Podcasts about catera

Send us a textIn episode 761 of The Sharvette Mitchell Radio Show, we're diving into the world of grant writing and nonprofit success with Iva Brown, CEO of Motivating Factors, LLC  and Miata Powell, Marketing Director. With over two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, government programs, and multi-million dollar budgets, Iva breaks down what it really takes to secure grant funding and build impact-driven organizations.Since 2012, I've been the CEO of Motivating Factors, LLC. My business helps individuals and organizations reach their highest potential. For 9 years I worked for Virginia Commonwealth University, managing an HIV/AIDS program. I worked for housing and homeless non-profit organizations for 15 years, where I served as Director of Operations and Director of Housing. I currently work for the state of Virginia, where I direct the State Opioid Response Program. In that role, I am responsible for an annual budget of $27 million and manage a team of 4 people.In my spare time, I love riding sports motorcycles (Suzuki Hayabusa) and watching sports with my Fiancé, Mont, hanging with my 2 adult daughters Miata and Catera, and caring for my beloved kitty, Ms. Munchie.I am a graduate of the University of Richmond and I'm finishing a Master's in human service counseling at Liberty University.www.motivatingfactorsllc.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B1SY8WG1K/Instagram: MfactorsllcLinkedIn:  CLICK HEREThe Sharvette Mitchell Radio Show | www.Sharvette.com Listen and Subscribe to our Podcast: https://pod.link/281762250 Listen on Apple Podcast - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sharvette-mitchell-radio/id281762250 Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Er67rVhcSqj8MO7ysL9bV Listen on iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-the-sharvette-mitchell-rad-31047507/ Listen on BuzzSprout- https://thesharvettemitchellradioshow.buzzsprout.com Listen on Amazon Music Podcast: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7a6dbb45-abf8-4ce7-8202-116b3dbd3f31/the-sharvette-mitchell-radio-show

Sarah explains what it feels like to be high. She also hears from a caller who still fantasizes about her ex and another who needs help understanding his dreams. Plus, she goes full Buddhist mode and explains a proverb about why anger is like picking up hot coals and trying to throw them at someone. You can leave a voice memo for Sarah at speakpipe.com/TheSarahSilvermanPodcast. You can get tickets for Sarah’s Post Mortem tour here. Follow Sarah Silverman @sarahkatesilverman on Instagram and @sarahksilverman on TikTok. And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X, Facebook, and Instagram. For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yooooo, we got one of my favorite artists on the show today, Catera. We talked about her music as well as her brand, Ether Decor!

We have not been payed by GM for Subliminal advertising, or have we? Absolutely zero Camry talk or not. But we do talk about some fun Celebrity car endorsements and Brad gives us some project car updates.    Please Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite listening platform. Comments, Questions, complaints; email us at autoofftopic@gmail.com Join the Discord, message on the socials for a link. Keep your cars analog and Aim for the Roses!

In this episode, I am joined by Kennita Hickman. Kennita is the first Black Woman to win the WAMI President Award and the Milwaukee Music Ambassador of the Year Award. She is also the creative genius behind Catera, a multi-media company. Ms. Hickman is also the curator of Artist Eats (Link Below: It is DOPE). https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeGwV0dqrPeY6aJocgiUVA Listen in as Kennita talks about her journey in radio as well how she now extends her creativity to elevate other brands. Thanks for checking us out. With Love, Respect & Advocacy

On this episode Allison Emm talks with Kennita Hickman, founder and owner of Catera. She and her team have done work in artist management, public relations and many other things. Learn about her journey through entrepreneurship in the music industry, particularly from the perspective of a black female. Find more info on Kennita at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman Check out more about TMV Podcast at http://www.themusiciansventure.com/ (www.themusiciansventure.com), @themusiciansventure on Facebook and Instagram, and @MusicianVenture on Twitter.

“I want to go see him!” Jamie wailed through her gut wrenching sobs. Gale had just texted the Winstar, the 18 year old bobcat that Jamie had nursed from a few day old, had died.   Windstar Bobcat was netted to see vet after being found "down" in his den. He seemed fine the day before, but when he didn't come out to eat, Jamie knew something was wrong. We netted him to take him in the hospital and called the vet. We found vomited mushrooms, but both varieties turned out to be non toxic.   A large mass was found on his kidney and biopsied. It was sent out, along with blood work for testing.   Watching over him through the night on a Nest cam, Jamie reported that he was awake and looking around at 5 am, so she felt he was out of the woods. About a half hour later though he passed peacefully in his sleep.   A necropsy will be done to determine the cause of death. He was 18 which was old for a bobcat and extremely old for a hybrid. His brother died almost immediately after birth so every year Windstar had was a gift to us all. http://bigcatrescue.org/Windstar   I am thankful that we have the tools and knowledge to assist our cats through their old age.   I am grateful that we are nearing the end of these horrible losses.  The last of the cats I was most close to, because they required so much intensive care when they were young were Windsong, Catera, Raindance, Hercules, Shere Khan and Little Feather.  They are all gone now.  I love the others and have spent many nights on the bedside floor by Bailey and others, but I feel like the worst is over for me.   Jamie still has to look with dread toward the days of losing Jumanji, Pharaoh, Tonga, Will, Moses and Anasazi.  They are all in their late teens now, so the heart breaks will end soon for her too.   Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Love letter to Jamie I've never had a clue how to express it to you, but I love you beyond what words can say.  I just wrote the following on Little Feather's tribute page:   Regrets.  I knew I would have them.  I've known for 23 years, but now that is mostly what I feel.  When Little Feather first arrived and was so sick, I had to carry her in a pouch in my shirt because I still had to work.   I had to run a real estate business, care for a husband suffering from Alzheimers, and care for more than 60 other exotic cats who had been rescued from fur farms and taxidermists.  Jamie was only 13 and was the most help I had.  It would be three more years before my family would join us in this endeavor.   I adored Little Feather and wanted so much just to enjoy her kittenhood, to spend time with her, and others, like Windsong, Raindance, Hercules and Catera, but was always being pulled in so many directions that I never had that luxury.  I always knew I would regret it.  I knew I'd wake up one day and that opportunity would be lost forever.   I tried to spend time with each of them, and all of the others that I loved in each and individual ways, but it was never enough.  The phone would ring, a text would arrive, some other cat would need assistance and the time was always cut short.   Today as I saw Jamie struggling to deal with the loss of a sister, a child to her, a constant in her life for all of her teens and adulthood, I took it to heart that I need to make more time for those I love because I don't want to regret a minute of my life that wasn't spent showing that I love them.   Today I wrote up my speech for tomorrow's USDA call What animals should APHIS consider including under the definition of dangerous animals?   I believe it is easier to exclude animals from the definition of dangerous animals, when it comes to felids.  Because there is no known vaccine against rabies in exotic cats, ALL cat species, other than Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus, should be classified as dangerous animals.  Failure to classify them as dangerous, implies that they are not dangerous.   The very meaning of the word “dangerous” is: Being able or likely to do harm.   Virtually every state requires that exotic cats, of all species, other than domestic cats, be kept caged.  That is because they are dangerous, both to humans they may bite, scratch or kill and to the environment.   Many states require that domestic cats be vaccinated against rabies and even more require that domestic cats coming into their state be vaccinated first, but there is no known, effective vaccine against rabies in non domestic cats.   Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain. Symptoms include: violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Once symptoms appear, the result is nearly always death.   That's a pretty awful death and is easily preventable by classifying all non domestic cats as dangerous, and thus not suitable as pets or pay to play props.   As for environmental issues, there isn't a week that goes by, that we don't get a call from someone reporting a cougar in their yard.  Usually it is a bobcat, or a HUGE domestic cat that is likely the cast off from the hybrid cat trade.  1st generation hybrids, between domestic cats and wild cats, are often bigger than either parent and never work out as pets.   These cats often escape or are released into the environment and then breed with feral cats, causing danger to the public and to the local eco systems who are not designed for these super predators.   Back in the 60s and 70s, when the Animal Welfare Act was passed, no one would have dreamed that people would try to make pets out of wild cats, so the antiquated rules have not kept up with protecting wild animals from the abuses they suffer today.  I am glad that you are considering rule changes and hope that you will drastically improve the protections afforded wild cats in captivity.  The changes you make now will probably have to survive another half century of human evolution, so they should be far more restrictive than you may think necessary for now.   Other News Around the Sanctuary Today   Last night I got a call from a woman in OR who's been working for Bonnie Ringo for 4 years off and on, and full time since April 1.  She relayed a long tale of law breaking and abuse toward her and her family, but I don't have time to write that up now.  Suffice it to say that I'm glad the bad guys use my name all the time because when they alienated their staff, they always know to come to me.   I'm thankful that my mother is lucid enough to still handle as much as she does. Today she and I set aside time to call my credit card company to find out why my card is frozen.  I'd asked my mother to send a $5000 payment, when I learned a month ago that we had not gotten the April bill in the mail.  When my card froze again, I thought maybe she hadn't paid a bill, or had lost a bill, but today the credit card company said that I was over paid, but that they had blocked my card because the post office told them they couldn't forward my mail any longer.   I've been at this address for more than 20 years.  There is no mail forwarding going on.  Our postal service has just become completely unreliable.

WISCONSIN MUSIC PODCAST Episode 55   Kennita Hickman   Kennita Hickman is an urban cultural micro-influencer, writer, content producer, and executive producer. She is the Chief Culture Curator for Catera  (formerly KIS Communications LLC), a culture development and media company where she supports musicians, creatives, and politicians.  Her 22-year career includes freelance journalist, artist manager, and public relations specialist. She currently works at Catera as a brand strategist, project manager, and event producer for creatives. She also currently produces and hosts Artist Eats culture series for independent musicians and local food. She serves as a board member for #IVoted and Milwaukee Theatre Alliance. Prior to her work at Catera, she wrote for various music publications including Urbanology, Relevant, and The Source, and served as Director of Artist Support and Outreach for an arts non-profit. Previous board work includes Above the Clouds, Repairers of the Breach, WAMI (Vice President)       LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman Instagram https://www.instagram.com/artisteats/?hl=en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CateraCulture/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfzLfaIpOwyH6CKunQeeQ4Q youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeGwV0dqrPeY6aJocgiUVA   -- Kennita C. Hickman Catera Chief Culture Curator https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman/  

DesPurrado Bobcat Dies It seems like it is always raining when we have to euthanize a cat and today was no exception. DesPurrado has been battling renal failure as well as dealing with thyroid issues for a long time, and with a change in meds recently we saw great improvement and had hoped he would be able to have a little longer with us. We always supply supportive care for as long as a cat has the will to live, and we try to watch the cat closely for signs that they are telling us that it is "time." Just a few days ago, DesPurrado was chasing lizards and showing his usual zeal for life, but when he refused his favorite meal in the whole world - whole prey rat, we knew he was giving up. On Wednesday, he didn't even get up to come for his rat, even though rat night is the highlight of his existence. At dinner time, even cats who are great buddies by day will threaten each other viciously over their favorite treats. Little Dove would ordinary grab her rat and run, but this week when she saw that DesPurrado wasn't feeling well enough to come get his, she sweetly carried her prize over to him and offered it up. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, but did not feel like eating it. Yesterday, when a bunch of us were in Moses and Bailey's cage next door; that would have been of the utmost interest to curious cats like DesPurrado, but he just laid in the grass, staring off into space. Where ever he was going, he was already on his way. Jamie and I decided to see if he would eat Thursday night, but he wouldn't and he refused his meds in favorite treats. We knew he would never get better, but had hoped to give him a quality of life worth living for a little longer. Like his response to Little Dove, he seemed to appreciate the gesture, but he was ready to go. Not wanting to make his last moments here those of being put into a carrier and carted to the vet, I asked if Dr. Wynn would come to his home today to help him cross over into whatever is waiting next for him. Jennifer helped and we all sat with him in the rain as he drifted away. They noted the huge and gorgeous butterfly that floated about his enclosure, in between the downpours. I wonder who had come to guide him on? Could it be Hercules or Catera who were living in my bedroom with him and Cleo-cat-tra bobcat back in 1997? Or Windsong coming to gather him back into her "pride" and the realm of the unknown? I don't know, but I do know that we will miss him and his great love of life. Tribute to Esmerelda Serval My favorite memory of Esmerelda was captured in a photo that I haven't seen in a while. It was long before digital images so it may not have ever been scanned. We had just built a big enclosure on the lake bank that was fenced on three sides and then extended far out into the water so that she could swim. The lake bank was steep and tiered in flowers and plants to prevent erosion. Esmerelda stood on the bank over looking the lake and her unfettered view of the land beyond. While there was a fence in the lake to keep her contained, she could stand on the bank and look out over the top of it and perhaps pretend that it was not there. She manifested all that is regal; all that is powerful and all that is capable of seeing a better future than the current reality. I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/ I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

2010 Annual Report   Big Cat Rescue is more than just a place that provides permanent care for big cats.  It is a movement;  a change in the tide of human perceptions and is the combined effort of more than 50,000 supporters.  If you are one of them, you are a Big Cat Rescuer and the following is the great work YOU did!  If you haven't helped yet, you can do so now at the top right of the screen or here:  http://bigcatrescue.org/donate.htm   Big Cat Rescue's Mission Statement: Big Cat Rescue's dual mission is to provide the best home we can for the cats in our care and educate the public about the plight of these majestic animals, both in captivity and in the wild, to end abuse and avoid extinction.  We are Caring for Cats and Ending the Trade   Advances:  With your help we are winning in the battle for compassion! Up until 2003 the number of requests for rescues we had to turn down due to lack of space or funds had roughly doubled each year, to 312 that year. We feared it would double again to over 500 in 2004. Instead, it has steadily declined since then thanks to the passage of a federal bill and several state bills that restrict the ownership of exotic cats. This year we “only” had to turn away 89 big cats who were unwanted by their owners. We offered to take all of the cats who were cougar size or smaller, if their owners would contract to never own another exotic cat, but they all refused.  We just do not have enough Senior Keeper staff to take on more lions or tigers.   By now everyone knows that communication and fundraising will be cell phone centric.  On April 30, 2009 we added mobile phone number collection to our contact forms and promoted this new request with the Animal Lover's Dream Vacation Giveaway. Our winners said, “It was the most fun we've ever had!”   Our new Intranet site established in January 2010 where all of our staff, volunteers, board and vet care professionals can interact and share information. This cloud based system was provided free via a Google grant and enables us to keep all of the sanctuary documents in a password protected cloud where Rescuers can log in and post their observations for the vet and can share photos, videos and stories with each other.  Our cloud can be accessed via a dozen or more computers at the sanctuary, Rescuer's home computers, smart phones and iPads.  Those who subscribe to the site, such as the CEO, President, Operations Manager and the Vets can see, in real time, as observations are posted about the cats.  This insures that there are always many eyes on the look out for ways to enhance the cat care at Big Cat Rescue.   Animal Care:  By the end of this year, 77 of our 115 cats are over the age of 15. This is well beyond how long they are designed to live in the wild and much older than most zoo cats.  This is a testament to the excellent animal care we provide, but we are dealing with many more age related illnesses and are losing more of our big cat friends every year.  Cats who required extensive veterinary care in 2010 were Alachua Bob, Bagheera, Bellona, Catera, Cha Cha, Cloe, Crystal, Freckles, Hercules, India, King, Narla, Nirvana, Pretender, Purrfection, Sarmoti, Servie, Snorkel, Sophie, Takoma, Tonga and Windsong. These cats were moved so they would have new neighbors and surroundings for their own enrichment: Freckles, Indian Summer, Modnic, Narla. Nikita & Simba, Peaches, Precious, Reno, Sundari and Thing. Even though we offered to rescue the 19 lesser cats and 3 lions and tigers who were in need of rescue in 2010, Skip, Angelica and Midnight, Rain and Storm the bobcats, Servie the serval, Narla, Freddy and Sassyfrass the cougars were the only ones who ended up here.  We found a rehabber for a bobcat in TN as well.  The rest did not come here because the owners refused to contract with us to never own exotic cats again.   Despite triple bypass heart surgery in August, Vern stayed busy this year with all of the maintenance issues and with these 32 cage improvements: Armani & Jade, Bailey & Moses, Bengali, Calvin, Cameron & Zabu, China & Khan, Crazy Bobcats, Despurrado, Diablo, Flavio, Freckles, Jefferson, Joseph & Sasha, King, Modnic, Nala, Natasha & Willow, Nikita, Nikita & Simba, Rambo, Rehab Bobcats, Sarmoti, TJ, Trick E and Windstar. On 3/18/10 we had another perfect USDA inspection.   Education:  Our website is primarily an educational tool and according to Alexa we are ranked 266,861 worldwide and 110,338 most visited website in the U.S.  We have 458 other sites linking to us.   We offer about 58 outreach and field trips per year and have committed to offering 12 of them for free each year to lower income schools, but have already given 25 such free tours this year and expect that demand will continue to rise with the cost of transportation.  Even when we offer the tours for free, many schools cannot come because they cannot afford the $200.00 fee for their busses.  Our Education Department began writing grant proposals to raise the money needed for the buses.   Volunteer Committee Member, Sharyn Beach, was published at Encyclopedia Britannica with the best statement ever written about why breeding white tigers is Conserving a Lie.   Our web site addresses local and global concerns about environment and has over 17,000 pages of information, movie clips, sounds, safe interactive online games with a conservation theme and photos. From 1/1/2008 until 9/9/2010 the site was visited 3,642,337 times, resulting in 8,197,155 page views.  In any given week the visitors will be roughly 33% from 218 countries outside of the U.S. as you can see from this breakdown:   United States 2,757,351, Poland 204,209, Canada 198,127, United Kingdom 127,246, Australia 40,618, India 24,496, Germany 17,428, Japan 13,023, France 11,017, Netherlands 9,593, Philippines 8,559, Singapore 8,545, Sweden 8,177, Italy 8,136, Brazil 8,024, Malaysia 7,793, Spain 7,779, New Zealand 7,740, Ireland 6,788, South Africa 6,697, Mexico 6,554, Belgium 5,994, Russia 5,986, Indonesia 5,627, Finland  5,364 and Turkey 5,248 to name a few.   The information provided has helped wildlife rehabilitators identify animals and obtain proper care instruction, helped officials in smuggling cases to identify rare species of exotic cats being illegally traded and those are just a few of the ways that we know the site has had an impact this year.   Big Cat Rescue has been in the press 694 times, in 31+ states including AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, GA, FL, HI, IO, IN, IL, KY, LA, MA, MN, MO, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, VA & WA and dozens of programs of national or international coverage or in countries other than the U.S.   Legislation/Education: The steady increase in legislation banning private ownership represents recognition by our society that private ownership leads to massive abuse.  Social values evolve.  It took decades to ban slavery in England and for women to win the right to vote in America.  Those ideas started out as “radical”, held by a small minority.  Gradually more and more people understood and agreed until they became a part of our value system that we take for granted today.  The same trend is happening with private ownership of exotics.  Gradually more and more people are realizing that this simply leads to widespread abuse of these animals.  The best evidence of this is the accelerating trend in state laws.   Just since 2005 eight more states have passed some level of ban. Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, Bolivia, Greece and Singapore have all banned or restricted the utilization of big cats in circuses-it's time for the U.S. & South Africa to do the same!   Nationwide & Canada:  Dade City's Wild Things acquired a white tiger cub from G.W. Exotics, a notorious Oklahoma breeder, that they are marketing to the hilt in order to make money off her as quickly as possible.  To accomplish that they dragged her into PetSmart to drum up some business.  Almost 900 advocates responded to our alert and wrote to PetSmart demanding an end to displays of exotics like this, knowing the bad message it sends.  We're very pleased to share that PetSmart listened and  immediately responded positively.  According to corporate spokesperson  Margie Wojciechowski  at the Phoenix, AZ headquarters, she confirmed she had just come from a meeting and the company has “reinforced with our managers that no exotic pets are allowed on store premises.  There will be no live display of exotic animals for events.”     • FL Sept. 1, 2010:  The Florida Wildlife Commission passes final rules on the keeping of wild animals. • FL June 23, 2010: Thanks to thousands of letters from Big Cat AdvoCats the Florida Wildlife Commission agreed to change the wording of their Nuisance Wildlife rules so that bobcats who are trapped as nuisance wildlife may not be killed, but rather must be released.  While our 2,000+ letters asked that bobcats be removed from the list of nuisance wildlife we are still thankful that the FWC has decided to at least spare the life of bobcats who are trapped this way.  We will continue to educate the FWC and the public as to why bobcats are so necessary to our ecosystem so that they may soon be removed from the list of animals that may be trapped. • FL June 23, 2010: Animal AdvoCats vs Animal Terrorists. The FWC agreed to ban the practice of “fox penning” which was a blood sport in 16 locations in FL where foxes, coyotes and bobcats would be trapped or purchased from trappers to be turned loose in fenced areas for the purpose of training hunting dogs.  Packs of dogs would be turned loose in the pens and scored on how persistant they were in chasing the wildlife.  The FWC had rules that required hiding places for the wildlife, but investigators found that the operators would often block the access to the safety areas so that the foxes, coyotes and bobcats could be cornered and ripped apart by the dogs for the amazement and betting opportunities of the dog owners.  For the first time in the history of the FWC meetings that we have attended since 1993 there were more animal advocates than animal terrorists in the room to testify.  52 concerned citizens spoke up in favor of a ban while only 20 animal abusers / hunters spoke up in favor of continuing the blood sport as part of their “cultural heritage and God given right.”  As more of these egregious practices are exposed we expect the number of main stream Americans who show up and speak up to increase. • FL June 3, 2010: Thanks to thousands of letters from Big Cat AdvoCats the legislature amended Florida Statutes 379.374 Bond required, amount. (2) No person, party, firm, association, or corporation shall possess or exhibit to the public either with or without charge or admission fee, any Class I wildlife, as defined in s. 379.303 and commission rule, without having first guaranteed financial responsibility, in the sum of $10,000, for any liability which may be incurred in the possession or exhibition to the public of Class I wildlife. The commission shall adopt, by rule, the methods of payment that satisfy the financial responsibility, which may include cash, the establishment of a trust fund, an irrevocable letter of credit, casualty insurance, a corporate guarantee, or any combination thereof, in the sum of $10,000 which shall be posted with the commission. In lieu of the $10,000 financial responsibility guarantee required in this subsection, the person, party, firm, association, or corporation has the option to maintain comprehensive general liability insurance, with minimum limits of $2 million per occurrence and $2 million annual aggregate, as shall protect the person, party, firm, association, or corporation from claims for damage for personal injury, including accidental death, as well as claims for property damage which may arise. Proof of such insurance shall be submitted to the commission.  Effective July 1, 2010.  In 2009 there were 111 Class I possessors in FL who managed to escape the bond requirement because they claimed they were not “exhibitors.”  This new language was necessary to close the loophole in the 2007 law so that all “possessors” of Class I animals must post this minimal bond. • OH July 1, 2010: A deal struck between The Humane Society of the United States, Ohio agriculture leaders and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will lead to major animal welfare improvements in Ohio on a raft of issues to protect exotic, domestic and farmed animals. The agreement includes recommendations from all of the parties for the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Care Board, the Legislature, and the Governor to ban the acquisition of dangerous exotic animals as pets, such as primates, bears, lions, tigers, large constricting and venomous snakes, crocodiles and alligators. • China October 27, 2010: The Ministry of Housing & Urban/Rural Development suggested in an official web posting that zoos should adequately feed and house animals, should stop selling wild animal products and serving wild animal parts in restaurants, and should stop staging circus-like trained animal acts.  The authorities report that zoos could be shut down for non compliance.  This is the first step toward permanent laws to protect the animals. • Germany June 17, 2010: The zoo director and three of the staff at the Magdeburg Zoo were convicted of cruelty to animals for killing three tiger cubs who were the result of a cross breeding tigers at the zoo.  The zoo had bred a Siberian tiger to a Sumatran tiger.  All of the tigers in the U.S. that are referred to as Bengal tigers are actually hybrids of Bengal and Siberian tigers as the result of the white tiger craze when Bengal tigers were inbred to the point of non existence in America.  A fine of 8,000 euros was suspended upon the condition that the zoo not kill cubs as the result of their own improper breeding plans.  The Magdeburg zoo case drew attention to the common practice of zoos breeding and killing animals to keep youngsters on exhibit. • Russia November 29, 2010: Russia is now filing a bill for an exotic pet ban like other countries have passed.  Despite Prime Minister Vladimir Putin having a pet tiger named Mashenka, the country is working on passing a bill that would restrict the ownership of monkeys, tigers, and crocodiles, because of their danger to the public and diseases they can carry, according to the bill that was submitted on Nov. 29, 2010 Thanks to all of you who wrote letters, attended town hall meetings and met with your lawmakers, the world is a little kinder place. Many of the worst breeders, dealers and tiger-tamer-wanabees were finally shut down.  Most of these collectors were fined or shut down by USDA or the state, or both in some cases: You can read the USDA reports and news stories at http://www.911AnimalAbuse.com 134,704 letters were sent via our CatLaws.com site in 2010 which is triple the year before.  We now have 44,606 members registered to help us with email campaigns. Thanks to all of our supporters being more aware of exotic cat issues and doing something about it, the wild cats had a lot of wins in 2010.  Only bans on the possession of private ownership of wild animals are fully enforceable but any step forward in restricting ownership is helpful.  For more details go to BigCatBans.   Animal Abusers Shut Down and / or Fined:  Many of the worst breeders, dealers and tiger-tamer-wanabees were finally shut down.  The following is from 2008- 2010.  Most of these collectors were fined or shut down by USDA or the state, or both in some cases: • CA:  Hesperia Zoo AKA Cinema Safari Zoo owned by Stephanie Taunton was put on probation and fined $30,000 by USDA. • FL: Horseshoe Creek owned by Darryl Atkinson was shut down by USDA and FL. • FL:  Wild Things' land owned by Kathy Stearns went into foreclosure and bankruptcy. • FL:  Amazing Exotics was shut down.  It was notorious for allowing contact between large exotic cats and the public for a fee.  The head of their tiger-tamer-wanabee program was Ron Holiday (real name Ron Guay) who gained fame in the HBO movie Cat Dancers and the book by the same name.  His career in dancing with big cats ended when a white tiger he had raised from a cub killed his wife and his lover within a few days of each other in 1998. • FL:  In 2010 Jeff and Barbara Harrod of Vanishing Species lost both their USDA and FWC licenses. • FL:  In 2010 Thomas R. Cronin of the Shell Factory was sanctioned by USDA for improper handling of animals, poor sanitation and lack of vet care. • IN:  Great Cats of Indiana, formerly known as Cougar Valley Farms, Inc., owned by Robert B. Craig and Laura Proper had their license revoked by USDA. • IN:  Ervin's Jungle Wonders owned by Ervin Hall was shut down by USDA for a three year term. • KS: In 2010 Clint Perkins of Riverside Zoological Park lost his USDA license to exhibit tigers and was fined for violations. • MO:  Wesa-A-Geh-Ya owned by Sandra Smith was shut down after a visitor lost his leg to a tiger. • MS:  Cougar Haven closed its doors for good, sending the last 3 big cats to Big Cat Rescue. • NC:  Metrolino Wildlife Park owned by Steven Macaluso was shut down by USDA. • NE:  Zoo Nebraska was ordered to find appropriate homes for their big cats and bears. • OH:  Pearson's L & L Exotics owned by Lorenzo Pearson was shut down by USDA following six years of violations. • SC:  In 2010 Robert Childress dba Quality Equipment was fined by USDA for lack of care for tigers. • TX:  Zoo Dynamics, owned by Marcus Cook was fined $100,000.00 • TX:  In 2010 Jamie Palazzo of Great Cat Adventures had their USDA license suspended for 3 years. • TX:  Wild Animal Orphanage closed their doors in September 2010 after investigation the Attorney General for fraudulent fundraising practices.  363 animals, mostly big cats and primates, are being disbursed to other sanctuaries.  Three of the tigers are coming to Big Cat Rescue. • Australia:  Craig Bush, the “Lion Man” was ousted from the Zion Wildlife Gardens by his mom.   Fundraising and Marketing:  Two Legacy Society donations over $100,000 each helped make this the best financial year ever for the sanctuary.  The first was a bequest from the estate of Terry Nordblom for $110,000.  The second was a matching grant of $200,000 in memory of William and Lois Modglin of Glendale, California.   Final financial numbers will not be available until after our annual audit in the spring, but estimates will be posted here in late January after we reconcile the December statements. 2010 began using Posterous.com to post to 16 of our major social networking sites at once.  We currently operate 333 social networking sites. 2010 we began using Traffic Geyser which increased our web traffic 24%.   Big Cat Rescue was reported favorably in the news 111 times in 2010 which in a 20% increase over 2009.   Some of the national press included shows on Animal Planet, Discovery and the History Channel in addition to such publications as National Geographic and the New York Post and major media coverage in several other countries as well.   The Fur Ball netted over $80,000.00! Over 650 big cat supporters had a blast at the Fur Ball; dining, dancing, playing the Wheel of Fur-Tune casino table and bidding in the silent auction and live auctions. Spirited bidders in the live auction won exotic trips see lions in South Africa, and many other wild and exotic places. We had 26,154 visitors this year. Our BigCatRescue.org website visitors rose to 1,660,550 but the site was temporarily replaced for two months.  During those two months (Jul-Aug) we did not have any tracking service on the replacement site.  We plan to re launch the replacement site in January 2011.  Google awarded Big Cat Rescue a grant of $40,000 per month in free AdWords. People who love animals love to share their photos and stories.  In 2008 Big Cat Rescue unleashed a Chat Big Cats community.   Members can post their own blogs, or join in our forums and contests. It is a YouTube/ MySpace styled community made up entirely of animal lovers. By year end there were 4,129 members and 107,374,194,388 videos, songs, photos and blogs posted to the site.  (blows my mind too!)  Get in on the action free at http://www.chatbigcats.com   YouTube.  We ended the year as the 6th most viewed Non Profit of all time and the 7th most subscribed Non Profit with 22,393 subscribers and 669,725 channel views and a whopping 20,685,511 upload views.  Up 500% from 2009.  By year end we had 412 videos posted on YouTube and other popular sites like google, Blip, MetaCafe, Revver and others. http://www.youtube.com/bigcatrescue YouTube Mini Clip Site:  DailyBigCat was launched Nov. 20, 2010 to provide a channel for the mini clips we upload directly from our iPhones.  By year end this site had 248 subscribers, 5,046 channel views and 25,812 total upload views.  Our MySpace account now has 7,625 friends. myspace.com/   We surpassed 36,000 fans on Face Book which is a 500% increase over 2009 as well.  We also enhanced our presence on Care2.org and many other such sites.  We now have 359 contacts in our LinkedIn presence here:  linkedin.com/in/BigCatRescue Big Cat Rescue now has an Endowment Fund to provide a secure future for the cats. The Fund resides at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.  bigcatrescue.org/communityfoundationoftampabay.htm We initiated a program with Capitol One so that you can choose one of our beautiful cats for your credit card image and 1% of all of your purchases will be donated to Big Cat Rescue at no cost to you.   Saving Wild Places for Wild Cats Leonardo DiCaprio Protects Tigers:  Big Cat Rescue continued working with the International Tiger Coalition, which is a group of 40+ organizations committed to saving the tiger, based upon our unique ability to address the captive issues that imperil tigers in the wild.   The goal is 10,000 tigers in the wild in 10 years.  There are less than 3,000 in the wild currently and we are losing one per day due to poaching.  We persuaded ITC to keep US tiger farming issue as part of their mission to eradicate because legalized trade puts even more pressure on wild populations. What makes this initiative unlike all of the past programs is two fold.  40+ major conservation groups, including Big Cat Rescue, have joined forces with one common goal:  Save the tiger in the wild.  There have been other joint efforts, but none this large and never before has an entity as powerful as the World Bank been a committed partner in saving wild places for wild animals.  Big Cat Rescue sponsored the ITC booth at CITES and sponsored the attendance of the ITC Moderator, Judy Mills at the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.   Leonardo DiCaprio attended as well and met with Prime Minister Putin.  DiCaprio donated 1 million dollars to WWF's fund for saving the tiger.   23 FL Panthers died in 2010 but 90 were born according to FWC.  Big Cat Rescue is stepping up our support of local initiatives to save the Florida Panther.   Helping Others:  America's injured veterans have found Big Cat Rescue a place of tranquility where they can surround themselves with beauty and grace;  a respite from all that they have endured protecting our country.  It started with one group and now they come to visit quite frequently.  It's on the house and we provide lunch when we can as well by asking donors to contribute.  They have done their part in keeping Americans free and we are doing our part to fight for that same freedom for the big cats.   Then and Now:  Our CFO, Howard Baskin, compiled a ten year snapshot of the sanctuary and its growth.  This is just a comparison between 1996 and 2010. Wildlife on Easy Street to Big Cat Rescue  1996                  2010 Visitors                  85                         26,128 Total Expenses  $1,686,386 *    $1,363,443 Total Income    $0                      $2,245,798 Total Net Assets    $148,455           $4,881,165 Spent on Program Services   100%    83% ** *funded by Founder        ** 17% spent on Management and Fundraising combined   Officers and Members of the Board of Directors in 2010 and meetings: • CEO and Founder  Carole Baskin (not compensated by BCR)  • President and Chairman of the Board Jamie Veronica (not compensated by BCR for her role as a Director)  • Secretary & Treasurer Howard Baskin (not compensated by BCR for his role as a Director)  • Director Lisa Shaw (not compensated by BCR) Director  • Mary Lou Geis (not compensated by BCR)  These members met or plan to meet for monthly board meetings at the dates and places below: Monthly board meeting, Tampa, FL;  Feb 7, May 2, Aug 1, Nov 7   Paid Staff:   • Operations Manager & Volunteer Coordinator  • Gale Ingham Staff Manager,  • Editor & Creative Director  Jamie Veronica  • Gift Shop & Guest Services   Honey Wayton  • Intern Recruiter & Data Management  Chelsea Feeny  • Education Director Dr. Beth Kamhi and her assistant Willow Hecht  • Vernon Stairs Cage Builder and Maintenance  • Scott Haller Cage Building Apprentice and Maintenance  • Videographer and Social Networking Chris Poole  • Director of Donor Appreciation  Jeff Kremer  • Assistant to Operations Manager and Staff Relief Person Jennifer Flatt  • CFO Howard Baskin  • LaWanna Mitchell is an independent contractor who works remotely on web issues.  All of our animal care is done by volunteers or by staff who also volunteer time before & after work.   Volunteers:  Big Cat Rescue had 107 volunteers in 2010 who clocked in 56,411 man-power hours in addition to staff, 31 interns and Volunteer Committee member hours.  Our interns came from 10 states and 8 countries.  Volunteers and interns provided roughly the equivalent workforce of 30 more full time staff.   Staff and Volunteer Training:  We want to say a special thank you to all of our staff & volunteers who have just completed their 10th year of service to the cats.      I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Catera Bobcat Dies ”You don't have to worry about me anymore…now I'll be looking out for you," Catera purred softly. I sighed deeply, comforted by his words and yet slightly amused by his promise. His rumbling purr gave way to the sound of rain outside as I awakened more fully.   Yes, he was right; I wouldn't awake to the sound of a rain storm and wonder if he was safe and dry. No longer would I fret about him if I had to leave town for more than a day or two. My daily rounds at the sanctuary would no longer carry that heavy sense of dread as I approached his cage; wondering if he would have relapsed back again into some dreadful state of discomfort with processing his food. His life had been so hard from the very day he was born and yet he had such a zest for life and such a happy disposition that every time I thought I just couldn't stand to see him struggle through another setback, he would bounce back and take life by the horns again.   He died in his sleep, curled up in his den on August 10, 2010. Big Cat Rescuer, Sharon Dower may have been the last person to see him alive. It was around noon as she was cleaning in the area and she said, "I was talking with him just this afternoon, around 12:30. He chattered a bit, rolled over and showed me his belly, then yawned." A little while later, Hallelujah the cougar began wailing.   Everyone around the sanctuary knows what that means. Hal has a 6th sense for those who are dying and his wails sent chills down Marie Schoubert and Willow Hecht's backs. When they told Regina Rinaldi about it she exclaimed, "Uh-oh! Hal always gets vocal when a cat passes...he just knows." Some dear four footed friend was leaving the sanctuary and this world and it wasn't long before we discovered it was Catera. When Operations Manager, Gale Ingham called me into the Cat Hospital to tell me, I was stunned. Catera had been doing pretty well lately. I had just visited with him the night before and he was his happy, chirping, dancing self. After 13 years of worrying about his health every day, he was gone in an instant…probably his way of letting us all know that it was his decision and not the hand of fate.   His parents, Shiloh and Indian Summer had been a bonded pair for seven years before coming to live on Easy Street in late 1996. They had never reproduced, so we left them together and of course a litter of three resulted in just a few short months. Indian Summer, on the third day, began killing the kittens and by the time I could get to her, two were dead and she was biting the last one on the chest and abdomen. I snatched the bleeding kitten away from her and took it to medicate and bottle raise.   It wasn't long before the I discovered why Summer had brutally attacked her offspring. Catera (named for the Caddy that zigs) was obviously brain damaged and from the condition of all three kittens, it was apparent that they had not been nursing although the dam had stayed with them faithfully. He was skinny his whole life and that just accentuated his bug eyed face that seemed to be perpetually full of surprise and wonder.   It took hours to feed Catera and every time, it was as if it was the first time for him. It took him a year to get on to solid foods and again, every meal was like the first he ever had. If I were to walk out of the room and walk back in ten minutes later, he had forgotten who I was and only through the vocalizations we have shared over and over and over would he again recognize me. Once he made the mental connection, he would be exuberant and would dance around in circles, chirping, rolling and acting so cute that, no matter what, it would put a smile on my face and in my heart.   Every day was new and exciting to Catera and he is quite possibly the happiest cat who ever lived on Easy Street. Catera would run incessantly in circles and "bark" at everyone he couldn't remember, which was everyone. It wasn't until his "sister," President Jamie Veronica began doing operant conditioning with him many years later that Catera began to show much improvement in his ability to remember something from one day to the next.  I have a chipped front tooth from where Catera, when he was a yearling, excitedly raced up into my lap while I was drinking a cup of coffee at my desk and knocked the ceramic cup into my front teeth.  I never had it fixed and probably never will now as it is a reminder of his crazy antics.    In some ways his short term memory proved helpful. All of the cats just hate getting flea preventatives put on them and after Dr. Liz Wynn makes her rounds the cats all hate her for a few days, or weeks… but not Catera. Whether it be flea treatments, or shots, or being netted for surgery or exams, he would be as mad as a hornet for the moment, but if you walked away and came back 10 minutes later he had forgotten all about it and you got to start with a clean slate with him. What a great lesson he taught us about the beauty of forgiveness. It is even better for the forgiver than the forgiven.   People always ask me who my favorite cats are, but I don't have any favorites. Each one is so unique and has so much to teach us. Some who were especially needy or sickly, like Catera, may have occupied more of my time, than cats like Running Bear who is self sufficient and has never been ill a day in his life, but each one is so special in so many ways.   There was a whole group of people who made sure Catera got his meds twice a day; Becky Gagliardo, Jennifer Ruszczyk, Barbara Frank, Susan Mitchell, Jennifer Flatt and Gale Ingham, to name a few. Without their perseverance past his finicky ways, his life would have been much shorter and painful. He taught them the skills of finding new ways to hide a pill or to coax a cat to eat.   Rescuer Julie Hanan keeps up a memorial site for all of the cats who have passed here: https://sites.google.com/site/bigcattributes/home and our Volunteers can post their tributes to the cats there. I was sad to see that long time Admin Volunteers, like Merrill and Sherry, never got a chance to know Catera because he wasn't on the tour path. Our cats who are not people oriented are not on the tour path, and yet some of them have the greatest lessons to teach us about how to treat each other. I guess that makes it the responsibility of those of us who do know them to carry their message out to the rest of the world.   One of the most important things I have learned from these cats is that we are all one and we are all eternal. I find it interesting that the cats continue to revisit in both tangible ways, like Auroara in the leaves of the poplar tree, Hercules in his lion statue, Crystal in butterflies, Windsong in the dolphin that day on the beach and in the voices in our heads who whisper, "I am with you always."   It came as no surprise that shortly after Catera died I was stopped dead in my tracks by a dragonfly that kept flitting around my face until I stopped to listen. Once I turned off the endless mind chatter and stopped to pay attention to the dragonfly, it came up to hover directly in front of me for a long time. The big eyes locked with my own and I could hear Catera's happy little voice saying, "How's this for bug eyes? See; I can "focus." Ha Ha! Pretty funny, huh? I'm free now! Free as a bird! Free as a dragonfly! Lots to do…gotta go but I'll be "looking" out for you!" he circled around and around in his traditional little dance and then he was off to explore the world from a new perspective.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Musings of a Keeper Walkabout Dec 10, 2008   If well received, this may be the first in a series of Keeper Walkabout notes by our staff and volunteers. As I walk about the sanctuary each day I often think how much our supporters would love to see what we see on a daily basis. It is so sad that these cats are in cages, but inspirational to see them make the best of it. This is an effort to convey the daily life at Big Cat Rescue.   As I arrived Kathryn was scurrying to the gate for a tour. Honey was busy in the gift shop and Jessica popped in to update me on the medical conditions of some of the domestic cats she has taken home to foster and place. The new intern was cleaning inside and outside there were “Blue Shirts” everywhere, buckets in hand, cleaning the cages.   Later Honey updated me on Hope and Ace the rehab bobcats. Hope weighs about six pounds now and has finally figured out that if you stick half your body into the pipe where the rats come from, the rats won't come that way. Back before Ace was diagnosed with AIDS she would have been able to show Hope how to cheat, which is to get in the highest place in the cage and watch all of the rat holes at the same time. Because we don't want the rehab cats to associate people and food Jamie had installed pipes to send the rats into the rehab cages, with the entry point far from the bobcats. Because Hope is getting too good at catching the rats, keepers had to extend the pipes much further away so that the arrival of the rat did not coincide with a keeper coming to clean their water bowl. There is a screen to hide behind while cleaning the water bowl, but bobcats are pretty smart, and we do all we can to insure they will survive in the wild when they get to go free.   The sun is shining through the fuchsia colored Bougainvillea that drapes over Windstar the Bobcat‘s cage outside my window. It is too pretty outside to be sitting at the computer, so I head out. The first cage I notice appears to be waist high grass throughout and guests must wonder why we don't mow in there, but if you stand and gaze at the enclosure, you start to notice a maze of tunnels. Little bobcat size tunnels that weave and wind all over the 1200 square foot space. There is one special little sunning spot where the grass is padded into a purr-fect little cat bed with a view of the white sand beach and lake. Little Feather is the resident here and would surely throw a hissy fit if her grass labyrinth were altered in any way other than her own choosing. Mike was cleaning bobcat cages nearby but he knows that poo and leftovers are all you can take from Little Feather's cat-a-tat.   About 30 mallards, here for the winter, took to flight as I walked too close to where they were hanging out with the swans and guinea hens waiting for Mary Lou and Rosie to feed them. That caught the eye of Apollo, Zeus and Anastasia, the Siberian Lynx nearby. Old Anastasia is crippled and diabetic, but was working on a mat in her ruff when the commotion began. A couple days ago it was 40 degrees and today it is 75 degrees and her coat doesn't know if it is coming or going. As the old coats shed and new coats come in, some of the lynx look like Rastafarians with their dreadlocks.   Calvin the Palm Civet cautiously watches from inside his new den in his new enclosure. This new place has so many more great places to climb and root about thanks to the hard work of our keepers in transforming an otherwise bare space into a Palm Civet wonderland. Also enjoying his new digs, is Pappa Bear the Coatimundi. His former owners had cut off all his toes in a botched declawing attempt and shaved his tail to hawk him as the “world's largest rat.” After the old bobcat Sheera died, Pappa Bear was the perfect candidate for her cage since he cannot climb or dig. Today he was rooting obliviously in the leaves and brush of his new piece of real estate.   Adonnis and Bagheera the Black Leopards were sacked out and sleeping so soundly that even the sound of fall's leaves crunching under my feet didn't elicit so much as a whisker twitch. They were sleeping in exactly the same position and looked like a mirror image of each other. On the far side of the sanctuary the wind blowing in the cattails on the lake was mirrored in the way the breeze swayed Joseph the Lion‘s big dark mane. Cameron the Lion had decided that he didn't want the keepers taking his left overs from last night and was barking at Marie if she came too close. Lions are funny that way. You never know when they are going to get possessive about something; their mate, their food, a stick… but when they get into that mindset, all you can do is leave them be.   While writing this, Scott came in with a hawk in a towel and Chris in tow with a video camera. Apparently the hawk had gone into Hercules the Snow Leopard‘s cage and in the excitement that followed, was unable to take the time of squeezing back out through the 4 x 4 wire. Scott and Chris were taking the hawk to examine him for injuries and if he was OK he would be released immediately. Never a dull moment…   I had just caught Shaniqua the Jungle Cat pinning something to the ground. As I tried to see around her to learn if it was a mouse, lizard, snake or bird, she turned around, one paw behind her back (still holding down whatever it was) and gave me the same feigned innocence of a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. I asked, “What have you got there?” to which her expression clearly said, “Who me?” Not budging, I just waited to see, and she reluctantly let it go. She probably figured she could easily catch it again when the “prey police” weren't around. Tonight is whole prey night and it is every cats' favorite night because you get whole mice, chicks, rats, rabbits or beef ribs depending on how big you are. They are dead on arrival though and not as much fun as catching your own prey, but we discourage eating lizards here as they often cause liver flukes.   TJ the Tiger was neutered a few days ago and the next day seemed completely over it. Today he was chuffing softly at passerbys and gazing out at the ducks who had settled back onto the lake. Vern was busy renovating a jaguar cage for a new liger and tiger rescue. That meant building a bigger den, bigger feeding area and bigger doors between sides of the enclosure. Somewhere a ball was banging noisily against the side of a cage and guessing from the sound of the impact, it was a tiger having fun. Julie‘s video of cats with balls is pretty hilarious:   The sounds of scrapers clinking against the wire walls of the cages and the sounds of scrubbing and hoses spraying water bowls was not enough to make Cleo Cat Tra the Serval lift her head from a mid morning nap. Not even the flick of an ear, but several of her Serval neighbors, Arizona, Purrsonality, Esmerelda and Shasta were strolling about, with ears ever tuned to each sound. I am sure they were straining to hear the clicker sound that goes along with Operant Conditioning. They love the treats on a stick and the relief from boredom that comes along with the clicker sound.   Passing by Trucha and Modnic, the Tiger sisters, who too were up and about, and King the Tiger who was lounging in his den, I came upon Pat, our resident master gardener, and her troop of gardeners. They were almost entirely obscured by the mountains of trimmings they took out of the butterfly gardens in preparation for winter. She kept reassuring me that this was healthy for the plants and they would come back even more beautiful in the spring. I'm glad we have so many talented volunteers from every walk of life. Dropping into the Volunteer check point, volunteers were clocking in and clocking out. I ran into Kym who gestured wildly in her enthusiasm about having Big Cat Rescue as her team mascot in the cancer awareness event coming up in April. There will be 60 camps at the event and each prepares a goodie bag for all of the other campers. Her bags will be full of information on the tigers at the sanctuary, as the theme was wild animals and she chose tigers. With fewer than 4,000 tigers left in the wild and China farming them for their parts, the tigers need all the awareness they can get.   Catera the Bobcat looked great and lately we have been really worried about him. His mother, Indian Summer, killed all his siblings, 11 years ago at birth, and Catera is mentally challenged as well as being frequently sick. Catera is the canary in the mine here and if there is a flea on the 45 acres, it will be on Catera. If there is anything going around, he will be sick first. His mom knew he wasn't thrifty enough to survive, but we didn't give in so easily. It has been a struggle to keep him healthy, but he has such a zest for life, we just never could give up on him. This last bout of intestinal issues had me thinking it was the end for him, but after exhausting all of the natural remedies we could find, Dr. Liz resorted to a chemical stool softener that he will have to be on for the rest of his life. He was dancing in circles, chirping like a bird on speed and back to his effusive little self today, so I guess it was worth it all to him.   Running Bear and Little White Dove, the dynamic Bobcat duo, just had their cage size doubled. Most of our cages are in excess of 1200 square feet, but as the lesser cats have died we have not found others in need of rescue. There is a huge need for cage space for Lions and Tigers but only our “Green Shirts” are qualified to care for the big cats. It takes as least 2 years and a commitment of no less than 8 hours per week, every week, to be a “Green Shirt” here so we are limited by the number of keepers for bigger cats.   An article in today's news about an idiot taking her bobcat to Petsmart to have her photo with Santa, and the mauling of Santa that followed, said that she paid $1,500. for the bobcat. That is three times what they sold for a decade ago, so that tells me that the breeding is slowing down as a result of the bans we have been able to help pass in 7 states recently. If we could ban it in FL, OH and MO. the suffering caused by the exotic cat pet trade would be all but over. You can help us do that at http://www.CatLaws.com.   Showing off their new space to run, Running Bear and Little White Dove went bounding from one end of the old enclosure to the far end of the new add on. Julie did a great play on the idea of what is on and under our trees during the holiday season in a video.   Nico the Geoffroy Cat was moved to the tour path. As he has grown bolder around people we decided to move him out to where he can get an even broader look at the world. He had been a pet that came to us taped up in a box. He is the last of the Geoffroy Cats at Big Cat Rescue and you never hear about people trying to keep them as pets any more.   The smaller the species, the more they have to prove. It never works out well for the cats when people attempt to make pets of them. It goes against everything they are hard wired to be. Today as I walked by he was peering from the depth of his den; two shining orbs in the pitch blackness.   His new enclosure is closer to the path, but not on the main route and we will watch him carefully to be sure he is happy with the arrangement. We offer 14 regular guided tours each week and the public is not allowed to visit unless on a guided tour. All of our cats have the ability to hide if they want to, but we don't want to put any of them in a position where they are uncomfortable, so we'll see how it goes.   Some cats LOVE attention and Rambo the Jungle Cat is one of them. Perhaps by the next writing he will be in his new home which is right in the middle of where the tour paths converge. He is going to love that kind of attention!   As the three o'clock tour guests arrived I warmed up my long overdue lunch of tofu and green beans and talked to Bill the tour guide. Two years ago, after protesting fur sales at the mall, Bill, a veteran, had gone to MacDill Air Force Base and asked why they were selling animal fur garments in the Base Exchange. Unable to justify such an antiquated practice the base removed the fur products from their store and chose to go fur free. Two weeks ago, the entire SE region, which spans VA, to MS to FL has gone fur free too. One person really can make a difference.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Four Months of Bliss Carole writes Howie 3/2/03 Dear Howie, I just spent the last couple of hours reading back over our letters and getting a sense of the time line involved. Your celebration of the first got me thinking along those lines I suppose. What a glorious four months! I enjoy you more with every thought, every encounter. It is like the awe you described of watching lava flow or in the way a bud will open. I am so happy to have this time to get to know you and to experience this unfolding. My mother and grandmother asked about you this morning. My father and I worked on the gift shop door today for an hour in the rain. Not that I was any help, but he seems to really enjoy the camaraderie. I hope the weather was better at Disney. They probably have a deal with The Big Guy for Disney styled weather. I am chilled to the bone, but don't want to get in the hot tub with the screen guys here. I will look forward to warming my feet up against you later on. I would rather not spend the night with you while you have company. They have come a long way to be with you and I do not wish to intrude on their time. If they were going to be here a week I'd insist that I didn't want to be away from you that long, but a day or two probably won't kill me. I don't remember if you said they are here Thurs and Fri or Fri and Sat. Just let me know which days. I really should get the trust documents done for the seven properties from last week. I will see you at about 6:45, but will be thinking of you virtually every moment in between. Just for the record, the teal rabbit did its thing in 40 or 45 seconds. I am not sure about the last five seconds as I was falling out of the chair, screaming in ecstasy. What a great toy! Thanks again. Love, Carole I Carry Howie With Me Everywhere Carole writes Howie 3/9/03 Dear Howie, Thank you for last night. I enjoyed the game (much to my surprise) and especially enjoyed seeing you have a good time. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I especially enjoyed reconnecting with you last night. You breathe new life into me. You arouse a wanting in me that is foreign to my nature. There isn't anything that I want for. I am content for the most part with whatever the day may bring, but when I am near you, it is different. Restraining myself from touching you, kissing you, being within your aura; is truly a test of will. When I do have the opportunity to reconnect with you physically, I cannot restrain the passion that makes me want you so badly. Funny, the image that comes to mind: I raised Catera, the retarded bob cat, and for the first year, he couldn't remember how to eat, but he would be so hungry that he would just bury his face in the food and inhale as hard as he could. That is kind of how I feel when I get close to you. I just want to bury my face in you and inhale you through every pore. Feeling your arms around me, much like the feeling of you inside me, is a cellular memory that I carry with me everywhere. Even when you are miles away you are ever present. Life is SO good! With Love, Carole When You Feel Clothes On Your Body You are Wearing Me Carole writes Howie 3/10/03 Dear Howie, Just thinking of you and reaching out to let you know. When you feel the warmth of the sun on your face, know I am there, kissing you softly. When you feel the heat of the Jacuzzi on your skin, know that it is the heat of my desire for you. When you feel the weight of your clothes upon your body, know that you are wearing me. I feel so connected to you and all that is beautiful.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Jamie Advises to Date Someone I Like 8 Dec 2002 12:28:21 EST Subject: remote viewing To: hbaskin@bigfoot.com   I don't mind you sharing this.  I only keep it to myself to protect others around me from embarrassment.   The first recollection I have of remote viewing was as about a 4 year old child.  My uncle was burning trash and caught the woods behind our house on fire.  It looked like the blaze was all around me and I can remember going above it, seeing it confined to just the wooded area, leaving plenty of room for escape, and thus not feeling panicked over it.  Years later I heard my mother describing the event and remembered thinking that I had a bird's eye view of it, but I was still young then and didn't think that strange.   When I was raped at 14 by two men at knife point, I purposely traveled outside of my body and hovered at the ceiling.  I did it to escape the fear, the pain and the feeling of not being able to breathe.  From that vantage point is where I first saw the third man, lurking in the shadows of the doorway that I couldn't see from where my body was on the floor.  In retrospect, who knows if my non verbal pleas to him to rescue me, were heard and acted upon, or if he just was afraid they would all be charged with murder if he didn't do something, but if he hadn't stepped in when he did, I would have bled to death.  He was much bigger, taller and stronger than the other two and I have always had a hero image connected to taller men, such as you.  My secret is out...   I still never thought of it as unusual and the phrase, "out of body experience" was common in the 70's so I just figured everyone did that.  I could often "see" things that were about to happen or around the corner or from a different perspective, but didn't see it as anything note worthy.  I left home at 15 and worked as many as three jobs at the same time to provide for myself and what ever jobless man I was supporting, so I never had time to read, never had friends to talk to and never gave it much consideration.   Some things you just know.  I knew the moment I conceived my daughter.  I knew her before she was born, and tried to prevent the birth, but some things are just meant to happen.  I believe that everyone is born with that sixth sense, but we have the notion beaten out of us by a society that thinks it "weird".  From the beginning I have tried to instill in her a belief in herself and in her ability to sense the truth.  She is far more capable than I and once picked all 10 or 12 horses in Hialeah.  Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her until about the third race from the end, when she casually commented that 3 more and she would have picked them all.  When I looked at her program, she had already marked all of the winners.  I don't gamble, but was with a man who made a lot of money on those last three races.  She quickly became a favourite of all the old timers at the track.   Her ability to communicate with the cats is even more phenomenal than mine.  You can see it in her photography.  The day the serval escaped, her first words to me were, "I went to feed Pharaoh, and I couldn't feel him there."   I didn't tell you the whole story of viewing him, because I didn't want to freak you out, but this is from my journal:  It began from something that I have been doing with the cats when I am out driving around.  I visualize them, approach and hold them.  I stroke their fur and mentally talk to them about what their life experience is like.  I found it very helpful with some of the sick cats and it comforted me, if nothing else.  When trying to locate Pharaoh, I polled the cats around his cage, from a distance of about 1.5 miles.  Scratch, the cougar and Zza Zza, the ocelot have the best view of his cage and I started with them.  Scratch wasn't talking and Zza Zza said she knew and wasn't telling.  I tried Jumanji, the leopard and as he was excitedly telling me that Pharaoh had climbed out and the path he had taken, it was like Catera, the bobcat, got on the party line and in his typically excited way was gibbering away about how Pharaoh had gone right by the both of them toward the Pallas Cat, who wouldn't "pick up the line".  That line of cats was enough to tell me the cat was in Jason's yard and heading north through the woods.   I am positive that the communication with the cats and the remote viewing was accurate and not just a likely path for the cat to take, because cats, when loose, tend to go see others of their own species.  He could have gone east or west and done that, but chose to go north where there are none of his kind and mostly leopards, which are predators to him.   I even thought that since Jamie and I often can finish each other's sentences, that perhaps she had already located the cat when I "saw" him and that I was picking up on her senses, but later when she was surmising the route he took, it was different from the one the cats "reported".  We discovered later, that the route the cats said he took was the open one during that phase of feeding and not the route that she had originally suspected.  Even though it is nothing for Servals to leap a fence, they tend to walk and follow the path of least resistance, which varies as the feeders move through the property opening and shutting gates.   The hard thing to remember, in a moment of stress, such as the above, is that there are other alternatives to the obvious.   I told you about my husband's dumpster diving and how in the last year or two he was showing signs of dementia and forgetting where he was, getting stuck in dumpsters and such.  I would ask him to describe to me what he could see, but from down inside a dumpster, sometimes all he could see was sky.  I always had a connection to Don and from the time I was 19 could usually go right to him, wherever he was, just by feel.  I would drive until I felt I should turn, and was always amazed at how direct the line to him typically was.  This only got better with time, but sometimes I would see his surroundings and know where he was, and other times it was like the game you play as a kid when you guide someone by saying you're getting warm, you're getting hot...  I could actually sense this feeling as warmth, in a dark house or in complete darkness on 40 acres at Easy Street, and feel my way to him.  That was one of the things that has lead me to believe that he is dead.  Since his disappearance, I haven't been able to feel him.  Of all the people who should be able to go straight to him, I can't.  I have come to be obsessive about being near the water and wonder if, at least in part, that is why.  I know that part has to do with healing and regeneration for me.   The breathwork session that I attended in May is what really propelled me to practice remote viewing and sensing.  I have read some books and will get a list to you, but a quick read for the 15 and 19 year old might be, Only Love Is Real by Brian Weiss, the author of Many Lives, Many Masters.  The concept that I find compelling is that we have purposely come into this life and chosen our parents, siblings and special people we will "meet" along the way in order to learn the lessons we need to be more perfect.  If you take that approach, then even people who annoy you come to have a special purpose and it makes knowing them exciting.  Instead of asking the age old question of "why am I here?" you start to look around and say, "why are you here and why did I invite you here?"   My daughter asked me, "why don't you date someone you like?' and then you came along.  I know, at least from my perspective, why you are here.   This is my book list.  I started to edit it to only the spiritual related books, but all of them have contributed in some way, so I just sent the whole list.   Books Read Date Read Author Psychocybernetics 1/1/1971 Aina O. Nucho Think and Grow Rich 1/1/1972 Napolean Hill Gone With The Wind 6/1/1972 Margaret Mitchell How to Win Friends and Influence People 1/1/1973 Dale Carnegie Up A Road Slowly 1/1/1973 Irene Hunt Trump- The Art of the Deal 5/1/1985 Donald Trump The Road Less Travelled 1/1/1988 M. Scott Peck This Present Darkness 7/3/1989 Frank E. Peretti Swim With the Sharks w/o Being Eaten Alive 5/1/1996 Harvey MacKay The Bible 3/1/1997 God The Millionaire Next Door 9/1/1997 Thomas J. Stanley Land Trust Ownership and Conveyance Made Safe 11/1/1997 Florida Bar Mere Christianity 11/1/1997 C. S. Lewis Buying Right 1/15/1998 John Schaub Positive Landlording in a Negative World 2/1/1998 John Schaub How To Profit From Tax Breaks in R.E. 3/1/1998 John Schaub One Step Beyond 4/1/1998 Peter Fortunato The Richest Man in Babylon 5/1/1998 George S. Clason Don't Sweat The Small Stuff 2/1/1999 Richard Carlson 10 Habits of Highly Successful People 3/1/1999 Stephen L. Covey Built To Last 4/1/2000 James c. Collins Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus 9/1/2000 John Gray, PhD Footprints on the Path 10/1/2000 Eileen Caddy AZA Manual of Federal Wildlife Regulations 10/15/2000 AZA A Guide For The Advanced Soul 11/1/2000 Susan Hayward Losing Paradise 12/30/2000 Paul G. Irwin The Emerging Mind 1/1/2001 Karen Nesbitt Shanor Undeniable Evidences 2/1/2001 Farrell Jenkins Dream Weaver web page bldr 3/1/2001 Joseph W. Lowery The Entrepreneurial Cat 4/1/2001 Mary Hessler Key FrontPage 2000 for Dummies 5/1/2001 Asha Dornfest Control Your Destiny, or someone else will 6/1/2001 Noel M. Tichy Self Hypnosis, Plain and Simple 7/1/2001 C. Alexander Simpkins Body For Life 7/15/2001 Bill Phillips Life Strategies 8/1/2001 Phil McGraw? Marketing Without Advertising 8/13/2001 Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry Cause Related Marketing 10/2/2001 Sue Adkins Dear Mum 11/1/2001 Bradley Trevor Greive Disposable Pets 11/6/2001 Craig Brestrup Animal Underworld 12/1/2001 Alan Green Art of Tantric Sex 12/1/2001 Nitya Lacroix What Animals Teach Us 12/15/2001 Mary Hessler Key 203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed 1/1/2002 Olivia St. Claire Vibrations 2/20/2002 Report on Radionics 3/5/2002 Edward W. Russell Photonic Therapy 3/12/2002 Dr. Brian McLaren Earth's Radiation 3/13/2002 Kathe Bachler Auras 3/14/2002 Edgar Cayce Holographic Universe 3/22/2002 Michael Talbot Radionics and the Subtle Anatomy of Man 3/24/2002 David V. Tansley Hands of Light 4/10/2002 Barbara Ann Brennen The Meaning of the Enneagram 4/15/2002 Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson The Enneagram  Understanding Yourself & Others 4/27/2002 Helen Palmer The Breathwork Experience 5/25/2002 Kylea Taylor Through Time Into Healing 9/13/2002 Brian L. Weiss, M.D. Personality Types Using the Enneagram for Discovery Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson Only Love Is Real 4/28/2002 Brian L. Weiss, M.D. Messages From the Masters 5/8/2002 Brian L. Weiss, M.D. The Legend of the Eagle Clan 6/9/2002 Clemonts? Conversations With God book 3 Everyday Immortality 6/15/2002 Deepak Chopra An Ancient Magical Prayer 6/1/2002 Deepak Chopra The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success 6/20/2002 Deepak Chopra Many Lives, Many Masters 9/5/2002 Brian L. Weiss, M.D. Through Cougar's Eyes David Raber Wisdom of the Enneagram 6/3/2002 Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson Love 8/30/2002 Leo Buscaglia He Chose Nails Max Lucado The Issaih Effect 9/11/2002 Bradley Bay Sailors First Mate Program Sept 2002 12/5/2002 Jim Sexton The Dead Sea Scolls The Nag Hamadi Library Endless Referrals Bob Burg Masters of Networking Misener and Morgan The Reconnection by Dr. Eric Pearl The Celestine Prophecy #1     8 Dec 2002 08:11:37 EST Subject: Monday To: hbaskin@att.net   Would you like to see my home on Monday?   The freakish cat Maya is on the screened porch, and I haven't seen how she is with people yet, so you should probably come to the back door which is to the right as you approach the house.  Knock loudly as the house is very well insulated.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Iberia upacks the gems Kennita Hickman of Catera dropped in the studio this month surrounding the topic  of Networking and Branding for Creatives.  This week we unpack “Buying Habits - Loyalty Rules” .  Visit Kennita on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman) Stay Connected with MBGM on our socials FB https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM/?modal=admin_todo_tour (https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM) Twitter https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM (https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM) LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic) Questions or Suggestions? Email us at info@luminocityent.com Thank you to sponsors Luminocity Enterprises, LLC and Podcast Town https://www.luminocityent.com/ (www.luminocityent.com) https://www.podcasttown.net/ (www.podcasttown.com)

Iberia upacks the gems Kennita Hickman of Catera dropped in the studio this month surrounding the topic  of Networking and Branding for Creatives.  This week we unpack “Finding Your Niche - Carving Out a Segment in your Industry that's exclusively YOURS.”  Visit Kennita on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman) Stay Connected with MBGM on our socials FB https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM/?modal=admin_todo_tour (https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM) Twitter https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM (https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM) LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic) Questions or Suggestions? Email us at info@luminocityent.com Thank you to sponsors Luminocity Enterprises, LLC and Podcast Town https://www.luminocityent.com/ (www.luminocityent.com) https://www.podcasttown.net/ (www.podcasttown.com)

Iberia upacks the gems Kennita Hickman of Catera dropped in the studio this month surrounding the topic  of Networking and Branding for Creatives.  This week we unpack “Building Your Network - Relation Vs. Transactional.”  Visit Kennita on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman) Stay Connected with MBGM on our socials FB https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM/?modal=admin_todo_tour (https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM) Twitter https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM (https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM) LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic) Questions or Suggestions? Email us at info@luminocityent.com Thank you to sponsors Luminocity Enterprises, LLC and Podcast Town https://www.luminocityent.com/ (www.luminocityent.com) https://www.podcasttown.net/ (www.podcasttown.com)

In this episode we invite Catera, a talented actress living in Missouri, to share her story. She has experience in both theatre and film and we can’t wait to see where her career takes her. Tune in and learn more about her journey to becoming a content creator.

Iberia interviews Kennita Hickman of Catera on the topic of Networking and Branding for Creatives.  The objective is for the audience to walk away with 3 - 5 tips to make their marketing ideas, campaigns and strategy sparkle.  Each chat ends with "Potion Secrets".  Kennita shares what's in her mix that ensures  she's sharp, innovative, and sustained.  Visit Kennita on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennita-hickman/) Stay Connected with MBGM on our socials FB https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM/?modal=admin_todo_tour (https://www.facebook.com/MarketingWithBGM) Twitter https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM (https://twitter.com/MarketingBGM) LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/marketing-with-black-girl-magic) Questions or Suggestions? Email us at info@luminocityent.com Thank you to sponsors Luminocity Enterprises, LLC and Podcast Town https://www.luminocityent.com/ (www.luminocityent.com) https://www.podcasttown.net/ (www.podcasttown.com)

Kennita is the owner of Catera, a business helping creatives, entrepreneurs and politicians to be seen and heard. She is also Director of Artist Support and Outreach for Imagine MKE. And a lover of independent arts scene. https://imaginemke.org/ https://www.ivotedconcerts.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cullah/support

At least once a day someone will tell me how lucky I am to get to work with big cats.  I'm writing this at 9:30 PM in a restaurant because if I were at home there would be too many interruptions to write.  It's late because it's ALWAYS this late before I get fed.  I eat out because I am too easily called away from the stove and there's not a room in my house that I don't have to fight a Bobcat, Caracal, Cougar or Fishing Cat for my food.   When I get home I'll check on the youngsters, the sick, the injured and the recovering before showering.  Taking a bath in a room that's always temporary quarters for some big cat, is, in and of itself, a challenge.   I'll work at the computer until midnight because these are the precious few hours I'm not bombarded by employees, volunteers, guests and a couple dozen people calling long distance to “talk cats”.  When I can't focus on the screen any more, I'll shake the kitty litter out of my sheets, find a pillow the Bobcat hasn't been eating his raw chicken on, and turn off the lights.   Cats, being the nocturnal beasts they are, will now come to life.  The rest of the night Catera will be jumping from the cat tree to the bed and back like a 15 pound ping pong ball.  He gets extra points for landing on my face.  Every toy and any left over dinner he has will end up on the bed before dawn.  Fetch is his favourite game and he's learned that if “mom's” too tired to throw jingle bell mouse, she's never too tired to throw the gizzards he drops on my face.   Eventually day break will send him off to sweet dreams, but now the pager's buzzing, the phones are ringing, the faxes are spitting papers all over the floor, someone's pounding on my bedroom door wanting to know if I've seen so and so and another glorious day is begun.   A typical day consists of a never ending parade of people through my home.  All the visitors want to meet the person responsible for this “wonderful establishment”.  All the employees want to complain about the volunteers being lazy and all the volunteers want to tell me how they'd run things.  Through it all, I'm filing answers to complaints against me by the government and warding off lawsuits from every dead beat who thought a cat bite would make a great retirement.  I try to actually get a little business done as well.   I always awake with the intent of eating breakfast, but I'll be putting out fires until 1:00 or 2:00 PM.  My body will signal that it's going to crash if I don't drop everything and refuel.  I usually eat lunch while I'm driving to the court house, the feed store or the Vet's office.  The greatest day of my life was the day my daughter was able to drive herself.   I'll come racing home just in time to start preparing the cats' evening meal.  Even with six of us working at it, this is still a two hour ordeal.  While normal people have had dinner and are settling down in front of the T.V. for the evening, I am up to my elbows in dead animal parts that are so cold I lose all feeling in my hands within a few minutes after the burning sensation ceases.  While the cats are happily munching away it's a good time to treat wounds, give vaccines and treat for fleas.  When I'm out of light, I'll quit taking care of the cats for the day.   Filthy, smelly and exhausted I ignore the strange looks from the people I encounter in the diner and slump down at this table and reflect over how lucky I am.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.    You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only.

I Reported Don Missing   Don has been missing since yesterday morning before dawn, which isn't unusual, except that he didn't call Anne McQueen all day and she said she even paged him into the night, and he still did not call her back.  She said in all the years that she has worked for him that he has never failed to call her for such a long period of time.  He's been real pouty and moody lately and ignoring us when we talk to him, but we never know if we are being snubbed or if he just didn't hear us.  If it's not important I just let it slide and don't ask louder.  We haven't had a fight, other than the ongoing issue about him not getting keys to the cages and to that end, after he began just cutting holes in the cages to get the cats out, I gave him a set of keys and told him that I didn't have copies of the bigger cats keys, but that I would make him a set soon.  He doesn't usually mess with the big cats, so I figured I could postpone him indefinitely on that point and he should have been happy to have keys to all the Servals, Caracals and Lynx.  He appeared justified if not happy.   He's been raising two little Caracal kittens (Elijah was one of them born 8/1/1997) and has seemed to take a great deal of interest and pride in doing so.  He pulled them much too young and I am already raising a very difficult little Bobcat kitten (Catera), so I did not jump in and offer to do his midnight and 3:00 am feedings.  He hasn't dutifully gotten up for these feedings every night but he does the 7:00 am feeding.  During the day he has made no provisions for the kittens to be fed,  other than allowing every volunteer who asks to feed.  We have never had a cub survive a lot of inexperience and I have been reluctant to get attached to them at all, because I have been so sure that his approach would kill these too.  He began this while I was in Jacksonville.   I haven't written much in a while because things have been going so smoothly for a change.  He has been working on selling the scrap in the yard and having it all hauled off.  He took care of things (with Jamie supervising) while I went away for four days in Jacksonville for the LIOC Conference and no one died or got loose.  He bought my mother a sewing machine and my daughter several wave runners and gave me the pair of Snow Leopards that he knew I've thought about for a very long time, although I never said so.  (As a later note; I had put plates up in the house with snow leopards on them and that's how he knew I was admiring these mystical cats)   He's been pretty reliable in helping with the evening feedings of the adult cats.  He's acted depressed and not very affectionate, but has been much easier to deal with in the recent past.  Cutting up the cages, over breeding the cats and moving them from nice yards into small cages have been the only “hateful” things he's done and I've just let it slide and then once he had forgotten about the cats, I would put them back where they belong and repair the pens.  I get frustrated because there is always so much work to be done and he has nothing to do except impede progress, but I can't really get angry with him because I know that he is no longer responsible for his actions.   Last Thursday he started complaining, more than usual about his diarrhea, but he was also complaining that he wasn't getting his vitamins, when I was standing over him and watching him take them, so I did not pay much attention to him.  Saturday he felt good enough to go yard sale-ing and brought home washers, dryers, guns, motor cycles and assorted junk for his impending export to Costa Rica aboard the Iveco.   That night he was in and out until midnight or later digging through all of his yard sale goods to pack.  I remember hearing him on the phone with Wendell Williams saying that the signs would be delivered for the 26 lots on Monday morning.  He was testing the microwaves and televisions and moving stuff back and forth between the trucks, trailers and sheds.  He didn't want my help, so I fed the kittens and went to bed.   Sunday he said he was too sick to go to church but when I got home from morning services he was out in the yard busily packing and sorting the box truck for Costa Rica.  I finished making the signs for our 26 lots and then laid down because Sunday is the only day I get for rest.  During the day, Don was in and out of the bedroom, scurrying around like a little squirrel, “reading” the newspaper, looking for more guns and motorcycles and planes.  I don't remember him calling anyone;  maybe he already had.  He was no where to be found when it was time for evening services either, so Jamie & I went without him.   Sunday night I needed ingredients for the kitten formula and trash cans.  I thought Albertson's was an all night store, so after the 11:00 pm feeding I drove up there.  Albertson's was closed.   The station wagon I used overheated and I could not get the radiator cap off.  I let the car sit for a long time and tried to start it with no success, so I began walking home.  I tried to call my daughter, but no one answered.  She never does.   I tried both lines at home, but the Bobcats had peed on the phones by the bed and I had unplugged them to wash them off and had not plugged them back in, so even if Don was in the bedroom, he could not have heard the phones ringing.   My brother was on patrol on Sheldon Road and was in the middle of an arrest, so he asked another cop to drive me home, but by this time I was almost there.  I told Don about the car and he wanted to go get it right then, which was at around 4:00 in the morning.  He was mad about me letting it get overheated and reminded me about the van that died the same way back in February while I was driving.  Rather than argue, I just let him rant on as we went for the wagon.   I don't know why the mad rush to get to the car, but I assume he did not believe me and perhaps thought he would catch me at something if he raced up there only to not find my car.  He filled the radiator and it started back up so we took both vehicles back home.  He gave me his car phone in case something happened, but who was I going to call?   I got home a few minutes ahead of him and when he laid down beside me he was calmed and tender.  We only slept for about an hour or so and I was just dead to the world, when I heard his voice from the bedroom door.  I squinted to see him and could only make out an outline because it was still dark outside and there were no lights on in the room.  I looked at the clock but the lighted dial was out (I later found it unplugged).   He said to have the guys load all his stuff in the box truck for Costa Rica and to make sure it was running real good because he was going to leave “early, early, early” for Miami tomorrow.  I had found out through Rich Reed, one of our Volunteers that Don was planning to go the Costa Rica before schedule.  Don hadn't told me, but often he didn't.  I suspect that he did not want to give me time to plan things that he would not approve, like repairs and scrap dealers.   I got back up at 7:15 and fed my Bobcat kitten, Catera.  I had at first assumed that he had gotten up so early to feed his little Caracals, but they were screaming and ate more than usual, so he must not have fed them.  Dad got here at 7:30 and I relayed Don's message and asked him to relay the part about getting the truck running real good to Kenny Farr if he came in.  A few minutes later Dad showed me where the clutch had been completely taken loose and when Kenny Farr got in he said that it was like that on Saturday when Don  had asked him to carry the box truck with the forklift over next to the semi trailer.  Kenny Farr said Don had some other mechanic doing the work for him and Anne tried to call the mechanic three times with no success.   I had filed the eviction and foreclosure at the Courthouse and the Taurus wagon overheated on the Interstate.  My Jeep still had a dead battery.   I walked down to the Westshore exit where I felt it was safest to depart and from there to a Shell station with a garage.  Juan carried water to the car with me and what seemed an endless time later he got the car cranked and we drove it to the station.  Juan showed me how the radiator cap had not been screwed down and the steam marks from where the radiator fluids had escaped on the one side that was tilted out.  Apparently, Don did not put the cap entirely back on last night.   Maybe he didn't screw it down tight because I couldn't get it off the night before.   I should have checked.    He and a Jamaican sounding manager (who suggested that I try chickens and voodoo on the doomed car) worked on the wagon for a long time and then said the car needed $1200.00 in head gaskets and I told them I only paid $600.00 for the whole car, so I would send our wrecker after it.   I only had a little bit of cash on me, so I hired a cab to take me part of the way home and then walked the rest.  My legs hurt so bad, I can hardly stand up.   When I got home, Anne was on the phone to Kenny Farr at my house and she  said that after noon that she had been paging Don all day and he would not return her calls.  I told her I had just gotten in and didn't know if he was here or not.  Kenny Farr said he wasn't.  I didn't know until around 6:00 pm that no one ever came to fix the box truck's clutch.  At 6:30 when Don did not show up to help feed, I asked the kids to help me.  I usually take Jamie out to eat after she helps me feed, but was a little concerned about Don's not being here and I wanted to be here when he did get home so that I could explain about the box truck and why it wasn't ready.  I was afraid that if he got home and found it not ready, he would assume that I had not relayed his orders and might do something foolish to one of the cats.   I gave up waiting for him after the midnight kitten feeding and went to find him.  I had already searched the yard and all of the trailers but did so again.  I then decided to drive by some of his favorite places to hide, like the Westshore property, the Condos in Temple Terrace, the Sheldon Road property and some sleazy motels we used to use.  I gave up around 5:00 am, came home and slept until 7:15.   Tuesday morning before Anne even went to work she called me telling me how worried she was and said that she had paged Don throughout the night to no avail.  I told her that this is not unusual for him to do, but she insists that he never treats her this way.  She said that I must hate her because she is always in contact with my husband, even when he won't call me.  I told her that I don't hold that against her, because at least I can find out that he is safe and can quit worrying.   Anne was really frantic about Don not getting in touch with her, but I find it hard to get all worked up over him disappearing for a day because this has become so much of his behaviour with me that it no longer surprises me.   I told her I would file a missing persons report  and she decided to call the hospitals, morgues and travel agent about his tickets.  She said there has been no activity on his credit card and that is how he usually buys his tickets.  A couple days later the charge came through on his tickets for the 31st of August.   Monday Anne said that Wendell Williams went to “the farm” (100+ ac in Seffner on Hwy 92) and to Vandenburg Airport looking for Don.  I find it a little strange that Don's not gone more than a few hours, and the last place he was known to be was Wind and William's, when he dropped off the 26 signs for the 26 lots, but who should panic and start searching airports, other than Wendell?  The farm was a legitimate place to look because no one is there now.   Deputy H. Penia came out after I called in the initial info and took my statement.  He said that Don is not in jail and that the info on his van will notify them if it is impounded or involved in a wreck.  He said that they don't often find missing persons who are adults because adults are free to do as they please and are more careful than children about not being found.  He said they would call me, or the office, if they found anything, and that I should call them if Don comes home.  He was very polite in dealing with a situation where it appears that I am over reacting to a straying husband.  If he knew anything about Don's history, he probably would not have even bothered to drive out here.   There were calls in the memory in Don's car phone   263-3603   Non published, unlisted, not existing per Det. Fernandez 626-4193  The office 243-9760   7108 Riverwood Blvd  Sherie and Simeon Frost 246-4999   Lazy Days Superstore   I've asked my brother, Chuck Stairs, to get a copy of our non long distance phone calls for that week if he can, but he says he will need a warrant.   After all the cats and kittens were fed Anne called and asked me to go check the Riverwood house because she says it is empty now.  With Don's mental problems, he may have gone there since we used to live there, or maybe he's just looking for his gold.  At any rate I drove out there and he's not there, although the deer still are and someone left the gate standing open.  I drove home and called Anne with no news and she said she wanted to go check out Tampa Bay Executive Airport because I had told her about Don looking at an experimental plane there last week.  I didn't want to wait an hour for her to get here and then have another hour round trip drive, so I told her I'd go look and would call her if my plane were missing, or if the experimental plane was missing.   My plane was still there, but the little ultra light looking experimental plane was not there.  I called Anne on Don's car phone before I knew that you could recall the last 5 numbers, so I lost one.   From the future: I didn't get a copy of the missing person report until 4/28/1998 after my attorney requested it and the Sheriff faxed it to me.

I sat down w Kennita Hickman, who owns Catera - a brand strategy and management company that helps Milwaukee creatives be seen and heard. She formerly worked w Ex Fabula and currently works w Milwaukee cultural hub Imagine MKE. We discussed turning a creative's values into their brand, Kennita's new job at Imagine, Artist Eats, Our City Your Vote, and engaging people w opposing views. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ben-slowey/support

The Diva & The Nerd sot down with Kennita Hickman of Catera and Director of Creative Outreach at Imagine MKE. We discuss dating, family trauma, healing, and her journey as an entrepreneur. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/cordelia17/message

Questa è la risposta! Con: A.Corrà, E. Furnò, S.Bortoletto, P.Rebellato, A.Catera, P.Capillo. S.Bisacco. Un Progetto Cambiscena. www.cambiscena.it --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/QMLS/message

This week we welcome Kennita Hickman, the founder of Catera to discuss branding/marketing strategies.

This week we welcome Kennita Hickman, the founder of Catera to discuss branding/marketing strategies.

This week we welcome Kennita Hickman, the founder of Catera to discuss branding/marketing strategies.

  Engine Noise Podcast Car News & Coffee - Today's top hot and trending news stories in the automotive world. Today the guys drop a big announcement – is Engine Noise now a podcast that you can watch on YouTube? Jeremy & Matt Set up some cameras and invite you into their studio! The guys talk about exploding Dodge Demons, what the Hoonigans are up to & some Ford recalls! Find out all of this and more in today's episode of Engine Noise Podcast Car News & Coffee sponsored by 1A Auto.com.

In this episode of Engine Noise Podcast Jeremy & Matt discuss V engines Vs inline and the pros & cons of both. Do you prefer one over the other?  The guys also discuss the various grades of gas and oil – does more expensive mean it’s better for your car? Not so sure? Give us a listen to find out. Later in the show the guys talk about the 1A Auto car show ands their celebrity appearance there. Engine Noise Podcast is sponsored by 1A Auto.com. Engine Noise Podcast - expert automotive DIY advice for the backyard mechanic. Be sure to tune in! 

In this episode of Engine Noise Podcast Jeremy & Matt discuss manuals vs automatic and the pros & cons of both. Do you prefer one over the other? Jeremy reminisces about his time working as a Cadillac mechanic and tells the story of the Cadillac Catera AKA Cadillac Catastrophe. He tells Matt about their timing belt issues and an interesting cup-o-nuts he still has! The guys have some fun talking about Plasti-Dip and some creative ideas for Matt's beloved Dodge Dakota. Matt has a run in with some neighborhood kids and makes some lemonade with some unexpected lemons! Engine Noise Podcast is sponsored by 1A Auto.com. Engine Noise Podcast - expert automotive DIY advice for the backyard mechanic. Be sure to tune in!

A conversational, full length interview with Kennita Hickman creator of Our City, Your Vote and owner of Catera. We talk to Kennita about the Our City, Your Vote campaign, getting everyone to understand the importance of voting and accountability, and how she is using local hip-hop, R&B, and spoken word as ways to increase civic engagement among Milwaukeeans. Kennita is an incredible leader and we are blessed to have such a forward thinker in Milwaukee.Producers: Benjamin Rangel, Kyle Hagge, Sam WoodsWebsite: bridgethecitypodcast.comInstagram: @BridgeTheCityPodcastTwitter: @BridgeTheCityWiEmail: Bridgethecitypodcast@gmail.comLogo Design: Ryan FlynnMusic: Casey Masters

Poindexter sits down with Kennita Hickman to discuss her initiative w/ “Our City, Your Vote". We discuss everything from Flyer John, Freeway, Capitol Court and the importance of voting. Please tune in for this special interview. The Mogul Lounge can be found at….. iHeart Radio - Bit.ly/TMLHeart Spreaker - Bit.ly/TMLSpreaker Apple - Bit.ly/TMLapple Stitcher - Bit.ly/TMLstitch Google Play - Bit.ly/TMLplay Spotify - Bit.ly/TMLspot UrbanMogulLife.com Contact The Mogul Lounge email - TheMogulLounge@urbanmogullife.com Twitter - @UrbanMogulLife IG - @TheMogulLounge @UrbanMogulLife Facebook - The Mogul Lounge

Poindexter sits down with Kennita Hickman to discuss her initiative w/ “Our City, Your Vote". We discuss everything from Flyer John, Freeway, Capitol Court and the importance of voting. Please tune in for this special interview.The Mogul Lounge can be found at…..iHeart Radio - Bit.ly/TMLHeartSpreaker - Bit.ly/TMLSpreakerApple - Bit.ly/TMLappleStitcher - Bit.ly/TMLstitchGoogle Play - Bit.ly/TMLplaySpotify - Bit.ly/TMLspot UrbanMogulLife.comContact The Mogul Loungeemail - TheMogulLounge@urbanmogullife.comTwitter - @UrbanMogulLifeIG - @TheMogulLounge @UrbanMogulLifeFacebook - The Mogul Lounge