Podcasts about Commonwealth Avenue

A new high-rise apartment building is coming to Plaza Midwood and it's the tallest in the neighborhood thus far.Charlotte City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to approve a roughly 12-story apartment building that will have commercial space on its ground floor.The mixed-use development will replace the parking lot on Commonwealth Avenue next to the Julien Apartments. Many people are excited about the growth, but others think the future high-rise will dwarf the other buildings in Plaza Midwood. Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/plaza-midwood-development-approved-charlotte/275-6f78b70b-9315-4d9e-bdca-88ded274c502Click here to sign up for the daily WCNC Charlotte newsletterWCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

A new high-rise apartment building is coming to Plaza Midwood and it's the tallest in the neighborhood thus far. Charlotte City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to approve a roughly 12-story apartment building that will have commercial space on its ground floor. The mixed-use development will replace the parking lot on Commonwealth Avenue next to the Julien Apartments. Many people are excited about the growth, but others think the future high-rise will dwarf the other buildings in Plaza Midwood.  Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/plaza-midwood-development-approved-charlotte/275-6f78b70b-9315-4d9e-bdca-88ded274c502 Click here to sign up for the daily WCNC Charlotte newsletter WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.    SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart  All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

Anti-Israeli demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked the Boston University Bridge near Commonwealth Avenue. No arrests were made, but plenty of morning commuters were impacted. Do you expect to see, hear about and perhaps experience inconvenience on Massachusetts roadways as the hostilities in Gaza continue?

Anti-Israeli demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked the Boston University Bridge near Commonwealth Avenue. No arrests were made, but plenty of morning commuters were impacted. Do you expect to see, hear about and perhaps experience inconvenience on Massachusetts roadways as the hostilities in Gaza continue?

Anti-Israeli demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked the Boston University Bridge near Commonwealth Avenue. No arrests were made, but plenty of morning commuters were impacted. Do you expect to see, hear about and perhaps experience inconvenience on Massachusetts roadways as the hostilities in Gaza continue?

Anti-Israeli demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked the Boston University Bridge near Commonwealth Avenue. No arrests were made, but plenty of morning commuters were impacted. Do you expect to see, hear about and perhaps experience inconvenience on Massachusetts roadways as the hostilities in Gaza continue?

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno explains why his client shouldn't be charged in the viral video showing traffic along Commonwealth Avenue stopped to accommodate a VIP's convoy.

The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (M.I.C.E) is a festival focusing on independent, small press and self-published comics and cartoons. This year's event is hosted by Boston University's School of Visual Arts, and takes place September 30-October 1st at BU's Fuller Building (808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass.) And best of all, it's free to attend. Dan Mazur is a professional cartoonist, comics historian and the co-director of M.I.C.E. He joins The Common to talk about what attendees can expect at this year's expo, as well what makes Boston such a great city for independent comics. Greater Boston's daily podcast where news and culture meet.

Riders weigh in on the implementation of the motorcycle lane on Commonwealth Avenue. In the same episode, our guests Don Joseph, Zacc Reina and Restie Renia talk about the recent FJ Moto Adventure Event and its road to success.

00:00:01 Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the show. We are going to talk about capital raising and why it's important to your deals right after this.   Wendy Sweet 00:00:34 That's funny. That's like a so funny when you see people on the news doing a news set and they say something and they just wait for stuff to happen and they wait for stuff to happen, it's,   Bill Fairman 00:00:45 Well, just so you guys know, half of our, our crew is in another country, so it's occasionally there.   Wendy Sweet 00:00:52 Two different countries.   Bill Fairman 00:00:53 Yeah. There, there's occasionally a little bit of lag time when we talk. So that's, that's really it.   Wendy Sweet 00:01:00 So the whole show's coming from three different countries. That's true. Actually. That's pretty   Bill Fairman 00:01:03 Cool. And technology amazing. It anyway is, thank you so much for joining us on the Real Estate Investor Show Hard Money for Real Estate Investors. We are Carolina Capital Management and we are private lenders for real estate investors in the Southeast. If you'd like us to take a look at one of your projects, go to carolina hard money.com and click on the apply now tab. If you're a passive investor looking for passive returns, then click on the accredited investor tab. Don't forget the like, share, subscribe, Hit the bell. And don't forget about Wednesdays with her.   Wendy Sweet 00:01:38 Woohoo. Awesome.   Bill Fairman 00:01:46 Wendy devotes like 30 minutes per person, right?   Wendy Sweet 00:01:50 Yep.   Bill Fairman 00:01:51 Every Wednesday, but she's booked out a couple of months in advance, so get on her calendar   Wendy Sweet 00:01:57 That, And I actually got this idea from our guest that's coming on.   Bill Fairman 00:02:01 That's right. It was Tuesdays with Jeff,   Wendy Sweet 00:02:05 Whatever, whatever day anybody could get in with Jeff that, that's the big thing.   Bill Fairman 00:02:09 So, So anyway, the link is right there and also in our comment section, which is on the right side of your screen or underneath, depending on the platform you're viewing us from. Anything else to add?   Wendy Sweet 00:02:21 Well, I just want to say this, you know, we always talk about, you know, if you're interested in passive investing to go in and, and click on our pass our investor tab. But I, we've got some bragging rights. We've, we've had, we've had a phenomenal year. Our trailing 36 month is really good, but I, I mean our, our last quarter we were at 10.76   Bill Fairman 00:02:46 And this is not a solicitation for selling of any type of security. Do your due diligence, your mileage may vary, blah, blah, blah   Wendy Sweet 00:02:56 Ppm. Yes, it's very important to do that. But we need to, I mean we need to talk that, cuz it's been, it's been really great. It's been over, well over 10 for the   Bill Fairman 00:03:04 Year. The, the real estate business. While it sounds like it's really going downhill, if you listen to the news, it's still way outperforming the   Wendy Sweet 00:03:13 Stock market and it's adjusting to normal. Yeah. Which is really nice. We, we all need a little normal.   Bill Fairman 00:03:19 All right, real quick, some breaking news. Good Lord.   Wendy Sweet 00:03:42 It, So now the news isn't breaking anymore. It's, it's old already.   Bill Fairman 00:03:46 It's, it's old news now. So the Fed raised the rate another 75 basis points.   Wendy Sweet 00:03:55 That's right.   Bill Fairman 00:03:56 It's like there's, it's like 3% height now since they started, or at least close to it.   Wendy Sweet 00:04:02 I can't wait to hear Brian Maddox talk about it tomorrow on our sunrises meeting that we have every Friday morning at 7:30 AM   Bill Fairman 00:04:10 Yeah. And I'm sure we'll have a link to that over here in the comment section   Wendy Sweet 00:04:13 As well. Yeah, yeah. It's, we, we'll talk in depth about that. That's, that's good stuff.   Bill Fairman 00:04:17 Yeah. There it is right here.   Wendy Sweet 00:04:18 Yeah. Awesome.   Bill Fairman 00:04:19 Sweet. Thank you. Sha   Wendy Sweet 00:04:21 We, we also know that when the Feds hike the rates like that, that it really isn't your mortgage rates that are going up 0.75. A lot of people assume that it's completely correlated and it is attached a little bit, but really   Bill Fairman 00:04:40 Historically, the Fed is always chasing the market, right?   Wendy Sweet 00:04:43 That's right.   Bill Fairman 00:04:44 If you, if you, well, you have to know people that have the graphs, but they're always behind the curve. Yeah,   Wendy Sweet 00:04:51 Always. Yeah, for sure.   Bill Fairman 00:04:53 They're trying to destroy the housing market and they're working on it pretty well. Yeah,   Wendy Sweet 00:05:01 We're not gonna let 'em do that   Bill Fairman 00:05:02 Though. What   Wendy Sweet 00:05:04 Else? So I was reading this morning on a newsletter that I follow called Essa, S T E S S A. They always have some good information, but they were really talking about the rent and apartment complexes versus single family residential, which I thought was really, really interesting. You know, apartment apartments have been going up and up. The rents for apartments have been going up and up. The vacancies have been going lower and lower, which it's been very, very strong and it will continue to remain strong. However, what we're seeing is that one and two bedroom apartments are for the first time in a very long time going down in price, which I thought was really interesting. And you brought up, because people are getting roommates to, to   Bill Fairman 00:05:59 Probably having higher vacancy rates. So they're bringing their rates down a little bit. Yeah. Try and fill 'em, but it's because people can't afford to live on their own   Wendy Sweet 00:06:07 Anymore. Yeah, yeah. But the whole point of that article is really to talk about single family rentals and how strong the rent is for a single family home. And, you know, it's a great day to be in the buy and hold business. It's always a great day to be in the buy and hold or the build and hold business. It's, it's,   Bill Fairman 00:06:32 But it happens. If you can't afford mortgage payments, you have to rent. You   Wendy Sweet 00:06:36 Get cold.   Bill Fairman 00:06:37 Yeah. You have to rent. Yeah. So there you go. For sure. Or if you can't buy a house, you can rent one until the rates come down. That's right.   Wendy Sweet 00:06:44 Right. That's exactly right.   Bill Fairman 00:06:46 Or you can find one with a lease to own kinda deal as well.   Wendy Sweet 00:06:49 That's exactly right.   Bill Fairman 00:06:50 All right. So enough Gibber, Joe.   Wendy Sweet 00:06:52 Well, I wanna talk about, just a quick point too, for the sunrises for our meeting on sunrises. Tomorrow at seven 30 is on Zoom and that link is right there in in the chat box. We are going to be talking about subject to real in, in real estate, in the real estate business, which is basically taking over a property subject to the financing in place. So I'm really excited about us talking about that   Bill Fairman 00:07:20 One thing, that   Wendy Sweet 00:07:21 Particular type.   Bill Fairman 00:07:22 I have a quick question before we move on. I'm always concerned about how you get the person that has the mortgage to agree to take over that mortgage when they're ultimately responsible for it.   Wendy Sweet 00:07:35 Well, you need to turn tune in tomorrow and because that's the topic we're gonna talk about   Bill Fairman 00:07:41 For that would be my biggest fear is letting somebody else take over my mortgage, even though I'm the one that's on   Wendy Sweet 00:07:47 The Yeah. And there are ways around that. We're definitely gonna gonna talk about that tomorrow.   Bill Fairman 00:07:51 It's a great way to do it because you know, obviously you're not gonna take over a, a loan with a high rate.   Wendy Sweet 00:07:56 That's right. Not these days.   Bill Fairman 00:07:58 That's right. That's   Wendy Sweet 00:07:59 Right.   Bill Fairman 00:07:59 And they don't have any more non qualifying FHA loan assumptions out there anymore.   Wendy Sweet 00:08:04 Nope. Long gone. So folks, we are really, really excited about our guests today. You'll, you may have noticed if you've been watching for the past, what, four weeks? Three weeks? Four weeks. We have been talking about raising capital and raising capital from your financial friends, which could be your family and friends, people that you know, like, and trust. And we really wanted to end this theme with a dear, dear friend of ours, Jeff Johnson, who is the bomb. And he's really, really good at raising capital. That's how he runs his business. So folks,   Bill Fairman 00:08:48 And, and by the way, he's also known for packing more than one belt with him when he travels. So thank you for that.   Wendy Sweet 00:08:54 Evidently he pulled you out.   Bill Fairman 00:08:56 I forgot to pack my belt.   Wendy Sweet 00:08:59 So here's our friend Jeff Johnson. Jeff, welcome, welcome to the show my friend.   Jeff Johson 00:09:05 Hey guys, how are we doing?   Bill Fairman 00:09:07 Great. Wow. You look like you're like doing a reality show.   Jeff Johson 00:09:12 Well, this is a house that I just finished and is going on the market tomorrow. Is that right? Tomorrow.   Wendy Sweet 00:09:17 Wow.   Jeff Johson 00:09:18 Look tonight at that   Wendy Sweet 00:09:19 Beautiful, beautiful kitchen.   Bill Fairman 00:09:21 That's gorgeous.   Jeff Johson 00:09:22 Yep. So there you can get a little, a little vision, a little view of what's going down.   Wendy Sweet 00:09:27 That is gorgeous. Okay. Tell us a little bit about, Oh, look at that fireplace. Oh my goodness. Tell us about this house. Where is it? What's the price? What, what's the deal?   Jeff Johson 00:09:39 Okay, so this is one of four houses that I built up in Oakhurst, which is 28, 2 5 in Charlotte   Bill Fairman 00:09:46 Live there. My first house was in   Jeff Johson 00:09:48 Oakhurst. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I bought a, I bought a lot and you guys saw Shannon, my realtor, actually Shannon helped me get this lot, but bought this lot from the guy. There was a single house on it. We ended up splitting it into four lots. So I built four houses down the, down the road here. And so this is the first one that's going on the market. So let's see, I paid 4 65 for the lot. So what is that? A little over a hundred thousand dollars per building lot. Yeah. Not too bad.   Wendy Sweet 01:10:21 Not in that area.   Jeff Johson 01:10:23 Yeah. So my build cost in these is right around three 50 I think. So this is a 2,700 square foot house, this one. And this one's going on to market tomorrow or tonight for 7 99 9. So not too bad.   Wendy Sweet 01:10:37 Wow. Wow. That is awesome. Okay, I'm so glad you're throwing those numbers out. So Jeff, how did you finance this? What, where'd you get the money? What'd you do to raise it? Tell, tell me about what that looks like.   Jeff Johson 01:10:51 Well this, this actually was a combination. So I actually did an partial owner finance. So the lot was 4 65 and the owner actually gave me a $300,000 owner carryback. So I only had to come to the table with 165 grand.   Wendy Sweet 01:11:09 Wow. Nice.   Jeff Johson 01:11:11 And then he, he subordinated his loan to a bank loan. So I actually was able to do all this construction with a bank loan. But that, you know, that's taken me years to get to that point and build my business to a point where I can go in and get a, you know, $1.5 million loan to build four houses. So.   Wendy Sweet 01:11:26 That's awesome. And what kind of a bank is it? Is it a local bank? A a credit union, a regional bank?   Jeff Johson 01:11:32 It's a, it's a local bank. Yeah, it's a local bank that I've had a relationship with for probably seven years now. They've financed several homes for me over the years. So we've got a, you know, ongoing relationship.   Wendy Sweet 01:11:45 That's awesome. That's awesome.   Bill Fairman 01:11:47 You know, you're, you're throwing those numbers out there and I told you my first home was in Oakhurst. I paid 23 5 for a 14 year square foot two story house on Commonwealth Avenue.   Jeff Johson 01:12:00 Don't, don't you wish you, I built one on Commonwealth too. Don't you wish you would've kept that?   Bill Fairman 01:12:04 Yeah. Oh my gosh, no doubt. Absolutely.   Wendy Sweet 01:12:07 He even had his motorcycle in the living room. I remember that. It   Bill Fairman 01:12:11 Was never in the living room. It was in the foyer.   Jeff Johson 01:12:13 Nice, nice.   Wendy Sweet 01:12:16 So are you nervous at all about being in that price range in these dark times that we're living in?   Jeff Johson 01:12:26 Well, sure. I mean, everybody's a little bit nervous. I mean, you know, I think part of the problem was, is we all got used to things selling in 35 minutes and now it's kind of back to normal the way it was before Covid. So, yeah, I mean this is, I started my business in oh nine, so I was used to, you know, two months, three months to get something under contract. So this is not something I haven't experienced before, but I think a lot of people who just got started are probably a little bit freaked out because it, you know, they didn't figure in holding onto their properties for three months or six months. They didn't figure that into their costs. Plus, you know, everything got so expensive there for a little while that, that everybody just assumed that they were gonna make their money on the back end. You know, I always say you make your money when you buy the property, just like I did with this property. I made my money when I bought this property. If I'd have paid a million dollars for this, I'd be super nervous.   Wendy Sweet 01:13:19 Yeah. Yeah. I actually had a call this morning from someone that we did a loan for. She's still in it eight months into it, you know, the contractor didn't really do a right. She had to let him go. So she's working with a new contractor, but unfortunately her, you know, our appraisal subject to appraisal when she bought it came in at 2 65, 8 months ago. Right. And her agent told her she could easily get a little over 300 for it. So I, you know, I, and, and, and so she's been moving forward in her head, putting her own money out instead. Yeah. Because we're only gonna fund from the numbers we run. And now she's sitting at a place where, you know, she'll be probably getting what the appraisal originally said it would be worth. And she's, she's not gonna make any money on this deal. I mean, that's the difference between somebody new and somebody that's experienced.   Jeff Johson 01:14:20 Right. Well I think, I think a lot of what you're seeing is people who, you know, way overpaid because they wanted, they just wanted to keep growing or they wanted to get more property. I actually really, I kind of stopped buying rehab property the last few years because I saw what was happening with the prices and I knew it couldn't last.   Wendy Sweet 01:14:39 Right.   Jeff Johson 01:14:40 So I sort of tapped out, kept doing new construction and cuz I can add the most value doing new construction. Sure. And there's less unknowns, you know, once I, once I get the foundation outta the ground, there's really not a whole lot of unknowns when it comes to cost.   Wendy Sweet 01:14:53 Right.   Jeff Johson 01:14:54 So, so   Wendy Sweet 01:14:55 Jeff, talk a little bit about really how you started raising funds and what kind of people you were approaching to lend you money. How, how did you get started and all that? Cause I, I think you are just so superb at having a good tool bag full of financing opportunities.   Jeff Johson 01:15:23 Well, it's a, I mean it's a, it's a long story but a short story. I mean, I I, I started, you know, rehabbing in oh nine and I was in a, I was actually in a men's group with our church and I used to drag my trailer to the men's group cuz I'd be, you know, that was my Fridays as the days I'd go do my real estate. And I was doing it all with, you know, hard money loans or whatever. And, and one of the guys in my small group said, Hey, what's with the trailer? What are you doing? And I started to explain to 'em and I had just taken a class on borrowing money from people's self-directed IRAs. And so this was a friend from, from my men's group. And so I used all the tools. I just had, I had just learned and said, Hey, you know, if you want to invest with me, you can lend me money from your 401K and I can pay you a return.   Jeff Johson 01:16:16 And I think that the stock market had tanked at that point. So he was very unhappy with his stock returns. So I ended up borrowing I think $50,000. We ended up changing his IRA over to his self-directed ira and I ended up borrowing, I think $50,000 from him to help with one of my projects. And then I returned his money and then he said, Well now I have a hundred. So I, I'm, I'll lend you a hundred pretty soon. He, he had basically liquidated his entire regular 401k with his jobs. He worked for Bank of America and, and had put it all in a self-directed RA and, and, and lent me every penny that he had in his retirement account. And he still does. So that was in 2009. So what is it now? 2022. So he is been lending to me for 13 years and I think we've tripled, I've tripled his money since he started as he started lending to me.   Wendy Sweet 01:17:08 That's awesome. Now is, is he, are you doing the same kind of deal with him that you did in the beginning or has your, have your ch terms changed   Jeff Johson 01:17:19 Any Nope, same exact same exact terms. We haven't changed anything. It's been the same interest rate since day one. I have not changed it one bit. It's, you know, it, in my mind I wanted to give my lenders a return that was good enough that they wouldn't go anywhere else. And that, you know, once we build that trust relationship that they know that, that they're gonna get a great return and they're gonna get their money back to me because what, I don't buy any crappy deals. And then, but I didn't want it to make it too much to where I couldn't actually deploy the capital. Right. You know, I think that's part of the problem is you get a lot of private lenders, they want these crazy interest rates and it's, right now it's almost impossible to deploy the capital, which is as, as expensive as it is to rehab properties and build. I mean, gosh, my build costs went from, for these houses I used to probably maybe $120 a square foot. I'm $175 a square foot.   Wendy Sweet 01:18:18 Wow. Wow.   Jeff Johson 01:18:20 And that's in two years. Wow. So, so that only took two years for that change to happen. So it's gonna get harder to deploy expensive capital in this market. So   Wendy Sweet 01:18:30 Now is, is he lending Yeah. You know, in a secured position or are you, is he just lending to your llc?   Jeff Johson 01:18:39 Okay, so he's, right now he's lending us about a million dollars total and he's probably got about half of that inec secured loans. And then the other half is in unsecured, you know, loans to the llc. But one of the things we don't do is just have that money floating around in the Ethereum. We actually have it assigned two properties. So it does have an as it does have assigned property that it is loaned on. Right. But we just don't have a deed to trust on it.   Wendy Sweet 01:19:10 Gotcha. So, Gotcha. So, so how has he helped you if, if at all, raise more capital?   Jeff Johson 01:19:20 Well, he was very stingy at first cuz he didn't want me to go borrow money from anybody else cuz he, you know, he wanted to keep his capital working. But I, I told him, I said, I won't go borrow any more money until I'm sure that I can keep your capital work in. That happened like year two. So I met another guy, bought a, another crazy story. I bought a inversion table for my back off of Craigslist and it was a trailer both times that got me, this got me this money, which is funny. So I had my trailer to go pick up the, the inversion table and the guy said, Hey, you know what's, so what do you do? You get a trailer? And I told him, you know, I i I flip houses. And he's like, Oh, I'm really interested in that. So I ended up sitting down with him and having lunch.   Jeff Johson 02:20:01 So what, what I did between my first and second lender is I actually put together what's called a credibility package where I took all of the deals that I had done and I listed them out what I paid for 'em, how much my rehab was, how much I sold them for, and then how much my investor got paid. My, my lender got paid and I think at that point I had maybe 12 or 13 properties that I had done. And so I was able to give them this, you know, 10 page credibility package and show 'em like, here's the listings, here's the price I paid, here's how much I made, here's how much my lender made. And that was, that made it so much easier once I had that credibility package to start having those conversations. So once I got that done and I had that second lender, I just started meeting with other people and I started, actually, I didn't really solicit, but you know, you, you can make posts on Facebook and you get people who are interested in what you're doing and then you're ha starting to have these conversations. And I started beating people for lunch and for breakfast and taking 'em to my properties and showing 'em what I was doing. And you know, it just unlocked all sorts of doors with money cuz you, I mean, it would blow your mind how many people have money sitting in an IRA or a 401K that's not doing anything.   Wendy Sweet 02:21:15 Right.   Jeff Johson 02:21:17 Lots of people, it's just sitting there, they don't know what to do with it. They're afraid to put it in the stock market, but they don't know how to invest it in real estate and they don't want to, they don't wanna actually own any real estate or flip real estate cuz they know that that is a, you know, not passive investing. So I just started having those conversations and then, and then of course, you know, I wrote that book a few years ago and now if somebody's interested I just send 'em a copy of the book and say, Here, read this and then let's talk when you're done reading it. So I don't even have to explain the process anymore. It's all in   Wendy Sweet 02:21:48 The book. That's awesome. What's the name of that book, Jeff?   Jeff Johson 02:21:51 It's called Retirement Returns With Real Estate. And I actually wrote it for other investors to be able to use. So I have people all the time that will send that copy of that book to a potential lender and say, Here, read this book and then let's have a conversation and it just saves you, you know, three or four lunches or breakfasts of Yeah. Explaining how it all works. And then the questions are just like, okay, what's, what's the project and how much do you need? That's what I want to get to before I even have a conversation with somebody. I want them to feel comfortable enough that I know what I'm doing. That they're just asking me, Okay, what's the project? Right. What are we talking about here?   Wendy Sweet 02:22:28 So, so here's what I think is so super cool of what you've been able to do. Number one you put together, and I love the name of it, your credibility package. Yep. You're, you're showing people what you do because you're, you're going after two different personalities. You've got the engineer person that wants details and numbers and that kind of thing. And then you've also got pictures and graphs and things for the other type personality that wants to see the summary and hear the stories. That's, that's perfect. Yep. The other thing that I love that you did is you put together a book. You're teaching them how they can become wealthy.   Jeff Johson 02:23:09 It's Exactly education I think is so important. I mean, and, and I think the other thing too is, you know, I ran a, I ran a, a subgroup for the local R for a long time for about six years. And I used to do education in that group for potential lenders. There was no no pitch. I wasn't trying to actually raise money, I just wanted to teach people about how to use private money. And so I ended up getting, you know, a lot of people that had private money come to that meeting and then ended up creating a relationship with them and borrowing their money. So it's really been sort of of organic the way it's all happened. But the funny thing is, once you push, start pushing that 600 pound boulder, once it starts rolling, it's hard to stop it because, you know, then you have people throwing money at you and you're like, Hey, I need to hold on. I need to get some more projects and some more things. That's right. So I can, you know, that's a good problem to have cuz you in, in real estate, you almost al you always have either a money problem or you have a house problem.   Wendy Sweet 02:24:06 Right.   Jeff Johson 02:24:07 So you either have too much money, not enough houses, or too many houses, not enough money. Yeah. I'd rather have the too much money, not enough houses problem. Yeah,   Wendy Sweet 02:24:15 Yeah. You and me both. You and me both.   Bill Fairman 02:24:17 So you go back to your original lender   Jeff Johson 02:24:20 Yeah.   Bill Fairman 02:24:21 Bank of America. And you   Jeff Johson 02:24:23 Well he worked, he worked for Bank of America. Yes. Right.   Bill Fairman 02:24:26 Yes. But you know, he has the opportunity to get with b of a wealth management so he could put all of his money. I mean, they're very well known for all their wealth management stuff. I wonder how much he would've made if he would've stuck with the traditional way of earning in his   Jeff Johson 02:24:43 Farm. Definitely not. The returns that he got from us. Not even close. Right?   Wendy Sweet 02:24:47 That's right.   Bill Fairman 02:24:48 Isn't it? Isn't it weird how that works? The people that actually are in the financial industry finally get that light going off, What, what am I doing here?   Wendy Sweet 02:24:59 Yeah. Yeah.   Jeff Johson 02:25:00 Well the other cool thing too is, you know, he's been a, he's been part of my growth. So every year when we, when we, you know, look at our profit numbers, I always send him, I send him an email or we go have lunch or breakfast or whatever and I say, you know, I could not have, I literally could not have done this without you trusting me with your money.   Bill Fairman 02:25:18 Sure. That that's awesome. No, he appreciates it.   Wendy Sweet 02:25:21 What a gift.   Jeff Johson 02:25:22 Yeah, no, absolutely. So he's been part of my journey. Every lender's been part of my journey. And then when we started Better Path Homes and really started to grow, I think we're, I think we have 70 some odd houses being built right now. We have, you know, dozens of lender partners that have come alongside of us and we've been able to help them build their wealth and they've watched us build our business. It's been a really wonderful partnership.   Wendy Sweet 02:25:43 That's awesome. And you lend your money too. You're, you're self   Jeff Johson 02:25:47 An IRA money? I, yes. I led to you   Wendy Sweet 02:25:51 Fact.   Jeff Johson 02:25:51 I put my money where my mouth is.   Wendy Sweet 02:25:53 I'm gonna get some more here shortly too. So,   Bill Fairman 02:25:57 So you know Chris Miles? Yeah. We had him on the show a little while back and he was telling us a story about his dad because, you know, Chris' is used to be a financial advisor, he's now the anti financianal advisor. And his dad wanted to retire. He'd had a 401k, all of his, you know, working adult life. And he asked Chris to take a look at it and asking kind of where he was. And Chris said to him, you know, you've done all the right things, you've done everything that is expected of you in a 401k. Your only problem is you have to die in five years.   Jeff Johson 02:26:36 Right. Cuz you can't afford to live any longer than that.   Wendy Sweet 02:26:38 Right. Yeah, that's for sure. I, I, I'm just, I'm telling you, Jeff, I've known you for such a long time. You're a dear friend, an awesome human being, and I'm, I'm just blessed to have you in my life, but, and I'm so excited to have, have watched you turn into this incredible successful real estate investor and builder in, in the, the time that I've known you. Just watching you grow has just been incredible and learning from you. And you know, I, I steal all these great ideas that you have and I appreciate that you allow me to do that. It's, it's just, it's been a pleasure and, and I can't wait to see what you have in the future. And, and we're so grateful that you came and Yeah, absolutely. And shared this information with us that I think it's important that people know that everybody can do this.   Jeff Johson 02:27:32 Yes.   Bill Fairman 02:27:33 How can people get ahold of your book anyway?   Jeff Johson 02:27:36 It's on Amazon. You can just look it up. It's Retirement Returns with Real Estate. Jeff Johnson's the author and I, I have it, I have it priced, you know, so cheap that you can just send 'em to your friends and family, whoever you want to talk to about Awesome, awesome. Investing with you. So that was the whole point was to be, you know, give others a tool, a very specific tool so it's very specific to our industry so that they could have start having those conversations with people.   Wendy Sweet 02:28:02 Right, right. Awesome.   Bill Fairman 02:28:04 Well, Valerie just made a comment saying that she can't wait to read your book. Thank   Wendy Sweet 02:28:08 You. So yeah. Oh look, there, there it is.   Bill Fairman 02:28:11 See, see how quick our staff is. Yeah.   Jeff Johson 02:28:13 Bam. Look at that. There you go.   Wendy Sweet 02:28:15 There you go.   Bill Fairman 02:28:17 That's   Wendy Sweet 02:28:18 Awesome.   Bill Fairman 02:28:18 So the first time I met Jeff, he was working on the house right next to me, which was kind of funny. I won't get into that story, but it was a good one. It has been, it's been quite the journey since then, hadn't it?   Jeff Johson 02:28:30 Yes, it has. It has. That was a, that was a funny story.   Bill Fairman 02:28:33 When we have an, when we have an additional hour, I'll,   Wendy Sweet 02:28:36 I'll tell.   Jeff Johson 02:28:37 Yeah. Okay. Deal.   Wendy Sweet 02:28:39 Jeff, thank you so much for coming on. We really, really appreciate your, your, your story and, and your, your desire to share with, with everybody. Thank you so much. Yeah,   Bill Fairman 02:28:50 We're   Jeff Johson 02:28:50 Gonna thank you guys.   Bill Fairman 02:28:50 Green room for just a second while we close this thing out so we can thank you properly, if you don't mind.   Jeff Johson 02:28:58 Okay. Thanks guys. Thanks   Bill Fairman 02:29:00 Jeff. Folks, thank you so much for joining us on the Real Estate Investor, Show Hard Money for real Estate Investors. We are Carolina Capital Management. We are private lenders in Southeast for real estate professionals. If you'd like us to take a look at one of your projects, go to carolina heart money.com, click on the apply now tab. And if you are a passive investor that doesn't wanna give money to Jeff, click on the accredited investor tab. Don't forget to like, share, subscribe, and hit the bell. Don't forget about Wednesdays with Wendy. See you guys next week. Bye.

Merging Torah And Science: Lessons From The Life Of Dr. Binyomin Abrams"I'm riding my moped down Commonwealth Avenue, and one of the students snaps a photo of me with my beard flying in the wind, tzitzis flying everywhere... They post it on Facebook and write, "So excited to be coming to Boston University. Where else are you going to see an Amish person riding a moped?" Then the comments start coming in. The first comment is, "Hey, I don't think the Amish are allowed to ride mopeds." And the second one was, "Hey, stop telling the Amish what they are and aren't allowed to do." And then the last comment was, "I don't think he's Amish. I think that's a Chassidic Jewish person … and I think he's our chemistry professor!"  - Dr. Binyomin AbramsNarrated by: Gary WaleikProduced by: Gary Waleik & Shneur Brook for Lubavitch International/Lubavitch.comAvailable on all major podcast platforms - and online at Lubavitch.com/podcastDid you enjoy listening to this episode? Leave us a review and/or email us at Podcast@Lubavitch.com - we truly value your feedback!To inquire about dedicating an episode - please email podcast@lubavitch.com

Grace is back in Boston and so is COVID, apparently! Boston University made national headlines this week after a coronavirus mutation study was published explaining the effects of combining previous strains. Even worse than a new, engineered virus is the fact that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was "caught off guard" when they learned of the study. Tune in for what Grace has to say about the pandemic's return to Commonwealth Avenue.

Viking MASS part one...It is claimed by many people that there was viking exploration and even settlement of Massachusetts seven or eight hundred years ago, long before any other European's arrived. Did this happen? How valid are the claims? Is it possible? Where is the evidence? First Who were the vikings? These are various medieval people originating out of Sweden, Norway and Denmark who became notable for raiding coastal settlements in Europe in the ninth century from Russia to the British Isles. They often raided monasteries that were undefended for the gold. The image conjured in many people's minds of vikings is the raiding and piracy, but what is more interesting for this discussion are the expansions, settlements and take over of various European territories by vikings. It surprises people to find out that Dublin Ireland was a viking settlement, and that parts of England and France were viking-sized. This helps answer the question as to why Vikings might have pushed deep into north america. This story is not about raiders and pirates, it's about the need for new territories to move people into. Some of the motivation was about inheritance or rivalries between siblings that led them to want to find unexplored territories, especially places where they wouldn't have invade with an army. We begin our story by visiting the statue of Leif Erikson on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston near Kenmore Square. This is one of many monuments in the area dedicated to Viking exploration. Some are at locations claimed to be actual landing sites or possible settlements. We will attempt to visit and evaluate many of these in parts 2 and 3. Full Blog at Lostmassachusetts.com Get at Lost Massachusetts Postcard from a Lost Place LostMass Podcast Reviews at Apple (podcasts.apple.com) Photos at: instagram.com/lostmassachusetts Sound Effects From Zapsplat (zapsplat.com) Music Courtesy of Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive.org) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lostmass/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lostmass/support

Located at 1096 Commonwealth Avenue, just off Boston University's Charles River campus, local restaurant Rhythm n' Wraps serves up an around-the-world concept with vegan comfort food. The establishment's blend of flavorful food and delightful ambience—as set by a playlist of international tunes—draws customers and employees alike, who often happen to be musicians themselves. Rhythm n' Wraps began as a food truck in 2013 serving mainly the crowd at Cambridge and opened its brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2019. The menu, which started out vegetarian, has evolved through the years to become fully vegan. It also caters to customers with various food allergies and intolerances. The diner's offerings are heavily influenced by its employees, who each infuse their cultures into these plant-based creations. Justin Springer, the president of Outside the Box Agency, first worked with Rhythm n' Wraps in a client-agency relationship years ago. Today, he is one of the restaurant's co-owners and partners. Springer talks all things Rhythm n' Wraps: its history, culture, inspiration and future.

Since the drinking age was 20 when I was 20, my 21st birthday didn't have to be a big deal, but it turned out to be as far from a big deal as it could get. I spent the evening with a Lite beer and a bunch of weird anonymous drunks at a Commonwealth Avenue drinking hole called The Dugout. I have a Patreon page! Please check it out. If you make a small pledge you'll get to see photos and clips from my journals and hear a bit more about some of the stories. This is a fun way that I can share visuals with you. Check it out HERE. Or at patreon.com/dianathebard If you want to hear more on any particular subject, or if you want to ask a question or simply connect, you can find me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dianathebard or email me at bardofhudson@gmail.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Walk with the Boston Red Cloaks from Commonwealth Avenue to the Massachusetts State House, hearing voices from spectators and Red Cloak participants as they address the Texas abortion ban and the refusal of the United States Supreme Court to intervene or protect reproductive rights in Texas.

Two USCHO.com men's ice hockey poll top ten teams meet in WCHA weekend play as No. 8 Bowling Green travels to No. 6 Minnesota State. Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) catch up with Mavericks head coach Mike Hastings to preview a matchup between two stingy defenses and two potent offenses.We also look at the "Battle of Commonwealth Avenue" between No. 1 Boston College and No. 15 Boston University and a pair of road tilts for UConn among Hockey East games, No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 2 Minnesota in the Big Ten, No. 9 Omaha at Denver in NCHC play, and a pair of ECAC series sending St. Lawrence to No. 12 Quinnipiac and No. 13 Clarkson to Colgate.

There is an amazing new sculpture on Commonwealth Avenue. Carved out of a tree trunk, in mid-stride is a magnificent runner confidently bounding up Heartbreak Hill. I pass him every day on my way to Temple Emanuel and am always struck by how he never seems to run out of energy. A little more than 10 years ago, I ran a marathon. Well, “run” is perhaps too generous a word. I jogged for a super-long time until I crossed the finish line in what I had hoped would be under six hours. To this day, I am still not entirely sure what possessed me to do this. Every time I pass that tree trunk runner, I think back to my marathon. The tree trunk runner was carved to life in the middle of a global pandemic – at a time that the Boston Marathon has now been called off for a second season. The tree trunk runner is, by definition, rooted in place – stuck – on Heartbreak Hill, the hardest part of the route. Yet the sculptor filled him with eternal boundless positive momentum.

It’s Monday! Today, we’re covering the possibility that BU faculty will not be told if students test positive for COVID-19, last Thursday’s protest on Commonwealth Avenue regarding BU’s reopening plan, reports of BUPD officers not wearing face masks, and how Blackbaud’s data breach may affect your information.FEATURING: Justin TangWRITTEN BY: Justin Tang, Michelle TianEDITED BY: Justin TangBASED ON DFP PIECES BY: Katarzyna Jezak, Jane Avery, Angela Yang and Chloe LiuMUSIC: “Acid Trumpet” by Kevin Macleod, “Backbay Lounge” by Kevin Macleod, “Ultralounge” by Kevin Macleod

It’s Monday! Today, we’re covering the possibility that BU faculty will not be told if students test positive for COVID-19, last Thursday’s protest on Commonwealth Avenue regarding BU’s reopening plan, reports of BUPD officers not wearing face masks, and how Blackbaud’s data breach may affect your information.FEATURING: Justin TangWRITTEN BY: Justin Tang, Michelle TianEDITED BY: Justin TangBASED ON DFP PIECES BY: Katarzyna Jezak, Jane Avery, Angela Yang and Chloe LiuMUSIC: “Acid Trumpet” by Kevin Macleod, “Backbay Lounge” by Kevin Macleod, “Ultralounge” by Kevin Macleod

PARANORMAL OR NOT?

We have the privilege of meeting Casey Jean Miller, a therapeutic yoga teacher and creator of Jean's Apothecare. Her journey to yoga began when she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 21. A friend suggested that she engage in an activity that was more restorative. Casey Jean knew she was getting something out of yoga that she had not gotten anywhere else after her first class. She completed her yoga teacher training 4 years ago and began teaching in a variety of spaces. Around the same time, she was experimenting with combining Ayurvedic principles, Chinese medicine, and remedies from the Kelts and Native Americans to find relief from her psoriatic arthritis. Her first natural product was a body butter that soothed her pain. She found herself falling in love with the process of creating. Casey Jean went on to complete her 300-hour yoga teacher training and has transitioned to more slow-mindful based movement. She asks her students to do a self-inquiry by asking how do I feel, what do I need, and what do I need to do to take action? "Our bodies are miraculous beings that are capable of so much more than we give them credit for and they can always use support." Casey Jean's focus today is more of one-on-one and small group relationships to promote overall wellness by combining coaching, therapeutic yoga, mindfulness, and meditation. She also hosts a monthly "Cup of Calm" small group to continue the conversation of yoga off the mat, weaving in herbalism and mindfulness practices. Casey Jean identifies Cleo Wade who has been influential in her work with others. Cleo is nicknamed the "Milennial Oprah" as she is a public speaker and writer of 2 books. Casey Jean continues to return to "Heart Talk," a book of poems where she feels directly spoken to. Casey Jean has been inspired by her dad at a young age when they would travel to new places and dream together. They had many big ideas of businesses they would create. She says that he always supported and fostered the dreamer's spirit in her. "We all need and want support and that's why we are here on Earth. To live in a way where we take good care of ourselves. Where we nuture and nourish our minds and our body. Where we are taking good care of ourselves, each other, where we have fun, and do the hard work." In the Charlotte community, Casey Jean is inspired by Life Coach, Carrie Wren who has taught her to trust in herself and create the life she wants to live. She is also inspired by Therapist, Amy Williams, who focuses on self-care, creativity, authenticity, and fun. Jean's Apothecare natural products can be purchased online or at her physical store above Moxy Mercantile(2008 Commonwealth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205). She invites all listeners to join her private facebook community called, "Nuturing Your Mind and Body."

In the early 20th century, car dealerships, tire companies, parts distributors, and other related businesses lined a section of Commonwealth Avenue in Allston that was known as Automobile Row, a sort of urban forefather of the suburban Auto Mile today. Local historian Ken Liss joins the show to tell us what made these early dealerships special, who some of the personalities behind Automobile Row were, and where you can see traces of this history today. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/180 Support the show: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory

Things just keep getting worse for the hockey teams on Boston's B-Line.  The BU Terriers and BC Eagles remain winless after rough weekends for both teams, and meanwhile it's Northeastern who's making noise, coming off a huge win over St. Cloud State at Matthews Arena.  Tim Williams and Chris Lynch take you through the weekend's action in Boston before going around the country to cover a busy week, and another hectic weekend to come.

Things just keep getting worse for the hockey teams on Boston's B-Line.  The BU Terriers and BC Eagles remain winless after rough weekends for both teams, and meanwhile it's Northeastern who's making noise, coming off a huge win over St. Cloud State at Matthews Arena.  Tim Williams and Chris Lynch take you through the weekend's action in Boston before going around the country to cover a busy week, and another hectic weekend to come.

Faye Powell has spent years driving down Commonwealth Avenue, and in that time she's noticed a lot of international flags. She wanted to know - how many are there, who looks after them and where are they kept? Reporter Sonya Gee took Faye to the ACT Government's flag store in Fyshwick.

On this weeks episode, we will be covering the Arctic Hare. The Arctic Hare is the largest Hare found in North America. We have Inuit folktales about the Arctic Hare, as well as a poem about the arctic hare. Our plant of the week is Oats, and the word of the week is Blow! We will then conclude with the news. This episode is close to an hour, so we have a long episode this week, but I will not have an episode next week. I have some projects to work on the homestead, and it takes about 8 hours to put together an episode with research, recording, and editing. If you like to be first, and who does not like to be first, we have a few chances for you to be first. You could be the first person to rate and review the show on whatever platform you are listening, such as Itunes. You could also be the first to support the podcast through Patreon/Hare of the Rabbit. I would like to thank those that purchased from Amazon through the link at the HareoftheRabbit.com. It looks like there was several purchases this month.         Arctic Hare The Arctic Hare is the largest hare found in North America. The Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus), or polar rabbit, is a species of hare which is highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra, and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur. It usually digs holes in the ground or under snow to keep warm and sleep. Arctic hares look like rabbits but have shorter ears, are taller when standing, and, unlike rabbits, can thrive in extreme cold. They can travel together with many other hares, sometimes huddling with dozens or more, but are usually found alone, taking, in some cases, more than one partner. The Arctic hare can run up to 60 kilometres per hour (40 mph). The Arctic hare can achieve very fast speeds when the Arctic hare feels threatened. If the Arctic hare senses danger, the Arctic hare will stand on its hind legs and survey the area. If the Arctic hare feels threatened, the Arctic hare is capable of taking off at very fast speeds as the Arctic hare moves by hopping off its back legs in a similar way to a kangaroo. The Arctic hare runs erratically and leaps while running away from a predator to try and escape. Predators The Arctic hare is a vital component in the Arctic circle food chain, being one of the few smaller mammals able to thrive in such a harsh environment. The Arctic hare is therefore common prey for bigger animals of the Arctic tundra, such as Arctic wolves, foxes and polar bears. Known predators of the Arctic hare are the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), gray wolf (Canis lupus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), ermine (Mustela erminea), snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), grey falcon (Falco rusticolus), rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), and humans (Homo sapiens). The Arctic wolf is probably the most successful predator of the Arctic hare, and even young wolves in their first autumn can catch adult hares. Arctic foxes and ermines, which are smaller, typically prey on young hares. Grey falcon carry hares to their nests, cutting them in half first; grey falcons use hare bones and feet in the structure of their nests on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) also prey on Arctic hares in the southern end of the hares' range. The Snowy owls mainly targets young hare; the French common name of the species derives from Anglo-Saxon harfang ("hare-catcher"). Four groups of parasites have been known to use Arctic hares as a host: protozoans (Eimeria exigua, E. magna, E. perforans, and E. sculpta); nematodes (including Filaria and Oxyuris ambigua); lice (including Haemodipsus lyriocephalus and H. setoni) and fleas (including Hoplopsyllus glacialis, Euhoplopsyllus glacialis, and Megabothris groenlandicus. Fleas are more common than parasitic worms. Range and habitat The Arctic hare is predominantly found on the hillsides and rocky areas of Arctic tundra, where there is no tree cover. This species lives mostly on the ground, but will occasionally create dens or use natural shelters during times of cold weather. During winter, the Arctic hare has been known to move into forested habitats. The Arctic hare is distributed over the northernmost regions of Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands and Northern Canada, including Ellesmere Island, and further south in Labrador and Newfoundland. The Arctic hare is well-adapted to the conditions found in the tundras, plateaus and treeless coasts of this region, including cold weather and frozen precipitation. The Arctic hare may be found at elevations between 0 (sea level) and 900 m. In Newfoundland and southern Labrador, the Arctic hare changes its coat color, molting and growing new fur, from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter, like some other Arctic animals including ermine and ptarmigan, enabling it to remain camouflaged as their environments change. However, the Arctic hares in the far north of Canada, where summer is very short, remain white all year round. Characteristics Hares are a bit larger than rabbits, and they typically have taller hind legs and longer ears. Like other hares and rabbits, arctic hares are fast and can bound at speeds of up to 40 miles an hour. In winter, they sport a brilliant white coat that provides excellent camouflage in the land of ice and snow. In spring, the hare's colors change to blue-gray in approximation of local rocks and vegetation. The Arctic hare is one of the largest living lagomorphs. On average, this species measures from 43 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in) long, not counting a tail length of 4.5–10 cm (1.8–3.9 in). The body mass of this species is typically between 2.5–5.5 kg (6–12 lb), though large individuals can weigh up to 7 kg (15 lb). One of the world’s largest hares, the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) has a distinctive, uniformly white summer coat, aside from the tips of each ear, which are black. The thick white fur provides both warmth and camouflage against the Arctic hare’s snowy surroundings. After the spring molt, the fur of southern populations is replaced with a shorter grey-brown fur. More northerly populations also molt into shorter fur, but retain the white coloration year-round. The time of shedding fur and the molting patterns vary with latitude. Not much is known about the molting pattern but it has been assumed that the annual molt starts in June. During his research at Sverdrup Pass on Ellesmere Island (now in Nunavut), biologist Dr. David Gray saw hares begin losing their winter coats in April, when temperatures still hover around -30°C (-22°F). Nursing females seem to molt later than other Arctic hares. The molt into winter or summer pelage is dependent on the number of daylight hours. When the Arctic hare detects a change in the number of daylight hours, hormones are released which trigger the molt. In mid-summer, when their camouflage is not as effective, Arctic hares are wary and difficult to approach. In the High Arctic, where summers are short (six to eight weeks), a sandy brown or grey wash appears on the nose, forehead and ears, and occasionally on the back. The predominant color, however, remains the snowy white of winter, which makes High-Arctic Arctic hares starkly visible against a snow-free background and therefore more vulnerable to predators. In the more southern reaches of their range (including Baffin Island, Nunavut), where the summer is somewhat longer, the white coat changes to brown with blue-grey tones, while the tail and parts of the ears and legs remain white. Arctic hares can be active all winter because of the insulating quality of their fur coat. A short, thick and warm under-fur is protected by the longer, silky top fur. A hare with fat for 20% of its body weight could live for 15 days at -24°C (11°F) on that stored fat alone because of this excellent insulation. The female Arctic hare is larger than the male, and also begins to molt earlier in spring. Otherwise, males and females look so similar that they are difficult to tell apart at a distance. During the breeding season and the nursing period, males and females can be more easily identified by their behavior. The arctic hare lives in the harsh environment of the North American tundra. These hares do not hibernate, but survive the dangerous cold with a number of behavioral and physiological adaptations. They sport thick fur and enjoy a low surface area to volume ratio that conserves body heat, most evident in their shortened ears. The Arctic hare is mostly solitary. However, during winter months, this species may demonstrate ‘flocking’ behavior, sometimes gathering in large groups of up to 3,000 individuals. This unique behavior may offer the Arctic hare protection from predators such as the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) making it harder for predators to catch an individual without being seen. The ‘flock’ are synchronized with each other and are able to move, run and change direction at the same time. The Arctic hare is always white in the far north where there is snow all year round. In parts of the Arctic circle that have seasons, the Arctic hare will go from white to a blue-grey color in the summer but is known to keep its white tail all year. The Arctic hare has long claws which helps the Arctic hare when digging through icy and snowy conditions when the Arctic hare is searching for food or if the Arctic hare is digging a den. The paws are heavily padded with thick, coarse fur which helps the Arctic hare to walk on the surface of snow without sinking. The well adapted claws and incisors enable the Arctic hare to dig through snow and feed on the plants beneath. Distress calls are made by hare and rabbit species when they are caught by predators, but all other communication is thought to be done by scent marking. The glands which secrete the scent are found underneath the chin and in the groin area. Diet Food can be scarce in the Arctic, but the hares survive by eating woody plants, mosses, and lichens which they may dig through the snow to find in winter. In other seasons they eat buds, berries, leaves, roots, and bark. An omnivorous species, the Arctic hare’s diet is mostly composed of woody plants such as Arctic willow (Salix arctica), as well as grasses, herbs, berries, buds, shrubs and lichens. An opportunistic feeder, the Arctic hare may also eat small animals and carrion. This species has an acute sense of smell, which enables it to locate and dig for food in the snow. Arctic hares feed primarily on woody plants, and willow constitutes 95 percent of their diet year-round. Arctic hares predominantly consume such as saxifrage, crowberry, and dwarf willow, but can also eat a variety of other foods, including lichens and mosses, blooms, other species' leaves, twigs and roots, mountain sorrel and macroalgae (seaweed). Arctic hare diets are more diverse in summer, but still primarily consists of willow, dryas and grasses. Arctic hare have been reported to occasionally eat meat, including fish and the stomach contents of eviscerated caribou. They eat snow to get water. Breeding Arctic hares are sometimes loners but they can also be found in groups of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of individuals. Unlike many mammals, arctic hare groups disperse rather than form during mating season. Animals pair off and define mating territories, though a male may take more than one female partner. The breeding season of the Arctic hare begins in April or May, with the male pursuing the female and biting her neck, which often draws blood. The gestation period is around 53 days, with females usually giving birth to a litter of between 2 and 8 young hares, or ‘leverets’, in June or July. The female Arctic hare gives birth in a depression in the ground, which is lined with grass, moss and fur or sheltered under rocks. Arctic hare leverets are born at an advanced stage of development, with fur and open eyes. The female returns to feed the leverets every 18 hours with highly nutritious milk, eventually leaving them to fend for themselves when they are fully weaned after 8 or 9 weeks. Two to eight young hares grow quickly and by September resemble their parents. They will be ready to breed the following year. The leverets stay within the mother's home range until they are old enough to survive on their own. There is little information on the lifespan of Arctic hare. Some anecdotal evidence suggests they live three to five years in the wild. Arctic hare do not survive well in captivity, living only a year and a half at most. Traditionally, the arctic hare has been important to Native Americans. These fairly plentiful animals are hunted as a food resource and for their fur, which is used to make clothing. Arctic hare threats The Arctic hare is threatened by habitat loss in the southern part of its range, as well as by unrestricted hunting in certain areas. It may also come under threat in the future due to climate changes (whether those changes are man made, solar min/max changes or changes in the earths axis). However, the Arctic hare is not currently believed to be at high risk of extinction due to any of these factors. Conservation Some parts of the Arctic hare’s range have seasonal limits on the harvest levels of this species. There are not known to be any other specific conservation measures currently in place for the Arctic hare. Subspecies There are nine recognized subspecies of the Arctic hare: ⦁ Lepus arcticus andersoni, ⦁ Lepus arcticus arcticus, ⦁ Lepus arcticus bangsii, ⦁ Lepus arcticus banksicola, ⦁ Lepus arcticus groenlandicus, ⦁ Lepus arcticus hubbardi, Lepus arcticus labradorius, ⦁ Lepus arcticus monstrabilis, and ⦁ Lepus arcticus porsildi. The subspecies vary in range, molting behavior and appearance, with northern populations remaining white year-round. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/arctic-hare/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_hare https://a-z-animals.com/animals/arctic-hare/ http://www.arkive.org/arctic-hare/lepus-arcticus/ http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do;jsessionid=9111F3DC840DAB947DC1538CECB74E3A?method=preview&lang=EN&id=13762 http://interesting-animal-facts.com/Arctic-Animal-Facts/Arctic-Hare-Facts.html Hares in Newfoundland https://retrieverman.net/tag/arctic-hare/ One of the most interesting biological stories takes place on the island of Newfoundland. Before settlement, only Arctic hares could be found on Newfoundland. Its predators included the now extinct Newfoundland wolves and a very small population of Canada lynx. Its population was small, mainly because Arctic hares use open habitats and they are always somewhat vulnerable to predation. The small population of lynx that lived in Newfoundland were always at a bit of disadvantage. They are mostly adapted to eating snowshoe hares, which are creatures of the dense forest. However, before the 1860’s, there were no snowshoe hares on Newfoundland. The Canada lynx that lived on the island had to live like bobcats– eating what prey species availed themselves. Bobcats and Eurasian lynx are better at hunting deer species than the Canada lynx, but the Canada lynx on Newfoundland occasionally hunted caribou, especially the young of the year. But because there were no easily captured snowshoe hares for the Canada lynx to eat, their numbers remained quite small. The Canada lynx doesn’t do well as a bobcat. In the 1860’s, the government of Newfoundland discovered it had a problem. Lots of people were going hungry. The forests and sea were not producing enough to feed them. To rectify this problem, the Newfoundland government introduced the snowshoe hare, which is staple in the diet of many rural residents of the mainland. The hares fed the people, and they adapted well to Newfoundland’s environment. And they spread. In the early 1900’s, there were tons of them on the island. They soon reached what ecologists call the “carrying capacity” and then many of them starved. Then something else happened. Arctic hares began to disappear, and the caribou numbers began to drop. What caused the numbers of those species to drop? Well, it has something to do with the Canada lynx. What? Well, as I said before, the Canada lynx is a snowshoe hare specialist. On the mainland, its population is directly linked to snowshoe hare populations. It lives almost exclusively on them, and it is very well adapted to hunting them. When the population of snowshoe hares began to take off in Newfoundland, the native Canada lynx population could stop living like bobcats. They could return to their ancestral habits of hunting the snowshoes, the species they evolved to eat. Things were fine until the snowshoe hares reached their carrying capacity and their population dropped off. Then, the larger population of Canada lynx that had developed from eating those large number of snowshoe hares had to find something else to eat. They slaughtered the Arctic hares, even though Arctic hares are much harder for the Canada lynx to hunt. With so many Canada lynx in Newfoundland looking for food, the poor Arctic hares had no respite from the predation. The predation was so intense that Arctic hares can be found only in remote areas the northern part of the island, where one cannot find Canada lynx or snowshoe hares. On the mainland, Canada lynx, snowshoe hares, and Arctic hares are not found in the same spots. Arctic hares are always found to the north of prime Canada lynx and snowshoe hare habitat. It is likely that Canada lynx are the main reason why Arctic hares have a rather clearly demarcated southern limit to their range. They simply cannot live where Canada lynx and snowshoe hares do, because the Canada lynx will eat the Arctic hares when the snowshoe hares have their population crash. Yes, snowshoe hares have a ten year cycle in which the population hits its carry capacity within ten years and then has a massive die off. Then it rebuilds after that die off until it hits its carry capacity ten years later. The Canada lynx is at the mercy of these ten year cycles. And so, it seems, is the Arctic hare. The introduction of the snowshoe hare in Newfoundland had been a major disaster for the Arctic hare, even though the two species do not necessarily conflict with each other. They don’t even live in the same habitats, with Arctic hares preferring the open tundra and snowshoes preferring the forest. It is the rather strong predator-prey relationship that exists between the snowshoe hares and the Canada lynx that ultimately affected the Arctic hare. Now, that is only part of the story. Why did the caribou drop off? Well, it is a very similar story. When the Canada lynx population exploded with the introduced snowshoe hares, they generally left the moose and caribou alone. Canada lynx will eat snowshoe hares before they’ll touch any species of deer. When the snowshoe hare population collapsed, the caribou and moose population began to suffer almost as badly as the Arctic hares. The caribou population collapsed through the 1950s until there were just a few hundred caribou on the island. It turned out that many of these caribou were dying as calves from a bacterial infection. Large numbers of calves were found dead. They had strange puss-filled marks on their throats, which were cultured and found to have the Pasturella multocida bacteria in those puss-filled marks. It was this bacteria that was killing them. The caribou of Newfoundland prefer to calve in low-lying swampy areas on the island. They try to keep their calves out of the elements so they do not succumb to illnesses or the elements. So why were they getting this bacterial infection? And what about the strange marks on the caribou calves’ throats? Well, remember the earlier story about the Canada lynx and the snowshoe hares in Newfoundland? It turns out that the Canada lynx were not only preying on Arctic hares when the snowshoe population crashed. They were also preying caribou calves. However, as I said before, Canada lynx are pikers when it comes to hunting any species of deer. They often made a mess of it. As you are aware, cats often kill by a bite to the throat. Canada lynx kill biting the throats of their prey. However, when they tried to kill caribou calves, they really didn’t do too well. They really don’t have the teeth of a big cat to really suffocate a large prey species like a young caribou. When they would have a young caribou on the ground biting its throat, the mother caribou would have time to run back and drive the lynx off its calf. With that many lynx making failed attempts to kill young caribou, it didn’t take that long for lots of calves to get infected with nasty bacteria. And thus, they died. Now, the discovery that Canada lynx were causing Arctic hare and caribou populations to drop was a major revelation in population ecology. The biologist who made this discovery was A.T. Bergerud. Bergerud’s discoveries were a major afront to the accepted theory in wildlife management at the time. Before Bergerud, the accepted theory was that of Paul Errington. Errington’s theory is the classical predator-prey relationship. Prey species produce many offspring, usually far more than the habitat can handle, but these prey species are kept in check because they are eaten by the predators. The ones the predators catch are called the “doomed surplus.” Predators play a vital role keeping these prey species at healthy numbers. Because natural predators take the animals that are part of this doomed surplus, natural predators do not make prey species go extinct or make their populations drop precipitously. Bergerud’s theory is quite different from that. It suggest that there are conditions in which predators actually can make a population drop really quickly. I don’t think that it entirely negates the classical wildlife management theory on predator-prey relationships. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and the Canada lynx and snowshoe hare are pretty exceptional species. Not very many predators are so closely linked with a single prey species. It is also rather unusual to find a prey species with such clearly defined cycle to its population dynamics as the snowshoe hare. And Newfoundland is a pretty strange place. It is an island that never had snowshoe hares on it. When prey species are introduced to an environment where they don’t have many predators, they will reproduce at an astounding rate. The doomed surplus doesn’t become doomed, and the population explodes until the ecosystem can handle no more. The small population of Canada lynx had been eking out an existence as a generalist predator until the snowshoe hares appeared like manna from heaven. Yes, it is an unusual situation, but it proves that exceptions exist to every rule. And that’s why predators sometimes need to be managed to protect the prey species. FolkTale: Arctic Hare stories from Voices of the Inuit from the Canadian Museum of Nature Inuit—Stories of Long Ago Oral Tradition: Between the Physical and the Spiritual Worlds https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/stories/020020-3100-e.html According to Inuit tradition, human beings could travel between the physical and spiritual worlds. Humans could also transform into animals and animals could transform into human beings. As well, there were invisible spirits that were capable of changing into any form. Inuit saw the world as having infinite possibilities. The titles of the stories varied from region to region. Even the names of main characters in stories sometimes varied according to different regions of the Arctic. Many legends were for entertainment and amusement, there were also stories that taught lessons to the listeners. According to Inuit tradition, there was nothing but water when the world began. Suddenly, stones and rocks came down from the sky. Land was created! There was only darkness, and humans and animals lived together as one species. The animals and human beings took on each other's forms and shapes. Words were created and, because these words had never been used before, they contained very powerful magic. Whenever anyone used words, strange things would happen. For example, when Tiriganiaq, the fox, met Ukaliq, an Arctic hare, the fox said, "Taaq, taaq, taaq! 'Darkness, darkness, darkness!'" said the fox. It liked the dark when it was going out to steal from the caches of the humans. "Ulluq, ulluq, ulluq! 'Day, day, day!'" said the hare. It wanted the light of day so that it could find a place to feed. And suddenly it became as the hare wished it to be; its words were the most powerful. Day came and replaced night, and when night had gone day came again. And light and dark took turns with each other. -Rasmussen 1931 Many other things, such as the concepts of good and bad, were created by the magical powers of words. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do;jsessionid=49726EB7BBC409F8674F9AE248C20BBF?method=preview&lang=EN&id=14008 Inuit Oral Tradition The stories told here about the Arctic hare originate in the oral tradition of Inuit culture. They were written down -- probably for the first time -- in the 20th century. The Story of 'The Marriage of the Fox and the Hare' "The tale of 'the fox and the hare' tells how a hare married a female fox, promising to provide her with all the prey she needed to eat. Sadly, however, he was unable to live up to his job and, full of shame, told her that they should separate since he was unable to look after her. Full of tears, she left him, mourning the loss of her hare husband". -Randa 1994 The 'Two Rabbits Outsmart an Owl' Story "An Owl saw two Rabbits playing close together, and seized them, one in each foot; but they were too strong for him and ran away. The Owl's wife shouted to him, 'let one of them go, and kill the other!' but he replied, 'The Moon will soon appear, and then we shall be hungry. We need both of them.' The Rabbits ran on; and when they came to a boulder, one ran to the right side, while the other ran to the left side, of it. The Owl was not able to let go quick enough, and was torn in two". -Boas 1901 The Story of 'The Fox and The Rabbit' "Once upon a time a Fox met a Rabbit, and asked him if he had recently caught any seal. The Rabbit became angry on account of this question, and said to the Fox, "Yes, if you just follow my tracks backward, you will find one I have just killed." The Fox went along the Rabbit's tracks, but, instead of finding a seal, he only found the place where the Rabbit had spent the time sleeping in the sun by the side of some rocks. He ran away and whenever he met an animal, he would tell him that the Rabbit was a great liar". -Boas 1901 The Arctic Hare Poem https://www.abctales.com/story/well-wisher/arctic-hare By well-wisher Now where is the hare? Is it here or there? With its coat so white, it keeps out of sight. And if not for that magic coat, it’d be prey to fox or stoat, the Arctic wolf or snowy owl or polar bears out on the prowl. Yet the hare can see what’s unseen; smell willows underground with twitching nose and, with its keen ears, hear the slightest sound. You glimpse a black tipped ear; its eyes, jewels in the snow but then it disappears. Now where did that hare go? News: Vitakraft Sun Seed recalls rabbit and macaw foods The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/vitakraft-sun-seed-recalls-rabbit-and-macaw-foods-062617.html Vitakraft Sun Seed of Weston, Ohio, is recalling certain Sunseed Parrot Fruit & Vegetable diet and Sunseed SunSations Rabbit Food. The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. There have been no report of any illnesses to date. The following products, sold in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are being recalled: ITEM DESCRIPTION LOT Best buy date 87535100597 SS PARROT FRT/VEG. 25# 104082 5/22/2019 87535360564 SS Sunsations Rabbit Food 3.5lb 6/C 104246 6/5/2019 70882077713 MJR PARROT FOOD 4LB 6/CA 103980 5/17/2019 70882077713 MJR PARROT FOOD 4LB 6/CA 103981 5/18/2019 73725732119 ALT Small Animal Apple Slices 1oz 24/CA 103435 4/28/2019 73725732119 ALT Small Animal Apple Slices 1oz 24/CA 103118 4/13/2019 73725749989 NG GUINEA PIG ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 103440 5/1/2019 73725749989 NG GUINEA PIG ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 104434 6/8/2019 73725749989 NG GUINEA PIG ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 103439 5/1/2019 73725750019 NG RABBIT ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 104436 6/8/2019 73725750019 NG RABBIT ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 103442 4/27/2019 73725750019 NG RABBIT ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 103444 4/27/2019 73725750019 NG RABBIT ENTRÉE 4lb 6/C 103443 4/27/2019 82514158955 DFS Premium Blend Macaw 5lb 5/C 104094 3/16/2020 82514158955 DFS Premium Blend Macaw 5lb 5/C 103741 2/19/2020 82514158955 DFS Premium Blend Macaw 5lb 5/C 103876 2/24/2020 What to do Customers who purchased the recalled products may return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact customer service at 1-800-221-6175, Monday through Friday between 8:30am and 5:00pm (EST). Rabbits are hopping all over https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2017/06/28/forget-jackrabbit-bunnytown/cWn12dnTUCjdDUGS76xqXI/story.html Lately, it seems, the city of Boston has been overrun by a collection of entitled youngsters, occupying the trendiest neighborhoods, adhering to strict vegetarian diets, and fornicating at a rate that would make Hugh Hefner blush. Yes, exactly: rabbits. No matter where you look these days, you’re bound to spot these cotton-tailed city dwellers making themselves comfortable in the city’s backyards, pathways, and streets. In recent weeks alone, they’ve been spied hopping near grassy lots in Southie, hiding under cars in Somerville, and strutting past red-brick townhomes in the Back Bay. They can regularly be found canoodling in Cambridge. “It seems like there’s always a bunny around,” says Michelle Kweder, a Harvard Law School employee and Somerville resident who insists she is no longer surprised when she stumbles upon one. Whether there’s been an actual surge in the number of rabbits is difficult to determine; due in part to their short lifespans, keeping tabs on the number of wild rabbits in any region can be nearly impossible. Anecdotally, though, there seems to be a rash of rabbit-human run-ins around town, and one theory is that it’s simply that time of year. The mating season for cottontails stretches from March to September, says Marion Larson, information and education chief for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, and each spring — as residents and homeowners inevitably spend more time outdoors — they’re bound to run into what she calls the “very prolific rabbit.” “It’s a seasonal phenomenon,” says Larson. Still, the rabbit has found itself in the news from time to time. In 2015, for instance, the federal government removed the New England cottontail rabbit from the list of endangered species. And some locals insist that the rabbits occupying their yards are more than temporary guests. “These aren’t just random wanderers,” says John Byrne of Medford, who counted at least five or six rabbits during a recent bus commute to Somerville. “I can’t fairly call them tenants, because they don’t pay rent. But as far as they’re concerned, they’re home.” They’ve become such a fixture during twice-daily walks with his dog, says Al Weisz, a Somerville-based architect and engineer, that he now notices when he doesn’t spot one. “It’s the exception rather than the rule when I don’t see a rabbit,” he says. But while the rabbits’ presence within city limits — and in the various surrounding suburbs — might seem curious, it’s not all that surprising. For one thing, they don’t require much territory, according to Marj Rines, a naturalist with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The two local rabbit species — New England cottontail and Eastern cottontail — can exist in a habitat as small as a half acre, she says, meaning that a single block of Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay would likely provide all the space and vegetation the small creatures would need. For another thing, rabbits have developed something of a reputation for their rate of reproduction. As Larson puts it: “When they say ‘breed like rabbits,’ it’s true.” While some might worry about the bunnies’ penchant for mischief, others insist that concerns about the creatures have been overblown. “In terms of the wildlife that we deal with, they’re relatively benign,” says Amanda Kennedy, director of animal care and control for the city of Boston. “And even the amount of damage they can do in your garden is typically less than what you’ll see for a skunk or squirrel.” Which isn’t to say that they’re completely harmless. “I was startled by one last weekend,” says Byrne. “I was doing some work in the yard, and there was a rabbit just sort of sitting on a dirt patch, kind of just blended right into the ground. I didn’t know it was there, and [then] he moved, and I just kind of recoiled a bit.” Indeed, like squirrels before them, rabbits seem to be growing quite comfortable in the city’s streets. “What’s surprising is how close me and my dog can get to it,” says Kweder. “This morning, the rabbit looked a little bit nervous, but also totally held her ground.” For the most part, though, it has been a fairly peaceful cohabitation. And despite their less-than-stellar reputations with gardens, the rabbits hordes have been kind enough to leave the city’s most prominent one unscathed. “They’ve been all over Twitter, I’ve seen people posting pictures — but not us, unfortunately” says Susan Abell, director of communications and outreach for the Friends of the Public Garden. “Or maybe,” she added, “fortunately.” The urban rabbit is the unofficial mascot of Chicago https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/urban-rabbits-bunnies/BestOf?oid=27092070 Three years ago my wife and I rented an old bungalow in Avondale, and when we moved in, we discovered the street was lousy with rabbits—the eastern cottontail, to be exact, one of the most common species in the U.S. On one side of our house lay a weedy area that the rabbits used for cover, and on the other side stood a grassy open plot that they treated as their personal country club. When I came home at night, there would always be one in our front yard, giving me the hard stare, twitching its nose if I spoke, and hopping away if I made a move askance. I remember some epic stare downs with those guys, and they always won. After a while we came to think of the rabbits as our friends and neighbors, and we looked forward to seeing them when they came out to forage at dusk. Periodically we'd sit down for ceremonial viewings of the misbegotten 1972 horror movie Night of the Lepus, set in an Arizona town that's been overrun by rabbits after the townspeople have gotten rid of its coyote population. Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh are scientists who inject rabbits with a hormonal formula to stunt their breeding, and after one of the rabbits gets loose, authorities begin to find mutilated bodies of livestock and people. Eventually the scientists discover that their serum has created a mutant species of marauding bunnies the size of bears. Cheapo special-effects shots show live rabbits loping around miniature sets, though an actor in a rabbit suit fills in for the attack scenes. Chicago rabbits may not be quite as big, but their numbers have risen dramatically since the 1990s, when Mayor Daley's various greening projects began to invite more woodland creatures into an urban environment. Drawn by the elevated heat level of the city, rabbits began spreading from parks into grassy areas like expressway ramps, and even made their way into the Loop. They eat any kind of vegetation, laying waste to people's gardens. When there's no greenery available, they'll chew the bark off a tree trunk. Similar greening projects have brought population explosions in other cities. As a graduate student at University of Frankfurt and a doctoral candidate at Goethe University, ecologist Madlen Ziege has made comparative studies of rural and urban rabbits and finds that city rabbits are a lot like us. Out in the country, rabbits live communally in large, sprawling burrows, with multiple exits that offer escape from predators; as they move into the city, where predators are less common, their burrows become smaller, simpler, more private, and more uniformly spaced. Ziege has also discovered that urban rabbits establish communal latrines that they use to demarcate their territory from that of rival bunny gangs. During the winter I'd come home after dark, find rabbits sitting in our snowy front yard, and marvel at what tough bastards they were. But according to Mason Fidino of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo, 70 percent of Chicago's rabbits die every winter. The population keeps growing only because they breed like crazy: with a gestation period of four weeks, females typically deliver 16 to 20 offspring a year. Apparently rabbits do nothing but eat, mate, defend their turf, cause property damage, and die. So, you know— typical Chicagoans. Skype, Facetime, or Rabbit?: What’s The Best Way To Remotely Binge with Your Pals? http://decider.com/2017/06/28/skype-facetime-rabbit-the-best-way-to-remotely-binge/ Rabbit: The Perfect Place to Co-Watch YouTube Videos There is actually a company that has realized people want to watch content together from across the web, and they’ve kind of figured it out. Rabbit is essentially a free screen sharing site. Each user has a chat room, which is where you can watch anything from Hulu to YouTube by logging onto your account through a webpage on the site. From there, you can invite up to 25 of your friends to your chat room. I tested rabbit with my best friend and her husband, and the two biggest issues I found with the service had to do with quality and privacy. The video quality of Rabbit is not good by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a choppier version of whatever video you’ve already found (I later found out that Rabbit has a high definition option that I was not using). Also, the way it interacts with paid services that already have your credit card information, like Netflix and Hulu, gives me pause. Since you have to re-enter your paid account information into Rabbit’s site, it’s unclear if the service has any additional privacy measures in place to protect that info. Even reading through Rabbit’s privacy policy didn’t remedy my concerns, and I’m not the only one who has been suspicious of the site. However, if the site’s privacy policy doesn’t concern you, Rabbit only requires one user to have an account. All of the other options on this list are contingent on both users having a Netflix or Hulu account. That being said, Rabbit features text chat and audio chat while letting you successfully watch TV with 25 of your closest friends. No other option does that while perfectly syncing the video with all users. In my test trial, we found that the service works well for a branch of content that’s short, accessible to everyone, and is already all over the place quality-wise — YouTube videos. You’d be hard pressed to find a better service that lets you dive into the oddities of YouTube together. UPDATE: After speaking to a representative from Rabbit, it seems as though there is a way to switch the streaming quality of the service. For this article, I was unknowingly streaming YouTube videos in Rabbit’s lowest quality setting, but there is a high definition option available in the bottom toolbar. The same spokesperson also clarified Rabbit’s privacy policy. According to this representative, the site scrubs its service after users watch videos. Because of this, the site cannot see users’ private information. Basically, if you use Rabbit to log into Netflix, Rabbit will not be able to see the information you enter. Knowing this information, it now seems as though Rabbit is the ideal site for streaming with your friends. Clevedon hospital rabbit goes missing http://www.northsomersettimes.co.uk/news/clevedon-hospital-rabbit-goes-missing-1-5081595 Bigwig lived in the garden outside The Little Teapot café at the North Somerset Community Hospital in Old Street. The rabbit, named after a character in Waterhship Down, is believed to have been taken from the hospital in early June. Matt Croughan, clinical lead at the minor injury unit, said: “This is a hare-raising story of a kidnap and we are hoping Bigwig will hop back to us soon. “But joking aside, we would really like whoever removed Bigwig to return him. “He was a great addition to our beautiful garden, which is tended by volunteers, and it seems a shame someone has chosen to deprive the hospital of our Bigwig.” The hospital’s inpatients unit is currently closed to undergo a refurbishment, and is expected to reopen in September. Vancouver City Council weighs limits on rabbits, hens, cats City may put cap on pets per household http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/jun/27/vancouver-city-council-weighs-limits-on-rabbits-hens-cats/ Residents of Vancouver may soon be limited in how many cats, hens or rabbits they can keep on their property. On Monday, Vancouver City Council voted to advance an ordinance that would prohibit residents from keeping more than five adult cats, five adult hens or five adults rabbits on their property. Residential properties larger than 10,000 square feet would be allowed an additional hen or rabbit for each 1,000 square feet, under the ordinance. According to a staff report, the city’s current code limits the number of adult dogs allowed on private residences to three and prohibits roosters and peacocks. The ordinance, which has been in the works since earlier this year and will be heard and voted on July 10, is intended to discourage hoarding while also addressing noise, odor and property destruction concerns. The council was provided with two different versions of the ordinance and opted for one that allows residents to have up to 10 adults cats if they are participating in a foster program run by a nonprofit. During the meeting, the council heard from Sherry Mowatt, a resident of the Hough neighborhood, who said that she has a flock of a dozen hens. She said she cares for them responsibly and expressed concern about the ordinance. Bryan Snodgrass, principal planner in the city’s Community and Economic Development Department, explained that people like Mowatt would effectively be grand- fathered in. But Councilor Alishia Topper expressed reservations about the ordinance, specifically how the number of animals the measure allows for was chosen “randomly,” and how it could adversely affect responsible animal owners. “It’s like we are penalizing the people who are being good because of the people who are behaving poorly,” she said. Topper suggested creating some sort of permit for people to own more animals. Councilor Ty Stober said that the ordinance was crafted partially in response to a resident who was raising in a “suspect fashion” rabbits and chickens on their property. “We are a city,” he said. “We are not unincorporated Clark County.” From donut sandwiches to rabbit sausage, these are the weirdest foods in Lawrence http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/from-donut-sandwiches-to-rabbit-sausage-these-are-the-weirdest/article_a0627cc2-583b-11e7-9f00-9f2a7a6f7b78.html Lawrence is a place that lends itself to weird and unusual pieces of Midwestern culture. A massive part of that, undoubtedly, is the food throughout town. Foods from almost any place in the world, or from any culture, can find a niché in Lawrence. The Kansan found some of the most unique dishes in the Lawrence community and learned the stories behind them. Harold’s Chicken, Whiskey and Donuts, located at 918 Massachusetts Street, serves a Grilled Do-nut Burger and a Grilled Glazer Sandwich, both served on glazed donuts. Harold’s was created for lovers of chicken, whiskey, and donuts. So it’s no surprise that one of the restaurant's weirdest and most popular food items includes two other menu options. The Grilled Glazer Sandwich is made up of a piece of fried chicken, cheddar cheese, Harold’s secret sauce and, to top it off, it all goes in between two glazed donuts. Harold’s also has a Double Do-nut Burger which has two hamburger patties, cheddar cheese, Harold’s secret sauce and it’s placed between two glazed donuts. Katie Chamberlin, assistant manager at Harold’s, said that these two items are some of their top sellers. She said the taste of the burger patty and do-nut bun is a good combination of sweet and salty. “People are surprised,” Chamberlin said. “They would never ordinarily order something like that, but almost everyone loves it.” Customers also receive a side with their sandwich or burger, including fries, mac and cheese, or mashed potatoes and gravy. Luckily for customers, these menu items are around all year long. Hank's Rabbit Sausage and Toast Hank’s Charcuterie has been and Lawrence for three years. Its seasonal menu items might catch customers' eye of people dining in, especially an item on its current menu: rabbit sausage and bone marrow toast. Jamie Everett, chef de cuisine at Hank’s, said that the idea to place the item on the menu occurred after the restaurant served it at an event and the response from people was really good. Everett said that the dish includes bread from 1900 Barker Bakery, wooly rind cheese, spicy spring greens mustard vinaigrette, rabbit jus, and rabbit sausage. “We get in local rabbits, break it down, and grind it up with a little bit of pork fat, roasted garlic and herbs, slice it real thin and sear it off in a pan,” he said. Everett said that the rabbit sausage has a very mild flavor and that a lot of people say it tastes like chicken. As for the bone marrow, Everett said that they roast meat bones off and save the marrow and put it on top of the dish, which adds a savory flavor. “Everybody loves it,” Everett said. “We sell quite a few and there is nothing super game-y in it.” One of Wake the Dead's interesting cocktails. Contributed Photo/Wake The Dead Wake the Dead's Death Star Sandwich and bizarre cocktails Wake the Dead likes to follow the motto "coffee until cocktails." Dante Colombo, manager of Wake the Dead, said that they want people to have coffee until they are ready for something stronger. But Wake the Dead doesn’t just serve drinks, they also serve breakfast for dinner, including the Death Star Sandwich. The Death Star Sandwich is an egg sandwich with a twist. It includes egg, fontina cheese, a choice of ham or bacon, lettuce, tomato, and the chef’s special sauce. The whole thing is placed between a un-glazed do-nut. Deanna Vierling, an employee at Wake the Dead, said that the sandwich is really popular among customers. “I have had a few people tell me they get it every time they come in, but a lot of people are like oh I have to try it,” she said. As for unique drinks, Wake the Dead also has Cereal Killer Cocktails, with flavors including fruit loops, frosted flakes, and cinnamon toast crunch. Vierling said that the cinnamon toast crunch cocktail is the most popular and that it tastes a lot like the leftover milk from the cereal. “I have had people order them and they will drink one and say, ‘This is really good, it’s really sweet so I’m not going to stick with it but I’m really happy I tried it,’” she said. Colombo said a lot of their menu items are based off of the concept of doing something fun that Lawrence hasn’t seen before. “We are one of Lawrence’s only downtown do-nut shops, but we wanted to focus a large part of our food menu on donuts,” he said. Colombo said that it’s a fun place and fun idea. “We wanted something that was Instagram-able and kind of fun so we wanted to play off the bar vibe and keep the energy rolling,” he said. "Is The Order a Rabbit?" Hops Into Japanese Theaters in November Limited theatrical release was originally scheduled for Spring of 2017 http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/06/25/is-the-order-a-rabbit-hops-into-japanese-theaters-in-november The Rabbit House cafe is back in business, because the Is The Order a Rabbit? ~Dear My Sister~ special episode once again has an official theatrical release date for a limited run at 40 movie theaters in Japan beginning on November 11, 2017. The special was originally scheduled to debut in Spring of 2017, but the release was delayed due to unspecified "production circumstances". The main staff for the special episode includes: Director: Hiroyuki Hashimoto Original work, screenplay: Koi, Hiroyuki Hashimoto Character design: Yousuke Okuda Music: Ruka Kawada Animation production: production doA Additionally, it was also announced that the official theme song CD for Is The Order a Rabbit? ~Dear My Sister~ will be released on November 11, 2017, and that a new character song CD will be released in October of 2017. The original Is the Order a Rabbit? manga by Koi is serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max seinen manga magazine. The previous two seasons of Is the Order a Rabbit? are directed by Hiroyuki Hashimoto and feature animation by White Fox and Kinema Citrus. Crunchyroll describes the series as follows: Kokoa arrives in a new town in spring to start high school. She gets lost and pops into a coffee shop called "Rabbit House", which turns out to be where she will live. All the characters are so cute - tiny but cool Chino, soldierly Lize, gentle and Japanese Chiyo, sophisticated but down-to-earth Sharo. They are joined by Chino's class mates Maya and Megu, and a regular at the shop, Mr. Blue-Mountain Aoyama. Everything is so cute every day at Rabbit House! Warrior rabbit is a winner for Kieran http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/entertainment/warrior-rabbit-is-a-winner-for-kieran-315553.aspx A ONE-EARED rabbit has won Island author Kieran Larwood the Blue Peter Book Award. The book, Podkin One-Ear, has also been named Waterstones’ Book of the Month. The adventure tale, inspired by The Hobbit, is the legendary tale of Podkin, ‘a fearsome warrior rabbit whose reputation for cunning and triumph in battle has traveled the ages’. Kieran is an early years leader at Wroxall Primary School. He won The Times children’s fiction competition in 2011 with his debut novel, Freaks. The Blue Peter Book Award celebrates children’s books published in the past year in two categories — the best story and the best book with facts. Around 400 children were sent a copy of the short list, asked to read them and select their favourite. Kieran said: “It was quite special to win something judged by a young audience. It really was amazing — I was thrilled because I didn’t expect to win.” Podkin One-Ear is the first in a trilogy, with the second book due out in September. Kieran has been signing books at Waterstones across the country and will be signing an exclusive edition copy, with a special cover, tomorrow (Saturday) from 2pm to 4pm at Waterstones, Newport. Bunny Park revamp to enter next stage http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1547987/bunny-park-revamp-enter-next-stage/ The estimated cost of Phase 1 was R3.7 million. Phase 1 of the Bunny Park’s revamp will be concluded at the end of June, reports the Benoni City Times. According to Themba Gadebe, Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson, the second phase will commence on July 1 and last until the end of June next year. The facility will remain closed to the public until at least the end of Phase Two. “About R8 million has been set aside for the second phase of revamping of the park,” Gadebe said. “This will include the upgrading of the gazebos, installation of playground equipment, upgrade of the bunny shelters and installation of new park furniture. “Work in the park during the second phase will also include construction of mini-bridges, a new pump house, fencing around the animal shelters and the addition of gabions.” The estimated cost of Phase One was R3.7 million. It was focused on dredging two of the park’s three dams and connecting them through canals, to ensure the water doesn’t become stagnant. Gadebe said after the construction period, vegetation will be planted and allowed to grow before any animals are brought back to the park. The material dredged from the dams will be used as a natural fertilizer for the vegetation. The cows, sheep, goats, some birds and one pig were moved to temporary foster homes by mid-May, where they will remain for the duration of the revamp. Local breeder's rabbits win best in show thanks to tender, loving care http://www.swvatoday.com/news/article_f474e21b-50a6-593d-9429-f8745d72a175.html ABINGDON, Va. — Nina Cipriani has had hare-raising experiences ever since she was a child. Known in the community as the “rabbit lady,” the Abingdon woman learned a lot about rabbits when she was growing up in town. Her first pet rabbit was Butterscotch, a New Zealand Red. “I’ve always had at least one rabbit since then,” she said. Now, her Abingdon farm, Rattle Creek Rabbitry, is home to 45 of the cute and fluffy animals, most of which are Rhinelander and Jersey Wooly show rabbits. Each year, Cipriani is a judge of rabbits entered in the agricultural show at the Washington County Fair in Abingdon. She also speaks to students about raising rabbits at local 4-H meetings during the school year. Cipriani’s granddaughter, Hattie Galbreath, is carrying on the family tradition. The grandchild recently received Best in Show in the youth category at a competition where she showed a retired Jersey Wooly, a calm and good beginner rabbit for children. “Now, she has two rabbits of her own. It’s a good start for her,” said Cipriani. Throughout her life, Cipriani has gone different directions with rabbits. She raises them for their wool. Cipriani collects wool from her Angora rabbits by clipping or brushing them every three months. She has spun yarn from the rabbit wool and plans to make something from the yarn. She raises rabbits for their meat. “It’s one of the healthiest meats you can eat. The majority of my New Zealand white rabbits are sold to people to produce a healthy meat source for their families,” she said. But raising pet and show rabbits has got to be a favorite hobby for her. The couple spends at least an hour each day feeding and watering the rabbits, two hours each week grooming and one day every two weeks focusing on cleaning and maintenance. Cipriani and Charlie Sutherland, a friend in Blacksburg, Virginia, discussed how there were no rabbit shows in the area. Within six months, the friends developed the Southwest Virginia Rabbit Association (SWVARA), an incorporated chapter with the American Rabbit Breeders Association. Their first show was held a year ago in a small metal building in Christiansburg, but since then the shows have been moved to a spacious livestock arena at Virginia Tech. Cipriani said anyone interested in learning more about rabbits can visit the upcoming SWVARA show on Nov. 11 at the livestock arena in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Over summer, Madeline Cooper noticed a huge build up on spiders on the two bridges that cross Lake Burley Griffin. It prompted her to ask: Is there something about the bridges that make them good spider homes? Tom Storey, an intern from the University of Canberra, accepted the challenge and met Madeline on the Commonwealth Avenue bridge with terrestrial invertebrate expert Dave Rowell. Photo: Mike Leonard on Flickr

How is offense like a housecat?  We begin by having Jerry York give us a great analogy to recap a great weekend of hockey here in Boston.  The top four teams in Hockey East made it to the TD Garden for the HEA semifinals and final.  Hockey fans saw an awful lot this weekend.First, you had Notre Dame's final game as a member of Hockey East.  The Fighting Irish are off to the Big Ten after the NCAA Tournament.  Their coach Jeff Jackson explained during a press conference that, while Hockey East had been welcoming to the folks from South Bend, it was never truly home.  Perhaps it just felt that way after UMass-Lowell trounced Notre Dame in their semifinal matchup.Friday night's second game was the always-heated Commonwealth Avenue rivalry, which now has a loud new chapter to their archive.  A controversial finish nearly overshadowed an unforgettable third period.  Hear what one of the central players involved in the ending controversy had to say about that fated final faceoff.It all culminated in Saturday night's final, the fifth in a row for Lowell.  Once in the middle of Hockey East, the University of Massachusetts campus has vaulted itself to a national powerhouse.  We'll be back on Friday to discuss the River Hawks' chances, and everybody else's, in the NCAA Tournament.

How is offense like a housecat?  We begin by having Jerry York give us a great analogy to recap a great weekend of hockey here in Boston.  The top four teams in Hockey East made it to the TD Garden for the HEA semifinals and final.  Hockey fans saw an awful lot this weekend. First, you had Notre Dame's final game as a member of Hockey East.  The Fighting Irish are off to the Big Ten after the NCAA Tournament.  Their coach Jeff Jackson explained during a press conference that, while Hockey East had been welcoming to the folks from South Bend, it was never truly home.  Perhaps it just felt that way after UMass-Lowell trounced Notre Dame in their semifinal matchup. Friday night's second game was the always-heated Commonwealth Avenue rivalry, which now has a loud new chapter to their archive.  A controversial finish nearly overshadowed an unforgettable third period.  Hear what one of the central players involved in the ending controversy had to say about that fated final faceoff. It all culminated in Saturday night's final, the fifth in a row for Lowell.  Once in the middle of Hockey East, the University of Massachusetts campus has vaulted itself to a national powerhouse.  We'll be back on Friday to discuss the River Hawks' chances, and everybody else's, in the NCAA Tournament.

Summary of today's show: In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings, Scot Landry and Fr. O'Connor were joined by Fr. Roger Landry to talk about evil and our response to evil; WQOM station manager Chris Kelley, who lost a cousin in the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988; and Joe D'Arrigo, an Archdiocese of Boston who was running the Marathon with his four daughters and was just down the street when the bombs exploded. There are no easy answers and many platitudes, but everyone on the show agreed that the best of human nature is exposed in the face of enormous evil; that the Lord grieves with us; and that our best response is to pray and to return love when shown hatred. Listen to the show: Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, Joe D'Arrigo, Chris Kelley Links from today's show: Today's topics: Responding to the Boston Marathon Bombings 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and acknowledging the bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday, we'll be devoting today's show to the events. Fr. Chris O'Connor read a prayer from the Mass in Times of War and Civil Disturbance. Scot said over the past 24 hours he's seen how the entire country and entire world is praying with us. Fr. Chris said there's a strong desire for justice, calling out to God for justice. Second, we should pray for everyone involved and ask for God's consolation and peace. We have returned to Good Friday, but we know there will always be an Easter. We're united in fighting this evil and figuring out who perpetrated it. Fr. Chris noted in today's Mass readings that it records the stoning of St. Stephen and we are reminded that we haven't progressed very far. God doesn't cause this. We also realize that only bring about the healing and opportunity for new life. Suffering reminds us as human beings that we are never complete without Christ. Scot said Fr. Matt Williams led a holy hour at the Pastoral Center. He said this is a time when we turn first to God. He welcomed WQOM station manager Chris Kelley, who said he experienced the loss of his cousin in the terrorist attack on the Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in the 1980s. He said there's a lot of confusion, fear, and not knowing where to turn. You're trying to come to grips what's happening. At the same time, there are already people reaching out with prayers and support. We are united in prayer with the whole country, but this is the cross. It doesn't get any more real than this. Scot said the image that stuck with him today was 8-year-old Martin Richard in his First Communion outfit in a picture that's been going around and now the boy lost his life and his sister and mother are gravely injured. Fr. Roger Landry said there's a certain powerlessness in human responses to this. There are no human words to adequately console. Our first Christian response is to fall to our knees. He said there was an outstanding contrast yesterday between good and evil, the response of goodness to evil. Fr. Roger said he thinks about how most of those injured or killed were spectators but in the marathon against evil there are no spectators. He thought back to the idea of Patriots Day which marks April 19, 1775 and the battle of Lexington Green. He recalled the poem which said it was the “shot heard round the world.” We have heard the bombs around the world and we all have to take up the weapons of prayer and work as hard as those who work in Homeland Security work to get at the root of all that. Today is the Feast of St. Bernadette, the patroness of Fr. Roger's parish, and he said she exemplified courage in the face of adversity. Mary promised her that she wouldn't necessarily be happy in this life but would be happy in the next. Scot recalled the column by Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy who noted that of all days in the calendar, Patriots Day is unique to Boston and we may never be the same day. Fr. Chris cautioned that we need to temper our desire for vengeance and turn it to a desire for justice. Fr. Chris said if we wonder what we can do, we can look at ourselves and see how we can become less angry and become a peacemaker. This isn't pollyannaish because we still want justice. If there was ever a case to show us that Satan still exists, yesterday was it. Scot noted the other of the 3 deceased victims was Krystle Campbell, 29, of Arlington, this afternoon. Scot said one of our colleagues, Joe D'Arrigo ran the Marathon with his four daughters. 2nd segment: Scot said Joe is executive director of the Clergy Funds and said he was following his times running the Marathon. Joe was running the Marathon because he recently turned 70 and he decided he wanted to run the Marathon. For the last 37 years, his family has attended and at least one member of the family has run for the past 20 years. So he said for his birthday he wanted to run the Marathon with all his girls. Joe said at 25.9 miles, a police officer stopped them from running, around Mass. Ave. They heard sirens and police radios were crackling. A police officer told them that there were two incidents at the finish line. It was total confusion and they knew it was bad. Joe said his girls' thoughts turned to their friends who were ahead of them and there was crying and anxiety. Cell service was down and they couldn't call anyone, but they were able to find out their friends were okay through social media and text messages. From that point, they tried to figure out how to get home. They started walking toward a friend's house over by Commonwealth Avenue. On the way, they saw the true humanity of people. They walked down Marlboro Street and were freezing. A woman walking with a baby took a blanket off a carriage and gave it one of her daughters. People were coming out of houses with big trash bags so runners could cover themselves. They rerouted to the Boston Common and BAA volunteers were running down the street to hand out emergency blankets to runners. there were about 10,000 people all streaming to the Common. All the streets were shut down, the hotels were shut down. He said it was chaotic because so many people were from out of town and didn't know where to go. First responders and the volunteers of the BAA did a wonderful job, he said. Joe said Mary Hanlon, the nurse who takes care of our senior priests, was present at the finish line yesterday and witnessed the horrific pain in that area. She's taking some time off. Joe will spend this afternoon with his daughters. 3rd segment: Scot said Joe expressed the kindness and love of the people of Boston. Fr. Roger said when we see terrible evil we are jarred back to where we should be. We should be that way all the time, but we get distracted. Scot said Joe and his daughters runs in memory of his wife who died from cancer. Fr. Chris said he believes she was watching over them yesterday. He added that the bombs will not define Boston, but the response will where we saw literally the corporal works of mercy. Chris said people will experience a lot of guilt for having just missed being involved. Why them and not me? But by definition you can't make sense of this senseless act. You just have to give gratitude for what you have. You take account and you begin to appreciate it even more. He encouraged anyone listening who is struggling to seek out someone to talk to. He said those who've been through previous attacks are often ready to reach out to those who are suffering now. Fr. Chris asked how Scot is talking to the kids about this. He said he hasn't been letting his kids see the news and they've been hearing Scot and his wife talking so they asked what is going on. He explained that an evil person did something bad in Boston and they should pray for those who were hurt by him. You can discuss it without detail and let them know that they're safe and they're not going to be in danger. 4th segment: Scot said some people will ask how God can allow something like yesterday happen. Fr. Roger said God never wants evil to happen in the world. When a modern Cain kills his brother, God grieves. We can't imagine what it's like to lose one child like three families did yesterday. God lost three children. The only way to stop what happened yesterday was for God to eliminate human freedom. The risk of allowing love is that we can use free will to hate. Jesus changed even our suffering into opportunities for goodness. He noted that God's direct will is that every single one of us become a saint in heaven, but he permits things as a result of our freedom in order to prevent a greater evil. This is God's permissive will. God will bring good out of this evil. Fr. Chris said the most important thing we can do is pray for peace, in our world and in our city. Pray for the families too and unite whatever suffering we're going through to that of Christ's. And do little acts of penance and offer them up for these victims. Scot asked Chris when his family lost his cousin to a terrorist attack what did people do that helped the most. Chris said prayer was the key and that prayer has affected him throughout his life. Beyond that, people can cook meals and other things, but the bet thing to do is to love better. Also pray to the Blessed Mother, who knows what it's like to go through the agony of the cross. Fr. Roger said our best response is to pray, especially the Mass. As a society we need to form hearts to be good through prayer at home, especially the rosary. Scot read the message that Pope Francis asked to be sent to Cardinal Seán through Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone: Deeply grieved by news of the loss of life and grave injuries caused by the act of violence perpetrated last evening in Boston, His Holiness Pope Francis wishes me to assure you of his sympathy and closeness in prayer. In the aftermath of this senseless tragedy, His Holiness invokes God's peace upon the dead, his consolation upon the suffering and his strength upon all those engaged in the continuing work of relief and response. At this time of mourning the Holy Father prays that all Bostonians will be united in a resolve not to be overcome by evil, but to combat evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), working together to build an ever more just, free and secure society for generations yet to come. Scot, Fr. Roger, Fr. Chris, and Chris gave their final thoughts. Fr. Roger said there are no easy answers. Scot said he's convinced there are people listening today who are listening for the first time, maybe because they're tried of watching the rest of the media. If they are angry with God, he encouraged them to cry out to God and demand He answer them.

Welcome to a very special Christmas episode of 4 Feet Running, episode 23! This week:- Nice: Nik and Dan and their dogs go for a 3-mile slog down the slushy median of Commonwealth Avenue in Boston- Naughty: Dan doesn't do so well at it- Nice: Nik discusses her plans to do not one but possibly three marathons in 2008- Nice: She also is planning to run various and sundry other races and do an icy New Year's Day ocean plunge- Naughty: Speaking of things that are cold, Dan is super-grumpy because of bladder issues, traffic, and a startling lack of holiday cheer- Very naughty: He restores it by trying to peek at his Christmas presents- Very nice: They read some e-mails and mention some fans' blogs(12.24.07)