Podcasts about Cypress Hills

All Local Morning 9-22-24

Following Hamas' October 7 massacre of Israelis, antisemitism has infiltrated nearly every part of society – including the world of sports. At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Israeli athletes faced death threats and “Heil Hitler” salutes.  U.S. Paralympian Tahl Leibovitz, an Israeli-American, knows this hatred firsthand, having been targeted both on and off the court simply for being Jewish. Together with fellow Paralympian Ian Seidenfeld, the Para Table Tennis champions reflect on how they've seen sports serve as a powerful unifying force, despite the challenges. ___ Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus:  Season 2 out now exploring the untold stories of Jews from Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, and more. People of the Pod:  The DNC with AJC: What You Need to Know about the Democratic Party's Israel Platform Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. __ Transcript of Interview with Ian Seidenfeld and Tahl Leibovitz: Manya Brachear Pashman:   It is always a joy to watch the Olympic Games with my children. I must confess, not until I had children, did I watch the Paralympics. If you want to see strength, grit, and resilience on a heroic level, behold British cyclist Sarah Story claim her 18th gold. My son's favorite sports are wheelchair tennis and table tennis.  So he was particularly excited when I told him that I had the opportunity to sit down with two proud Jewish athletes who competed in this year's Paralympic games in Paris. Twenty-three year old Ian Seidenfeld and 49-year-old Tahl Leibovitz are members of the USA 2024 Para Table Tennis team. They are here to talk about their approach to the sport and what it means to be a Jewish athlete. Ian, Tahl: welcome to People of the Pod.  Ian Seidenfeld: Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Tahl Leibovitz:   It is really good to be here. I'm very excited about this. Manya Brachear Pashman: So what drew you to this sport, to table tennis? Ian, how about you start us off? Ian Seidenfeld: Yeah, I don't know if I was ever interested in table tennis, but my dad was the table tennis coach, runs the table tennis in Minnesota with the Minnesota Table Tennis Federation, so it was always kind of just a part of life in that when I was four or five years old I'd want to go with my dad to work and kind of be around him and play. And it just happened to be table tennis that he was coaching. So I didn't even know what was going on, but it was something that I enjoyed to do to kind of hang out with my dad a little bit. Tahl Leibovitz:   I was in the South Beach Boys and Girls Club that was kind of in Queens, South Richmond Hill. And I had a lot of different things. I was doing martial arts there, which I really liked a lot. And my trainer was saying, if you do table tennis it can help you with your reflexes. You're gonna be faster. And I started doing table tennis, and I kind of got drawn into it, and I really like the challenge of it. It's very similar to chess – it's like chess and running at the same time. I do a lot of jiu-jitsu now, it's similar to that. You're trying to solve things. So it's very interesting. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Tahl, you were born with a physical disability that makes it difficult to kind of move on your feet and to straighten your arms or flex your wrists. So I'm curious how you've balanced that. How have you overcome that? Tahl Leibovitz:   Another good question, and most people don't even ask that, and that's probably somebody that had been playing table tennis probably for like, 10 or 20 years would kind of notice I have osteochondromas, so I have limited supination and pronation. You can't really see if I'm walking, can't see any disability, but I have bone tumors all over my body. They're benign, so it restricts movement. So to answer that, I had to find a way to adapt.  So when I hold the racket, I change the grip a lot. And I would say the two things that I never thought I would become this great player. You know, you never really know. But when I was watching the best athletes in the country in the world, I started competing against them eventually. And I started trying to think, ‘Okay, what, you know, what would be difficult? How could I make their match difficult?' Not trying to beat them, but how can I make these matches very difficult for them?  I started doing that a lot, and then I built the style. And then, of course, you know, really believing that you can compete against anyone. I say those two things, and then I don't know, I started, I don't know what happened after. It took about eight years, and I just started doing really well, both in the able-bodied and the para competition. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Ian, can you talk a little bit about the preparation and training process for the Paralympics and other competitions as well? Ian Seidenfeld: Table tennis training, a lot of it happens on the table, as you might imagine. So we're on the table for two to three hour practice sessions. And then what I try and do outside of table tennis is, for me, cardio on the bike. I live near a lake, Lake Bde Maka Ska in Minnesota, and so it's a very beautiful lake to ride around and get that kind of cardio in, two to three days a week, and then playing on the table three to four days a week for myself. A lot of it is that hand-eye coordination is the biggest part, being able to react to the ball movement much quicker than others, I think is a defining factor, along with being able to understand spin. That's maybe the biggest difference in table tennis compared to other racquet sports, is the amount of spin we can get on the ball. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Do you have a signature move or kind of signature maneuver that you use to best your opponents? Ian Seidenfeld: I think my best thing is variation. Because of my disability of dwarfism, I have shorter limbs, so I can't reach or move as far as others. So I try and control the table with angle of play as well as spin and speed variation. So it's a very, we'll call it a thinker's game, trying to outsmart the opponent some ways and keep things very uncomfortable for them. That's kind of what I try and do to my opponents. Manya Brachear Pashman:   That's great, keep them guessing as to what's coming their way. I love that. Well what have been some of your challenges? In other words, are there particular strategies or moves that other players use that you have really tried to get better at confronting? Ian Seidenfeld: Yeah, there's a lot of different things. As I said, with my disability, with dwarfism, a short stature and shorter limbs, I have had people use a short serve against me, so that I can't reach the serve to start off the point. And we've kind of fought over the last five or six years for me to be able to use a paddle extension, which will basically allow me to reach the first serve and then take the extension off and play like a normal point afterwards. So that's, for me, kind of a big difference. The other big difference for my disability would be I can't play as long because my joints are very malformed, so I have higher levels of inflammation sooner. So I kind of practice less than most people. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So it seems like that would be something that they would regulate or accommodate. I'm kind of surprised that they would even allow a short serve in that kind of circumstance. Ian Seidenfeld: From how my dad described the Paralympics to me when he was playing in 1988 in Barcelona, he had won a gold medal there. At the time, it was probably more about building community and acceptance among disabilities. Just because we have a disability, we're not necessarily accepting of other disabilities.  And so in those instances, you can see, back then it was, you were kind of learning to be around other people and accept their differences. I think now we've gotten to the point where a lot of it is about this higher level of competition, and so that competitive aspect has changed things a lot more. So maybe the short serves and things, tactics that might be considered underhanded are a little bit more accepted than I'd like it to be. But who am I to argue? I'm happy to just to be able to play. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You mentioned your father, Ian. He was a champion in the 1980s. He is now the coach of the U.S.A. Paralympic team. What other mentors or support systems have both of you had along the way?  Ian Seidenfeld: Yeah, I think family is the biggest crutch for all of us. I know for my teammate, Jensen, he's the same age as me, and so he has a very good support system with his parents and his brother. And myself, with my parents and my sister, I think we were able to confide in them very honestly and speak candidly about everything that we're feeling.  I recently had been talking to an energy coach as well, someone to kind of give better levels of positive energy, being able to stay more present in the moment and not get ahead of myself, and I tend to guide towards the negative aspects of things, getting upset or getting annoyed or frustrated. And so I'm trying my best to get out of that.  And so I have been talking to someone to kind of help with staying positive in tougher times. So it's really about being able to be honest with yourself and with other people, and not afraid to reach out. Because, as an athlete that's competing in Paris, a lot of people want to help and do their best for you, and so you just have to be able to communicate in a mature way. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And what about you Tahl – what does your support system look like?  Tahl Leibovitz:   Yeah, you know, that's probably one of the most important things, is when you connect to people that are, you know, trying to help you along the way. Of course, my coach Sean O'Neill has been a very good mentor. He's a two-time Olympian, five-time national champion. He's helped me greatly, helped me study for, you know, when I was doing my social work exams. We also have a lot of great coaches. Mitch Seidenfeld is our head coach. We have Vlad Farcas. He's amazing. He's, you know, a really good friend and somebody that runs the program as well. But I would say, yeah, those three individuals, and there's another person, Dr. Dov Copler, who's practicing medicine. He's helped me a lot as well. Of course, my wife, I've been married for more than 20 years, she's unbelievable, and we're, you know, best friends, and she's helped me, you know, without her, I probably couldn't make these achievements not be possible. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I'm curious, has your Jewish identity played a role in your athletic success, your academics or your professional careers? Ian Seidenfeld: Yeah, my Jewish identity. So I'm a reform Jew, but I think it's a lot about the community and family that I have that's really important to me, and I've been able to look up to them and what they've done in their careers and their lives, and how they kind of view life in a lot of ways, to just enjoy it, enjoy family. And so I think I've taken a lot of that as being very important to me, being able to try and pursue both career and being consistent with my family. Tahl Leibovitz:   I was born in Israel. You know, I was born in Haifa. Obviously, I'm very connected to Israel. And I went to a thing called the Maccabi Games that was in 1997, that was my first games. And the people, the experience, it was just so amazing. And that's the first time I had been back to Israel. I'm trying to think, I was 22 years old, I think at that time. So I would say, yeah, Israel, I feel so good there. There's a very good connection to being there. So that's the positive note and, you know, and also coming up, you know, on a negative thing. You know, being Jewish, of course, it's not easy in some ways, you know, I went through, in a lot of obstacles and different things because of that. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So can you talk a little bit about some of the obstacles that you have encountered along that being Jewish have presented? Tahl Leibovitz:   When I grew up – well, I lived in the street when I was a boy, you know, for maybe 13 to about 21 but it's interesting before that, even when I was, I grew up in Howard Beach, and then eventually I was living in kind of, like, by Cypress Hills in New York City. And there's, like, a shame that being Jewish, like I was, you know, is like, in some way, from my peers, like I wasn't around a lot of Jewish people, and they were, you know, they make fun of you. They like, you feel this, and I didn't know anything really. I was only a kid, but I think having my grandfather was, like, a really good, I mean, he made a, you know, spending time with him was a big difference. He was a Holocaust survivor. One thing I learned from him, which I think is so important, I think more people should do. When you look at the Jewish community, it's like the family. There's a very strong sense of family. And I feel, even when I'm in Israel, because I'm very good friends with a lot of people on the table tennis team, the Israeli Center, I feel such a good connection, like I feel really a part of something, and that is really important. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So in other words, being part of that sports community and a team, there's something kind of Jewish about that and that family feel. You spoke about the negative. Of course, Israeli athletes competing in Paris, some have received death threats and hate messages online, and then at the soccer match between Israel and Paraguay, spectators were yelling Heil Hitler during the Israeli national anthem. As a Jewish athlete, as an Israeli-born Jewish athlete, is this hate something that you have encountered along the way, or is this hate just reserved for the athletes representing Israel? Tahl Leibovitz:   You know, I'll say two things to that. The first being that, you know, obviously, what happened, you know, in October of last year. You feel something. You could say whatever you want. There's no words. I feel like I've overcome a lot of adversity, but to feel that, like, that you can't do anything. You feel so badly, you know. So there's a connection, I think, you know from all of us that is the first thing. So, and you look at what's happening in the schools, Columbia University, and a lot of these things, so there is a heightened sense of antisemitism, for sure. And I would say that does happen. I'll give you one quick example, which is very, very interesting. I had to play a league match. This wasn't even too long ago, just two months ago, so to play a league match. And there were, you know, I'm not saying these people are bad or good, but they were from Egypt. There were two players, and then they, they came in and they said, ‘Do you know where we were?'  And I was like, ‘Okay, where were you guys at?' And they said, ‘Well, we're in the mosque, and we were praying for the destruction of Israel. We were praying that Israel would be destroyed.' I'm about to start a match with these guys, and, you know, obviously I'm a therapist, so, you know, I have a lot, you know, patients, and I ended up winning against them. So they were not too happy. But the point is that I tend to think about, like when people bring that, they have great difficulties within themselves. And of course, you can match that, you know, with it, with anything you know. You can be aggressive with them. But I find if people sit long enough in some of these, I don't know if you want to call it delusions that they have, because a lot of people, we're just human beings. People hate Jewish people for no reason, like, it's like, they don't even know me. It's like, you're hating somebody for something, you don't even know them. So I think when people sit with that, they tend to, you know, they spend a little more time with you. Sports can do that too. It kind of humanized people together. Manya Brachear Pashman:   That's interesting. You have actually called your birthplace your favorite place on earth. And I'm curious, how do you honor both your American and Israeli identities while representing the United States in competition? Tahl Leibovitz:   Yeah, that's a very good question. And I would say for me, the thing, because I've been to a lot of different tournaments, the Paralympics, a lot of different things, the most incredible experience for me has been like I mentioned the Maccabi Games. So that's one thing, and I stay connected, you know, and it's also not just what I'm doing. Look, I'm a table tennis player, I do the best I can. But, you know, there's some people that I've, you know, there's a student I work with. Her name is Estee Ackerman. She does a lot of public speaking. She was a great player. We, you know, I trained her for many years. So you, kind of, I would say the answer is this sort of community, you know, and to and to be connected to yourself, and also to be even in therapy, you know, actually, I'll say one other thing. I could say a lot. I work for a few, I have contracted a few different places. And I said to one place, you know, after this thing happened in Israel, I said, and again, I have no special ability.  I just said, look, send me the people that were affected by Israel. I said, those are the people I want to work with now. I said, send me as many as you can, as much as you can. And then I started working with them. And it is, the truth is, it's profoundly effective. Like there were, you know, these people that can't function at work. You know, it's something, some of them were very connected, they're affected in some way, obviously. So I just give what I can. I can't change the world, but I know, like, I can give the best I can to people, and even if I do my small part, it's okay. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So after this year's Paralympics, what's next? Ian Seidenfeld: I think the goal is really to just try and feel comfortable and try and have fun out there, and the results will come. But after the Paralympics, I work for a company called Allianz, a global insurance company, and so I plan to continue working for them afterwards, and they've been, they're a sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics, so they've been very supportive of my training, and so I plan to continue working for them and continue training for the next World Championships and Maccabi Games, and we actually have our own Allianz Olympics coming up in 2026, so there's a lot more table tennis to be played, and ultimately I hope to compete in LA 2028 so I might take a month or two off, but other than that, it'll be back to training as usual. Tahl Leibovitz:   Well I set a goal that I wanted to try to continue to 2028 since I won my first gold medal in 1996. That was my biggest achievement. And so now I'm saying, all right, we have 2028 in LA, so I will continue to 2028. I'm in pretty good, playing pretty well, doing a lot of fitness. So I feel okay. And yeah, probably do that, and then I will see. Most likely I will retire, I think, although people keep pushing me to do another two, but that would be 2036 would be my last one. So it's a little, I'm 50 years old, almost, so, but we'll see. I think 2028, then I'll reevaluate. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Well thank you both so much for joining us. Is there anything I have not asked you that you definitely want to share with our audience before we go? Ian Seidenfeld: I think when we're talking about acceptance and love and trying to overcome our differences and challenges, I think the Paralympics can be a very good representation of what we can all do together, as the Olympics was founded as well to find common ground among nations, and I think there is a lot of hate and rhetoric that's spoken throughout the US and throughout the world, that hopefully people will be able to watch the Olympics and Paralympics and feel a more, a greater sense of unity among people. And hopefully we won't have death threats and that kind of hate, that's really unnecessary. I hope. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Well said. Thank you so much. Ian, Tahl, Mazal Tov! Ian Seidenfeld: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Tahl Leibovitz:   Thank you. Thank you so much.

The NYPD says 6 people are recovering today after a shootings in incidents across the city last night including Williamsbridge and Morrisania in the Bronx, Cypress Hills in Brooklyn and St. Albans, Queens. Also, Frederick Douglass Memorial Park in Staten Island will now become a New York City Landmark after a vote Tuesday morning by the Landmarks Preservation Committee, now the City Council will need to vote to formally recognize the park. Additionally, the heat wave is officially upon us and cooling centers are open and Governor Hochul activated state's Emergency Operation Center to monitor the extreme heat that will last until Friday. In other news, residents of New York City's million or so rent stabilized apartments woke up to the news of rent increases. WNYC's Michael Hill speaks with reporter David Brand for the details. And lastly, teenagers trying to preserve in-person visits at New York State jails and prisons are regrouping after suffering another setback in Albany. As part of WNYC's Radio Rookies program, 18 year old Jamila Small shares why this issue is so important to her.

Neighborhoods like Cypress Hills and East New York are currently witnessing an alarming trend where house flippers aggressively target homes. They often prey on the vulnerabilities of low-income, Black, and Brown homeowners. Luckily, community groups like the Coalition for Community Advancement are fighting back with initiatives such as the proposed "flip tax" bill. In this episode we sit down with Maliha Jahangiri, who joined the Coalition for Community Advancement last spring, to discuss the implications of this toxic practice on the fabric of communities and what's being done to combat the issue. Read our full story: https://epicenter-nyc.com/how-nyc-communities-can-fight-home-flipping/ Stay up to date with the Coalition for Community Advancement:  https://www.facebook.com/CoalitionforCommunityAdvancement Learn more about the “End Toxic Home Flipping Act”: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S1569/amendment/A how to protect yourself from deed fraud: https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/deed-fraud.page Check out this arm of Cypress Hills LDC, which can help homeowners protect themselves from speculators: https://cypresshills.wixsite.com/homeownerhelpdesk/homeowner-resourcesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may be tired of parks named after dead white men. Kyla Tichkowsky? She's railing against a different kind of tyranny. We have parks named for: Elk. Wood Buffalo. Aspen Beach. Cypress Hills. Dinosaurs even! And yet, not one single lichen.Why not? Lichen are, in fact, fantastically diverse and fascinating organisms. From a conservation standpoint, they are excellent bioindicators. So for conservation organizations, a lichen preserve would make a lot of sense. Together with Kyla, we set out to understand more about lichens and their place in Edmonton's conservation scene. Why not? Lichen are, in fact, fantastically diverse and fascinating organisms. From a conservation standpoint, they are excellent bioindicators. So for conservation organizations, a lichen preserve would make a lot of sense. Together with Kyla, we set out to understand more about lichens and their place in Edmonton's conservation scene. And we were guided into the Larch Sanctuary by Meghan Jacklin, a conservation coordinator with the Edmonton and Area Land Trust.

Crow Mary: A Novel by Kathleen Grissom https://amzn.to/3C8u3On The New York Times bestselling author of the “touching” (The Boston Globe) book club classics The Kitchen House and the “emotionally rewarding” (Booklist) Glory Over Everything returns with a sweeping saga inspired by the true story of Crow Mary—an indigenous woman torn between two worlds in 19th-century North America. In 1872, sixteen-year-old Goes First, a Crow Native woman, marries Abe Farwell, a white fur trader. He gives her the name Mary, and they set off on the long trip to his trading post in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan, Canada. Along the way, she finds a fast friend in a Métis named Jeannie; makes a lifelong enemy in a wolfer named Stiller; and despite learning a dark secret of Farwell's past, falls in love with her husband. The winter trading season passes peacefully. Then, on the eve of their return to Montana, a group of drunken whiskey traders slaughters forty Nakota—despite Farwell's efforts to stop them. Mary, hiding from the hail of bullets, sees the murderers, including Stiller, take five Nakota women back to their fort. She begs Farwell to save them, and when he refuses, Mary takes two guns, creeps into the fort, and saves the women from certain death. Thus, she sets off a whirlwind of colliding cultures that brings out the worst and best in the cast of unforgettable characters and pushes the love between Farwell and Crow Mary to the breaking point. From an author with a “stirring and uplifting” (David R. Gillham, New York Times bestselling author) voice, Crow Mary sweeps across decades and the landscape of the upper West and Canada, showcasing the beauty of the natural world, while at the same time probing the intimacies of a marriage and one woman's heart.

Colter Wall has made it clear that someone he considers a close friend is in need of help right now, here is a direct quote.  "My buddy was in a bad wreck and is laid up in the hospital. I'm gonna start multiple merch campaigns to raise funds for his recovery... All proceeds from sales (physical and digital) of my album "Western Swing and Waltzes" are going towards him and his family!" - @colterwall (Instagram)If you wish find out more information, Click HereColter Wall - Cypress Hills and the Big Country Available on Youtube and all streaming platforms.Whether you're an aspiring musician, a fan of great songs, or just curious about the art of songwriting, this podcast has something for you.Find us on Instagram:@Every_Song_has_a_Story Support the show

Travis & John took a road trip to Saskatchewan this week to meet Jim Saville, owner of the Spring Valley Guest Ranch near Cypress Hills. For over thirty years Jim has hosted the Ranch Rendezvous weekend, where LGBTQ+ people have been able to freely be themselves, even when they couldn't always at home. Jim shares his own coming out story, how he found his identity in bigger cities, and what drew him back to the small prairie town he grew up in. 

Police discovered two suitcases filled with human remains inside a Brooklyn apartment Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Officers were conducting a wellness check on a 22-year-old woman who lives in an apartment building on Linwood Street, near Atlantic Avenue in Cypress Hills, around 1:40 p.m. when they found the suitcases, officials said. Sources on Friday said the human remains found inside the suitcases are that of the 22-year-old woman. Sources later identified the woman as Dasia Johnson. The city's medical examiner will determine the cause of death. An investigation into the incident remains ongoing, police said. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/leah-gordone/support

The majority of the New York City Council members are new and are part of a class that is the most diverse and progressive in city history. Over the next year Brian Lehrer will get to know all 51 members. This week, Council member Sandy Nurse talks about her priorities for District 37, which includes Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York. Catch up with all the interviews here.

This is the afternoon All Local for Thursday, September 22, 2022

We're coming to the end of Pride Month amidst an environment of escalating attacks from the right on queer and trans people. Tonight, we speak to two grassroots organizers working on self-defense programs for queer, trans, and people of color in NYC and the Bay Area. We hear from Kenji of Soar Over Hate and DJ Guerrilla Pump of We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For on how they are protecting their communities by organizing educational programs, creating art and healing practices, distributing tools and resources, and uniting community care with self-defense.We're also joined live tonight by Aaron Fernando, a member of the Queens DSA Electoral Organizing Committee, to discuss yesterday's primary election results. Because of the redistricting debacle, New York is holding two primaries this summer with voters weighing in on Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Assembly races yesterday.DSA For the Many endorsed four socialist Assembly Members for re-election and five new candidates for the Assembly. All the incumbent DSA members won their primaries, some by a very large margin,but of the five new candidates only Sarahana Shrestha, running in the Hudson Valley won her race outright, toppling 13-term incumbent Kevin Cahill who has held the seat since 1999. Samy Nemir Olivares' race against Erik Dilan in Bushwick and Cypress Hills is still too close to call with Samy trailing by about 200 votes.To learn more about queer self-defense programs and how you can get involved and support, visit soaroverhate.org and wevebeenwaitingforus.org.To learn more about getting involved in upcoming races to elect DSA endorsed candidates for senate visit fortheturnout.nyc

In which we use Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel 'The Englishman's Boy' to discuss the Cypress Hills Massacre (1873) and how, in its aftermath, Canada fast-tracked the creation of the North-West Mounted Police. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: historiacanadiana@gmail.com, Twitter (@CanLitHistory) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory). --- Sources & Further Reading: Calder, Alison. "Unsettling the West: Nation and Genre in Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Englishman's Boy." Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, volume 25, number 2, fall 2000, p. 96–107. https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/scl25_2art05 Dempsey, Hugh A. “Cypress Hills Massacre.” The Montana Magazine of History, vol. 3, no. 4, 1953, pp. 1–9. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4515883. Janes, Daniela. “Truth and History: Representing the Aura in The Englishman's Boy.” Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, volume 27, number 1, spring 2002, p. 88–104. https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/scl27_1art07 Macleod, R. C. “North-West Mounted Police.” The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Oxford University Press, 2004. Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman's Boy, London: Anchor, 1996. Wang, Mei-Chuen. “Wilderness, the West and the national imaginary in Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Englishman's Boy.” British Journal of Canadian Studies (2013), 26, (1), pp. 21–38. https://doi.org/10.3828/bjcs.2013.2 Zacharias, Robert. “A Desire for the Real: The Power of Film in The Englishman's Boy.” Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, vol. 34, no. 2, 2009, pp. 245–263. https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/scl34_2art12

All Local for Tuesday, March 8th, 2022

All Local for Thursday, March 3, 2022

*and Cypress Hills, and Ocean Hill!Believe it or not, 2022 is right around the corner and will bring with it a new electoral cycle and a new slate of DSA-endorsed socialist candidates for office. On tonight's show, we kick off our series of interviews with NYC-DSA's 2022 slate as we speak LIVE with Samy Nemir Olivares, candidate for Assembly District 54 in Bushwick, Cypress Hills, and Ocean Hill. Hear from Samy on their experience as a community organizer in North Brooklyn, the radical legacy of queer and trans people of color, the next steps for socialists in Albany, and smashing gender binaries right alongside capitalism. We also speak to Gabriel Hernandez of NYC-DSA's Queer Caucus on building queer community and mentorship for socialists. Finally, we hear a brief update on the struggle for free, equitable higher education for all from the New Deal for CUNY coalition. To learn more about Samy Nemir-Olivares and support his run for Assembly, visit: https://www.samyfornewyork.com/ To learn more about NYC-DSA's Queer Caucus, sign up for their mailing list here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/queer-caucus-interest-form For more on the December 11 action for a New Deal for CUNY, visit: https://psc-cuny.org/SatDec11

I den store sammenhæng huskes 1991 primært som det år, hvor Den Kolde Krig mellem det daværende Sovjetunionen og Vesten fandt sin afslutning, da førstnævnte union simpelthen faldt fra hinanden. USA fremstod som vinder af en konflikt, der havde varet siden afslutningen på 2. verdenskrig, og manifesteret sig i et afsindigt våbenkapløb. Musikalsk set var det året, hvor rocken fik en renæssance grundet grungen fra Seattle og trioen Nirvanas gennembrud. Gruppens frontfigur og sangskriver, Kurt Cobain, repræsenterede med sine slacker-hymner den såkaldte Generation X, der gjorde det svært at høre, at USA netop havde vundet Den Kolde Krig, for de emmede af trøstesløshed, frustration og fremmedgjorthed. Hvad der ramte en nerve og tog bands som blandt andre Pearl Jam og Soundgarden med i spotlyset.Fra Bristol i England kom triphoppen med Massive Attack som dens første succesfulde ambassadører, mens Primal Scream fornemt fusionerede rock og electronica, hvad også U2 med held forsøgte. Jazzen sneg sig ind i hiphoppen via A Tribe Called Quest, mens gangstarappen fik et godt tag i publikum, som det hørtes på Cypress Hills fremragende debut-lp. Og den elektroniske musik bevægede sig fra under- til overgrund, ikke mindst gennem The Orbs skelsættende udgivelser. Endvidere udsendte diverse veteraner uforglemmelig musik, så jo, 1991 var et på alle måder stort musikår.Rockhistoriers værter havde ikke færre end firs kandidater oppe at vende, før valget faldt på de tyve, der kan høres i denne hyldest til en række afgørende nybrud, som stadig giver ekko i den musik, vi hører i dag. Massive Attack: Safe from Harm (Blue Lines)Electronic: Tighten Up (Electronic)Nirvana: Breed (Nevermind)Stina Nordenstam: He Watches Her from Behind (Memories of a Color)U2: Mysterious Ways (Achtung Baby) Primal Scream: Movin' on Up (Screamadelica)A Tribe Called Quest: Check the Rhime (The Low End Theory)my bloody valentine: sometimes (loveless)Soundgarden: Rusty Cage (Badmotorfinger)This Mortal Coil: You and Your Sister (Blood)Sort Sol: Tatlin Tower (Flow My Firetear)Kirsty MacColl: Walking Down Madison 7” Mix (Electric Landlady)The Orb: Fluffy Little Clouds (Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld)Cypress Hill: How Could I Just Kill a Man (Cypress Hill)Robert Wyatt: Worship (Dondestan)The Sugarcubes: Hit (Stick Around for Joy)Miss B. Haven: Jeg bor i november (Mellem hjerter og spar)Gangway: Going Away (The Quiet Boy Ate the Whole Cake)Talk Talk: Runeii (Laughing Stock) Queen: These Are the Days of Our Life (Innuendo)

All Local for Wednesday, December 1, 2021 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is an event nearly forgotten today in Canada, but on June 1, 1873, a group of American and Canadian wolfers descended on an Assiniboine camp, believing their horses to be stolen, and massacred dozens in the Cypress Hills. The event would push the government to create the North West Mounted Police Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx  

A trip to Cypress Hills, being naked feels nice, choosing to believe in Omens, the Paul brothers are movie characters and don't delay conflict....

In this episode we`ll tell you about a contest we`re starting this week where you can win a $300 travel voucher from Trafalgar Canada by sending us your Bucket List Trip idea. Plus we'll visit the Elkwater Lake Lodge located near Cypress Hills in the Southeastern part of Alberta. And travel writer Carol Patterson will join us to share a short road trip she took to Abraham Lake, Alberta in search of ice bubbles. Support the show: https://www.theinformedtraveler.org/

In this episode we`ll tell you about a contest we`re starting this week where you can win a $300 travel voucher from Trafalgar Canada by sending us your Bucket List Trip idea. Plus we'll visit the Elkwater Lake Lodge located near Cypress Hills in the Southeastern part of Alberta. And travel writer Carol Patterson will join us to share a short road trip she took to Abraham Lake, Alberta in search of ice bubbles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday is looking like its going to be a good one here at B Real TV, The podcast and crew is eating some FIRE BBQ that Steftone aka SNACKtone brought in, the joints are in the air, sit back and get ready to enjoy the show. PRESS THAT LIKE BUTTON and SUBSCRIBE if you are new to the Insane Asylum, the highest community on Youtube. The Podcast kicks off with the guys recapping yesterdays episode, as E-Zone had a debate about alcohol and the percentages by volume or what the debate with Steftone says doesn't make sense, Proof. B-Real and Bobo brings up that 151 rum and how Bobo started drinking at a very young age. Skinny Pablo helps out with a definition breakdown. The discussion takes a turn as they ask why drinks are called spirits, as E Zone laughs n says "who is drinking with ghosts?!" DJ VLAD of VLAD TV joins us on the podcast as B-Real immediately gets into asking Vlad his flavor preferences and his own smoking preferences. Vlad and the Dr. get more into the regulations of cannabis and the legal market. The Mike Tyson fight coming up with Roy would be amazing as the crew give their take on how Mike Tyson would draw in the biggest fights. Vlad talks about how Tyson lost to Buster Douglas by partying a little too much with a 44 to 1 odds. Bobo remembers going to a Tyson fight that ended so quickly he dropped something and when he looked up the fight was over. Vlad talks interview Larry Holmes recently who once fought Mike Tyson. The problem with financials is when fighters run low on money as they age Vlad goes into, they have to do fights that aren't necessarily good for their health vs they pockets. In a recently inter view that isn't out yet, vlad came across some info that UGOD of Wu Tang is almost certain that Mike Tyson robbed his mother of his earrings in the past. Mike actually responded well and said he might have so he wanted to make things right after finding that out. B-Real had a shoot with GPEN today and STUDENGLASS that has him a little extra stoney today. The Dr. asks VLAD about the Tiny interview recently, that she had claimed to have a copyright issue for sampling by cypress hill song. B-Real and Bobo clarify they never tripped on artist about sampling especially that situation. Vlad asks B-Real about what he would do if someone went platinum selling song that sampled Cypress Hills insane in the membrane, as the publishing would have to go to B-Real, but the Dr. breaks down that its better to handle it before releasing the song as a form of respect. Vlad informs us that Sir Mix A Lot has made 100 million dollars of Baby Got Back. B-Real notes that Jump Around is one of the best concert songs ever and you better have a better song to play after. C-Minus asks Vlad if he still DJ's and he admits he would be a liar if he said he did but everyone brings up their experiences DJing and what its like to bomb a set. B-Real knows that one thing all DJ's have in common is they hate requests. Vlad would hate when people would ask to get on the mic and B Real would hate it so much he wouldnt plug a mic in during his sets. DJ VLAD in his interview fashion, asks Bobo how he ended up joining Cypress Hill being he wasnt in the original line up. Bobo breakdown working with Beastie Boys and House of Pain and meeting the group. Vlad admits to being a major Beastie Boys fan growing up just like everyone else. Vlad asks more about the darker days of Cypress Hill earlier days in the industry making music and adapting to what was going on at the times. They also discuss artists these days crowd funding for samples and how labels wanna shorten album lengths. B-Real advises away form 360 deals right now for people that our doing well vs people in the 40's and 50's. Vlad asks if they could stop touring and still make a living or do they want to get on the road. Vlad had to go to another interview so we wish him well and appreciate him coming on. As we come back E-Zone made some drinks while the guys talked music with Vlad and grabbed some more of that BBQ chicken. Bobo talks about how people are too sensitive in 2020. C-Minus recaps how many hoes were offered on the shows yesterday. The Doors to the Insane Asylum opened for questions! Description recap by @kieroglyphics on IG/Twitter Be sure to watch the full episode and leave a comment below! thank you Insane Asylum! join on discord. Follow the whole team on social media (Instagram links below) @BREALTV @Breal @Flavorsbyezone @cminusfan4 @eric_bobo @StefDoDoubleG @mosaimusic @morningshotfilms @Kieroglyphics

Friday is looking like its going to be a good one here at B Real TV, The podcast and crew is eating some FIRE BBQ that Steftone aka SNACKtone brought in, the joints are in the air, sit back and get ready to enjoy the show. PRESS THAT LIKE BUTTON and SUBSCRIBE if you are new to the Insane Asylum, the highest community on Youtube. The Podcast kicks off with the guys recapping yesterdays episode, as E-Zone had a debate about alcohol and the percentages by volume or what the debate with Steftone says doesn't make sense, Proof. B-Real and Bobo brings up that 151 rum and how Bobo started drinking at a very young age. Skinny Pablo helps out with a definition breakdown. The discussion takes a turn as they ask why drinks are called spirits, as E Zone laughs n says "who is drinking with ghosts?!" DJ VLAD of VLAD TV joins us on the podcast as B-Real immediately gets into asking Vlad his flavor preferences and his own smoking preferences. Vlad and the Dr. get more into the regulations of cannabis and the legal market. The Mike Tyson fight coming up with Roy would be amazing as the crew give their take on how Mike Tyson would draw in the biggest fights. Vlad talks about how Tyson lost to Buster Douglas by partying a little too much with a 44 to 1 odds. Bobo remembers going to a Tyson fight that ended so quickly he dropped something and when he looked up the fight was over. Vlad talks interview Larry Holmes recently who once fought Mike Tyson. The problem with financials is when fighters run low on money as they age Vlad goes into, they have to do fights that aren't necessarily good for their health vs they pockets. In a recently inter view that isn't out yet, vlad came across some info that UGOD of Wu Tang is almost certain that Mike Tyson robbed his mother of his earrings in the past. Mike actually responded well and said he might have so he wanted to make things right after finding that out. B-Real had a shoot with GPEN today and STUDENGLASS that has him a little extra stoney today. The Dr. asks VLAD about the Tiny interview recently, that she had claimed to have a copyright issue for sampling by cypress hill song. B-Real and Bobo clarify they never tripped on artist about sampling especially that situation. Vlad asks B-Real about what he would do if someone went platinum selling song that sampled Cypress Hills insane in the membrane, as the publishing would have to go to B-Real, but the Dr. breaks down that its better to handle it before releasing the song as a form of respect. Vlad informs us that Sir Mix A Lot has made 100 million dollars of Baby Got Back. B-Real notes that Jump Around is one of the best concert songs ever and you better have a better song to play after. C-Minus asks Vlad if he still DJ's and he admits he would be a liar if he said he did but everyone brings up their experiences DJing and what its like to bomb a set. B-Real knows that one thing all DJ's have in common is they hate requests. Vlad would hate when people would ask to get on the mic and B Real would hate it so much he wouldnt plug a mic in during his sets. DJ VLAD in his interview fashion, asks Bobo how he ended up joining Cypress Hill being he wasnt in the original line up. Bobo breakdown working with Beastie Boys and House of Pain and meeting the group. Vlad admits to being a major Beastie Boys fan growing up just like everyone else. Vlad asks more about the darker days of Cypress Hill earlier days in the industry making music and adapting to what was going on at the times. They also discuss artists these days crowd funding for samples and how labels wanna shorten album lengths. B-Real advises away form 360 deals right now for people that our doing well vs people in the 40's and 50's. Vlad asks if they could stop touring and still make a living or do they want to get on the road. Vlad had to go to another interview so we wish him well and appreciate him coming...

Arthur Slade was born in Moose Jaw and raised on a ranch in Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan. With two miles between neighbours and even more into the nearest town, Arthur talks about how the vast space he was afforded impacted his imagination an his writing.In this conversation, we also talk about his fascination with fantasy and science fiction, his take on Canadian stories—even as a fantasy writer, and his love of writing on treadmill desk!Visit Arthur's website at arthurslade.com

The Cypress Hills Massacre occurred on this date back in 1873. We spoke with Royce E. W. Pettyjohn of Fort Walsh & Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Sites of Canada.

In this episode I cover Cypress Hills, Rock Superstar. Insights that come to mind surround not understanding how much work is involved to achieve high goals, how it's hard to be good at something let alone great and how you may lose part of yourself while you're chasing your goal.

In this episode Mark interviews Arthur Slade, the author of twenty-five novels for young readers about his writing, about his multi-layered hybrid publishing activities, about writing at a treadmill desk, and about his author newsletter. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, discusses a few social media and podcast comments, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor , Findaway Voices. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Arthur talk about: The ten years that Arthur has been writing using a treadmill desk, walking a minimum number of kilometers per day How the energy boost has come from that allowing him to get more work done Working and writing at a standing desk verses actually walking - and how long it took Arthur to get used to it The walking speed that Arthur sets to enjoy a natural pace Writing in forty-minute bursts, then taking twenty minutes off, which assists with the necessary reset for his brain How long Arthur has been a full time writer and how he writes so much The moderate success of self-publishing the Amber Fang series, and how they were recently acquired and released by Orca The challenge of not being able to track sales on traditionally published titles Death by Airship, the book that Arthur wrote by coming up with the title first, then figuring out what it would be about while writing it The book Dragon Assassin, which was picked up by Scholastic Books in Canada, but which Arthur maintains non-Canadian rights to Working with Podium for one of his audiobooks Arthur's novel Flickers, set in the 1920s in Hollywood, which was also hybrid published The way that publishers and booksellers look at past sales history and how that affects their acquisition and buying decisions The way that Arthur adds a unique personal flavor to his newsletter, and how he manages unopened reads of it Arthur's love of audiobooks, as a writer and as a reader After the interview, Mark reflects on Arthur's hybrid publishing journey and talks about how it is a solid long-term publishing strategy.   Links of Interest: Arthur Slade's Website Descript (Audio Company with advanced audio editing, transcription and a beta Voice Double program) NaNoWriMo StoryBundle NaNo Writing Tools StoryBundle Mythulu Writing Binge Survival Pack 2019 WMG Publishing Business Masterclass Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections   Arthur Slade was raised on a ranch in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. He is the author of twenty five novels for young readers including The Hunchback Assignments, which won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and Dust, winner of the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature. His lifetime of work has also received the prestigious Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence.  All of these awards mean that when he drinks tea he has to raise his pinky. It's very fancy. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada.  P.S. He does all of his writing on a treadmill desk. And he listens to heavy metal. At the same time. The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

Arthur Slade was raised on a ranch in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. He is the author of twenty five novels for young readers including The Hunchback Assignments, which won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and Dust, winner of the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature. His lifetime of work has also received the prestigious Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence. All of these awards mean that when he drinks tea he has to raise his pinky. It's very fancy. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada. P.S. He does all of his writing on a treadmill desk. And he listens to heavy metal. At the same time. Check out our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/talkingbooksandstuff1

Ready to #TakeCivicAction? Then it’s time to meet those who represent you. L. Joy brings her own State Senator Julia Salazar to the front of the class and together they give a lesson on how to build relationships with your elected representatives. Our Guest New York State Senator Julia Salazar represents State Senate District 18, which includes the neighborhoods of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Greenpoint and Williamsburg, as well as the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York. After her election in 2018, Salazar became the youngest woman to serve in the New York State Senate. Senator Salazar is a strong advocate for tenant rights, criminal justice, protection of women's rights and immigration justice. In 2019, she introduced the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act that mandates medical insurance companies to cover in their policies all medicines, devices and contraceptive products for women that have been approved by the FDA. She also introduced bills that order the training of hospital personnel in domestic violence. And she co-sponsored the historic NYS DREAM Act and the Green Light Act that grants access to a driver's license to New York State drivers, regardless of immigration status. Until the time of her election to serve in the State Senate, Julia Salazar worked as a community organizer in the neighborhoods she represents and throughout New York City.   Tips for Meeting Your Elected Officials Make the Request in Writing - Find the contact information for your representative's office. Identify their scheduler to email your meeting request. Be prepared to be flexible with time. Prepare for the Meeting - Be sure to have the pertinent facts of your issue(s), know who all the stakeholders are and familiarize yourself with the opposing arguments. Do Your Research - Learn about your elected officials’ voting record and public statements on issues important to you. Get familiar with what issues they are championing. Don’t Go Alone - There is power in numbers as constituents. Organize who and how many people will be going with you to visit your representative. It is helpful if they are also constituents but they can also be experts or people affected by the issues you plan to discuss.  Don’t Balk at Meeting with Staff - Your elected official represents a lot of people and they have help to do their job. Don’t feel slighted about meeting with staff members as they are the ones who will help your representative address the issue. Leave Something Behind - Prepare materials about your issue(s) to leave behind with the staff and your elected representatives and make sure to include your contact information. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up - You may have to make several phone calls, emails and even social media to meet with your representatives follow up your email with phone calls to get your request met. Don’t give up. Additionally, after the meeting you will want to follow up to thank the elected officials and staff for their time, answer any outstanding questions and keep tabs on how your issue(s) are being addressed.

New York City recently banned all single-use plastic from being purchased for city agencies, including schools and prisons. Lauren Liles is the Communications Advisor for Rafael Espinal, Council Member for District 37 here in NYC, covering parts of Brooklyn in Bushwick, Brownsville, Cypress Hills, and East New York. Council Member Espinal was responsible for this push towards a plastic-free NYC government and green roofs being required now in all city buildings. We chatted with Lauren about this movement and why plastic bags have yet to be banned in NYC. -- If the content we make here on Trash Talking makes an impact on you, become a sponsor! It's as easy as visiting the link in the show notes, visit anchor.fm/trashtalking and click on the link to Support This Podcast. Even with as little as $2.99 a month, you can help support the stories we share and help us continue to spur more eco-warriors to action. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Don't forget to subscribe, review, and share this podcast with other eco-warriors. We read all of your reviews and your positive ratings help us spread the word and spur more eco-warriors to action. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/trashtalking/support

Rafael Espinal is a NYC Council member representing the 37th District, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills, and East New York in Brooklyn.In 2011 he was elected as the representative of the 54th New York State Assembly District, becoming the first Dominican elected into state office in Brooklyn and the youngest member of the entire state legislature.”Today he's running for the position of NYC Public Advocate, on a mission to make New York “A Livable City” a place where you work to live, not live to work. https://www.rafaelespinal.nyc/Twitter: @RLEspinalInstagram: @RLespinal

With our guest today, we will be comparing stories and experiences about living in the projects, going to public school, community and some of the dangers that comes with the territory.

For the season premiere of The Farm Report, host Lisa Held sits down with New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal. Born in East New York, Espinal is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and currently represents the 37th district, which includes Bushwick, Brownsville, Cypress Hills, and East New York. As a Council Member, Espinal has taken on urban agriculture as one of his primary issues. In August 2018, with the support of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, he introduced a new package of legislation that would create a comprehensive urban agriculture plan to promote and support farming across the five boroughs. Together, Held and Espinal discuss the community, economic, and environmental benefits of urban farming, what city government can and should do to encourage it, how to balance the interests of different players—from community gardens to venture capital-backed hydroponic farms—and how New York City’s path towards urban agriculture legislation fits into a larger trend of local governments across the country figuring out how to manage, support, and grow farming and gardening within city limits. The Farm Report is powered by Simplecast

ep nr 117 “Blues and Pants” Mr. James Brown....Selezione monografica dedicata a “Blues and Pants” tratto dal trentasettesimo album “Hot Pants” del 1971 del papà del funk James Brown. Il suo groove ha ipnotizzato generazioni di artisti e produttori. Qualche nome: Notorious B.I.G. per aprire la selezione, accompagnate da cover e mash up, a seguire il sound genuino old school di Geto Boys, Ultramagnetic Mc's, Public Enemy, Cypress Hills, Dj Lugi, Busta Rhymes, Super Cat...e non manca il tocco di Pharrell nel suo featuring a Common.

ep nr 117 “Blues and Pants” Mr. James Brown....Selezione monografica dedicata a “Blues and Pants” tratto dal trentasettesimo album “Hot Pants” del 1971 del papà del funk James Brown. Il suo groove ha ipnotizzato generazioni di artisti e produttori. Qualche nome: Notorious B.I.G. per aprire la selezione, accompagnate da cover e mash up, a seguire il sound genuino old school di Geto Boys, Ultramagnetic Mc’s, Public Enemy, Cypress Hills, Dj Lugi, Busta Rhymes, Super Cat...e non manca il tocco di Pharrell nel suo featuring a Common.

ep nr 117 “Blues and Pants” Mr. James Brown....Selezione monografica dedicata a “Blues and Pants” tratto dal trentasettesimo album “Hot Pants” del 1971 del papà del funk James Brown. Il suo groove ha ipnotizzato generazioni di artisti e produttori. Qualche nome: Notorious B.I.G. per aprire la selezione, accompagnate da cover e mash up, a seguire il sound genuino old school di Geto Boys, Ultramagnetic Mc’s, Public Enemy, Cypress Hills, Dj Lugi, Busta Rhymes, Super Cat...e non manca il tocco di Pharrell nel suo featuring a Common.

A New Review of the Podcast Before I reprise the story of Crowfoot, I wanted to give a shout out to an iTunes listener with the screen name Jul121314 in the U.S. for the kind review. The review is titled "Great Storytelling". They continue saying: "Love listening to the stories - current and historical. I love the Canadian Rockies and this podcast gives me a much deeper understanding. " Thank you so much. Those that know me will tell you that I'm always trying to find the "story" hidden within a subject. Science and history are full of fascinating stories, and my goal with this show is to make sure that you always have a great story to enjoy. Crowfoot and Treaty 7 In last week's episode, I introduced you to the Blackfoot Chief Crowfoot. He was born at a time when the Blackfoot ruled the plains from Cypress Hills to the Continental Divide and from Montana to the North Saskatchewan River. If you haven't listened to that episode, you can enjoy it at www.MountainNaturePodcast.com/ep062. When I wrapped the episode, the Northwest Mounted Police had marched westward to chase away whiskey traders that had invaded Canadian territory from Montana. Crowfoot was happy the government would remove the whiskey that had ravaged his people, but he still wanted to better understand the role of the Mounties on Blackfoot territory. Once the Mounties were settled into their camp at Fort MacLeod, Colonel Macleod requested a meeting with the leaders of the Blackfoot Nation. When the meeting finally took place, and the leaders of the Blackfoot, Blood, and Piegan were gathered, Crowfoot asked Macleod to help the people understand the role of the police in their territory. By the time Crowfoot left Fort Macleod, he felt a strong affinity to the Colonel. Both understood the importance of peaceful relations and Crowfoot had already seen how the police were able to put an end to the trade of whiskey to his people. Crowfoot also felt Macleod was a man of his word. It was a precarious time for the nations of the Confederacy, and trust was critical if they were to move forward. Crowfoot saw this as a sign that the old ways had to change. He began to discourage his followers from raiding enemy camps to steal horses. The era of intertribal warfare would need to end. On the short term, the fortunes of the nations of the Blackfoot improved. With the expulsion of the whiskey trade, the Blackfoot Nation began to rebound. Rather than booze, they once again began to trade for horses and other goods necessary for their people. Despite this short-term feeling of complacency, Crowfoot saw disheartening changes within their territory. What had started as a trickle, was gradually becoming a flood of white men into Blackfoot territory. At the same time, the once plentiful buffalo were beginning to decline. For a nation so culturally tied to the previously endless herds of bison, Crowfoot imagined a time when the buffalo may no longer roam the plains. As incomprehensible as it would have been to him a few years earlier, Crowfoot worried for the future of his people. Reverend MacDougall, Crowfoots long-trusted friend explained that other First Nations had signed treaties with the Canadian government and that these treaties would ensure the rights of the Blackfoot by spelling out their claims to what must have felt like an endlessly shrinking landscape. It's likely that Crowfoot could not have any real concept of what a treaty would mean for his people, as well as what they would be giving up. What he did know was that more whites came every year and along with them fewer buffalo were available to hunt. It was only a matter of time before once endless herds were a memory and he knew there needed to be some agreement with the government of the whites. There was ample reason to be sceptical of any treaty with the government. The southern members of the Blackfoot Nation signed a treaty with the American government in 1855. It wasn't long before it became obvious it wasn't worth the paper it was written upon. Monies due were never on time, the quality of the promised supplies continually dropped over time, and more settlers meant the government continually insisted on changing terms of agreements already signed. When gold was discovered in Montana in the 1860s, the trickle of white settlers became a torrent. This led the Bloods and Piegan to defend their territory prompting Americans to send in the cavalry. The "Blackfoot War" as the dispute became known was finally settled when the Cavalry slaughtered 173 Piegan in an undefended camp. Most of the victims were women and children. When the Mounties arrived in the west, several of the Chiefs that would be asked to sign the Canadian Treaty were also signatories of the disastrous American one as well. Late in 1875, Crowfoot called a council of chiefs to discuss the possibility of a treaty with the Canadians. Along with all five head chiefs representing the three tribes, an additional 10 minor chiefs took part. They created a petition which was presented at the newly built Fort Calgary. They complained that white settlers were homesteading without restriction, usually in the best hunting grounds, and that incursions were increasingly common with Cree and mixed-blood Metis that were also hunting buffalo in their territory. Since no Indian Commissioner had been sent to them, they insisted that one: "visit us this summer at the Hand Hills and [state] the time of his arrival there, so we could meet with him and hold a Council for putting a [stop] to the invasion of our country, till our Treaty be made with the government." South of the border, a treaty with the Sioux, like the Blackfoot Treaty of 1855, had been signed in 1868, giving them hunting rights along the North Platte River and east of the Bighorn Mountains. Whites were to be excluded as long as there was good hunting for the Sioux. Well, all of that quickly fell apart when gold was found in the Black Hills in 1874. Prospectors flooded Sioux lands, and despite the pleas of the Sioux that the government honour the treaty, they were instead met with soldiers of the United States Cavalry. When the Sioux rebelled, the cavalry led by General George Crook, descended upon a large gathering of Cheyenne and Sioux along the Powder River. The carnage forced many to surrender and return to their reservation, but it also radicalized many who moved west to gather their strength for the coming conflict. Central to this was the great Sioux chief Sitting Bull. He sought to build a broad alliance, among both friend and enemy, to fight a common foe. Emissaries were sent to neighbouring tribes to seek allies in the coming conflict. One of these messengers was sent to the camp of Crowfoot. He offered a gift of tobacco, as well as horses, mules, and should they defeat the Americans, white women slaves. They also promised that once the Cavalry were defeated, they would ride north to rid the plains of the white men. The police were few and the people of the plains were many. Crowfoot needed little time to turn down offers of war with the whites, particularly with the Sioux who had long been their enemies. His message was met with a threat. The Sioux were strong and had a plan to destroy the soldiers; then they would come for the Blackfoot along with the police. As is often the case, timing is everything. When the news of the threat arrived in Crowfoot's camp, Inspector Cecil Denny happened to be present. Crowfoot shared with him the entire story. Denny promised the protection of the police to the Blackfoot, and Crowfoot offered 2000 warriors should the Sioux march north. The year was 1876 and Crowfoot stated: "we all see that the day is coming when the buffalo will all be killed, And we shall have nothing more to live on…  Then you'll come into our camp and see the poor Blackfoot starving.  I know that the heart of the capital white soldier will be sorry for us, and they will tell the great mother who will not let her children starve. We are getting shut in.  The Crees are coming into our country from the north, and the white men from the south and east, and they are all destroying our means of living; but still, although we plainly see these days coming, we will not join the Sioux against the whites, but will depend upon you to help us." This speech impressed Denny who sent a copy to Queen Victoria who personally responded to the chief to thank him for his loyalty. While this was playing out in Canada, Sitting Bull had already routed General George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn in Montana. However, rather than following up on their threats, the Sioux realized their time in American territory was finished and they fled north into the Cypress Hills within Canadian territory. Sitting Bull, who had threatened to wipe the Mounties from the landscape, instead assured these same Mounties that he would break no laws in Canada. Again, Sitting Bull sent gifts of tobacco to Crowfoot's camp. This time the message was one of peace and friendship. The chief refused to smoke the tobacco until he understood Sitting Bull's true intentions. To his surprise, a party of Sioux, including Sitting Bull himself arrived at his camp. They both pledged peace and smoked the tobacco. The following year, the Canadian Government arranged to negotiate a treaty with the Blackfoot. Colonel James Macleod and Lieutenant Governor David Laird were appointed as commissioners charged with negotiating a treaty with the nations of the Confederacy. The presence of Sitting Bull in Canadian territory helped hasten the urgency of cementing a positive arrangement with such a powerful nation. At the same time, cattle were beginning to make their presence known on the plains and many envious eyes were looking westward towards the plentiful grasslands of Alberta, or what would eventually be Alberta. To complicate matters, in 1872 the government had promised a railroad link to British Columbia to connect it with the rest of the nation. This meant that a ribbon of steel would have to cross the country; the territory of the Blackfoot lay smack dab along the future line. As the various groups of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Sarcee, and Stoney nations gathered, Commissioner Laird summarized the changing conditions on the plains: “in a very few years, the buffalo will probably be all destroyed, and for this reason, the queen wishes to help you to live in the future in some other way.  She wishes you to allow her white children to come and live on your land and raise cattle, and should you agree to this she will assist you to raise cattle and grain, and thus give you the means of living when the buffalo are no more.  She will also pay you and your children money every year, which you can spend as you please.” His speech essentially asked them to share their hunting grounds in return for some land, cows, potatoes, ammunition and a whopping $5.00 per year. In return, they would be signing a treaty that would essentially strip them of their rightful ownership of their traditional territories; territories won through generations of war, blood, and sacrifice. Laird had little empathy for these first nations and often belittled claims that, to the Blackfeet, were not trivial matters. One of the Blood Chiefs, Medicine Calf had already signed one treaty - with the Americans. He saw that treaty continually broken and the terms ignored. He spoke: “the Great Mother sent you to this country, and we hope she will be good to us for many years…  The Americans gave at first large bags of flour, sugar, and many blankets; the next year was only half the quantity, and the following year grew less and less, and now they give only a handful of flour." When he asked about compensation for firewood used by the police and settlers, Laird responded: “Why, you Indians ought to pay us for sending these traders in fire water away and giving you security and peace, rather than we pay you for the timber used.”… The negotiations were hard and contentious. The many leaders of the various nations all had different ideas of what would be necessary to sign a treaty. According to one story, a white man spread a line of dollars on a table and informed Crowfoot that this was the currency by which the white man traded…not skins. Crowfoot took a handful of clay, made a ball, and placed it in the fire. He then looked to the white man and said: “Now put your money on the fire and see if it will last as long as the clay.” When the white man responded that his money will burn, Crowfoot retorted: "Oh your money is not as good as our land, is it? The wind will blow it away; the fire will burn it; water will rot it. Nothing will destroy our land. You don’t make a very good trade.” The chief handed the white man a handful of sand and asked him to count the number of grains of sand. When the white man admitted that he couldn't possibly count every grain, Crowfoot replied: “Very well, our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever. It will not perish as long as the sun shines and the water flows, and through all the years it will give life to men and animals, and therefore we cannot sell the land. It was put there by the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not really belong to us. You can count your money and burn it with a nod of a buffalo’s head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the blades of grass on these plains. As a present, we will give you anything you can take with you, but we cannot give you the land.” Crowfoot showed that he truly understood the idea of ownership, but it is debatable as to whether he truly comprehended what the loss of all their land would mean to the Blackfoot. As negotiations continued to drag on, there were rumours that the northern Piegan were pondering massacring the government representatives. Crowfoot was against any violence towards the commission. The situation began to improve when the remainder of the leaders of the Blood tribe finally arrived at the treaty site. As the last of the great chiefs of the Confederacy arrived, even though the negotiations were difficult, the presence of the entire nation in one place helped raise spirits. Crowfoot consulted a medicine man for whom he had great respect. When asked if he should sign a treaty, the response was: “I want to hold you back because I am at the edge of the bank.  My life is at its end.  I hold you back because your life henceforth will be different from what it has been.  Buffalo makes your body strong.  What you will eat from this money will have your people buried all over these hills.  You will be tied down, you will not wander the plains; the whites will take your land and fill it.  You won’t have your own free will; the whites will lead you by a halter.  That’s why I say don’t sign.  But my life is old, so sign if you want to.  Go ahead and make the treaty.”… In the end, the various chiefs trusted Crowfoot to make the final decision as to whether they should sign. Finally, Crowfoot rose to speak: “While I speak, be kind and patient.  I have to speak for my people, who are numerous, and who rely upon me to follow that course which in the future will tend to their good.  The plains are large and wide.  We are the children of the plains.  It is our home, and the buffalo has been our food always.  I hope you look upon the Blackfeet, Bloods, and Sarcees as your children now, and that you will be indulgent and charitable to them.  They all expect me to speak now for them, and I trust the Great Spirit will put into their breasts to be a good people into the minds of the men, women and children, and their future generations... The advice given me and my people has proved to be very good.  If the police had not come to the country, where would we all be now?  Bad men and whiskey were killing us so fast that very few, indeed, of us would have been left today.  The police have protected us as the feathers of the bird protected from the frosts in winter.  I wish them all good, and trust that all our hearts will increase in goodness from this time forward.  I am satisfied.  I will sign the treaty.” With Crowfoot's words, the other chiefs also made their mark upon the treaty. The next order of business was to decide where their reserves would be located. Crowfoot believed that a single large reserve would help to keep their nation strong and strengthen their negotiating power with the whites. When there was no resistance he selected a long strip of land four miles wide extending some 320 km east into buffalo country. While the whites wanted the Blackfoot to take up farming, Crowfoot could not see his people surviving by "scratching the land" to grow food. He picked rich hunting grounds, but poor land for farming. Crowfoot was the first to sign. He expressed the concerns many of the Blackfoot had: “Great Father!  Take pity on me with regard to my country, with regard to the mountains, the hills and the valleys; with regard to the prairies, the forest and the waters; with regard to all the animals that inhabit them, and do not take them from myself and my children forever.” After Crowfoot, all the other chiefs, true to their word to him, also made their mark on the treaty. A missionary that was present at the signing, Father Scollen, was later asked if he thought the Blackfoot understood the magnitude of the document they had signed. He replied: “Did these Indians, or do they now, understand the real nature of the treaty made between the Government and themselves in 1877?  My answer to this question is unhesitatingly negative… Crowfoot, who beyond a doubt, is considered the leading chief of the plains, did not seem to have a faint notion of the meaning of the treaty…  All the other chiefs followed Crowfoot, and the substance of their speeches was that they agreed with him in all that he said…” How could they understand the implications of the treaty? Interpreters whose job it was to explain the terms had no words that would help the chiefs truly understand the concept of giving up vast territories to be settled on tiny plots of land. The Blackfoot would soon learn what signing this treaty meant. For generations, they had relied on winter snows to force the bison towards their winter hunting grounds in the foothills. This year the snows didn't come. Instead, winter fires on the prairies forced the bison to stay north of the Cypress Hills. The Blackfoot, as they had always done, had no choice but to follow the herds. Soon they found themselves on the edge of their territory and within spitting distance of their traditional enemies the Crees, Assiniboines, and Sioux. The winter was very difficult and starvation was a regular visitor to the camps. Sitting Bull once again visited Crowfoots camp and, while Crowfoot had no issues with the great chief, he advised that the Sioux stay away from their camps in such stressful times. He was worried that he would not be able to control his warriors. While spring brought a few buffalo back to the plains, Crowfoot could see that the future would no longer see them as master of territories occupied by vast numbers of buffalo. The bison were fewer and fewer and the many competing nations were all desperate for the same few animals. Crowfoot also learned that his friend Red Crow, chief of the Bloods, had decided, against the advice of Crowfoot, that he wanted a reserve farther south. This meant the joint reserve Crowfoot hoped for would not happen, and the single voice they might have with the government would now be partitioned. Crowfoot felt betrayed by his friend Colonel Macleod who had approved the request by Red Crow. He knew that this would weaken the power of the Blackfoot and was sure there was treachery on the part of the commission. The next winter was no better. The bison were scarce and the Blackfeet began to starve. Instead of bison, in desperation, they began to kill anything that was edible, whether it was a rabbit, ground squirrel, mouse, porcupine, or even badgers. If it had meat, it was fair game. Pleas to the government who had previously promised to feed the nation fell on deaf ears. Over the winter, they began to eat the camp dogs, and in time, began to eat anything made of leather, from moccasins, leather bags, and any piece of animal skin that might contain nourishment. The winter was terrible. In addition to the starvation, a party of 1,000 equally weak Crees camped just a few miles away. After a heated argument led to one of the Cree being killed, they finally moved on. Finally, in July of 1879, Edgar Dewdney was appointed as Indian Commissioner. He heard the pleas of Three Bulls and the other Blackfeet and brought beef along with flour and tea to offer relief to the starving. As he reported: “On arriving there, I found about 1300 Indians in a very destitute condition and many on the verge of starvation.  Young men who were known to be Stout and  hearty fellows some six months ago, were quite emaciated and so weak they could hardly work; the old people and widows, who, with their children live on the charity of the younger and more prosperous, had nothing, and many a pitiable tale was told of the misery they had endured.” That summer, the Blackfoot were advised by Dewdney and Colonel Macleod that many bison were being seen around the Cypress Hills. The Blackfoot followed their advice and sent the old and sick to Fort Macleod to be cared for by the police. As it turns out, those headed to the fort would fare far better than the warriors that headed out to hunt as their forefathers had done before them. As they approached Cypress Hills, Crowfoot met his foster brother Three Bulls who told him the animals that had previously been there had now moved out of the area. American hide hunters had set fires south of the border to prevent the normal northward migration of the buffalo, trapping them south of the border. While Crowfoot had never taken his people south of the American border before, the southern Piegan had always hunted there. Crowfoot had no choice but to head south into unknown territory. Unfortunately, his reputation preceded him and his arrival was heralded by a scalding news story in the American media: “Crowfoot has always been the leader of noted murderers, and is responsible for the death of more than one emigrant and prospector, yet this red butcher has been the pet of the Mounted Police ever since the latter arrived in the country” It hurts me to share quotes like this, but it's necessary to show the difference between Canadian and American views towards First Nations. At the same time, it was the Canadian government, with whom the Blackfoot had signed treaties with the promise of fair treatment and supplies of food, that had forced them to be there in the first place. The Americans resented the presence of so-called Canadian Indians and they had a good reason. Dewdney, in private correspondence, admitted as much: “I advised them strongly to go and gave them some provisions to take them off.  They continued to follow the buffalo further and further south until they reached the main herd and there they remained…  I consider their remaining away saved the government $100,000 at least.” Americans saw their territory swarmed by natives of every affiliation, from Blackfeet to Sarcee to Gros Ventres, and on and on. Each of these nations had no other choice, except starvation. The bison were quickly vanishing and these were all people of the bison. In addition to the scorn and risk of cavalry attacks from travelling south of the border, suddenly they were back in the lands of the whiskey trader. No sooner were their bellies full, did the whiskey wagons arrive in their camps. Suddenly, in addition to the whiskey, there was a new voice trying to whisper into their heads, a Metis by the name of Louis Riel. Riel had been a leader of the Metis when confederation transferred the lands of the Red River Settlement to the fledgeling Canadian government. He understood that the transfer of lands would be done with little consultation to the first nations and Metis that were already living there. In 1869, when the government sent surveyors to partition and run the area, Riel led his people in a rebellion. The government sent out soldiers and Riel fled to the U.S. to escape prosecution where he continued to promote mixed-blood rights. His resistance led to the founding of the province of Manitoba, and despite living in exile, he was elected three times to the federal government in absentia. Also in his absence, his colleague Father Nol Ritchot, managed to stare down John A. Macdonald and his Conservatives in negotiations and have the province of Manitoba established in May of 1870 while Riel was still in hiding. It was just a tiny postage stamp in terms of its present size. While merely one-eighteenth the size of modern-day Manitoba, it accomplished its goals of protecting the Red River settlement and the Metis for whom Riel had fought. Riel was gone from the political scene in Manitoba, but he was still working to coordinate a much larger rebellion that would take control of the Northwest Territories. While in Montana, Riel met with Crowfoot. As Crowfoot described the meeting: “He wanted me to join with all the Sioux, and the Crees, and half-breeds.  The idea was to have a general uprising and capture the North-West, and hold it for the Indian race and the Métis [mixed-bloods].  We were to meet at Tiger Hills, in Montana; we were to have a government of our own.  I refused, but the others were willing…” Riel had persuasive words, but Crowfoot could see they led only to ruin for his people. Like Sitting Bull a few years earlier, he was able to see past the passion and the fervour to the ruinous results. Somehow, despite being starved into another country, he still had confidence in the Mounted Police. In his conversations with Riel, there was an interpreter present, a false-priest by the name of  Jean L’Heureux. While L'Heureux had never been ordained as a priest, he roamed the plains preaching the gospel. Despite this official stature as a false-priest, others like Father Lacombe hired him as an interpreter due to the very close relationship with the first nations of the plains, in particular, the Blackfoot. He was a confidant of Crowfoot and he described Riel's words: “I soon learned the whole plan of the affair, which was nothing less than the invasion and taking possession of the North-West Territories, with the help of a general uprising of all the Indian tribes, united to the half-breeds…  That R…was to be governor, and Riel the first minister of his cabinet, where a seat was to be given to the Indian chief who, with his people, would help the half-breeds most in the contemplated invasion… Riel planned for his allies to meet at Tiger Hills and from there to march on the Canadians. Unfortunately, the Americans in whose territory Crowfoot's people were currently residing, also heard these stories of war parties. Like Sitting Bull, Crowfoot didn't want anything to do with Riel's rebellion and soon Riel realized that with the Americans aware of his plans, it was best for him to make tracks for the Judith Basin in Montana and talk no more…for now of rebellion. Oddly enough, Sitting Bull also met with Crowfoot in Montana. He had slipped south of the border as he had done numerous times to hunt. His people, like the Blackfoot, were also forced south of the Medicine Line in the quest for bison. He wanted no quarrel with the Blackfoot as he knew that he needed to return to Canada as soon as possible. He said to Crowfoot: “my children will be your children and your's mine.  From now on we will never fight again and we will be on the same side at all times.” He even named one of his children Crowfoot. Unfortunately, within days, a Sioux war party raided Crowfoot's camp and stole numerous horses. The two men never spoke again. While Sitting Bull's people were officially still in Canada, the situation for them got increasingly worse. Prime Minister John A Macdonald didn't like having the Sioux warrior on Canadian soil and he believed that Major James Walsh of the fort that bore his name in the Cypress Hills, was too lenient with Sitting Bull. However, Walsh had gained a great respect for the old Chief, as long as he kept his people peaceful. Macdonald had Walsh transferred to Fort Qu’Appelle, some 250 km distant. He was replaced by an officious inspector Lief N.F. (‘Paddy’) Crozier. He was instructed to convince Sitting Bull to go back to the U.S. Finally, in July of 1881, Sitting Bulls remaining followers rode south and surrendered at Fort Buford on the Yellowstone River. In the meantime, Walsh had taken vacation time and travelled to Chicago to meet with an American Indian Agent with whom he was friends. He pleaded for fair treatment for the Sioux. Sitting Bull was imprisoned for 20 months at Fort Randall in South Dakota and was freed in May of 1883. The following year, while touring Canada and the U.S. he met Annie Oakley. The Minnesotan sharpshooter deeply impressed the old chief and he adopted her as his daughter, giving her the name "Little Sure Shot". She continued to use that name throughout her career. He joined the Wild West Show of Buffalo Bill Cody in 1885 but only stayed for four months before returning to his reserve at Standing Rock. Around this time, a new native religious movement called the ghost dance became popular. The military was fearful of it and became convinced that Sitting Bull was an instigator. They ordered him arrested and during the scuffle, the old chief, along with numerous other Sioux, were killed. The plains had lost another great chief and songs of mourning filled the air at Standing Rock. Like Crowfoot, Sitting Bull was a man trapped in time. He was from a once proud and powerful nation that saw his way of life destroyed. While he chose a different path than Crowfoot, he did so with the conviction that he was doing what was best for his people. Next week, I'll finish the story of Crowfoot and the Blackfoot as they are eventually forced back to Canada amidst Cavalry threats, sickness, and starvation. Yellow Ladyslipper Orchid A few episodes back, in episode 60, I talked about the Calypso orchid and how it tricked bumblebee queens into pollinating it without providing any nectar reward. This week, I want to look at another related orchid, the yellow ladyslipper orchid. Orchids are a very old family of plants, and along with the dandelion or daisy family, represent the two largest plant families on the planet. There are more than 28,000 different orchid species on the planet today. Each one has evolved a slightly different strategy to attract their specific pollinator. Few plant families have diversified as much as the orchids in order to attract a very specific insect to act as courier to transplant pollen from one flower to another.  Orchids are also part of the major plant group called monocotyledon. This includes most of the grasses and sedges, along with lilies and irises. Monocots, as they are commonly referred, usually have grass-like leaves, with the veins running parallel to the leaf margin. Their petals are also usually arranged in multiples of threes, for instance, three or six petals. Most flowers reward pollinators with treats of nectar or pollen. Pollen is one of nature's most perfect foods. It contains everything that a honey bee needs to survive: sugar, proteins, enzymes, minerals and vitamins. The nectar is used to make honey to feed the larvae in the hive. So many plants have evolved specifically to provide one or both of these as a reward for pollinators visiting the plant and taking a bit of pollen to another plant to assist in cross-pollination. Across the orchid family, there are both nectar rewarding species and food deceptors like the Calypso which trick the bee into visiting but leave them hungry when they leave. Most orchids have three petals and three sepals. Unlike most plants though, where the sepals are usually nondescript, in orchids, often the sepals look just like the petals. This is particularly true of the ladyslippers. The yellow ladyslipper has three sepals that resemble the petals. One rises vertically above the plant and the other two fall behind and below the flower. It also has three petals, although the third one is modified into the pouch so distinctive in ladyslipper orchids. The other two petals, which resemble the sepals, tend two twist and curve forward as if they were the shoelaces that would tie the slipper onto the imaginary foot was this really a slipper. Above the pouch is a yellow triangular structure used to guide the bees into the pouch. Just in case they need further direction, there are purple markings that literally point down on the lip. To the bee, this means "follow this arrow to get pollen and/or nectar". Unfortunately for the bee, it gets neither. Like the Calypso, the yellow ladyslipper doesn't produce any nectar for the production of honey. That's alright, then a feed of pollen will do just fine. Unfortunately for the bee, the pollen of these orchids is all packed together into a single sticky mass. This allows a single bee visit to produce thousands of tiny seeds. When the bee follows the arrow on the lip into the pouch, it becomes trapped. Inside the pouch though, there's another series of purple lines that guide the bee towards the rear of the flower where there are two exit points for bees that are the right size. Too large and they may find themselves trapped in the pouch. Tiny angular hairs also serve to nudge the bee in the right direction towards these exits…oh and yah…the orchids reproductive organs. First, it passes the stigma or female part of the plant. If the bee has visited another orchid previously, the sticky pollen mass will be deposited here. Then, just before it exits the flower, an additional pollen mass will be placed on its back where it can't access it for feeding purposes. It will just stick there on the hopes that the bee gets duped once again. Without a pollen or nectar reward, there is little to motivate bees to keep visiting these orchids. That's why allowing a single visit to produce thousands of seeds is a good strategy - it makes every visit count. Why do bees come back? In part because of the seductive fragrance of the flower. It resembles the bees own pheromones. In addition, any bees that have already visited and escaped, leave their scent as well. This also serves to attract other unwitting bees. Once the flower is pollinated, it will produce a hard, vertical pod that contains thousands of tiny, wind-dispersed seeds. Once the seeds are released, for most plants the story would end. They would hopefully find their way to a place with good soil and germination would take place. For orchids, the story is not quite that simple. The seeds of the yellow ladyslipper are tiny and have very little in the way of food reserves. All plants need help in obtaining nutrients from the soil. Their roots need nitrogen and phosphorous to promote growth. Specialized fungi in the soil called mycorrhizal fungi are able to make these minerals available to the plants in return for a little of the sugar produced by the leaves. The fungi wraps itself around and, in some cases, within the roots. The plant provides sugar in return for these essential nutrients. Some 90% of all plants on the planet rely on these beneficial fungi for their growth. There are thousands of species of mycorrhizal fungi, and for most plants, they are not too fussy as to which species their roots associate with. They have sugar to trade, and the fungi have nitrogen. You give me yours and I'll give you mine. Some plants, as in the case of orchids though, are very particular. The yellow ladyslipper only associates with a small number of fungi species. It also needs their help to even germinate. Each of the seeds of the orchid are tiny and lack any food reserves. They need to land on just the right soil, which contains just the right fungi. Before they can germinate, the fungi have to wrap themselves around the seeds and provide not just nitrogen at this stage but also sugars. The plant seed has none so the fungus has to sustain the seeds until they can germinate. Essentially, at this time, the plant is parasitic to the fungus as it's not providing any sugars in return for the nourishment it is taking. Later, as the fungus feeds the seed until it germinates and grows, a period that can take years, The plant will begin to reciprocate and provide sugars to the fungus. In most plant relationships. Essentially, the relationship varies between one of parasitism and one of mutual benefit. Yellow ladyslippers also take hiatuses at different times in their lifespan where they won't sprout at all for several years. During these dormant times, it will, once again, rely on the fungi for nourishment. Unfortunately, this intense reliance on very specific soil fungi means that you can't transplant ladyslippers. The plants produce thousands of seeds specifically because the chance of germination is very rare. Only those few seeds that land in the right place, which contains the right fungal partner, have any chance of survival. It's important to think of orchids as a kind of compound species. The flower is only one component of the living plant. The fungi is intricately wound around and within its roots. One cannot exist without the other. If you see people tempted to dig them up or pick them, please let them know just how fragile these flowers are and that picking them today may mean that we never again get the pleasure of seeing another flower in that location. The more I learn about orchids and the orchid family, the more impressed I am. They are one of the most uniquely diversified group of plants on the planet. Because most don't offer nectar to their pollinators, they have to develop innovative ways of attracting them and making sure that each visit counts. And with that, it's time to wrap this episode up. Remember that Ward Cameron Enterprises is your source for all things Rocky Mountain. We offer nature, hiking, step-on, and photography guides to make sure your visit is a memorable one. Expert guides share the stories behind the scenery. If you'd like to reach out to me personally, you can hit me up on Twitter @wardcameron, or drop me a line at info@wardcameron.com. Don't forget to check out the show notes at www.MountainNaturePodcast.com/ep063 for links to additional information, and while you're there, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss another episode

Councilman Rafael Espinal covers Brooklyn neighborhoods Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills and East New York and is an up and comer in the world of NYC Politics. We talked to the Councilman about how he got started in politics from being a speechwriter to an elected official and the issues facing his district and NYC. We discussed his procurement of funds for affordable housing, as well as his stance on the current marijuana laws and the environment and his proposal of the Disconnect Bill and biodegradable straws. With aspirations for higher office and a vibrant personality, remember his name! For more on Councilman Espinal go to: http://rafaelespinal.nyc/meet-rafael/   

This week, Kate finishes off her tales of terror from the depths of her grandma's basement and then regales some tales of terror from Saskatoon. Later, Dionne shares stories from the making of her "cursed" movie during its production in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan.

Enter The Dragon In this episode, I tell all about the last scene in Enter the Dragon and how it connects to my experience going to Lollapalooza in 1994, the Wahl's protocol, and the upcoming Season Finale in Episode 33.  Inspired by playing Episode 1 in the last episode, I compare where I am then and now. Episode 31 Recap Last episode, Yoko was here. She in Tokyo now, but things continue to happen to me, so let's talk about them. I fell out of the shower. I saw my MS doctor and we discussed my recovery, and I told him the blanket analogy about how MS is like being trapped under a blanket that can be very heavy at times.  From the never-before-heard ancient history, I played Episode 1, about a visit to the occupational therapist, challenges with hot sauce manufacturing, and the desire to share my disabled experience both good and bad.  I wonder aloud, should I be on disability? I told the blanket analogy to my occupational therapist.  I resolve to try and make something out of crisis. Enter The 36 Echo Chambers The echo chamber of social media is like the final scene of the great Bruce Lee movie Enter the Dragon where he fights Han with all the mirrors. When I went to Lollapalooza in 1994 before Smashing Pumpkins came out they played this scene. I went to Lollapalooza see the Beastie Boys, and I thought Parliament was especially memorable because they had a guy dressed as a baby. Bootsy Collins was very far out.  Cypress Hills was there, and Guided By Voices too, but I wasn't hip enough to be up on that yet.  I was fifteen, and I remember being confused. Wahl's Protocol Listeners wrote in on the website and the Facebook page to ask if I knew about Dr. Terry Wahl’s protocol, which is a dietary approach to fighting multiple sclerosis. One of the few things that seems to really affect how I am feeling is what I'm eating. Because of this, I try to cook as much as I can myself using minimally processed ingredients. This way I know more about what is going in to my body, so I can easily make changes and modify my approach. Episode 33 Will Be the Season 1 Finale The final episode of the season will be the next episode, Episode 33. I'm going to take a pause for a long-overdue upgrade to my computer and audio equipment.  In advance of the Season 2 Premiere, I'm going to put season 1 back online.  I'm already speaking to different people and making efforts to expand my network, so I can bring new voices and perspectives to the podcast in Season 2.  Expanding my vision will increase my podcast's Disability Consciousness, grow understanding and make our community stronger. New Growth Last week the landscaper was here and we planted new plants in the garden, cut some old ones back, and retired some others.  New arrivals include red snapdragon, mexican sage.  Everything is looking great in the garden and getting ready for Spring. Differences from Then to Now Listening to last episode, I was struck by how different things were in Episode 1 in comparison to the present time.  In Episode 1, I wonder about getting disability.  I applied for disability and received it in Episode 20, five months later.  I got my ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) brace in episode 1, but it took until Episode 8, two months later, before I could wear it without too much pain.  Even though it still hurts, now I wear it every day.  I'm looking into getting a scooter, so I can increase my range and go farther.  The best difference is that I feel better and more positive. Stay Tuned Tune in to Episode 33 for a look back on Season 1 and how we'll get ready for Season 2.

On the first episode of 8AM Shift, Joe and Jordan break down Game of Thrones S07 E04 - "Spoils of War".We're publishing a little late on this but it was on our minds when we recorded it. For Jordan, Game of Thrones is more than a fantasy drama, it's a metaphor and lesson on business and marketing. Joe riffs on the cultural influence the series has had an posits that it may be the most poignant HBO series ever.We have a fake ad in the middle of the episode. However, if you want to speak with us about adding a REAL ad, holler at us. Last week, Joe recommended the movie "Cop Land" to Jordan. He watched, and now him and Joe review it. Coincidentally, the 20 year anniversary for it is this August and they examine its place in the canon of great NYC films.They also dive into the sociopolitical elements of it and connect it to the audiobook that Jordan is currently listening to, "Once A Cop" by Corey Pegues.Recording and Editing: Box O' Joe Production and Scheduling: Jordan (YR)**Also shout-out to the hardworking West Indian police officers on patrol and salute to the officers of the 75th precinct who risked their lives in Cypress Hills . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week I talk with Gail Kesslar, Executive Director of the Cypress Hills Destination Area. Cypress Hills Destination Area are nominated for the Gil Carduner marketing award at Tourism Saskatchewan's HOST conference, and the third in a series on the nominees. (Others are Saskatchewan Fashion Week and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum).Gail shares the work she does for the region, how one and a half...

This week I talk with Gail Kesslar, Executive Director of the Cypress Hills Destination Area. Cypress Hills Destination Area are nominated for the Gil Carduner marketing award at Tourism Saskatchewan's HOST conference, and the third in a series on the nominees. (Others are Saskatchewan Fashion Week and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum).Gail shares the work she does for the region, how one and a half...