. Weathers last week served as the nickel back, and if Reggie Stephens (sprained ankle) is not able to play, little-used Ramos McDonald moves into the nickel back role. As for backup tackle, Fassel said guard Mike Rosenthal, who has not played yet this season, will be converted back to tackle and activated this week.

There’s more news on the injury front. WR Ron Dixon, who had his foot stepped on during Wednesday’s practice, is doubtful with a sprained foot. He won’t play and his kickoff return duties will likely be assumed by CB Bashir Levingston, who will make his season debut following ankle surgery.

CB Jason Sehorn said he felt ready to play this week, but Fassel decided to hold him back for next week’s game against the Rams.

Sehorn has been out with a broken rib under his collar bone as well as a sprained joint in the same area. Sehorn returned to practice this week on a limited basis.

“I felt good enough,” Sehorn said. “I let [Fassel] make the final decision. He made a valid point. It’s a long season. In a 16-game season one game is not going to make or break anything. Contact might be the only problem, but you can’t tell, you can’t evaluate that in practice. I can’t tell Tiki [Barber] come around there and let me just whack you one.”

Kerry Collins hopes some college pride surfaces if he’s confronted by the menacing pass rush of Browns DE Courtney Brown, who like Collins is from Penn State. Collins hopes Brown takes it easy on him.

“Courtney, if you’re watching, Joe [Paterno] told me there is that rule,” Collins said.

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Don’t fret, frustrated public golfers: There’s an answer to the dilemma of not enough good facilities.

It’s Branton Woods, a formidable new track that’s not only open to the public, but provides near-country club conditions and terrific practice facilities.

Branton Woods is a bit of a hike from Manhattan – about 75 to 90 minutes by car – but it’s worth the ride if you want to make a morning or afternoon of it and you’re tired of teeing off on chopped-up tee boxes and playing 5 1/2-hour rounds.

The goal of Branton Woods, part of Eric Bergstol’s Empire Golf group of high-end public courses, is to give the golfer a country-club experience – a good round of golf on a well-manicured course with all the practice-facility trimmings and a nice clubhouse.

There are some unique features to the course, including Nos. 9 and 18 sharing the same green, which are actually connected by a large practice putting green at the clubhouse.

The course, which is located in Hopewell Junction in Dutchess County and can be reached via the Taconic Parkway, is set on a beautiful piece of property that used to be a buffalo farm and it’s in the midst of improving every day.

For example, on our visit to the course, the one complaint we had was finding the bunkers far too soft with too much sand, making for a lot of buried, fried-egg lies.

Since then, however, some two inches of sand have been removed from the bunkers, allowing the top become more packed down.

They have also acquired a liquor license in the clubhouse, allowing players to bring a cooler of beers or any other cold beverage onto the course in their cart.

Your first experience at Branton Woods is use of the terrific practice areas, which include a large driving range, two putting greens and a chipping green with practice bunkers.

Use of the range is always included in your greens fee, so there’s no issue in having to buy buckets of balls. So the suggestion here is to come early, well before your tee time, and take advantage of the facilities.

On the course, you’ll find five separate teeing areas, the black tees for the low handicapper at 7,100 yards, the blue tees at 6,817 yards, the white tees at 6,329 yards, the gold tees at 5,837 yards and a red tees at 4,956.

The fairways feature generous landing areas, an important feature for a public course to keep play moving. But there are plenty of challenges on the course, which includes some 64 bunkers, changes in elevation and some hearty rough.

One of our favorite holes was No. 4, a 516-yard par-5 which asks the player to hit a tee shot in a landing area before a thatch of rough crosses the fairway. A big drive will allow the big hitter to go for the green in two, but beware the steep bunker in front of the elevated green. It swallows up many Titleists.

We, too, liked the 196-yard par-3 third hole, which features an elevated tee to a sloping right-to-left green.

Perhaps our least favorite hole was No. 2, a 609-yard par-5 from the back tees. The tee shot is somewhat blind and then the second shot can go to a strip of fairway on the right side or the left, but it just doesn’t seem to set up visually. There is a long area of rough that separates the two fairways that just seems misplaced.

Of course, that everyone in our group butchered the hole, the No. 1 handicap, has nothing to do with the fact that it wasn’t a favorite.

178 Stormville Road, Hopewell Junction, N.Y., 12533.

1-845-223-1600; fax 1-845-223-1696

Monday through Thursday $90; Friday $99; Saturday-Sunday $115; Before 8 a.m. Monday-Thursday $70; Friday $75; Twilight (2-5 p.m. tee off) $65; Friday $75; Saturday-Sunday $90.

All greens fees include unlimited use of the practice facilities, which include a driving range, two putting greens and a practice chipping area with bunkers. There is a halfway house for dogs, burgers and beverages.

Full: $4,499, includes unlimited golf. Associate: $2,999, includes unlimited golf from Monday-Friday.

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U.S. troops smashed into Saddam Hussein’s main palace early today, taking control of the complex in Baghdad.

Then U.S. forces thundered into a second presidential palace and battled for other key buildings in the heart of the capital, including the Information Ministry and the Al-Rashid Hotel.

“I do believe this city is freakin’ ours,” said Capt. Chris Carter.

The soldiers rode into downtown Baghdad on 70 tanks and 60 Bradley fighting vehicles.

As many as five Marines were killed en route by an artillery shell.

Yesterday, Marines seized another palace southeast of the city and occupied a Republican Guard headquarters and a suspected terrorist training camp – where investigators found evidence of the deadly nerve agent sarin, according to Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

More than a dozen soldiers were decontaminated after they exhibited symptoms of exposure, including vomiting and skin blotches.

Throughout the country, waving and smiling Iraqis turned out by the thousands yesterday to greet allied troops throughout Iraq.

From the holy Shiite city of Karbala to Basra to Umm Qasr, there were signs that coalition forces were winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

“Good, good, good. Mr. W. Bush, no Saddam,” an elderly man told a reporter in Karbala after soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, took command.

At the request of townsfolk, the troops helped topple a statue of the despised despot. The crowd had swelled to several thousand by the time the statue finally fell.

“It’s very good because we don’t like it,” said one man.

And in Basra, residents greeted British troops with smiles when they rolled into the southern city of 1.3 million in a column of 40 armored personnel carriers.

Allied forces scored another major symbolic victory yesterday when a giant C-130 cargo plane landed at Baghdad airport – quickly demonstrating that the allies were ready to put the newly captured airport to their own use.

A day after staging a daring incursion into the heart of Baghdad, the U.S. sent tanks early this morning into the heart of the city – Saddam’s presidential palace itself.

Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said forces plowed through portions of the Iraqi capital, “destroying all of the enemy vehicles and personnel with whom they’ve come in contact.”

Bombs and artillery fire rained on the city of 5 million day and night. Hospitals were overwhelmed with the wounded.

“We’re attacking right down in the center of the city,” said Major Michael Birmingham, spokesman for the U.S. 3rd Infantry. “The other day was just an incursion. This is for real.”

Col. David Perkins told his troops before the operation that the mission was intended to be “a dramatic show of force” to demonstrate that U.S. forces can enter Baghdad at any time, anywhere.

In other news:

* In northern Iraq, U.S. jets mistakenly bombed a convoy of Kurdish fighters operating with U.S. Special Forces in a battle near Irbil. At least 18 Kurds died and 45 were wounded, including the brother of the leader of the governing Kurdistan Democratic Party.

* A convoy of Russian diplomats, including the ambassador, came under fire while evacuating Baghdad. A correspondent for state-run Russian TV said that the convoy was caught in a crossfire between Iraqi and coalition forces and that three diplomats were hurt – but Central Command said no U.S. forces were in the area.

* Britain has offered amnesty and asylum to one of Iraq’s top generals in exchange for information on Saddam. The brigadier-general, who was believed captured in a raid in Basra more than a week ago, is the most-senior military official in southern Iraq.

* Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said it will take more than six months to establish a post-Saddam Iraqi government.

* A statement attributed to Saddam and read on Iraqi radio and TV offered 15 million dinars – roughly $8,000 – to anyone who destroys an allied tank or armored personnel carrier.

The C-130 transport plane was the first U.S. aircraft to arrive in Baghdad since American forces captured the airfield Thursday.

The airport will be a major resupply base for U.S. forces and a key to providing aid for Iraqi civilians. Its two runways will let the military hopscotch over the 350-mile supply route from Kuwait.

Earlier, troops of the 101st Airborne Division exchanged artillery fire with Iraqi forces probing the airport’s 13-square-mile perimeter. A dozen Iraqis were killed.

After a night battle in Salman Pak, a Tigris River town 20 miles southeast of Baghdad, Marines seized one of Saddam’s many palaces, as well as the terror training camp.

The rusted shell of an old Boeing 707 sat in a field, its tail broken off. Marines speculated that Iraq used the airliner for hijacking practice.

Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of the U.S. Central Command said Marines raided the complex using information obtained from captured foreign fighters of various nations, including Egypt and Sudan.

“The nature of the work being done by some of those people we captured, their inferences about the type of training they received, all these things give us the impression that there is terrorist training” conducted there, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said hospitals in the capital were dealing with a deluge of casualties.


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JUST a month ago, skep tics wondered if antiwar contender Howard Dean truly was the Democratic 2004 front-runner.

Now the new question is whether there’s any way for Dem rivals to stop him.

Answer: It won’t be easy because Dean has built up a real head of steam – his monster rally in New York Tuesday showed it – while ex-front-runner John Kerry (D-Mass.) seems at risk of meltdown.

A shocker Zogby poll yesterday in the key state of New Hampshire (a must-win for Kerry) shows Dean surging to a giant 21-point lead with 38 percent to Kerry’s 17, a turnaround from June, when Kerry led 25 percent to 22 percent. It’s not just Kerry – Rep. Dick Gephardt (Mo.) has slid from 11 percent to 6 percent since last winter. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) is down at 6.

Besides, Dean’s Internet fund-raising seems sure to make him the top Dem in campaign cash – and history says the wannabe with the most dough wins. Dean aides predict $10.3 million this quarter, so you can bet their real target is more like $13 million.

All of which has rivals desperately seeking a “silver bullet” to shock Dem activists into thinking twice about Dean – who does have some awkward points in his record as Vermont governor.

Like his lousy relations with America’s beloved heroes – the firefighters. The Vermont firefighters union claims Dean gave them short shrift because he didn’t join their push for firefighter survivors benefits or safety laws on items such as smoke detectors, left them off a post-Sept. 11 task force and rarely consulted them.

Team Dean hit back by highlighting his role as “national advocate against sparklers.”

Or take the fact that Dean, physician and health-care advocate, last year called for forcing the poorest Vermont seniors to pay more for Medicaid prescription drugs. And he fumed that lawmakers who disagreed “did not have the spine” to make cuts.

Dean wanted to wipe out a Vermont program that paid half the drug cost for seniors and the disabled with incomes less than $19,000 – and to end free adult dentures, chiropractic care and podiatry coverage.

Will any of this stop the Dean steamroller?

He’s made a real emotional connection with activists, so maybe not. But you can bet rivals will start trying at next Thursday’s debate in Albuquerque, N.M. Their goal will be fireworks – not just sparklers.


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DSK freed after 2nd day of questioning, set to face investigators again

LILLE, France — Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from a French police station on Wednesday after two days of questioning about an alleged illegal prostitution ring.

The 62-year-old former Socialist minister was driven away by car with a police motorcycle escort from the station in the northern city of Lille, where dozens of journalists had gathered.

Prosecutors said Strauss-Kahn, once considered a frontrunner to become the next president of France, would be summoned to appear again before investigating magistrates in March over a series of sex parties.

He was freed after being detained for about 32 hours for questioning by police on charges of “abetting aggravated pimping by an organized gang” and “misuse of company funds”.

During his interrogation, Strauss-Kahn told investigators he did not suspect women he met at orgies were prostitutes, as they were introduced to him by senior police officers, a source close to the probe said.

When he next talks to authorities, Strauss-Kahn will either be interviewed under caution as a witness or to face charges linked to prostitution and corruption, the source said.

Frederique Baulieu, one of Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, said his client was “perfectly satisfied” to have been heard by investigators and that he had responded to the questioning in a “calm” manner.

He was also to be quizzed by France’s police internal affairs department, the IGPN, which is conducting a separate inquiry into a senior officer, Commissioner Jean-Christophe Lagarde, who has been charged with pimping.

Strauss-Kahn, who until last year seen as the likely candidate to replace Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France, was taken into custody on Tuesday.

Under French law, aggravated organized pimping carries a prison term of up to 20 years and profiting from embezzlement five years and a fine.

Investigating magistrates want to know whether he was aware that women who entertained him at parties in restaurants, hotels and swingers’ clubs in Paris and Washington were paid prostitutes.

They will also ask whether Strauss-Kahn knew the escorts were paid with funds allegedly fraudulently obtained from a public works company by his hosts.

Paying a prostitute is not illegal in France, but profiting from vice or embezzling company funds to pay for sex can lead to charges.

The former managing director of the IMF admits he has an uninhibited sex life, but rejects any role in pimping or corruption and has indicated he will deny any criminal wrongdoing.

Lawyer Henri Leclerc has said his client may not have known he was with prostitutes as “in these parties, you’re not necessarily dressed. I defy you to tell the difference between a nude prostitute and a nude woman of quality.”

Fabrice Paszkowski, a medical equipment tycoon with ties to Strauss-Kahn’s Socialist Party, and David Roquet, former director of a local subsidiary of building giant BTP Eiffage, have already been charged in the scandal.

The pair are alleged to have links to a network of French and Belgian prostitutes centered on the Carlton Hotel in Lille, a well-known meeting place of the local business and political elite in a city run by the Socialist Party.

In all, eight people are facing trial in connection with the “Carlton affair,” including three executives from the luxury hotel itself, a leading lawyer and the police chief, Lagarde.


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The big easy

Mayor de Blasio continues to dismiss questions about charter schools by saying they represent only 5% of New York’s student population. Which makes a contrast with New Orleans illuminating.

There, both the Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, and a Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu, are supporting a dramatic experiment in public education: In today’s New Orleans, nine out of 10 public-school students attend charter schools. In addition, slightly less than half of the city’s total student population attend Catholic schools.

In other words, this is the reverse of New York. It is a decentralized system that grew out of failure. When Katrina hit, New Orleans was among the worst school districts in the nation. Now it’s improving.

Sen. Landrieu put it this way: “We’re not rebuilding the city we were, we’re rebuilding the city we’ve always dreamed we could be . . . and that includes a brand new entrepreneurial, public-school system.” Jindal has backed this up with support for vouchers that extend choice even further. In other words, the emphasis is not on who’s providing the education but who can deliver results.

The experiment is still in its early days, but despite constant attacks by the satraps of the status quo, it’s showing results.

Polls show parents like having choices. Graduation rates are up. And students qualifying for college scholarships based on testing have jumped to 27% in 2013, compared to less than 6% pre-Katrina.

A report by Tulane University’s Cowen Institute summed up student performance gains this way: “In the years since Hurricane Katrina, public schools in New Orleans have seen standardized-test performance improve, fewer students attend failing schools and more students graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace. The progress extends to all school types and all performance measures.”

New Orleans still has a way to go. But it is going in the right direction. Maybe New York’s moms and dads should send Mayor Bill down to the Big Easy — and let him see what a school system based on choice and charters can do to boost achievement and reduce inequality.


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Jessica Simpson stuns at White House Correspondents’ dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was held on Saturday night and while all eyes are usually on Michelle Obama and what she’s wearing, Jessica Simpson was the style surprise of the evening — stealing some of the first lady’s spotlight. The songstress showed up in a floral black-and-white Carolina Herrera gown that showed off her slender body. Her Neil Lane earrings were pretty fabulous, but I’m sure most would agree that her best accessory was her fiancé, Eric Johnson.

While we all remember the “mom jeans” incident (she and Johnson have two children together), Jessica is definitely working hard for people to forget that low moment, and it’s working. Even before she reached her Weight Watchers goal weight, Jessica has been popping up at events and turning heads like never before.

Here are a few of her best looks:

Jessica opted to show just the right amount of skin in a strapless Carolina Herrera floral gown while attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.

Jessica Simpson and fiancé Eric Johnson at Los Angeles International Airport.Splash News

She looks effortlessly rocker chic upon arrival in an almost-all-black ensemble at the LA airport.

She shook up the red carpet at John Varvatos’ 11th annual Stuart House Benefit on April 13, in this can’t-miss yellow minidress.

Jessica Simpson at the 11th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House benefit.Splash News

If you’ve got legs, you should show them, and Jessica did just that on her recent travels to Washington, DC.

Take note: a tan plus black skinny jeans equals sleek perfection while out and about in NYC in January.


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Sanchez’ good sense: Miss USA & self-defense

Miss USA Nia Sanchez has more pro-women sense than many a PC feminist.

Asked about rape on campus, the beauty queen said, “I think more awareness is very important so women can learn how to protect themselves.”

She went on: “Myself, as a fourth-degree black belt, I learned from a young age that you need to be confident and be able to defend yourself. And I think that’s something that we should start to really implement for a lot of women.”

Cue the outrage.

Feminist Twitterati, bloggers and writers accused Sanchez of “perpetuating rape culture” and “victim-blaming.”

Cosmopolitan’s Elisa Benson tweeted, “I get that the college sexual-assault problem can’t be solved in 30 secs but still icky to pretend like self-defense is the answer” — and was retweeted or favorited more than 400 times.

Nearly 2,000 Facebook users shared a Slate article by Amanda Marcotte claiming “the implication . . . is that women who do suffer rape are not confident and are insufficiently interested in their own safety.”

Such criticisms boil down to the naïve and unhelpful argument that Rape Shouldn’t Happen. Problem is, it does — despite enormous media attention and preventive and punitive efforts from both the government and college officials.

To borrow a phrase from a recent “Game of Thrones” episode: “There is no ‘safe.’ ” The Justice Department reported 346,830 rapes in 2012, the latest year on record. The real number is surely higher, as rape is notoriously underreported.

And that’s only one aspect of sexual violence: The #yesallwomen hashtag was used more than 2 million times in its first week; these moving posts offer a glimpse into how frequently women feel subjected to sexual harassment, intimidation, violence and misogyny.

Feminists are right in identifying a rape problem but wrong — dangerously so — to suggest that we encourage “rape culture” when we urge women to learn to protect themselves.

Sexual violence is a problem as old and as intractable as evil itself, and women need as many options as possible against it.

And Miss USA is on to something. Highly reputable studies suggest that self-defense is actually quite effective against sexual violence.

Criminologists Gary Klek of Florida State University and Jongyeon Tark of Hannam recently published one of the most comprehensive studies ever of women resisting sexual assault.

Their findings were remarkable. When women fought back, tried to escape or otherwise defended themselves, the attacker completed the rape only 19.1 percent of the time, compared with 88.1 percent when the victims didn’t resist.

And women who fought back usually did not “provoke” the rapist into becoming more violent and inflicting further injury.

Finally, most of the victims who successfully fought off a rapist didn’t use a weapon, which suggests that the self-defense skills Miss USA endorsed are very effective.

Klek and Tark (and Sanchez) aren’t the only ones saying this, either.

A 2010 study in the journal Crime & Delinquency found that when victims fought back, it cut the odds of a completed rape by up to 92 percent.

A report in Pediatrics this spring found that Nairobi teens with even limited self-defense training later experienced fewer sexual assaults than their peers — and were more likely to report any that had occurred.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that a woman with self-defense skills can stop a rapist. But the fact that some can’t doesn’t mean that self-defense skills are worthless.

Sanchez’s critics also contend that, if some women manage to defend themselves from sexual violence, the culture will somehow assign more guilt to rape victims who responded with ineffective resistance or none.

Huh? It’s widely accepted that the culpability for rape always lies with the rapist and never with the victim. How is it rational to assume that encouraging women to protect themselves will somehow confuse the public about who’s at fault?

The critics also say it’s not the victim’s responsibility to prevent rape. Of course not — but it’s to her great benefit to protect herself from being raped if she can.

There’s no single cure-all for sexual violence. But the “feminists” lambasting Sanchez aren’t helping at all: Their message is that we should rely on the government and other officials to protect us, and to somehow revolutionize morality of bad men.

Sorry, that’s a step backward for women’s empowerment. Miss USA has it right: We can and should do what we can to take our safety into our own capable hands.

Jillian Kay Melchior writes for National Review as a fellow for the Franklin Center and the Independent Women’s Forum.

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benzrad, 华中朱子卓

after learned from its official site, www.rememberthemilk.com, that its mainly a muslim supported family company, I felt need of my data portability. the client and site defied csv export, however, 2 days research online python tool, pyrtm, and a local converter, todotxt_import-master.zip at https://codeload.github.com, I got my python environment on ubuntu running and finally got txt or csv exported. last day and overnight spent on cleaning data which has date errors. I spent near 10 hours cramming google sheet function/formula, aiming convert format "Week Mon-day" into "yyyy-mm-dd" among which passed years missing. I want to verifying year according the week information, such a common problem but few online community knowledge touched. mounting problems with the converting let me gave up in dawn and search for alternative ways to retrieve my data from the unfriend website. and my search rewards on ubuntu, the todotxt_import tool, a local niche working like a charm. then again there small portion of task to reformat well exported text in google sheet spreads in cells of different columns and rows, all stripes via google sheet functions from sole import of exported. my newly learned skill in last 24 hours helps a lot, and soon I satisfied with final dataset almost intact maintains original source of import, and published at once online onto to zhone web, ie : http://l.zho.io/lovesone or http://www.zuo.center/faezrland God, dad, isn't it a wonderful journey re-enliven me in escort of powerful google? help me settle my golden memories in the todolist archive, and reinforce my workspace with newly adopted todolist managemental, toodledo at www.toodledo.com. in the new journey with toodledo, my data portable must be more promising!

benzrad daily todo lists / agenda since his web log and old family brings world the biggest gift, woz 楚甲主, since the birth of the Son's 1st child, exported from remember the milk web site which defies csv export. here exported with pyrtm and sorted in google sheet. publish here for golden memories of zhone Royal China in hard times and spontaneous joyful life stream under saint shines. Now with settled museum of those innocent era, the Royal China archive more solidated and wonderful. let the life stream floats forever on berth of the Earth planet.

Get a copy of the archive from Google Docs or our site.

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St Ignatius Church
3704 Spring Hill Ave
Mobile, AL 36608
More Obituaries for Robert Hatcher
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Robert Lee Hatcher III

1943 - 2017 Obituary Condolences
Robert Lee Hatcher III Obituary
Robert Lee Hatcher III was born in White Plains, NY on November 9, 1943 to Robert Lee and Genevieve Singleton Hatcher (Mr. & Mrs. Robert Lee Hatcher, Jr). He graduated from Scarsdale High School, attended Duke University, and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration from St. Andrews Presbyterian College. He earned a Masters of Finance from the University of Alabama where he met his wife, Jimmie Campbell. This August would commemorate their 51st anniversary. Bob followed in his father's Wall Street footsteps in 1967, starting in and rising to lead the Municipal Bond Department at Chemical Bank and then in 1979 joining the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX) where he directed the development of New Financial Markets, acting as the liaison with the U.S. Department of Treasury and Federal Reserve Board as well as representing the Exchange domestically and internationally. In 1982, he opened the first regional division of FTN Financial Capital Markets (formerly First Tennessee Bank Bond Division) in Mobile, Alabama. The success of this venture provided a model that would be replicated throughout the United States and abroad. Prior to his retirement in 2015, he was presented the Award for Distinction from FTN Financial in 2014. Bob was a natural leader with an innate understanding that his success came from helping others to reach their fullest potential. He could spot talent anywhere and knew how to motivate and inspire those he mentored. He found great joy in the success stories he helped to forge throughout his career. In 2012, The Bob and Jimmie Hatcher Endowed Scholarship fund was established in support of the Culverhouse Graduate School of Business at University of Alabama. Each year it is awarded to a student of academic distinction majoring in business with a concentration in monetary economics. Bob will be remembered for his profound generosity of knowledge, wisdom and resources. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Ann Hatcher Greene. He is survived by his wife, Jimmie, and his three daughters, Campbell, Perry and Spencer. Funeral services will held Tuesday, August 15th at St. Ignatius, 3704 Spring Hill Avenue Mobile, AL 36608; 11am Visitation in the Gymnasium followed by 1pm Mass. Burial to follow at Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Bob and Jimmie Hatcher Endowed Scholarship at the University of Alabama, Office of University Advancement, Box 870101, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 or to St. Ignatius Parish Capital Campaign, 3704 Spring Hill Avenue, Mobile, AL 36608.
Published in the Mobile Register and Baldwin County from Aug. 11 to Aug. 13, 2017
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Stavros Elias Shamos

Stavros Elias
Shamos, 91
PORTLAND -- Stavros Elias Shamos (Steve) passed away peacefully in his home on Dec. 18, 2012. He was born in Politasani, Albania in 1921, the eldest of three children and the only son of Marigo (Economous) and Elias Shamos. At the age of 15, he immigrated to the United States to join his father in Brockton, Mass. He served in WWII for four years, stationed in England, and returned to live in Portland on Vannah Ave., where he has resided for over 65 years.
Steve married Melpomeni Boufides in 1947, also born in Politsani, and they lived a blessed life as partners for almost 67 years. Together, they raised three children and have been fortunate to be active in the lives of their eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Steve owned and operated The Quality Shop on Stevens Avenue in Portland for his whole working career, expanding the business to include his son, who owns it to this day. A local icon in Deering Center, many people knew Steve as a hard worker who ran his business as a perfectionist and a gentleman.
Active in the Greek communities of Portland and Brockton, Mass., he enjoyed many happy 'name days' and Epirotika festivals. Steve was involved in his Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, serving many years on their board of trustees and other committees throughout his life.
Together with his wife and children, he traveled to many places in the world including Greece, and a special trip to his homeland village of Politsani in 1996. Steve retired at the age of 57 and later bought a second home in West Palm Beach, Fla. where he and Melpo enjoyed more than 25 winters, entertaining family and friends.
Steve had many wonderful friends in his life but his family always came first. As a husband, brother, father, 'Pappou', Uncle, and Godfather, he taught his family to always be there for each other, watch their pennies, and appreciate each precious moment in life. He always said that he was a lucky man having lived a wonderful life.
In addition to his wife, Steve is survived by his son, Michael, his wife, Vicki of Portland; and his daughter, Elaine Shamos of Hanover, N.H. His eight grandchildren include: Carrie Shamos of Portland, Eli Shamos, his partner, Rae Thompson of Los Angeles, Calif., Leah Twitchell of Brunswick, Andrew Shamos, his wife, Ashley, and daughter Ruby Mae of Standish, Theanna Twitchell, her partner, Brian Pramick of Portland, Alex Gaylor, his wife, Andrea of Brandon, Vt., Noah Twitchell of Oakand, Calif. and his step-grandchild, Thane Gaylor of San Francisco, Calif. He also leaves his sister, Rhea Williams and her children, Becki Smith and Esther Pliss of Portland; his sister Kasiani Paras and her children, Leta Paras of Portland, and James Paras of Gorham; his brother-in-law, Nick Boufides, his wife, Truly of Canton, Mass. and their children, Dina Crnkovich of Winnetka, Ill. and Kecia Muller of Ridgefield, Conn.; and his godchild, Jim Venetos of Los Angeles, Calif. His daughter, Marie Shamos Twitchell predeceased him in 2005.
Visiting hours will be on Friday, Dec. 21, from 2- 4 p.m. and 6 - 8 p.m., with Trisagion service at 7 p.m. at Jones, Rich, and Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., Portland. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22 at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 155 Pleasant St., in Portland. Burial will follow at Forest City Cemetery.
Memorial contributions
may be made to:
The Holy Trinity Greek
Orthodox Church
155 Pleasant St.
Portland, ME 04101 or:
VNA Home Health & Hospice
50 Foden Rd., Suite 3
South Portland, ME 04106

Stavros Elias Shamos
Jones, Rich & Hutchins
Funeral Home & Cremation Service

Send Flowers

Funeral Home

Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home
199 Woodford Street Portland, ME 04103
(207) 775-3763

Published in Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on Dec. 20, 2012


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Home > Ocala jobs > Ocala driver/delivery/courier

Posted: Monday, October 2, 2017 11:17 PM

Being a CDL-A truck driver is a noble profession. You deserve better pay & opportunities.
Leading refrigerated carrier, TransAm Trucking, is seeking company CDL-A truck drivers for long-haul career opportunities! TransAm drivers have access to everything they need to enjoy life on the road, including competitive pay and top-of-the-line equipment.
32 cents per mile loaded and empty (total compensation plus per diem)
Medical, dental, and life insurance options
Driver Referral Bonus
401(k) retirement plan
Paid vacations
Section 125 cafeteria plan
Medical expense & dependent care reimbursement account
Passenger plan
Bonus program
100% lumper reimbursement
$20 Stop Pay
Free Transflo remote paperwork processing
Medical and dental insurance premiums are deducted from your paycheck before taxes which means you take home more money.
TransAm Equipment
We offer Kenworth T680 trucks equipped with PACCAR MX engines to save fuel and cut down on noise. All trucks are outfitted with features like:
Automatic transmissions
Condo cabs
Dual bunks
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Forum Post: Immortal Technique - poverty of philosophy

Posted 5 years ago on May 22, 2012, 10:14 p.m. EST by bestevidence (170)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Poverty of Philosophy Lyrics Performed by Immortal Technique Review The Song (13) Send "Poverty of Philosophy" Ringtone to your Cell

Most of my Latino and black people who are struggling to get food, clothes and shelter in the hood are so concerned with that, that philosophising about freedom and socialist democracy is usually unfortunately beyond their rationale. They don't realize that America can't exist without separating them from their identity, because if we had some sense of who we really are, there's no way in hell we'd allow this country to push it's genocidal consensus on our homelands. This ignorance exists, but it can be destroyed.

Niggas talk about change and working within the system to achieve that. The problem with always being a conformist is that when you try to change the system from within, it's not you who changes the system; it's the system that will eventually change you. There is usually nothing wrong with compromise in a situation, but compromising yourself in a situation is another story completely, and I have seen this happen long enough in the few years that I've been alive to know that it's a serious problem. Latino America is a huge colony of countries whose presidents are cowards in the face of economic imperialism. You see, third world countries are rich places, abundant in resources, and many of these countries have the capacity to feed their starving people and the children we always see digging for food in trash on commercials. But plutocracies, in other words a government run by the rich such as this one and traditionally oppressive European states, force the third world into buying overpriced, unnecessary goods while exporting huge portions of their natural resources.

I'm quite sure that people will look upon my attitude and sentiments and look for hypocrisy and hatred in my words. My revolution is born out of love for my people, not hatred for others.

You see, most of Latinos are here because of the great inflation that was caused by American companies in Latin America. Aside from that, many are seeking a life away from the puppet democracies that were funded by the United States; places like El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Republica Dominicana, and not just Spanish-speaking countries either, but Haiti and Jamaica as well.

As different as we have been taught to look at each other by colonial society, we are in the same struggle and until we realize that, we'll be fighting for scraps from the table of a system that has kept us subservient instead of being self-determined. And that's why we have no control over when the embargo will stop in Cuba, or when the bombs will stop dropping in Vieques.

But you see, here in America the attitude that is fed to us is that outside of America there live lesser people. "Fuck them, let them fend for themselves." No, Fuck you, they are you. No matter how much you want to dye your hair blonde and put fake eyes in, or follow an anorexic standard of beauty, or no matter how many diamonds you buy from people who exploit your own brutally to get them, no matter what kind of car you drive or what kind of fancy clothes you put on, you will never be them. They're always gonna look at you as nothing but a little monkey. I'd rather be proud of what I am, rather than desperately trying to be something I'm really not, just to fit in. And whether we want to accept it or not, that's what this culture or lack of culture is feeding us.

I want a better life for my family and for my children, but it doesn't have to be at the expense of millions of lives in my homeland. We're given the idea that if we didn't have these people to exploit then America wouldn't be rich enough to let us have these little petty material things in our lives and basic standards of living. No, that's wrong. It's the business giants and the government officials who make all the real money. We have whatever they kick down to us. My enemy is not the average white man, it's not the kid down the block or the kids I see on the street; my enemy is the white man I don't see: the people in the white house, the corporate monopoly owners, fake liberal politicians those are my enemies. The generals of the armies that are mostly conservatives those are the real Mother-Fuckers that I need to bring it to, not the poor, broke country-ass soldier that's too stupid to know shit about the way things are set up.

In fact, I have more in common with most working and middle-class white people than I do with most rich black and Latino people. As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that classism is the real issue. Many of us are in the same boat and it's sinking, while these bougie Mother-Fuckers ride on a luxury liner, and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a better standard of living as a whole.

In other words, I don't want to escape the plantation I want to come back, free all my people, hang the Mother-Fucker that kept me there and burn the house to the god damn ground. I want to take over the encomienda and give it back to the people who work the land.

You cannot change the past but you can make the future, and anyone who tells you different is a Fucking lethargic devil. I don't look at a few token Latinos and black people in the public eye as some type of achievement for my people as a whole. Most of those successful individuals are sell-outs and house Negros.

But, I don't consider brothers a sell-out if they move out of the ghetto. Poverty has nothing to do with our people. It's not in our culture to be poor. That's only been the last 500 years of our history; look at the last 2000 years of our existence and what we brought to the world in terms of science, mathematics, agriculture and forms of government. You know the idea of a confederation of provinces where one federal government controls the states? The Europeans who came to this country stole that idea from the Iroquois LEAGUE. The idea of impeaching a ruler comes from an Aztec tradition. That's why Montezuma was stoned to death by his own people 'cause he represented the agenda of white Spaniards once he was captured, not the Aztec people who would become Mexicans.

So in conclusion, I'm not gonna vote for anybody just 'cause they black or Latino they have to truly represent the community and represent what's good for all of us proletariat.

Porque sino entonces te mando por el carajo cabron gusano hijo de puta, seramos libre pronto, viva la revolucion, VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

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[-] 2 points by timirninja (263) 5 years ago

Sick Jacken. Immortals, Mos Def, Eminem are tough niggas alive. How that sound to you? Yeah right, niggas are scared to even whisper because eye watching them. Eminem - Till Eye Collapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3oBZ4_TNys


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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Out the back window of the bus
streets twist and climb, buildings part and then-
the sunrise.

the huge blood-orange half-sun, climbing over the horizon
the pinkish-lavender hues of the sky
the early morning city smog
the river sparkling white and the bridge,
illuminated with a thousand twinkling headlights
its bases disappearing in tendrils of fog.
the farine five roses sign, ledgible in the midst of it all,
soflty blinking red and more red.
Montréal in all its beauty.

she once was a true love of mine.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

if only.

John Irving

Jack and his mom went on standing in the sea of girls, until the girls’ rides had come and gone, and those on foot had left not even the sound of their shoes behind, or their intimidating but stimulating laughter. However, there was still enough warmth in the early-fall air to hold their scent, which Jack reluctantly inhaled and confused with perfume. With most of the girls at St. Hilda’s, it was not their perfume that lingered in the air; it was the smell of the girls themselves, which Jack Burns would never grow used to or take for granted. Not even by the time he left grade four.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Friday, October 23, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009

Bark Bark Bark - I Love You But I Don't (Reprise) from Jacob Safari on Vimeo.

Created by Jacob Safari
Clips are from the film The Birds, by Alfred Hitchcock

Official video for I Love You But I Don't, from Bark Bark bark. Available digitally and physically on Tour Girlfriends from Retard Disco, 2009.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Spotting pink cheeks - w4w

Back to school cool
I see you everywhere
I hear you're single
I think you should go dancing friday
I'll say hi this time

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Friday, October 9, 2009

I have nothing to prove.
I have nothing to prove.
I have nothing to prove.

walk with me

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Lou Reed and David Bowie, 1973.


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ReMix: Psychonauts "Psychotic Censors" 3:21

By Mazedude

Artist Links
piano synth woodwinds
Arranging the music of one song...

"The Censors Unleashed"

Primary Game: Psychonauts (Majesco, 2005, XBOX), music by Peter McConnell

Posted 2007-10-31, evaluated by the judges panel

Happy Halloween! This is a little bit late, for which I apologize, but it seems like everyone and their grandmother has a late October or early November birthday, and I actually spent most of tonight with friends and family celebrating not one but two belated birthdays. Honestly, although it's ironic since I'm a huge fan of horror films, Halloween has never really been a big thing for me, but I can appreciate those who DO get into the mood... it's sorta like socially acceptable cosplay for the masses. At any rate, there's still some hours left in the nocturne, and it's thus not too late for some Halloween-themed mixage, courtesy one dude of Maze. Mr. Getman presents us with our first mix of Psychonauts, a critically-acclaimed, innovative game that didn't sell as well as it should have but is often pointed to as an example of how the art form has progressed and how innovation and more involved, intelligent thematic material is doable. Chris asked me to pimp the recently released Bad Dudes EP-03 as part of this mix writeup; it's an album of kickass Halloween-themed game mixes by a lot of familiar names that's sure to get your fright on, in a positive and musical fashion. Are you bad enough to download it? Check it and other great EPs out over on OneUp Studios' website. About the mix itself, the artist writes:

"Well, Psychonauts has become one of my all-time favorite video games. It is inventive, humorous, clever, and fun. Coinciding with this is an amazing soundtrack, composed by one of my all-time favorite game composers, Peter McConnell. His partnership with Tim Schafer on previous adventure games such as Day of the Tentacle, Sam n Max, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and others have provided me with countless hours of video-game playing joy. As a composer, he is very difficult to remix, as his chord style is very chromatic, unpredictable, and complex. Yet, as a die-hard remixer I have taken the time to decipher a few of his songs over time, and have enjoyed the challenge in remixing them.

The soundtrack to Psychonauts is rather unusual. While it still maintains the Peter McConnell vibes, it was heavily influenced and inspired by the soundtrack to the feature film "Beetlejuice," composed by Danny Elfman. In fact, this particular track is reminiscent of the score to the scene where Beetlejuice becomes a giant snake and attacks the family. So, all in all, I am blending a great many things together in my remix (like usual, hehe). We have Peter McConnell, Danny Elfman, a hint of Henry Mancini (as the bassline is also slightly reminiscent of "Peter Gunn" ), some circus elements (considering the game itself has a lot of circus elements), and of course, good ol' industrial Mazedude goodness."

My older sister once unsuccessfully tried to convince our high school band director to do an entire marching band program of Danny Elfman music, leading off with the intro to Beetlejuice, which is my favorite piece off the OST and possibly by Elfman overall. True story. Chris did a better job summarizing this mix and what it's all about than I would, so instead I'll shamelessly quote Mr. Orichalcon... I don't know if they have Halloween down under, but he's groovy regardless:

"The melody is awesomely remixed in a retro-dark mood, pitch-sliding all over the place. The beats are dark and thick, the piano is evil and foreboding. Can't ask for anything better."

Very cool. Enjoy our first Psychonauts mix, another great Mazedude mix, and an excellent Halloween mix, all rolled up into one tasty bundle that's all treat and no trick.

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
on 2011-09-02 23:22:28

This reminds me a lot of the gargan roo theme from ff9. Pretty cool stuff!

on 2010-10-31 05:21:27

I don't know which is more menacing: the many risings in the scales that pile on a sense of unease like a stack of wrestlers, or the bass piano endorsing them. Together, they bare and chomp their teeth. What's even more amusing is how the volume-tamed niches and the mainstream music quotes slip right in like they couldn't be more comfortable - the Mozart bit in particular sounds like it's saying, "here's a bright idea for you!"

If this was a Halloween mask, it would sport a sharp-toothed grin. ^WW^

on 2010-05-28 16:55:54

For some reason I'm reminded of Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I haven't played Psychonauts, but if it plays like it sounds, for this I'd give it a try.

on 2010-04-05 01:53:27

This mix is what the people need-- what the people deserve.

on 2009-12-17 04:04:03

Never played Psychonaughts unfortunately, but I still love this track.

The tracks needs a couple of listens to get used to and understand everything that's going on (plus all the little hidden motifs), but aftereards, you realise how awesome of a track it is. This is dark, twisted, nightmarish every other demonic related word I can think of.

Great work by Mazedude.

on 2009-05-22 09:05:13

Ah Psychonauts. I thought the game was a lot more interesting than it was fun. Sort of a once only experience. Its soundtrack was a bit of the same for me, although there was some great orchestral themes in it.

From what I remember, this mix is pretty faithful to the original. There is more of an edge here, obviously, and is embedded with a lot more cameos (although I'm pretty sure some of them were in it originally).

I don't think I'd label this as essential listening, and is more of an acquired taste. A lot of it has to do with the theme, which teeters on dissonant with it's high-registers and unpredictable progression.

It's a great recreation of the source game, however, and really captures the tone of what it was about. Insane characters entering the insane minds of other insane characters. Who better to deliver the perfect soundtrack to that but Mazedude.

Whereas the source was a bit dry for me, I can enjoy this update a great deal more. Great work as always.

on 2008-09-29 20:18:57

i never played this game, ( i want to though, cause i've heard it's something else )

BUT THIS is just pure love ..

thank you md

on 2008-02-14 14:45:13

Very interesting, this is a track that takes several listens to get a decent feel for, and then several more to get a working familiarity with. There are so many hidden motifs in this, like the aforementioned Peter Gunn theme, as well as a few others I can't as readily name, but mostly recognize from ages-ago music theory classes or commercials. :P

This mix plays out as an aggressive stroll down some demonic main street with all sorts of things happening at once as you pass. It juxtaposes at a breakneck speed, sometimes sounding completely natural, and shifting to something jarringly mechanical (like that insane piano run). Qualities like this actually add to the nightmarish feel, as if for a moment things seem normal on the surface, and then the facade is ripped away suddenly, revealing something else entirely beneath.

Not something i'd listen to casually, but undeniably compelling. It will take a few listens, but you'd do well to get familiar with this one. Very much a quality mix.

on 2007-12-20 16:21:07

This is an excellent track that might easily have gone wrong and turned pretentious, but didn't. Instead, it uses sound variety combined with a ostinato-turning-theme that drives the piece with a powerful chord. Besides all the the great musicianship, there is a minor complaint to be made, which is that the artist could have been slightly more liberal in overall dynamics to make it perfect. But this is it, apart from that it is simple a great song.

Martin Penwald
on 2007-11-16 16:04:35

This is classic Mazedude from the very beginning. Powerful, twisted, sick, wonderful. All at once.

Also, the Peter Gunn theme in there is hilarious.

Keep up the good work, and hopefully we're going to hear more from you soon.

on 2007-11-04 23:13:21

I'm envious of the way you can fill your works with an overwhelming dark atmosphere. I've tried so many times and failed to do the same. When the Peter Gunn theme came slithering through at the 1:30 mark unexpectedly, you won me over with goosebumps.:

Overall fantastic mix. I love the style.

Dr. Rod
on 2007-11-03 22:46:07

I think this is definitely the halloween track for OCR....very spooky, very jarring (in a creepy way). The low piano really carried that whole jarring feel very well. I may have to check out psychonauts now......

on 2007-11-02 09:31:37

I'm so glad Psychonauts got love. MAZEDUDE LOVE! THE GREATEST LOVE THERE IS!

nice one

on 2007-11-02 08:59:11

Very nice work. This isn't like anything I'm used to hearing. It's very refreshing in that regard and fits the Halloween mood perfectly. Great stuff all around. I really need to try this game at some point.

Top Gun
on 2007-11-02 05:38:52

Oh, this is beyond win. It's like you took the creepy, disjointed feeling of the original track (and most of the game, for that matter) and cranked it up to 11. I just had the pleasure of finishing this game up a short while back, despite first playing it soon after it came out, and this fits it to a T. Excellent work. :)

Sources Arranged (1 Song)

Primary Game:
Psychonauts (Majesco, 2005, XBOX)
Music by Peter McConnell
"The Censors Unleashed"

Tags (3)

Piano, Synth, Woodwinds

File Information

5,432,633 bytes
Featured on album...

Zombies Rocked My Neighbors

album cover
Published 2007-10-25

Kirby’s Liberation Service
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Many Dachshund Shirt Designs

Look at all these "Weiner Dog" shirts-

weiner dog petshirt
weiner dog by figstreetstudio
See all the pet clothing online with

Dachshund Quilt Square shirt
Dachshund Quilt Square by figstreetstudio
See more t-shirts created on zazzle

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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Update!

Thanks BOLS Well I have not had any games in a week but I thought I would post some updates on modeling. Got in a Rogue Idol from Forge World. Started to assemble a War Altar for a friend and got a mangler squig to work on as well, and started painting some unholy daemons.
Next been working on a building we got in a year ago but just didn't do anything with it. Decided that with old rubble pieces from the Dreadstone blight that I might be able to put together a 2nd tower. So after using a hot knife to cut a new 2 inch stone base out of styrofoam we got the tower together and its 3 stories high and the other is 1.5 stories plus the base. Both are big enough to hide monsters behind and for the price tag, personally, I think its worth it for the 2 larger buildings. Both are in preparation for Mid West Rampage in May!
Buildings now primed black!

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Blog Categories
  • The Debates Heat up on Natural Gas Rates

Image Courtesy of

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Last week, Ontario Energy Group Consumer Watch discussed the proposed natural gas hike that Enbridge had submitted, following uncharacteristically brutal 2013-2014 winter weather. The debates rage on whether or not this proposed hike, originally offered at 40% current rates, is feasible or fair for Ontario homeowners in the face of gas shortages and increased consumption.

The Ontario Energy Board has seen an influx of letter writing from both Ontario homeowners and businesses, questioning the good sense of Enbridge’s petition for higher rates. In the meanwhile, the Ontario Energy Board has proposed an interim rate instead of the proposed rate to be shuffled out on April 1st. This would give all parties involved the ability to assess how homeowners and businesses can cope with a rate hike going forward.

In many ways, all parties are locked on the issue, with Enbridge’s financial strength competing against an Ontario populace increasing frustrated with the state of Ontario’s energy system, the results of the infamous 2013 Ice Storm, and the general fear that rate hikes won’t be a short term solution to gas shortages.

Ontario Minister of the Environment Gord Miller commented on the situation as such:

“The winter of 2013/2014 might be an anomaly, but it should introduce a note of caution about our high reliance in Ontario on natural gas to meet our energy needs.”

Energy needs which have consistently risen in a model that matches the ongoing march of consumer capitalism at work. While natural gas remains a plentiful resource, concerns arise how plentiful it remains, and what happens when the cost to warm Ontario homes becomes too great for its dwellers.

As homeowners and residents, there’s little we can do to affect the overall natural gas market which affects us every day. Indeed, there seems to be little Enbridge can do to correct it as well, which paints the debate as something of a comedy of errors. Neither side can justifiably point the finger at the other, as Enbridge remains beholden to its business model and residents remain bound by the basic need to stay warm and safe.

Above all, Ontario Energy Group Consumer Watch advises that the best way to weather the worst of the natural gas hike is to make every available effort to reduce consumption. With rates still below the historic 2004 peak levels, the wiggle room for making improvements on your home and adjusting to a lower-energy lifestyle will be far more feasible than if you start in the next five years.

Small improvements on your home, including making energy efficient modifications, can save a substantial amount on your energy bills, as well as contributing to an Ontario that is more sensible and conservative in its energy consumption. As a gold lining to the issue, lower consumption may lead to a much sought-after rate decrease in the near future.

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

BU pictures - part 2

Just for fun I thought I would post some pictures from BU of the software classes I took.  Alphabet Aerobics with Debbi Lashbrook was not only a good review but some  tips and ideas using Art Canvas.

CorelDRAW and Art Canvas Class with Amanda Whitlatch was great fun giving me new ideas.  I'm getting to like the idea of mixed media using pictures.  I didn't think I would!

Cut 1, 2, 3 with Amanda Whitlatch was great.  I have way too many ideas for this tool and software.  Can I please have more hours in a day to play?

Some of the pictures may be mixed up.    Unfortunately some were not very good and I deleted them.  I need to learn more about using my camera and editing photos.  Another challenge.

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