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Known for its bread, bakery relocates from Peekskill There's something in the air in Garrison - the smell of fresh bread. Signal Fire Bread opened a new, wood-fired bakery on Thursday (May 15) on Route 9D in Garrison just south of the post office. Its co-owners, Erin Detrick and Liz Rauch, are both experienced in the art of baking. Detrick baked professionally in New York City before establishing Signal Fire Bread in 2018. Rauch operated a home-based bakery before joining Detrick at the Sparrowbush Bakery in Hudson. They joined forces in 2019 and two years later moved the bakery to Peekskill. Rauch said their goal in Peekskill was to run a manufacturing plant for bread, but local zoning required them to include a retail component. "We were able to establish a strong business there, but the retail space was makeshift." Detrick said. "We didn't have great visibility, and we couldn't grow it." They were not actively looking for a new home but said they couldn't resist when the Garrison location became available. "The space came to us," Rauch said. "We considered it for a while, and it was like, 'Yes, this is what we imagined we'd like to be.'" They closed the Peekskill facility in late 2024 to focus on the move. Signal Fire's initial retail selection will include 12 to 15 types of bread, from baguettes, spelt, brioche and miche, to East Mountain levain, Ammerland rye and honey whole wheat. There will also be scones, muffins, cookies, biscuits, galettes and rolls. "We'll add pizzas, sandwiches and salads eventually and, hopefully, soups by the fall," Detrick said. "We want to add more breakfast and lunch items as we get our legs and train staff." Coffee + Beer in Ossining will supply coffee. Signal Fire will continue to have a booth on Saturdays at the Cold Spring Farmers' Market, where it has a loyal following. Rauch and Detrick are aware that the building, which began life as a gas station, has seen a succession of short-lived cafes and restaurants. "That was an early concern, but we're already well-known in this community and feeling so much support everywhere we go here," Detrick said. Grain and the flour derived from it are the raw materials that fuel a bakery. Signal Fire works with Farmer Ground Flour, which grows organic grain on five farms in the Finger Lakes region and grinds it into flour using pink granite millstones. That process mills together the grain's three elements - bran, germ and endosperm - to maximize flavor and nutrient value. "It can be sifted if you want a lighter wheat, or left whole," Detrick said. They sometimes source flour from New Jersey and Maine, as well. Rauch said 90 percent of what they bake uses natural wild yeast. "Sourdough is natural wild yeast; it's in the air," she said. They mix flour, water and yeast twice a day. "We've been maintaining that culture since we opened; it's a constant process of keeping it healthy and happy." The name Signal Fire is tied to the region's geography and history. Signal fires were lit on mountaintops in the Highlands as a means of communication, both during the Revolutionary War and probably earlier by Native Americans. "I loved that image of fires burning on the mountaintops," Detrick said. Both bakers admitted to a slight case of the jitters as opening day approached. "We've been prepping for a year," Detrick said. "It's a blend of excitement, nerves and curiosity about what's going to actually happen when people come through the door." Rauch added: "I'm feeling positive and optimistic. I'm also nervous because we've never run an operation like this. We're jumping off the diving board!" Signal Fire Bread, at 1135 Route 9D in Garrison, will be open today (May 16), Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Beginning May 22, it will be open daily except Wednesday. See signalfirebread.com.
Episode Notes S6E12 -Join us as we sit down with the amazing Jennifer Cihi. She'll be in the house telling tales from Broadway to being the singing voice of Sailor Moon and beyond. Jennifer Cihi (born April 2, 1966) is an American singer/actress who performed on Broadway, television, commercial jingles and provided several songs for animated series and films. She is best known for being the original English dub singer of Sailor Moon, starring in Nickelodeon's Roundhouse, singing the Hot Pockets national jingle and performing in the Broadway National Tour of Annie. HELPFUL LINKS: VETERANS: https://www.va.gov/.../mental-health/suicide-prevention/ ADDICTION: https://lp.recoverycentersofamerica.com/.../continuum-of.../ Due you know someone that has lost their lives due to addiction? Or even someone that has made a full recovery? Reach out to Johnny Whitaker so they can help to celebrate the lives lost/ lives recovered at overdoseawareness0831@gmail.com Follow our guest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Cihi https://www.instagram.com/jennifercihi/ https://www.facebook.com/JenniferCihiSinger/ Toking with the Dead: https://www.stilltoking.com/ ————————————— Follow Still Toking With and their friends! https://smartpa.ge/5zv1 ————————————— Produced by Leo Pond and The Dorkening Podcast Network MORE ABOUT THE GUEST: Cihi was born in Ossining, New York, but her family moved to the west coast when she was an infant. She grew up in San Jose, California where she performed on stage at Children's Musical Theater San Jose. She had leading roles in The Wizard of Oz and Bye Bye Birdie, along with being a featured performer in a series of productions. She spent a year of middle school on tour with Annie, where she schooled at the theatre between shows. She was an avid skier and swimmer and had a passion for poetry. Cihi graduated from Presentation High School in San Jose, California in 1984. In 1978, at the age of 12, she was cast in the Broadway Second National Tour of Annie. She played the role of Pepper, the older orphan who bullies Annie, alongside a then unknown Molly Ringwald.[1] The 2nd National Touring Company (sometimes referred to as the West Coast or Los Angeles Production) opened in San Francisco on June 22, 1978. Cihi held the role for a year, before being deemed too tall. Shortly after high school, Cihi landed a job at Tokyo Disney, where she lived and performed for two years. At that time, she performed on the soundtrack of the anime City Hunter. After returning from Japan, she settled in Los Angeles, where she continued to perform in local theatre shows and sang in professional bands. In 1993, she joined the cast of Nickelodeon's Roundhouse for season 3 where she sang the theme song, acted in various sketches and sang several solos. She played a variety of roles on the show, which showcased her talents as a comedic actress as well as a singer Find out more at https://still-toking-with.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/still-toking-with/eebdd423-dbda-4b90-bc78-16ca498d3694
Artists and musician team up for BAU show There's plenty of cross-pollination behind the scenes at the Poetry of Place exhibit scheduled to open March 8 with a reception at the Beacon Artist Union (BAU) Gallery. Next month will be mixed-media artist and BAU member Karen Allen's turn to display in the showcase gallery visible from the street, and she invited Jenn Wiggs, who lives in Missouri, to share the space. "Jenn said that she always wanted a show in New York, so I found one," says Allen, who resides in Westchester County. Allen discovered Wiggs' work online during the pandemic, and they gelled. During regular virtual visits, they discuss approach, technique and philosophy. Another of Allen's partnerships will also be on display - with vibraphonist Chris Dingman. They met in October at an Ossining art fair after Dingman paused to study one of Allen's pieces. "I saw him ponder it for a while and then circle around it like a shark," Allen says. For their collaboration, she lends the musician a piece of her art and "I connect with it and visualize the energy," says Dingman, who lives in Nyack. He improvises tones, splices them together and drenches the mix in effects, resulting in experimental ambient sounds. Dingman will perform at the gallery during the opening reception with a hip-high vibraphone, a cross between a piano and a percussion instrument. His 4- to 6-minute compositions will be accessible through QR codes. The Dingman track responding to Allen's "Shadow Hamadryade" stacks layers of cascading notes over a propulsive rhythm. Intertwining drone tones and a prominent hum compete for attention. After the emergence of a throbbing vocal, the song builds to a crescendo. Another piece of music is inspired by Allen's "Third Eye of Hook Mountain," which augments the vaguely discernible features of the Nyack landmark with an underbelly of what could be a river of darkness or primordial layering. As Dingman's tones unfold, dynamics swell, notes seem to play at random intervals and an electronic, Morse Code-like tone chimes. Allen's artistic vision began with a realistic bent: landscapes, figuratives and still lifes. But after meeting Wiggs, she dug into her feelings and "let the spirit take control." According to her website, Allen follows "visual intuitions" and explores a "poetic vision" to convey moods, rather than objects, as she turns toward abstraction. With that approach, "it's easy to start getting into a canvas or montage," she says. "The hard part is knowing when it's done." Some abstract artists are averse to interpreting their work. Others say they want only to know how a piece makes viewers feel - ask at your peril if that cloudy figure in the corner is a bird. For Wiggs, "if someone tells me they see a squirrel and I recognize the squirrel, I'm painting it out," says Wiggs. "Everyone wants to know the meaning behind an edgy piece of art or music. The question is often the answer because sometimes words fail us, and it's just about how we respond emotionally." A joint opening reception for Poetry of Place; Translucent Hues, by Eileen Sackman; and a member group show is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on March 8 at the BAU Gallery, 506 Main St. The exhibits continue through April 6. BAU Gallery is open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., and by appointment. See baugallery.org.
Forrest, Conan Neutron, Kristina Oakes and McKenzie Wilkes of Criterion Connection and Austin Danger Pod talk about Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley's Sing Sing Starring Colman Domingo as falsely convicted playwright and actor Divine G, in this true story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, which helped prisoners at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in Ossining, NY channel their feelings into THE THEATER The story is by Kwedar and Bentley along with the REAL DIVINE G (John Whitfield, if you want to be boring) and Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin, who also stars as himself in an incredible star turn. Just to make sure to shout them out, David "Dap" Giraudy, Patrick "Preme" Griffin, Mosi Eagle, James "Big E" Williams, Sean "Dino" Johnson, Dario Peña, Miguel Valentin, Jon-Adrian Velazquez, Pedro Cotto, Camillo "Carmine" Lovacco, and Cornell "Nate" Alston all star as themselves.. real members of Rehabilitation Through the Arts. The REAL Divine G has a cameo in one of the first scenes where he has Colman Domingo's "Divine G" sign his book. Also, Paul Raci stars as Brent Buell.. the real Brent Buell is one of the Co-Producers.. and Sean San José stars with the rest of the cast as Mike Mike. #singing #colmandomingo #bestpicture #bestactor #divine #bestoriginalsong #academyawards #prison #jail #hamlet #kinglear #dutchess #dutchesscounty #fishkill Free Divine G from his Wrongful Conviction!!! https://www.change.org/p/free-john-divine-g-whitfield-from-a-wrongful-conviction-now Rehabilitation Through The Arts Website where you can donate or volunteer for the program in the movie!!: https://rta-arts.org Special shout out to the Hudson Valley Film Commission in Woodstock, NY who location scouted the decommissioned Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill 5 minutes away from my dentist and Beacon High School as well as helping to cast all the background actors and helping to hire many of the crew members. https://www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org Conan's former Protonic Reversal cohost Brenna has thryoid cancer and is raising money for her treatment, if you can help please donate https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-brennas-fight-against-thyroid-cancer Join our discord: https://discord.gg/ZHU8W55pnh The Movie Night Extravaganza Patreon helps us keep the show going.. become a Patron and support the show!! https://patreon.com/MovieNightExtra
On Friday and Saturday January 4th and 5th, 2025 the 7th Annual Slam Dunk Showcase & Crusader Classic took place at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. An event that features plenty of high school basketball action. There was Tuckahoe vs. Pleasantville; White Plains vs. New Rochelle; Woodlands vs. Peekskill; Ardsley vs. Ossining; Ursuline vs Walter Panas; Christ the King vs. Albertus Magnus; Rye vs. Mamaroneck; and Scarsdale vs. Byram Hills. But the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night, when Iona Prep took stepped onto the court against rivals Stepinac. Westchester Talk Radio was there before tip off, and spoke to a few people, like Kyle Peterson of Westchester County Parks.
On Friday and Saturday January 4th and 5th, 2025 the 7th Annual Slam Dunk Showcase & Crusader Classic took place at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. An event that features plenty of high school basketball action. There was Tuckahoe vs. Pleasantville; White Plains vs. New Rochelle; Woodlands vs. Peekskill; Ardsley vs. Ossining; Ursuline vs Walter Panas; Christ the King vs. Albertus Magnus; Rye vs. Mamaroneck; and Scarsdale vs. Byram Hills. But the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night, when Iona Prep took stepped onto the court against rivals Stepinac. Westchester Talk Radio was there before tip off, and spoke to a few people, like fan Nic.
On Friday and Saturday January 4th and 5th, 2025 the 7th Annual Slam Dunk Showcase & Crusader Classic took place at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. An event that features plenty of high school basketball action. There was Tuckahoe vs. Pleasantville; White Plains vs. New Rochelle; Woodlands vs. Peekskill; Ardsley vs. Ossining; Ursuline vs Walter Panas; Christ the King vs. Albertus Magnus; Rye vs. Mamaroneck; and Scarsdale vs. Byram Hills. But the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night, when Iona Prep took stepped onto the court against rivals Stepinac. Westchester Talk Radio was there before tip off, and spoke to a few people, like James Feehan of Westchester County Parks.
Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers The weather on Monday January 9th, 1956 warmed throughout the day. It hit forty degrees Fahrenheit by nightfall. The front cover of The New York Daily News featured a photo of patrolman Ray Cusack, who rescued many children from a fire in Hempstead, New York. Dwight Eisenhower was still undecided on whether or not to seek a second term, while Democrat hopeful Adlai Stevenson claimed Ike's recent State of the Union Address was merely a veiled State on the Republican party. Meanwhile the families of both US diplomats and UN officials fled from the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem after violent anti-western riots broke out for the second day in a row. If you turned on your radio at 8:15PM eastern time, you'd have heard a Boston Symphony concert on NBC, and Metropolitan Opera auditions on ABC. WOR aired True Detective, but if you wanted the best in radio detective fiction you'd have turned on CBS, where Bob Bailey was starring in Jack Johnstone's production of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, written by E. Jack Neuman. The prison where Vance served time is Sing Sing, originally opening in Ossining, New York in 1825. Among the executions in their electric chair were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, on June 19th, 1953, for Soviet espionage. A good mink coat cost about twenty-five-hundred dollars in 1956. Both Orin Vance and Don Freed were voiced by Lawrence Dobkin. By 1956 Dobkin was a radio legend with experience in both New York and Hollywood. The Westin Hotel Chain was launched in 1930 by Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar as Western Hotels. They were the first hotel chain to introduce credit cards in 1946. Today the chain, called Westin since 1981, is owned and operated by Mariott. There are Westin Hotels in both the Times Square and Grand Central area. In January of 1956, 57th street was home to various art exhibitions like Kay Sage's surrealist paintings at the Catherine Viviano gallery, a contemporary Greek Art exhibition at Sagittarius gallery, a European group show at the Matisse gallery, and art and artifacts of various Central African tribes at 57th and Lexington. The Sutton theater, also on 57th street, was showing The Night My Number Came Up starring Michael Redgrave and Sheila Sim. Gloria Tierney's fictional apartment at 1231 East 57th is an impossibility. The address would put it in the East River.
note from the archivist: Jimmy did not write episode notes for the remaining episodes, however in this case Reid wrote, "On this episode we explore the strange & winding tale of Belita Adair. From musical medium & child prodigy to Puharich test subject to Satanic black metal artist, we trace her life from Ojai, CA to Ossining, NY. Along the way we revisit themes of coercive hypnosis, entity channeling, and encounter Ira Einhorn yet again." artwork by Dakota (@DEEP_RED_BELLS) Songs: Surfin' Moon by the Mayhems Circle of Hate by Satanic Corpse Blood Benediction by Satanic Corpse Diamonos by Behemoth
Levenberg seeks re-election for second term Michael Capalbo began a debate with state Assembly Member Dana Levenberg at the Ossining Library on Oct. 7 by condemning antisemitism and asking spectators to remember the killing and kidnapping of Israelis a year earlier by Hamas. But a comment he made 11 minutes later overshadowed that gesture. Responding after Levenberg, who is Jewish, spoke of her support for increased funding and municipal aid in this year's budget, the Republican and Conservative party candidate said: "They throw her some shekels to do some work in her community." On Tuesday (Oct. 15), Capalbo said it was a "clumsy use of words" and that he had Jewish supporters attending the debate who took "no offense to it whatsoever." But Levenberg, whose name appears on the Democratic and Working Families lines, said she was offended. "Especially following his comment about how he's against antisemitism, I thought it was so tone-deaf," she said. The rest of the nearly one-hour debate, organized by the League of Women Voters for Northwest Westchester County, and subsequent telephone interviews this week gave the candidates opportunities to highlight their other contrasts in the race for the 95th District, which includes Philipstown. Levenberg, who has a campaign cash advantage ($88,477 to $11,814), is a former Ossining supervisor and chief of staff to her predecessor, Sandy Galef, who held the seat for 30 years. During Levenberg's first term, which began in January 2023, she has supported core progressive issues such as the environment, education funding and efforts to build more housing to drive down costs. She voted for the Climate Change Superfund Act, which the Legislature passed in June. The bill, which Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign, requires that companies responsible for the buildup of greenhouse gases help fund infrastructure projects that reduce the impact of climate change. Levenberg said she is crafting legislation requiring climate risks to be factored in for transit-oriented developments built near public-transportation stops like those along Metro-North's Hudson Line, which is prone to flooding from the Hudson River. The 95th District runs along the river from Briarcliff Manor to Philipstown. "We have to be cognizant of those issues, particularly in my district," said Levenberg. In the state budget approved in April, Levenberg and Democrats in the Legislature negotiated for a bigger increase to foundation aid than Hochul originally proposed for local school districts. She also supported spending the $2 million that is funding the Rockefeller Institute study of the formula the state uses to distribute foundation aid. In areas like Ossining and Philipstown, data showing high incomes can mask the needs of their school districts, said Levenberg. In Ossining, "we kept getting knocked down by the formula because there are wealthy pockets that were bringing up the median income," said Levenberg, a former school board member for the district. She also plans to re-introduce legislation that would require each city, town and village to develop a plan to increase its supply of housing "for everyone." Those plans would be subject to a public hearing and have to be submitted to the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Some of that new housing needs to be affordable, including for middle-income households, said Levenberg. "We need it for our kids, we need it for our seniors, we need it for people on fixed incomes and people who are just trying to get a foot in the door in Westchester and Putnam counties," she said. By contrast, Capalbo said during the debate that "hostile laws toward landlords" have left tens of thousands of housing units vacant because their owners "can't get the rent stabilization reviewed" so they can make a profit. "They're sitting there because it's more worthwhile for landlords to do it," said Capalbo, a business analyst who lives in Yorktown. He railed about the control by Democrat...
What a joy to interview my pastor! Fr. Brian McSweeney, Pastor at St. Augustine's Parish in Ossining, left behind a promising career in finance and a comfortable life to answer the question, "What does God want me to do?" and the priesthood has been the key to his great joy! Listen as he shares his story of hearing God's call to this beautiful life. Please like, subscribe, share, and, most importantly, pray for us!
Join Sara & Sophie as they talk to their personal vet, Dr Paul Klainbard or Family Veterinary Care of Ossining, about the ins and outs of good medical care for your dog.
Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder shares his thoughts on Greg Kwedar's 2023 film ‘Sing Sing,' which follows true events surrounding a group of incarcerated men as they stage a comedic theatrical production within the walls of Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in Ossining, New York. Participating in the prison's Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, the men find purpose and a newly-ignited passion for acting. Ponder feels the film shed a much-needed positive light on incarcerated men of color. Listen to hear his full review! This segment was hosted and produced by Reggie Ponder. Follow him on Instagram and X @TheReelCritic. ‘Sing Sing' is now in theaters.
Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder shares his thoughts on Greg Kwedar's 2023 film ‘Sing Sing,' which follows true events surrounding a group of incarcerated men as they stage a comedic theatrical production within the walls of Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in Ossining, New York. Participating in the prison's Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, the men find purpose and a newly-ignited passion for acting. Ponder feels the film shed a much-needed positive light on incarcerated men of color. Listen to hear his full review! This segment was hosted and produced by Reggie Ponder. Follow him on Instagram and X @TheReelCritic. ‘Sing Sing' is now in theaters.
New film ‘Sing Sing' follows the real-life story of a group of men who, while incarcerated at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in Ossining, New York, explore life's purpose and vulnerability as they aim to put on an original comedy production with the prison's Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program. Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder met with producers Greg Kwedar and Monique Walton to discuss the film's emotional impact and intentionality. This segment was hosted and produced by Reggie Ponder. Follow him on Instagram and X @TheReelCritic. ‘Sing Sing' is now in theaters.
New film ‘Sing Sing' follows the real-life story of a group of men who, while incarcerated at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in Ossining, New York, explore life's purpose and vulnerability as they aim to put on an original comedy production with the prison's Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program. Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder met with producers Greg Kwedar and Monique Walton to discuss the film's emotional impact and intentionality. This segment was hosted and produced by Reggie Ponder. Follow him on Instagram and X @TheReelCritic. ‘Sing Sing' is now in theaters.
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Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: Elected leaders are criticizing Governor Kathy Hochul's reversal on congestion pricing, with State Senator Jabari Brisport leading a pro-congestion pricing chant in Brooklyn on Sunday. In other news, the Westchester County Department of Health warns that raw sewage is being released into the Hudson River in Ossining due to a break at the Crotonville sewer pump station, posing a public health threat. Plus, New York probation officials will interview former President Donald Trump on Monday as a required step before his July sentencing in his criminal election interference conviction.
My guest today is Anne (or Annie) Carpenter. Anne is a singer, photographer and I would add a beautiful writer, plus a new kindred spirit! I've heard Anne sing and was moved deeply. Although she grew up in a family of singers, was immersed in a choral mindset from middle school through college, I was surprised to learn that it's only been about ten years since Annie stepped into singing professionally. Her honesty about the career choices that didn't line up, her gratitude for all the people who lifted her up and encouraged her to trust both herself and her voice more fully, comes through in our conversation. It's an honor to shine light on this humble, gracious, woman of wonder, curiosity and compassion. Check out the show notes for a link to Anne's beautiful website, IG and FB accounts to see where she is performing next. I've also included a link for a Living Music Event at the Westchester Collaborative Theater in Ossining, NY this month, fusing theater and music, where Anne will be the featured vocal artist. Even though we didn't discuss that in our conversation, I'd love to help promote this unique event. We just got our tickets for opening night on May 10th and hope to see you there! Enjoy the podcast! Links: Anne's Website IG: @anneoranniecarpenter FB: AnneorAnnieCarpenter IG: @langhorneslim Living Music Event at the WCT
Bills focus on senior buses, college aid, housing Gov. Kathy Hochul has already signed two bills introduced this legislative session by Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose Assembly district includes Beacon. One prohibits Central Hudson and other utility companies from charging customers for electric and gas services older than three billing periods. The other clarifies that requirements for supplemental uninsured and underinsured auto insurance apply to police vehicles "principally garaged and used" in New York state and do not apply to self-insurance policies. Those bills are among the proposals introduced during this year's session of the state Legislature by Jacobson and two other local lawmakers: state Sen. Rob Rolison, a Republican whose district includes the Highlands, and Assembly Member Dana Levenberg, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown. During the current two-year term, which began on Jan. 4, 2023, Rolison has introduced 52 bills; Levenberg, 40 and Jacobson, 71. Here are some of the lawmakers' newer bills, which may or may not be passed before the Legislature ends its session on June 6. Rolison S8460: Creates a grant program in the Office for the Aging to allow municipalities to apply for up to $100,000 to purchase Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible buses to transport seniors. Status: Assigned to Finance Committee S8387: Requires the Comptroller's Office to study the feasibility of automatically returning unclaimed funds, as some states do. New York holds $18.4 billion in funds deposited with the state after the person, estate or business could not be located. To retrieve the funds, people must search online at osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds and file a claim. Status: Assigned to Finance Committee S8181: Allows prosecutors to charge someone with promoting a suicide attempt and second-degree manslaughter if their conduct "significantly contributes" to a decision by "an incompetent or physically disabled person or a vulnerable elderly person" to take their own life or try killing themselves. Rolison said the legislation was inspired by the case of an autistic Poughkeepsie resident, Bailey Bates, who killed himself in 2017 at age 19 after a woman and an accomplice conned him into exchanging his disability insurance money for a phony check. Former Sen. Sue Serino, now the Dutchess County executive, introduced the legislation in 2018 as Bailey's Law. 9 Status: Assigned to Codes Committee State Legislators Sen. Rob Rolison (R) District 39, including Highlands rolison@nysenate.gov | 845-229-0106 3 Nepture Road, Suite N22, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Assembly Member Dana Levenberg (D) District 95, including Philipstown levenbergd@nyassembly.gov | 914-941-1111 8 Revolutionary Road, Ossining, NY 10562 Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson (D) District 104, including Beacon jacobsonj@nyassembly.gov | 845-562-0888 47 Grand St., Newburgh, NY 12550 Jacobson A8953: Requires that each high school senior complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), an application for the state's Tuition Assistance Program or a waiver if not attending college. Jacobson cites studies showing that low-income students and their parents are more likely to overestimate the cost of college and have less knowledge of available aid and that first-generation and low-income students are likelier to apply for aid without their parents' involvement, increasing the likelihood of errors. Status: Assigned to Education Committee A8460: Requires that firearms and rifles bought by police agencies at gun buybacks be disassembled and destroyed, with the destruction recorded on video and listed in a log filed with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Jacobson cited a New York Times story published in December that detailed how some guns acquired through buybacks in other states are turned over to companies that remove the parts with serial numbers and sell the rest in kits to private buyers. Status: Assigned to Codes Committee A9210: ...
Westchester-Putnam chapter holds first meeting Charlie Roberto says he lost track of his age after he turned 60; he's counting again, but now it's butterflies. Roberto, who grew up in Mahopac and lives in Croton-on-Hudson, is a true conservationist. He advises the Putnam Highlands Audubon Society and has participated in its annual Christmas bird count since the 1980s. He also advises the Saw Mill River chapter of the National Audubon Society, Fahnestock State Park and Croton Point Park, and serves on the board of Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining. He is now the driving force behind a new Westchester-Putnam chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). He had tried to start the chapter in 2020 but was sidetracked by the pandemic. Butterflies are important, he says, because their health "relates directly to the health of our overall environment. They're like the canary in the coal mine." Along with birds, honeybees, bats and other animals, butterflies help pollinate everything from apples and strawberries to peaches and coffee. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 75 percent of flowering plants and about 35 percent of global food crops rely on animals to pollinate them. But butterfly populations are declining worldwide as a result of habitat loss, especially due to changes in land use, along with the use of pesticides and insecticides, and climate change, including increases in severe weather. Invasive plant species are also contributing to the decline. "Japanese stiltgrass, for example, has been here since the 1980s and entered Fahnestock within the last 10 years," Roberto says. "It crowds out and eliminates many plants that host butterflies." At the same time, milkweed, which monarch butterflies rely upon as a host plant, is declining, putting further stress on that species. Signs of Trouble Studies indicate that populations of 17 butterfly species declined by almost 50 percent across the European Union between 1990 and 2011. In 2021, Science reported that, over the four previous decades, the populations of more than 450 species of butterflies in the western U.S. declined by an average of 2 percent per year. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that the number of eastern monarch butterflies that migrated south to winter in Mexico in 2023-24 decreased by 59 percent from the previous year. In an article in American Butterflies, NABA President Jeffrey Glassberg recalled the annual butterfly counts that began in Westchester County in 1984. "There were butterflies everywhere; it was thrilling," he wrote. "Some years, the absolute numbers were amazing." But the species began to disappear from northern Westchester County by the 1970s, and at least six species were extirpated by 2013. The more than 8,000 butterflies tallied in a one-day count in 1989 decreased by half. In counts near the Teatown Lake Reservation, spotters have documented as many as 60 types of butterflies, including giant swallowtail, monarch, tiger swallowtail and great spangled fritillary. The diversity has held steady, Roberto says, but the total number of butterflies has been dropping, even as the number of people counting them has increased. Roberto notes an unusual behavior called "hill-topping" that butterflies adopt as their numbers fall. "They fly up to the highest point of land and circle, waiting for the opposite sex," he said. The Westchester-Putnam chapter plans to conduct its first count in July, Roberto said, adding that counts have been moved earlier in the month to account for species whose movements have shifted due to climate change. The chapter's inaugural meeting on March 21 drew 22 participants. The group plans to meet about eight times yearly, with summer field trips to local habitats such as Pound Ridge in Westchester and Shenandoah Mountain along the Appalachian Trail in East Fishkill. Over the past four years, the Philipstown Garden Club, in partnership with 11 other environmental organizations, has been teaching ...
Deborah Cronin is the owner of Leatherwood Design Co is a custom window treatment fabrication studio, located in Ossining, New York, in the breathtaking Hudson River Valley. Deb and her team work to the trade and delight in fine fabrics and workmanship. It's an understatement to say they love what they do! Begun as a part-time pillow and cushion workroom in 1987, in 1999 Leatherwood Design Co, became a full-time workroom creating window treatments. Fabric and sewing has been Deb's life-long obsession and she considers it a privilege to be able to make a living doing what she loves. Deb has a blog that is dedicated to documenting what they do every day: they enjoy showing off the gorgeous fabrics they work with, and the window treatments they make from them; discuss the design and fabrication process; and share information about some of their resources, colleagues, and inspiration. Today Deb is sharing her journey to overcome pain in her body and to make it last longer so that she can continue to do what she loves! Links and Resources; (Some of the links I provide, specifically to Amazon and a few others, require me to let you know that if you use those links and make a purchase, I will make some money. I won't make a million dollars, but I might be able to get a cup of coffee, so thank you!) Isotoner Compression Gloves
In episode 495, Megan chats to Ashley Covelli about how to host successful virtual or in-person cooking classes, including technical setup, engagement strategies, and pricing considerations. Ashley Covelli is the food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor behind Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen and the co-founder of Passing the Plate. She loves helping busy people find time to cook delicious meals while reducing the amount of stress, money, and waste involved in the process. She believes in the restorative and joyful practice of sharing meals in the community, preserving the recipes of our ancestors, and cooking as a way of creating memories with loved ones. Ashley's legitimately tiny kitchen is located in Ossining, New York, where she lives with her husband, son, and a feisty rescue cat. Her professional background is in graphic design and fine art, and she brings that aesthetic to her culinary creations. In this episode, you'll learn about how to generate additional income through cooking classes and finer details like creating a welcoming environment, managing class logistics, and striking a balance between preparation and execution. - Diversify Revenue Streams: Consider various income sources like sponsored posts, affiliates, and teaching classes to sustain your business. - Protect Your Energy Levels: Avoid overcommitting to classes or projects to maintain balance and prevent burnout. - Factor in Prep Work: Acknowledge the extensive preparation involved in virtual classes, including recipe testing, setup, teaching, and cleanup. - Test Your Gear: Prioritize tech checks and microphone charging to ensure smooth virtual class experiences. - Encourage Audience Interaction: Create a welcoming environment by inviting questions and feedback during classes. - Be Prepared for Tech Glitches: Stay calm and adaptable in case of technical issues during live sessions. - Use Instagram Stories: Use platforms like Instagram Stories to practice and improve comfort with video content. - Engage Authentically: Embrace imperfection and genuine interactions to connect with your audience effectively. Connect with Ashley Covelli Website | Instagram
Rosa y Edwin le dan la bienvenida al podcast a Jeniffer Rodríguez Michel para hablar sobre la celebración de la Navidad en República Dominicana.Invitada especial:Jeniffer Rodríguez Michel es la pastora de la primera iglesia Presbiteriana de Ossining. Jeniffer y su esposo Kyle Craig son progenitores de Emma Sophia y Eric Gabriel. Jeniffer es la capellana de la Coral Ecuménica Cántico Nuevo donde se explora música diversa de todo el mundo. Le gusta pintar, cantar, ejercitarse y disfruta de un buen entremés!For Listening Guides, click here!Got a question for us? Send them to faithpodcast@pcusa.org! A Matter of Faith website
Shared Mobility Architect Sandra Phillips believes in connecting the dots between shared transportation modes to help people get around safely and quickly, while reducing dependence on privately owned automobiles. Movmi, her BC-based consulting firm, has worked with communities from Switzerland to Vancouver, and from Moncton NB to Portland, Nelson, Osoyoos, and New York state — helping communities structure and finance shared cargo bikes, e-scooters, cars, and even electric autonomous on-demand buses to enable shared mobility at every scale.Check out Movmi: Bringing shared mobility visions to life — HERE Movmi's project 40 miles north of New York City is in the Village of Ossining, NY — learn more HERE.Future Mobility expert Jennifer Dungs also talks about Ossining in this WEBINAR on Lower Density and Bike Revolution, moderated by Sandra and including Kassandra McCleery from Copenhagenize and Ashley Finch from Atlanta.Find out about the Sparrow shared scooter project in Kelowna HERE***********************************************The Bike Sense podcast with Peter Ladner is produced by the BC Cycling Coalition – your voice for safer and more accessible cycling and active transportation in British Columbia.Membership in the BCCC is now FREE! To find out about BCCC's projects and add your voice to the chorus please visit BCCycling.ca
This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Parks & The Arts" Show with the National Parks Arts Foundation features Leah Waybright, a life-long Her newest CD, “Dreamed” is out now and features members of Happy The Man, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Steely Dan. In this conversation Leah talks about her music, childhood in Gettysburg, and work in floral design and wildflowers, especially at The Wildflower Island at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, New York.The common thread that connects Leah's many professions is her role as a Storyteller. Hundreds of lectures and the wide variety of special floral programs she has presented for Garden Clubs and Civic Groups are the most obvious examples of her Storytelling.However, her ability to tell a compelling story is not limited to words. Despite the instrumental nature of her music, her unique approach to composition and instrumentation means that each vignette reveals an unfolding and ever-evolving story rich with meaning. As a steward of the Earth, Leah's creativity and mindset benefitted from the pauses in older projects, and the development of new projects, but throughout she consistently creates new music through improvisation and then hones it with a nurturing process similar to the way she cultivates her beloved plants and wildflowers. More: http://www.leahwaybright.com/ Special thanks to the National Parks Arts Foundation for sponsoring this episode: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This is a replay episode from 2020 when Adrian Griffin was the lead assistant coach for the Tornoto Raptors. We wanted to re-release this since he was named the Milwaukee Bucks head coach at the start of the summer. We think you'll enjoy the episode and will see why the Bucks selected him. The show notes are below ... Adrian Griffin won a World Championship as the lead assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors in 2019. He played in the NBA from 1999-2008 after a stellar career at Seton Hall University. In 2010 he was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame. Prior to serving as the Raptors lead assistant coach, he also spent time on the sidelines for Oklahoma City, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, and the Milwaukee Bucks. Next year he'll have each of his three children playing Division I basketball (Duke, UConn WBB, and Syracuse). In today's episode, we discuss: Winning the NBA Championship Integrating a superstar into an existing team How he got his start in coaching Building a team that meshes and accepts their roles What makes Coach K such a good coach ... and so much more!!! Resources, Books, and Links Twitter: @NBACoachGriffin Toronto Raptors Website: NBA.com/Raptors Adrian's Blog: AdrianGriffinBlog.wordpress.com Articles of Interest . . . NBA champion Raptors resolve personified by assistant coach Adrian Griffinfin Former Bull Adrian Griffin enjoys his moment in the spotlight as World coach Ossining basketball family wins NBA title Successful diverse Raptors coaching staff gets All-Star reward Adrian Griffin used lessons from his late father on the way to NBA title Adrian Griffin is helping his kids reach their Division I goals Past "Success is a Choice" podcast episodes of interest . . . Mike Lombardi (former NFL General Manager) - Episode 138 Sven Nater (former NBA & UCLA player) - Episode 128 Kevin Eastman (former NBA coach & executive) - Episode 121 Kara Lawson (NBA coach & former WNBA star) - Episode 114 Jon Gordon (author of "The Energy Bus") - Episode 100 Drew Dinkmeyer - ("Welly" maker founder & Fantasy Sports Champion) - Episode 085 Dwane Casey (2018 NBA Coach of the Year) - Episode 001 Each week, the Success is a Choice podcasting network brings you leadership expert Jamy Bechler and guest experts who provide valuable insights, tips, and guidance on how to maximize your potential, build a stronger culture, develop good leadership, create a healthy vision, optimize results, and inspire those around you. Please follow Jamy on Twitter @CoachBechler for positive insights and tips on leadership, success, culture, and teamwork. - - - - The Success is a Choice podcast network is made possible by TheLeadershipPlaybook.com. Great teams have great teammates and everyone can be a person of influence. Whether you're a coach, athletic director, or athlete, you can benefit from this program and now you can get 25% off the price when you use the coupon code CHOICE at checkout. Build a stronger culture today with better teammates and more positive leaders. If you like motivational quotes, excerpts, or thoughts, then you'll want to check out Jamy Bechler's book "The Coach's Bulletin Board" as it has more than 1,000 positive insights to help you (and those around you) get motivated and inspired. Visit JamyBechler.com/BulletinBoardBook. - - - - Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a quick review on Apple podcasts. Ratings and reviews are the lifeblood of a podcast. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others. Thanks again for listening and remember that “Success is a choice. What choice will you make today?” - - - - Jamy Bechler is the author of five books including "The Captain" and "The Bus Trip", host of the "Success is a Choice Podcast", professional speaker, and trains organizations on creating championship cultures. He previously spent 20 years as a college basketball coach and administrator. TheLeadershipPlaybook.com is Bechler's online program that helps athletes become better teammates and more positive leaders while strengthening a team's culture. As a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, Bechler has worked with businesses and teams, including the NBA. Follow him on Twitter at @CoachBechler. To connect with him via email or find out about his services, please contact speaking@CoachBechler.com. You can also subscribe to his insights on success and leadership by visiting JamyBechler.com/newsletter.
Dr. Raymond Sanchez is the superintendent of the Ossining Union Free School District. Dr. Sanchez has led the district of more than 5,000 students during a period of tremendous growth in student population. He has been widely applauded for his efforts to develop partnerships with community organizations, achieve educational equity, and meet the needs of all Ossining children and their families.
This message was delivered at Holy Spirit Church in Ossining, NY on June 30, 2023, for their "Healing & Deliverance" service. This was a powerful night in God's Presence.
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I lived in New York for 10 years, from 2000 to 2010. And I worked in New York City for a good part of those 10 years. And while working in the city, I occasionally had to go to offsite meetings in a different part of the city, I went to office parties after work, got together with friends and colleagues for a couple of drinks on Fridays, I went to some entrepreneur and tech meetups, I even spoke at a couple of those meetups, and every single time, after the evening ended, I dreaded one thing and one thing only: Trying to get a cab to go back to Grand Central station, from where I would then take the Metro to go back to Ossining, where I lived at the time. If you've ever lived or worked in a crowded city like New York city, you know how ridiculously hard it was as recently as barely 10 years ago to get a cab. And if it was rush hour, just fuhgeddaboudit. Also, around 8 or 9 PM when people were exiting concerts and sports events and parties, it was darn near impossible to get a yellow cab, because every single cab was either already taken, or they were not available, and if they were available, you were probably competing with 20 other people all spread out on the street, all with their arms extended, trying to get the attention of the lone cab with the light at the top. And then it came down to who the cab driver saw first, and it always felt like people who looked more wall-streety, more attractive, with formal or fancy clothes, somehow always seemed to get the cab ahead of me. And this was a problem literally every day, for literally tens of thousands of people who were at a party or meeting or event, or simply were too tired to take the subway. And I can guarantee you, 99% of them, at some point, wished so badly that they could press a button on their phone and get a cab. Guess what? Someone did make it happen. And it was called... Subscribe and listen to the show on your favorite podcast app or at https://SubscribeMe.fm Podcast episode brought to you by https://S3MediaVault.com
Pete's a podiatrist. Pete does feet. Pete had a whole slew of podiatry clinics in and around Syracuse, NY. Until Covid hit in 2020. And people with bad feet stopped coming to see him. Pete went bust. Belly up. Had to declare bankruptcy. And the only podiatry job Pete could find was with the New York State Department of Corrections. Now Pete does the inmates' feet. Every Friday Pete gets to visit Sing Sing in Ossining-on-the-Husdon, the maximum security prison housing a wide array of violent characters including rapists, pedophiles, arsonists, hitmen, cannibals, and serial murderers. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it. simpson-books.com
Can't Find My Way Home is a podcast where Expats from around the world talk about the music and arts scene in their new home. In this episode, I was joined by Robert Castelli. In this excerpt, Robert tells us about how life as a working musician has changed immeasurably in the past twenty years. We get into a few other things along the way too. Robert is a native of Ossining, New York…Born into a family of drummers (a grandfather, two uncles & his father) and currently resides in Barcelona, Spain. You can listen to the episode in full, here : https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/QfNBnLVBlwb Follow Robert https://www.robertcastelli.com/ Spotify bit.ly/3tIOm0X Youtube bit.ly/3Gw6JgZ Can't Find My Way Home https://linktr.ee/cantfindmywayhome --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/craig-branch/message
In this episode of Can't Find My Way Home, I was joined by Robert Castelli. Robert is a native of Ossining, New York…Born into a family of drummers (a grandfather, two uncles & his father), Robert learned the basics from his father, who, along with his Uncle, were lifetime members of the NYC Musicians Union. We get into the finer aspects of Robert's expat journey and how it's taken him first to Austria and now on to Barcelona where he's called home for six years. Robert and I discuss his family roots in the music business. What's it like being a drummer who writes music for the band? How he got into jazz in the first place, his musical influences, the modern economic model for musicians today, how the perception of music has changed,as well as apocryphal tales of Frank Zappa. We get a bit grammatical - pre and post covid plans, and Robert tells us how working as an investment broker in New York enabled him to pursue his career in music. In the Top 5, we have Iggy Pop, singing drummers…and the complexities there of, Medeski Martin & Wood, not being fans of Ginger Baker or Keith Moon (in a manner of speaking), and late night Karaoke in NYC, and why all roads lead to Miles Davis… All this and we ponder - just what are the three things people don't have any more? Follow Robert https://www.robertcastelli.com/ https://www.facebook.com/robert.castelli.54 Spotify bit.ly/3tIOm0X Youtube bit.ly/3Gw6JgZ Can't Find My Way Home https://linktr.ee/cantfindmywayhome --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/craig-branch/message
Born and raised in the Finger Lakes town of Homer, NY, Aaron Fumarola is a 2007 graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he studied political science and philosophy. In 2010 he completed a Master of Professional Studies in Environmental Policy from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. After three years as Development Coordinator for Lime Hollow Nature Center in Cortland, NY, he transitioned to Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY, where he worked for nearly two years as the organization's sole grant writer. With a lifelong enthusiasm for the arts and humanities, he joined Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in 2015. He was responsible for cultivating and soliciting donations from new and existing donors to support arts and education programming. In addition to his work as a grant writer, Aaron is the drummer in the indie rock band "The Blind Spots." You may have heard of them! We welcome to the show Aaron Fumarola. Featured Music: "New Years" "Big Red Button"
The 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash was a traffic collision that occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009, on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of Mount Pleasant. Eight people were killed when a minivan, being driven by 36-year-old Diane Schuler, traveled 1.7 miles in the wrong direction on the parkway and collided head-on with an oncoming SUV. Schuler, her daughter and three nieces, and the three passengers in the oncoming SUV were killed. The crash was the worst fatal motor vehicle accident to occur in Westchester County since July 22, 1934, when a bus accident in Ossining claimed twenty lives. Blog: https://twistedsisterspodcast.blogspot.com/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/twistedsisterscrimepodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tw1stedsispod Email: twistedsisterscrimepodcast@gmail.com Case suggestion form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8uXfJv3GM8gTJ3c6buLqFu5L1g2TzQhsIrxo5vvhq1oh1Lg/viewform?usp=sf_link
"Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be." Rita Pierson, Educator. Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/feNGn-cpPP8 For returning guests, welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for EPISODE #225 with a case study from someone I've mentioned before on the podcast, Elizabeth Mercado, from Ossining Union Free SD, New York, who you will see is a strong force with a goal to support ALL students, with the most comprehensive SEL plans that I've ever seen. I'll be sure to link her plans and resources in the show notes for you to access and use it you would like, since her goal is to help all of us to move our students forward, with as much support as possible. This interview takes a look at SEL with an equity lens, with clear examples of how to begin, what to do, and what SEL looks like in her District. I do love hearing how people around the globe are implementing the ideas we share with you on this podcast (it really does help with new ideas and motivation) and Ellie Mercado, an Assistant Principal in Ossining, NY, let me know that she was inspired by what she was learning to support her students and staff. Little did I know just how much she would inspire me, with her story and thorough SEL plans that I think everyone in education could benefit from. You will see in this interview that I made more connections with her story, that I think is important to share with everyone here, because just one new piece of information or motivation, can have a huge ripple effect on the world. A bit about Elizabeth Mercado: She's an ENL immigrant student who came at twelve years old from the Dominican Republic without speaking English, to a poor neighborhood in the South Bronx, living in a 1500 sq feet apartment with 8 children ages 12 and younger and 4 adults, and experienced first-hand what it is to have challenges growing up and in school. This experience gave her an in depth understanding of the impact of how our cultural, racial/ethnic, linguistic, and economic backgrounds can impact our learning. This is why she's passionate about being an educator and wants to create the best learning environment for her staff and students in the Ossining Community where many of them come from a similar background. She believes that ALL students can be successful. She is a middle school and early childhood assistant principal for the last seven years and one year as an elementary early childhood assistant principal whose goal is to provide her students with a safe, trusting and nurturing learning environment where they feel included, respected, supported; recognizing that every student and staff member has unique strengths. She believes it is important to be intentional about all that they do since it makes a difference: the images on the walls; pictures in the books, holidays recognized; accepting and celebrating all; promoting student agency, voice and choice is all critical so students feel that they belong. I hope that Elizabeth's story inspires you, whether you are working in a school, or in some other capacity, to think of where to begin when looking at SEL through an equity lens. Let's meet Elizabeth Mercado. Welcome Ellie, It's incredible to meet you finally after all the support you have sent our way with the podcast. I'm so grateful that you reached out to us and shared your SEL implementation with us. I've never seen anything as thorough, with a clear way to begin and knew immediately that we needed to share your work on the podcast. Thank you for being here when I know time is always hard to come by. Intro Q: I've got to start and leverage off the emotions I felt watching your presentation with how you are implementing SEL with an equity lens at Ossining SD in New York[i], because your story shows exactly why SEL skills are important in our schools, and why they must transition into the workplace. Can we begin with your “WHY” and why you are so passionate about implementing SEL with an equity lens to share your story since I related to you on a million different levels and I'm sure others will as well? Intro B: While I definitely connected with your story from the point of view of those newcomer students, coming to the US and needing to navigate their way (like that one student who came to your school, and her biggest question to you was “how did you learn English?”) I also thought about ways these students could be leaders in their schools, and raise their voice up, instead of the experience you had where the teacher didn't understand you. I think of my girls in Arizona, in a Dual Language Instruction program (learning their subjects in Spanish for half the day) and lost without Google Translator (that they aren't supposed to use in class). The Spanish speaking students are like gold to them, as they need them to survive. I just wonder, while new students coming to Ossining are learning to fit in, can their Spanish be used to help other students? I ask this because I know how much my girls rely on those who are fluent in Spanish. Q1: We are going to get into the details of what you have built in Ossining SD, but from watching SEL come into our schools across the US in waves (I would follow Linda Dusenbury[ii] from Casel and her Collaborating States Initiative from the very beginning when only 8 states had SEL initiatives). Like someone mentioned on your presentation that you sent me, the biggest question Districts still have with implementing SEL is “where do we begin?” Before you share your comprehensive SEL structure that you've built, can you take us back to the beginning, BEFORE you created what you have now, and tell us what you remember about your starting point? Q2: We've all heard that students just need one champion to make a life-long difference and I don't know an educator who hasn't watched Rita Pierson's TED TALK “Every Kid Needs a Champion”[iii] that has over 13 million views. Did your District always have the vision of SEL though an equity lens with the demographics in your District? Over 70% LatinX or Blacks. Q3: Can you share the 6 Recommendations you covered in your recent training with tips on how to actually begin each one? Q4: When I saw the quote from District Superintendent Dr. James Ryan that said “Social and Emotional Learning and Equity” two of the most important issues facing educators today, and seeing your passion for spearheading this movement forward, I couldn't help but wonder what your vision is with this work? Do you do workshops for schools to help them implement their plans? What do you see in the future? Q5: Is there anything important that I have missed? I know that you shared a recent presentation about how you are growing a sense of community in your District. Can you share what you did here, and anything else that's important that I've missed? Elizabeth, I want to thank you so much for reaching out to me, and sharing your story. What you have built with SEL through the lens of equity at Ossining is unlike anything I've ever seen, and I know your story and resources will help educators, as well as those in the workplace who would like to start somewhere with an equity and leadership plan. There is such strength and power that comes from you, and I know this is not at all how you felt all those years ago when you were standing there in your English class, and couldn't find the words to read your poem. I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the vulnerability that you have shown, to share your story, and how it's helping so many others. For those who want to learn more about what you are doing at Ossining, what's the best way? Are there any resources others can access? Andrea's Final Thoughts: This episode hit me pretty hard on the emotional level, that was obvious throughout, especially the end. I had to step away from my desk to think about why. I know how important this work is, but there was something about Ellie's story that moved me deeply. After thinking about it for a while, I made the connection. We all know “why” we do what we do, and that's an important part of our self-awareness, to keep us moving forward when times are difficult. Why I do what I do with this podcast is to lift up those students, like Ellie, who needed encouragement to access the unlimited potential that we can see she has. Her story of reading that poem in class made me remember when I first saw the importance of these SEL skills before they were called this, in the late 1990s, when I was working for Bob Proctor seminars and I watched him working with this group of 12 teens. If you've heard this story, you'll know why Ellie's background hit me on the emotional level. The moment I knew that SEL was going to be an important part of my future was when I saw these kids showcasing the skills they had been learning (things like improving their attitude, mindset and setting goals) and there was this one boy, Brian, who struggled to speak when it was his turn. You couldn't blame him. He was on stage at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans in front of thousands of people, and the speaker went behind him and rubbed his back to calm him down so that he could get his words out. This moment is etched in stone for me as a pivotal moment in time. Imagine if Ellie had a teacher who helped and encouraged her when she was struggling with her poem. It only takes one person to skyrocket or champion a student, and I'm so glad that Ellie found her champion. That's why I spend the time to record these podcasts, hoping that maybe just one idea will help one student like Ellie, to take her talents into the world with strength and courage, to truly make an impact. If I was ever to end this podcast (and I don't plan on it, as I'm just too curious to keep learning and sharing new ideas) but I would end it with this episode, as it does come full circle for me with why social and emotional skills are important in our schools and workplaces today. Do you know your why? Why do you do what you do? While I know my why is just as clear as the day we launched this podcast, I know there is still so much to explore and learn in the field of neuroscience, like we saw with Dr. Jalal's episode on dreams. As new discoveries with the brain and learning are uncovered, I'd love to share them here, so we can all access and use them in our life, and I stick to what I've always said. As long as listeners find these topics interesting, we will continue to produce more episodes. And with that, I'll close out this episode and will see you on Friday for this week's Brain Fact Friday, where we will look closer at Dr. Jalal's work on the dreaming brain, which expanded my awareness beyond where it has ever been. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Ellie Mercado. You can find all the links to follow her work and access her resources in the show notes. See you on Friday. CONTACT AND FOLLOW ELLIE MERCADO EMAIL: emercado@ossiningufsd.org TWITTER: https://twitter.com/EMercadoAP RESOURCES: July 11th Casual Leadership Connections Conference: Cultivating Growth and Self-Care https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Join-Fellow-School-Leaders-at-the-9th-Annual-Regional-Leadership-Institute--RLI-.html?soid=1129297243955&aid=4gLt1ExsFIA Culture at Care Park PowerPoint Presentation: Creating a Safe, Trusting and Nurturing Learning Environment https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZHpm64ahElUiW3e9s2M4mR9yBbAPVt541J0eCnsEBJw/edit#slide=id.gf07c305c23_1_0 How We are Embedding SEL with an Equity Lens to our Schools, Published May 18, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhFVRfS2qZM&t=2981s IMPORTANT LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM HOW WE ARE EMBEDDING SEL WITH AN EQUITY LENS PRESENTATION New York State Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks AMD SEL Resources to Support Students, Staff and Family-20-21 Social & Academic Development through an Equity Lens Applying an Equity Lens to Social Emotional & Academic Development Nine Cultural Values Differences You Need to Know USA is an Individualist society “I” at a 91 score vs Ecuador is a Collectivist society “We” at a lowest 8 score. (Jagers, Rivas-Drake, & Borowski, 2018) This is Equity Video Quick Facts for Criteria on CASEL's Guide to Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs Transformative SEL as a Lever for Equity & Social Justice Six Ways to Build More Equitable Learning Environments SELEQUITY JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) and social justice STRATEGY 1 RESOURCES: SLIDE 10 for MEANINGFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gcd85ba80c1_1_0 STRATEGY 2 RESOURCES: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gbb8ac5ae75_0_10 STRATEGY 3 RESOURCES: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gbb8ac5ae75_0_15 STRATEGY 4 RESOURCES: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gbb8ac5ae75_0_20 STRATEGY 5 RESOURCES: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gbb8ac5ae75_0_25 STRATEGY 6 RESOURCES: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XJqpMl7dRLTdDGCKGval546TuK2eeaJTfQWSDUjN2DY/edit#slide=id.gd497d415ec_0_261 REFERENCES: [i] How We are Embedding SEL with an Equity Lens to our Schools, Published May 18, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhFVRfS2qZM&t=2981s [ii] Linda Dusenbury from CASEL and her Collaborating States Initiative Plan https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED581611.pdf [iii] Every Kid Needs a Champion TED TALK with Rita Pierson Published on YouTube https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion
What a special episode this is! Though we recorded back in March, we're publishing this interview today, May 26th, 2022, my 4th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood! This week's guest is none other than Fr. Robert Dunn, the priest who first inspired me to consider the priesthood! In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that without Fr. Dunn I would not be a priest today. Fr. Dunn, a Manhattan native, was ordained a priest in 1992 (the same year I was born!!). After three years serving the good people of Incarnation Parish in Washington Heights and a brief sick leave, God's providence would bring Fr. Dunn to a beautiful parish overlooking the Hudson River in Ossining, namely St. Augustine's. There, the young priest and this four-year-old future priest were introduced, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fr. Dunn, who was my confirmation sponsor and who preached the homily at my first Mass as a newly-ordained priest, has always encouraged me to listen for God's call to the priesthood without every saying, "Michael, I think you should consider the priesthood." He let his own life and priesthood do that. Fr. Dunn has always been a beacon of joy to me and all who have known him, even and especially in the midst of suffering, of which he has endured much. His preaching is at once light, funny, and relatable as well as profoundly prayerful and intellectually stimulating. This episode is not to be missed!!! I promise you'll enjoy this interview with Fr. Robert Dunn. Please listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anchor.fm, share, review, like, subscribe, whatever you have to do to help us get this great story out there to the masses! Most importantly, please pray for me, for Fr. Dunn, for your parish priest, for all priests, for all future priests, and all deceased priests.
The story of the famous Vagabon leather maker, that traveled 365 miles from the Hudson river to the Connecticut river regularly during the 1800's is a story filled with mystery. The man's skin so cold from the winters that even his skin looked like leather. It said his final resting place was in Sparta cemetery in Ossining New York. But when his grave was exhumed by an archaeologists nothing was found. Yet, reports of paranormal activity are high in Sparta cemetery. On this episode I give a historical background of the letherman. A mysterious story in Connecticut and Westchester Lore. And try to give the connection between him and the paranormal activity at Ossining's Sparta Cemetery. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
The proud mother of Vanessa Williams and Christopher Williams, Helen Tinch Williams retired after thirty-seven years in the Ossining, New York public schools as a vocal music educator and an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College School of Education in Purchase New York. Mrs. Williams is a graduate of Suny Fredonia with a B.S. in Music Education, a Master's Degree from Manhattanville College. Purchase N.Y. and additional studies at New York University. Mrs. Williams is a charter member of The Links Incorporated Greater Hudson Valley Chapter, African American Advisory Board of Historic Hudson Valley, Hope's Door Advisory Board, American Women of African Heritage and former consultant to Today's Students Tomorrow's Teachers. Further, Mrs. Williams is recognized for her commitment as a mentor for college students, care taker for seniors, an advocate for a Bedford Women's Correction Facility inmate and initiating the Dr Richard Sheil Memorial Music Scholarship fund at SUNY Fredonia. Among awards received are the 2001 March of Dimes Mother of The Year, 2006 Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow, 2010 SUNY Fredonia Jessie Hillman Award for Excellence in Education, 2011 The Dorothy Height Distinguished Black Family Award from the National Council of Negro Women and 2012 Dress for Success Toast to our Mothers. In 2017, Fredonia University honored Mrs. Williams with the Alumni Association's Outstanding Achievement Award and established The Helen Tinch Williams Scholarship, which benefits the university's Richard Sheil Memorial Music Scholarship Fund. A memoir co-authored with her daughter Vanessa, a New York Times bestseller book titled You Have No Idea, is a candid story of a Famous Daughter, Her No-Nonsense Mother a,nd How They Survived Pageants, Love, Loss (and Each Other). Mrs. Williams and her late husband Milton A. Williams, Jr. are the parents of two children and have four grandchildren. JONES.SHOW Online: Join us in the Jones.Show Lounge on Facebook. Twitter (Randy): https://twitter.com/randallkjones Instagram (Randy): https://www.instagram.com/randallkennethjones/ Facebook (Randy): https://www.facebook.com/mindzoo/ Web: RandallKennethJones.com Follow Randy on Clubhouse Twitter (Susan): https://twitter.com/SiriouslySusan Instagram (Susan): https://www.instagram.com/siriouslysusan/ Facebook (Susan): https://www.facebook.com/siriouslysusan/ Web: SusanCBennett.com Follow Susan on Clubhouse LinkedIn (Kevin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-randall-jones/ Web: KevinRandallJones.com www.Jones.Show
Everything you've got in your life is an expression of your level of awareness (Bob Proctor) and when you change your level of awareness, everything starts to shift. It's fascinating. Today's podcast I'm going to share how my awareness expanded as I began researching for an upcoming interview and what's absolutely amazing about this experience, is that “once the mind has been expanded, it will never go back to its original state. Awareness is not something you lose.” (Bob Proctor). On this episode we will cover: ✔︎ Why lifelong learning is important for expanding our levels of awareness. ✔︎ What we all should know about dreaming and the brain. ✔︎ Review of our sleep cycle and REM sleep. ✔︎ Tips for remembering our dreams. ✔︎ Opening our mind up for new ways to improve creativity, business ideas, and sports training with our dream world. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new here, I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator, with a passion for learning, understanding difficult concepts, and breaking them down so that we can all use and apply the most current research to improve our productivity and results in our schools, sports environments, and modern workplaces. On today's EPISODE #211, “The Neuroscience of Dreams: Expanding Our Self-Awareness” I'm going to cover how an understanding of neuroscience connected to our dreams, could open up doors of possibility in our lives. This topic is not one that I was planning on covering, but as my awareness expanded while researching for an upcoming interview, I thought back to when some other topics that many people perceived as “weird”, are now readily accepted in our schools and workplaces, and perhaps, as new research and studies evolve, this topic could provide us with a new way of creative problem solving, or ways to generate new ideas in the business world, or even a new tool for mental rehearsal in the sports world. Before we get into this episode, I do want to start out by thanking you, the listener for tuning in. While writing this episode, I woke up to an email from Anuj Agarwal, the founder of Feedspot, who ranks podcasts based on content, followers, and traffic, letting me know that we had made ranking for The Best 30 Neuroscience Podcasts.[i] For those who have listened to our earlier episodes, you'll know that I didn't set out to go in this direction of Neuroscience, (it wasn't even on my roadmap) but we ended up here by chance, when an educator urged me to go in this direction almost 10 years ago. So to hit this achievement, in a relatively new field of study for me, without a background in science (other than the fact I did teach 9th grade Biology for a semester), it's a true honor, and I'm beyond grateful to continue to host this podcast, and that you are finding these episodes as helpful as I am. This is the reason why I thought about launching this podcast in the first place—to show that anyone can learn and apply these skills, backed by science, whether you have a science degree or not. This cutting-edge research is important for all of us to know, understand and apply and I'll be researching in this field anyway, so I figured, I might as well share what I'm learning on this platform. With our analytics, I can see where listeners are tuning in from by Country, and do appreciate all the messages you send to me on social media, letting me know that you listen and what you are learning. I can now put some faces to the downloads, as I got to recently meet Sarah Eaton, from Queensland, Australia, who works with the Australian Government, and Ellie Mercado from Ossining, NY working in the field of education with social and emotional learning among many others who tag me on posts, and let me know this information is helpful and important. We do have a Facebook Group[ii], if you do want to stay connected to others around the globe as well. Moving on now to this week's episode, and Brain Fact Friday, where I want to make a connection to an upcoming interview later next week, but in the meantime, I hope this episode will help us to expand our level of awareness when it comes to our dreams. My mentor, the late Bob Proctor (who I know I talk about often) was always saying “Stop looking at life through the keyhole. Open up the door and expand your level of awareness”[iii] by changing your paradigms. You can go back to episode 66 and 67[iv] to review the importance of changing our paradigms to break through to new levels of awareness, that will help us to reach new heights in our personal and professional lives, which is what happened to me while preparing for an upcoming interview. I noticed that some of my paradigms, or beliefs started to change, as I began to connect the science to what I was learning, expanding my awareness in a way that it will never be the same again. As you can see from past episodes, it is very important to me to stick to the most current neuroscience research with this podcast, and I do aim to steer clear of pseduoscience, and fads, but pick topics to help make a difference for us in our modern workplaces, whether it's through the science of reading, or productivity, and this time, my paradigm or beliefs were challenged. Which is what learning is all about. I was introduced to Dr. Baland Jalal's work from his team, who emailed me his Harvard Bio[v], letting me know his field of research and the topics we could cover on the podcast. I wrote back immediately, as I saw Harvard, neuroscience, researcher connected to sleep, and Dr. Rama 2011, TIME Magazine 100 most influential people in the world. (I've heard Dr. Jalal use the short form of his name, so I'll take the easier way out here as I don't think I'll get it right even with some practice). Even though I read the email intro quickly, I knew Dr. Jaland was someone I wanted to learn more about, especially as we covered the importance of sleep on many previous episodes, and dreams on EPISODE #104[vi] with Sleep Scientist Antonio Zadra and his book When Your Brain Dreams: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep, but I had no idea that Dr. Jalal's work was going to open up my level of awareness to where it had never been before, allowing me to cover some topics that I normally would think of as “too weird” for this podcast, and in turn, change some of my beliefs around sleep. Dr. Jalal says that “dreams are one of the great mysteries of science. In their bizarre complexity they can reveal deeper truths about who you are at the most basic level. Keep on dreaming.” So now my mind is opening up and I wonder: Why do we dream what we dream? What's happening in our brain when we are dreaming? What's the purpose of dreaming: are there things we could learn from our dreams? Mathew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams covers these questions on his podcast[vii] and he has said “perhaps it was not time that heals all wounds, but rather time spent in dream sleep” which is REM sleep, and this made me think: What else could I learn about dreams, to open up new levels of awareness, new insights maybe that could help increase peace and understanding in my world that I could share with you to do the same? What could we learn from Dr. Jalal's work on sleep paralysis as the "top-rated expert in sleep paralysis in the world?" And what is sleep paralysis? Could learning more about our dreams expand our thinking, like Proctor would say, helping us to see the world in a different way, instead of just peering through the keyhole, with a limited view? After all, it was Proctor who taught me to log my dreams (he taught me to write them down the minute I would wake up) and I've been doing this since 1999, (off and on), and although I thought I knew what dreams were all about, when I began researching Dr. Jalal's work, I realized just how little I really knew about dreams. What about you? I know we all know how important our sleep is, but for something we spend 1/3 of our life doing, (sleeping) Baland-1how much thought do you put into your dreams? Other than writing down my dreams, and glancing at them from time to time to learn common themes, lessons, or ideas, this is an area that I think I could explore more with. Is there something I'm missing with this time? Could I learn something about my dreams, or use this “dream-time” to my advantage in a way that I could improve the other 2/3 of my life? Mathew Walker, calls sleep “our superpower”[viii] and reminds us how important sleep is for learning, memory and productivity, and that “when we wake up, we are (actually) wiser” and that “it's not time that heals all wounds, but time spent in dreams that provides emotional convalescence.” (Matt Walker, Podcast 3 on DREAMS). What's your experience with dreams? Are you too busy to even think about them? If you do—do you remember them? Do you know why we forget them? Have you ever had this weird feeling that you were paralyzed and couldn't move while sleeping? Have you ever had visions of places you've never been while dreaming and wondered what they are? Are they real, or imagined? The Stages of Sleep and REM Sleep: We will dive deep into these questions on our interview with Dr. Baland Jalal, but in the meantime, I wanted to give you something to think about to expand our awareness and get us thinking about dreams until then to prime our brain for what we will learn, and this begins with a quick review of what our sleep cycles look like. I never really thought about improving my sleep cycle until I reviewed the Fisher Wallace medical device on EPISODE 120[ix] but did you know that we have sleep cycles (about 5 of them that last about 90 minutes if we are sleeping 8 hours). Stage 4, our REM sleep or where our dreams occur happens at the end of each sleep cycle and is the longest in the last sleep cycle right before we wake up. We are dreaming all night, but “95% of our dreams we don't remember when we wake up” (Dr. Jalal) because “we need serotonin to transfer them to our long-term memory”[x] Did you know: When we are in REM sleep (and dreaming) that our body is paralyzed? What part of the brain controls this paralysis and Why it's important that we don't move in REM sleep? SLEEP PARALYSIS: Until researching Dr. Jalal, I didn't know that we were paralyzed in REM sleep, but I also have FELT sleep paralysis before. I just didn't know there was a name for it. Then I heard Dr. Jalal's explanation of sleep paralysis[xi], (and he described it exactly as I experienced it) and I would have to say this is not something I would ever admit I've felt. You know, it's one of those things you'd rather leave out when someone says “hey, how did you sleep” and you've had an experience like this, I'd personally rather skip this conversation and just say “oh it was great” with that look on my face that will tell you there was nothing great about i. It's got to be one of the weirdest experiences, but Dr. Jalal explains what is happening, the importance of our brain paralyzing our body during sleep, and connecting our brain to this “weird” phenomenon that expanded my awareness to what else I could learn about dreaming and REM state. I also thought, if I had this experience, and so did Dr. Jalal, and then the guy interviewing him on the podcast I was watching, Ranveer,[xii] also had the same experience, how many other people listening could relate, and learn something new with this new angle of the neuroscience of sleep. To make the most out of our upcoming interview with Dr. Jalal, I encourage you to learn more about your sleep to expand your level of awareness. Do you know how much sleep you get? Do you know how much time you spend in REM sleep each night? Do you remember your dreams? To remember your dreams so that you can gain deeper levels of insight about yourself, here are some suggestions: Make an intention that you will remember what you were dreaming about when you wake up. This might take some time, but with focused effort, see what happens. Wake up, and write down your dream immediately, or you will forget. Either write them down on a notepad beside your bed, or on your phone. Start looking for patterns in your dreams. Before our interview with Dr. Jalal, later next week, we will dive deeper into lucid dreaming, or “knowing you are dreaming while you are dreaming”[xiii] to see what fMRI scans reveal about our ability to control our dreams, interact with people in our dreams, and even travel to a different location within our dreams. All of this is fascinating, as science now steps in to validate some of the practices that many of us have heard of over the years, and brings light to what exactly is happening when we wake up, and wonder “what on the earth just happened?!” My goal with these episodes are to take what I would have once thought of as the weirdest experiences I've ever had while sleeping, and demystify them with brain science. Of course, I'm going to ask Dr. Jalal to share his insights and research with us, so we can learn what might be of importance to think about with our dream time, and how this new awareness could be of benefit to us in the future. I'm hoping that he can shed some light on what we can learn from our dreams that we can take into the 2/3 of our waking hours, that could improve our creativity, performance and results. To close out this episode and review this week's Brain Fact Friday: DID YOU KNOW: “that dreams can reveal deeper truths about who you are at the most basic level?” (Dr. Baland Jalal). I hope this episode expanded your awareness like it did mine about the possibilities that our dreams could provide for us in the future. See you next week as we dive into our brain, stress and the workplace, and our upcoming interview with Dr. Jalal to open up our awareness in ways that science will show us that there are many benefits to keep on dreaming! Have a good weekend. REFERENCES: [i] https://blog.feedspot.com/neuroscience_podcasts/ [ii] https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697/ [iii] How to Shift Your Paradigm by Bob Proctor Published on YouTube July 26, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWL0w9-oiqg [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #67 on “Expanding Your Awareness with Lessons Learning from Bob Proctor's Seminars” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/ [v] Dr. Baland Jalal https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/baland-jalal [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/ [vii] The Mathew Walker Podcast https://themattwalkerpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ [viii] Sleep is your superpower TED 2019 by Mathew Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-MGqokk_Y [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 “Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Medical Device for Anxiety, Depression, Sleep and Stress Management” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [x] The Neuroscience of Dreams by Dr. Baland Jalal Published on YouTube Feb.13, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBL-51kIkc [xi] Happy Hour Podcast Why is Sleep Paralysis Always Scary? Published on YouTube June 21, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eisGABFcn9w [xii] The Ranveer Show Published on YouTube July 30, 2021 Neuroscientist Explains Scary Secrets of Your Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ_7h-OijAQ&t=24s [xiii] How Lucid Dreaming Works Published on YouTube Jan. 21, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-MGqokk_Y
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret information about radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines and valuable nuclear weapon designs (at that time the United States was the only country in the world with nuclear weapons). Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953 at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to receive that penalty during peacetime. With the world once again being fated by possible war time, we thought this was a good week to look back at the greatest spy case in american history.
Fr. JP Seon, Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine's Church in Ossining, NY, shares his experience of hearing God's call to the priesthood.
Today on BEAT BERNIE: Scott, an attorney from Ossining, NY, takes on the returning King of Knowledge, Bernie!!! It has been quite a while, but does Bernie still got it or will Scott ruin this moment for everyone? Tune in now. BANG!
Today on BEAT BERNIE: Scott, an attorney from Ossining, NY, takes on the returning King of Knowledge, Bernie!!! It has been quite a while, but does Bernie still got it or will Scott ruin this moment for everyone? Tune in now. BANG!
Tonight we are going to tell you a tale. A superb tale. A tale as old as time that takes us from the beginnings of civilization until today. This tale will thrill you and chill you. It may elicit feelings of dread and sadness. It may make you angry. At times it may make you uneasily laugh like the friend at school that was kicked in the balls but couldn't show his weakness. It's a subject that people continually argue about and debate with savage ferocity. Tonight we are talking about executions! We'll talk about the methods and the reasons behind executions throughout the years. Then we'll talk about some famous executions, as well as some of the more fucked up ones. And by fucked up, we mean botched. Bad stuff. This episode isn't meant to be a debate for or against executions but merely to discuss them and the crazy shit surrounding them. So with all that being said, Let's rock and roll! Capital punishment has been practiced in the history of virtually all known societies and places. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes and was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C. Hammurabi expanded the city-state of Babylon along the Euphrates River to unite all of southern Mesopotamia. The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Hammurabi's Code was carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stele (pillar) that was looted by invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901. The text, compiled at the end of Hammurabi's reign, is less a proclamation of principles than a collection of legal precedents, set between prose celebrating Hammurabi's just and pious rule. Hammurabi's Code provides some of the earliest examples of the doctrine of “lex talionis,” or the laws of retribution, sometimes better known as “an eye for an eye the greatest soulfly song ever! The Code of Hammurabi includes many harsh punishments, sometimes demanding the removal of the guilty party's tongue, hands, breasts, eye, or ear. But the code is also one of the earliest examples of an accused person being considered innocent until proven guilty. The 282 laws are all written in an “if-then form.” For example, if a man steals an ox, he must pay back 30 times its value. The laws range from family law to professional contracts and administrative law, often outlining different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society—the propertied class, freedmen, and slaves. A doctor's fee for curing a severe wound would be ten silver shekels for a gentleman, five shekels for a freedman, and two shekels for a slave. So, it was less expensive when you were a lower-class citizen. Penalties for malpractice followed the same scheme: a doctor who killed a wealthy patient would have his hands cut off, while only financial restitution was required if the victim was a slave. Crazy! Some examples of the death penalty laws at this time are as follows: If a man accuses another man and charges him with homicide but cannot bring proof against him, his accuser shall be killed. Holy shit. If a man breaks into a house, they shall kill him and hang him in front of that same house. The death penalty was also part of the Hittite Code in the 14th century B.C., but only partially. The most severe offenses typically were punished through enslavement, although crimes of a sexual nature often were punishable by death. The Hittite laws, also known as the Code of the Nesilim, constitute an ancient legal code dating from c. 1650 – 1500 BCE. The Hittite laws were kept in use for roughly 500 years, and many copies show that other than changes in grammar, what might be called the 'original edition' with its apparent disorder, was copied slavishly; no attempt was made to 'tidy up' by placing even apparent afterthoughts in a more appropriate position. The Draconian constitution, or Draco's code, was a written law code enforced by Draco near the end of the 7th century BC; its composition started around 621BC. It was written in response to the unjust interpretation and modification of oral law by Athenian aristocrats. Aristotle, the chief source for knowledge of Draco, claims that he was the first to write Athenian laws and that Draco established a constitution enfranchising hoplites, the lower class soldiers. The Draconian laws were most noteworthy for their harshness; they were written in blood rather than ink. Death was prescribed for almost all criminal offenses. Solon, who was the magistrate in 594 BCE, later repealed Draco's code and published new laws, retaining only Draco's homicide statutes. In the 5th century B.C., the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables also contained the death penalty. Death sentences were carried out by such means as beheading, boiling in oil, burying alive, burning, crucifixion, disembowelment, drowning, flaying alive, hanging, impalement, stoning, strangling, being thrown to wild animals, and quartering. We'll talk more about that later. The earliest attempt by the Romans to create a code of law was the Laws of the Twelve Tables. A commission of ten men (Decemviri) was appointed (c. 455 B.C.) to draw up a code of law binding on patrician and plebeian and which consuls would have to enforce. The commission produced enough statutes to fill ten bronze tablets. Mosaic Law codified many capital crimes. There is evidence that Jews used many different techniques, including stoning, hanging, beheading, crucifixion (copied from the Romans), throwing the criminal from a rock, and sawing asunder. The most infamous execution of history occurred approximately 29 AD with the crucifixion of that one guy, Jesus Christ, outside Jerusalem. About 300 years later, Emperor Constantine, after converting to Christianity, abolished crucifixion and other cruel death penalties in the Roman Empire. In 438, the Code of Theodosius made more than 80 crimes punishable by death. Britain influenced the colonies more than any other country and has a long history of punishment by death. About 450 BC, the death penalty was often enforced by throwing the condemned into a quagmire, which is not only the character from Family Guy, and another word for dilemma but in this case is a soft boggy area of land. By the 10th Century, hanging from the gallows was the most frequent execution method. William the Conqueror opposed taking life except in war and ordered no person to be hanged or executed for any offense. Nice guy, right? However, he allowed criminals to be mutilated for their crimes. During the middle ages, capital punishment was accompanied by torture. Most barons had a drowning pit as well as gallows, and they were used for major as well as minor crimes. For example, in 1279, two hundred and eighty-nine Jews were hanged for clipping coins. What the fuck is that you may be wondering. Well, Clipping was taking a small amount of metal off the edge of hand-struck coins. Over time, the precious metal clippings could be saved up and melted into bullion (a lump of precious metal) to be sold or used to make new coins. Under Edward I, two gatekeepers were killed because the city gate had not been closed in time to prevent the escape of an accused murderer. Burning was the punishment for women's high treason, and men were hanged, drawn, and quartered. Beheading was generally accepted for the upper classes. One could be burned to death for marrying a Jew. Pressing became the penalty for those who would not confess to their crimes—the executioner placed heavy weights on the victim's chest until death. On the first day, he gave the victim a small quantity of bread, on the second day a small drink of bad water, and so on until he confessed or died. Under the reign of Henry VIII, the number of those put to death is estimated as high as 72,000. Boiling to death was another penalty approved in 1531, and there are records to show some people cooked for up to two hours before death took them. When a woman was burned, the executioner tied a rope around her neck when she was connected to the stake. When the flames reached her, she could be strangled from outside the ring of fire. However, this often failed, and many were burnt alive. In Britain, the number of capital offenses continually increased until the 1700's when two hundred and twenty-two crimes were punishable by death. These included stealing from a house for forty shillings, stealing from a shop the value of five shillings, robbing a rabbit warren, cutting down a tree, and counterfeiting tax stamps. However, juries tended not to convict when the penalty was significant, and the crime was not. Reforms began to take place. In 1823, five laws were passed, removing about a hundred crimes from the death penalty. Between 1832 and 1837, many capital offenses were swept away. In 1840, there was a failed attempt to abolish all capital punishment. Through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, more and more capital punishments were abolished, not only in Britain but also all across Europe; until today, only a few European countries retain the death penalty. The first recorded execution in the English American colonies was in 1608 when officials executed George Kendall of Virginia for supposedly plotting to betray the British to the Spanish. In 1612, Virginia's governor, Sir Thomas Dale, implemented the Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws that made death the penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, killing dogs or horses without permission, or trading with Indians. Seven years later, these laws were softened because Virginia feared that no one would settle there. Well, no shit. In 1622, the first legal execution of a criminal, Daniel Frank, occurred in, of course, Virginia for the crime of theft. Some colonies were very strict in using the death penalty, while others were less so. In Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first execution was in 1630, but the earliest capital statutes did not occur until later. Under the Capital Laws of New England that went into effect between 1636-1647, the death penalty was set forth for pre-meditated murder, sodomy, witchcraft, adultery, idolatry, blasphemy, assault in anger, rape, statutory rape, manstealing, perjury in a capital trial, rebellion, manslaughter, poisoning, and bestiality. A scripture from the Old Testament accompanied early laws. By 1780, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts only recognized seven capital crimes: murder, sodomy, burglary, buggery, arson, rape, and treason. And for those wondering, The Buggery Act of 1533, formally An Act for the punishment of the vice of Buggerie, was an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed during the reign of Henry VIII. It was the country's first civil sodomy law. The Act defined buggery as an unnatural sexual act against the will of God and Man. This term was later determined by the courts to include only anal penetration and bestiality. The New York colony instituted the so-called Duke's Laws of 1665. This list of laws directed the death penalty for denial of the true God, pre-meditated murder, killing someone who had no weapon of defense, killing by lying in wait or by poisoning, sodomy, buggery, kidnapping, perjury in a capital trial, traitorous denial of the king's rights or raising arms to resist his authority, conspiracy to invade towns or forts in the colony and striking one's mother or father (upon complaint of both). The two colonies that were more lenient concerning capital punishment were South Jersey and Pennsylvania. In South Jersey, there was no death penalty for any crime, and there were only two crimes, murder, and treason, punishable by death. Way to go, Jersey Raccoons! Some states were more severe. For example, by 1837, North Carolina required death for the crimes of murder, rape, statutory rape, slave-stealing, stealing banknotes, highway robbery, burglary, arson, castration, buggery, sodomy, bestiality, dueling where death occurs, (and this insidious shit), hiding a slave with intent to free him, taking a free Negro out of state to sell him, bigamy, inciting slaves to rebel, circulating seditious literature among slaves, accessory to murder, robbery, burglary, arson, or mayhem and others. However, North Carolina did not have a state prison and, many said, no suitable alternative to capital punishment. So, instead of building a fucking prison to hold criminals, they just made the penalty for less severe crimes punishable by death. What the shit, North Carolina?!? The first reforms of the death penalty occurred between 1776-1800. Thomas Jefferson and four others, authorized to undertake a complete revision of Virginia's laws, proposed a law that recommended the death penalty for only treason and murder. After a stormy debate, the legislature defeated the bill by one vote. The writing of European theorists such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Bentham had a significant effect on American intellectuals, as did English Quaker prison reformers John Bellers and John Howard. Organizations were formed in different colonies for the abolition of the death penalty and to relieve poor prison conditions. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a renowned Philadelphia citizen, proposed abolishing capital punishment. William Bradford, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, was ordered to investigate capital punishment. In 1793 he published “An Enquiry How Far the Punishment of Death is Necessary” in Pennsylvania. Bradford strongly insisted that the death penalty be retained but admitted it was useless in preventing certain crimes. He said the death penalty made convictions harder to obtain because in Pennsylvania, and indeed in all states, the death penalty was mandatory. Juries would often not return a guilty verdict because of this fact, which makes sense. In response, in 1794, the Pennsylvania legislature abolished capital punishment for all crimes except murder “in the first degree,” the first time murder had been broken down into “degrees.” In New York, in 1796, the legislature authorized construction of the state's first prison, abolished whipping, and reduced the number of capital offenses from thirteen to two. Virginia and Kentucky passed similar reform bills. Four more states reduced their capital crimes: Vermont in 1797 to three; Maryland in 1810, to four; New Hampshire in 1812, to two and Ohio in 1815 to two. Each of these states built state penitentiaries. A few states went in the opposite direction. Rhode Island restored the death penalty for rape and arson; Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut raised death crimes from six to ten, including sodomy, maiming, robbery, and forgery. Many southern states made more crimes capital, especially for slaves. Assholes. The first profound reform era occurred between 1833-1853. Public executions were attacked as cruel. Sometimes tens of thousands of eager viewers would show up to view hangings; local merchants would sell souvenirs and alcohol. Which, I'm not sure if I hate or absolutely love. Fighting and pushing would often break out as people jockeyed for the best view of the hanging or the corpse! Onlookers often cursed the widow or the victim and would try to tear down the scaffold or the rope for keepsakes. Violence and drunkenness often ruled towns far into the night after “justice had been served.” People are fucking weird, dude. Many states enacted laws providing private hangings. Rhode Island (1833), Pennsylvania (1834), New York (1835), Massachusetts (1835), and New Jersey (1835) all abolished public hangings. By 1849, fifteen states were holding private hangings. This move was opposed by many death penalty abolitionists who thought public executions would eventually cause people to cry out against execution itself. For example, in 1835, Maine enacted what was in effect a moratorium on capital punishment after over ten thousand people who watched a hanging had to be restrained by police after they became unruly and began fighting. All felons sentenced to death would have to remain in prison at hard labor and could not be executed until one year had elapsed and then only on the governor's order. No governor ordered an execution under the “Maine Law” for twenty-seven years. Though many states argued the merits of the death penalty, no state went as far as Maine. The most influential reformers were the clergy, of course. Ironically, the small but influential group that opposed the abolitionists was the clergy. Ok, let's talk about electrocution. Want to know how the electric chair came to be? Well, Electrocution as a method of execution came onto the scene in an implausible manner. Edison Company, with its DC (direct current) electrical systems, began attacking Westinghouse Company and its AC (alternating current) electrical systems as they were pressing for nationwide electrification with alternating current. To show how dangerous AC could be, Edison Company began public demonstrations by electrocuting animals. People reasoned that if electricity could kill animals, it could kill people. In 1888, New York approved the dismantling of its gallows and the building of the nation's first electric chair. It held its first victim, William Kemmler, in 1890, and even though the first electrocution was clumsy at best, other states soon followed the lead. Between 1917 and 1955, the death penalty abolition movement again slowed. Washington, Arizona, and Oregon in 1919-20 reinstated the death penalty. In 1924, the first execution by cyanide gas took place in Nevada, when Tong war gang murderer Gee Jon became its first victim. Get this shit. The frigging state wanted to secretly pump cyanide gas into Jon's cell at night while he was asleep as a more humanitarian way of carrying out the penalty. Still, technical difficulties prohibited this, and a special “gas chamber” was hastily built. Other concerns developed when less “civilized” methods of execution failed. In 1930, Mrs. Eva Dugan became the first female to be executed by Arizona. The execution was botched when the hangman misjudged the drop, and Mrs. Dugan's head was ripped from her body. More states converted to electric chairs and gas chambers. During this time, abolitionist organizations sprang up all across the country, but they had little effect. Several stormy protests were held against the execution of certain convicted felons, like Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple was convicted of providing top-secret information about radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and valuable nuclear weapon designs. At that time, the United States was supposedly the only country with nuclear weapons. Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the United States federal government in 1953 in the Sing Sing correctional facility in Ossining, New York, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to receive that penalty during peacetime. However, these protests held little opposition against the death penalty itself. In fact, during the anti-Communist period, with all its fears and hysteria, Texas Governor Allan Shivers seriously suggested that capital punishment be the penalty for membership in the Communist Party. The movement against capital punishment revived again between 1955 and 1972. England and Canada completed exhaustive studies which were largely critical of the death penalty, and these were widely circulated in the U.S. Death row criminals gave their moving accounts of capital punishment in books and films. Convicted robber, kidnapper, and rapist Caryl Chessman, published “Cell 2455 Death Row” and “Trial by Ordeal.” Barbara Graham's story was utilized in the book and movie “I Want to Live!” after her execution. She was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison on the same day as two convicted accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins. All of them were involved in a robbery that led to the murder of an elderly widow. Television shows were broadcast on the death penalty. Hawaii and Alaska ended capital punishment in 1957, and Delaware did so the following year. Controversy over the death penalty gripped the nation, forcing politicians to take sides. Delaware restored the death penalty in 1961. Michigan abolished capital punishment for treason in 1963. Voters in 1964 abolished the death penalty in Oregon. In 1965 Iowa, New York, West Virginia, and Vermont ended the death penalty. New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 1969. The controversy over the death penalty continues today. There is a strong movement against lawlessness propelled by citizens' fears of security. Politicians at the national and state levels are taking the floor of legislatures and calling for more frequent death penalties, death penalties for more crimes, and longer prison sentences. Those opposing these moves counter by arguing that harsher sentences do not slow crime and that crime is slightly or the same as in the past. FBI statistics show murders are now up. (For example, 9.3 persons per 100,000 were murdered in 1973, and 9.4 persons per 100,000 were murdered in 1992, and as of today, it's upwards of 14.4 people per 100,000. This upswing might be because of more advanced crime technology, as well as more prominent news and media. Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, which has a moratorium and has not conducted an execution since September 1996. The complete ban on capital punishment is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU). Two widely adopted protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe are thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, San Marino, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the first to abolish capital punishment, whereas only Belarus still practices capital punishment in some form or another. In 2012, Latvia became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime. Ok, so now let's switch gears from the history of capital punishment and executions in general and get into what we know you beautiful bastards come here for. Let's talk about some methods used throughout the years, and then we'll talk about some famous executions and some fucked and messed up ones. Methods: We've discussed a few of these before, but some are so fucked up we're going to discuss them again. Boiling To Death: A slow and agonizing punishment, this method traditionally saw the victim gradually lowered — feet-first — into boiling oil, water, or wax (although uses of boiling wine and molten lead have also been recorded). If the shock of the pain did not render them immediately unconscious, the person would experience the excruciating sensation of their outer layers of skin, utterly destroyed by immersion burns, dissolving right off their body, followed by the complete breakdown of the fatty tissue, boiling away beneath. Emperor Nero is said to have dispatched thousands of Christians in this manner. At the same time, in the Middle Ages, the primary recipients of the punishment were not killers or rapists but coin forgers, particularly in Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. In Britain, meanwhile, King Henry VIII introduced the practice for executing those who used poison to commit murder. Shockingly, the practice is believed to have been carried out as recently as 2002, when the government of Uzbekistan, led by Islam Karimov, was alleged to have tortured several suspected terrorists to death by boiling. The Blood Eagle: A technique ascribed to ancient Norse warriors, the blood eagle, mixed brutality and poetic imagery that only the Vikings could. First, the victim's back would be hacked open, and the skin ripped apart, exposing the spinal column. The ribs would then be snapped from the spine and forcibly bent backward until they faced outwards from the body, forming a pair of bloody, shattered eagle's wings. As a horrifying finale, the lungs would then be pulled from the body cavity and coated with stinging salt, causing eventual death by suffocation. There is some question whether this technique was ever actually used as the only accounts come from Norse literature. Odin did this shit, you know it. Several scholars claim that the act we know of today is simply a result of poor translating and misunderstands the strong association of the eagle with blood and death in Norse imagery. That said, every account is consistent in that in each case, the victim is a nobleman being punished for murdering his father. The good news for any poor soul who might have suffered this brutal death? The agony and blood loss from the initial wounds would probably have caused them to pass out long before the lungs were removed from their bodies. Impalement: Most famously used by Vlad the Impaler, 15th-century ruler of Wallachia (in present-day Romania) and inspiration for Count Dracula, the act of impalement has a long, grim history. While images tend to depict people skewered through the midsection and then held aloft — in a manner that would almost certainly bring about a rapid death — the actual process was a much longer, horrifically drawn-out ordeal. Traditionally, the stake would be partially sharpened and planted, point up, in the ground. The victim would then be placed over the spike as it was inserted partway into the rectum or vagina. As their body weight dragged them further onto the pole, the semi-greased wooden stake would force its way up through their body, piercing organs with agonizing slowness as it eventually penetrated the entire torso, finally tearing an exit wound through the skin of the shoulder, neck or throat. Holy shishkabob. Or bill. Or Karen. The earliest records of the torture come from 1772 B.C. in Babylon, where the aforementioned King Hammurabi ordered a woman be executed in this way for killing her husband. But its use continued until as recently as the 20th century when the Ottoman government employed the technique during the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923. Which is super fucked up. According to some accounts, it could take the victim — exposed, bleeding, and writhing in tormented agony — as long as eight whole days to die. Oh my hell! Keelhauling: Walking the plank might not be the most pleasant of deaths, but it seems moderately more humane than the other favored maritime punishment of keelhauling. A punishment that often ended in death due to the severity of the wounds sustained (or was simply carried out until the point of death), it saw the victim, legs weighted and suspended from a rope, dropped from the bow of the ship, and then rapidly pulled underwater along the length of the hull — and over the keel (the beam that runs longitudinally down the center of the underside to the stern. In the age of old, old wooden sailing ships, the hull of a vessel would generally be coated in a thick layer of barnacles, whose shells could be rock hard and razor-sharp. As the drowning sailor was yanked relentlessly through the saltwater, these barnacles would strip the skin from his body, gouging out raw chunks of flesh and even, by some accounts, tearing off whole limbs or severing the head. If the sailor was still alive, they might be hung from the mast for 15 minutes before going in again. In some cases, the victim would have an oil-soaked sponge — containing a breath of air — stuffed into their mouth to prevent a “merciful” drowning. Employed mainly by the Dutch and the French from the 1500s until it was abolished in 1853, accounts of its use date back to Greece in 800 B.C. The Roman Candle: Many of the worst execution methods ever devised involve fire — from burning witches at stake in medieval Britain to roasting criminals alive in the hot metal insides of the brazen bull in Ancient Greece — but few match the sheer lack of humanity as the Roman Candle. A rumored favorite of the mad Roman Emperor Nero, this method saw the subject tied to a stake and smeared with flammable pitch (tree or plant resin), then set ablaze, slowly burning to death from the feet up. What sets this above the many other similar methods is that the victims were sometimes lined up outside to provide the lighting for one of Nero's evening parties. Being Hanged, Drawn, And Quartered: First recorded in England during the 13th century, this unusually extreme — even for the time — mode of execution was made the statutory punishment for treason in 1351. Though it was intended to be an act of such barbarous severity that no one would ever risk committing a treasonous act, there were nevertheless plenty of recipients over the next 500 years. The process of being hanged, drawn, and quartered began with the victim being dragged to the site of execution while strapped to a wooden panel, which was in turn tied to a horse. They would then experience a slow hanging, in which, rather than being dropped to the traditional quick death of a broken neck, they would instead be left to choke horribly as the rope tore up the skin of their throat, their body weight dragging them downwards. Some had the good fortune to die at this stage, including the infamous Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes, who ensured a faster death by leaping from the gallows. Once half-strangled, the drawing would begin. The victim would be strapped down and then slowly disemboweled, their stomachs sliced open, and their intestines and other significant organs hacked apart and pulled — “drawn” — from the body. The genitals would often be mutilated and ripped from between their legs. Those unlucky enough to still be alive at this point might witness their organs burned in front of them before they were finally decapitated. Once death had finally claimed them, the recipient's body would be carved into four pieces — or “quartered” — and the parts sent to prominent areas of the country as a warning to others. The head would often be taken to the infamous Tower of London, where it would be impaled on a spike and placed on the walls “for the mockery of London.” Rat Torture: As recently depicted in that horrible show, Game Of Thrones, rat torture is ingenious in its disgusting simplicity. In its most basic form, a bucket containing live rats is placed on the exposed torso of the victim, and heat is applied to the base of the bucket. The rats, crazy with fear from the heat, tear and gnaw their way into the abdomen of the victim, clawing and ripping through skin, flesh, organs, and intestines in their quest to escape. Possessing the most powerful biting and chewing motion of any rodent, rats can make short work of a human stomach. Along with the unimaginable pain, the victim would also suffer the sick horror of feeling the large, filthy creatures writhing around inside their guts as they died. While associated with Elizabethan England — where the Tower of London was said to have housed a “Dungeon of Rats,” a pitch-black room below high watermark that would draw in rats from the River Thames to torment the room's inhabitants — the practice has been used far more recently. General Pinochet is said to have employed the technique during his dictatorship of Chile (1973-1990), while reports from Argentina during the National Reorganization Process in the late 1970s and early '80s claimed victims were subjected to a version in which live rats — or sometimes spiders — were inserted into the subject's body via a tube in the rectum or vagina….yep. Bamboo Torture Forcing thin shards of bamboo under the fingernails has long been cited as an interrogation method, but bamboo has been used to creatively — and slowly — execute a person, too. Allegedly used by the Japanese on American prisoners of war, it saw the victim tied down to a frame over a patch of newly sprouting bamboo plants. One of the fastest-growing plants in the world, capable of up to three feet of growth in 24 hours, the sharp-tipped plants would slowly pierce the victim's skin — and then continue to grow. The result was death by gradual, continuous, multiple impalements, the equivalent of being dropped on a bed of sharpened stakes in terrible slow motion. Despite the practice having roots in the former areas of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Siam (now Thailand) in the 19th century, there are no proven instances of it being used during WWII. It's certainly possible, however, and it has been shown that the technique, among the worst execution methods ever, works: A 2008 episode of MythBusters found that bamboo was capable of penetrating a human-sized lump of ballistic gelatin over three days. https://m.imdb.com/list/ls059738828/
Juviza Rodriguez— Juvi to all who know her— is a mother, storyteller, and self proclaimed public health geek. She currently lives in Ossining, NY but was born and raised in Washington Heights and is incredibly proud of her roots. Juvi began journaling when she was 8 years old and has evolved into a creative non fiction writer. Her more recent pieces touch on the unspoken daily traumas that First Generation kids like her experienced living in Washington Heights in the 90's. Juvi will be attending the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA) writing intensive this summer, and this Fall will start her PhD journey at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. Juvi IG: @juvirod Yaddy IG & Twitter : @Yaddyv_____ https://inyaddyswords.wixsite.com/inyaddyswords
This episode features, Jessica Hulett. She and thousands like her are called COVID long-haulers. They continue to have debilitating symptoms months after initially contracting the virus. Doctors don't yet have many answers leaving these patients in search of relief and support. Jessica Hulett is a freelance writer, editor, and marketing strategist in Ossining, NY. She moved to Westchester after more than 15 years in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where she worked for a lot of dot-coms that no longer exist. She lives with her husband Evan, 6-year-old son Colter, and two cats named Jack Black and Leslie Knope who hate each other. My hobbies include starting novels and not finishing them, hiking, and figuring out how to make healthy food taste good. Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you've heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups
In this episode, I speak with Jessica Irons, founder and Artistic Director of Theater O, an independent theater school for kids in Ossining New York. She discusses the struggles of finding her purpose and then serving that purpose during a pandemic. She gives us the perspective of an artist and educator with the daunting task of trying to keep kids connected to their creative spirit while remaining safe. Jessica, an Ossining resident, and sits on the boards of the Ossining Arts Project (The Village Art Committee) and Bethany Arts Community. She sat on the Board of Ossining MATTERS for 6 years and was president for 2. For 10 years she was the Artistic Director of the award-winning , NYC based Andhow ! Theater Company where she fostered new plays from a seed of an idea through to full productions. She directed Off & Off Off-Broadway at the Flea, The Ohio, HERE Arts Center, 78th Street Theater Lab, The Connelly Theater, Dixon Place, The Blue Heron Arts Center, The Ontological at St. Mark's Church in the Bowery New Georges and adobe theatre company. She was the Associate Artistic Director of adobe theatre company and the Artistic Associate at Adirondack Theater Festival. As an educator she has directed/taught in Newark NJ, Redhook, Brooklyn, for the 52nd Street Project in Manhattan, Allan Stevenson, Fordham University, the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester and elsewhere throughout the tri-state area. She was the original therapeutic arts director at Children of Promise, NYC in Bedford Stuyvesant, where she developed and implemented therapeutic art & theater curricula for children of incarcerated parents. Jessica studied theater at Skidmore College (BA) and Creative Arts Therapy at the New School.Thanks so much for joining me today for A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you've heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups
On this episode, Superintendent Sanchez, talks about the ups and downs on the road to reopening schools this year. We get to know him better as he discussing his family and his journey from teacher to administrator. He even talks about his own self-care habits and offers suggestions for parents and student to manage during these stressful times. Raymond Sanchez serves as the superintendent for the Ossining Union Free School District. As an administrator in the Ossining School District, he demonstrates a commitment to serve all the students of the district on a daily basis.Along with the Board of Education, faculty, staff, and the Ossining community at large, Sanchez focuses on “raising the bar” and enhancing success for all students.Sanchez served as the past president of the Lower Hudson Council of School Personnel Administrators, the former president of the Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Curriculum Council, and as a past liaison for the New York State Association of Bilingual Educators. Sanchez has presented at various state and national conferences. He is on the advisory board of the Future School Leadership Academy (FSLA), the Teaching American History program, and Teatown Nature Preservation. He also shares his expertise as an adjunct professor at Mercy College, Manhattanville College, and Bank Street College of Education.Sanchez is also a past recipient of the Raymond Delaney Award from the New York State Association of School Superintendents.Thanks so much for joining me today for A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you've heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups
Andres has a very interesting story & background. Andres immigrated from Chile to America to discover his passion for fitness. With only 4-5 years of being in America, he finally opens up his own gym. Take a listen! Andres is a hard working individual and you may get some pointers out of this podcast.