Podcasts about march may

Sector 2814 Ep #22: Green Lantern #36, Green Lantern - Mosaic #9-#12 Welcome back to Sector 2814, the Green Lantern podcast. In this episode Phil, Will and Matt celebrate “Christmas in July” with Green Lantern #36 and Green Lantern: Mosaic #9 (February 1993) and continue the tour of the Mosaic and John Stewart's psyche with Green Lantern: Mosaic #10-#12 (March-May 1993) Show notes: Sector 2814 Ep #22: Green Lantern #36, Green Lantern - Mosaic #9-#12 Check out all of our social media here: https://linktr.ee/CapesandLunatics Check out Will's website: willallred.com Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nightwingpdp Follow Will Allred on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wallred Follow Matt Kona on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattKona Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn't cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Support the Capes and Lunatics Podcast on Patreon www.patreon.com/capesandlunatics Support the Southgate Media Group on Patreon www.patreon.com/SouthgateMediaGroup

The lads are very excited about a 90s fragrance return, disagree on pretty much every listener food take, words are mixed up (March/May? come on...) Mags is a bit narky and Si is defensive. But Punk v Bryan is awesome! Follow the show online, search @chain_wrestling on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

Green Lantern #22-#24 Welcome back to Sector 2814, the Green Lantern podcast. In this episode Phil, Will and Matt review Green Lantern #22-#24 (March-May 1992) featuring Hal Jordan’s reunion with Carol Ferris, John Stewart vs Star Sapphire, and the Hal finds his last 2 recruits.  PLUS: The guys discuss the new The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode. Show notes: Green Lantern #22-#24: Sector 2814 Episode #10 Check out all of our social media here: https://linktr.ee/CapesandLunatics Check out Will’s website: willallred.com Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nightwingpdp Follow Will Allred on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wallred Follow Matt Kona on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattKona Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support the Capes and Lunatics Podcast on Patreon www.patreon.com/capesandlunatics Support the Southgate Media Group on Patreon www.patreon.com/SouthgateMediaGroup

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

S'mores, anyone? Our bakers answer the Spring Baking Championship's bizarre spring camping invitation with a resounding meh, as they're challenged to consider such things as "how DOES one cook a kiwi in a skillet?" and "what kind of psychopath brings passion fruit on a camping trip?" and "CAN you just add the word Spring to the front of anything and make it a March - May activity"? There's something for everyone in this episode, as "indoor people" are treated to a crafting challenge guaranteed to stitch up at least one of our beloved bakers. Who has to take the long canoe ride home from Camp SBC? Let's find out...

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

AskMeiPhing? A Careers LiveChat by Mei Phing Lim⚡Career Coach ~ LinkedIn hot-topic chat and Q&A to help you to grow your career ~ *Live from March-May 2021* ** Don't forget to LIKE + SUBSCRIBE! Learn more ⤵ ** ► Website: https://www.meiphing.com ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiphing ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meiphing.co/ ► Events: https://campsite.bio/meiphing.co GROW YOUR CAREER!

Batman #445-#447 Phil and Lilith review Batman #445-#447 (March-May 1990) featuring Batman’s trip to Russia to battle the NKVDemon, protege of the KGBeast.  PLUS: Lilith’s review of the Walmart Batarang!  Show Notes: Batman #445-#447: We Are the Knight Episode #16 Find all of our Social Media & Merchandise here: https://linktr.ee/capesandlunatics Follow Phil Perich on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Nightwingpdp Follow Lilith Hellfire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LilithHellfire Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support the Capes and Lunatics Podcast on Patreon www.patreon.com/capesandlunatics

Night of the Living Deadpool In this week’s episode, our (anti)heroes review Night of the Living Deadpool #1-#4 (March-May 2014) featuring Deadpool’s journey through the zombie apocalypse and the new world that’s created in the end…(continued in 2 weeks!) Show notes: Night of the Living Deadpool: Wade's World--The Deadpool Podcast Episode #115 Find all of our Social Media here: https://linktr.ee/capesandlunatics Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NIghtwingpdp  Follow Lilith Hellfire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LilithHellfire  Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support the Capes and Lunatics Podcast on Patreon www.patreon.com/capesandlunatics

On today’s podcast, we interview Anne Maltese, Director of People Insights, at Quantum Workplace. Quantum Workplace provides the data and insights to The Best Places to Work, the contest that honors superior organizations where voices are heard, cultures are thriving, and employees are engaged. In a recent study of workplace engagement, Quantum Workplace studied 1.2 million employees and contrasted engagement scores from March-May 2019 with engagement scores from March-May 2020.This is what they found: · Engagement Scores SPIKED from 2019 to 2020.· Employees enjoyed the dramatic growth in effective communication.· Employees enjoyed managers who are demonstrating care for their well-being.· Employees like working from home.· Employees enjoy greater levels of clarity.One of the takeaways is that distance has provided the following:· Greater necessity for transparency from leaders.· Greater necessity for visibility by all co-workers into what you are working on, and how you are doing.· Greater necessity to feel trusted by managers and the company.To learn more about Anne Maltese and Quantum Workplace, please go to:Quantum WorkplaceAudio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

On today's episode we discuss: —Epidemiology: Experienced scientists from the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco conducted a meta-analysis of 19 peer-reviewed papers involving 11,590 COVID-19 patients. They found a positive association between smoking and severe progression of COVD-19. Authors suggest that while this data clearly shows smoking puts COVID-19 patients at increased risk for disease progression, the actual risk may be even higher due to limitations in the reviewed papers. —Transmission & Prevention: Infection control experts from West China Hospital of Sichuan University in Chengdu discuss prevention measures implemented to protect healthcare workers (HCW) across China, including mask-wearing for workers, securing and providing personal protective equipment, using fluid resistant protective clothing and respirators, allocating specific hospitals for COVID-19 patients, and enacting strict community lockdown procedures. —Adjusting Practice During COVID-19: Spanish dermatologists discuss a scabies outbreak in their region during the nationwide lockdown in March-May, 2020, with a three-fold increase in reported cases at a single hospital compared to the same period in the previous five years. Authors suggest that time spent in confinement increased fomite transmission and that individuals were less likely to seek treatment until the scabies lesions became more serious leading to more cases in family clusters, longer infection time due to reinfection, and the need for more aggressive treatment regimens to treat resistant infections. —R&D: Diagnosis & Treatments: Lab scientists from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Chennai, India reviewed the limited existing literature related to antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) and its potential impact on the effectiveness of immunotherapy and vaccine development for SARS-CoV-2. Citing evidence from research on MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, authors suggest ADE, which occurs when non-neutralizing or poorly neutralizing antibodies increase viral entry into cells, may intensify coronavirus infection. However, they propose targeting receptor binding motifs as a possible mitigation strategy. —Mental Health & Resilience Needs: A representative panel survey of adults (n=5,470) conducted across the United States by Australian and American researchers found the mental health impact of COVID-19 disproportionately affected young adults, certain racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, unpaid adult caregivers, and individuals with pre-existing psychiatric conditions. Authors recommend COVID-19-specific mental health interventions and prevention efforts be implemented to improve care for the at-risk populations identified by this study. —Silver Linings: Utilizing data from the Epidemiological Surveillance Network from Madrid Autonomous Community, epidemiologists from Madrid, Spain compared the number of cases of reportable communicable diseases in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19lst/support

Erika Payne joins me again to talk marketing planning for CoMoGives month by month. In this episode, we explore what our process looks like for the entire year, from the end of last year's campaign to the end of the next year's. It's essentially a ton of documenting, testing, and celebrating, but with structure. HOW IT ALL FLOWS DEC 1. Keep track of all the things that didn’t go right in a document JAN-FEB 2. Review the document and all data after campaign, quickly so it’s not lost a. Brainstorm how to improve in the pain point areas 3. Survey donors 4. Attend the member recap to hear what orgs think was good or bad 5. Reconcile the previous year’s numbers MARCH-MAY 6. Really dig into marketing data so we can make a plan for next year based on what worked 7. Brainstorm ways to improve and market 8. Pitch those ideas to the client 9. Set new year campaign goal 10. Estimate and schedule ideas for the website 11. Create Participant Sign up form & Test JUNE-JULY 12. Form a focus group of nonprofits 13. Plan marketing workshop a. Plan training for nonprofits 14. Start updating website 15. Open up organization registration 16. Plan & schedule marketing activities a. Schedule everything humanly possible for marketing AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 17. Train nonprofits on how to use the website 18. Hold training workshop for nonprofits 19. Work in making improvements to the website 20. Design Marketing a. Social media b. Ads c. Emails OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 21. Review/Revise marketing materials 22. Continue making improvements to the website 23. Look at list of improvements, decided if there are any we need to hold off on until next year. 24. TEST TEST TEST everything on the website a. Then test again 25. Adjust hosting capacity 26. Make sure the payment portal is setup and and ready to take payments a. Then test yet again DECEMBER 27. Turn on the Campaign! 28. Support nonprofits as campaign runs 29. Review all data daily and put into spreadsheet to see benchmarks 30. Adjust marketing as needed 31. Encourage nonprofits 32. Celebrate successes 33. Document stuff we want to change for next year 34. Celebrate the campaign end!

Spider-Man: Funeral For An Octopus Welcome back to Ultimate Spider-Cast!  This time Phil, Matt and Rey review Spider-Man: Funeral For An Octopus #1-#3 (March-May 1995) featuring the funeral of Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider vs the Sinister (not) Six. Show Notes: Spider-Man Funeral For An Octopus: Ultimate Spider-Cast Episode #87 Find all of our Social Media here: https://linktr.ee/capesandlunatics Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nightwingpdp Follow Rey and Into the Knight on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ITKmoonknight Follow Matt Kona on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattKona Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support the Capes and Lunatics Podcast on Patreon www.patreon.com/capesandlunatics Get Your Into the Knight: A Moon Knight Podcast T-shirt here: https://www.teepublic.com/en-au/stores/into-the-knight-a-moon-knight-podcast?ref_id=11826

Hello Beautiful Shining Souls 

Has the stock market reached a point of stabilization? Are the volatile swings up or down beginning to equalize? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I’m going to do my best to answer that question. I’ll define what ‘stabilization’ means, look at how the S&P 500 and Dow Jones behaved in March-May, and address where we could go from here. After you hear the information I present, I’ll let YOU decide where the market stands. Outline of This Episode [2:00] What is the definition of stabilization? [3:40] Stock market activity in March [4:44] Stock market activity in April [5:20] Stock market activity in May [10:16] Where do we go from here? [14:30] Have the stock markets reached stabilization? What IS the definition of ‘stabilization’? According to Lexico, stabilization is “The process of becoming or being made unlikely to change, fail, or decline.” When I look at the market, the question I ask myself is this: Has the insane volatility—big upswings and big downswings—stopped? Volatility is often viewed and referenced negatively. However, I do want to point out that volatility can also mean an upward spike—not just down.  Stock market behaviors in March, April, and May Although the Coronavirus pandemic technically started in February, I want to focus on how it impacted the market starting in March. The S&P 500 dropped 20% in March and the Dow Jones dropped 21%. Talk about a HUGE negative trend. From what I’ve read, it sounds like it was the worst-performing month of the stock market since the great depression. March brought wild swings in the market—sometimes 6–8% in a single day.  April seemed like a polar opposite to March, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow up 13%. It can be categorized as one of the best months we’ve had in 35–40 years. But the market was still quite volatile. The Monday before the CARES act was passed, the market anticipated that it wasn't going to pass and the market was DOWN. When the Senate passed the bill, the market had a huge upswing. Trillions of dollars were pumped into the economy.  May has been largely uneventful and relatively calm in day-to-day activity, with the S&P and Dow both up 3%. Here and there we learn more about the virus or receive some good news about potential vaccines and treatment. There have been a few trading days with swings of 3–4%.  Where will the stock market go from here? My opinion—NOT my prediction—is that wall street is waiting for a catalyst. Will the Fed send out another round of stimulus payments? Will a company come out with a proven vaccine? Will the relationship with China improve or deteriorate? We can’t forget a big election is coming up. The stock market is looking for the next big thing and will react accordingly. The month of May brought some market stabilization and we’ve seen less volatility. We may be moving in a positive direction. Only time will tell.  Resources & People Mentioned The definition of ‘stabilization’ Dow Surges 900 Points Illinois ‘Stay At Home’ Orders Connect With Rockie Website On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor On LinkedIn Subscribe to the show on the app of your choice Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Episode 4 March-May 2020 California went into a “stay-at-home” order. This meant almost 100% of the state’s economy shut down. Here’s what happened to the Real Estate Industry & how our SF firm reacted, adapted & carried on. In this episode, I breakdown what happened to our 5 day on market deal & how it turned into a two month circus!

Flyover Politik Podcast 5-24-20 Today’s Show: 1- Biden YOU AINT BLACK comment goes in the long line of if you have a “D” behind your name you are good to go 2- We take a way back ride to Obama Campaigns against McCain and Romney and HRC ability to dodge deplorables and run negative ads while the media promotes all of the above 3- Covid- CNN uses satellite to get a shot of MASKLESS trump golfing it is what WE WERE WAITING FOR with their coverage of his Ford plant visit so says CBS 4- We cover the rich history of Nazi being slung by the left towards GOP presidents and candidates 5- Suicides up , Media ignore even LGTB suicides while they push for lockdown 6- This is America: the left calls the right faux patriots we blow that up 7- Lighterfare: Billy Idol, BRC and Press SEC busting out PowerPoint 8- Honor the fallen March-May 2020 for Memorial Day Next Show 5-29-20

Nightwing Year One: 80 Years of Grayson Phil and Kristen review Nightwing: Year One from Nightwing #101-#106 (March—May 2005) featuring the updated tale of Dick Grayson’s transformation into the hero known as Nightwing. Show notes: Nightwing Year One–80 Years of Grayson: Nightwing News #32 Find all of our Social Media here: https://linktr.ee/capesandlunatics Find Kristen’s book Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder here: https://www.amazon.com/Dick-Grayson-Boy-Wonder-Nightwing/dp/0786497882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540958908&sr=8-1&keywords=dick+grayson+boy+wonder Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nightwingpdp Follow Kristen Geaman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/75yrsofgrayson Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com  When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support the SMG Podcast Network on Patreon www.patreon.com/SouthgateMediaGroup

Josh and Dan dive into one major movie of the 80s and one movie that Dan happened to pick – Terminator and Romancing the Stone! What is a Terminator called in Poland?  Who was Michael Douglas’ famous first roommate? Should Danny Devito have gotten an Oscar for his performance as Penguin? How many Halloween movies are there, anyway? Tune in to find out! (Plus - a detour into the films of March-May 2019 since we recorded this ages ago!)

Batman Blind Justice: Before the Bat Episode #135 Phil and Lilith review Blind Justice from Detective Comics #598-#600 (March-May 1989) by Sam Hamm, cowriter of the Batman 1989 movie screenplay. Show Notes: Batman Blind Justice: Before the Bat Episode #135 Find all of our Social Media & Merchandise here: https://linktr.ee/capesandlunatics Follow Phil Perich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nightwingpdp Follow Lilith Hellfire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LilithHellfire  Produced by: http://www.southgatemediagroup.com Production Team: Phil Perich SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS Order our book Pod Life: Podcaster Stories orderpodlife.smgpods.com  When you shop at Amazon.com using this link, every dollar you spend supports our podcast network and doesn’t cost you a penny more. amazon.smgpods.com Hunt a Killer – Get 20% off on your first box with Coupon Code SOUTHGATE www.huntakiller.com Tweaked Audio Headphones – Get 30% off, Free Shipping, and a Lifetime Warranty with Coupon Code – SOUTHGATE www.tweakedaudio.com Support our the SMG Podcast Network on Patreon www.patreon.com/SouthgateMediaGroup

Impact Boom recently collaborated with Reactivate Latrobe Valley to offer a series of Social Impact Masterclasses in Gippsland, Victoria, which ran from March-May 2019. In this episode, we hear from ten creative changemakers and entrepreneurs from the region working hard to create positive social impact.

During his brief recording and production career in the 1990's, British DJ-composer-producer Beaumont Hannant was many things: a prolific and innovative figure in ambient techno and intelligent dance music (IDM); an adventurer in trip hop, hip hop, ambient pop, alt rock and underground house. This 2-hour mix celebrates his formidable but largely forgotten body of work released under various names and aliases, with an emphasis on the more atmospheric examples of his solo releases, various collaborations, productions and remixes. Compiled & mixed by Mike G at Rubycon Sound, March-May 2019. More at http://ambientmusicguide.com

50 innocent human beings were killed in Christchurch, NZ on Friday 15th March - May they all rest in peace.This weekend, football in this country was overshadowed by the tragedy. Kia kaha New Zealand.

Born into a Jewish family in Moscow in 1971, Yevgeniy Fiks moved to New York in 1994. His conceptual art reacts to amnesia about the USSR in the post-Soviet space, resisting nostalgia and commodification in favour of recovering repressed histories, especially those of LGBT and Jewish people; he also looks at the relationship with the USSR and the USA before and during the Cold War, and at histories of the American left, suppressed since the McCarthy witch-hunts. In this Suite (212) Extra, Juliet talks to Yevgeniy about his exhibition Mother Tongue at London’s Pushkin House from March-May 2019, dealing with the underground slang spoken by Russian gay men in the 1970s and 80s, and his wider practice. SELECTED REFERENCES PROJECTS BY YEVGENIY FIKS (https://yevgeniyfiks.com/) Song of Russia (2005-7) Lenin for Your Library (2007) Monitoring Lenin’s Sales on Amazon.com (2007) Communist Party USA (2007) The Communist Guide to New York City (2008) American Cold War Veterans’ Association (2009) A Gift to Birobidzhan (2009) Homosexuality is Stalin’s Atom Bomb to Destroy America (2012) Landscapes of the Jewish Autonomous Region (2012-16) Monument to Cold War Victory (2012-14) Anatoly (2014) Sovetish Kosmos, Yiddish Cosmos (2016) Soviet Moscow’s Yiddish-Gay Dictionary (2016) In Edenia, A City of the Future (2017) Mother Tongue (2018) Guy Burgess FRIEDRICH ENGELS, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884) – https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/origin-family/index.htm Gay Laboratory Masha Gessen Kama Ginkas – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kama_Ginkas Zinaida Gippius – https://www.rbth.com/literature/2014/11/20/a_life_unshackled_remembering_the_symbolist_poet_zinaida_gippius_41541.html Harry Hay – https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/04/harry-hay-communist-mattachine-society-lgbtq DAN HEALEY, Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia (2001) – https://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/307 Magnus Hirschfeld – https://minorliteratures.com/2018/05/17/berlins-third-sex Langston Hughes Nikita Kadan – http://nikitakadan.com Yevgeni Kharitonov – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Kharitonov_(poet) Vladimir Koslovsky – https://www.academia.edu/2074803/Between_lavender_and_light_blue_Negotiating_transnational_and_local_gay_identities_in_Russian MIKHAIL KUZMIN, Wings (1906) – http://chromajournal.blogspot.com/2007/09/review-wings-by-mikhail-kuzmin.html V. I. LENIN, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916) – https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm Georgy Mamedov - https://soundcloud.com/suite-212/against-simple-answers-art-sexuality-and-society-in-kyrgyzstan Vladislav Mamyshev Monroe – https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/2849/vlad-mamyshev-monroe-new-exhibition-marilyn Dmitri Merezhkovsky – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Merezhkovsky Sergei Paradjanov – https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/mar/13/sergei-paradjanov-films-gulag Queer in Space: Kollontai Communist Archive (dir. ShTAB, 2015) – http://www.frieze.info/article/juliet-jacques-school-theory-and-activisms-queer-space Rainbow Association (Moscow) Restricted Sensation (dir. Deimantas Narkevičius, 2011) – https://lux.org.uk/work/restricted-sensation Mykola Ridnyi – http://www.mykolaridnyi.com/ Paul Robeson SHEILA SAMPATH (ed.), Letters Lived: Radical Reflections, Revolutionary Paths (2013) – http://sheilasampath.ca/letters-lived-blog/2013/12/1/letters-lived-contributor-sheila-sampath Seekers of Happiness (dir. Vladimir Korsh, 1936) – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026119/ GENNADI TRIFONOV, ‘Letter from Prison’ (1978) – https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1986/04/10/the-case-of-gennady-trifonov/ Harry Whyte – https://www.marxist.com/letter-to-stalin-can-a-homosexual-be-in-the-communist-party.htm Aleksandr Zaremba – http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/bioz1/zaremba01.html KALMAN ZINGMAN, Edenia (1918) – https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/8498/edenia-lost-yiddish-utopia-ukraine-afterlife-modern-day-kharkiv

Welcome back to The Emancipation Podcast Station - the place to hear about history researched and retold through the eyes of Middle school and HS students.   Last time on the show... Beginnings - 600 BCE   The origin of humans and early human societies: Beginnings -  Gabe - Prehistory is the history before it was written. Finding bones and doing tests like potassium argon dating or other methods to find the age was one of the ways we could see find prehistory. The tools they used and how the newer ones were perfected is another. Ben- Anthropology is the study of ancient humans and their cultures. Everyone always talks about how old certain things are, but how is the information found? Radiocarbon dating is when you get a certain element called carbon 14 and and see how much of it has decayed back into nitrogen 14. So if half the carbon 14 has decayed, that means the item is 5730 years old. The radiocarbon method is a good indicator of how old something is. Audrey - Written records are a main tool in learning the history of the people before us. These are, in some ways, more detailed than other forms of records, including archaeological and biological remains. That being said, written records can’t be the only thing taken into consideration; they could be biased or could be stories passed down generation after generation, slowly being changed to fit the current worldviews. Emma - Many Paleolithic societies were communal. The members of a community, which were most often small, nomadic groups, worked together to perform various tasks. The women typically raised the children, gathered food, and cooked, whereas the men did the hunting, often in groups. However, in some communities, the work is thought to have been divided evenly between both women and men. Ella - Early paleolithic societies did not have agricultural systems like we do today. They relied on tools they made to hunt animals. These societies would use tools made out of rocks such as handaxes. They used these for both hunting and digging. The other half of their diet consisted of natural fruits and vegetables they found in their environment. Skylar - According to historians the first generations of “human” like people are called Homo Sapiens. Homo Sapiens were apart of a group called Hominids. Archaeologist and anthropologist believe that they were alive between 2.5 and 4 million years ago and lived in eastern and southern Africa. Ethan - The anatomic structure of the people of today has existed for about 200,000 years. Egyptian hieroglyphs have been around for close to 5,000 years but America couldn’t even comprehend the hieroglyphs until 1799 when America found the Rosetta Stone. Even then when America had the Rosetta Stone it took quite a while to decipher it. And even after we began to comprehend hieroglyphs, we still had to hope no one would “change the story” to make it more interesting. And people still had altering views so deciding which was true caused more investigation. Thus, the Scientific Process. Hunter- the study of human existence has been going on for multiple centries. The process has just evolved to even being able to find the year of when the creature and or early human existed and died.   600 BCE The Neolithic Revolution and the birth of agriculture: Beginnings - Emma - The word Neolithic is derived from neo, meaning new, and the Greek word lithos, which translates to stone. It is the latter part of the stone age in which tools began to have a more smooth and refined appearance. Unlike before, these tools had complex shapes and purposes, and began to resemble the instruments used in more advanced societies. Audrey - Since the birth of agriculture, Earth’s population has increased immensely. In the Paleolithic period, humans were primarily hunter-gatherers, and the population was roughly 10 million. Then 10 - 15 thousand years ago (13000 - 8000 B.C.) the Neolithic period came, and along with that, agriculture. Since plants and animals were now being domesticated, and more people could be fed, the population grew. By the time of the Roman Empire there were around 250 million people on Earth, and since then the population has grown to approximately 7 billion.  Gabe -  There was different types of agriculture there was pastoralism which was the branch of agriculture that bred animals goat, sheep, cattle, and in this branch they collected food from there goats and cattle and probably wool from the sheep and milk from the cows and probably the goats too     Ella - Most  early civilizations came together through religion, or beliefs and practices that associate with the meaning of the world. with  This was how people who were not familiar with one another created trustworthy and respectful relationships. Religion was commonly associated with politics. Religious leaders commonly worked as political leaders as well.   Ethan - Agriculture was created so that the survivability of the human race would increase. The end of the most recent glacial period was about the same time that agriculture emerged. The reasoning behind this is that the soil had thawed so food could be grown in abundance. Ben - There were a few different things being grown around the world. Stuff like barley, but also something less known called sorghum. Sorghum today is mostly used for animal food, but can also be used to create a kind of sweet syrup. Sorghum was being grown about the area sudan is at today and was probably being used as a normal grain in 9000-7000 BCE. There was also okra, black eyed peas, and yam around the west coast of africa. (Can talk about more different foods and where they’re from if needed) Skylar -City-States couldn’t have been became created without agriculture. Most people would not be alive if it wasn’t for agriculture. Since agriculture has been created the plants (veggies) and animals (meat and milk). Thanks to irrigation vegetation can now be grown almost anywhere. The availability of human consumable calories per square kilometer has increased rapidly. People started farming in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and went on to East Asia, mexico, and many more places. Hunter- Neolithic Age is also known as the New Stone Age. However, it is closely connected to civilization, animal domestication, inventions, and agriculture. Stability in life opened new doors for man, as he ventured into domesticating animals rather than merely hunting them as per his need. He also invented pottery in this era, making it a symbol of the Neolithic era. 600 BCEAncient Mesopotamia: Beginnings -  Gabe - I'm going to start by saying Mesopotamia means country between to rivers so most the cities were born on the rivers tigris euphrates (which is what Mesopotamia is in between) the yangtze or the nile. They were born on these cities because the rivers would fertilize their crops bring water and transportation later on      Ella - The Sumerians were a group of people that started in Southern Mesopotamia around 4000 BCE. They wrote some of the first written scripts that were made of clay tablets. These ideas spread to surrounding civilizations which resulted in more languages being written. These languages are what today's alphabet was developed from. Audrey - Mesopotamia was one of the first significant civilizations, and was located in what is now Iraq. The Sumerians are believed to be the first civilization to emerge in Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.). They are well known for the first development of the wheel (3500 B.C.), and for their architectural structures, like the ziggurats which were found in the center of many Sumerian and Mesopotamian cities. Emma - Around 3000 BC the Sumerians came in contact with the Akkadians, named after the city-state of Akkad. About 700 years later, Sargon of Akkad came into power and is thought to have started the first dynastic empire. Both the Akkadian and Sumerian speakers were ruled by the Akkadian Empire until it’s fall in 2154 BC. Ben - After the akkadian empire, a new empire began, and it was called the Babylonian empire. The Babylonians used to just be a small place in Akkadia (2300 BC), but grew into an empire. The leader of the Babylonian empire was Hammurabi. The Babylonians influenced the area in that they had a sort of law system that was based on religion. They spoke Akkadian. (1800-600 BC) from 1770- 1670 and from 612-320 BC babylon was estimated to be the largest city in population size in the world. Skylar - The Pharaoh King Menes was able to unify upper and lower Egypt with the Eqyptian civilization. Hammurabi was famous for making the code of Hammurabi. He codified a series of laws. Ethan - After the Sumerian and Akkadian empires formed, the Assyrian Empire formed about 1000 years later in northern Mesopotamia. Ashur was the capital of Assyria. Assyria was originally ruled by Sargon and his bloodline during the Akkadian Empire. After the end of the Akkadian empire Assyria became the major empire then. 8. Hunter- Mesopotamia was known in antiquity as a seat of learning, and it is believed that Thales of Miletus  (c. 585 BCE, known as the first philosopher) studied there. As the Babylonians believed that water was the ‘first principle’ from which all else followed, and as Thales is famous for that very claim, it seems probable that he studied there.   600 BCEAncient Egypt: Beginnings - 600 BCE  Gabe - Egypt started next to the nile which is because it helps with many things as we  talked about earlier there was the old egypt which was when the pyramids were built and this is the time we kind of think about when we think egypt but the pharaohs you think about were very far from the building of the pyramids and cleopatra actually lived 2500 years from the makings of the pyramids and 2037 from the making of the first iphone so she lived closer to the iphone   Ella - During the old kingdom period, Egypt was a single state. The country eventually became more complex and expanded their military. The kings of the time built formations such as Great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Giza. These structures were used as tombs or monuments for the kings that built them. Emma - The Egyptian political system was based on the idea of divine kingship. They believed that the political ruler, or pharaoh, either held the favor of a god (or gods) or was in fact a living incarnation of the god themself. An example of this was Narmer who was thought to be Horus. This reinforced the authority of the current political figure in power. Audrey - The Egyptian civilization was originally divided into upper and lower Egypt. The official beginning of the civilization was somewhere around 3100-3150 B.C. when the two parts of Egypt were united under one king. Ben - As with most early civilizations, egypt was based around a river. When civilizations start around rivers it gives the people fresh water and a good source of water for agricultural purposes too. Even egypt’s seasons were based around the nile and how it affected crops and weather. The first season would be Akhet, which would now be around june-september and was based around the nile river flooding to provide water to crops. The second season was Peret, (Oct. - Feb.) where crops would be planted. The final season was called Shemu, (March - May) when everything would be harvested.                                                                                          Skylar - The Nile River starts in mid-eastern Africa and goes all the way down to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is one of the great rivers. It makes the soil around it rich. Like ben said for growing plants. Most of the population in Egypt is around or close by the multipurpose river. They have a season of harvest and it’s when the soil is most fertile for growing crops. The annual rain is very important because it adds another layer of extremely nutrient-rich soil that’s needed for the Shemu season. Ethan - Wars had what seemed to be a major impact on the civil structure of Egypt. The costs include drought, famine, and disruption of Egyptian civilians. This kind of split Egypt into many different city-states. This allowed any city-state with the military power to take cities, as Kush conquered Lower and Upper Egypt. But soon the Kushites were kicked out of Egypt. Hunter- nothing left to write T^T this is sad all info was sucked dry so please dont blame me   Ancient art and artifacts: Beginnings -  Gabe - One of the artifacts that was found was the standard of ur and no one knows for sure what it actually was but it has 2 sides to it and on one side you have basically peace and prosperity where it shows animals being taken to trade or sacrifice or eat were not really sure and it shows the king and some other important people drinking in enjoyment there many things like that.(didnt want to take to much info someone want to connect to mine and explain what was on the other side) Ella - There were many materials used to make the standard of ur such as lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, Red stones from India, and shells from the gulf to the South of Iraq. These things are all reminders that the cities thrived because of the success in agriculture. There was a river valley between Tigris and Euphrates where they grew large amounts of food. Ben - One of the most important historical items in Egyptian history was the Rosetta Stone, the Rosetta Stone was an ancient stone tablet discovered in 1799, it had the same thing written in three different languages. First, hieroglyphs, then egyptian, then greek. This allowed historians to translate all the hieroglyphs that were seen in temples and pyramids. Emma - On the other side of the Standard of Ur, there are three scenes depicting a war. The lowest section shows chariots coming into battle and trampling their enemies. The second row has a clearly organized army marching into battle, fighting, and taking prisoners. The top again has the king, this time being presented with prisoners of war. Audrey - The Rosetta Stone is a very popular artifact found in the British Museum. It was brought there when Napoleon’s army was in Egypt. One of the many people who came with Napoleon came across the stone being used in the foundation of a fort. Originally it would have been in or near an Egyptian temple and was the bottom part of a much taller tablet. Napoleon took the stone back with him, but when the British defeated Napoleon they took it. Two years later, in 1801 or 1802, the Rosetta Stone was taken to the British Museum and it has been there ever since. Ethan - I guess I’ll explain the Rosetta Stone. It had 2 forms of Egyptian on it. Hieroglyphic and Demotic. Hieroglyphic, as many people know, uses symbols. Demotic is kind of like the print writing of English, but Egyptian. It also had Greek on the stone so it, even after many years, was decipherable. Skylar - The Rosetta Stone was carved in 196 B.C. We were not able to read the Rosetta Stone until mid 19th century. The Rosetta stone is called the Rosetta stone because of where it was found, Rosetta. It was written in three different scripts The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents. The second was demotic which was the common script of Egypt. The third was Greek which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time. Hunter- The Rosetta stone and the Standard of Ur are both important discoveries I can’t say anything more because like last season nothing left to say it’s all taken (and yes i went and looked at more than just the first page or google but I mean this is what I get for being busy all week i guess)   600 BCEAncient India: Beginnings -  Gabe - the harappan civilization or the indus valley civilization because it was near the indus river spread from northwest india to afghanistan and pakistan at the peak of the harappan civilization they may have had a population of 5 million people indus cities are noted for there urban planning which is where you build your cities in with the land to make your life easier basically they also made baked brick houses huge drainage systems water supply systems and basically metropolitan areas.    Ella - Around 2600 BCE, Harappan communities had become large urban areas. Overall about 1000 settlements were founded in the Indus river area. The Mohenjo-daro was one of the biggest cities in the area. It was also one of the more sophisticated cities with its advanced uses for engineering and urban planning. Ben - The Indus river civilization was one of the most advanced and one of the most mysterious ancient places. They were very good at building and their brick areas are impressive even to today’s standards because of how they survived hundreds of years of weather and damage. And jewelry from around that area has been seen in different countries, so trading was probably happening too. Emma - The people of the Indus River Valley Civilization region are known for their advancements in the technology of their time. Their accurate systems for measuring length and mass made their advanced sanitation system possible. This system was the first of its kind ever in history. Audrey - Sanskrit has many similarities to other languages like English and Latin. Words like matr, in English mother, and in Latin mater, show the resemblance. The Vedas mention a “god” named Dyaus Pitr which means “sky father”. In Greek there is Zeus Pater, and in Latin Jupiter, both of which, also meaning sky father. - Ethan - Some of the people in the Indus Valley are called Harappans. The reason that the Harappans succeeded in early technology was they had the most accurate ways to measure length and mass. They also invented bricks, one of the staples in building today. Skylar - The Harappa civilization was more than just Harappa. The largest cite they had was Mohenjo-Daro, it was n the Sihn region of Pakistan. They believe 40,000 lived in just Mohenjo-Daro. Some think that the Harappa civilization was happening around 7000 BCE, they believe they were just living in small villages, but they don’t have very much evidence. Nobody really knows how or why the Indus Valley civilization came to an end. Hunter- Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, tin, and lead. 600 BCEShang China: Beginnings -  Gabe - the earliest period in chinese history is the mythical period which supposedly was ruled by the xia empire and was overthrown by the Shang in 1766 bce but we are not sure if the Xia overthrow was true because we don’t have archaeological evidence of the Xia empire but we do have evidence of the Shang empire and they ruled from 1766 bce to 1046 bce Ella - The earliest form of Chinese writing was found as inscriptions carved into bones and shells.These animal remains were known as oracle bones. The writing on the bones was very complex, suggesting that the language had been around for a while. Scientists didn't have trouble reading it because it was very similar to modern chinese writing. Ben - The chinese craftsmen mastered the alloy bronze, which gave most of their soldiers an advantage. The Shang were excellent builders and engineers, they worked on many things including irrigation systems similar to how the indus river civilization did.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Emma - In the Shang Dynasty Civilization, the king was not a political figure. His main role was as a religious leader, the use of oracle bones making up a large part of their responsibilities. The government itself was run by chosen advisors and other officials. Audrey - Chinese writings from the Shang Dynasty can be found on oracle bones. An oracle bone is an ox’s scapula (shoulder blade) that people would write questions on; they would heat the bone over a flame until it cracked, and then they would interpret the cracks to get an answer to their question. Skylar - The Shang Dynasty was the first dynasty that we have a lot of proof of. It lasted around 500 years. They had great irrigation systems for their day, and had also developed social classes. Both banks of the Yellow River had greats amounts of loess.with is a very nutrient-rich soil that is amazing for growing almost anything. The Shang dynasty was in and near the modern day city of Anyang. It’s known for their writing, a lot like modern day Chinese. Near the end of this dynasty they had chariots and people believe they were in contact with people out in the west. - Ethan - The Shang had some, to say the least, strange practices.  The Shang made offerings to dead relatives in attempt to communicate with them. These “Oracle Bones” people will have talked about by now, are made out of turtle shells, and they were used to predict the future. Hunter- the Shang dynasty craftspeople mastered bronze, an alloy of copper and tin; bronze weapons gave the foot soldiers a tactical advantage.   600 BCEAncient Americas: Beginnings - Gabe - Some of the first people in north america were the olmec who were some of the first mexicans they lived around the gulf of mexico around were veracruz and tabasco (like the sauce i guess) is a nahuatl word from the aztec language which means rubber people because they were the first we know to discover how to convert latex off trees into rubber we call them this because we do not know exactly what they called themselves Ella - None of the Olmecs beliefs or customs were recorded, but there were some artifacts found in the area that indicated long trade routes that spread throughout many regions. Some of the artifacts such as jade and obsidian were evidence that the Olmec people traded with civilizations outside the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Ben - There were a few different early north and south american tribes and cultures such as the mayans. The Mayans were the only ones in early america who had a fully developed writing system. They used hieroglyphs and lived in southeast mexico, they kind of owned southeast mexico. Emma - From 3500 to 1700 BC the Caral civilization existed in was is now northern Peru. It was a complex society in which specialized and interconnected roles existed, though people disagree on whether or not it can be classified as a civilization due to the lack of evidence concerning political, economical, and religious systems. Audrey - The first humans to come to the Americas came 15-16,000 years ago.They are believed to have come from north-eastern Asia across the Bering Strait during the last glaciation period when the sea level was low enough for the Bering Land Bridge. Skylar - the first people that came to north and south america somewhere between 15,000 and 16,000 years ago. They believe the first people were in Florida 14,500 years ago. The Mississippian culture was a north american culture. The mississippi river is named after them. Their famous city was Cahokia and it is around modern day St. Louis. - Ethan - There was a race of people called the Chavin and their culture was centered around a big temple in Chavin de Huantar. Their government system was most likely based off of a hierarchy, while sticking to religion. The Chavin was founded in the northern Andean highlands in Peru. Their civilization was founded in between 900 and 250 BC, which was about to the time period of 1000 years after the collapse of the Caral. The Chavin were located in the Mosna River Valley, in which the Mosna and Huachesa rivers meet. Hunter- cant find nothin!!!!!!! 600 BCE Human innovation and the environment  Gabe - We were nomadic people so we started to farm and start agriculture and build small villages probably making us have more food for more population and basically we started staying in one spot and we started to have tribes and the others started doing this. Ella - One thing that separates humans from animals is our ability to learn and teach efficiently and effectively. We are able to pass down the information and skills we learned to the next generation a lot better than other species can. This is because of our specific and strong communication techniques we've developed like language and writing. Skylar - Before the Neolithic era people had to hunt for food. They would walk short or long distances to find food if there was nothing oblivious to kill for food. Most people were what are called hunter gatherers. They did not consume as much calories as pastoral people. This was called Paleolithic era and the beginning of the mesolithic era. The main thing that happened in the Neolithic era was agriculture. Agriculture was a huge deal, most would say one of the best things that happened in human history. It changed people’s lifestyle and diet. They could now raise crops and/or animals. Move most anywhere they wanted. They then had time to figure out a way to write out the things they were learning. Ben - Over all this time and seeing these things it’s interesting to realize that these people were skilled and could create art and sculptures, writing and speech. One of the most helpful human skills is collective learning, where most information can be passed on to more people in such a way to make the potential knowledge of collective humanity nearly infinite. Emma - The development of written language had a huge impact on the development of human civilizations. Learning from the past, beyond what current generations could recall, began to change societies. For example, it allowed agriculture to develop because newer generations could learn what did and didn’t work in the past. Political records also influenced and changed developing political systems. Audrey - The Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal meaning from the beginning, would have controlled fires that would clear the forests to make the area more suitable for grassland. The grassland would provide an area for animals they could easily hunt and live off of. - Ethan - Innovation mainly began with stone tools that allowed humans to do simple tasks even easier. These tools that helped early humans hunt consisted mainly of spears and knives but very primitive. Like very poorly sharpened edges, but enough to get the job done. Farming tools would mainly consist of what today would be related to a hoe. Hunter- A type of farming used by the Aboriginal Australians was firestick farming, when they would conduct said farming they would start what are called ‘controlled burns’ they were not new to this and knew which seasons to do this in. Like in Spring or Autumn when there was a certain amount of moisture in the air to control the fires and this did more than just give the natives a better landscape but to also help prevent large scale fires and allow kangaroo to graze there for them to eat.   That’s all the time we have for today. THank for joining us out of the box that is learning

Welcome back to The Emancipation Podcast Station - the place to hear about history researched and retold through the eyes of Middle school and HS students.   Last time on the show... Beginnings - 600 BCE   The origin of humans and early human societies: Beginnings -  Gabe - Prehistory is the history before it was written. Finding bones and doing tests like potassium argon dating or other methods to find the age was one of the ways we could see find prehistory. The tools they used and how the newer ones were perfected is another. Ben- Anthropology is the study of ancient humans and their cultures. Everyone always talks about how old certain things are, but how is the information found? Radiocarbon dating is when you get a certain element called carbon 14 and and see how much of it has decayed back into nitrogen 14. So if half the carbon 14 has decayed, that means the item is 5730 years old. The radiocarbon method is a good indicator of how old something is. Audrey - Written records are a main tool in learning the history of the people before us. These are, in some ways, more detailed than other forms of records, including archaeological and biological remains. That being said, written records can’t be the only thing taken into consideration; they could be biased or could be stories passed down generation after generation, slowly being changed to fit the current worldviews. Emma - Many Paleolithic societies were communal. The members of a community, which were most often small, nomadic groups, worked together to perform various tasks. The women typically raised the children, gathered food, and cooked, whereas the men did the hunting, often in groups. However, in some communities, the work is thought to have been divided evenly between both women and men. Ella - Early paleolithic societies did not have agricultural systems like we do today. They relied on tools they made to hunt animals. These societies would use tools made out of rocks such as handaxes. They used these for both hunting and digging. The other half of their diet consisted of natural fruits and vegetables they found in their environment. Skylar - According to historians the first generations of “human” like people are called Homo Sapiens. Homo Sapiens were apart of a group called Hominids. Archaeologist and anthropologist believe that they were alive between 2.5 and 4 million years ago and lived in eastern and southern Africa. Ethan - The anatomic structure of the people of today has existed for about 200,000 years. Egyptian hieroglyphs have been around for close to 5,000 years but America couldn’t even comprehend the hieroglyphs until 1799 when America found the Rosetta Stone. Even then when America had the Rosetta Stone it took quite a while to decipher it. And even after we began to comprehend hieroglyphs, we still had to hope no one would “change the story” to make it more interesting. And people still had altering views so deciding which was true caused more investigation. Thus, the Scientific Process. Hunter- the study of human existence has been going on for multiple centries. The process has just evolved to even being able to find the year of when the creature and or early human existed and died.   600 BCE The Neolithic Revolution and the birth of agriculture: Beginnings - Emma - The word Neolithic is derived from neo, meaning new, and the Greek word lithos, which translates to stone. It is the latter part of the stone age in which tools began to have a more smooth and refined appearance. Unlike before, these tools had complex shapes and purposes, and began to resemble the instruments used in more advanced societies. Audrey - Since the birth of agriculture, Earth’s population has increased immensely. In the Paleolithic period, humans were primarily hunter-gatherers, and the population was roughly 10 million. Then 10 - 15 thousand years ago (13000 - 8000 B.C.) the Neolithic period came, and along with that, agriculture. Since plants and animals were now being domesticated, and more people could be fed, the population grew. By the time of the Roman Empire there were around 250 million people on Earth, and since then the population has grown to approximately 7 billion.  Gabe -  There was different types of agriculture there was pastoralism which was the branch of agriculture that bred animals goat, sheep, cattle, and in this branch they collected food from there goats and cattle and probably wool from the sheep and milk from the cows and probably the goats too     Ella - Most  early civilizations came together through religion, or beliefs and practices that associate with the meaning of the world. with  This was how people who were not familiar with one another created trustworthy and respectful relationships. Religion was commonly associated with politics. Religious leaders commonly worked as political leaders as well.   Ethan - Agriculture was created so that the survivability of the human race would increase. The end of the most recent glacial period was about the same time that agriculture emerged. The reasoning behind this is that the soil had thawed so food could be grown in abundance. Ben - There were a few different things being grown around the world. Stuff like barley, but also something less known called sorghum. Sorghum today is mostly used for animal food, but can also be used to create a kind of sweet syrup. Sorghum was being grown about the area sudan is at today and was probably being used as a normal grain in 9000-7000 BCE. There was also okra, black eyed peas, and yam around the west coast of africa. (Can talk about more different foods and where they’re from if needed) Skylar -City-States couldn’t have been became created without agriculture. Most people would not be alive if it wasn’t for agriculture. Since agriculture has been created the plants (veggies) and animals (meat and milk). Thanks to irrigation vegetation can now be grown almost anywhere. The availability of human consumable calories per square kilometer has increased rapidly. People started farming in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and went on to East Asia, mexico, and many more places. Hunter- Neolithic Age is also known as the New Stone Age. However, it is closely connected to civilization, animal domestication, inventions, and agriculture. Stability in life opened new doors for man, as he ventured into domesticating animals rather than merely hunting them as per his need. He also invented pottery in this era, making it a symbol of the Neolithic era. 600 BCEAncient Mesopotamia: Beginnings -  Gabe - I'm going to start by saying Mesopotamia means country between to rivers so most the cities were born on the rivers tigris euphrates (which is what Mesopotamia is in between) the yangtze or the nile. They were born on these cities because the rivers would fertilize their crops bring water and transportation later on      Ella - The Sumerians were a group of people that started in Southern Mesopotamia around 4000 BCE. They wrote some of the first written scripts that were made of clay tablets. These ideas spread to surrounding civilizations which resulted in more languages being written. These languages are what today's alphabet was developed from. Audrey - Mesopotamia was one of the first significant civilizations, and was located in what is now Iraq. The Sumerians are believed to be the first civilization to emerge in Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.). They are well known for the first development of the wheel (3500 B.C.), and for their architectural structures, like the ziggurats which were found in the center of many Sumerian and Mesopotamian cities. Emma - Around 3000 BC the Sumerians came in contact with the Akkadians, named after the city-state of Akkad. About 700 years later, Sargon of Akkad came into power and is thought to have started the first dynastic empire. Both the Akkadian and Sumerian speakers were ruled by the Akkadian Empire until it’s fall in 2154 BC. Ben - After the akkadian empire, a new empire began, and it was called the Babylonian empire. The Babylonians used to just be a small place in Akkadia (2300 BC), but grew into an empire. The leader of the Babylonian empire was Hammurabi. The Babylonians influenced the area in that they had a sort of law system that was based on religion. They spoke Akkadian. (1800-600 BC) from 1770- 1670 and from 612-320 BC babylon was estimated to be the largest city in population size in the world. Skylar - The Pharaoh King Menes was able to unify upper and lower Egypt with the Eqyptian civilization. Hammurabi was famous for making the code of Hammurabi. He codified a series of laws. Ethan - After the Sumerian and Akkadian empires formed, the Assyrian Empire formed about 1000 years later in northern Mesopotamia. Ashur was the capital of Assyria. Assyria was originally ruled by Sargon and his bloodline during the Akkadian Empire. After the end of the Akkadian empire Assyria became the major empire then. 8. Hunter- Mesopotamia was known in antiquity as a seat of learning, and it is believed that Thales of Miletus  (c. 585 BCE, known as the first philosopher) studied there. As the Babylonians believed that water was the ‘first principle’ from which all else followed, and as Thales is famous for that very claim, it seems probable that he studied there.   600 BCEAncient Egypt: Beginnings - 600 BCE  Gabe - Egypt started next to the nile which is because it helps with many things as we  talked about earlier there was the old egypt which was when the pyramids were built and this is the time we kind of think about when we think egypt but the pharaohs you think about were very far from the building of the pyramids and cleopatra actually lived 2500 years from the makings of the pyramids and 2037 from the making of the first iphone so she lived closer to the iphone   Ella - During the old kingdom period, Egypt was a single state. The country eventually became more complex and expanded their military. The kings of the time built formations such as Great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Giza. These structures were used as tombs or monuments for the kings that built them. Emma - The Egyptian political system was based on the idea of divine kingship. They believed that the political ruler, or pharaoh, either held the favor of a god (or gods) or was in fact a living incarnation of the god themself. An example of this was Narmer who was thought to be Horus. This reinforced the authority of the current political figure in power. Audrey - The Egyptian civilization was originally divided into upper and lower Egypt. The official beginning of the civilization was somewhere around 3100-3150 B.C. when the two parts of Egypt were united under one king. Ben - As with most early civilizations, egypt was based around a river. When civilizations start around rivers it gives the people fresh water and a good source of water for agricultural purposes too. Even egypt’s seasons were based around the nile and how it affected crops and weather. The first season would be Akhet, which would now be around june-september and was based around the nile river flooding to provide water to crops. The second season was Peret, (Oct. - Feb.) where crops would be planted. The final season was called Shemu, (March - May) when everything would be harvested.                                                                                          Skylar - The Nile River starts in mid-eastern Africa and goes all the way down to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is one of the great rivers. It makes the soil around it rich. Like ben said for growing plants. Most of the population in Egypt is around or close by the multipurpose river. They have a season of harvest and it’s when the soil is most fertile for growing crops. The annual rain is very important because it adds another layer of extremely nutrient-rich soil that’s needed for the Shemu season. Ethan - Wars had what seemed to be a major impact on the civil structure of Egypt. The costs include drought, famine, and disruption of Egyptian civilians. This kind of split Egypt into many different city-states. This allowed any city-state with the military power to take cities, as Kush conquered Lower and Upper Egypt. But soon the Kushites were kicked out of Egypt. Hunter- nothing left to write T^T this is sad all info was sucked dry so please dont blame me   Ancient art and artifacts: Beginnings -  Gabe - One of the artifacts that was found was the standard of ur and no one knows for sure what it actually was but it has 2 sides to it and on one side you have basically peace and prosperity where it shows animals being taken to trade or sacrifice or eat were not really sure and it shows the king and some other important people drinking in enjoyment there many things like that.(didnt want to take to much info someone want to connect to mine and explain what was on the other side) Ella - There were many materials used to make the standard of ur such as lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, Red stones from India, and shells from the gulf to the South of Iraq. These things are all reminders that the cities thrived because of the success in agriculture. There was a river valley between Tigris and Euphrates where they grew large amounts of food. Ben - One of the most important historical items in Egyptian history was the Rosetta Stone, the Rosetta Stone was an ancient stone tablet discovered in 1799, it had the same thing written in three different languages. First, hieroglyphs, then egyptian, then greek. This allowed historians to translate all the hieroglyphs that were seen in temples and pyramids. Emma - On the other side of the Standard of Ur, there are three scenes depicting a war. The lowest section shows chariots coming into battle and trampling their enemies. The second row has a clearly organized army marching into battle, fighting, and taking prisoners. The top again has the king, this time being presented with prisoners of war. Audrey - The Rosetta Stone is a very popular artifact found in the British Museum. It was brought there when Napoleon’s army was in Egypt. One of the many people who came with Napoleon came across the stone being used in the foundation of a fort. Originally it would have been in or near an Egyptian temple and was the bottom part of a much taller tablet. Napoleon took the stone back with him, but when the British defeated Napoleon they took it. Two years later, in 1801 or 1802, the Rosetta Stone was taken to the British Museum and it has been there ever since. Ethan - I guess I’ll explain the Rosetta Stone. It had 2 forms of Egyptian on it. Hieroglyphic and Demotic. Hieroglyphic, as many people know, uses symbols. Demotic is kind of like the print writing of English, but Egyptian. It also had Greek on the stone so it, even after many years, was decipherable. Skylar - The Rosetta Stone was carved in 196 B.C. We were not able to read the Rosetta Stone until mid 19th century. The Rosetta stone is called the Rosetta stone because of where it was found, Rosetta. It was written in three different scripts The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents. The second was demotic which was the common script of Egypt. The third was Greek which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time. Hunter- The Rosetta stone and the Standard of Ur are both important discoveries I can’t say anything more because like last season nothing left to say it’s all taken (and yes i went and looked at more than just the first page or google but I mean this is what I get for being busy all week i guess)   600 BCEAncient India: Beginnings -  Gabe - the harappan civilization or the indus valley civilization because it was near the indus river spread from northwest india to afghanistan and pakistan at the peak of the harappan civilization they may have had a population of 5 million people indus cities are noted for there urban planning which is where you build your cities in with the land to make your life easier basically they also made baked brick houses huge drainage systems water supply systems and basically metropolitan areas.    Ella - Around 2600 BCE, Harappan communities had become large urban areas. Overall about 1000 settlements were founded in the Indus river area. The Mohenjo-daro was one of the biggest cities in the area. It was also one of the more sophisticated cities with its advanced uses for engineering and urban planning. Ben - The Indus river civilization was one of the most advanced and one of the most mysterious ancient places. They were very good at building and their brick areas are impressive even to today’s standards because of how they survived hundreds of years of weather and damage. And jewelry from around that area has been seen in different countries, so trading was probably happening too. Emma - The people of the Indus River Valley Civilization region are known for their advancements in the technology of their time. Their accurate systems for measuring length and mass made their advanced sanitation system possible. This system was the first of its kind ever in history. Audrey - Sanskrit has many similarities to other languages like English and Latin. Words like matr, in English mother, and in Latin mater, show the resemblance. The Vedas mention a “god” named Dyaus Pitr which means “sky father”. In Greek there is Zeus Pater, and in Latin Jupiter, both of which, also meaning sky father. - Ethan - Some of the people in the Indus Valley are called Harappans. The reason that the Harappans succeeded in early technology was they had the most accurate ways to measure length and mass. They also invented bricks, one of the staples in building today. Skylar - The Harappa civilization was more than just Harappa. The largest cite they had was Mohenjo-Daro, it was n the Sihn region of Pakistan. They believe 40,000 lived in just Mohenjo-Daro. Some think that the Harappa civilization was happening around 7000 BCE, they believe they were just living in small villages, but they don’t have very much evidence. Nobody really knows how or why the Indus Valley civilization came to an end. Hunter- Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, tin, and lead. 600 BCEShang China: Beginnings -  Gabe - the earliest period in chinese history is the mythical period which supposedly was ruled by the xia empire and was overthrown by the Shang in 1766 bce but we are not sure if the Xia overthrow was true because we don’t have archaeological evidence of the Xia empire but we do have evidence of the Shang empire and they ruled from 1766 bce to 1046 bce Ella - The earliest form of Chinese writing was found as inscriptions carved into bones and shells.These animal remains were known as oracle bones. The writing on the bones was very complex, suggesting that the language had been around for a while. Scientists didn't have trouble reading it because it was very similar to modern chinese writing. Ben - The chinese craftsmen mastered the alloy bronze, which gave most of their soldiers an advantage. The Shang were excellent builders and engineers, they worked on many things including irrigation systems similar to how the indus river civilization did.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Emma - In the Shang Dynasty Civilization, the king was not a political figure. His main role was as a religious leader, the use of oracle bones making up a large part of their responsibilities. The government itself was run by chosen advisors and other officials. Audrey - Chinese writings from the Shang Dynasty can be found on oracle bones. An oracle bone is an ox’s scapula (shoulder blade) that people would write questions on; they would heat the bone over a flame until it cracked, and then they would interpret the cracks to get an answer to their question. Skylar - The Shang Dynasty was the first dynasty that we have a lot of proof of. It lasted around 500 years. They had great irrigation systems for their day, and had also developed social classes. Both banks of the Yellow River had greats amounts of loess.with is a very nutrient-rich soil that is amazing for growing almost anything. The Shang dynasty was in and near the modern day city of Anyang. It’s known for their writing, a lot like modern day Chinese. Near the end of this dynasty they had chariots and people believe they were in contact with people out in the west. - Ethan - The Shang had some, to say the least, strange practices.  The Shang made offerings to dead relatives in attempt to communicate with them. These “Oracle Bones” people will have talked about by now, are made out of turtle shells, and they were used to predict the future. Hunter- the Shang dynasty craftspeople mastered bronze, an alloy of copper and tin; bronze weapons gave the foot soldiers a tactical advantage.   600 BCEAncient Americas: Beginnings - Gabe - Some of the first people in north america were the olmec who were some of the first mexicans they lived around the gulf of mexico around were veracruz and tabasco (like the sauce i guess) is a nahuatl word from the aztec language which means rubber people because they were the first we know to discover how to convert latex off trees into rubber we call them this because we do not know exactly what they called themselves Ella - None of the Olmecs beliefs or customs were recorded, but there were some artifacts found in the area that indicated long trade routes that spread throughout many regions. Some of the artifacts such as jade and obsidian were evidence that the Olmec people traded with civilizations outside the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Ben - There were a few different early north and south american tribes and cultures such as the mayans. The Mayans were the only ones in early america who had a fully developed writing system. They used hieroglyphs and lived in southeast mexico, they kind of owned southeast mexico. Emma - From 3500 to 1700 BC the Caral civilization existed in was is now northern Peru. It was a complex society in which specialized and interconnected roles existed, though people disagree on whether or not it can be classified as a civilization due to the lack of evidence concerning political, economical, and religious systems. Audrey - The first humans to come to the Americas came 15-16,000 years ago.They are believed to have come from north-eastern Asia across the Bering Strait during the last glaciation period when the sea level was low enough for the Bering Land Bridge. Skylar - the first people that came to north and south america somewhere between 15,000 and 16,000 years ago. They believe the first people were in Florida 14,500 years ago. The Mississippian culture was a north american culture. The mississippi river is named after them. Their famous city was Cahokia and it is around modern day St. Louis. - Ethan - There was a race of people called the Chavin and their culture was centered around a big temple in Chavin de Huantar. Their government system was most likely based off of a hierarchy, while sticking to religion. The Chavin was founded in the northern Andean highlands in Peru. Their civilization was founded in between 900 and 250 BC, which was about to the time period of 1000 years after the collapse of the Caral. The Chavin were located in the Mosna River Valley, in which the Mosna and Huachesa rivers meet. Hunter- cant find nothin!!!!!!! 600 BCE Human innovation and the environment  Gabe - We were nomadic people so we started to farm and start agriculture and build small villages probably making us have more food for more population and basically we started staying in one spot and we started to have tribes and the others started doing this. Ella - One thing that separates humans from animals is our ability to learn and teach efficiently and effectively. We are able to pass down the information and skills we learned to the next generation a lot better than other species can. This is because of our specific and strong communication techniques we've developed like language and writing. Skylar - Before the Neolithic era people had to hunt for food. They would walk short or long distances to find food if there was nothing oblivious to kill for food. Most people were what are called hunter gatherers. They did not consume as much calories as pastoral people. This was called Paleolithic era and the beginning of the mesolithic era. The main thing that happened in the Neolithic era was agriculture. Agriculture was a huge deal, most would say one of the best things that happened in human history. It changed people’s lifestyle and diet. They could now raise crops and/or animals. Move most anywhere they wanted. They then had time to figure out a way to write out the things they were learning. Ben - Over all this time and seeing these things it’s interesting to realize that these people were skilled and could create art and sculptures, writing and speech. One of the most helpful human skills is collective learning, where most information can be passed on to more people in such a way to make the potential knowledge of collective humanity nearly infinite. Emma - The development of written language had a huge impact on the development of human civilizations. Learning from the past, beyond what current generations could recall, began to change societies. For example, it allowed agriculture to develop because newer generations could learn what did and didn’t work in the past. Political records also influenced and changed developing political systems. Audrey - The Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal meaning from the beginning, would have controlled fires that would clear the forests to make the area more suitable for grassland. The grassland would provide an area for animals they could easily hunt and live off of. - Ethan - Innovation mainly began with stone tools that allowed humans to do simple tasks even easier. These tools that helped early humans hunt consisted mainly of spears and knives but very primitive. Like very poorly sharpened edges, but enough to get the job done. Farming tools would mainly consist of what today would be related to a hoe. Hunter- A type of farming used by the Aboriginal Australians was firestick farming, when they would conduct said farming they would start what are called ‘controlled burns’ they were not new to this and knew which seasons to do this in. Like in Spring or Autumn when there was a certain amount of moisture in the air to control the fires and this did more than just give the natives a better landscape but to also help prevent large scale fires and allow kangaroo to graze there for them to eat.   That’s all the time we have for today. THank for joining us out of the box that is learning

Join the 80z Babies in a discussion of albums released from March-May of 2018, as well as notable albums from the same months in 1993 and 1998. The discussion ranges from Scarface to Smif N Wessun, Gangstarr to Goodie Mobb. Let us know what we missed... #80zBabies

Summer Festivals in New Orleans In today’s episode, we jump into the warm weather and help prepare you for Summer festivals in New Orleans! I am joined for the first time by my wife Marie Bologna. Together, we'll walk you through nearly two dozen Summer festivals and events in New Orleans. You'll learn about Bayou Boogaloo, the Creole Tomato Festival, Essence Fest, and many more. We give you all the details you need, including dates, locations, things that make the event special, and our own experiences. We'll talk about what to expect, and how to beat the heat. By the end of the show, you'll be ready to pack your bags and join us in New Orleans! Festivals from May through Labor Day For today's discussion, we focused on the time period from the middle of May (just after Jazz Fest) through Labor Day. Click on the links to go to the event's webpage. May Wednesdays at the Square  March - May, 5-8 pm Jazz in the Park Late April - June 7th (this year) & again in the Fall Bayou Boogaloo  May 18-20th (Fri-Sat-Sun) Mother’s Day - Irma Thomas at the Zoo May 13th New Orleans Food and Wine Experience May 23-27 Greek Fest May 25-27 Bayou Country Super Fest May 25-27   June New Orleans Oyster Festival June 2-3 New Orleans Pride Festival June 8-10th Yacht Rock on the Lake June 9th Creole Tomato Festival June 9-10 Louisiana Cajun Zydeco Festival June 23-24th    July 4th of July Events Go 4th on the River Crescent Park Algiers Point - across the river Essence Festival July 5-8 Bastille Day Fete Friday July 13th in 2018 Running of the Bulls (San Fermin) July 13-15th Tales of the Cocktails July 17-22nd Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo July 23-26th   August Satchmo Summer Fest  Aug 3 -6, 2018 White Linen Night August 5th Dirty Linen Night Saturday the week after White Linen Night Red Dress Run August 11th   September Southern Decadence  Labor Day weekend   Sponsor: The Old 77 Hotel and Chandlery When you're ready to make your plans to visit New Orleans, you'll need a place to stay! The Old 77 is ideally situated in the Warehouse District, just three blocks from the French Quarter. It features a variety of pet-friendly rooms, the award-winning Compere Lapin restaurant, and more. You'll love the location, the rooms, and the food, but the details and the service are what you'll fall in love with! To book your room, click here or use code BBOLD77 to save 25% off their regular rates. You'll also get a bit of lagniappe, a little something extra. In this case, you'll receive a $10 credit to be used at Tout La in the hotel lobby - your stop for coffee and a quick bite to eat as you head out to explore New Orleans. Lagniappe, part II - email a copy of your reservation to mark@beyondbourbonst.com and I'll send you my pdf guide of what to eat, see and do in the Warehouse District. Thank You Thanks to Marie for joining me on this episode. She has been such a behind the scenes supporter of Beyond Bourbon Street and for me personally. It was great fun to get Marie on the microphone. I hope we get to do it again soon!   Want to Make Your Trip to New Orleans the Best Ever? Of course you do! If you’re planning a trip to New Orleans and want to cut through all the research we’re here to help. We offer a personalized travel consult. Here’s how it works: You complete a brief questionnaire to help us get to know you and the experience you want to have in New Orleans. Next, we set up a 20-30 minute phone or video call. During the call, we get to know you a little better. We can clarify any questions and bounce a few ideas off of you to make sure we ‘re on the right track. Finally, we prepare and deliver a pdf document with our recommendations for your trip. Depending on your needs the report will contain specific places to stay, eat and drink. It will also offer suggestions on things to do and see, all based on your budget and interests. Sound good? Just go to beyondbourbonst.com/travel for all the details and a link to order the service. Subscribe to the Podcast If you enjoy the show, please subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts. If you do enjoy listening, please share Beyond Bourbon Street with someone who shares our love of New Orleans. Join Us on Facebook We have a free Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your New Orleans experiences and engage with others who love all things New Orleans! It is also where you can get Marie's advice and see the articles she shares about fun things to do in the Crescent City. Join us by going to beyondbourbonst.com/facebook. Contact Us Got an idea for an episode, have some feedback or just want to say hi? Leave us a message at 504-475-7632 or send an email to mark@beyondbourbonst.com Thanks for listening! Mark

In this episode Hind Mezaina interviews Jannis Stürtz, co-founder of Jakarta Records and Habibi Funk record labels (based in Berlin). Habibi Funk focuses on re-releasing old music from the Arab world, with a particular focus on funk, jazz and obscure music from the 1970s and 80s. Music, photos, text and album covers from Habibi Funk are showcased at an exhibition titled "Habibi Funk: A spotlight on Arab Grooves" exhibition at East Wing Gallery in Dubai. Some images can be found on our Instagram page instagram.com/p/BirY2y3H3iZ/?taken-by=teawithculture They discuss how Habibi Funk started, how the music is found and re-released, the role of music conservation and archiving and the exhibition at East Wing Gallery in Dubai. Habibi Funk: A spotlight on Arab Grooves exhibition at East Wing, Dubai is on from March-May 2018 http://east-wing.org/habibi-funk-a-spotlight-on-arab-grooves-ezp-189.html Music from Habibi Funk record label can be found on https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/habibifunk https://twitter.com/Habibi_Funk https://instagram.com/habibifunk https://www.facebook.com/habibifunk https://www.jakartarecords.de

“Hospitality As Part of the DNA of the Church” What is biblical hospitality? What is the biblical and theological foundation for practicing hospitality? How important is it for the Church to practice hospitality to all people? How important is it for individual Christians to practice hospitality to those who cross their path? What does that look like? What are the challenges with practicing hospitality? How does TPC already practice hospitality in meaningful ways? What are ways we could be doing a better job? These are some of the foundational questions that we are going to explore as we discuss this important topic together. (This will be the only adult SS class offered from March-May.)   

Michael: Hello, everyone. This is Michael Gross from OptionSellers.com here with your August edition of the Option Seller Podcast and Radio Show. James, welcome to the show this month. James: Hello, Michael. Glad to be here and always fun to do. Michael: We find ourselves here in the middle of summer and, of course, summer weather often times can take headlines in the agricultural commodities. That’s what we’re going to talk about this month. We have several things going on in some of our favorite agricultural markets. In the Northern Hemisphere, of course, we have growing seasons for crops, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. Down in the Southern Hemisphere, we have winter time, which is actually an active time for some of the crops they grow down there because you have crops like coffee and some of the other countries, cocoa, that aren’t planted every year. There’s trees or bushes that tend to bloom every year, so winter can often be a time to keep an eye on those, as well. James, maybe to start off here, we can talk a little bit about weather markets themselves, what they entail, and why they can be important for option writers. James: Well, Michael, many, many years ago, my introduction to commodities investing/trading came along in the summer. There was an incredible hot spell and dry conditions in the Midwest in the United States right during pollination time. That was my introduction to commodities and commodities trading. Weather markets, especially in sensitive times like July and August for the Northern Hemisphere, certainly does bring a great deal of volatility to prices and great opportunity for a weather market to grab hold of particular prices, and that was my introduction into the commodities trading. I’m quite sure that, as summer heats up, of course, here in the United States, so does trading and certain commodities and it looks like we’ve hit that start up again in 2017. Michael: Okay. Being in these markets as long as you and I have, we’ve seen our share of weather markets. After a while, most of them tend to follow a typical pattern. You see a weather scare, you see prices rise in some commodities, and prices tend to immediately price-in a worse case scenario and then you get the real report or then it rains or whatever happens, and then prices tend to force the back-pedal… not always, but most of the time that tends to be the case. If there is a price adjustment upwards necessary, prices will often do that, but often times that spike often comes in that initial wave of buying, and that tends to have an affect on some of the option prices. Would you agree? James: Well, certainly a lot of investors who trade seasonally, or perhaps had taken advantage of weather rallies years before, they will look at the option market. Generally, they are not futures traders, so what they might do is they’ll say, “Well, if the price of cotton or the price of corn or soybeans might be going higher because of dry conditions, lets see what options are out there for me to buy.” I would say that the biggest spike, not only in prices, but in prices for call options, particularly, often happen during these weather phenomenons, and so be it. The call buying that comes into the market during these weather patterns. Usually, as you mentioned or alluded a moment ago, it usually winds up being the high as the public pours into the market. It has happened many times in the past and seems to repeat itself time and time again. Michael: Yeah, that’s a great point, too. You’re talking about that you have a lot of the general public who love to buy options, the media loves to pick up on weather stories and the public reads it, and it tends to feed on itself, and you have public speculators coming in that are buying up options, often times deep out-of-the-money options. These are often times that people who know the fundamentals want to take a look at that and say, “We could take a pretty good premium here with pretty reasonable risks”, and that’s obviously what we are trying to do and what people listening to us are trying to do. So, why don’t we go ahead and move into our first market because we do have a few other markets to talk about this month. First market we’re going to talk about is, actually a couple markets, is the grain markets as a whole, corn, soybeans, wheat, all being affected to some degree by some of the weather. These aren’t raging weather markets, it’s not on the national news, but they’re enough to get those option values up and certainly enough for people listening, or our clients, to take advantage of. When we talk about these, I think we’ll probably focus on soybeans and wheat for this session. As we talked about in our newsletter and in our blog, there has been some drier weather, especially in some of the northern growing regions up in the Dakotas. Recently, I read a little bit about it possibly moving down into Illinois and further into Nebraska. So, they’ve had some dry weather and this has had a particular affect on wheat, but also on soybean prices. Maybe you can just explain how that worked and what transpired there to push those prices higher. James: Michael, it seems that a weather market can come in just practically any portion of the United States. Years ago, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, that was the extent of the corn-belt, with fringes of Wisconsin and Minnesota. With high prices in commodities over the last several years, some of the other areas of the United States, people started planting corn, soybeans, and wheat, as you mentioned. This year, the extreme heat and dryness is in the Dakotas, usually not an area that moves the market as much, but this year it did. I know the media really got a hold of the dry conditions and discussed North Dakota and South Dakota, some of the hottest, driest conditions in over half a century. I know I had CNBC calling practically every day to talk about the weather. That is what gets these markets moving, and it usually happens this time of the year. You alluded, once again, to something that happens often is you’ll have these headlines really create havoc with some of the markets and pushing them higher, but, lo and behold, some 95% of the crop is really untouched as it is in decent growing areas as far as the weather goes. As you get into harvest time, a lot of that talk is now behind them and people forgot about the weather in North Dakota and South Dakota 6 months later. That seems to be developing again this year. We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out. Michael: That’s a great point. Probably we should point out here the backdrop of what this weather market is operating in. Exactly what you described is happening, of course, you have speculators buying soybeans off of the dryer weather, buying call options off the dryer weather. As of the last USDA report, 2017-2018 ending stocks are pegged at 460 million bushels, which is going to be the highest level since 2006-2007. So, we’re going into this with a pretty burdensome supply level. Now, if there is some reduction in yield, yes, that could come down a little bit - something to keep an eye on. You also have global ending stocks 93.53 million tons. That’s pretty substantial, as well. You’re operating on it being a pretty hefty supply environment. At the end of the day, when we go into harvest, prices tend to decline, regardless of what the actual supply is because that’s when the actual supplies are going to be the highest regardless. We’re fighting that big picture of, “We already have hefty supply and we have a seasonal working against the prices here.” So, two reasons why people listening may want to consider selling calls when you do get weather rallies like this because the bigger picture is not that bullish. Secondly, one thing to point out here is we’ve had problems with dryness up in North and South Dakota, possibly coming a little bit further south, latest weekly crop condition report is a 4% decline in good-excellent rating. They’re starting to reflect some of that damage, but one thing to remember is this happens often. It happened last year. It happened a couple years before that where it was dry in July and everybody was talking about weather. Then, they’re talking about pushing yields back a bushel or two an acre and then it rains in August, then all the sudden we have above average yields. So, you have prices right now that can, you can get a little pop or you can also see them roll over. I know you have a favorite strategy for playing markets like that. James: Well, Michael, we wait for volatility to come into the different markets that we follow. Certainly, a weather market in summer is one of those. Probably the best way to approach selling options, whether it be calls or puts in a weather market, is to do it with a covered position. Basically, a strategy that we cover in Chapter 10 in The Complete Guide to Option Selling: Third Edition, it’s really an ideal positioning for weather markets. Basically, what you’re doing is you’re selling a credit spread where as you are selling whatever item you think that the market can’t reach, for example, soybeans this year trading around $10 a bushel based on supply and demand probably won’t be reaching $12.50 or $13 a bushel. What you might look to do is do a credit spread where you buy one call closer to the money and sell 3, 4, or 5 calls further out. The one long position is basically insurance on your shorts so that while the weather is still in the news and while there is still quite a bit of jitters as to how much crop potential we might lose this year, that holds you in the position. You’re basically short with just a little bit of protection and that really does a great job in riding the investor through weather markets and if you are fundamentally sound on your picture of what the market will likely be, as you mention, we have some of the largest ending stocks in some 10 years, you do want to be short this market at harvest time. By applying a credit spread in July and August is a great way to get involved with the market and protect yourself while you’re waiting for the market to eventually settle down. Michael: When you’re talking about and referring to the ratio credit spread, that really eliminates the need to have perfect timing. Of course, all option selling you don’t really need perfect timing, but that really helps out. If you do get a rally, those can be opportunities for writing spreads just like that. If you’re already in it and the market rallies, you have that protection, a lot of staying power there, and when the market eventually does turn around there is a number of different ways you can make money with a ratio spread. Of course, at the end of the day, we want them all to expire. Talking about soybeans right now, this does not look like any type of catastrophic yield loss or anything like that. This looks, at the most, if we get something, they might get a few bushel break or reduction prices may need to adjust a little bit higher, but in that case sometimes a ratio spread can work out even better. Is that correct? James: Well, Michael, it’s interesting. Your long position, for example, in soybean calls or corn calls or wheat calls, there’s a chance that that thing goes in-the-money and your short options stay out-of-the-money. That certainly is an ideal situation for the ratio credit spread, where, basically, the market winds up being between your long options and your short options. That happens rarely, but, boy oh boy, is that a great payday when it does happen. That’s not why we apply the ratio credit spread, but every once in a while you get quite a bonus. That describes one extremely well. Michael: All right. Let’s talk about wheat just a little bit. A lot of the same things going on in wheat, but wheat is affected a little bit differently than the beans, primarily because we have a lot more wheat grown up in those regions where they’re having the trouble. In fact, I read here, as far as the drought goes, North and South Dakota, I don’t have the stat here in front of me, but it’s somewhere between 72-73% of the acreage up there is considered in drought right now. So, a lot of wheat is grown up there. At the same time, that’s one of those markets that may have priced in a worse case scenario and now backing off. What do you think? James: You know, the wheat market probably, it does have different fundamentals than corn and soybeans, clearly, it has rallied over $1 a bushel, which would have been about practically 25% when a lot of the discussion about the Dakotas was taking place. The wheat market looks like it’s priced, you know, the heat and dryness already in. Of course, one thing about the wheat is it’s grown in so many locations around the world that if you do have a loss in production in the Dakotas in the United States, there are many places around the world ready to fill in for any loss in production. All around the world wheat is grown in probably near 100 countries… certainly different than corn and soybeans. Michael: You made a great case for that in the upcoming newsletter, too, the piece about wheat, where all this talk about loss of yield to the spring wheat crop, but that only represents about 25% of the overall U.S. crop. Most of the crop grown here is winter wheat, which wasn’t as heavily affected. The bigger point is the one you made just now. This thing is grown all over the world. The United States only produces about 9% of the wheat grown in the whole world. Right now, world wheat ending stocks are going to hit a record level in 2017-2018. So, again, you’re looking at a little news story here, but when you look at the bigger picture we are going to have record world supply of wheat this year. Again, these can be opportunities for writing calls for when those bigger picture fundamentals start to take hold. It can certainly help your position. James: Exactly. This year, I think, was another great example of that. Ending stocks possibly being records. It’s almost an ideal situation when weather problems arise because later on that year, lo and behold, we have more wheat than we need and the price goes back down. Weather rallies, whether it’s the Southern Hemisphere or Northern Hemisphere, really often plays into the hands of option sellers because the buyers come out of the woodwork and normally, you know, holding the short end of the stick come harvest time. Michael: We should find out where everything plays out in the next USDA supply/demand report. I believe that is on or around August 10th. That’s really going to reflect what the real picture is, if there was yield loss, and how much of it was. If it’s less than traders thought, prices probably roll over and we’re probably done because you have soybean podding in August and markets typically start declining after that anyway. If we do get a little bullish surprise, we’re not saying the market can’t rally if you’re listening at home and saying, “I need to go hands-in short right now”. The market can rally, especially on or around this report if you get a bullish surprise. What we are saying is those can be opportune times to write options, because that’s when that volatility will jump and, overall, the bigger picture fundamentals remain bearish. James, we’re going to talk here a little bit about our next market, but before we do that, anybody listening to our conversation here about the grain markets this summer, you’ll want to read our August issue of the Option Seller Newsletter. That comes out August 1st. It will be received electronically and it will also be available on hard copy newsletter in your mailbox if you’re on our subscriber list. We have a feature article in there on wheat. We talk about credit spreads, some of the things James and I just discussed here, and how you can apply them. It is a great strategy for this time of year and you can read all about it in the August newsletter. If you aren’t a subscriber yet and you’d like to subscribe, you can subscribe at OptionSellers.com/newsletter and read all about it. James, we’re going to move into our next market here this month, which is one of your favorite markets to trade, that is, of course, the coffee market. I know you’ve been doing work with Reuters World News this month back and forth on the coffee market and what’s going on there. Maybe give us an overview of what’s happening in the coffee market right now. James: Michael, it’s interesting. As all of our intelligent readers and watchers already now, as temperatures heat up in the United States, they are definitely cooling off in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Brazil for example. What so often happens for traders in the coffee market, they look at winter approach in the Brazilian growing regions and they remember back to when coffee supplies were really cut based on a freeze that developed in Southern Brazil. During those periods, some 1/3 the coffee crop that Brazil makes each year was grown in very southern areas of Brazil, which are prone to cold weather. Chances are freezes don’t develop in the coffee regions of Brazil, but just like the dry weather in the United States a lot of investors and traders want to trade that idea of it happening. That’s what’s going on recently as we approach the coldest times of the season in the Southern Hemisphere. Traders and investors are bidding up the price of coffee and, likewise, buying calls in the coffee market, planning on maybe some adverse weather taking place. I think we all hear about El Niño and La Niña and what that can do to temperatures, both north as well as south, and a lot of investors, if something like that takes place, they want to be in on it. Often, how they do get involved with that is by buying calls in coffee, cocoa, and sugar, and it looks like that’s what’s pushing up some of those soft commodities today. Michael: Okay. So, they’re buying it primarily on freeze-type thing… same type of thing going on here in reverse. Instead of hot weather, they’re betting on cold weather. Talk a little bit about the bigger picture there as far as what supplies are like, what they are buying here. James: Well, Michael, it’s kind of interesting. It’s almost like a carbon copy of what we just discussed on the grain and grain fundamentals. Coffee supplies in the United States, which, of course, is the largest consumer of coffee in the world, are counted each month. Here in the United States, we have something called green coffee stocks. Obviously, that is the coffee that is then sent to roasters. Roasters roast the bean and then turn it into everyone’s favorite morning brew. Green coffee stocks in the United States are at all-time record highs. That fundamental is something that just is very discernable and is not going to go away no matter how many coffee shops spring up in your city or your town. We have record supplies in the United States. As far as the fundamental of new production, especially in Brazil, last year we had a rally in coffee prices because it was dry conditions during some of the cherry season in Brazil, and this year is just the opposite. We’ve had extremely favorable weather conditions. We have an excellent coffee crop that’s being harvested right now in many parts of Brazil and Columbia, and coffee supplies that will be coming in from the producing nations will be more than plentiful as we get into August, September, and October when those harvests wrap up. So, we have practically record supplies around the world, we have excellent growing conditions in the largest producer in the world, being Brazil. This year is what’s called an off-cycle year. A coffee bush, if you will, produces more cherries on one year and then slightly less the following year. This being an off-cycle year, still we are expected to have a record production figure in Brazil for an off-cycle year. There are already estimates for next year’s crop being in excess of 62 million bags, which would be an all-time record. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what 62 million bags of coffee might represent, Columbia, always thought to be the largest coffee producer in the world, they only grow approximately 10-12 million bags each year. So, all of the extra demand for coffee recently over the last several years from all the coffee shops springing up, Brazil has taken care of that and then some, just basically blanketing the world with extra coffee beans. That is what has kept coffee prices, really, trading near-low levels. Many commodities have increased with Chinese demand that everyone is familiar with over the last several years, but coffee is not the case. Record supplies here in the United States and record production down there from our friends in Brazil. Michael: Yeah. I saw that, too. Brazilian Ag-Minister was 62 million bags. That’s a huge crop. Another thing I should probably mention there is that coffee has a seasonal, as well. It tends to start coming off into when harvest starts and our springtime as they head into fall, which is March-May period. Is that correct? James: It is. Generally, the coffee crop is so large and so widespread there the harvest lasts practically 4-5 months. Basically, what you’ll see them do is often sell coffee twice a year in great strides. One is as the end of harvest approaches and then when we’re looking at next year’s crop, May and June, when they can get a handle on how large that crop is going to be, they will then start forward selling that year’s production. So, really there’s two waves of selling from coffee producers in Brazil. Usually it’s August-September for the current harvest and then May-June for the upcoming harvest. Really two large swaths of sales from Brazil, something we’re expecting to happen probably for at least the next 2 years and then we’ll have to take a look at how the conditions look after that. The next 24 months, we’re going to see a lot of coffee hit the market twice a year, those 2 times especially. Michael: I did notice, this year the coffee market does appear to be following seasonal tendency. You know, we started seeing this last round of weakness right about March and it has dropped, so far, into June. We get a little bouncier now maybe just because prices were just so oversold and then we had the weather issue that you spoke about, as well. I know, right now, with prices in the position they are similar to what we talked about in wheat and soybeans, where you had a little bit of a weather issue at the same time big picture fundamentals still looking pretty bearish. What type of strategy are you looking at in coffee right now? James: Well, Michael, we have coffee prices in the mid 1.30’s, approximately $1.35 per pound. Chances are we are going to be rallying maybe 5-10 cents as we go further into the winter season in Brazil, as some investors take a chance on coffee price rally. We could see coffee prices in the mid $1.40 going into August and September. We are targeting contracts 6 months out- 9 months out to take advantage of the long-term bearishness. We never want to play a market on a short-term basis, we don’t want to predict where coffee’s going to go the next 2-4 weeks. What we want to do is take our long-term fundamental analysis of the coffee market, the production and supply that we’re looking at here the next 24 months, we’re going to take a long-term view of coffee… a long-term bearish view. We are able to now sell coffee calls at $2 a pound if you go out a little bit further, another 30-60 days, you can sell coffee options at $2.20 a pound. If we do get a decent rally here in the next 30 days, which is possible, we’ll be looking at selling coffee calls at $2.40 and $2.50 a pound. Later this year, we do expect coffee prices to be around $1.20-$1.25, and there’s a pretty good chance the options we sell are going to be double that level, certainly something we’re extremely comfortable with and we think is going to work out quite well. We’ll have to wait and see. There’s no guarantee in this market or any other, but we do like our chances at selling coffee at that level, for sure. Michael: That far out-of-the-money is exactly the target options that we talk about in The Complete Guide to Option Selling. It’s our third edition of our flagship book. If you would like to get a copy of that, you can get it at OptionSellers.com/book. You’ll get it at a discount to Amazon or bookstore prices. James, for our lesson today, I’d like to directly address a question that we get periodically from newsletter readers and listeners to this show and some of our other videos. I know a lot of people listening to this, they’re watching what we talk about and then they are taking our trade and trying to do it on their own. That’s certainly fine and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s part of the reason we’re here, is to help people learn what this is and how to do it. A question we get is, “I saw your video/read your article and you talk about selling a strike, and I went and looked at that strike and it’s not the same premium you said,” or, “ I went and looked at it and there’s no open interest there”, or “That platform doesn’t have it. I can’t see it. How are you selling these things?” There’s a couple different answers to that. I’m going to give one and I know you probably have a better one, but one of the first reasons is a lot of the platforms they’re on they don’t carry options that far out. I know some people have mentioned Thinkorswim platform or TD Ameritrade where they only go a few months out with the commodities options. So, first and foremost, you need to get yourself a better platform so you can get further out strikes, and secondly, James, the one thing you pointed out clearly in this month’s newsletter is a lot of times when you’re talking about these things, whether here or on your bi-monthly videos is, you’re giving examples of how this could work, how it should work, what might happen if prices rally, these are the areas we target. We’re not here to give specific trade recommendations for people to take and trade tomorrow. These are examples for people to learn either if they want to invest their money this way or if they want to take the information and think and reason it on their own what to do. So, when we talk about a strike, that could be a trade we’ve already done, could be that it’s passed now, or it could be a trade we’re hoping to do if the right situation sets up. So, you just gave some pretty good examples right now and you probably agree with me there, but there’s another reason that we can target those type of strikes that other people might not be able to do, and maybe you want to talk about that. James: Michael, that is a great point that you bring up. When I’m speaking to new clients, when they first open their account, the one question that seems to come up very often is, “James, I understand how this works, I’ve read your book, I’ve read your material, but who in the world is buying these options?” That is certainly a question we often get. By no means do I claim to experience the very best way in selling commodities options. I’m not sure what the very best way is. I just know what works for us and really being the option selling leader, I certainly believe we are, we are selling options in quantities that practically no one else in the world is. We have the luxury of selling gold options to banks in London and New York, we have the luxury of selling options in the crude oil market to energy companies, and it’s quite possible that when we’re selling options distant strikes coffee, we are likely selling them to coffee companies, like Starbucks and the such, a lot of popular names that a lot of people now. When you’re selling to contracts for your particular own personal account, you’re probably not going to get a chance to deal with London banks or other large coffee companies, but when you’re selling options in very large gross volume, these companies do want to work with you and they do want to listen to you. That opens up these strikes to us. Michael: That’s a great point. Maybe for just some of our listeners that may not be familiar with how that is, it’s not like James is getting on the phone and calling somebody in London and Citi Bank and asking them if they want to buy our options. These are still going through registered exchanges, it’s just a different path we are taking through them where we are working through specialized order desk. These people have relationships with other brokers for these organizations, but the trades are still done on the registered exchange, correct? James: Yes, they definitely are. It’s just relationships that our clearing firm has established and it’s something that, I feel, just the pinnacle of option selling… having those relationships in place and when you need and want to sell options that are further out in time, as maybe some of our listeners or readers have asked about, that’s something we have the luxury to do and we certainly want to take full advantage of that by selling to some of the largest banks or some of the largest companies that are maybe end users in coffee or in sugar or in soybeans. It’s quite a luxury we have working with those relationships that our clearing firm has already built for us. Michael: Something our listeners might want to consider, as well, we are usually here to help people learn how to do this. Whether you want to do it on your own or whether you are considering having it managed, one aspect of managed option selling, and excuse my little advertisement here, but it’s true that if you’re in a managed portfolio, such as this, you do get the advantage of economy of scale, where if you’re trying to sell 2-3 options on your own you could have them sitting out there all month and nobody ever looks at them. When you’re with an organization or a managed situation like this where you could be selling thousands at a time, those not only can get filled but often times at better fill prices than you’re going to get electronically. I know that’s something you have experienced first hand. James: Michael, there is no question that we’re not market timers. We don’t know the exact time to get short soybeans, coffee, or get long some of the precious metals, but what we do want to have is just the best absolute liquidity available, the tightest bid-ask on these markets, and if that can change your entry by, say, 10%, which it often does, once again, it takes the need to be perfect timing entering these markets, which no one has, nor do we, but when you can get a fill 10% better getting in and then possibly getting out, that makes a world of difference. Michael: All right. We’ve covered a lot of ground this month. I think we’ll hold up there for the month. We will be updating the coffee market and some of the other things we’ve talked about here over the next month and on our bi-monthly videos and also on our blog, so you’ll want to stay posted to that. If you are interested in learning more about managed accounts with OptionSellers.com, you can request our free Discovery Pack at OptionSellers.com/Discovery. As far as new account waiting lists, we are well into September right now as far as the waiting list goes for openings, so if you’re interested in taking one of those remaining openings for September you can contact Rosemary at the main number to schedule a perspective client interview. Those will be taking place during the month of August. You can reach her at 800-346-1949. If you’re calling from outside the United States, you can call 813-472-5760. James, thank you for a very insightful commentary this month. James: As always, Michael, all 12 months of the year are interesting, but July and August certainly are one of our favorites. Michael: Excellent. Everyone, thanks for listening and we will be back here with our podcast again in 30 days. Thank you. James: Thank you very much.

Japanese Rabbits (Part 1) Interview with Yudai Tanabe Rabbit Island:   When I think about Japan and rabbits the first thing that comes to mind for me is the video's of Rabbit Island.  As islands that are occupied by wild animals go, Okunoshima, better known as Usaga Jima or Rabbit Island, is probably the cutest.  Ōkunoshima (大久野島?) is a small island located in the Inland Sea of Japan in the city of Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture.   It is accessible by ferry from Tadanoumi and Ōmishima.  There are campsites, walking trails and places of historical interest on the island.  It is often called Usagi Shima (うさぎ島?, "Rabbit Island") because of the numerous feral rabbits that roam the island; they are rather tame and will approach humans.  Situated in the East Sea/Inland Sea of Japan, the small island is occupied by hundreds of wild rabbits that roam the forests and paths, chase tourists, appear in viral videos and just generally lounge around.  They also provide a much needed counterbalance to the island's otherwise dark history – as the production site for Japan's chemical weapons during the second world war. Of course, Japan being the birthplace of kawaii – the distinct cultural appreciation of all things cute – the bounding herds of friendly rabbits are a much bigger attraction than the Poison Gas Museum.   The source of the rabbits remains a mystery, it may be that the origins of the island's fluffy residents is intertwined with its history as manufacturer of chemical weapons.  The ruins of the gas manufacturing plant are still standing today.  The island was a cultivated area until the Russo-Japanese War when ten forts were built to protect it.  Three fishing families lived on the island.  In 1925, the Imperial Japanese Army Institute of Science and Technology initiated a secret program to develop chemical weapons, based on extensive research that showed that chemical weapons were being produced throughout the United States and Europe.  Japan was a signatory on the 1925 Geneva Protocol which banned the use of chemical warfare.  Although the development and storage of chemical weapons were not banned, Japan went to great lengths to ensure the secrecy of construction of the chemical munitions plant begun in 1929, even going so far as to remove records of the island from some maps. The plant was built over the period of 1927 to 1929, and was home to a chemical weapon facility that produced over six kilotons of mustard gas and tear gas.  Between 1929-1945, the Japanese army secretly produced over 6,000 tons of poison gas on Okunoshima, which was removed from maps of the area and chosen because of its discreet location and distance from civilian populations.  At the time, an unfortunate colony of rabbits was brought to the island in order to test the effects of the poison.  Ōkunoshima played a key role during World War II as a poison gas factory for much of the chemical warfare that was carried out in China.  The island was chosen for its isolation, conducive to security, and because it was far enough from Tokyo and other areas in case of disaster.  Under the jurisdiction of the Japanese military, the local fish preservation processor was converted into a toxic gas reactor.  Residents and potential employees were not told what the plant was manufacturing and everything was kept secret; working conditions were harsh and many suffered from toxic-exposure related illnesses.  With the end of the war, documents concerning the plant were burned and Allied Occupation Forces disposed of the gas either by dumping, burning, or burying it, and people were told to be silent about the project.  Several decades later, victims from the plant were given government aid for treatment.  In 1988 the Ōkunoshima Poison Gas Museum was opened. While some claim the rabbits that live there now are relatives of the test bunnies that were freed by the workers at the end of the war, others are less convinced; it has been reported that all the rabbits were killed when the factory ceased production.  The other theory is that eight rabbits were brought to the island by schoolchildren in 1971, where they bred (presumably like rabbits) until they reached their current population, which is potentially in the thousands.  With the island being a predator-free zone – dogs and cats are banned – if the number of rabbits hasn't hit the thousands yet, it's inevitable it will do soon. The island now has a hotel"Kyukamura Ohkunoshima National Park Resort of Japan", a six-hole golf course and a small camping ground.  Visitors are able to swim in the clean water surrounding the island, regardless of the tide, and enjoy a day trip.  Visitors can eat lunch at Rabbit restaurant or cafe, take a hot spring bath and rental bicycles. According to Murakami, the former director of the poison gas museum, the current rabbits have nothing to do with those that were involved with chemical weapon tests.  Hunting these creatures is forbidden, and dogs and cats may not be taken onto the island.  The ruins of the old forts and the gas factory can be found all over the island; entry is prohibited as it is too dangerous.  Since it is part of the Inland Sea National Park system of Japan, there is a resource center and across the way is the museum.  In 2015, the BBC presented a short television series called Pets - Wild at Heart, which featured the behaviours of pets, including the rabbits on the island. The series depicted various tourists coming to feed the rabbits. Poison Gas Museum The Poison Gas Museum opened in 1988 to educate people about the island's role in World War II.  Opened in 1988, the museum "was established in order to alert as many people as possible to the dreadful truths about poison gas." Only two rooms large, the small building provides a basic overview of the construction of the plant, working conditions and the effects of poison gas on humans.  Families of workers who suffered the aftereffects of the harsh working conditions donated numerous artifacts to help tell the story of the workers' plight when handling the gas with poor safety equipment that often leaked.  The second room shows how poison gas affects the human body through the lungs, eyes, skin, and heart. Images of victims from Iraq and Iran add to the message of the museum.  As expressed by the curator Murakami Hatsuichi to The New York Times, “My hope is that people will see the museum in Hiroshima City and also this one, so they will learn that we [Japanese] were both victims and aggressors in the war. I hope people will realize both facets and recognize the importance of peace.".  In the museum one can pick up a guide to the numerous remains of the forts from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the poison gas factory.  Most of the buildings are run-down and condemned, but recognizable.  The museum is aimed mainly at the Japanese people, but English translations are provided on the overall summary for each section. Other buildings and structures The island is connected by Chūshi Powerline Crossing, the tallest powerline in Japan.  The best way of accessing the island from the mainland is to take the Sanyō Shinkansen train to Mihara Station (only the Kodama stops there); at Mihara, catch the Kure Line local train to Tadanoumi, from there walk to the terminal and catch a ferry.  Now the island, a short ferry ride from the mainland, is a popular tourist resort with a small golf course, camping grounds and beautiful beaches. Tours are also given of the now derelict poison gas facilities, while ruins of military outposts are dotted around the island. In some ways the allure of the bunnies is similar to that of Japan's and, more recently, England's cat cafes.  Most apartments in Japan forbid pets, so an opportunity to enjoy the company of a furry friend is a welcome one.  Visitors to Okunoshima can buy food for the remarkably tame rabbits, who became an online hit when this video of a woman being chased by a "stampede" of rabbits was posted online.  The videos from Japan’s Ōkunoshima Island are undeniably cute: excited tourists laughing and screaming in joy as dozens of fuzzy, semi-wild rabbits swarm over them, looking for a bite of food.  But those viral videos, which have inspired thousands of people to visit the so-called Rabbit Island over the past two years, hold a dark secret.  The rabbits are dying.   The very thing that inspires people to come to the island—the YouTube videos that have been watched by millions—is creating an unsustainable situation that puts Ōkunoshima’s wildlife and ecosystem at risk.  The rabbit population, which was apparently stable for many years, has exploded since the first YouTube video appeared in 2014. “It’s amazing how many tourists we interviewed came to the island just because of the video,” said Margo DeMello, program director for the Animals and Society Institute, an Ann Arbor, Michigan–based nonprofit.  The tourists often come bearing food, and that’s creating an unsustainable population boom.  “There are now about 1,000 rabbits on this two-mile island,” DeMello said. “They’ve destroyed the ecosystem.”  As a result of the lack of vegetation and the inappropriate food that tourists provide for the animals, the rabbits suffer from a variety of health problems and now have a life expectancy of just two years, DeMello and her fellow researchers found.  The findings were presented on Wednesday at the World Lagomorph Conference in Turlock, California.  Although the resort’s website contains warnings not to pick up the rabbits or feed them snacks, DeMello said most tourists ignore the cautionary instructions.  Tourists’ photos from the island posted online are proof of that.  The tourists, she said, often come bearing cabbage, one of the cheapest vegetables in Japan and a big part of the Japanese diet.  Cabbage is a bad food choice for rabbits, as it causes dangerous and potentially deadly bloat. It is also low in fiber, something rabbits require for what DeMello called their “very particular digestive system.  The supplemental food—which the rabbits now rely on because there’s so little natural vegetation left to eat—also comes irregularly, especially when cold or rainy weather or school schedules keep tourists off the island.  “Rabbits need to eat all the time and consistently,” DeMello said.  “Now they get huge amounts of food on some days and no food on other days.  They’re not like other animals that can adapt to that.”  The situation on Rabbit Island is far from unique. Experts warn that social networking—from YouTube videos to posting selfies taken with wildlife—all too often inspires behavior that is unhealthy for animals.  Adam Roberts, chief executive of Born Free USA, expressed concern that “seemingly benign social media” can lead to poor behavior by humans that is detrimental to animals.   “Social media can glorify the cruel consumption of animals, which leads people to buy animals, including from irresponsible breeders, and even wild animals, which should remain in the wild,” he said.  “Tourists should avoid feeding wild animals when it is not regulated,” said Laëtitia Maréchal, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom and lead author of the study.  “It not only presents potential risks for animal welfare but also for the tourists themselves, as they might be injured or risk potential disease transmission.”  Even official warnings don’t appear to stop the behavior, she said. “As people often believe that feeding animals is an act of kindness, they seem surprised or skeptical that this behavior can potentially harm the welfare of the animals involved.”  On Rabbit Island, DeMello and her fellow researchers found that the rabbits are fighting over even the least nutritious food provided by tourists.  “Of the 728 rabbits that we counted on the island, 28 percent had visible injuries or illnesses,” she reported.  The percentage grew to 50 percent in the areas of the island closest to humans. “The more humans interfered, the sicker and more injured the rabbits appeared to be,” she said.  Because the rabbits are officially considered wild animals, the national park and resort take no active role in their care.  “We as a hotel do nothing that might impact the wild nature of these animals, such as feeding or veterinary treatment,” Christoph Huelson of the Kyukamura Hotels sales department said in an email.  DeMello said she and others worry that word about the condition of the animals could lead to tourism restrictions or even to some of the rabbits being killed off.  Instead, she hopes her research will inspire some change that will benefit the animals.  “I would like to see a dialogue between the government, the hotel, and some of the local people who care about the rabbits,” she said.  Until then, she said, talking about the issues raised by social media might create some change in time to let the rabbits recover from the effects of the wrong kind of publicity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckunoshima https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jun/02/rabbit-island-okunoshima-japan-holiday-resort-bunnies http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/07/14/viral-videos-are-destroying-japans-super-cute-rabbit-island In my research I found Another Rabbit Island!!!! AMAMI-OSHIMA https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spn/kagoshima/map_plus_info/locations.html By air from Tokyo: 2:20h; from Kagoshima: 50 min. Amami-Oshima: Mangrove Among the special natural attractions of Amami-Oshima are a species of black rabbit, dense virgin forests, and mangroves. The mangrove forest can be explored by canoe, and sea-kayaking is also popular. The beauty of the coral reef can be viewed by means of a glass-bottomed boat. The island has examples of traditional "taka-kura", which are storehouses built on stilts. While they may seem typical of a south-sea island culture, they were originally used not only in the islands but throughout Japan to store rice. The island has a centuries-old tradition of manufacturing pongee silk fabric, which is known for its fineness of pattern and pleasant feel on the skin. Agricultural products include sugarcane, sweet potatoes, pineapple, papaya, and bananas. Now I am going to cover the Amami rabbit The Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi; Amami: [ʔosaɡi]), or Amamino kuro usagi (アマミノクロウサギ 奄美野黒兔?, lit. "Amami wild black rabbit"), also known as the Ryukyu rabbit, is a primitive, dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture (but actually closer to Okinawa) in Japan.  Often called a living fossil, the Amami rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small islands where they survive today. With its small ears and eyes and its dense dark fur, it looks very different from a typical rabbit or hare. It lives in or on the edge of old-growth forests, away from human activity. Although the rabbit has been declared as a Japanese National Monument, its existence is not widely known, even amongst the people of Japan. The species is protected from hunting, but populations have decreased in the last few decades due to extensive habitat loss and predation by introduced carnivores. This ancient species looks very different from a typical rabbit or hare. It has retained several primitive characteristics, such as small eyes and ears and a long snout. The rabbit’s distinctive fur is dense and woolly, and is dark-brown in colour, fading to reddish-brown on the sides and underbelly. Its body is heavily built with short limbs that end in unusually long curved claws.  The Amami Rabbit has a body length between 42 and 51 cms (16.5 - 20 inches), a tail length between 1 and 3.5 cms (0.4 - 1.4 inches) and they weigh between 2 and 3 kgs (4.4 - 6.6 lbs).  They are a distinctive rabbit with a bulky body and dark brown fur. They have a pointed nose, small eyes and short ears.  The Amami rabbit has short hind legs and feet, a somewhat bulky body, and rather large and curved claws used for digging and sometimes climbing. Its ears are also significantly smaller than those of other rabbits or hares.  The pelage (the fur, hair, or wool of a mammal) is thick, wooly and dark brown on top and becomes more reddish-brown on the sides.  The eyes are also small compared to more common rabbits and hares. The average weight is 2.5–2.8 kg. The only species in its genus, the Amami rabbit is one of the most primitive lagomorphs in the world. It is so different from other rabbits and hares that it is considered to belong to an early branch of the main rabbit-hare evolutionary tree.  Its ancestors are believed to have diverged from other leporids between 10 and 20 million years ago, about half as long ago as ancestral rabbits separated from pikas. Behavior Predominantly solitary and nocturnal. Individuals spend their days sleeping in a den, usually an underground tunnel or a space between rocks and trees.  At night the rabbits forage for food amongst the forest undergrowth.  They eat a variety of plants and fruits depending on the season, with Japanese pampas grass forming the bulk of the diet in the summer months, and acorns during the winter.  The rabbit breeds twice a year, producing two or three young which are raised in a safe den. This species of forest-dweller reproduces once in late March–May and once in September–December, having one or two young each time.  The mother visits the den at night to nurse her young. When she leaves she carefully seals the den with dirt and plant material to protect them against predators.  They are also noted for making calling noises, which sound something like the call of a pika.  Amami Rabbits communicate with each other using clicking sounds and calling noises, which is unusual among rabbit species. Distribution and habitat The ideal habitat for these rabbits is in an area between mature and young forests. They use the dense mature forests as protection and for the presence of acorns for their diets. More common in secondary forests close to mature forests than in those further from mature forests, indicating that a mosaic of mature and young forests is the most suitable habitat type for this species. Population surveys carried out between 1985 and 1990 indicate that the rabbits are most common in secondary forests, 10 to 40 years after clear-felling.  The species is not found in cultivated or residential areas.  They also use the high density of perennial grasses and herbaceous ground cover in the young forests for their diets during different times of the year.  Therefore, the best habitat for them to live in is where they have easy access to both young and mature forests with no obstructions between the two forest types. The species is only known to occur on the islands of Amami (820 km²) and Tokuno (248 km²) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, southwest of Japan. The distribution has been estimated to be around 370 km² on Amami and 33 km² on Tokuno Island. Some populations are completely isolated and thought to be very small. The population has been estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000, of which the majority are found on the island of Amami.  There are believed to be fewer than 500 individuals remaining on the island of Tokuno.  Using fecal pellet counts and resident surveys, the number of rabbits is estimated at 2000–4800 left on Amami Island and 120–300 left on Tokuno Island. Population Trend In spite of an increase in the area of young forests due to continuous cutting, surveys have indicated a significant decline in the distribution and abundance of the species over the past 20 years.  In particular, populations of Amami rabbit have decreased in the central part of the island, where mongoose numbers have rapidly increased in recent years. Threats The rabbits initially became endangered as a result of hunting for meat and oriental medicine.  Before 1921, hunting and trapping were another cause of decline in population numbers.  In 1921, Japan declared the Amami rabbit a "natural monument" which prevented it from being hunted.  Then in 1963, it was changed to a "special natural monument" which prevented it from being trapped as well.  Even with Japan giving the species full legal protection, it is still under threat from predation by stray dogs, feral cats and other animals introduced by humans.  In particular, Java mongooses Herpestes javanicus have killed large numbers of Amami rabbits, following their introduction in 1979 to control the population of venomous habu pit vipers Trimeresurus flavoviridis.  Unfortunately, the mongooses devastated populations of the islands’ native small mammals instead. In the last few decades, habitat loss due to extensive logging operations has also been a major contributor to the rabbits’ decline.  Less than 1% of the forests on Amami Island have been protected from development activities such as logging resort development and road construction. The total area of mature forest in 2000 was estimated to be about 40% of that in 1970, accounting for about 9.1% of the forest area on the island.  Young secondary forests, resulting from complete clearance of mature forests, now cover much of the island. However, rabbits are less common in areas of secondary forest far from mature forest patches. Conservation Underway The species has been declared as a Japanese National Monument, and as such receives protection from hunting and capture. Some animals are further protected in national reserves such as the Amami Gunto Quasi-National Park.  A number of population surveys (consisting of rabbit pellet counts and community interviews) have been carried out over the past two decades.  These surveys have yielded important data on the population and conservation status of the species, and have confirmed the negative effect mongooses are having on rabbit populations. The results of these studies have led to recent culls of this alien invasive predator by the federal and local government. Conservation Proposed A combination of habitat restoration and predator control initiatives are required to mitigate the threats to the Amami rabbit.  Careful habitat management is needed to maintain a mosaic of mature oak forests and young second-growth so that the rabbit can obtain food throughout the year.  Such mosaics are still fairly abundant in the central and the southern parts of Amami Island.  The primary conservation measure in such areas would be to limit forest road construction.  This measure would restrict the logging of more mature forests, help prevent the further expansion of predators into the forest, and ensure that local rabbit populations do not become isolated.  Increased habitat protection would be beneficial in the southern part of Amami Island, where the population density of rabbits is still quite high.  Populations of predators (feral cats and dogs and introduced mongooses) should be controlled, particularly in areas of important habitat. Long-term research and monitoring programmes are also required to continue to assess the conservation and management needs of the species  A small area of the Amami Island has the Amami Gunto Quasi-National Park that further protects the population. Some attempt at habitat restoration has been made, but the Amami rabbit needs a mosaic of mature and young forest in close proximity, and when a young forest is regrown nowhere near a mature forest, this rabbit is not likely to inhabit it.  Research and population monitoring also is underway to try to keep the numbers from declining, even if they can not be increased. The Lagomorph Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources proposed a plan of conservation in 1990. The Amami Wildlife Conservation Center of the Ministry of the Environment was established in 1999. It restarted a mongoose eradication program in 2005 and designated the Amami rabbit as endangered in 2004 for Japan. Japan really loves its cats.  This makes managing stray overpopulation in ecologically vulnerable areas a challenge, at least if you believe it should be done in a way that doesn’t involve cruelty to animals.  Other nations, take a horrific and merciless approach with “culling” that often uses brutal tactics such as trapping and mass poisoning, even though these methods often have unintended consequences.  For Japan, these options were a nonstarter when looking at how to protect the fragile Amami rabbits of Tokunoshima island, so the nation devised a better solution: a mass spay/neuter program.   2,200 cats have been altered already, with around 1,000 to go — shows that it’s possible to control a very large population of strays effectively, and to the benefit of all parties involved. There is some more good news for the Amami Rabbit.  As of last month in Tokyo, on Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)—Tokyo will recommend soon that islands in the Amami-Ryūkyū region in southwestern Japan be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said.  The government will make its official decision on the matter as early as this week, Suga told a press conference.  Set to be recommended as World Heritage sites are the northern part of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture and Iriomote Island, also in Okinawa, as well the islands of Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.  An urgent task in the region is the protection of endangered native species such as the Okinawa rail, known as “Yanbaru Kuina,” and the Amami rabbit, or “Amami no Kuro Usagi,” as well as the preservation of subtropical laurel forests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_rabbit http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=44 http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/japan-saves-native-rabbits-by-neutering-thousands-of-cats http://www.nippon.com/en/genre/politics/l10103/ http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/rabbits_hares_pikas/amami_rabbit.html Why the Rabbit is a Bird: For those of you who study Japanese, you might have come across this curious feature of the language. When counting rabbit/hares the word WA ( 羽) is used ( in Japanese different counting words are used for different things). The odd thing is that this is the counting word used for counting BIRDS! ICHI WA, NI WA – one bird, two birds.   Some explain  this by saying that is because rabbits/hares jump ( like flying) and their ears look like feathers ( and also because their meat tasted like chicken!). The real reason, however, is more interesting. Since the adoption of Buddhism, the eating of the meat of four-legged animals has been frowned upon ( though not anymore!). In fact, during the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Family officially banned the eating of such animals. The trouble was, that the Tokugawa`s in fact loved eating RABBIT. In fact it was a regualr feature of their New Year`s Dishes ( O-Sechi). How did they get around the law that they themselves promulgated and enforced? Easy. They called hares BIRDS ! Case closed! By the way, besides eating the meat, the Japanese also used the fur, to make brushes for calligraphy. Such brushes were long considered to be The highest quality. http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/ Back when nights were pitch dark, people would be very imaginative when looking at the brightly shining full moon in the night skies. People in different countries see different things when looking at moon patterns, such as a standing lion, a crab with one large claw, or the profile of a man or woman. The Japanese say that "a rabbit is pounding mochi. In Japanese folklore there are rabbits living the moon which keep busy making mochi.  Mochi is a sticky rice snack. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/cultural/kie/moon/kie_moon_06.html The venerable legend of "The White Rabbit of Inaba," and the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare" are proof that Japanese have been interested in rabbits through the ages. The fact that these creatures are so prolific has made them an appropriate symbol of wealth. Perhaps the first linkage of hoppers and the moon came from India, where one legend tells of a rabbit that cannot bear to see people starve and jumps into the fire so they can have food.  As a reward for this self-sacrifice, the god Indra is said to have taken the rabbit to the moon. The story then traveled to China. There, the rabbit has become a pharmacist, mixing medicines with mortar and pestle. The tale then passed to Japan, where the rabbit is pounding mochi rice cakes, instead of pulverizing medicinal herbs.  All over the world, people have likened the shadows on the moon to all sorts of things, but the Japanese have always been infatuated with the idea of the rabbit pounding mochi. This can be seen at traditional confectionary shops throughout the nation, where people stand in line to buy cakes with a rabbit motif for the autumn moon-viewing season. He was said to descend to Earth around the time of the three-day moon, and return home when the moon was full.  Some artwork includes images of a rabbit or hare stands gazing wistfully at the moon,  In the midst of a field of wild autumn grasses, as if longing to return home. Now for a Japanese story: The Rabbit in the Moon (A Japanese Tale) http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/1996/8/1/the-rabbit-in-the-moon-a Every night the Old Man in the Moon looks down on Earth to see how his animals and people are doing. He smiles to see them resting after a hard day's work. He winks at sleeping children. He hovers over rivers and lakes, lighting the waves and the shore. Then he sails on to other lands. One night long ago, the Old Man lingered in the sky over a forest in Japan. The animals below seemed to him to live in peace and harmony. Suddenly he spotted a monkey, a fox and a rabbit who were living side by side. The Old Man began to wonder about these animals that he knew only by sight. After a while he began to long to know them better. "Which of these friends is the kindest creature?" he asked himself as he watched the rabbit dash across the fields. "I wonder which is most generous?" he said softly as he watched the monkey swing from a tree. "I wonder what they are truly like," he said as he watched the fox paw at the forest floor to make his bed. "I need to know more about my creatures." The Old Man floated a while longer, but finally his curiosity got the best of him. "I must go and see for myself," he said, and because the Old Man in the Moon is a magical creature, he was able to transform himself into a poor beggar. In this disguise he floated down to Earth. He walked through the forest until he came to the clearing where the monkey, fox and rabbit lived. When the creatures saw him, they looked up at him with bright shining eyes. "Good day, sir," the rabbit said. "How do you do?" "Welcome to our forest," said the monkey, and the fox bowed low. "Oh, friends," the Old Man said, leaning heavily on his walking stick, "I am not doing well. I am old and poor, and I am very hungry. Do you think you could help me?" "Of course we'll help," the monkey chattered. "We always help our friends," the fox agreed. "We'll fetch some food for you," the rabbit added, and without a moment's hesitation, the three ran off, each one in search of food to offer the poor beggar. The Old Man sat down and leaned against a tree. Looking up into his sky, he smiled. "These are good animals," he said to himself, "and I am curious to see who is most generous." Before long the monkey returned, carrying an armload of fruit. "Here you are," the monkey said. "The bananas and berries are delicious. And take these oranges too, and these pears. I hope you will enjoy my gift," and he lay his fruit before the beggar. "Thank you, my friend. You are kind," the beggar said, and before he had finished speaking, the fox raced into the clearing. He carried a fat, fresh fish between his teeth, and this he laid before the beggar. Again he bowed. "My friend," the fox said, "I offer you a fresh fish to ease your hunger. I hope this will satisfy you." "You also are kind," said the Old Man. "I never knew how kind the forest animals were." "Of course we are kind," the monkey said proudly. "And we are skilled at finding food," the fox added. Now all three sat waiting for the rabbit to return. Meanwhile, the rabbit dashed this way and that through the forest, but no matter how he tried, he could not find food for the beggar. At long last he returned to the clearing. "Friend," the monkey cried, "you have returned!" "I have," the rabbit said sadly, "but I must ask you to do me a favor, dear friends. Please, Brother Monkey, will you gather firewood for me? And Brother Fox, with this firewood will you build a big fire?" The monkey and the fox ran off at once to do as their friend asked, and the beggar sat quietly by, watching in wonder. When the fire was blazing, the rabbit turned to the beggar. "I have nothing to offer you but myself," he said. "I am going to jump into the fire, and when I am roasted, please feast upon me. I cannot bear to see you go hungry." Rabbit bent his knees, preparing to jump into the fire. The beggar at once threw away his stick and cast off his cloak. He stood straight and tall and proud, and the animals, seeing this strange transformation, began to shake with fear. "Don’t be afraid," the Old Man said. "You see, Rabbit, I am more than a beggar, and I have seen that you are more than generous. Your kindness is beyond price, but you must understand, I wish you no harm. I do not want you to sacrifice yourself for my comfort. I will take you home with me, where I can watch over you and make sure you are never harmed." The Old Man in the Moon lifted the rabbit into his arms and carried him up to the moon. The monkey and the fox watched in amazement, but they were grateful, for they wished their friend no harm. If you look carefully at the moon when it is full and bright, you will see the rabbit living there in peace, resting in the Old Man's arms, helping him to watch over us all. Plant of the week: Raspberry Word of the week: Impress

We did it all for the glory of love. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go back thirty years to when I fell in love with going to the movies.  The mid-80s informed a lot of my taste, and much like last year's 1985 retrospective, it's always a blast to go back and see what holds up and what we each consider to be personal favorites from a particular year. RogerEbert.com's very own Erik Childress and Collin Souter return for what is to become a yearly tradition. We go through the entire year chronologically covering titles that range from BLUE VELVET to PLATOON and everything in between (ALIENS, PRETTY IN PINK and so much more).  Yes, some big titles come up, but have no fear, we talk SOLARBABIES and SOUL MAN.  Some debates come up, but for the most part, it's a friendly 3-hour conversation between 3 die-hard movie fans that enjoy sharing memories, insights and reviews.  We hope you each the conversation, and yes, we did feel the need for speed.  You can follow the list from 1986 that we cover here: http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/year/1986 00:00 - 11:43 - Introduction / General Thoughts on 1986 11:44 - 20:29 - Brief BLUE VELVET discussion 20:30 - 47:39 - January - February 47:40 - 01:22:05 - March - May 01:22:06 - 01:22:40 - COBRA soundtrack sample 01:22:41 - 02:01:41 -  June - Mid-August 02:01:42 - 02:27:51 -  Late-August - October 02:27:52 - 02:50:00 -  November - December, Box Office 02:50:01 - 03:00:30 - Top Ten of 1986 / Outro This next week you will be treated to a barrage of episodes. Well, okay two more director episodes will be coming your way. They may be on the short side, but get ready for a director I wasn't familiar with that truly blew me away - Agnes Varda, featuring guest Kate Blair.  And Nick Digilio of WGN Radio returns to talk about the post-GOODFELLAS career of Martin Scorsese.  July is a hot podcasting month, and just as a heads up, I might take another vacation in September.  But have no fear, visit NowPlayingNetwork.net for a plethora of podcasts that I know you'll enjoy including the newly released Tracks of the Damned and Fresh Perspective!

Adam talks to WOLA Senior Fellow Jo-Marie Burt, who has just co-authored a new report on the March-May 2013 genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt. The case is currently stuck, she says, and there has been a backlash.