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Most romantic cities in America

Recently Amazon put out a list of romantic cities based on sales of romance novels and relationship books. Not only is the list kind of a shock to most people but the cities named seem to be the antithesis of romance (hence the high rate of romance novel and relationship book purchases I guess). I mean of all the cities in Florida alone when I think of romance Orlando, Miami and Clearwater don’t exactly spring to mind. So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, here is my top 5 favorite romantic cities in America in no particular order.

1. St. Augustine, Florida

This is one of my most favorite places in the US. As the oldest city in the state (possibly even the country) St. Augustine has old world charm of cobblestoned streets, quaint shops, and great restaurants.

Visit the fabled Fountain of Youth or the local winery, San Sebastian. Take a historic tour via horse drawn carriage or ride across a beautiful sandy beach on horseback!

2. Seattle, Washington

Probably the one selection on Amazon’s list that I agree with. Located in a valley surrounded by beautiful snowcapped mountains, Seattle is ideally located for those who like to hike, go berry picking, swim, sail and like a bit of night life.

Pike Place Market is a must see but so is the sweet little Waterfall Garden in Pioneer Square. There are plenty of great places to stay in the city but if you want to snuggle by a cozy fire in the mountains head to the Salish Lodge and Spa in beautiful Snoqualmie.

3. Savannah, Georgia

You just can’t have a romantic city list without Savannah, the most beautiful city in Georgia. Visit old cathedrals, quaint markets, ride on an old fashioned riverboat and take part in the annual Valentine’s Day vow renewal ceremony.

4. Charleston, South Carolina

Again, no list would be complete without Charleston. History fanatics can stroll through plantations or take a pirate tour.

Culture buffs will enjoy the various wine, art and music festivals that occur throughout the year while foodies have their pick from an array of dining choices.

5. Poconos, Pennsylvania

Adventure seeking outdoorsy types will love it here. There’s skiing, tubing and snowboarding in winter and boating, rafting and horseback riding during the warmer months. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Poconos as it’s home to my favorite cheesetastic romantic getaway Caesar’s Cove Haven.

Flush with 70s style decor, heart shaped and champagne glass tubs and private swimming pools and starlight ceilings, this all inclusive romantic resort is great for a long weekend. You’ll feel like you’ve been there for a week.. in a good way!

Whatever your price range, whether you’re in a high priced resort or feeding each other strawberries and sparkling wine at home, your romantic adventure is what you and your significant other make of it.

Body Image and the Romance Novel

It never fails. When reading a romance novel, the men are always well built and muscular with enormous genitalia while the women are gorgeous and well proportioned with smooth skin and smell of either some type of flower or confection. Some say this sets the reader up for unrealistic expectations and the beautiful characters can’t be related to. I agree however, there are a few things to consider.

 #1 A large majority of women hate how they look

It doesn’t matter how beautiful, thin or curvy a woman is, most of us absolutely hate how we look. I won’t get into the whole debate about body image in society, impossible expectations portrayed by the media etc. because we’ll be here all day. The fact of the matter is women are our own worst critics. Personally, I look in the mirror at least twice a week and frown at my graying hair and extra flab. Meanwhile my husband can’t seem able to keep his hands off me and I have friends who tell me I’m gorgeous. This brings me to my second point.

 #2 The hero will always find the heroine attractive

That’s just the way the formula goes or at least that’s how I use it. If you notice, in many novels the heroine hates her body or doesn’t feel she measures up to the goddesses who surround her yet the hero absolutely adores her. The same traits she might hate seem to drive him crazy with desire. Even if she appears homely to the hero at first, it isn’t long before he takes a good look at her and realizes, wait a minute, this woman is beautiful! In my opinion this is where fantasy and reality meet. No matter what any of us looks like the person who makes your heart skip, your pulse race and causes butterflies to flutter in your stomach with a simple touch or look is the loveliest person you will ever meet.

#3 How do you write a “realistic body”?

She stood framed in the doorway, her satin robe caressing her figure. He approached her, a goofy look on his face as he undid the sash and slipped the robe down to her feet. He smiled, noting how the corn pads drew his attention to the shimmering polish on her toenails. The varicose veins, born from hours of standing on her feet as a waitress, fanned out like a roadmap on her legs. He massaged her cellulite dimpled behind as he kissed his way up and around her panis. He relished in the feel of her swollen nipples brushing his forehead as he kissed his way up to her bare breasts. As he stood upright, his soft belly jiggled and slid against her body. She groaned, caressing his bald spot and running her hands through the thick hair of his back. She squeezed the extra cushioning along his waist.

“Your love handles drive me crazy!” she murmured.

Not too sexy is it? At least, not as sexy as a scene describing a more perfectly formed couple anyway. Reading in general is a form of escapism and the romance genre especially so. While the hero and heroine don’t have to be underwear models, I think there is a growing tendency to make these couples to be a little more realistic while still maintaining artistic license. There’s not as much call for washboard abs and perky breasts and I can’t remember the last time I’d read of a virginal heroine gasping when her hero unleashes an appendage the size of a tree trunk. There are writers who specialize in BBW romances which feature plus sized women and men and I applaud those writers. I understand they’re doing very well and I intend to study those books as I’m curious how they handle the descriptive scenes. There’s also the growing trend of books featuring men who are physically or emotionally damaged and so far the books I’ve come across in this trend are very well written. I’ll encourage anyone to seek out and pick up books featuring these types of characters if you haven’t already.

Some day we may see romance novels featuring people who look just like you and me but to be honest, wouldn’t it be more fun to pretend to be a beautiful enchantress who is driving some gorgeous hunk absolutely wild, even for a little while?

Things I Think About: Movies whose happy endings are bogus

When I’m not working on my novels my brain tends to go in odd directions in an attempt to keep itself occupied so I figured I’d share these thoughts from time to time in a segment I call Things I Think About. Today, I post about how the happy endings of some movies just don’t sit right with me. Bear in mind these aren’t necessarily movies I hate, it’s just that sometimes even your favorite movies can have holes big enough to drive a truck through.

The Running Man

Loosely (as in copied the title of the book before tossing it into the shredder) based on the Stephen King novel, this movie covers the story of Ben Richards, a cop who goes against orders to fire on a crowd of hungry unarmed civilians and is sent to prison for insubordination. He manages to escape and comes across some old friends who are planning to overthrow the corrupt government but all he wants to do is spend the rest of his life basking on a beach in Hawaii. Because when you’re an escaped convict with the knowledge that the government gave you orders to kill thousands of innocent people, moving to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no where else to go is an excellent idea.

Anyway, he goes to his brother’s house (because again, the government would never think to find him there) where he finds the man has been taken away to be brainwashed/killed and a hot Latin chick who writes jingles for ICS is living there now. Knowing Amber believes what she sees on TV (like the rest of the country) and isn’t about to help him, he decides to kidnap her and drag her to the airport to board a plane to Hawaii with him. It’s at this point Ben Richards confirms he’s a moron.

She blows the whistle on him at the airport, he’s recaptured and the news broadcasts about how he went on a bloody rampage before getting caught which has Amber wondering if she made a mistake in not helping him since she realizes officials are lying about the incident. He ends up being a contestant on The Running Man where he meets up with two of his rebel friends who tells him they can get to the station’s satellite from the playing field and jam the signal to broadcast the truth to the public and STILL Ben wants nothing to do with it because not only is he a moron but possibly even a coward. Meanwhile Amber starts snooping in the company files where she finds the real video of the massacre Ben was blamed for, and subsequently shoves said videocassette up her snooch for future use, before getting busted and thrown into the game with Ben and his friends.

Long story short they manage to get to the satellite and the rebels take over the station with the help (FINALLY) of Ben Richards. The people are disillusioned, the game show host is killed and Ben and Amber walk off into the sunset and all is right with the world. Right?

Erm. No.

As we’ve witnessed throughout the movie, the government is seriously corrupt, crime and the economy are really bad and the people aren’t happy. Rather than actually trying to solve these issues the government decides to distract the public with a series of super violent and malicious tv shows on the ICS station which apparently the people lap up like mother’s milk because their mindset is in Jerry Spring on Steroids mode. Yes, there is every possibility that this little uprising set off many others as many people wake up from their fog and realize they’ve been deceived and over the coming years society rights itself again. However, there’s also the possibility that in the meantime while the group of teenagers and the old man who led them as well as Ben and Amber are mowed down the instant they leave the building by the leagues of Swat teams waiting for them outside and/or storm the building since it never occurred to anyone to put the damn building on lockdown!

Another futuristic movie this time brought to you by Disney and Pixar. A Walmart type company essentially destroys earth and ships the inhabitants into deep space for several hundred years while they attempt to fix the damage only to give up when it got too hard and leaves everyone out there for generations. The last working robot on the planet is apparently little Wall-E who happily works to clean up the planet while jamming to the movie Hello Dolly until he meets the sleek and sexy Eve who’s sent to Earth periodically to find any sign of biological life. She slowly warms up to Wall-E and they zip back to the ship when he shows her the plant he rescued from the broken refrigerator. On the ship we discover mankind has evolved into a bunch of puffy boneless couch potatoes who drink their meals while staring at TV screens all day. When the captain gets news of the plant he’s ecstatic to be going back home, especially when he realizes that the Earth needs some TLC to help it come back to life. Unfortunately the main computer has other orders and gets downright mean in its attempt to prevent the ship from returning to Earth. In the end though, they make it back, Wall-E gets the crap kicked out of him but survives and all is right with the world. Right?

Erm. No.

During the end credits we discover that the ship’s computer didn’t actually go into full-blown Hal mode and decide to murder everyone onboard because they wouldn’t follow its prime directive and the people manage to kick start the planet into a clean and livable place again. However, I doubt everyone was as excited to climb off their chairs for the first time in their lives in order to not just take care of themselves but to start the labor intensive farming and clearing activities necessary to get Earth back on track.

As we saw in the film, exposure to artificial gravity has caused everyone’s bones to shrink, which made them more reliable on the floaty chairs. This coupled with the fact that none of them have actually done anything physical in at least a century and it’s virtually impossible that these people would have been able to walk very far on the planet never mind doing anything else without a great deal of pain and bruising. Add this to the level of fear and uncertainty many of the passengers would have felt at this sudden change in lifestyle and mix with the very nature of some humans to just be outright lazy and we have a problem.

You can’t tell me there wasn’t a faction of people on that ship or any of the others floating around that said “To hell with this! Why should I bust my ass to save a planet I know nothing about? This life was good enough for my parents and their parents before them etc. and it’s good enough for me!” And assuming this faction didn’t just up and fly away with the ship while everyone else was toiling in the fields leaving them to fend for themselves and probably succumb to all kinds of injuries and illnesses as their bodies get used to life on Earth, how did they procreate? Did they keep using the lab or did John and Mary discover that inserting Slot A into Slot B = Baby and were put in charge of Sex Ed by their fellow Weebles?

Um well, that’s not exactly how it… oh hell knock yourself out!

Of course I never really expected the movie to cover this last bit since Disney’s idea of a sex talk is this:

This seems to be a common issue with futuristic movies involving the overthrow of a Dystopian society/lifestyle change and is the same beef I have with movies like Logan’s Run and V for Vendetta. They end with the celebration of freedom for the people but in reality the societies in these stories are in for years, perhaps decades of unrest and hard times as new ways are established and civilization is rebuilt. It’d be nice to see at least one Sci-fi story address this.


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Everything You Need to Know About New York's No-Dancing Law

Ezra Marcus

The controversial cabaret license might be on its way out.

The year was 2003, and Dominique Keegan, owner of the beloved Alphabet City dance hotspot Plant Bar, had a plan. According to a New York Times report from that year, Keegan had devised a clever system to keep his club safe from city inspectors attempting to enforce the Cabaret Law, a Prohibition-era regulation which prohibits dancing in any business without a so-called cabaret license. Keegan instructed his bouncers to flip a switch if city inspectors appeared; the switch activated a blue light in the DJ booth, a signal for the DJ to put on Radiohead's album Kid A. The gloomy record, Keegan hoped, would put the kibosh on dancing and spare him a costly ticket.

But one night, a DJ missed the cue and the bar received a citation for "16 people dancing." Then it got another ticket, and the city padlocked Plant Bar's doors. Keegan was informed that in order to reopen, he had to replace DJs with a jukebox and prevent any further dancing. At the time, the Bloomberg administration was considering repealing the Cabaret Law. Keegan told the Times that if that were to happen it would be "music to my ears, if you'll forgive the pun."

Fast forward to 2017: Plant Bar is history and Bloomberg is a private citizen, yet the Cabaret Law remains on the books. "No dancing" signs can be found on the walls of establishments across the city, and small venue owners live in fear of the onerous tickets they can receive if their patrons shimmy, grind, or sway.

Instituted under Prohibition in 1926, the law has been used to regulate many different types of venues over the years. One constant, critics allege, is that the law has been disproportionately enforced against venues that cater to people of color and the LGBTQ community.

Not for long, though, if a coalition of activists, nightlife professionals, and city councilmembers get their way. Political momentum has been building around the latest effort to repeal the law, which has survived many such previous attempts. Legendary promoter David Mancuso spoke out against the law as early as the 70s, and in 2000, activists protested the Giuliani administration's strict enforcement of the law with the "Million Mambo March," in which protesters danced from Tompkins Square Park to Washington Square Park.

On June 19th, 2017 a group of activists, politicians, business owners, and dancers gathered on the steps of city hall. They were there for a press conference, because later that day councilman Rafael Espinal—chair of the committee on Consumer Affairs—would be conducting the first-ever city council oversight hearing on the Cabaret Law, a formal step required for Espinal to introduce legislation to repeal it. Epinal represents District 37, which includes large swaths of Bushwick and Williamsburg, and has more intimate connections to club culture than you might expect from someone who works in City Hall. Standing behind the podium, Espinal cleared his voice and addressed the gathered crowd of reporters and cameramen.

"Nightlife cannot be brought out of the dark, but it can be brought out of the shadows," he said. "After nearly two years of advocating on this issue with New Yorker's from all corners of NYC, I am proud to officially introduce this bill to repeal the racist and outdated cabaret law."

Despite Espinal's commitment to dance culture, it's unlikely that the repeal effort would have evolved so far without the Dance Liberation Network. The DLN was formed earlier this year in the wake of the Ghost Ship Fire, which spurred a group of dancers and nightlife professionals active in the Brooklyn scene to take action against the Cabaret Law. People like Hutchinson and John Barclay, who founded Bossa Nova Civic Club, worry that squelching legitimate venues through Cabaret violations will drive dancers to less-safe underground parties, in addition to reducing the number of legit spaces available to people from marginalized communities. By raising awareness and collecting signatures for a petition calling for repeal, they've been able to draw increasing public attention to an otherwise arcane legislative effort.

So, what happens now? Below, read on for our explainer on what the cabaret law is, how it came to be, and what needs to happen for it to be repealed.

What is the Cabaret Law?

The Cabaret Law prohibits dancing by more than three people in any NYC "room, place or space" that sells food or drinks, unless that space has a cabaret license. It was initially introduced in 1926, with the intent of helping police regulate speakeasies during Prohibition. While various amendments have been made to the bill over the years, the core regulation has survived: in 2017, it's still illegal for more than three people to dance in an any unlicensed NYC space.

Why are people trying to overturn it?

One major reason is the law's prejudicial history. A piece on THUMP charting the law's evolution over the decades described it as representing a "secret history" of nightlife in New York, one which has often reflected the suppression of black, brown, and queer musicians and scenes. When the law came into being in the 1920s, it was used as a vehicle for targeting Harlem jazz clubs, which primarily catered to an African-American audience.

In 1943, the government added a new amendment mandating that NYC musicians obtain a so-called "cabaret card" in order to perform, which required that they undergo fingerprinting and questioning by the NYPD. Black jazz musicians were deeply affected by these regulations. "My right to pursue my chosen profession has been taken away, and my wife and three children who are innocent of any wrongdoing are suffering," wrote Charlie Parker in a letter to the New York State Liquor Authority after his card was revoked over a heroin charge.

Many other jazz legends—including Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Billie Holiday—also had their cards suspended, usually due to drugs. The law was finally repealed in 1967, following some lawsuits and a telegram from Frank Sinatra to a City Council Member critiquing the "demeaning requirements that New York has imposed on entertainers."

In the 60s, another amendment targeting jazz musicians was adding to the law. Known as the Three Musicians rule, it banned groups of more than three musicians from playing in a venue without a cabaret license. The law also restricted unlicensed venues from hosting any musicians playing instruments associated with jazz, like the saxophone, while making an exception for "not more than three persons playing piano, organ, accordion, or guitar or any stringed instrument." A judge deemed these restrictions unconstitutional in 1988, but for decades, they obstructed jazz musicians trying to practice their craft.

The most recent substantive change came in 2006, when, in response to two separate murders of young women who'd visited Manhattan venues the night of their death, requirements for extensive security camera systems covering exits were added to the law. "It smacks of Big Brother," said William K. Dobbs, a longtime gay activist, in an interview with the Times. "It will have an impact on everybody who enjoys New York nightlife."

At various points in time, different aspects of the cabaret law have been enforced in different ways. In the 90s, after a decades-long period in which the law was only loosely enforced, Mayor Giuliani revived the ban as a way to crack down on the city's thriving clubs as part of his "broken windows" theory of policing.

In an essay for THUMP, Michael Musto described how the mayor "demonized nightlife as our city's bastard child in order to make things safe for tourists and co-op owners." Musto noted that venues catering to non-white and queer clientele often became targets for Giuliani; he spoke with NYC nightlife icon Penny Arcade, who described how "One Avenue A bar that was a cafe during the day and a gay bar at night was fined thousands of dollars for people swaying to the music!"

Besides historical prejudice, is the law still a problem for venues?

Appearing on the THUMP podcast, venue owners Rachel Nelson and John Barclay—who run Happyfun Hideaway and Bossa Nova Civic Club, respectively—described the difficulties their business' have faced due to the Cabaret Law.

"You live in fear," explained Nelson. "It's two o'clock in the morning, a song comes on that everybody likes. People want to dance. You live in fear as a person who runs a space that all of the sudden someone's going to start having fun, and they're going to dance. Then all the sudden, you've got a violation on your hands just because people are expressing themselves."

According to Barclay, the NYPD, the FDNY, and MARCH taskforces—inter-agency squads that specialize in fining venues deemed to be trouble spots—can tactically issue Cabaret law violations as a means of targeting venues for other reasons.

"If they don't like you because you're loud, it's a lot easier for them to shut you down with the cabaret violation because dancing is explicitly illegal," Barclay noted. "With the cabaret law, they can shut down any establishment they want."

Nelson pointed out that the Cabaret Law offers enforcement agencies a convenient way to find violations and issue fines. Other types of violations can be disputed in court, but with the cabaret license, she explained, "they can walk in and say, 'This person is dancing. Stop everybody. Turn the music off. Turn the lights on.' It's used as a mechanism to gain entry and a way to alienate people in a way that's really, really easy. It doesn't require that much work."

Nelson also believes that the Cabaret law still has the potential to be used prejudicially. "It happens to a lot of DIY or places that are hard for the traditional bureaucracy to understand, so it might be LGBTQ, it might be Latino, it might be black," she said. "It might be some strange mixture of artists and weirdos that aren't doing things normally."

In an interview with Gothamist, Olympia Kazi of the NYC Artists Coalition claimed that the law "is being enforced in an arbitrary manner that ends up discriminating," adding, "The venues that we've been talking to, the DIY venues, they told us, 'If we have rock and roll, nobody will show up [to enforce the law]. If we have hip hop, where likely we are going to have African-American music, the NYPD tend to go in.'"

How many business currently have cabaret licenses?

According to City Hall, currently 97 establishments, out of more than 25,000 in New York City, have a cabaret license. That means that almost everyone dancing in New York on any given night is doing so illegally.

Wait, seriously?

Why are they so difficult to get?

Barclay pointed out that if you were to take a cursory look at the requirements for getting the license, it would not seem to be particularly tough or costly. The application fee ranges from $300 to $1,000, depending on venue capacity. In practice, though, acquiring one is impossible in some cases and prohibitively expensive in others, due to obscure zoning rules and the extensive waiting periods needed for various government agency sign-offs.

"The big issue is that they did some retroactive zoning legislation or something that was introduced a couple decades after the law was put in place, which says it has to be in a Use Group 12," Barclay explained, referring to districts that are zoned for commercial manufacturing. "The issue with that is that almost no establishments in NYC are in Use Group 12," meaning that it's "literally impossible to acquire a cabaret license for the vast majority of places."

Per Barclay, even businesses that are do happen to be in Use Group 12 have to traverse "quite the web of bureaucratic hell" in order to receive a license. This includes receiving feedback from community boards—notorious for treating nightlife as a nuisance—and sign-offs from multiple departments, in addition to installing expensive surveillance cameras. (You can read the list of requirements here).

Barclay estimated that getting all of these things in order can at least 18 months—during which time venue owners still have to pay commercial rent while they wait for their licenses to be approved. The end result, according to Barclay, is that only very well financed corporate venues can afford to apply for a license. "They spend a ton of money to get that money back," he explained. "They cater to a very financed people. Rich, European tourists. It's not for average New Yorkers."

What needs to happen for the repeal effort to be successful?

Espinal has introduced a bill calling for the repeal, co-sponsored by council members Antonio Reynoso and Steven Levin. The bill needs to go through two separate votes before it can become law. First, the legislation must be approved by a majority of the five-person committee of Consumer Affairs, of which he's the chairman.

Asked about the status of this effort, Espinal said, "We started the conversations. I haven't spoken to every member, but one member, Karen Koslowitz from Queens, has shown support for the repeal. I think that's very encouraging. She represents neighborhoods in Queens that I thought would be concerned with repealing the law, and to see that she's on board sends a signal to the rest of the council that this initiative is worth looking at."

If the bill makes it out of committee, it moves to the general floor of the Council, where all 51 members will have the opportunity to vote on it. If it receives a simple majority of 26 votes, then it moves to De Blasio's desk. If he vetoes it, then it can be overturned by a two-thirds majority.

Why might some people be against the repeal?

At the oversight hearing, Community Board 3 member Susan Stetzer—who represents parts of Chinatown, the East Village, and the Lower East Side—expressed skepticism about the repeal on the grounds that it could mean increased friction between nightlife establishments and residents in some neighborhoods.

"Economic growth is always good, but putting businesses and residents in conflict is not good," she explained. "Some people want to party till 4am and that's fine, as long as residents, and especially children, can sleep. The issue is we need balance."

As for other members of the city council, Espinal expects that some will need to be convinced. "They're concerned about their quality of life being impeded on by night venues, and the noise that it might draw into the neighborhoods," he explained. "You have members who are very sensitive to that idea and those concerns. They're the ones that are going to mostly be the ones we're going to have to talk to and persuade, showing them and telling them why it's a good idea."

Espinal pointed out that despite these reservations, so far no groups—including councilmembers or community boards—have come out publicly against the repeal effort.

What does the mayor's office have to say about it?

At the oversight hearing, Espinal pressed a representative from DeBlasio administration—Lindsay Greene, a senior advisor for the Office of Housing and Economic Development—to give an opinion on the repeal effort. When he brought up the law's racist history and asked if such legislation was appropriate to keep on the books, Greene equivocated. "We are aware of the historical issues of the law and its enforcement, but this administration has not taken those approaches under Mayor DeBlasio," she said. She declined to state how many violations the city had issued during his tenure.

The City is currently defending a lawsuit from local business owner Andrew Muchmore, who owns the Williamsburg venue Muchmore's. He received a citation in 2013 for "swaying" in his establishment, and sued the city. "There is no protected First Amendment right of expression to engage in recreational dancing," city lawyers argued in a June 2015 filing.

At the oversight hearing, Councilmember Steven Levin pointed out to Greene that if the city didn't support the Cabaret Law, it wouldn't defend the suit against it. "The administration is currently defending the lawsuit in court," Greene responded. While she would not answer any more questions regarding the city's stance on the law—citing the lawsuit—Greene did mention that there are "ongoing conversations" about the law in the mayor's office.

On our podcast, Espinal said that he believes the mayor's office is being cautious about taking any public stance at this point in the conversation, but thinks they are open to repeal. "They're concerned about jobs; they're concerned about the venues in our city, and the jobs they create," he said. "To a degree, I think that they are open and will look to see how they can find a common ground so we can move forward."

How can I get involved in the repeal effort?

The easiest and most effective way, said Espinal, is to call your local councilmember. Dance Liberation Network has put together a helpful map on their website showing the names and phone numbers of the councilmember for each district.

"I don't expect this to be easy," noted Espinal on the podcast. Still, he said he believes that support from concerned citizens "is going to make the job a lot easier. We're going to be reaching out to all my colleagues, and making sure they understand why this is an important step to take."

This article was originally published on THUMP.

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7 years of Slave

Many young Korean teenagers flock to entertainment companies annually for the world-famous KPOP  idols search for who is going to be the next best thing out of Korea. These enthusiastic individuals are put under heavy training and practicing (included an auditioning process) just before acceptance into an Entertainment Company (one of the BIG 5)

While this seems like a great kick off to being famous and living the dream, there has been discoveries that have been dug and pulled out of the dark secret-infested rug of the KPOP industry. Slave contracts. Upcoming KPOP idols are over-worked, only sleep for an hour and get little food or are sustained by unhealthy junk food/snacks. Some of these idols have reported to have been abused physically in order to work harder. Verbal abuse is not spared and neither is emotional abuse. The aim is to get them working in order to bring in money for the entertainment companies they work for.

Each of these aspiring individuals can be auditioning and training for 2 to 7 years before they know if they are accepted into the company to be an idol or not. So one can actually suffer the physical, verbal and emotional abuse for, let’s say, 7 years, and still not  be guaranteed to debut.  It is the harsh and chilling reality in the KPOP business.

Many of the individuals who do make it still face under pay. Whatever they make is used to pay the debt they have accumulated due to using their entertainment company’s own resources to create the music, concerts and other promotions of the artist/s.

At the end of the month, the artist can make a lousy $500 which can be slightly more that month only if they are fortunate enough to have more.

The artist/s at times don’t get paid in their first few months of debuting. While they still need to survive with essentials – they then have to get more money from their respective entertainment companies which adds more debt to their account and decreases their chances of accumulating wealth. Many of these individuals only see real money after a few years. Perhaps 2/3 years minimum. Artist/s have had to not only be overworked but forced by life’s demands to get side-jobs (like working as a waiter) which is more strain on their bodies.

Some of these artist/s have fallen ill and needed to be taken to hospital. In the west, when an artist is sick – they are immediately taken to intensive care by their managers etc. However, in the world of KPOP, artist/s are forced to continue with performances even if they are sick and have been fainting and vomiting. They are deprived of medication and forced to attend 3/4 concerts or fan meetings per-day on average. And if they get the privilege of getting help – it is usually inadequate medical help at the backstage of their concert and it’s work immediately after that.

There is also the problem with inadequate and unsafe concert stages. Where equipment is not properly installed and artists are expected to perform there and end up falling and hurting themselves. Guess what? They are still expected to do some work. Even if it means sitting on a chair on stage and singing for the people. This problem is still continuing and if the artist/s speak up about it – they face being fired or a lawsuit served to them.

One thought on “7 years of Slave

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K.K. Steppe

From Nookipedia, the Animal Crossing wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
K.K. Steppe
Game(s) Doubutsu no Mori,
Doubutsu no Mori+,
Animal Crossing,
Doubutsu no Mori e+,
Animal Crossing: Wild World,
Animal Crossing: City Folk,
Animal Crossing: New Leaf,
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Mood Grumpy
Instruments Wind, Accordion, Violin
Owned by Vesta,
Tasha (DnMe+),
T-Bone (NL),
Pate (NL)
Order number 22

"K.K. Steppe" (コサックそんぐ, Cossack Song) is a K.K. Slider song. It has an Eastern European feel to it. The song starts out as a very fast pace, the second portion starting out very slow and gradually getting stronger and stronger in speed. The middle is played solo by a wind instrument. A steppe is a large area of flat grassland with no forests mostly in southeastern Europe or Siberia, a part of Russia. Vesta, Chow, T-Bone, Tasha, Tutu and Pate (in New Leaf) play this song if they have a stereo in their houses.

• The "Steppe" in K.K. Steppe may be referring to the Wild Fields of Ukraine, which was home to many Southern Russian & Ukrainian Cossack communities.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
French Kéké balalaïka A balalaika is an instrument used in this type of music


text:
Documentation Needed to Register
– Birth certificate (original or notarized copy)
– Immunization record from birth to present age
– Baptismal certificate (original) if child is a baptized Catholic

Registration Forms
Online Admissions Form on Option C
– Nursery Requirements and Registration Form
– First Grade Requirements and Registration Form
– Grade 2 – 8 Registration Form

For students entering grade 2 through 8
– Recent report card and test scores from the school they are transferring from.
– Letter from previous Catholic school or religious education program stating the dates of First Communion, Reconciliation and/or Confirmation.
– Current Individualized Education Plan (IEP) if applicable.


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Day 49 – A pleasant change.

Sometimes you just have to take time out of your day and realise that you’ve got it good. Part of wanting to keep this record of my year was to remind myself to do exactly that. Appreciate the small things. Be grateful for what you have. Make the most of every single day. It’s not easy- sometimes you want to veg in front of the tv (no shame in that!) and moan about your woes. But they should be the odd moments, not the norm. You should celebrate your life and enjoy what you have. Today I’m doing that.

What brought on this particular moment of clarity? I was sat watching Scrubs re-runs (who doesn’t love that?!) just contemplating the back-to-work-tomorrow blues, thinking “I wish I had spent a few days doing nothing to relax this week”.

But why?

Why on earth would I want to have wasted my few days off doing nothing? For once, I’ve had an absolutely packed half-term; from leaving parties, to our trip to Berlin and my bestie coming to stay for the weekend. Why would I have wanted to waste that? I’ve had a fantastic (if exhausting) week and I should be feeling extremely happy right now that I am finally starting to make the most of my holidays from work and appreciating the smaller things. It’s a very pleasant change to be honest.

Speaking of which, there appears to be a few green shoots appearing in my front garden. Being the novice gardener, I optimistically planted all the bulbs I could find in the hope that something might grow and then, dutifully, forgot completely about them. Spring is clearly on its way.

Like I said, it’s a very pleasant change.

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novelty_crosses (novelty_crosses) wrote,

I hope you call me really soon. because I want to be with you right now. and I'm tired of feeling like this. and I dont want to get over you because I know we're better than this. I know things can work out. and Im not listening when I hear "she's gone get over her" I cant afford to have my heart broken again but when i speak to you it's the hardest thing to watch you walk away from me because you think it's the right thing to do. the others dont matter in the end. you and I are the ones that need and should stick together. I cant help but to sit here and think what we could be doing right now. laying in the bed watching t.v? going to the store to buy pointless things? waiting for you to get home so I can wrestle with you? sure you could do these things with anybody else..but would it matter to them or you as much as it matters to me? having your company is enough to get me by and knowing that I'll have you at the end of the day, at the end of the year, is enough to keep me happy. we have so much ahead of us and even more amazing times, but being a young couple that loves eachother is going to put us right infront of disagreements, confrontations, and problems. It's about seeing past those things. Knowing that NOMATTER what happeneds, they're going to be there for you. that they're always going to love you and give you more than they could ever imagine giving anyone. Knowing that NOMATTER what the degree of the problem is, love is what is going to save the relationship. I could go on all day why I should be the last guy you ever be with. but it's up to you to realize soon that these things dont just happen in the movies, it's not just a fairy tale. It's actually possible to fall in love. the people that disagree are the people that have never loved and lost. that dont understand the concept of love. I'm a wreck. physically and mentally without you. I cant eat I can sleep. I cant be happy. people say you have to make yourself happy before you should make anyone else happy. the truth is the only thing that could ever make me happy is you. dont ruin something so pure, so hard to find these days over something that can be worked out. I've went through enough. we've went through enough. I want the phone call. I want the words "come home babe" to come out of your mouth. I want the two year anniversary and more to come. you can be happy. we can be happy. just see through all the fog. You know I would do anything for you. dont throw that away.

I meant what I said when I said I would settle down with you
Although I know it’s not something that you were asking me to do
And I know we are young but we won’t always be so marry me
Let’s not be that predictable young couple changing moving on

I love you.
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‘If you could sign any Super League player …’ – English stars attract NRL interest

Wigan coach Shaun Wane is unfazed by the attention his players are set to attract from NRL clubs while in Australia for Saturday night’s historic Super League clash with Hull FC and the match against South Sydney Rabbitohs.

John Bateman is among the Wigan stars to declare he wants to play in Australia and the England international is certain to be in demand, with one club boss telling NRL.com during the World Cup: “If you could sign any Super League player it would be him”.

Winger Joe Burgess recently told NRL.com he wanted to return to Australia after a stint in 2016, while Bateman has an NRL clause in his contract with Wigan he is considering taking advantage of at the end of the season.

“In my Wigan contract I have got a release clause at the end of 2018 to go to the NRL,” Bateman told NRL.com. “Having been in Australia for eight weeks during the World Cup that was one thing I looked at.

“I wanted to see how it was and what the style of living would be like, and stuff like that. It was really good, I enjoyed my time over there and I enjoyed the people so it is something I would possibly like to do in the future.”

Playmaker George Williams is another player likely to be in the sights of NRL clubs and the two matches in Australia will effectively put the Wigan stars in the shop window but Wane is unconcerned.

“It don’t bother me, we have got a great junior system so if any player wants to go we will make a new one,” Wane told NRL.com.

“I understand the pull of the NRL, it is always going to be there and I never beat myself up about it. If we end up losing John Bateman, then that’s the way it is.

“He is a Wigan player at the minute, he is contracted and he is happy with me but if things change then we have got loads of back-rowers coming through.”

Wigan have a number of players in their squad for the Hull match at WIN Stadium and the February 17 fixture at ANZ Stadium against the Rabbitohs who have played in the NRL and returned to the famous club.

Burgess joined Sydney Roosters in 2016 but played just four NRL matches before moving to the Rabbitohs and returned at the end of the season, while Sam Tomkins and Thomas Leuluai had stints with New Zealand Warriors.

English centre Dan Sarginson recently signed with Wigan after playing last season for Gold Coast Titans.

“We have had some success with players coming back,” Wane said. “It is a great experience for them coming over here.

“Joe Burgess has been a revelation since he returned. It probably gave him a bit of a kick up the backside he needed and let him know where he was at. He has come back with a great attitude.”

Former Rabbitohs winger Joe Burgess.
Former Rabbitohs winger Joe Burgess.
©NRL Photos

Wigan had their first visit to WIN Stadium on Wednesday and Wane said the players had settled in quickly to their beachside hotel in Wollongong.

“The weather is fantastic, I was doing a one-on-one with a player on my laptop this morning looking at the beach and it just fantastic to be here.

“It is a big game on Saturday against Hull, we had a chat with the players yesterday and told them it is game on, this is a working week and we have not come all this way to lose.

“We have explained to the players the need to look after themselves and limit their time on the beach and in the sun but we are enjoying the experience. It is freezing back home, it is snowing so the positives of being here far outweigh the negatives.”

The match against Hull FC on Saturday night is a round two Super League fixture but will be controlled by NRL referee Matt Cechin. Wigan and Hull are due to name their teams on Thursday.

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Knights hit schools across the Hunter

The nib Newcastle Knights visited schools across the Hunter region on Wednesday to kick off the Club’s Community Carnival School Blitz.
Over the next two weeks players will visit almost 3,000 kids from 20 schools to promote rugby league and deliver a wellbeing message of belonging, nutrition and respect. The schools include St Patrick’s Swansea, to St Peter’s Stockton and Karuah Public School.
Watch the video above to see how this week’s visits went.

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Will it change the way you coach? 2-Day WFA course hosted by Seattle Pacific University March 10-11

wfa-usa-clinic-with-raymond-verheijenwfa-logo-new-2017_234x234-1_100xSeattle Pacific University is hosting this World Football Academy 2-day course with special guest speaker Raymond Verheijen on March 10–11, 2018. The course is being sponsored by Mercer Island FC, Pacific Northwest Soccer Club, North Puget Sound League and the Pilchuck Soccer Alliance.

Questions about this amazing opportunity to add to your coaching techniques? Tweet them here!

With an immaculate track record and extensive background in football, RAYMOND
VERHEIJEN is the leader in football conditioning and widely recognised as the top coacheducator in world football. He has helped the development of thousands of coaches throughout the world by sharing his unique football-specific approach.

The World Football Academy has developed this internationally renowned education
program for football coaching professionals looking to develop themselves as coaches and to give their teams a competitive advantage. By attending this course you will have all the information you need to develop a plan to maximize…

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A decaying Coney Island icon was designated a city landmark on Tuesday — but it remains unclear what will become of it.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Shore Theater at Surf and Stillwell avenues worthy of permanent protection, a move that will end a long debate over whether to demolish the vacant building.

The seven-story, 85-year-old former vaudeville playhouse has been neglected for more than 40 years. Its owner, the Kansas Fried Chicken magnate Horace Bullard, opposed the landmark status because he said it would “hinder” his ability to convert the building for modern uses. He now says he will renovate the façade and try to sell it.

“There is no way that Coney Island can evolve as an amusement district when they keep landmarking buildings,” Bullard said on Tuesday. “They’re handicapping the entire area. But fine. We’ll have it up for sale, and if we can’t do that we’ll fix it up and put some offices inside and rent it out.”

Big shots like Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun have bigger ideas, like reverting it back to its original use — skin flicks and burlesque shows and musicals, oh my! — though it’s unclear who potential buyers or tenants are at this point.

Zigun said earlier this year that he envisioned a restored 2,500-seat theater that would serve as a concert venue for Broadway shows. He added that he would like to see non-profit groups occupy the offices above the theater that were once used by people in the entertainment industry.

Bullard countered, arguing that the theater will become a lackluster money pit. Regardless, he’ll be required to restore and maintain the old theater’s aesthetic.

Bullard has presided over the Shore’s demise, but even until the 1960s, it was a prosperous venue. The legendary burlesque entrepreneur Leroy C. Griffith even ran a show there called “Stars and Strips Forever.”

No, that’s not a typo.


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Win a Vibe X, P780 or A680 in Lenovo’s Summer Selfie Promo

Yup, you read that right, boys and girls!

If you’ve got the selfie Lenovo and PC Buyer’s Guide is looking for, they’ll reward you with a Lenovo Vibe X (first prize), Lenovo P780 (second prize) and a Lenovo A680 (3rd prize). Continue reading


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Farm in the village

Just off the main street and square in my home village, and right behind the church, is a farm steading. The large building with the boarded-up doors is where the cattle were kept on winter nights and in bad weather. I remember as a child going past in the snow and hearing them lowing and shifting around in the straw. In summer house martins build in the eaves and swoop down into the courtyard.

It's been several years now since cattle have been kept here, and now I hear that the steading is to be pulled down. Nothing can remain the same, and the concept of farm buildings right in the centre of the village is an outdated one, but it always seemed special to me to have cows next door to the church on one side and the post office on another.

  1. How sad it will be to pull down that lovely old building. Our house used to be a steading complete with blacksmith. Is the castle in your earlier blog Rothes Castle?

  2. Such a great photograph! I love the texture of the stones.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I will visit you again.

  3. Last time I commented on the wrong post because I was scrolling down through the whole page... so now I'll not wait...

    I can think of so many uses for such a structure with some imagination. And a shedload of money. People spend thousands to create a dream home out of less, in France and Italy.
    Oh, yeah, this is a pet peeve of mine. I'll stop now!

  4. Sometimes it is so sad and dissapointing that old familiar structures must come down. It's nice you were able to capture a piece of history before it's gone.

  5. I saw a structure like this when I was on a mission trip to West Germany. The family that owned the farm were members of the church where we were visiting--in Manheim if I remember correctly. I had never seen a stone barn before. All the barns I've seen here are wooden, (though sometimes with stone foundations).
    Are all the barns in Scotland like this? It seems it would take a great deal of work to build such a place.

    You mentioned kids' sports as a cultural curiosity. That made me smile. Indeed some families put more emphasis than they should and involve their children in various activities year-round. We chose baseball for ours because it's a short season, but a nice way to get them outside again after such a long winter. Not to mention, it is good exercise. :)

    Have a lovely week! I'm glad you stopped by. One of the great benefits I've discovered about blogging is meeting so many interesting people from around the globe. It reminds me a bit of having a pen-pal when I was a girl in elementary school--without the wait of airmail. I'll be following.

  6. I'm surprised too at the plans to pull this down. It has such character. But then again people on Speyside want a reasonably-sized garden, and this would have none or very little. Unlike Edinburgh, where houses are squeezed into the most unlikely spots, and with no greenery at all round about.

    Chris, you're right with your castle guess!

  7. Everything moves with the times. Odd that they lasted this long.

  8. It seems nonsense that the planners would allow the destruction of an historic building like this but alas it happens due to the greed of politicians of all shades.

  9. Adrienne, to answer your question about stone barns - the older ones are stone built, but nowadays they tend to be built of galvanised iron. A lot less work, but not so lovely.

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Wild Horses and the Red Desert – Out West 2012

[This is day 2 of a 7 day trip to Montana and Wyoming in September 2012]

We arrived at Riverton and had a swim in the hotel‘s swimming pool.  The hotel was nice and met our basic conditions:  free breakfast, free wi-fi, and basic amenities.  Nothing fancy, but when there are 5 of you, each paid breakfast or $10 a night Internet access charge adds up.  There is a Wal-mart right across the street and we continued our family habit of using the local grocery store rather than restaurants for meals.  We had breakfast at the hotel each day of the trip.  Lunch was usually a sandwich or something similar acquired at the grocery store (Albertson’s in Cody, for example, had excellent customer service, chicken strips, and sushi  much to the kids’ delight).  The grocery store also ensured we had fresh fruit and was also a source for dinners, since most of our hotels had access to a microwave in the room if we didn’t pick up a prepared meal.

The Red Desert

I didn’t know there was a desert in Wyoming.  As I mentioned earlier, we drove once from Cheyenne up to Jackson Hole and we drove right past the Red Desert without having any idea that it was there.    If you have the time, patience, and a durable vehicle, I would definitely recommend a visit.  The National Wildlife Federation has a bunch of information on it but I would recommend the photos (Adobe Town, a butte )on National Geographic too.  It was a 2009 issue of National Geographic that my wife recalled and, specifically, the wild horses that range across the desert.

The desert stretches from about an hour south of Riverton down south of Rawlins and Rock Spring.  Adobe Town is a well-known location but it was further south than we could reach.  We had one day to see the desert so we were aiming for an area near the top-center of the desert.  We were hoping to see the Honeycomb Buttes and so we made tracks south, through Lander, Atlantic City (population 57).  Most of this land – most of Wyoming, in fact – is Federal government land.  We left the asphalt highways for solid gravel roads and eventually these gave way to rutted car tracks.

From the highway to the gravel road to the dirt "Jeep track", we drove across the Red Desert towards the Honeycomb Buttes

The map above gives you a sense of where we were, with Picket Lake the large body of water at the bottom left corner.  If you use Google Maps to locate Picket Lake and switch to satellite view, you can see what the ground looks like.  What you can’t see on the map is that the road is hardly a road and was labelled elsewhere as a Jeep track.  The only other vehicle we met out in the middle of this area was an all-terrain vehicle.  Our truck was high enough to stay out of the ruts but there were a number of arroyos that we nosed gently down into before coming up the other side.

We had two goals on this trip.  The first was to see the buttes that would remind us of the badlands of South Dakota that had created such a sense of awe in us.  The second was to see the wildlife of the desert and, hopefully, some wild horses.

There were pronghorn antelope almost as soon as we came out into the desert area.  We also saw two wild horses far off, perhaps a half mile north of the track.  Otherwise it was nothing but sagebrush and scrub as far as the eye can see.

The truck would crush sagebrush under its wheels or crack branches as it went past this low growing plant.  The air was fragrant with the smell of sage.  It was also filled with the dust of the desert which coated the truck and, eventually, everything and everyone inside.  At times, it coated the truck so thickly that we used the rear windshield wiper to clear the dust off.  The boys enjoyed sitting in the very back, where they could look out any of the three windows.  The truck also had a sun roof, which was a favorite place to pop out and scan the horizon for life.

Sagebrush covers the Red Desert in Wyoming, with the Honeycomb Buttes to the south and west
Sagebrush covers the Red Desert in Wyoming, with the Honeycomb Buttes to the south and west

Eventually we started to come into a more rolling area and stopped at one very small hill that had the colored earth that is so common in badlands.  We found antelope and horse tracks in the dried earth, where a creek had obviously run through earlier in the year.

We clambered back into the truck and continued along.  At one point, talking about the settlers and pioneers who must have traversed this same area, we slowed down from our high-speed 10 miles per hour to oxen speed of about 4 miles per hour.  This gave the sense of how slow their travel would have been.

Then we came to the last arroyo.  It was the last because it was such a sharp cut across the land that we could not get across it.  It was about 1 meter across and half a meter down.  But the nose of the truck would not clear the lip on the far side.  After a few attempts to clear it, we decided that we would have to turn around and head back.  We were close to the buttes but had not really been among them as we had been in South Dakota.

It was with a bit of disappointment that we headed back the way we came, although we were able to go more quickly since we could follow our own tracks back.  The disappointment turned to elation as we were about 500 meters from the exit to the road near Picket Lake.  A herd of horses came running past us and gave us an experience we will none of us forget.  There were 7 adult horses and one foal.  The group raced past us and then split, with four adults veering left and the rest heading further north.  It struck us that the split was to ensure that some adults were between the foal and the potential threat – us!  Once the first group had gotten far enough away, the closer group turned and caught up with them and they all headed north, out of our sight.

The Red Desert is beautiful, barren country.  We were exhausted by the time we returned to the hotel that night.  The slow driving of the day, the choking dust, the beautiful animals we saw (in addition to the antelope and horses, I’m nearly certain I saw a coyote), and the heat had worn us all down.  We skipped the dinosaur museum in Thermopolis and the mastodon dig in Worland only because we just wouldn’t have time to see them.

Tomorrow we were off to Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains.

Previous:  Getting to Montana  |  Next:  Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

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Peanut butter jelly time!

So I went on a six day boat trip in the Carribean and it was cloudy and rainy the entire time! That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy myself. Let’s just say that it was a different experience than I was expecting.

When Faisal and I got on the boat, we soon realized that out of the 6 other passengers on our boat we were the youngest by about 25 years. It is strange to converse with people who say things like, “20 years ago…”, “back in the 60’s”, “my 40 year old son..” or “my grandchildren..”. These are the types of people who struggle to find a Spanish translation for the phrase “hunkey dorey.” But not to fear, I was not the youngest on the boat. We had a bet to see how old our cook was on our boat; I guessed he was in his teens but others claimed that latinos are actually much older than they look. However, I was right. He told us he was diez y ocho.

Our time on the boat was primarily governed by the meal times – 7:30, 12:30, and 6. It doesn’t really matter whether we are hungry or not but we all congregate in the middle of the ship and happily eat whatever is served. If we are still hungry at the end of lunch there is peanut butter, honey, and jam that we can eat with whole wheat bread. The presence of the peanut butter could not be a bigger treat for my cohorts on the boat. Every meal is filled with promise for the peanut butter jelly sandwhich that awaits the end of the meal. It took me a little while to warm up to the peanut butter but soon I was eating it after every meal.

Some of the people on the boat wondered how Ariel, our chef, learnt how to cook; in Guatemala it is uncommon for men to cook. When someone asked our EL Capitain about where Ariel acquired his skills, he looked confused. What do you mean how did he learn to cook?
“You mean you just threw him down there and that’s how he learnt?” She asked. Exactly.

On the boat there are three women who have given up their respective American/Canadian lives and have come to Guatemala to take advantage of the cheap prices and build a house. Together they revel in the ex-pat culture of Antigua and Guatemala as a whole. Divorced or unmarried, they have left behind their families to carve out a new experience in Guatemala. They have learnt Spanish, avoid newspapers, and sponsor the educations of young Guatemalans. One is Bonnie, who is legally blind. I can only imagine how difficult it is to navigate a boat on rough seeas when you can’t see. Kari, another woman, is a retired psychotherapist and surgeon aid (I don’t think that is the technical word for it). And Sue, works seasonally as a someone who watches fires in a tower in Alberta. She spends her off time in Guatemala.

Sue and I had a conversation in which (being fully aware that I was a Mormon) she told me she thought Mormons are the wierdest out of the religions that she knew. “For example,” the idea of multi-layered heavens.”
I thought about this and felt that out of all the wierd things that one could pick out about Mormons, this was one of the least strange ones that I could think of. I also did not really feel like getting into a theological debate. I just shrugged and said, “We’re not that weird. We are just as weird as all the other churches. We just haven’t been around as long so people aren’t as used to our oddities.”

She looked at me unblinkingly and said, “I’m an atheist.”
I think I am getting a bit off track. Back to the boat!

Another person on the boat, the only one in fact that wasn’t from Canada or America, was Thomas. Thomas was from Austria, had a laugh as evil as a villain from a 007 film from the 80’s, and had never (gasp) tried peanut butter before. Thomas was an ex-karate fighter, and now worked in a bank and volunteered as a referree. I felt like Thomas and I were kindred spirits because like me, he really loved food. In fact, it is safe to say (I don’t say this very often) that he loves food a lot more than I do. We knew when Thomas was getting hungry because he would start detailing the kind of pizza he would order when he got back to Rio Dulce and off the boat. The fact that I did not eat most meats and drink alcohol was something of a great tragedy for Thomas (One night when our crew didn’t catch any fish and we had a vegetarian dinner Thomas said that if we didn’t have meat the next night he would start a revolution on board.). After dinner he would tell us about cakes that he made for himself in Austria; they were a mixture of blended/powdered nuts (instead of flour) and nutella, this would be baked and then frozen while he mixed up the icing which was marmelade with rum and all sorts of other delicious sounding things. By the end of his descriptions the rest of us would all be drooling.

After any given meal, Thomas who was inevitably still hungry, would take several pieces of bread and help himself to the treasured peanut butter. Indeed, the peanut butter seemed to be the uniting factor amongst us all. We all fussed over our jar which was diminishing. One day, Bonnie, who had the best Spanish of us all, over heard the crew talking about how slow we were eating the peanut butter. According to him, in other trips, the guests had eaten a jar a day.
“Wait,” she asked, “There is more peanut butter?” We all rejoiced.

Uh oh the only Spanish words I know are from a Ricky Martin song!

For all those interested, I have decided to try a blog! At the moment there will be little to no frills because uploading pictures and dealing with technology in general can be such a big pain since my internet and computer sources are unreliable. Enjoy!

Hello from Flores Guatemala! It is freezing here! I have pulled my full length clothes out from the bottom of my bag (I didn’t need them in Mexico). Instead of constantly sweating I am now afraid to take a shower because my hotel doesn’t have heated water. Yikes. My hotel also doesn’t have any windows or doors that actually close and neither does any other piece of infrastructure here. I am finding myself facing a problem that I only brought one change of warm clothes. However the cool weather did come in handy today when I went to Tikal, a huge amount of ruins that are famous for their location in a malaria ridden jungle! Needless to say I didn’t have to bring my bug spray with me.

The ruins themselves were really impressive. Many of them had not been restored yet and lay under thick jungley vegetation.

In my first week and a half of traveling, I have been trying adjust to the quirks of the new culture not to mention an entirely new language. At the moment my lack of Spanish really limits the interactions I have with both locals and other tourists.

Here are some animal related fun facts that I have discovered/seen since being here:
– I have discovered a new species of birds that sound like a mix of children screaming and nails on a chalk board. Their favorite chorusing times are at dawn and dusk. There is a tree right outside of my window at my hotel. Dawn is at 6am.
– When I was in Merida, Mexico I saw cockroaches for sale that had fake diamond, precious stones, and gold chains attached to them. Is that animal cruelty or is it ok because they are disgusting cockroaches?
– I saw a real toucan today! it didn’t have any jewelry but it was still really cool!

that is all for now folks.


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If you are ready to meet West Africa’s First Female Governor, watch The Governor

Ebonylife TV is set to premiere a new high octane political drama titled ‘The Governor’ with its series premiere airing Thursday 7th of July, 2016 at  9PM WAT.

The Governor is the riveting tale of Angela Ochello, the Deputy Governor of Savannah State who with no governorship ambitions finds herself suddenly entangled in a web of political intrigue after the untimely death of the incumbent Governor. As audiences embark on this journey with Angela, we see how with the help of her trusted Chief of Staff, she learns how to maneuver through the rough and shark-infested waters of politics whilst balancing the demands of her matrimonial home.

The Governor is set in Savannah, a coastal state in Western Africa established in 1964 and extremely rich in iron ore. Known for its widely spaced grassland with temperate weather conditions and unique tourist attractions, Savannah has a population of 15 million people majority of who are fishermen and farmers. The rich cultural diversity and political awareness of the people makes it one of the most politically active states in the country.

The Governor will take constituents and citizens alike through the shadowy often gruesome corridors of power and promises to be packed with lots of intrigue, drama and sometimes humour. Can Angela standup to her rivals and assume her place as Governor? Will the fear of losing her husband cause her to forfeit this opportunity?

Written by Yinka Ogun, Debo Oluwatuminu and Tunde Babalola and directed by Ema Edosio, the lead character ‘Angela Ochello’ is played by British-Nigerian actress Caroline Chikezie (Aeon Flux, BBC’s Casualty, Channel 4’s As If). Other cast members include Bimbo Manuel, Baaj Adebule, Kachi Nnochiri, and Simi Adejumo amongst others. The 13-episode series will air Thursdays exclusively on EbonyLife TV (DSTV Channel 165).

For more information, like the official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/EbonylifeTV  and to be part of the Twitter/Instagram conversation, follow @TheGovernor_EL

EbonyLife Films further captures the very essence and soul of Africa via its Storytelling, and has extended itself to representing history, personal narrative, political commentary and evolving cultural norms, as well as addressing educational objectives.

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Eighth Sunday after Pentecost -- Proper 12B (7/26/2009)

Pragmatism and Faithfulness

Lessons:    2 Kings 4:42-44     Psalm 145:10-18     Ephesians 3:14-21     St. John 6:1-21     Semicontinuous Series:         2 Samuel 11:1-15         Psalm 14

Prayer of the Day:     Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth. Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven and share this bread with all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

6:1After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?"6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.7Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little."8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,9"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"10Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost."13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." 15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified.20But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

St. John 6:-21 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

I don't need to tell you that these are hard times for Christian congregations in the United States. We are in the midst of a significant economic down-turn. Most of our people are taking a close look at their budget, and are cutting back in whatever areas they can. Some of them have even decided to cut back on their financial support of the church.

I serve among pastors and church leaders who are concerned about this. In my denomination, there are pastors who fear that their congregation's plans are too ambitious, and they worry about where the resources will come from. In my own church, there is the sentiment that we just don't have enough money, or enough volunteers, to accomplish what God is calling us to do.

These are very pragmatic responses to some very significant concerns.

Yet this week's Gospel lesson comes as a challenge to that kind of thinking.

Jesus had been in Jerusalem for the feast, and at the start of chapter 6 he makes his way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, where he is followed by large crowds. Passover is drawing near, and the people are hungry, so Jesus calls Philip to his side (St. John tells us, to "test" him). He asks Philip if he has any ideas about how they might feed the crowd. Philip surveys the situation and perceives that it is very grave. Some five thousand people are gathered there. Forget the fact that they are in the wilderness, up on a mountain. Even if there had been a grocery store nearby, Philip is aware that six months wages wouldn't be enough to feed them all. It seemed to Philip that they just didn't have enough. Their resources were no match for the situation they were facing.

Enter Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. We don't know what Andrew is thinking. He may have remembered how Jesus previously had been able to do remarkable things with limited resources. He may just have been thinking out loud. He says to the group, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish." However, almost before anyone is able to think about what he said, he begins to back peddle: "But what are they among so many people?"

It is ludicrous, after all. Five barley loaves and two fish. 5,000 hungry people, gathered in the wilderness. Any reasonable assessment of the situation would have reached the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing that could be done.  Yet Jesus takes those loaves and fish. He gives thanks to God for them, and distributes them to those who are seated there. Remarkably, everyone is able to eat as much as they want, and when it is all said and done, twelve baskets of leftovers remain.

They didn't need six months wages to feed the crowd. All they needed was Jesus. And faith. The Apostle Paul claimed that Christian faith is foolishness to those who are perishing (1st Corinthians 1:18), but to us it is the power of God. He was right. There are times when we need to step away from the realistic and pragmatic thinking of Philip, and allow ourselves to be persuaded by the innocent and hopeful thinking of Andrew.

The church more often is guilty of low expectations than reaching too high. Christians are often unaware of how capable they are, if only they allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, and encouraged by their faith in Christ.

5,000 hungry people faced Jesus that day, who stood before them with only five loaves of bread and two fish. He stands among us today, and encourages us to reach out with vision and courage. He seeks to remind us that God desires to do great things through us. He wants us to know that we can make a difference in this world. May we be faithful to his call. And may we open our hearts to what can happen when he is present in our midst.

Exploring This Week's Gospel:

  1. What caused Philip to be limited in what he could imagine Jesus would do?
  2. Why did Andrew point out that there was at least a little bit of food there?
  3. What did Jesus want Philip to discover on that day?

Connecting with This Week's Gospel:

  1. When have I been more pragmatic than faithful, when deciding what to do?
  2. What challenges lie before me today, that God would have me address?
  3. What can I do to remember that my faithfulness depends not on my own capacity, but on God's strength?


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June 2017

I’ve taken a break from posting on the blog and gave it a little makeover a few days ago. I think it looks a little bit more mature and it’s a breath of fresh air. I created One Thousand Lemons a year ago this month, and my first posting anniversary is coming up mid-July. I’m also making some changes to the way I post content; for example, this is going to be modeled after a “favorites” post but it’s going to be looser and encompass experiences more than things, because how I used to write these posts always felt inorganic and annoying.

I remember when I met you / Salt in the summer breeze

You helped me draw the borders / When the ink, it starts to bleed

You’re my only harbor / When I’m drifting out to sea

Wanna wash up to the shore and / Bring you home to me (x)

To be listened to: baking in the sun on your favorite beach, with sunglasses and hair flying everywhere on Route 1 after a Bradley and Wall lunch, in the shower where all the sand in every crevice of your body is washed clean

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

I read Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler this month of June, either engulfed in cold sand or by my bedroom window with the incessant pattering of rain as my background music. I underlined a lot; “Let’s just say I was born in late June of 2006 when I came over the George Washington Bridge at seven a.m. with the sun circulating and dawning, the sky full of sharp corners of light, before the exhaust rose, before the heat gridlocked in, windows unrolled, radio turned up to some impossibly hopeful pop song, open, open, open.” or “Do you see how, up close, it’s blurry and passionate? And from a distance, whole?” or “Was I a monster or was this what it felt like to be a person?” Recovering from it, this book is probably one of the best I’ve read. I felt connected.

I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you / Take me back to the night we met

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you / Oh, take me back to the night we met

And then I can tell myself / What the hell I’m supposed to do

And then I can tell myself / Not to ride along with you (x)

To be listened to: directly after sunset on Old Orchard Rd, at 2 o’clock in the morning with someone you love but know you won’t have for long, driving through suburban Rhode Island in bright afternoon sunlight with your head out the window

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

I went to Friday’s shows at The Governor’s Ball Music Festival in Manhattan, New York on Randall’s Island. I found myself in the middle of a mosh pit during ScHoolboy Q, felt liquid gold and chills down my spine up front for Flume, and ate sweet french fries very far from the stage with Wyatt, singing along to my favorite Chance the Rapper songs and felt pure happiness. I made a video of the performances I recorded. If you are considering dropping money on a music festival, I highly recommend it.

Found a cure for loneliness, I’m forever immune / Stuck in my walk and in my head and I hum her tune

Yep, she got rhythm, it’s like / Some things don’t need words

You know you’re living / When it all becomes a blur

Can’t be explained, and there ain’t no reason to / Something strange just takes over you

One million lovers to choose from, but none like her / The only one for sure (x)

To be listened to: screaming the lyrics with your best friend on the drive to Dairy Queen, after 11 p.m. closing at work and trying not to cry having nowhere to go afterwards anymore, singing to yourself around the house when making oatmeal

Riley introduced me to the beauty that is a baguette and Mascarpone. I’m obsessed. I rip off a slice of bread, open it up with my fingers, slather on the Mascarpone, and it’s heaven. Serve with dark chocolate and a huge glass of water or seltzer for the full experience. Foodwise, I’ve also gotten back on the Annie’s fruit snacks grind, and it’s cherry season so you know where to find me.

I like to watch the world, the world is looking good today / And it’s almost like I’m sleeping, I pull my head back to the sun

Clean my house from big fat flies / Dreaming of the city

Clear my head, clean my bed / Dreaming of the big city, big city (x)

To be listened to: swaying on a boat wearing white linen pants holding a glass of wine, driving to a seafront dinner wearing your nicest summer dress and wedges, screaming out the window on the way back from Hammonasset Beach after a sun-soaked day

I bought the eyelet top at American Eagle in the month of June and it has quickly become one of my favorite shirts. It happens to go perfectly with my favorite jeans in the whole entire universe, the Gap boyfriend jean. The rips in the leg are perfect, the jeans are amazing quality, and the cuffs are a little ripped too which give them character. I wear these at least twice, maybe three times a week. Here I paired it with my new large J. Crew sunglasses and my favorite casual sandals from Target.

I don’t get weak in the knees, hundreds spread out like a fan / Vert feel like some Gucci sandals, open the sky, get a handful

Torso marked up like a vandal, how you not fucking with cash? / God gave you what you can handle, gave you what you could handle

I got the grip like the handle, and I’m biking / I’m biking with me and my Daniel

Hades got the angels, TV’s got the angles / I’m braking (x)

To be listened to: biking in a wet bathing suit and ratty t-shirt, wet hair drying messily in the wind, in the morning making breakfast home alone, when you want to smile for no reason because Frank Ocean is a god and his voice is honey

The first half of June was packed with rain, which of course led countless hours of Youtube browsing. I discovered Margot Lee and watched pretty much all of her videos this month, and I rekindled my love for Rachel Bryner, who is just too good at being aesthetically pleasing. And, don’t even get me started on Katy Bellotte. I’ve loved her forever, and she’s been updating her blog more, which is so exciting. I feel like she gets me on another level, and since this month has held some disappointments, her musings on life make me feel refreshed.

Something bad is ’bout to happen to me / I don’t know what, but I feel it coming

Might be so sad, might leave my nose running / I just hope she don’t wanna leave me

Don’t you give me up, please don’t give up / On me, I belong, with you, and only you baby

Only you, my girl / Only you, babe (x)

To be listened to: half singing along alone laying in bed, journaling experiences and feelings, reading new blog posts on The Messy Heads, waiting in parking lots, at gas stations, for directions, feeling disconnected

Processed with VSCO with hb2 preset

Overall, June taught me a lot and I can’t believe it’s already over. Summer is halfway over. I started buying things for my sophomore year dorm; a new duvet, laptop skin, poster, sweatpants and sweatshirts. June taught me a lot about who I am as a person; how I want men to treat me, whether or not I should act on my desires, who in my life is actually there for me and cares for me, and how much it takes for me to give up on something I’ve already started.

And don’t forget the little things in life, like Fruity Pebbles, a new silver necklace, book club, trashy novels about Connecticut housewives, other people’s dogs, causeway sunsets, the one depressing Spotify playlist I have turned up to full volume in my car always, the marinated chicken sandwich at Shanks, Catlen’s pool, yoga, and acceptance.


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September 1, 2008 | History

José Rafael Hernández

1956 -

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Images vies 1 edition

Cover of: Images vies | Wilfrid-Joël Navarro

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Images vies
photographies, 1975-1995
Wilfrid-Joël Navarro ; préf., Andrès Garcia.

Published 1997 by Éd. Alméria in Sainte-Terre .
Written in French.

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Date of Award

Summer 8-15-2017

Author's School

School of Engineering & Applied Science

Author's Department

Electrical & Systems Engineering

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Type

Efficiency, comfort, and convenience are three major aspects in the design of control systems for residential Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units. In this dissertation, we study optimization-based algorithms for HVAC control that minimizes energy consumption while maintaining a desired temperature, or even human comfort in a room. Our algorithm uses a Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, mathematically formulated using Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), to describe the interactions between temperature, pressure, and air flow. Our model allows us to naturally formulate problems such as controlling the temperature of a small region of interest within a room, or to control the speed of the air flow at the vents, which are hard to describe using finite-dimensional Ordinary Partial Differential (ODE) models. Our results show that our HVAC control algorithms produce significant energy savings without a decrease in comfort.

Also, we formulate a gradient-based estimation algorithm capable of reconstructing the states of doors in a building, as well as its temperature distribution, based on a floor plan and a set of thermostats. The estimation algorithm solves in real time a convection-diffusion CFD model for the air flow in the building as a function of its geometric configuration. We formulate the estimation algorithm as an optimization problem, and we solve it by computing the adjoint equations of our CFD model, which we then use to obtain the gradients of the cost function with respect to the flow’s temperature and door states. We evaluate the performance of our method using simulations of a real apartment in the St. Louis area. Our results show that the estimation method is both efficient and accurate, establishing its potential for the design of smarter control schemes in the operation of high-performance buildings.

The optimization problems we generate for HVAC system's control and estimation are large-scale optimal control problem. While some optimal control problems can be efficiently solved using algebraic or convex methods, most general forms of optimal control must be solved using memory-expensive numerical methods. In this dissertation we present theoretical formulations and corresponding numerical algorithms that can find optimal inputs for general dynamical systems by using direct methods. The results show these algorithms' performance and potentials to be applied to solve large-scale nonlinear optimal control problem in real time.

English (en)

Humberto Gonzalez

Committee Members

Ramesh Agarwal, ShiNung Ching, Zachary Feinstein, Jr-Shin Li,

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