POPULARITY
17 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
2 episodes with Review Board
Part 1:We talk with T. Christian Miller, reporter for ProPublica.We discuss the case currently in Louisiana courts. Blue Cross/Blue Shield is appealing a judgement that was rendered by a jury after 18 years of litigation. The Jury was out for two hours of deliberation. The case covered "prior authorization" for procedures which BC/BS refused to pay, even after authorization was given. Many interesting arguments were presented by BC/BS to avoid payment. A story of bad faith by the health insurer.Part 2:We talk with Regina Mahone, Senior Editor at The Nation.Regina describes the painful story of a young woman who was denied timely medical care in Georgia, due to its anti-abortion law. The woman, Amber Nicole Thurman, died of sepsis because of delay in treatment. The case was reviewed by a state Board, but the results of the review were not made public, and the Review Board was dismissed. New Board members' names are now secret. In Texas, that Review Board is also keeping names of Board members secret, as well as keeping results secret.We discuss the problems caused by this secret-keeping of the treatment of women's health denial and consideration. We note that Black women are three to four times as likely to die from these kinds medical neglect. Anti-abortion laws in these states are exacerbating these problems for women's health. Music: From David Rovics, “The Richest Man in the World Says So”, 2025WNHN.ORG production
In this week's episode, we welcome back Sebastian Wagner, someone I really love catching up with and always learn a lot from. If you don't know Seb, he is the Founder of FlowRepublic and has coached 77 Salesforce CTAs through their journey from aspiring CTAs to passing the Review Board. Today, Seb shares information on his experience writing The Software Architect's Edge and shares insight into the Seven Mission-Critical Skills Needed to Become the Next Tech Superstar. You can find Seb on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/se6wagner/ And of course, purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM36DLYX You can find more content from us at Talent Hub, here: LinkedIn@ https://www.linkedin.com/company/talent-hub-global/ YouTube@ https://www.youtube.com/@talenthub1140 Facebook@ https://www.facebook.com/TalentHubGlobal/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/talenthubglobal/ Twitter X @ https://twitter.com/TalentHubGlobal We hope you enjoy the episode!
In our latest episode, I (Dr. Karen Litzy) was honored to be interviewed by my good friend Dr. Stephanie Weyrauch after receiving the prestigious Robert G. Dicus Award at the APTA Private Practice Annual Meeting. This award recognizes lifetime achievement in private practice, and I couldn't be more grateful for the support from my colleagues and mentors throughout my journey. Join us as we discuss the impact of mentorship, the importance of finding your voice, and the lessons learned along the way. Time Stamps: [00:03:26] Robert G. Dicus Award. [00:04:20] Dicus Award recognition. [00:09:23] Finding your voice journey. [00:12:36] Overcoming public speaking fear. [00:19:30] Learning from negative experiences. [00:21:18] Business ownership mindset shift. [00:24:47] Authenticity in professional settings. [00:30:31] The importance of a support network. [00:32:21] Healthy, wealthy, and smart life. More About Dr. Karen Litzy: Dr. Karen Litzy, PT, DPT is a licensed physical therapist, international speaker and owner of Karen Litzy Physical Therapy, PLLC. Through her work as a physical therapist, she has helped thousands of people, including Fortune 500 CEOs, royalty, and celebrities, overcome painful conditions, recover from surgery, and feel more vital than ever before. As the host of Healthy Wealthy & Smart, a top 200 podcast on Apple Podcasts, she has interviewed health, medicine, and entrepreneurship influencers. She also shares how she has prevailed with her own experience of chronic pain. As a keynote and featured speaker, Dr. Karen has addressed thousands at national and international events, including Columbia University in New York City, the University of Colorado in Denver, and the International Olympic Committee World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport in Monaco. Karen's expertise has been featured in magazines, podcasts, TV Newscasts, and websites, including Prevention, Martha Stewart Living, Wirecutter from the New York Times, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and more. She is a member of Prevention Magazine's medical Review Board. She lives in New York City. Resources from this Episode: Tricia Brouk Robert G. Dicus Award Jane Sponsorship Information: Book a one-on-one demo here Mention the code LITZY1MO for a free month Follow Dr. Karen Litzy on Social Media: Karen's Twitter Karen's Instagram Karen's LinkedIn Subscribe to Healthy, Wealthy & Smart: YouTube Website Apple Podcast Spotify SoundCloud Stitcher iHeart Radio
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/education
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join us for an in-depth exploration of Professor Cass Sunstein's latest work, Campus Free Speech (Harvard University Press, September 2024). Together, we'll examine the book's intriguing take on free speech in academic spaces and the broader implications for constitutional interpretation. Professor Sunstein also delves into the exercise of administrative power, with timely discussions on COVID-era authority and the Supreme Court's decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Gain unique insights from Sunstein on how the Constitution remains a guiding force for the American public in navigating modern challenges. Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech. Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) has reclassified 11 high schools for the 2024 football season, following a Review Board decision that overturned the initial classification by the Board of Directors. Schools including John Marshall, Oak Hill, and Spring Valley will drop a classification, impacting playoff structures and competition levels. This reclassification is temporary for 2024, and the system will be reviewed in the future. The changes come just two weeks before the season begins on August 29.
Show Notes: Christian Hyatt, Founder of Risk3Sixty, discusses the top three or four things that chief information security officers at sub-enterprise firms are most worried about right now. He explains that these concerns include the business environment, threat actors, cybersecurity regulation, nation-state actors like Russia and China, and phishing campaigns. He also highlights the unique bridge between cybersecurity and information technology coming to a head with the recent CrowdStrike incident. Advice to Clients on Cybersecurity Christian suggests that independent consultants should ask clients questions or warning signs to raise their concerns and consider consulting a cybersecurity expert. He suggests that clients are looking for someone who is a good listener and not operating off fear, uncertainty, and doubt. By listening to clients' needs and concerns, consultants can offer advice on implementing best practices on their existing toolset and spreading security awareness. Christian emphasizes that many big enterprise tools, such as Office 365 and Google Suite, have built-in security, covering many bases. Independent consultants should listen for how well implemented their tools are, listen for business problems they have, and offer security assurance. Offering advice on implementing best practices and spreading security awareness can help firms understand how security is impacting their business and make informed decisions about investing in security measures. Cybersecurity Due Diligence In the context of due diligence, Christian states that it is important to consider the company's internal infrastructure, including its cloud-based and on-premises systems. This can help identify potential red flags and ensure the company's sustainability and scalability. For example, if a product company is being acquired, it is crucial to ask about its application security, product security, and scalability. Additionally, understanding the company's mastery of its own product and its ability to scale without the team is essential. Another key factor to consider is the company's internal infrastructure, whether it is cloud-based or on-premises. Integrating with the acquiring firm can impact the cost of the process. Cybersecurity for Independent Consultants and Boutique Firms Independent consultants and boutique firms with a few employees should also take cybersecurity precautions. Some good tools for small businesses include G Suite or Office 365, which have built-in tools for file share sharing, email security, and internal messaging. These tools help protect against cybersecurity attacks that originate from email. Installing antivirus tools like CrowdStrike and Sentinel can help prevent attacks at the endpoint level. Blocking and tackling security processes, such as using file sharing platforms like OneDrive or Dropbox. It's also important to identify areas where money changes hands and take protective measures. Creating an offline backup of key files once a month can help protect against ransomware attacks. Office 365 or G Suite can also be used to store files in the cloud, with tools like spanning for Office 365 creating backup copies of cloud storage. Exploring the full suite of options available to small business owners can help them get coverage for their biggest risks. Employee Training on Cybersecurity The conversation turns to the importance of raising employees' awareness of phishing dangers. He recommends using tools that periodically send white hat phishing messages to test employees' skills. Christian suggests that small businesses should focus on creating a culture of awareness and vigilance, letting candidates know about potential scams and asking questions if they feel uncomfortable. There are several tools available for security awareness training, including Curricula. Additionally, he suggests using YouTube videos as part of training, as they can be more effective than expected. By implementing these tools, businesses can create a culture of vigilance and prevent employees from clicking on suspicious links. The Origins and Growth of Risk 3 Sixty Christian started his firm as an independent consultant eight years ago, with a trajectory of impressive growth. He initially had one client, a $30,000 one-off engagement, but from there eventually grew the business to 60 clients. Christian shares a few of the tactics behind the growth, including his shift towards cybersecurity. He focused on a few cybersecurity services that had great demand and packaged them as multi-year deals, and recurring revenue. He also learned that organizations have huge compliance requirements. They built a SaaS platform to help them manage the information. They invested in the SaaS platform and started selling it as a subscription. Today, their services are tech-enabled services, where companies often outsource their entire programs to them due to the need for human labor. Christian made strategic decisions early on, scaling the business around recurring revenue streams, over-delivering, and building a good culture. He centered around those activities that felt risky at the time, saying no to big contracts that didn't fit within his revenue stream. He also explains how a book by Gino Wickman, Traction, and The Entrepreneur Operating System, helped him shift the responsibility for business development off of his shoulders to other members of the firm. Recruiting Talent for Risk3Sixty Christian hired a West Point graduate to become an ops manager. He believed that hiring great people was a risky move but ultimately helped build a sales function and complement the founder's role. The company also hired a strategic partner with Georgia Tech to hire top students. Despite the early hires, the success of the company can be attributed to the smart people who pushed the founder to think more like a leader and helped him see the future. The company's success can be attributed to the excellent people who helped him make decisions that he wouldn't have made on his own. The Structure of a Successful Company Christian's company has 60 employees, and a top-down structure consisting of an Executive Leadership Team (ELT) consisting of six members: the CEO, President, Head of People, the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Revenue Officer, and the CTO. The CEO focuses on mission and metrics, breaking down the vision into KPIs and measurables, and making sure everyone understands it. He also works on brand equity through social media, podcasts, and speaking events. He also talks about how he approached pay bands and benefits to attract talent and maintain retention. The CEO manages the ELT, ensuring they are motivated and have the same vision. An initiative Review Board was created to address pent up projects or initiatives that were not previously budgeted. This allowed people to request new projects or initiatives outside of budget season, providing a pressure relief valve for strategic initiatives. A Successful Marketing Philosophy Christian's marketing philosophy focuses on teaching good concepts and adding value to people, rather than being an influencer. He uses content such as videos and white papers to add value and engage people, leading to more leads and engagement. He initially used LinkedIn outbound to find open job opportunities and reach out to hiring managers, but found that more people would ignore him than respond. Christian shares his teaching methods on LinkedIn, YouTube, and a newsletter. For cybersecurity-focused content, he hosts a weekly cybersecurity executive brief on YouTube. He also has a marketing team that helps with content creation, and practice leaders who produce content regularly, called media properties, on LinkedIn. Each member of the team has a dedicated content pillar, and it's up to them to create content that resonates with the audience. A marketing team supports them with video editing and accountability. Christian initially did it all himself, using a video editor tool and recording videos and writing white papers. Timestamps: 03:14: Cybersecurity precautions for independent consultants and small firms 08:10: Cybersecurity awareness training for small businesses 13:51: Growing a consulting firm through strategic decision-making and recurring revenue streams 18:19: Scaling a consulting business by hiring a leadership team 22:24: Leadership decisions and team structure 26:55: Using LinkedIn for business growth and content creation Links: Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianhyatt/ Check out his book: https://risk3sixty.com/stos Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.
"Sludge": How bureaucracies abuse your time, with Cass Sunstein "Sludge" constitutes the obstacles, such as bureaucratic paperwork, that society puts in place to prevent a person from accomplishing something they want to do. Sludge can be good when it ensures that people do not behave recklessly or impulsively. But oftentimes, sludge is nothing more than an obstacle to freedom. Sludge can be found everywhere, from the criminal justice system to acquiring a mortgage. Much of this sludge needs to be eliminated. To learn even more from the world's biggest thinkers, get Big Think+ for your business: https://bigthink.com/plus/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- About Cass Sunstein: Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Exopolitics Today Week in Review with Dr Michael Salla – July 20, 2024 Topics Failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump was predicted. New Congressional bill is a renewed effort to incorporate a UAP Disclosure Act with a 9 person Review Board with powers of subpoena and Eminent Domain UFO researchers debate the inclusion of Eminent Domain in the renewed UAP Disclosure Act. ET & SSP Disclosure is Unfolding Slowly Due to Deep State Machinations Physicists are theorizing the existence of Tachyons which would make superluminal and time travel possible. Historic UFO sightings concerning underwater bases close to the Bermuda Triangle supports recent insider testimonies. Testing for a Covert Space Mission to Saturn – JP Update #35 Insider confirms that not only inventions but also scientific disciplines such as maths can have key theories and sub-fields classified for national security reasons. The US Space Force has just released a quick guide to its history and operations. Launch of a Patreon membership channel which features uncensored videos that cannot be published on YouTube. Prospects of a coming Alien Invasion discussed in new book, Secret Machines: War by Tom DeLonge and Peter Levenda One Week to Next Webinar: Faking a Cryptoterrestrial Invasion Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/michaelsalla --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exopoliticstoday/support
Retired District Court Judge Tommy Jewell, and Communications Director Estevan Vasquez come in and discuss SOARB Sheriff's Office Advisory and Review Board. A board created to make sure transparency and accountability are being practiced by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Dept. All this and more with TJ on News Radio KKOB See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tommy Jewel and Stephen Vasquez detail the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Advisory and Review Board (the “SOARB”) on News Radio KKOBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Eric Crawford, Chairman of Hartford's Civilian Police Review Board. Review Board wants police to turn over records related to 9 complaints against them.
Scientific Sense ® by Gill Eapen: Prof. Cass Sunstein is University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioral Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Please subscribe to this channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ScientificSense?sub_confirmation=1 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scientificsense/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scientificsense/support
Preacher William, Valerie, & the seeds of discord.A Spring Break 14-part Novel.By FinalStand. Listen to the complete episode at Steamy Stories.Christina's late night visit.Anyway, we were uncoiling from the sofa and Rio was giving me this mysterious look when there was a knock at the door.“Dude, it is 11 o'clock,” Rio muttered. “Only bad news arrives this late.”“I'll go check it out,” I shrugged. There wasn't much else I could do. I opened the door and there stood Christina, looking pretty depressed.“Do you want to come in?” I asked.“I know you have company,” she replied. “Can we talk outside?” It wasn't too chilly but I wasn't wearing too much either.“Of course,” I walked onto the porch, leaving the door mostly closed behind me. “What's wrong?”“I've worked things out with Faith and the other girls,” Christina paced nervously. “We are all going to keep quiet about what you learned and see how we can turn this to our advantage.” I didn't say anything because she hadn't come to tell me the news of what had been the obvious move on her part so I was left wondering what was going on, then I saw it.I opened my arms to the side, palms forward, and waited. She saw the move and looked me over with obvious reluctance for what would come next. Finally, she stepped up to me and rested her forehead on my shoulder and let me encase her in my arms. It sucks to be alone, but it truly sucks being alone and being the one in charge even more.“God, Zane, I fucked up. I could have ruined Heaven's life,” she sighed. “The others trusted me and I let them down.”“You are not doing Heaven any favors by being paralyzed with doubt,” I told her. “You had no idea who you were up against and even if you had, you would still have weighed what was best for Heaven against the risks and pretty much acted in the same manner.”“You don't understand Heaven,” Christina said. “You don't understand her home life.”“Her home life is not my concern, Christina,” I pointed out. “The Heaven here and now is my concern, though, and it is the concern of several more friends she's made since coming to this school, friends she wouldn't have if she stayed in a hole.”“What if I fuck up again?” she worried. “So many girls are depending on me to keep the Chancellor at bay.”“I fuck up all the time and I'm still here,” I countered. “I know what you mean, though. Sometimes when these girls look at me like they expect me to have all the answers and I've got nothing, I want to run and hide.”“We don't have that luxury. We chose to stand up and now we must carry on in our struggle. I don't know about you, but I wasn't raised to quit,” I related to her.“I made a mistake, Zane. I don't make mistakes,” she declared.“I'm confused; have we lost?” I questioned her.“No,” she grumbled, “and that is not what I meant. I brought Faith in, I misread her, and we all suffered because of it. I was deceived.”“Well, someone should remind Christina Buchanan from time to time that she's human, and a pretty smart woman at that,” I replied. “You don't have to win every battle, only the last one.”“That is what my grandfather said,” she mumbled into my shoulder.“He sounds like a clever guy,” I said softly. “He should go far someday.” Since he was one of the richest men in America, I was probably right.“You can be a real jerk at times,” she muttered, but I noted she wasn't moving.“I have to agree with you,” I said, as I got up on my tiptoes and kissed her on the top of the head. I leaned back and tilted her head to me with a finger under her chin. “Christina Buchanan, would you marry me?” No one said anything for a minute.“Can I think about it?” she finally whispered.“Of course,” I assured her. “How could I be in love with you if I couldn't wait for you?”“How can you love me when you don't even know me?” she asked.“That's why it is love and not like,” I answered. “There are times you really piss me off but there is never a moment I don't want to be with you.”“You don't like me?” Christina studied me.“Right now I like you just fine, but you can be a real pain at times. See, I know what's right and you refuse to know your place,” I responded.“And what place is that?” she smiled.“Above me, smiling down,” I leaned in for a kiss.“No,” she shook her head.“No?” I pleaded.“We have a long way to go before I let you treat me like another one of your girls,” Christina informed me.“Okay,” I agreed.“No hard sell in my emotionally vulnerable state?” she mused.“You are safe with me, Christina,” I assured her.“That's good to know, Zane. Now go inside before Rio blows a gasket,” she smiled, slipped out of my arms, and walked toward her car. I still soaked up the marvel of her receding silhouette.Rio was leaning against the wall just inside the hallway when I got back in.“I don't get the two of you,” she grinned.“I love her,” was my only response.“That's good, because she's fucking nuts about you,” Rio laughed. I couldn't decide whether she was kidding or not.Later, we lay together in bed, Rio partially over me where she alternated between listening to my heartbeat and kissing my shoulder. She also had a hand between her legs and was doing some serious vaginal stimulation.“Zane.”“Yes?” I replied.“I had an abortion,” she confided in me.“Oh, okay,” was all I could manage to come back with.“‘Oh.' Is that it?” she sounded a bit hurt.“I figure there is more to the story than you had an abortion. So are you going to tell me what it is?” I inquired. She mulled that over for a few seconds.“I did some really stupid shit, like getting shit-faced drunk at some parties with people I barely knew, and pretty much got used like a whore. I didn't really care, and eventually I got knocked up,” she told me.“My parents, the big Pro-Lifers that they were, smuggled me out of state to a private clinic and aborted the kid. They never asked my opinion on the matter but I imagine that having a pregnant daughter who couldn't even name the father wasn't on their agenda,” she recited bitterly. I wrapped an arm around her, rolled over on her, and kissed her gently on the lips.“I don't know what to say,” I began. “I can't imagine what it was like to go through that.”“Huh,” Rio snorted. “My parents slapped me with anti-depressants and an implant, my ‘friends' told me it was for the best, not being teen Mom material and all, and I treated myself like a whore.”“Hell, I sucked and fucked the entire lawn crew once; I fucked my little brother's friends; and I became known as the girl who would ride bareback at my school. It is a miracle I didn't contract herpes or AIDS,” she recited sadly. “I think I hated just about everybody.”“You know that none of that matters to me; right?” I asked. “You are still that woman I woke up next to on day one.”“To the bitter end,” she recited.“To the bitter end,” I affirmed, my promise to stand by her no matter what.“Why couldn't you be in love with me?” she sighed.“You are asking an eighteen-year-old how this love thing works?” I teased her. “I've been lucky enough to meet five women in the past two weeks I'd like to spend forever with, and I love the one I'm least likely to end up with. I'm clueless.”“Me, Iona, Barbie Lynn, Christina and Heaven?” Rio guessed. I nodded, which made her snicker. “You really want to spend forever with Heaven? You are a glutton for punishment.”“Heaven can be really nice,” I defended my girlfriend.“She's got a permanent case of PMS. Hell knows what would happen if she actually had PMS,” Rio teased me back.“So you don't want to spend any more time with her?” I inquired.“Fuck that,” Rio giggled, “I like them brave, bold, and saucy in the saddle. I'd love breaking her down, or having her break me trying.”“Fine,” I announced after a moment's contemplation.“Fine?” she asked.“I'm not going to break my word to Jill but I can't wait to fuck you until we get back to campus, so how would you like to screw on Pastor Bill's desk before Sunday school?” I suggested.“I'd love to leave a little something extra on that gold-plated conman's desk,” Rio purred.“Now, Zane, do you think you could bend the rules ever so slightly and finger-fuck me? I'm ever so horny,” Rio pleaded. I figured it couldn't hurt too much; right? I rubbed and rubbed one hand down to her crotch where Rio had already pulled her soaked panties down to mid-thigh. With my other hand, I pushed up her top, exposing her ripe nipples, chain and all.I plucked a nipple into my mouth, letting my tongue play along the stud before sucking in more of the breast, increasing the pressure on the nipple itself. Rio was well worked up already and now began to writhe beneath me. My free hand passed below her carefully groomed chevron-shaped pubic mound and along her clit.Her folds welcomed me like molten gold, so hot yet silky smooth to the touch. As she started to moan, Rio stuck the meat of her palm into her mouth and bit down in order to keep quiet. I spent a minute playing with her two studs in her labia before working two fingers deep inside her, twisting them, and seeking out her G-spot.“Gak!” Rio convulsed as I stroked it. Oh, yeah, I thought, as I began to seriously work it over. Rio's fluids were sloshing around my fingers, her other hand began pressing my whole mouth over her breast, and she kept bucking up against me. I now began to alternate between rhythmically tapping her special place and brutally finger fucking her, driving two fingers in and slapping her clit with my palm.“Uh, uh, uh, ugh, ugh, um,” Rio began panting, then her body arched and she screamed into her clenched fist. “Oh, fuck, that's good,” she finally managed to get out. Before I could respond, she grabbed my head and drew me up for a fierce kiss. She tore at my lips and tried to steal my breath away.“Tell me you want me,” she pleaded with a desperate hunger tinged with fear.“I want you, Rio, always,” I responded with my own heat and need. Slowly the passion ebbed from Rio's eyes and a playful demeanor replaced it.“You are such a dumb blonde, Glenda,” she sighed happily. Glenda had been the name that had allowed me admission to school in the first place, Glenn Zane Braxton, Glenda.I answered by pulling my fingers out of her cunt, taking a lick, then pushing them through her lips. Rio daintily sucked on them, pulling them in and cleaning them off before biting down like the little bitch she is and making tears come to my eyes.“What the fuck!” I hissed.“That's for not giving me your dick, Asshole,” she snickered. When I looked ready to explode, she pouted her lips, rolled onto her stomach and stuck her bare ass up in the air for a spanking. I grunted and rolled over onto my side, away from her.“Good night, you witch,” I sulked.There was some rustling behind me a minute later, then Rio snaked an arm around me and pressed her body to my back.“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I act crazy at times.” I rolled over to face her.“I know what I'm getting into, Rio,” I comforted her. “That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt at times.” I displayed my wounded fingers. She kissed my fingers, I kissed her lips, and we both finally went to sleep.Preacher William, Valerie, and the seeds of discord.*You can live without freedom the same way you can live without light, happiness, or music*Jill didn't know what to make of our prompt appearance Sunday morning for breakfast already dressed for church. I'd convinced Rio to not try a hard sell with my aunt, instead playing it calm, cool, and collected. The real reason we wanted to get to church early was because I'd come up with the idea of screwing Rio on Pastor Bill's massive mahogany desk before class and she'd become infatuated with the scheme.GAINING DEFINITIONWe had to remember our Bibles before eagerly heading out the door. Mine went back to my missionary days while Rio's was brand new, a gift from Jill. She'd lost her old one on the trip from Arizona to Virginia, or so she'd told Jill. In reality, she had torn hers apart page by page and stuffed it down the airplane toilet during the flight, her way of spreading the gospel.Once at the church, we split up, Rio and I getting together a few minutes later. I was unsure about the security cameras in the hallway but Rio shrugged it off. She followed the wires to the closet the system was kept in, picked the lock, and deleted the last two hours of footage before deactivating the whole system.I was clever enough to wipe off all our fingerprints before we made for the pastor's office. This time, Rio's improvised, lock picks weren't necessary as the secretary kept the door unlocked. We slipped past her station to the larger office beyond and I chased Rio around to the ‘big chair'.“So, Bad Boy, are you going to make me a Bad Girl?” Rio taunted me.I stepped up between her thighs and got ready to feast on her succulent cunt lips when she held me up.“I don't think we have time for that,” Rio grinned. She slipped out of her panties, which I quickly pocketed (having learned from the first Barbie Lynn incident), and hopped up on the desk facing me.I unbuckled my belt, fixed the button, and unzipped my pants. My penis came smoothly out of my boxers and I lined up with Rio's slit. Her juices were already flowing by the time my cockhead graced her full lips.“Oh, that's what I've been looking for,” Rio moaned, as I pushed forward inch after glorious inch inside her.She wrapped her arms around my neck and came close to doing the same with her legs around my waist by the time I was fully into her. I got a few half-thrusts into Rio, our faces only inches apart, when I began to push her back down on the desk.“No, I want to look into your eyes,” she told me. I nodded and started driving my cock in a strong steady rhythm.“Rio,” I said softly.“Yes,” she breathed heavily.“I like saying your name,” I explained. “I like the sound of it and the way it makes me feel.”“I, ” I was sure she was fighting for a snarky reply but then she smiled and said, “Okay.”“Oh. God, Oh, Fuck,” Rio gasped, as we began, getting her close to climax. I stopped when I first heard the voices. “What?” Rio panted. I pulled her off the desk and looked for a place to hide. There were three other doors out of the room. I took the closest, yanked up my pants, and dragged Rio to it.It turned out to be a large closet with vestments, coats, and a few changes of clothing inside. Before I could finish shutting the door, Rio put her hand in the way. Before I could inquire why, the main office door opened and in came Pastor Bill and Lance Wellington. They were yammering on about something or other; I really wasn't paying attention.All that changed after Pastor Bill took his seat behind the desk and swiveled it to the side. Lance came around the desk and knelt before our spiritual leader. His body blocked my visual but I heard a zipper being undone and some clothes being pushed aside. What Lance proceeded to do was clear enough, though.Rio was between me and the door; she looked over her shoulder and grinned evilly. Before long, she had my cock in her hand and was maneuvering it back to her pussy from behind. I moved my hips down, she arched up, and I slipped back into the hole I'd been in not a minute before. I stayed still while Rio began to ride my cock up and down.There we were, two very different couples separated by less than a dozen feet, both fucking in different ways. Lance was giving Pastor Bill oral attention in a manner that dictated long familiarity to not only cock-sucking, but blowing Pastor Bill in particular. Rio had one hand placed against the door sill in order to stop us from spilling out of the closet while the other was tucked against her stomach.The four of us were pushing toward climax but Pastor Bill was the first one to the trigger. I was still feeling the oily smoothness of my cock inside Rio's vagina while rubbing both breasts through her shirt and bra when Lance began chocking and sputtering. The bastard hadn't even warned Lance that he was cumming.Good ole Pastor Bill reached across the desk to grab two Kleenex. As he did so, his other hand came down to rest on a slick spot Rio and I had left on his desk. He looked at his hand with disgust and wiped it off his hand before handing a tissue to Lance.“Get going to class,” Pastor Bill told his cock-sucking companion.“Of course, Pastor William,” Lance responded as he cleaned his face. As he headed to the door, he turned to the preacher.“Do I have to do another marriage counseling session with Felicity? She is so damn annoying,” he whined.“Lance, you are going to have to keep up appearances and that means spending the occasional night with her,” Pastor Bill lectured him. “As distasteful as she is, she is the socially acceptable choice for your spouse if you plan to have a political career.”“I wish this whole marriage thing was over with already,” Lance sighed. “Then I could stick her in the house and get her out of my life.”“Remember, a woman is a duty, but you know how to get your pleasure. Take your pill when you have to lay with her, and if nothing else, use her back door,” he chuckled.“I suppose so,” Lance conceded, “but I'll have to shut her up. She blathers on and on incessantly and her voice is so grating.”“Well,” Pastor Bill laughed, “you can always use her mouth too.” Lance snorted and left the room; Bill followed a minute later.For our part, the whole exchange between Pastor Bill and Lance got Rio hotter and hotter. She was rocketing back against me until I was afraid the slapping of our flesh would alert our host to our presence.Once he was gone, Rio went off.“Fuck me, damn it,” Rio exulted. “I'm going to rape their asses.” I wasn't sure how that would work. It wasn't like Rio's or my word would go all that far. I decided to spin her back around and kick her leg up over my arm so I could fuck her while gazing into her eyes.The first thing I noticed was the sheer joy etched all over her face. The second thing I noted was her phone in hand, set on record. There was going to be some severe damage over this and I had to do damage control, but first I had to screw Rio to orgasm.“Ah, ah, ah,” Rio moaned. “You are churning me up inside, you fucking brute. This is so fucking good.”“And the video?” I inquired.“Fucking brilliant,” she panted, “My best idea yet.” I drilled Rio several more strong strokes and she gripped me tightly and sexually exploded on me. She kept squeezing my cock with her vaginal muscles as I came in her as she was still cresting her wave.“Oh, Zane,” she wept tears of joy on my shoulder, “You make all this other shit bearable.”“No problem, bro,” I sighed happily, “but we need to talk about the video.”“Yeah,” she snorted, “you have a plan. I'm going to bypass me having a temper-tantrum and get straight to you making me happy with how clever you are.”“We find more ways to bring Felicity over to our side, then hit her with this when she's wavering,” I detailed. “We still need credibility and that's going to take Barbie Lynn on our side. Once we get Felicity, we can get Mrs. Wellington too. That gives us access to everyone in the church.”I set Rio onto her feet and handed her panties too her. Rio shimmied into them and grinned.“Now I'm all sloshy inside. Is that thing a damn fire hydrant?”“You weren't complaining a minute ago,” I countered.“I'm not complaining, but all those bitches in class are going to know I've been fucked,” she snickered.“Who are you going to blame?” I wondered.“Pastor William, our glorious shepherd; I can describe just what his cock looks like now,” she grinned manically.“I think we are back to that whole 'credibility' issue,” I reminded her.“You aren't going to let me have any fun,” Rio pouted.“Well, work on this; I'm pretty sure Lance isn't the only guy here that the pastor is using. Lance was a tool, nothing more,” I told her. “It could be fun to find out who his other toys are.”“I hate you for having a better idea than me,” Rio giggled, “but I love your deviant mind more.”“I love you too, Baby,” I said as I brushed her cheek. “Let's get to class before they get to ridicule us for arriving late.” Rio grabbed my hand and sprinted with me out of the office. We were late to class but only just. This time I'd studied so Mr. Coleman wasn't able to humiliate me, though some wise-ass taunted me about being on a women's committee.“Yes, I do,” I confirmed, “and what committee are you on?”“Athletics committee,” he sneered. I gave him a shit-eating grin right back that gave him pause.“So I hang out with a bunch of MILF's, which is a pretty red-blooded American male thing to do, while you hang out with a bunch of guys, which is pretty homo-erotic,” I chuckled.There was a deafening silence in the room. We had broken up for church service and a few guys were almost out the door. The target of my aggression was first stunned, then angry.“Mr. Braxton, that is quite enough out of you,” Mr. Coleman snapped.“I'm sorry about that, Mr. Coleman. I thought he was ribbing me about my committee so I teased him back about his; I wasn't serious,” I lied.Andy, the guy who'd given me a hard time, elected that moment to get in my face.“That wasn't funny, Braxton,” he snapped. Mr. Coleman remained conspicuously silent.“Gosh, Andy,” I quipped, “I don't know where to begin. How about, we are in a House of God and shouldn't be raising a fist against one another.”“If that doesn't work, do understand that you get the first punch, then I break you like a twig,” I continued with eagerness written all over my face. “You are an elementary school teacher and I have years of martial arts experience.” Andy suddenly paled.“Mr. Braxton,” Coleman growled again. “How dare you threaten somebody?”“Um, Mr. Coleman, Andy got in my face, so what exactly are you getting on my case about? Wouldn't the situation be better served if you stopped him in the first place?” I said.“Andy should be able to take a joke better,” another guy in my class, Christopher Gilbert, joined in. “Besides, Zane's right; the wives on the committee are attractive and their husbands are lucky men.”That seemed to end the matter because Chris Gilbert was the son of somebody and carried weight in this crowd. We continued to depart but I felt obliged to stop Chris.“Thanks, but I'm not sure why you just backed me up there,” I questioned.“Maybe you're not such a bad guy,” he grinned.I had to think that over. I barely knew Christopher Gilbert. He was 23, son of a big real estate guy, he was a property manager, whatever that was.“I have to appreciate the timing of your epiphany,” I joked.“It came to me late Thursday night when I had a security issue at one of my properties,” he grinned. Oh, crap. His daddy must own the mall where I had that little altercation.“Sorry if I cost you a good night's sleep,” was all I could say.“Let me say that, 'damn, you're fast,' and it would have been mean of me to let Andy get his ass handed to him in front of all his friends,” Chris related. “He's really not a bad guy either.”“I'll keep that in mind,” I nodded.We were making our way to the church hall when Rio, Iona, and Barbie Lynn intercepted us.“Hey, Ms. Masters,” Chris said to Barbie Lynn. He looked at the other two girls.“Christopher Gilbert, this is Rio Talon and Iona Becket, two of my classmates and closest friends,” I introduced my buddies.“So, Chris, how do you know Barbie-licious?” Rio smirked.“Huh?” Chris said.“Rio has an intense sense of humor, Chris,” I intervened. “Pay her no mind.” Before Rio cold make things worse, I placed an arm behind her and pinched her butt. “Behave,” I warned her.“Okay, Zane,” Chris chuckled. “Good luck with that one. To answer your question: I know Ms. Masters from a few years back at a youth retreat. We were both counselors. Take care now.” He turned and walked off to his section of the tabernacle while the girls and I went off to ours.“So, Barbie, were you hot for Chris back at camp?” Rio persisted.“Chris? Nah, he had a girlfriend back then; they both went to the University of Virginia. I think they broke up right before they graduated but I'm not sure,” Barbie Lynn informed us. “Besides, I had a fiancé too.”“Had? Have you tossed him over for Zane?” Rio teased. I sighed and Barbie Lynn blushed.“Nah, Shugah, I tossed him over for you,” Barbie Lynn whispered into Rio's ear.“Just for that tantalizing tease, no Honey Glaze for those hot crossed buns of yours,” Rio bantered right back.“Am I the only one who remembers we are in a church?” lectured Iona.“No, you are not,” Christina surprised us. “Now stop trying to make a scene and sit down with the rest of us.” We dutifully obeyed because three of us respected Christina and I had one of Rio's arms twisted behind her back.At the end of service there was no problem getting the gang to go down to the space between the pews and the podium where the important people gathered. I caught Pastor William shooting me a hooded look but I blew him off. I was here for someone else, as was Barbie Lynn and Rio. Iona was tagging along to make sure we kept out of too much trouble.“Hey, Sahara,” I greeted the pastor's wife, who hovered near but wasn't part of the action.“Why, hello, Zane,” she smiled. “Did you enjoy the service?”“I'm still a little fuzzy on the message of seeking wisdom in God's word instead of Man's technology,” I grinned. “After all, I have an app that gives me helpful Bible verses on demand.”“I think you missed the point, Zane,” she shook her head with mirth. “We need to trust the Word of God over the simple technological solutions that fail to take in the moral implications of the results.”“Wow, when you say it that way, it makes sense,” I applauded. Sahara blushed and gave me another smile.Rio and Barbie Lynn had closed in on Felicity, allowing Iona and I to come up behind Mrs. Wellington. I put my hand on the small of her back and positioned myself at her side.“Hello, Mrs. Wellington,” I greeted her. I knew her first look at me would define a lot about how she felt about last night.“Zane,” she beamed at me. “How are you doing today?”“Better now,” I grinned. “I just wanted to say that I'm downloading those files we discussed when I get to campus this afternoon.”“Oh,” Mrs. Bainbridge sneered, “is Mr. Braxton working on a special project already?”“Zane,” Rochelle Wellington smiled to her rival sweetly, “send Kendra a copy of the notes you showed me. Kendra, Zane has a talent for 3-D imagery that the committee will find quite useful. I thought you might find it nice to have our newest member showing some interest.”“Oh, it is his interest that I'm worried about,” Kendra commented, with a pretty obvious look toward Sahara.Before I could respond to that jab, I felt a hand on my shoulder trying to pull me around.“Pastor William wants a word with you,” Lance informed me.“Okay,” I shrugged, then turned back to Kendra. “Mrs. Bainbridge, I admit that it is my fault that I find Mrs. Penny to be kinder, more compassionate, and more spiritually understanding than you. She is a gentle soul who better relates to what a young man needs.”“Pastor William wants to see you now,” Lance insisted.“That's nice, Lance. I'm talking to your mother,” I said dismissively. “Rochelle, thank you for agreeing to mentor me; I appreciate you helping me understand this Church and this community by taking some of your valuable time to listen to my ideas.”“Ladies, have a nice Sunday. Okay, Lance, let's go see what Pastor Bill wants now,” I told him.“His name is Pastor William,” Lance corrected me somewhat angrily.“No, his name is William Penny and he happens to be a pastor,” I jibed. Lance's response was stymied by our arrival at Pastor Bill's circle of cronies.“Ah, Glenn,” Bill greeted me. “I would like to invite you to dine with my wife and I tomorrow night.” I was smart enough to know that wasn't really an invitation, but still,“I'd like to but this week is our first round of testing for the semester so I'm not sure I can break free,” I answered.“You find time enough for other things, like jail,” he lectured me in a personally degrading matter.“Pastor William, as you will learn about me, people who cross me or threaten the ones I hold dear, I beat bloody and leave broken on the ground,” I smiled evilly right back. The confusion that threat caused was evident because I hadn't been quiet.“Jesus loves the Peacemaker,” Pastor Bill bantered back.“Winners write the history books,” I countered.“That is not very Christian of you,” Mr. Wellington, the Mayor, pointed out.“Jesus Christ ended up nailed to a cross; Emperor Constantine, who converted the whole Roman Empire to Christ's worship, got to build his own city,” I responded.“I won't be as famous but I'll do more and get to bury my enemies before I die,” I added.“Are you sure you were a missionary in Thailand?” another church elder asked.“Oh, I was a missionary all right, but not a very good one. I left the hard work to my Uncle Tim and Aunt Jill,” I informed them.“Did they convert many heathen souls to the World of our Lord?” a third man inquired.“It is not that simple. They taught people to read English and got them in the practice of reading the Bible,” I explained. “They have over a thousand years of culture to work against and many of the tenants of Buddhism are close to our own Christian virtues so it is hard work.”“So that would be a 'No',” Pastor Bill gloated.“Really?” I grinned. “When Uncle Tim went missing, 200 of his flock risked floodwaters in an eventually futile effort to save him. How many of us would risk drowning to save you, Pastor William? I would say that when lives were on the line, his flock did their Christian duty.”I noticed Jill standing on the edge of the group listening, her eyes close to tears. Hey, I hated Tim, but I wasn't going to let these spineless bastards degrade the man in front of his widow, no matter how I felt.“I'm sure we would all rise to the challenge,” Mr. Wellington pontificated.“Then you are as good a man as Uncle Tim,” I trapped him with his own words.“Your Uncle Tim gave everything, including his life,” Pastor Bill said with a smug, superior smile. “His willingness to give should be an example for all.”“I'm already giving. The Festivities Committee's budget seems a bit anemic so I'm going to be funding some of their efforts,” I enlightened him.“That is not how tithes are normally handled,” Pastor Bill corrected me.“I'm not a normal guy,” I grinned. “Pastor, I'll look over my schedule and call your house to let you know if I can swing dinner tomorrow. It has been a wonderful chat but I have to be going now.”I turned and left them there, confident I hadn't made any friends among Bill's inner circle. The price of their friendship was way more than I was willing to pay and it wasn't just monetary. My girls swarmed around me, even Jill.“Thank you, Zane,” Jill said softly. “Tim would have been proud.”“Jill, I said that for you, not him. You stood by him and that shouldn't be trampled on by people who don't know any better,” I comforted her.“I was getting ready to cry out 'Blood and Souls for my Lord Arioch,” Rio grinned.“Why did you antagonize them?” Iona wondered.“They are used to bullying people and getting their way. I let them know I was more than willing to fight,” I told Iona.“He also wanted the women to see what he was doing,” Barbie Lynn said. “I saw a few females, Felicity included, who thought a great deal of how Zane handled the situation.”“Girls love watching men fight over them,” Rio laughed as we exited into the parking lot.“Is everyone coming to our place for lunch?” Jill asked. I took a quick look around the girls who nodded their approval.“Sure thing, Jill; we will be at home in an hour,” I answered.Getting back to campus and into casual clothes wasn't a problem, nor was lunch with Jill. We sat around and shot the shit for an hour afterwards but school work demanded that we head back to school to do some actual classwork. I went by Raven's to pick her up because she'd left me a text (by way of Iona) that she'd made some progress over the weekend.“We really should study in the library,” Raven told me as we headed to my room.“The last time I checked, the library didn't have a snack bar,” I told her. Raven was less than convinced and a bit nervous until we opened the door to the bottom of the steps leading to the Solarium where I lived and the voices of multiple girls welcomed us.“You have company?” she questioned me.“All freshmen are welcome in my room, Raven. You'll see,” I informed her.“Is there going to be anyplace for us to study, ” Raven began to confound me, then we came to the point where you could see past the side of the stairs into the Solarium.“Oh, God,” she muttered at the scope of the room, “you, you have pool tables!” she ended up in a near squeal. “I love pool!” She took a few steps forward into the room before looking back at me. “What is all this? Where did this all come from?”“I was given the entire Solarium as my room, sort of, and I decided to convert most of it to a common area for the freshman class,” I said.“How long has this been going on?” she wondered.“We did it yesterday,” Iona said from the closest sofa. She put down her laptop and walked over to us. “Zane paid for the stuff and we students put it in. Let me show you around.”“You do that, Iona,” I told her, as I gave my diminutive friend a hug, “I'll be in my room.”Iona led Raven deeper into the complex of entertainment while I headed to my room, which seemed to be the quietest place to study today.ValerieI passed around the Chinese silk screens that shielded my private area from the rest of the Solarium and saw my new monster-sized bed. I also saw the tall, honey-blonde Amazon reclining on it, looking my way.“Come here, my Love-Monkey,” she said in a deep, husky voice. I'm sure my mouth gaped open.“Ah, I don't believe we've been introduced,” I managed to finally say. She smiled and patted the bed beside her.“You are seriously hot and I'm positive I'd remember you if we'd met, but I don't and I do need to study so I'm going to ask you to please leave,” I groaned. “Trust me, I really don't want to be asking you that either.”I heard laughter from the far side of the bed and Rio slowly raised her body into sight.“Bro, the look on your face is priceless,” she chuckled.“So this is really your room?” the other girl inquired.“I told you it was,” Rio grinned.“Yes, it is,” I responded as well. “In fact, this entire floor is mine, mainly because the Administration has nowhere else to stick me.”“Rio, what's going on here?” I turned to my other friend.“Honest, Boss,” she beamed, “I found her when I got home. She's my new dorm mate, your replacement.”“You were her first roommate?” the newcomer asked.“For all of one night,” I confessed. “Then everyone realized she had boobies, and I didn't, and I developed this current life of seclusion.”“This is your version of seclusion?” she questioned.“What can I say?” I sighed. “I'm a man of creature comforts. That still doesn't explain you on my bed. Rio?”“She is Valerie Palmer, a new addition to the school,” Rio started, “but that's not the cool part. She's a member of the Stormriders motorcycle gang.” Seeing my lack of name recognition, Rio added, “They are a big deal in the West, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, of course.”“Nice to meet you, Valerie.” I knelt on the bed and extended my hand. “I'm Glenn Zane Braxton, but everyone calls me Zane. Welcome to FFU, and what brought you to us?”“Dad is a born-again Christian and he wanted me to come here, so here I am,” she shrugged. Now, to me that made no sense, as she should have been eighteen, thus her own person, but who was I to press into her personal matters.“Damn it, Zane, I keep forgetting you were living in a cave for the past two years,” Rio shook her head. “Her grandfather is Daniel 'Damien' Palmer.” Again, I didn't know who that person was.“My grandfather is doing three life sentences,” Valerie said with a degree of weariness.“Fine. I should take it the Stormriders are not a motorcycle club, then,” I grinned at her.Valerie's eyes and mine locked for several seconds.“Are you arrogant, stupid, or really unconcerned?” Valerie asked me.“A little of all three,” Rio chimed in.“You should never ask a man if he's arrogant because if he is, he won't know it,” I responded.“I'm smart enough to get into this university, but them I'm dumb enough to be the only guy at this university,” I continued. “I can honestly tell you I really don't care who you were before you came here. It is none of my damn business. If you want to be friends, I'm game.” Valerie nodded. “Oh, and Rio is a nutjob, but if you hurt her, I'll make you suffer, I swear it.”“Is that supposed to scare me, rich boy?” Valerie said, becoming very serious and sitting up, “because I'm not impressed.”“I didn't say it to impress you, Valerie,” I met her gaze, “I believe in fair warning. I don't care if you are damaged goods or you are one stone-cold, bad-ass bitch; you mess with Rio and I'll take her pain out of your hide.”“Rio, I thought you told me this guy was cool,” Valerie said to Rio while still looking at me.“Best guy in the whole God-damn world,” Rio beamed.“Zane, have you ever stabbed somebody?” Valerie quizzed me.“On purpose or by accident?” I asked.“How do you stab someone by accident?” Valerie wondered.“You toss their ass into a stand of bamboo so hard the stalks break and they get impaled,” I answered. “I take it you've done it on purpose.” She shrugged.“Do you fight much?” she changed tact.“More than I should,” I replied, “but I butt in where I don't belong too much.”“Me too,” Valerie nodded, “on the 'I fight more than I should' thing.”“Well, I would rather talk shit upfront than spill blood later,” I pointed out.“Like warning me about Rio,” she nodded.“Please believe me, she's a nut and will get on your nerves, so please don't toss her out a window or down the stairs because I'm actually attached to her,” I grinned. Rio flopped on the bed.“I should be mouthing empty denials but Zane's pretty much right,” Rio snickered, “and if he hadn't fucked me silly on the preacher's desk this morning, I'd be in his face about this bullshit.”“You had sex on your preacher's desk?” Valerie smiled.“Zane, what are these girls, what the hell?” Raven went off. “What kind of bedroom is this?”“Raven, you know Rio and this is her new roommate Valerie. Valerie, this is Raven,” I groaned.“Hey, Raven,” Valerie greeted her. “So do you normally walk into Zane's bedroom too?”“No,” Raven blushed. “He invited me over to do some work on our English project.” Iona stepped in behind Raven and waved to Rio.“Iona, Valerie; Valerie, Iona,” I sighed.“Wait!” Valerie raised her hand and looked back to me. “Are you gay? Because I see a lot of girls strolling into your room and none of them have been identified as your girlfriend yet.”“Technically, that would be Heaven,” Iona volunteered. “She's a senior.”“Can we get back to everyone being in Zane's room?” Raven grumbled. “And what is he doing with a bed as big as my entire room back home?” Valerie appraised the room.“Got it,” she laughed. “You are sleeping with her (Iona) and her (Rio), but not you (Raven).”“Of course I'm not sleeping with him,” Raven shot back. “I took a Purity Pledge, as should all of you.”“I'm not a virgin,” Valerie responded.“Me, either,” Rio waved.“I am,” Iona raised her hand.“That's nice,” I directed. “Rio, Valerie, and Iona, please leave. I've invited Raven to my room so we can do actual classwork because I occasionally like to pretend I'm in college for an education.”“On it, Zane,” Rio snickered. “Come on, Valerie, let's go check out the hot tub. I wanted to show you to Zane so he could put you on his 'To Do' list.” Iona shook her head and left.“I've got a boyfriend,” Valerie clarified.“Thank God,” I muttered, which drew looks from all three women. After Rio and Val left, Raven kept staring at me.“I, does this happen to you often?” she finally asked.“Yes, but I've learned to adjust,” I pointed out.We sat down on the bed, Raven pulled out four library books on the period we were looking into, and we began going through them and taking notes.“Is Heaven really your girlfriend?” Raven asked after a while.“Yes, but it is more complicated than that. I love another girl but I don't know if she loves me, and I spend time with a dozen other girls here, plus I have friends at a Sorority House off campus,” I explained.“And you sleep with Rio, who isn't a virgin, and Iona, who is,” she stated, and I confirmed with a nod.“I was wrong. If you can keep all that straight in your head, you have a good grasp of details. We are going to do fine on this term paper.”“Thank you, Raven,” I smiled at her, and for a change, she smiled back.GUST FRONTI would have liked to spend the night with Iona and Barbie Lynn but Iona informed me that Coach Dana Gorman had tested her security code earlier in the day and I figured something was up; nothing good for me and my friends. Sure enough, at 12:10 in the morning, my little buzzer by the bed that informed me that a key code was being entered woke me up.I silenced the alarm (no sense in letting them know that I had it) and waited in bed. Shortly thereafter, the Coach and two female security guards came strolling in.“Alone?” Dana quipped.“You asking me out?” I grinned.“Get up; we need to check the bed, if that is what you call this thing,” she motioned to my sleeping platform. I dutifully got out of bed.“What are you doing?” she snapped when she realized I was naked.“Getting out of bed like you asked me to. I sleep in the nude, or didn't you already know that?” I yawned.“Put some clothes on,” she ordered. I picked up my robe and put it on while they stripped back my sheets and looked for bodily fluids under the dark light. I had been at my Aunt's the past two nights, so yes, my bed was still fresh. Unsatisfied, Dana and her two buddies began roughly going over my place.When they finally discovered nothing (my hiding places were specifically designed), the two officers turned and left.“I'll be keeping an eye on you, Zane. You can expect this to be a regular occurrence,” she promised. I simply stared. We remained looking at one another for a minute because she knew I was up to something.“That's right, step out of line and make my job easier,” she noted. Again I kept my silence. It would have been easy to take this personally but I'd told her this was War and I took that seriously. I doubted I was the sole beneficiary of their attention so I had to get ready to respond to their next move.“Nothing to say?” she asked. I kept staring. “Say something, damn it,” she growled.“Good night, Coach,” I obliged. She shook her head, turned, and walked away. When I saw the door close behind her I went back to my room and took out my phone. I made three calls to the concerned parties and a final call to Iona, to have her wipe my call log. I can't say I slept well that night.Showering in the morning was troublesome enough on normal days but this morning, Rio decided to invite Valerie to join us. I did my best to pretend to ignore her, which wasn't easy. Valerie was around six feet with milky skin where the sun didn't reach and tanned where it did. Her hair was golden-blonde and she was trimmed, not shaved. Her eyes were grey with a hint of blue around the edges; he breasts were a solid C without a hint of sag. There sure were a lot of blondes going to this school.I could see the mental calculations going through her head as she walked in and the other girls eyed her. In the hierarchy of this place, I didn't hold a place; proximity to me showed a girl's status among the crowd. Opal was top dog, but Rio and Iona were marked by their close relationship with me as well.Valerie clearly thought about walking away from it all to spare herself the drama and the grief. She countered that with the knowledge that she had to fit in somewhere in this school, and as non-traditional as she was, her best bet was with us. She answered that internal struggle by taking the shower one down from me, next to Opal.Opal expressed her dominance to Valerie by corralling me into a body massage and a show of mutual affection. I thought Valerie was unimpressed with those actions but as we got into it, I sensed she was intrigued by the notion of having sex without actually having sex, and the sexual arousal that came with it.As I settled in front of the sink to brush my hair, shave, and brush my teeth, Valerie took the sink beside me.“You don't seem to mind all these naked bodies around you,” she noted.“Why should I? I enjoy them and they enjoy me. I like making them happy, and my presence certainly makes their lives more difficult so I'm glad to help,” I explained.“So, do things ever go to the next level?” Valerie asked.“Not here, and not with most of these women; they are virgins and happy about that fact. They want to be virgins on their wedding nights and I respect that,” I answered.“Rio makes you out to be some sort of sex-crazed stud monster,” Val informed me.“Rio's not a virgin and her only plans for marriage involve her being a black widow to her old, rich husbands,” I grinned.“Is she, bi-sexual?” Valerie whispered.“Yes, I can verify that she is,” I replied quietly. “Has she hit on you yet? Wait, silly question, have you thrown her out of your bed yet?”“This morning I found her sucking on my nipple through my nightshirt,” she smirked.“Rio needs constant reminding of where the boundaries are,” I informed Val.“You two talking about me?” Rio came bouncing up. “Is there a three-way in our future? Who gets tied up?” Valerie groaned in response.“Rio, there is such a thing as personal space and acceptable roommate behavior,” I told Rio. “Things like spontaneously feeling her up while she sleeps are BAD!”“God, damn it!” Rio squalled, “But did you see the size of those bad boys? They are huge and puffy and I swear, they were calling out to me across the room.”“In my long and illustrious career with the female nipple, they have never talked to me. If you don't behave, I'm going to have to tie you up at the next orgy and make you watch,” I warned. I couldn't threaten to take away something she had, like her piercings; that would make her dig in her heels. Instead, I went after the things she was looking forward to.“Don't forget to secure her hands over her head so she can't diddle herself,” Valerie got into the sport of things.“Good point,” I agreed.“Major buzz-kill, you two. Valerie, you are trying to make your first day here no fun at all,” Rio teased.“Which reminds me; Valerie, has Rio warned you about Handmaiden's Duty?” I inquired. Rio looked offended that I would say such a thing while Val looked confused.“It is a tradition here that requires all freshmen to perform a task of a non-damaging nature for any and all upperclassmen. They cannot grab you in class or a dorm room, but anywhere else is fair game,” I informed her.“My first task was to be a bench for someone to sit on,” Rio grinned.“Mine was to kiss a girl,” I nodded.“Kiss her? Cordelia damn near passed out, you kissed her so long and deep,” Rio teased me.“The first one was very nice and chaste,” Iona stepped up and added. “It was the second one that curled her toes and started the stampeded on Zane.”“What do I do if a girl asks me to kiss her?” Valerie worried.“Tell her you are waiting for your herpes to clear up,” Rio volunteered.“It isn't likely to happen,” Iona came across with sounder advice. “Homosexuality is frowned on at this campus.”“I'd tell you to kiss them and enjoy the moment, but I'm a guy,” I shrugged.“I'm still not sure what is normal for this place,” Valerie related.“Rio and Zane are aberrations,” Iona offered. “Most of the girls here are fundamentalist Christian virgins who are looking to get married once they graduate this place.”“What is your story?” Val asked Iona.“I was pretty much the girl I just described until I met these two,” she smiled. “Now I feel that I have, options.”“Options like prison time,” Rio laughed, “or becoming a sex toy at an S&M club.”“I was thinking more like taking a summer and roaming the country,” Iona glared Rio.“Maybe I could teach you to ride a motorcycle and you can come with me,” Valerie offered.“That would be wonderful!” Iona brightened up. “When could we start?”“This afternoon, if you like,” Val responded. “My ride is in the parking lot.”“You have a motorcycle, here?” Rio exclaimed.“Rio, it is hard to be in a motorcycle gang without a chopper,” Valerie pointed out.“On that note, I have to go,” I sighed. New girls were starting to migrate in, meaning I had to retreat to my room. “Take care, everyone.”The crapstormThe crapstorm fell on us as we left the dorm. All kinds of upperclassmen snatched up freshmen as they appeared and shadowed Pro-Christina students they couldn't grab. Rio and I were able to shove off of Valerie before she was identified as being with one of us, so she made it to the Dining Hall unmolested.I didn't have to do anything too heinous, carry three backpacks while reciting the Gospel of Luke from memory (ugh). They made Rio sing 'Onward Christian Soldier' because it was the only religious song she'd admit to knowing. She did a horrific hack-job of it too. They had Iona going through the descendants of Noah; she knocked them back flawlessly, Brainiac.It got better at the Dining Hall door where Rhaine oversaw the removal of every electronic device from the incoming students, no phones, tablets or laptops, nothing capable of rapid communication. Then came the assigned seating designed to break us all up. Surprisingly, Valerie looped back around and joined us in the line.She leaned into me.“What the fuck is going on?” she whispered.“There is a war going on between the Pro-Christina faction Rio, Iona and I belong to, and the Pro-Rhaine faction, which is supported by the Administration. I didn't want to get you involved,” I explained as I saw Mrs. Marlowe closing in.“Mr. Braxton, be quiet,” she snapped.“Of course, Ms. Marlowe,” I nodded to her; she glared back. We had assigned seating for breakfast, isolating us. Conversations were kept to a minimum by roving teachers and the mood was getting grim, made worse by a slow drizzle that began to fall outside. Still, things weren't hopeless.As I was putting my food tray away, Paige of the Science Club slipped past me.“Copper Seven,” she whispered.Cordelia, head of the Science Club, was definitely the smartest person on campus. She'd created a list of contingency plans for us to use if things went bad. We should have been getting them on our phones but the Chancellor had stymied us there.Instead, things were circulating by word of mouth. In this case, Copper Seven, things were simple. Copper meant theft and Seven was the code for communications. We were stealing the facility's phones, crashing their computers, and doing whatever mischief we could to make communications difficult, if not impossible.I had the pleasure of passing the word on to Rio, who gave me a look that would have made any brigand with a handful of gold proud. I didn't know the specifics of Rio's criminal history but I knew she definitely had one, and I'd have been stunned if pickpocket and shoplifting weren't part of her repertoire. I'd warned Coach Gorman about making shit like this fascist suppression policy up.I barely recalled what I was forced to perform on the way to Assembly because what happened there was so memorable. We got the standard lecture, then the Chancellor laid into Christina for all the disruptions the student body was going through, Christina and a few other malcontents. What made it memorable was, at the end of Dr. Bass's speech, a freshman I barely knew, Millicent Pierce, stood up and raised her fist in defiance.“That's bullshit!” she cried out.“Sit down and be quiet, child!” the Chancellor commanded. “Coach Gorman,” she then directed our head of security toward the young girl. Millicent wasn't done yet.“You are lying to us!” she screamed out again.As Gorman and a second teacher made their way to our young rebel, Rio stood up with a raised fist.“Shame!” Rio called out. A dozen of us followed suit. Teachers flooded off the stage but Cappadocia figured out that if you joined up with other girls and linked arms, they couldn't drag you out.Girls were screaming at girls, shoving began, and soon blows were being exchanged and Assembly degenerated to a nasty furball. We were threatened with demerits, detention, and finally expulsion, but nothing seemed to curtail the conflict. I saw Ms. Goodswell leave the melee and go to the base of the podium and begin to plead with Bass about something.I could see that Goodswell was trying to get the Chancellor to let Christina come onto the stage and quiet her followers but our Glorious Leader wouldn't budge. Christina could see the gestures and I knew she was about to end things anyway. There was something I had to do before things fell apart.I leapt up and began using the backs and arm rests to jump across the crowd. I made it to Millicent right ahead of Gorman. Millicent seemed stunned to see me hovering over her but it was too noisy to communicate. I pulled her up and retreated back the way I'd come, keeping her out of Gorman's clutches for the moment.“Thanks,” she grinned at me.“Who is your Spiritual Advisor?” I responded. “We need to get you to her so you don't face the Chancellor alone.”“Ms. Trenton,” Millicent responded.Ms. Trenton wasn't one of the 'good guys' but she wasn't on our enemies list either. I located Trenton and angled us toward her.“This is crazy,” Millicent gasped. After all, if we tumbled, we might very well break our necks. Ms. Trenton didn't look happy to see either one of us but she immediately clued into why I was dropping her student off on her. She grabbed Millicent by the arm and led her away. This was a good thing because our rebellion was about spent for the moment.A minute later we had quieted down. Dr. Bass threatened us with a whole new series of punishments before exiling us off to our first classes. I had the joy of gettin
Life throws up a lot of options, challenges and choices and death comes to us all. Voluntary assisted dying is an end of life option for a small number of people in Australia but has brought about a lot of conversation and debate. In this podcast Associate Professor Melanie Turner who is a psychiatrist and also the presiding in member of the Voluntary assisted dying Review Board of South Australia speaks to Dr Ava Carter about assisted dying. VAD started on January 31 2023 in South Australia and it has been an interesting journey to see the evolution of VAD in that time. The podcast covers what voluntary assisted dying is; how it is offered and the aspects of grief, loss and death when a death is planned. Prof Melanie Turner is an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide and works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice in South Australia. Mel is also an elected board director on the RANZCP Board, is the presiding member of the voluntary assisted dying review board in South Australia as well as a Member of the Medical Board of South Australia and a director on the board of Mental Health Australia. Dr Ava Carter is dual qualified in Dentistry and Medicine and is the Senior Psychiatric Registrar in the ACT. She has been a vocal advocate for accreditation and governance since her time at Griffith University as an academic supervisor and lecturer as a dentist and currently works with the Canberra Regional Accreditation Committee and was appointed to the Council in 2021. She is keenly engaged in JMO teaching and academic supervision of ANU medical students, and an enthusiastic promoter of clinical psychiatry, research, and clinical teaching, both within mental health services and across the general hospital. Her interests include consultation liaison psychiatry, the interface of dentistry and psychiatry, and medical education. Feedback:If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we'd love to hear from you.Please contact us by email at: psychmatters.feedback@ranzcp.orgDisclaimer:This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics. The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement. By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP's Your Health In Mind Website.
Premier David Eby launches a review into BC's Review Board, after a man accused in a Chinatown triple-stabbing had been granted an unescorted day pass from a forensic facility. Plus, BC United's new crime plan promises to end decriminalization, but the NDP government offers up tweaks to protect playgrounds from open drug use instead. And, a huge defection from BC United to the BC Conservatives changes the political dynamic at the legislature. Podcast audio extras include a look at a new task force on wildfires, and cost overruns at Surrey's promised second hospital. Host Rob Shaw is joined by the political pod squad: Allie Blades, Jeff Ferrier and Jillian Oliver.
This week, we continue out look back at the films released by Miramax in the 1980s, focusing on 1987. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California. The Entertainment Capital of the World. It's the 80s Movie Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we are continuing our miniseries on the movies released by Miramax Films in the 1980s, concentrating on their releases from 1987, the year Miramax would begin its climb towards the top of the independent distribution mountain. The first film Miramax would release in 1987 was Lizzie Borden's Working Girls. And yes, Lizzie Borden is her birth name. Sort of. Her name was originally Linda Elizabeth Borden, and at the age of eleven, when she learned about the infamous accused double murderer, she told her parents she wanted to only be addressed as Lizzie. At the age of 18, after graduating high school and heading off to the private women's liberal arts college Wellesley, she would legally change her name to Lizzie Borden. After graduating with a fine arts degree, Borden would move to New York City, where she held a variety of jobs, including being both a painter and an art critic for the influential Artforum magazine, until she attended a retrospective of Jean-Luc Godard movies, when she was inspired to become a filmmaker herself. Her first film, shot in 1974, was a documentary, Regrouping, about four female artists who were part of a collective that incorporated avant-garde techniques borrowed from performance art, as the collective slowly breaks apart. One of the four artists was a twenty-three year old painter who would later make film history herself as the first female director to win the Academy Award for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow. But Regrouping didn't get much attention when it was released in 1976, and it would take Borden five years to make her first dramatic narrative, Born in Flames, another movie which would also feature Ms. Bigelow in a supporting role. Borden would not only write, produce and direct this film about two different groups of feminists who operate pirate radio stations in New York City which ends with the bombing of the broadcast antenna atop the World Trade Center, she would also edit the film and act as one of the cinematographers. The film would become one of the first instances of Afrofuturism in film, and would become a cultural touchstone in 2016 when a restored print of the film screened around the world to great critical acclaim, and would tie for 243rd place in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of The Greatest Films Ever Made. Other films that tied with include Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, Woody Allen's Annie Hall, David Cronenberg's Videodrome, and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. A Yes, it's that good, and it would cost only $30k to produce. But while Born in Flames wasn't recognized as revolutionary in 1983, it would help her raise $300k for her next movie, about the lives of sex workers in New York City. The idea would come to her while working on Born in Flames, as she became intrigued about prostitution after meeting some well-educated women on the film who worked a few shifts a week at a brothel to earn extra money or to pay for their education. Like many, her perception of prostitution were women who worked the streets, when in truth streetwalkers only accounted for about 15% of the business. During the writing of the script, she began visiting brothels in New York City and learned about the rituals involved in the business of selling sex, especially intrigued how many of the sex workers looked out for each other mentally, physically and hygienically. Along with Sandra Kay, who would play one of the ladies of the night in the film, Borden worked up a script that didn't glamorize or grossly exaggerate the sex industry, avoiding such storytelling tropes as the hooker with a heart of gold or girls forced into prostitution due to extraordinary circumstances. Most of the ladies playing prostitutes were played by unknown actresses working off-Broadway, while the johns were non-actors recruited through word of mouth between Borden's friends and the occasional ad in one of the city's sex magazines. Production on Working Girls would begin in March 1985, with many of the sets being built in Borden's loft in Manhattan, with moveable walls to accommodate whatever needed to be shot on any given day. While $300k would be ten times what she had on Born in Flames, Borden would stretch her budget to the max by still shooting in 16mm, in the hopes that the footage would look good enough should the finished film be purchased by a distributor and blown up to 35mm for theatrical exhibition. After a month of shooting, which involved copious amounts of both male and female nudity, Borden would spend six months editing her film. By early 1986, she had a 91 minute cut ready to go, and she and her producer would submit the film to play at that year's Cannes Film Festival. While the film would not be selected to compete for the coveted Palme D'Or, it would be selected for the Directors' Fortnight, a parallel program that would also include Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy, Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire, and Chantel Akerman's Golden Eighties. The film would get into some trouble when it was invited to screen at the Toronto Film Festival a few months later. The movie would have to be approved by the Ontario Film and Video Review Board before being allowed to show at the festival. However, the board would not approve the film without two cuts, including one scene which depicted the quote unquote graphic manipulation of a man's genitalia by a woman. The festival, which had a long standing policy of not showing any movie that had been cut for censorship, would appeal the decision on behalf of the filmmakers. The Review Board denied the appeal, and the festival left the decision of whether to cut the two offending scenes to Borden. Of all the things I've researched about the film, one of the few things I could not find was whether or not Borden made the trims, but the film would play at the festival as scheduled. After Toronto, Borden would field some offers from some of the smaller art house distributors, but none of the bigger independents or studio-affiliated “classics” divisions. For many, it was too sexual to be a straight art house film, while it wasn't graphic enough to be porn. The one person who did seem to best understand what Borden was going for was, no surprise in hindsight, Harvey Weinstein. Miramax would pick the film up for distribution in late 1986, and planned a February 1987 release. What might be surprising to most who know about Harvey Weinstein, who would pick up the derisive nickname Harvey Scissorhands in a few years for his constant meddling in already completed films, actually suggested Borden add back in a few minutes of footage to balance out the sex with some lighter non-sex scenes. She would, along with making some last minute dialogue changes, before the film opened on February 5th, not in New York City or Los Angeles, the traditional launching pads for art house films, but at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco, where the film would do a decent $8k in its first three days. Three weeks after opening at the Opera Plaza, Miramax would open the film at the 57th Street Playhouse in midtown Manhattan. Buoyed by some amazing reviews from the likes of Siskel and Ebert, Vincent Canby of the New York Times, and J. Hoberman of The Village Voice, Working Girls would gross an astounding $42k during its opening weekend. Two weeks later, it would open at the Samuel Goldwyn Westside Pavilion Cinemas, where it would bring in $17k its first weekend. It would continue to perform well in its major market exclusive runs. An ad in the April 8th, 1987 issue of Variety shows a new house record of $13,492 in its first week at the Ellis Cinema in Atlanta. $140k after five weeks in New York. $40k after three weeks at the Nickelodeon in Boston. $30k after three weeks at the Fine Arts in Chicago. $10k in its first week at the Guild in San Diego. $11k in just three days at the TLA in Philly. Now, there's different numbers floating around about how much Working Girls made during its total theatrical run. Box Office Mojo says $1.77m, which is really good for a low budget independent film with no stars and featuring a subject still taboo to many in American today, let alone 37 years ago, but a late June 1987 issue of Billboard Magazine about some of the early film successes of the year, puts the gross for Working Girls at $3m. If you want to check out Working Girls, the Criterion Collection put out an exceptional DVD and Blu-ray release in 2021, which includes a brand new 4K transfer of the film, and a commentary track featuring Borden, cinematographer Judy Irola, and actress Amanda Goodwin, amongst many bonus features. Highly recommended. I've already spoken some about their next film, Ghost Fever, on our episode last year about the fake movie director Alan Smithee and all of his bad movies. For those who haven't listened to that episode yet and are unaware of who Alan Smithee wasn't, Alan Smithee was a pseudonym created by the Directors Guild in the late 1960s who could be assigned the directing credit of a movie whose real director felt the final cut of the film did not represent his or her vision. By the time Ghost Fever came around in 1987, it would be the 12th movie to be credited to Alan Smithee. If you have listened to the Alan Smithee episode, you can go ahead and skip forward a couple minutes, but be forewarned, I am going to be offering up a different elaboration on the film than I did on that episode. And away we go… Those of us born in the 1960s and before remember a show called All in the Family, and we remember Archie Bunker's neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson, who were eventually spun off onto their own hit show, The Jeffersons. Sherman Hemsley played George Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons for 12 years, but despite the show being a hit for a number of years, placing as high as #3 during the 1981-1982 television season, roles for Hemsley and his co-star Isabel Sanford outside the show were few and far between. During the eleven seasons The Jeffersons ran on television, from 1975 to 1985, Sherman Hemsley would only make one movie, 1979's Love at First Bite, where he played a small role as a reverend. He appeared on the poster, but his name was not listed amongst the other actors on the poster. So when the producers of the then-titled Benny and Beaufor approached Hemsley in the spring of 1984 to play one of the title roles, he was more than happy to accept. The Jeffersons was about to start its summer hiatus, and here was the chance to not only make a movie but to be the number one listed actor on the call sheet. He might not ever get that chance again. The film, by now titled Benny and Buford Meet the Bigoted Ghost, would shoot in Mexico City at Estudios America in the summer of 1984, before Hemsley was due back in Los Angeles to shoot the eleventh and what would be the final season of his show. But it would not be a normal shoot. In fact, there would be two different versions of the movie shot back to back. One, in English, would be directed by Lee Madden, which would hinge its comedy on the bumbling antics of its Black police officer, Buford, and his Hispanic partner, Benny. The other version would be shot in Spanish by Mexican director Miguel Rico, where the comedy would satirize class and social differences rather than racial differences. Hemsley would speak his lines in English, and would be dubbed by a Spanish-speaking actor in post production. Luis Ávalos, best known as Doctor Doolots on the PBS children's show The Electric Company, would play Benny. The only other name in the cast was boxing legend Smokin' Joe Frazier, who was making his proper acting debut on the film as, not too surprisingly, a boxer. The film would have a four week shooting schedule, and Hemsley was back to work on The Jeffersons on time. Madden would get the film edited together rather quick, and the producers would have a screening for potential distributors in early October. The screening did not go well. Madden would be fired from the production, the script rewritten, and a new director named Herbert Strock would be hired to shoot more footage once Hemsley was done with his commitments to The Jeffersons in the spring of 1985. This is when Madden contacted the Directors Guild to request the Smithee pseudonym. But since the film was still in production, the DGA could not issue a judgment until the producers provided the Guild with a completed copy of the film. That would happen in the late fall of 1985, and Madden was able to successfully show that he had directly a majority of the completed film but it did not represent his vision. The film was not good, but Miramax still needed product to fill their distribution pipeline. They announced in mid-March of 1987 that they had acquired the film for distribution, and that the film would be opening in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa-St. Petersburg FL the following week. Miramax did not release how many theatres the film was playing in in those markets, and the only market Variety did track of those that week was St. Louis, where the film did $7k from the four theatres they were tracking that week. Best as I can tell from limited newspaper archives of the day, Ghost Fever played on nine screens in Atlanta, 4 in Dallas/Fort Worth, 25 screens in Miami, and 12 in Tampa-St. Pete on top of the four I can find in St. Louis. By the following week, every theatre that was playing Ghost Fever had dropped it. The film would not open in any other markets until it opened on 16 screens in the greater Los Angeles metro region on September 11th. No theatres in Hollywood. No theatres in Westwood. No theatres in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica or any major theatre around, outside of the Palace Theatre downtown, a once stately theatre that had fallen into disrepair over the previous three decades. Once again, Miramax didn't release grosses for the run, none of the theatres playing the film were tracked by Variety that week, and all the playdates were gone after one week. Today, you can find two slightly different copies of the film on a very popular video sharing website, one the theatrical cut, the other the home video cut. The home video cut is preceded by a quick history of the film, including a tidbit that Hemsley bankrolled $3m of the production himself, and that the film's failure almost made him bankrupt. I could not find any source to verify this, but there is possibly specious evidence to back up this claim. The producers of the film were able to make back the budget selling the film to home video company and cable movie channels around the world, and Hemsley would sue them in December 1987 for $3m claiming he was owed this amount from the profits and interest. It would take nine years to work its way through the court system, but a jury in March 1996 would award Hemsley $2.8m. The producers appealed, and an appellate court would uphold the verdict in April 1998. One of the biggest indie film success stories of 1987 was Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. In the early 1980s, Rozema was working as an assistant producer on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs television show called The Journal. Although she enjoyed her work, she, like many of us, wanted to be a filmmaker. While working on The Journal, she started to write screenplays while taking a classes at a Toronto Polytechnic Institute on 16mm film production. Now, one of the nicer things about the Canadian film industry is that there are a number of government-funded arts councils that help young independent Canadian filmmakers get their low budget films financed. But Rozema was having trouble getting her earliest ideas funded. Finally, in 1984, she was able to secure funding for Passion, a short film she had written about a documentary filmmaker who writes an extremely intimate letter to an unknown lover. Linda Griffiths, the star of John Sayles' 1983 film Lianna, plays the filmmaker, and Passion would go on to be nominated for Gold Hugo for Best Short Film at the 1985 Chicago Film Festival. However, a negative review of the short film in The Globe and Mail, often called Canada's Newspaper of Record, would anger Rozema, and she would use that anger to write a new script, Polly, which would be a polemic against the Toronto elitist high art milieu and its merciless negative judgements towards newer artists. Polly, the lead character and narrator of the film, lives alone, has no friends, rides her bike around Toronto to take photographs of whatever strikes her fancy, and regularly indulges herself in whimsical fantasies. An employee for a temporary secretarial agency, Polly gets placed in a private art gallery. The gallery owner is having an off-again, on-again relationship with one her clients, a painter who has misgivings she is too young for the gallery owner and the owner too old for her. Inspired by the young painter, Polly anonymously submits some of her photographs to the gallery, in the hopes of getting featured, but becomes depressed when the gallery owner, who does not know who took the photos, dismisses them in front of Polly, calling them “simple minded.” Polly quits the gallery and retreats to her apartment. When the painter sees the photographs, she presents herself as the photographer of them, and the pair start to pass them off as the younger artist's work, even after the gallery owner learns they are not of the painter's work. When Polly finds out about the fraud, she confronts the gallery owner, eventually throwing a cup of tea at the owner. Soon thereafter, the gallery owner and the painter go to check up on Polly at her flat, where they discover more photos undeniable beauty, and the story ends with the three women in one of Polly's fantasies. Rozema would work on the screenplay for Polly while she was working as a third assistant director on David Cronenberg's The Fly. During the writing process, which took about a year, Rozema would change the title from Polly to Polly's Progress to Polly's Interior Mind. When she would submit the script in June 1986 to the various Canadian arts foundations for funding, it would sent out with yet another new title, Oh, The Things I've Seen. The first agency to come aboard the film was the Ontario Film Development Corporation, and soon thereafter, the National Film Board of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council would also join the funding operation, but the one council they desperately needed to fund the gap was Telefilm Canada, the Canadian government's principal instrument for supporting Canada's audiovisual industry. Telefilm Canada, at the time, had a reputation for being philosophically averse to low-budget, auteur-driven films, a point driven home directly by the administrator of the group at the time, who reportedly stomped out of a meeting concerning the making of this very film, purportedly declaring that Telefilm should not be financing these kind of minimalist, student films. Telefilm would reverse course when Rozema and her producer, Alexandra Raffé, agreed to bring on Don Haig, called “The Godfather of Canadian Cinema,” as an executive producer. Side note: several months after the film completed shooting, Haig would win an Academy Award for producing a documentary about musician Artie Shaw. Once they had their $350k budget, Rozema and Raffé got to work on pre-production. Money was tight on such an ambitious first feature. They had only $500 to help their casting agent identify potential actors for the film, although most of the cast would come from Rozema's friendships with them. They would cast thirty-year-old Sheila McCarthy, a first time film actress with only one television credit to her name, as Polly. Shooting would begin in Toronto on September 24th, 1986 and go for four weeks, shooting completely in 16mm because they could not afford to shoot on 35mm. Once filming was completed, the National Film Board of Canada allowed Rozema use of their editing studio for free. When Rozema struggled with editing the film, the Film Board offered to pay for the consulting services of Ron Sanders, who had edited five of David Cronenberg's movies, including Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly, which Rozema gladly accepted. After New Years 1987, Rozema has a rough cut of the film ready to show the various funding agencies. That edit of the film was only 65 minutes long, but went over very well with the viewers. So much so that the President of Cinephile Films, the Canadian movie distributor who also helped to fund the film, suggested that Rozema not only add another 15mins or so to the film wherever she could, but submit the film to the be entered in the Directors' Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Rozema still needed to add that requested footage in, and finish the sound mix, but she agreed as long as she was able to complete the film by the time the Cannes programmers met in mid-March. She wouldn't quite make her self-imposed deadline, but the film would get selected for Cannes anyway. This time, she had an absolute deadline. The film had to be completed in time for Cannes. Which would include needing to make a 35mm blow up of the 16mm print, and the production didn't have the money. Rozema and Raffé asked Telefilm Canada if they could have $40k for the print, but they were turned down. Twice. Someone suggested they speak with the foreign sales agent who acquired the rights to sell the film at Cannes. The sales agent not only agreed to the fund the cost from sales of the film to various territories that would be returned to the the various arts councils, but he would also create a press kit, translate the English-language script into French, make sure the print showing at Cannes would have French subtitles, and create the key art for the posters and other ads. Rozema would actually help to create the key art, a picture of Sheila McCarthy's head floating over a body of water, an image that approximately 80% of all buyers would use for their own posters and ads around the world. By the time the film premiered in Cannes on May 10th, 1987, Rozema had changed the title once again, to I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. The title would be taken from a line in the T.S. Eliot poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which she felt best represented the film. But whatever it was titled, the two thousand people inside the theatre were mesmerized, and gave the film a six minute standing ovation. The festival quickly added four more screenings of the film, all of which sold out. While a number of territories around the world had purchased the film before the premiere, the filmmakers bet big on themselves by waiting until after the world premiere to entertain offers from American distributors. Following the premiere, a number of companies made offers for the film. Miramax would be the highest, at $100,000, but the filmmakers said “no.” They kept the bidding going, until they got Miramax up to $350k, the full budget for the film. By the time the festival was done, the sales agent had booked more than $1.1m worth of sales. The film had earned back more than triple its cost before it ever opened on a single commercial screen. Oh, and it also won Rozema the Prix de la Jeunesse (Pree do la Jza-naise), the Prize of the Youth, from the Directors Fortnight judges. Miramax would schedule I've Heard the Mermaids Singing to open at the 68th Street Playhouse in New York City on September 11th, after screening at the Toronto Film Festival, then called The Festival of Festivals, the night before, and at the Telluride Film Festival the previous week. Miramax was so keen on the potential success of the film that they would buy their first ever full page newspaper, in the Sunday, September 6th New York Times Arts and Leisure section, which cost them $25k. The critical and audience reactions in Toronto and Telluride matched the enthusiasm on the Croisette, which would translate to big box office its opening weekend. $40k, the best single screen gross in all Manhattan. While it would lose that crown to My Life as a Dog the following week, its $32k second weekend gross was still one of the best in the city. After three weekends in New York City, the film would have already grossed $100k. That weekend, the film would open at the Samuel Goldwyn West Pavilion Cinemas, where a $9,500 opening weekend gross was considered nice. Good word of mouth kept the grosses respectable for months, and after eight months in theatres, never playing in more than 27 theatres in any given week, the film would gross $1.4m in American theatres. Ironically, the film did not go over as well in Rozema's home country, where it grossed a little less than half a million Canadian dollars, and didn't even play in the director's hometown due to a lack of theatres that were willing to play a “queer” movie, but once all was said and done, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing would end up with a worldwide gross of more than CAD$10m, a nearly 2500% return on the initial investment. Not only would part of those profits go back to the arts councils that helped fund the film, those profits would help fund the next group of independent Canadian filmmakers. And the film would become one of a growing number of films with LGBTQ lead characters whose success would break down the barriers some exhibitors had about playing non-straight movies. The impact of this film on queer cinema and on Canadian cinema cannot be understated. In 1993, author Michael Posner spent the first twenty pages of his 250 plus page book Canadian Dreams discussing the history of the film, under the subtitle “The Little Film That Did.” And in 2014, author Julia Mendenhall wrote a 160 page book about the movie, with the subtitle “A Queer Film Classic.” You can find copies of both books on a popular web archive website, if you want to learn more. Amazingly, for a company that would regularly take up to fourteen months between releases, Miramax would end 1987 with not one, not two, but three new titles in just the last six weeks of the year. Well, one that I can definitely place in theatres. And here is where you just can't always trust the IMDb or Wikipedia by themselves. The first alleged release of the three according to both sources, Riders on the Storm, was a wacky comedy featuring Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Polland, and supposedly opened in theatres on November 13th. Except it didn't. It did open in new York City on May 7th, 1988, in Los Angeles the following Friday. But we'll talk more about that movie on our next episode. The second film of the alleged trifecta was Crazy Moon, a romantic comedy/drama from Canada that featured Keifer Sutherland as Brooks, a young man who finds love with Anne, a deaf girl working at a clothing store where Brooks and his brother are trying to steal a mannequin. Like I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Crazy Moon would benefit from the support of several Canadian arts foundations including Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada. In an unusual move, Miramax would release Crazy Moon on 18 screens in Los Angeles on December 11th, as part of an Oscar qualifying run. I say “unusual” because although in the 1980s, a movie that wanted to qualify for awards consideration had to play in at least one commercial movie theatre in Los Angeles for seven consecutive days before the end of the year, most distributors did just that: one movie theatre. They normally didn't do 18 screens including cities like Long Beach, Irvine and Upland. It would, however, definitely be a one week run. Despite a number of decent reviews, Los Angeles audiences were too busy doing plenty of other things to see Crazy Moon. Miramax, once again, didn't report grosses, but six of the eighteen theatres playing the film were being tracked by Variety, and the combined gross for those six theatres was $2,500. It would not get any award nominations, and it would never open at another movie theatre. The third film allegedly released by Miramax during the 1987 holiday season, The Magic Snowman, has a reported theatrical release date of December 22, 1987, according to the IMDb, which is also the date listed on the Wikipedia page for the list of movies Miramax released in the 1980s. I suspect this is a direct to video release for several reasons, the two most important ones being that December 22nd was a Tuesday, and back in the 1980s, most home video titles came out on Tuesdays, and that I cannot find a single playdate anywhere in the country around this date, even in the Weinstein's home town of Buffalo. In fact, the only mention of the words “magic snowman” together I can find for all of 1987 is a live performance of a show called The Magic Snowman in Peterborough, England in November 1987. So now we are eight years into the history of Miramax, and they are starting to pick up some steam. Granted, Working Girls and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing wasn't going to get the company a major line of credit to start making films of their own, but it would help them with visibility amongst the independent and global film communities. These guys can open your films in America. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when we continue with story of Miramax Films, from 1988. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
This week, we continue out look back at the films released by Miramax in the 1980s, focusing on 1987. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California. The Entertainment Capital of the World. It's the 80s Movie Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we are continuing our miniseries on the movies released by Miramax Films in the 1980s, concentrating on their releases from 1987, the year Miramax would begin its climb towards the top of the independent distribution mountain. The first film Miramax would release in 1987 was Lizzie Borden's Working Girls. And yes, Lizzie Borden is her birth name. Sort of. Her name was originally Linda Elizabeth Borden, and at the age of eleven, when she learned about the infamous accused double murderer, she told her parents she wanted to only be addressed as Lizzie. At the age of 18, after graduating high school and heading off to the private women's liberal arts college Wellesley, she would legally change her name to Lizzie Borden. After graduating with a fine arts degree, Borden would move to New York City, where she held a variety of jobs, including being both a painter and an art critic for the influential Artforum magazine, until she attended a retrospective of Jean-Luc Godard movies, when she was inspired to become a filmmaker herself. Her first film, shot in 1974, was a documentary, Regrouping, about four female artists who were part of a collective that incorporated avant-garde techniques borrowed from performance art, as the collective slowly breaks apart. One of the four artists was a twenty-three year old painter who would later make film history herself as the first female director to win the Academy Award for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow. But Regrouping didn't get much attention when it was released in 1976, and it would take Borden five years to make her first dramatic narrative, Born in Flames, another movie which would also feature Ms. Bigelow in a supporting role. Borden would not only write, produce and direct this film about two different groups of feminists who operate pirate radio stations in New York City which ends with the bombing of the broadcast antenna atop the World Trade Center, she would also edit the film and act as one of the cinematographers. The film would become one of the first instances of Afrofuturism in film, and would become a cultural touchstone in 2016 when a restored print of the film screened around the world to great critical acclaim, and would tie for 243rd place in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of The Greatest Films Ever Made. Other films that tied with include Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, Woody Allen's Annie Hall, David Cronenberg's Videodrome, and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. A Yes, it's that good, and it would cost only $30k to produce. But while Born in Flames wasn't recognized as revolutionary in 1983, it would help her raise $300k for her next movie, about the lives of sex workers in New York City. The idea would come to her while working on Born in Flames, as she became intrigued about prostitution after meeting some well-educated women on the film who worked a few shifts a week at a brothel to earn extra money or to pay for their education. Like many, her perception of prostitution were women who worked the streets, when in truth streetwalkers only accounted for about 15% of the business. During the writing of the script, she began visiting brothels in New York City and learned about the rituals involved in the business of selling sex, especially intrigued how many of the sex workers looked out for each other mentally, physically and hygienically. Along with Sandra Kay, who would play one of the ladies of the night in the film, Borden worked up a script that didn't glamorize or grossly exaggerate the sex industry, avoiding such storytelling tropes as the hooker with a heart of gold or girls forced into prostitution due to extraordinary circumstances. Most of the ladies playing prostitutes were played by unknown actresses working off-Broadway, while the johns were non-actors recruited through word of mouth between Borden's friends and the occasional ad in one of the city's sex magazines. Production on Working Girls would begin in March 1985, with many of the sets being built in Borden's loft in Manhattan, with moveable walls to accommodate whatever needed to be shot on any given day. While $300k would be ten times what she had on Born in Flames, Borden would stretch her budget to the max by still shooting in 16mm, in the hopes that the footage would look good enough should the finished film be purchased by a distributor and blown up to 35mm for theatrical exhibition. After a month of shooting, which involved copious amounts of both male and female nudity, Borden would spend six months editing her film. By early 1986, she had a 91 minute cut ready to go, and she and her producer would submit the film to play at that year's Cannes Film Festival. While the film would not be selected to compete for the coveted Palme D'Or, it would be selected for the Directors' Fortnight, a parallel program that would also include Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy, Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire, and Chantel Akerman's Golden Eighties. The film would get into some trouble when it was invited to screen at the Toronto Film Festival a few months later. The movie would have to be approved by the Ontario Film and Video Review Board before being allowed to show at the festival. However, the board would not approve the film without two cuts, including one scene which depicted the quote unquote graphic manipulation of a man's genitalia by a woman. The festival, which had a long standing policy of not showing any movie that had been cut for censorship, would appeal the decision on behalf of the filmmakers. The Review Board denied the appeal, and the festival left the decision of whether to cut the two offending scenes to Borden. Of all the things I've researched about the film, one of the few things I could not find was whether or not Borden made the trims, but the film would play at the festival as scheduled. After Toronto, Borden would field some offers from some of the smaller art house distributors, but none of the bigger independents or studio-affiliated “classics” divisions. For many, it was too sexual to be a straight art house film, while it wasn't graphic enough to be porn. The one person who did seem to best understand what Borden was going for was, no surprise in hindsight, Harvey Weinstein. Miramax would pick the film up for distribution in late 1986, and planned a February 1987 release. What might be surprising to most who know about Harvey Weinstein, who would pick up the derisive nickname Harvey Scissorhands in a few years for his constant meddling in already completed films, actually suggested Borden add back in a few minutes of footage to balance out the sex with some lighter non-sex scenes. She would, along with making some last minute dialogue changes, before the film opened on February 5th, not in New York City or Los Angeles, the traditional launching pads for art house films, but at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco, where the film would do a decent $8k in its first three days. Three weeks after opening at the Opera Plaza, Miramax would open the film at the 57th Street Playhouse in midtown Manhattan. Buoyed by some amazing reviews from the likes of Siskel and Ebert, Vincent Canby of the New York Times, and J. Hoberman of The Village Voice, Working Girls would gross an astounding $42k during its opening weekend. Two weeks later, it would open at the Samuel Goldwyn Westside Pavilion Cinemas, where it would bring in $17k its first weekend. It would continue to perform well in its major market exclusive runs. An ad in the April 8th, 1987 issue of Variety shows a new house record of $13,492 in its first week at the Ellis Cinema in Atlanta. $140k after five weeks in New York. $40k after three weeks at the Nickelodeon in Boston. $30k after three weeks at the Fine Arts in Chicago. $10k in its first week at the Guild in San Diego. $11k in just three days at the TLA in Philly. Now, there's different numbers floating around about how much Working Girls made during its total theatrical run. Box Office Mojo says $1.77m, which is really good for a low budget independent film with no stars and featuring a subject still taboo to many in American today, let alone 37 years ago, but a late June 1987 issue of Billboard Magazine about some of the early film successes of the year, puts the gross for Working Girls at $3m. If you want to check out Working Girls, the Criterion Collection put out an exceptional DVD and Blu-ray release in 2021, which includes a brand new 4K transfer of the film, and a commentary track featuring Borden, cinematographer Judy Irola, and actress Amanda Goodwin, amongst many bonus features. Highly recommended. I've already spoken some about their next film, Ghost Fever, on our episode last year about the fake movie director Alan Smithee and all of his bad movies. For those who haven't listened to that episode yet and are unaware of who Alan Smithee wasn't, Alan Smithee was a pseudonym created by the Directors Guild in the late 1960s who could be assigned the directing credit of a movie whose real director felt the final cut of the film did not represent his or her vision. By the time Ghost Fever came around in 1987, it would be the 12th movie to be credited to Alan Smithee. If you have listened to the Alan Smithee episode, you can go ahead and skip forward a couple minutes, but be forewarned, I am going to be offering up a different elaboration on the film than I did on that episode. And away we go… Those of us born in the 1960s and before remember a show called All in the Family, and we remember Archie Bunker's neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson, who were eventually spun off onto their own hit show, The Jeffersons. Sherman Hemsley played George Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons for 12 years, but despite the show being a hit for a number of years, placing as high as #3 during the 1981-1982 television season, roles for Hemsley and his co-star Isabel Sanford outside the show were few and far between. During the eleven seasons The Jeffersons ran on television, from 1975 to 1985, Sherman Hemsley would only make one movie, 1979's Love at First Bite, where he played a small role as a reverend. He appeared on the poster, but his name was not listed amongst the other actors on the poster. So when the producers of the then-titled Benny and Beaufor approached Hemsley in the spring of 1984 to play one of the title roles, he was more than happy to accept. The Jeffersons was about to start its summer hiatus, and here was the chance to not only make a movie but to be the number one listed actor on the call sheet. He might not ever get that chance again. The film, by now titled Benny and Buford Meet the Bigoted Ghost, would shoot in Mexico City at Estudios America in the summer of 1984, before Hemsley was due back in Los Angeles to shoot the eleventh and what would be the final season of his show. But it would not be a normal shoot. In fact, there would be two different versions of the movie shot back to back. One, in English, would be directed by Lee Madden, which would hinge its comedy on the bumbling antics of its Black police officer, Buford, and his Hispanic partner, Benny. The other version would be shot in Spanish by Mexican director Miguel Rico, where the comedy would satirize class and social differences rather than racial differences. Hemsley would speak his lines in English, and would be dubbed by a Spanish-speaking actor in post production. Luis Ávalos, best known as Doctor Doolots on the PBS children's show The Electric Company, would play Benny. The only other name in the cast was boxing legend Smokin' Joe Frazier, who was making his proper acting debut on the film as, not too surprisingly, a boxer. The film would have a four week shooting schedule, and Hemsley was back to work on The Jeffersons on time. Madden would get the film edited together rather quick, and the producers would have a screening for potential distributors in early October. The screening did not go well. Madden would be fired from the production, the script rewritten, and a new director named Herbert Strock would be hired to shoot more footage once Hemsley was done with his commitments to The Jeffersons in the spring of 1985. This is when Madden contacted the Directors Guild to request the Smithee pseudonym. But since the film was still in production, the DGA could not issue a judgment until the producers provided the Guild with a completed copy of the film. That would happen in the late fall of 1985, and Madden was able to successfully show that he had directly a majority of the completed film but it did not represent his vision. The film was not good, but Miramax still needed product to fill their distribution pipeline. They announced in mid-March of 1987 that they had acquired the film for distribution, and that the film would be opening in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa-St. Petersburg FL the following week. Miramax did not release how many theatres the film was playing in in those markets, and the only market Variety did track of those that week was St. Louis, where the film did $7k from the four theatres they were tracking that week. Best as I can tell from limited newspaper archives of the day, Ghost Fever played on nine screens in Atlanta, 4 in Dallas/Fort Worth, 25 screens in Miami, and 12 in Tampa-St. Pete on top of the four I can find in St. Louis. By the following week, every theatre that was playing Ghost Fever had dropped it. The film would not open in any other markets until it opened on 16 screens in the greater Los Angeles metro region on September 11th. No theatres in Hollywood. No theatres in Westwood. No theatres in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica or any major theatre around, outside of the Palace Theatre downtown, a once stately theatre that had fallen into disrepair over the previous three decades. Once again, Miramax didn't release grosses for the run, none of the theatres playing the film were tracked by Variety that week, and all the playdates were gone after one week. Today, you can find two slightly different copies of the film on a very popular video sharing website, one the theatrical cut, the other the home video cut. The home video cut is preceded by a quick history of the film, including a tidbit that Hemsley bankrolled $3m of the production himself, and that the film's failure almost made him bankrupt. I could not find any source to verify this, but there is possibly specious evidence to back up this claim. The producers of the film were able to make back the budget selling the film to home video company and cable movie channels around the world, and Hemsley would sue them in December 1987 for $3m claiming he was owed this amount from the profits and interest. It would take nine years to work its way through the court system, but a jury in March 1996 would award Hemsley $2.8m. The producers appealed, and an appellate court would uphold the verdict in April 1998. One of the biggest indie film success stories of 1987 was Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. In the early 1980s, Rozema was working as an assistant producer on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs television show called The Journal. Although she enjoyed her work, she, like many of us, wanted to be a filmmaker. While working on The Journal, she started to write screenplays while taking a classes at a Toronto Polytechnic Institute on 16mm film production. Now, one of the nicer things about the Canadian film industry is that there are a number of government-funded arts councils that help young independent Canadian filmmakers get their low budget films financed. But Rozema was having trouble getting her earliest ideas funded. Finally, in 1984, she was able to secure funding for Passion, a short film she had written about a documentary filmmaker who writes an extremely intimate letter to an unknown lover. Linda Griffiths, the star of John Sayles' 1983 film Lianna, plays the filmmaker, and Passion would go on to be nominated for Gold Hugo for Best Short Film at the 1985 Chicago Film Festival. However, a negative review of the short film in The Globe and Mail, often called Canada's Newspaper of Record, would anger Rozema, and she would use that anger to write a new script, Polly, which would be a polemic against the Toronto elitist high art milieu and its merciless negative judgements towards newer artists. Polly, the lead character and narrator of the film, lives alone, has no friends, rides her bike around Toronto to take photographs of whatever strikes her fancy, and regularly indulges herself in whimsical fantasies. An employee for a temporary secretarial agency, Polly gets placed in a private art gallery. The gallery owner is having an off-again, on-again relationship with one her clients, a painter who has misgivings she is too young for the gallery owner and the owner too old for her. Inspired by the young painter, Polly anonymously submits some of her photographs to the gallery, in the hopes of getting featured, but becomes depressed when the gallery owner, who does not know who took the photos, dismisses them in front of Polly, calling them “simple minded.” Polly quits the gallery and retreats to her apartment. When the painter sees the photographs, she presents herself as the photographer of them, and the pair start to pass them off as the younger artist's work, even after the gallery owner learns they are not of the painter's work. When Polly finds out about the fraud, she confronts the gallery owner, eventually throwing a cup of tea at the owner. Soon thereafter, the gallery owner and the painter go to check up on Polly at her flat, where they discover more photos undeniable beauty, and the story ends with the three women in one of Polly's fantasies. Rozema would work on the screenplay for Polly while she was working as a third assistant director on David Cronenberg's The Fly. During the writing process, which took about a year, Rozema would change the title from Polly to Polly's Progress to Polly's Interior Mind. When she would submit the script in June 1986 to the various Canadian arts foundations for funding, it would sent out with yet another new title, Oh, The Things I've Seen. The first agency to come aboard the film was the Ontario Film Development Corporation, and soon thereafter, the National Film Board of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council would also join the funding operation, but the one council they desperately needed to fund the gap was Telefilm Canada, the Canadian government's principal instrument for supporting Canada's audiovisual industry. Telefilm Canada, at the time, had a reputation for being philosophically averse to low-budget, auteur-driven films, a point driven home directly by the administrator of the group at the time, who reportedly stomped out of a meeting concerning the making of this very film, purportedly declaring that Telefilm should not be financing these kind of minimalist, student films. Telefilm would reverse course when Rozema and her producer, Alexandra Raffé, agreed to bring on Don Haig, called “The Godfather of Canadian Cinema,” as an executive producer. Side note: several months after the film completed shooting, Haig would win an Academy Award for producing a documentary about musician Artie Shaw. Once they had their $350k budget, Rozema and Raffé got to work on pre-production. Money was tight on such an ambitious first feature. They had only $500 to help their casting agent identify potential actors for the film, although most of the cast would come from Rozema's friendships with them. They would cast thirty-year-old Sheila McCarthy, a first time film actress with only one television credit to her name, as Polly. Shooting would begin in Toronto on September 24th, 1986 and go for four weeks, shooting completely in 16mm because they could not afford to shoot on 35mm. Once filming was completed, the National Film Board of Canada allowed Rozema use of their editing studio for free. When Rozema struggled with editing the film, the Film Board offered to pay for the consulting services of Ron Sanders, who had edited five of David Cronenberg's movies, including Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly, which Rozema gladly accepted. After New Years 1987, Rozema has a rough cut of the film ready to show the various funding agencies. That edit of the film was only 65 minutes long, but went over very well with the viewers. So much so that the President of Cinephile Films, the Canadian movie distributor who also helped to fund the film, suggested that Rozema not only add another 15mins or so to the film wherever she could, but submit the film to the be entered in the Directors' Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Rozema still needed to add that requested footage in, and finish the sound mix, but she agreed as long as she was able to complete the film by the time the Cannes programmers met in mid-March. She wouldn't quite make her self-imposed deadline, but the film would get selected for Cannes anyway. This time, she had an absolute deadline. The film had to be completed in time for Cannes. Which would include needing to make a 35mm blow up of the 16mm print, and the production didn't have the money. Rozema and Raffé asked Telefilm Canada if they could have $40k for the print, but they were turned down. Twice. Someone suggested they speak with the foreign sales agent who acquired the rights to sell the film at Cannes. The sales agent not only agreed to the fund the cost from sales of the film to various territories that would be returned to the the various arts councils, but he would also create a press kit, translate the English-language script into French, make sure the print showing at Cannes would have French subtitles, and create the key art for the posters and other ads. Rozema would actually help to create the key art, a picture of Sheila McCarthy's head floating over a body of water, an image that approximately 80% of all buyers would use for their own posters and ads around the world. By the time the film premiered in Cannes on May 10th, 1987, Rozema had changed the title once again, to I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. The title would be taken from a line in the T.S. Eliot poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which she felt best represented the film. But whatever it was titled, the two thousand people inside the theatre were mesmerized, and gave the film a six minute standing ovation. The festival quickly added four more screenings of the film, all of which sold out. While a number of territories around the world had purchased the film before the premiere, the filmmakers bet big on themselves by waiting until after the world premiere to entertain offers from American distributors. Following the premiere, a number of companies made offers for the film. Miramax would be the highest, at $100,000, but the filmmakers said “no.” They kept the bidding going, until they got Miramax up to $350k, the full budget for the film. By the time the festival was done, the sales agent had booked more than $1.1m worth of sales. The film had earned back more than triple its cost before it ever opened on a single commercial screen. Oh, and it also won Rozema the Prix de la Jeunesse (Pree do la Jza-naise), the Prize of the Youth, from the Directors Fortnight judges. Miramax would schedule I've Heard the Mermaids Singing to open at the 68th Street Playhouse in New York City on September 11th, after screening at the Toronto Film Festival, then called The Festival of Festivals, the night before, and at the Telluride Film Festival the previous week. Miramax was so keen on the potential success of the film that they would buy their first ever full page newspaper, in the Sunday, September 6th New York Times Arts and Leisure section, which cost them $25k. The critical and audience reactions in Toronto and Telluride matched the enthusiasm on the Croisette, which would translate to big box office its opening weekend. $40k, the best single screen gross in all Manhattan. While it would lose that crown to My Life as a Dog the following week, its $32k second weekend gross was still one of the best in the city. After three weekends in New York City, the film would have already grossed $100k. That weekend, the film would open at the Samuel Goldwyn West Pavilion Cinemas, where a $9,500 opening weekend gross was considered nice. Good word of mouth kept the grosses respectable for months, and after eight months in theatres, never playing in more than 27 theatres in any given week, the film would gross $1.4m in American theatres. Ironically, the film did not go over as well in Rozema's home country, where it grossed a little less than half a million Canadian dollars, and didn't even play in the director's hometown due to a lack of theatres that were willing to play a “queer” movie, but once all was said and done, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing would end up with a worldwide gross of more than CAD$10m, a nearly 2500% return on the initial investment. Not only would part of those profits go back to the arts councils that helped fund the film, those profits would help fund the next group of independent Canadian filmmakers. And the film would become one of a growing number of films with LGBTQ lead characters whose success would break down the barriers some exhibitors had about playing non-straight movies. The impact of this film on queer cinema and on Canadian cinema cannot be understated. In 1993, author Michael Posner spent the first twenty pages of his 250 plus page book Canadian Dreams discussing the history of the film, under the subtitle “The Little Film That Did.” And in 2014, author Julia Mendenhall wrote a 160 page book about the movie, with the subtitle “A Queer Film Classic.” You can find copies of both books on a popular web archive website, if you want to learn more. Amazingly, for a company that would regularly take up to fourteen months between releases, Miramax would end 1987 with not one, not two, but three new titles in just the last six weeks of the year. Well, one that I can definitely place in theatres. And here is where you just can't always trust the IMDb or Wikipedia by themselves. The first alleged release of the three according to both sources, Riders on the Storm, was a wacky comedy featuring Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Polland, and supposedly opened in theatres on November 13th. Except it didn't. It did open in new York City on May 7th, 1988, in Los Angeles the following Friday. But we'll talk more about that movie on our next episode. The second film of the alleged trifecta was Crazy Moon, a romantic comedy/drama from Canada that featured Keifer Sutherland as Brooks, a young man who finds love with Anne, a deaf girl working at a clothing store where Brooks and his brother are trying to steal a mannequin. Like I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Crazy Moon would benefit from the support of several Canadian arts foundations including Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada. In an unusual move, Miramax would release Crazy Moon on 18 screens in Los Angeles on December 11th, as part of an Oscar qualifying run. I say “unusual” because although in the 1980s, a movie that wanted to qualify for awards consideration had to play in at least one commercial movie theatre in Los Angeles for seven consecutive days before the end of the year, most distributors did just that: one movie theatre. They normally didn't do 18 screens including cities like Long Beach, Irvine and Upland. It would, however, definitely be a one week run. Despite a number of decent reviews, Los Angeles audiences were too busy doing plenty of other things to see Crazy Moon. Miramax, once again, didn't report grosses, but six of the eighteen theatres playing the film were being tracked by Variety, and the combined gross for those six theatres was $2,500. It would not get any award nominations, and it would never open at another movie theatre. The third film allegedly released by Miramax during the 1987 holiday season, The Magic Snowman, has a reported theatrical release date of December 22, 1987, according to the IMDb, which is also the date listed on the Wikipedia page for the list of movies Miramax released in the 1980s. I suspect this is a direct to video release for several reasons, the two most important ones being that December 22nd was a Tuesday, and back in the 1980s, most home video titles came out on Tuesdays, and that I cannot find a single playdate anywhere in the country around this date, even in the Weinstein's home town of Buffalo. In fact, the only mention of the words “magic snowman” together I can find for all of 1987 is a live performance of a show called The Magic Snowman in Peterborough, England in November 1987. So now we are eight years into the history of Miramax, and they are starting to pick up some steam. Granted, Working Girls and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing wasn't going to get the company a major line of credit to start making films of their own, but it would help them with visibility amongst the independent and global film communities. These guys can open your films in America. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when we continue with story of Miramax Films, from 1988. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: The UAP Disclosure Act of 2023 and its implications, published by andeslodes on July 21, 2023 on LessWrong. TL;DR: A recently proposed (7/13/2023) bipartisan amendment to the NDAA for 2024, with senate majority leader Chuck Schumer as its first sponsor and with the aim of declassifying documents related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). It explicitly defines UAPs as pertaining to objects exhibiting "performance characteristics and properties not previously known to be achievable based upon commonly accepted physical principles" such as, among other things, "instantaneous acceleration absent apparent inertia", "transmedium travel" and "positive lift contrary to known aerodynamic principles". It takes care to separate these from "temporarily non-attributed objects" with prosaic explanations. The terms "Non-human intelligence" and "Technologies of unknown origin" are explicitly defined and encountered multiple times throughout the text. The amendment also non-dismissively mentions "reverse engineering of technologies of unknown origins" and "examination of biological evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence". It declares that "Legislation is necessary because credible evidence and testimony indicates that Federal Government unidentified anomalous phenomena records exist that have not been declassified". It is surprising to me that the community has not noticed / discussed the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023, given how much discussion was generated by UFO Betting: Put Up or Shut Up (enough for Eliezer to indicate willingness to bet 150k yesterday) and Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin. I think that anyone that is dismissing the topic out of hand should have a good look at this document. While I do not claim that it provides direct proof of phenomena necessitating an "ontological crisis", I believe that it can be a source of major updates. I also strongly believe that this is the point where a serious discussion must be had about this topic by the community, given the accumulating evidence of something going on, together with the potential ramifications of an "ontologically shocking" outcome. The situation at this point displays parallels with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, in that the topic is not seriously covered by mainstream media yet, despite the available evidence pointing towards some (at least) "interesting" outcomes. The Document The Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 is an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, which was proposed a week ago (7/13/2023) by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, together with the Republican senator Mike Rounds. The other cosponsors are Marco Rubio (Republican), Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat), Todd Young (Republican) and Martin Heinrich (Democrat). Given the bipartisan sponsorship of the bill and the position of Schumer in the Senate, it is relatively safe to assume that the amendment will become law. The first thing to notice is the change of meaning for the acronym UAP, from Unidentified Aerial Phenomena to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, a term which is explicitly defined in the document. This is a sign of things to come, as the text takes care to specify that its contents refer exclusively to non-prosaic phenomena. At a high level, this amendment aims to declassify and publicly release records related to UAPs. It requires the creation of a collection of UAP records at the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as the public disclosure of all such records that are not deemed potentially harmful to national security by a Review Board appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. As discussed in a recent Reuters article, the amendmen...
Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: The UAP Disclosure Act of 2023 and its implications, published by andeslodes on July 21, 2023 on LessWrong. TL;DR: A recently proposed (7/13/2023) bipartisan amendment to the NDAA for 2024, with senate majority leader Chuck Schumer as its first sponsor and with the aim of declassifying documents related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). It explicitly defines UAPs as pertaining to objects exhibiting "performance characteristics and properties not previously known to be achievable based upon commonly accepted physical principles" such as, among other things, "instantaneous acceleration absent apparent inertia", "transmedium travel" and "positive lift contrary to known aerodynamic principles". It takes care to separate these from "temporarily non-attributed objects" with prosaic explanations. The terms "Non-human intelligence" and "Technologies of unknown origin" are explicitly defined and encountered multiple times throughout the text. The amendment also non-dismissively mentions "reverse engineering of technologies of unknown origins" and "examination of biological evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence". It declares that "Legislation is necessary because credible evidence and testimony indicates that Federal Government unidentified anomalous phenomena records exist that have not been declassified". It is surprising to me that the community has not noticed / discussed the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023, given how much discussion was generated by UFO Betting: Put Up or Shut Up (enough for Eliezer to indicate willingness to bet 150k yesterday) and Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin. I think that anyone that is dismissing the topic out of hand should have a good look at this document. While I do not claim that it provides direct proof of phenomena necessitating an "ontological crisis", I believe that it can be a source of major updates. I also strongly believe that this is the point where a serious discussion must be had about this topic by the community, given the accumulating evidence of something going on, together with the potential ramifications of an "ontologically shocking" outcome. The situation at this point displays parallels with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, in that the topic is not seriously covered by mainstream media yet, despite the available evidence pointing towards some (at least) "interesting" outcomes. The Document The Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 is an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, which was proposed a week ago (7/13/2023) by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, together with the Republican senator Mike Rounds. The other cosponsors are Marco Rubio (Republican), Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat), Todd Young (Republican) and Martin Heinrich (Democrat). Given the bipartisan sponsorship of the bill and the position of Schumer in the Senate, it is relatively safe to assume that the amendment will become law. The first thing to notice is the change of meaning for the acronym UAP, from Unidentified Aerial Phenomena to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, a term which is explicitly defined in the document. This is a sign of things to come, as the text takes care to specify that its contents refer exclusively to non-prosaic phenomena. At a high level, this amendment aims to declassify and publicly release records related to UAPs. It requires the creation of a collection of UAP records at the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as the public disclosure of all such records that are not deemed potentially harmful to national security by a Review Board appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. As discussed in a recent Reuters article, the amendmen...
In British Columbia, it's illegal to produce milk and sell it to anyone other than the Milk Marketing Board. The Milk Marketing Board sets wholesale prices, intended to guarantee a profit for milk farmers, and sets quotas for how much milk a farmer can sell. Farmers who produce more milk than their quota can be required to dump it down the drain. As a result of this system, consumers in British Columbia pay 25 - 30 % more for milk than it costs in the United States. Since 2022, milk prices have been increased three times and retail prices have risen by 15%. To preserve this system the Milk Marketing Board conducts surveillance of farmers to ensure they don't try to sell any extra milk. In the case discussed the Milk Marketing Board conducted 19 days of surveillance on a single farmer and determined that he had been selling extra milk to someone else. The Milk Marketing Board imposed a $195,184 fine on the farmer and then tried to cancel his quota three days after he filed an appeal of the decision.On appeal to the BC Farm and Industry Review Board, the fine was reduced to $3,000 and the application to cancel the farmer's milk quota was denied. The farmer was ordered to pay $33,000 to cover the cost of the investigation and surveillance. Unhappy with this outcome, the Milk Marketing Board appealed again and was successful in having the case sent back to the Review Board to consider a higher fine. Also on the show, a lawsuit alleging that Roundup caused a man's cancer is discussed. The man's legal argument is a novel one: he has sued three retailers who sold him Roundup over a 30-year time period based on an alleged breach of the Sale of Goods Act. The Sale of Goods Act requires goods to be fit for their intended purpose and the man is alleging that if the herbicide caused his cancer it didn't meet this requirement. The man suing the retailers filed a request to have the case decided by a jury. This was opposed by the defendant retailers, who alleged that the case involved a complicated legal question and that the scientific and medical evidence would be too complicated for a jury. The judge hearing the case agreed with this argument so the issues will be decided by the judge alone, without a jury. Finally, human rights case involving a teacher from Ontario who applied for a licence to work in BC is discussed. Following the teacher's application, concerns arose with respect to his ability to communicate in English arose and he was asked to take an English exam. He refused to take the test, alleging that it amounted to discrimination based on his ethnic origin. The human rights complaint and now two appeals have rejected the teacher's claims on the basis that there was no evidence the requirement to take the English exam was motivated by his ethnic origin rather than a concern about his language proficiency.Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.
In today's episode, we're joined by Martin Vyskocil, a Salesforce CTA and Associate Partner at IBM in the UK. Martin talks us through his early career, how he came from a non-I.T. background initially and explains how working in different sales support manager roles has actually benefited him in his Salesforce career. Martin explains how he first came to work in I.T., why he felt the company gave him the opportunity to take on a leadership role at the time, and what he first made of Salesforce when his company moved to the platform from Oracle. Having spent a number of years with one company, Martin shares what attracted him to the consulting space and how working for Salesforce compared to working with more recent Salesforce partners. Finally, Martin opens up on his CTA journey, how it played out, and how he tackled health and scheduling challenges along the way, leading him to be in Review Board preparation mode for a considerable period of time. He reflects on what this meant for his mental health, what it felt like to finally pass, and goals that are important to him now. We hope you enjoy the episode and you can connect with Martin on his LinkedIn page. We'd like to thank our sponsors FlowRepublic for their support in bringing you this episode!
On this week's episode of the Governance Podcast, Mark Pennington, the Director at the Study of Governance and Society here at King College London, interviews Professor Cass R. Sunstein. This episode is titled "The Use of Algorithms in Society", and discusses the various ethical and moral dilemmas and implications of increasing AI us in society, and its impact on both social and economic factors. The Guest Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Mr. Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), The Ethics of Influence (2015), #Republic (2017), Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide (2017), The Cost-Benefit Revolution (2018), On Freedom (2019), Conformity (2019), How Change Happens (2019), and Too Much Information (2020). He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge” (defined to include paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech.
Meet Mrs. Kitty Eisenbeil, the newest appointed member to the Review Board of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA--a position to which she brings a wealth of professional experience counseling victims of sex abuse. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese, Mrs. Eisenbeil shares her insights on a problem Catholic bishops are committed to solve.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Advisory and Review Board's Tommy Jewell talks about a tv show BCSO is working, and Mike Gerding discusses an event this weekend to clean Tingley Lakes south catch and release pond with TJ on News Radio KKOBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Happy October! All month long we will be sharing MLM Horror stories, from creepy cults to literal murder. Join us every Sunday with bonus episodes on Wednesday! *CW: This episode talks about a murder, describes crime scenes and the state of the victims involved. There are also mentions of mental health, outrageous health claims, mental illness and suicide. Please use discretion when listening.* Back in 1999, a supplement was created that claimed to be the cure for mental illness called EMPower Plus. It had rave reviews by devotees, and even became the star in an MLM product lineup. But when the Ramsay family decided to wean their son off his medication, in favor of a megadose of this miracle "cure all" vitamin, they never expected the tragic outcome. Have a story to share? Email me! therealrobertablevins@gmail.com Show Notes: EMPower Plus Q96 vs Thrivous Clarity - https://thrivous.com/blogs/views/99474945-q-sciences-empowerplus-q96-vs-thrivous-clarity Q Max Premium - https://qsciences.com/products/q-max-premium "Crazy Pills" A Utah multilevel-marketing company has a multivitamin to "fix" your mental illness - https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/crazy-pills/Content?oid=2305592 Mentally ill killer tried vitamin therapy, court told - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mentally-ill-killer-tried-vitamin-therapy-court-told-1.1141861 Mentally ill man not criminally responsible for murdering father - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mentally-ill-man-not-criminally-responsible-for-murdering-father-1.1147589 The Epicenter For Get-Rich-Quick Schemes - https://economichardship.org/2015/06/how-utah-became-a-bizarre-blissful-epicenter-for-get-rich-quick-schemes/ The Lawyers, Court and family agree Jordan Ramsay is Not Criminally Responsible, Review Board will decide his fate - http://www.timslaw.ca/tag/donald-ramsay/ Truth in Advertising - Q Sciences - https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/q-sciences/ DSSRC refers Q Sciences to FTC/AG - https://bbbprograms.org/media-center/newsroom/q-sciences-health-and-earnings-claims North Vancouver man believed his father was 'supernatural entity' - https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-vancouver-man-believed-his-father-was-supernatural-entity-2916584 Science Says: Q Sciences Supplements Do More Harm Than Good - https://www.brittanymorgon.com/blog/q-sciences-supplements-do-more-harm-than-good Cultish by Amanda Montell - https://amzn.to/3Q7owx9 Dr. Steven Hassan's BITE Model - https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/ Ponzinomics by Robert L. FitzPatrick - https://amzn.to/3q16oJb How can you help? Report false income and health claims here: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ Or go to: https://www.truthinadvertising.org You can also report to your state Attorney General's office! https://www.naag.org/find-my-ag/ Not in the U.S.? Go here: https://www.ftc.gov/policy/international/competition-consumer-protection-authorities-worldwide Support the Podcast! Join the Patreon! - https://www.patreon.com/robertablevins Buy me a Taco and leave a note!
Welcome to Start By Listening! We are excited to have you on this journey with us toward healing and transformation. Start By Listening is a podcast about sexual harm, trauma and advocacy. Season Three - Hodge Podge - We are taking SBL to the community and speaking with various groups and people on the traumas they encounter in their part of the community and asking how they may want their organization to address trauma survivors in the future. This season, we will be delivering exceptional conversations and creative ideas while creating a safe space for connection and thoughtful experiences. We are going beyond sexual harm and really asking, "What does trauma look like and what does this experience look like for the Western Kentucky communities we serve?" We will be talking with various community members, and delving into difficult conversations where trauma intersects our communities and people. Season Three finds us growing and changing how we do our work. Our goal is to drop 2-3 podcasts per month on Fridays and you will find most of our episodes on YouTube as well! Yes, New Beginnings has a YouTube channel.In this episode, New Beginnings podcasters Jennifer, The Friendly Therapist, and Shelby, Victim Advocate have a very authentic conversation with Fr. Mike Clark of Blessed Mother Catholic Church. Fr. Mike Clark is the priest at Blessed Mother Catholic Church here in Owensboro, KY. In addition to being a priest since 1995, Fr. Mike also has his Juris Canonici Licentiatus, JCL and this is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Fr. Mike has served in many roles since becoming a priest. He was the Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Owensboro from 2004-2017, was on the Review Board for Sexual Abuse for the Diocese of Owensboro from 2011-2022 and has been the Tribunal Judge for the Diocese of Owensboro since 2002. Fr. Mike is just an amazing human and he really provided an interesting and thoughtful perspective on trauma he witnesses as a priest. In fact, our conversation was about the grief experienced when losing a spouse or partner and returning to church without your person in the pew next to you. I think you will find this podcast conversation to be delightful, informative, moving and just beautiful. YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS EPISODE. Remember to subscribe to our Podcast - Start By Listening - found on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and more!YouTube Link for today's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqKXIzc3dQAlso subscribe to our New Beginnings YouTube channel!! - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxT9OQkPpCPSAgcUhhqUkmQStart By Listening will drop on Fridays, 2-3x monthly, bringing you an interesting and intriguing look into the work we do, while educating about trauma and healing. If you would like to reach out and contact Jennifer or Shelby, please email at SBL@nbowensboro.org. Finally, a few shout outs. If you liked our jingle jingle, hop on over to www.uriahwilde.com and talk with Seth Hedges. He created the beautiful music for our podcast. Thank you SETH! Another special thank you to Rodney Newton, he helped us learn how to put this Podcast together and create a beautiful thing. Thank you RODNEY!!!To find local resources for sexual abuse please visit www.RAINN.org or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673, 24/7/365
The Pittsfield Police Department explanation of their actions that led tot he death of Miguel Estrella portrays the facts as crisp as a high-def photo, while the community still finds that explanation as less than clear. The post TLC #169: NTRVW — Ellen Maxon, Pittsfield Police Advisory and Review Board appeared first on The Greylock Glass.
Monsoon Staraw, Bubba Ball, Mis Ta Fluent, Amici Caron, & Jeffe (The Review Board) breaks down 2pac's first album "2Pacalypse Now". http://www.theshittspodcast.com
Preacher William, Valerie, & the seeds of discord. (Part 11)- A Spring Break 13-part Novel.Christina's late night visit.By FinalStand. The player above contains the intro section. Listen to the complete episode by clicking here, at Steamy Stories. Anyway, we were uncoiling from the sofa and Rio was giving me this mysterious look when there was a knock at the door.“Dude, it is 11 o'clock,” Rio muttered. “Only bad news arrives this late.”“I'll go check it out,” I shrugged. There wasn't much else I could do. I opened the door and there stood Christina, looking pretty depressed.“Do you want to come in?” I asked.“I know you have company,” she replied. “Can we talk outside?” It wasn't too chilly but I wasn't wearing too much either.“Of course,” I walked onto the porch, leaving the door mostly closed behind me. “What's wrong?”“I've worked things out with Faith and the other girls,” Christina paced nervously. “We are all going to keep quiet about what you learned and see how we can turn this to our advantage.” I didn't say anything because she hadn't come to tell me the news of what had been the obvious move on her part so I was left wondering what was going on, then I saw it.I opened my arms to the side, palms forward, and waited. She saw the move and looked me over with obvious reluctance for what would come next. Finally, she stepped up to me and rested her forehead on my shoulder and let me encase her in my arms. It sucks to be alone, but it truly sucks being alone and being the one in charge even more.“God, Zane, I fucked up. I could have ruined Heaven's life,” she sighed. “The others trusted me and I let them down.”“You are not doing Heaven any favors by being paralyzed with doubt,” I told her. “You had no idea who you were up against and even if you had, you would still have weighed what was best for Heaven against the risks and pretty much acted in the same manner.”“You don't understand Heaven,” Christina said. “You don't understand her home life.”“Her home life is not my concern, Christina,” I pointed out. “The Heaven here and now is my concern, though, and it is the concern of several more friends she's made since coming to this school, friends she wouldn't have if she stayed in a hole.”“What if I fuck up again?” she worried. “So many girls are depending on me to keep the Chancellor at bay.”“I fuck up all the time and I'm still here,” I countered. “I know what you mean, though. Sometimes when these girls look at me like they expect me to have all the answers and I've got nothing, I want to run and hide.”“We don't have that luxury. We chose to stand up and now we must carry on in our struggle. I don't know about you, but I wasn't raised to quit,” I related to her.“I made a mistake, Zane. I don't make mistakes,” she declared.“I'm confused; have we lost?” I questioned her.“No,” she grumbled, “and that is not what I meant. I brought Faith in, I misread her, and we all suffered because of it. I was deceived.”“Well, someone should remind Christina Buchanan from time to time that she's human, and a pretty smart woman at that,” I replied. “You don't have to win every battle, only the last one.”“That is what my grandfather said,” she mumbled into my shoulder.“He sounds like a clever guy,” I said softly. “He should go far someday.” Since he was one of the richest men in America, I was probably right.“You can be a real jerk at times,” she muttered, but I noted she wasn't moving.“I have to agree with you,” I said, as I got up on my tiptoes and kissed her on the top of the head. I leaned back and tilted her head to me with a finger under her chin. “Christina Buchanan, would you marry me?” No one said anything for a minute.“Can I think about it?” she finally whispered.“Of course,” I assured her. “How could I be in love with you if I couldn't wait for you?”“How can you love me when you don't even know me?” she asked.“That's why it is love and not like,” I answered. “There are times you really piss me off but there is never a moment I don't want to be with you.”“You don't like me?” Christina studied me.“Right now I like you just fine, but you can be a real pain at times. See, I know what's right and you refuse to know your place,” I responded.“And what place is that?” she smiled.“Above me, smiling down,” I leaned in for a kiss.“No,” she shook her head.“No?” I pleaded.“We have a long way to go before I let you treat me like another one of your girls,” Christina informed me.“Okay,” I agreed.“No hard sell in my emotionally vulnerable state?” she mused.“You are safe with me, Christina,” I assured her.“That's good to know, Zane. Now go inside before Rio blows a gasket,” she smiled, slipped out of my arms, and walked toward her car. I still soaked up the marvel of her receding silhouette.Rio was leaning against the wall just inside the hallway when I got back in.“I don't get the two of you,” she grinned.“I love her,” was my only response.“That's good, because she's fucking nuts about you,” Rio laughed. I couldn't decide whether she was kidding or not.Later, we lay together in bed, Rio partially over me where she alternated between listening to my heartbeat and kissing my shoulder. She also had a hand between her legs and was doing some serious vaginal stimulation.“Zane.”“Yes?” I replied.“I had an abortion,” she confided in me.“Oh, okay,” was all I could manage to come back with.“‘Oh.' Is that it?” she sounded a bit hurt.“I figure there is more to the story than you had an abortion. So are you going to tell me what it is?” I inquired. She mulled that over for a few seconds.“I did some really stupid shit, like getting shit-faced drunk at some parties with people I barely knew, and pretty much got used like a whore. I didn't really care, and eventually I got knocked up,” she told me.“My parents, the big Pro-Lifers that they were, smuggled me out of state to a private clinic and aborted the kid. They never asked my opinion on the matter but I imagine that having a pregnant daughter who couldn't even name the father wasn't on their agenda,” she recited bitterly. I wrapped an arm around her, rolled over on her, and kissed her gently on the lips.“I don't know what to say,” I began. “I can't imagine what it was like to go through that.”“Huh,” Rio snorted. “My parents slapped me with anti-depressants and an implant, my ‘friends' told me it was for the best, not being teen Mom material and all, and I treated myself like a whore.”“Hell, I sucked and fucked the entire lawn crew once; I fucked my little brother's friends; and I became known as the girl who would ride bareback at my school. It is a miracle I didn't contract herpes or AIDS,” she recited sadly. “I think I hated just about everybody.”“You know that none of that matters to me; right?” I asked. “You are still that woman I woke up next to on day one.”“To the bitter end,” she recited.“To the bitter end,” I affirmed, my promise to stand by her no matter what.“Why couldn't you be in love with me?” she sighed.“You are asking an eighteen-year-old how this love thing works?” I teased her. “I've been lucky enough to meet five women in the past two weeks I'd like to spend forever with, and I love the one I'm least likely to end up with. I'm clueless.”“Me, Iona, Barbie Lynn, Christina and Heaven?” Rio guessed. I nodded, which made her snicker. “You really want to spend forever with Heaven? You are a glutton for punishment.”“Heaven can be really nice,” I defended my girlfriend.“She's got a permanent case of PMS. Hell knows what would happen if she actually had PMS,” Rio teased me back.“So you don't want to spend any more time with her?” I inquired.“Fuck that,” Rio giggled, “I like them brave, bold, and saucy in the saddle. I'd love breaking her down, or having her break me trying.”“Fine,” I announced after a moment's contemplation.“Fine?” she asked.“I'm not going to break my word to Jill but I can't wait to fuck you until we get back to campus, so how would you like to screw on Pastor Bill's desk before Sunday school?” I suggested.“I'd love to leave a little something extra on that gold-plated conman's desk,” Rio purred.“Now, Zane, do you think you could bend the rules ever so slightly and finger-fuck me? I'm ever so horny,” Rio pleaded. I figured it couldn't hurt too much; right? I rubbed and rubbed one hand down to her crotch where Rio had already pulled her soaked panties down to mid-thigh. With my other hand, I pushed up her top, exposing her ripe nipples, chain and all.I plucked a nipple into my mouth, letting my tongue play along the stud before sucking in more of the breast, increasing the pressure on the nipple itself. Rio was well worked up already and now began to writhe beneath me. My free hand passed below her carefully groomed chevron-shaped pubic mound and along her clit.Her folds welcomed me like molten gold, so hot yet silky smooth to the touch. As she started to moan, Rio stuck the meat of her palm into her mouth and bit down in order to keep quiet. I spent a minute playing with her two studs in her labia before working two fingers deep inside her, twisting them, and seeking out her G-spot.“Gak!” Rio convulsed as I stroked it. Oh, yeah, I thought, as I began to seriously work it over. Rio's fluids were sloshing around my fingers, her other hand began pressing my whole mouth over her breast, and she kept bucking up against me. I now began to alternate between rhythmically tapping her special place and brutally finger fucking her, driving two fingers in and slapping her clit with my palm.“Uh, uh, uh, ugh, ugh, um,” Rio began panting, then her body arched and she screamed into her clenched fist. “Oh, fuck, that's good,” she finally managed to get out. Before I could respond, she grabbed my head and drew me up for a fierce kiss. She tore at my lips and tried to steal my breath away.“Tell me you want me,” she pleaded with a desperate hunger tinged with fear.“I want you, Rio, always,” I responded with my own heat and need. Slowly the passion ebbed from Rio's eyes and a playful demeanor replaced it.“You are such a dumb blonde, Glenda,” she sighed happily. Glenda had been the name that had allowed me admission to school in the first place, Glenn Zane Braxton, Glenda.I answered by pulling my fingers out of her cunt, taking a lick, then pushing them through her lips. Rio daintily sucked on them, pulling them in and cleaning them off before biting down like the little bitch she is and making tears come to my eyes.“What the fuck!” I hissed.“That's for not giving me your dick, Asshole,” she snickered. When I looked ready to explode, she pouted her lips, rolled onto her stomach and stuck her bare ass up in the air for a spanking. I grunted and rolled over onto my side, away from her.“Good night, you witch,” I sulked.There was some rustling behind me a minute later, then Rio snaked an arm around me and pressed her body to my back.“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I act crazy at times.” I rolled over to face her.“I know what I'm getting into, Rio,” I comforted her. “That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt at times.” I displayed my wounded fingers. She kissed my fingers, I kissed her lips, and we both finally went to sleep.Preacher William, Valerie, and the seeds of discord.*You can live without freedom the same way you can live without light, happiness, or music*Jill didn't know what to make of our prompt appearance Sunday morning for breakfast already dressed for church. I'd convinced Rio to not try a hard sell with my aunt, instead playing it calm, cool, and collected. The real reason we wanted to get to church early was because I'd come up with the idea of screwing Rio on Pastor Bill's massive mahogany desk before class and she'd become infatuated with the scheme.GAINING DEFINITIONWe had to remember our Bibles before eagerly heading out the door. Mine went back to my missionary days while Rio's was brand new, a gift from Jill. She'd lost her old one on the trip from Arizona to Virginia, or so she'd told Jill. In reality, she had torn hers apart page by page and stuffed it down the airplane toilet during the flight, her way of spreading the gospel.Once at the church, we split up, Rio and I getting together a few minutes later. I was unsure about the security cameras in the hallway but Rio shrugged it off. She followed the wires to the closet the system was kept in, picked the lock, and deleted the last two hours of footage before deactivating the whole system.I was clever enough to wipe off all our fingerprints before we made for the pastor's office. This time, Rio's improvised, lock picks weren't necessary as the secretary kept the door unlocked. We slipped past her station to the larger office beyond and I chased Rio around to the 'big chair'.“So, Bad Boy, are you going to make me a Bad Girl?” Rio taunted me.I stepped up between her thighs and got ready to feast on her succulent cunt lips when she held me up.“I don't think we have time for that,” Rio grinned. She slipped out of her panties, which I quickly pocketed (having learned from the first Barbie Lynn incident), and hopped up on the desk facing me.I unbuckled my belt, fixed the button, and unzipped my pants. My penis came smoothly out of my boxers and I lined up with Rio's slit. Her juices were already flowing by the time my cockhead graced her full lips.“Oh, that's what I've been looking for,” Rio moaned, as I pushed forward inch after glorious inch inside her.She wrapped her arms around my neck and came close to doing the same with her legs around my waist by the time I was fully into her. I got a few half-thrusts into Rio, our faces only inches apart, when I began to push her back down on the desk.“No, I want to look into your eyes,” she told me. I nodded and started driving my cock in a strong steady rhythm.“Rio,” I said softly.“Yes,” she breathed heavily.“I like saying your name,” I explained. “I like the sound of it and the way it makes me feel.”“I, ” I was sure she was fighting for a snarky reply but then she smiled and said, “Okay.”“Oh. God, Oh, Fuck,” Rio gasped, as we began, getting her close to climax. I stopped when I first heard the voices. “What?” Rio panted. I pulled her off the desk and looked for a place to hide. There were three other doors out of the room. I took the closest, yanked up my pants, and dragged Rio to it.It turned out to be a large closet with vestments, coats, and a few changes of clothing inside. Before I could finish shutting the door, Rio put her hand in the way. Before I could inquire why, the main office door opened and in came Pastor Bill and Lance Wellington. They were yammering on about something or other; I really wasn't paying attention.All that changed after Pastor Bill took his seat behind the desk and swiveled it to the side. Lance came around the desk and knelt before our spiritual leader. His body blocked my visual but I heard a zipper being undone and some clothes being pushed aside. What Lance proceeded to do was clear enough, though.Rio was between me and the door; she looked over her shoulder and grinned evilly. Before long, she had my cock in her hand and was maneuvering it back to her pussy from behind. I moved my hips down, she arched up, and I slipped back into the hole I'd been in not a minute before. I stayed still while Rio began to ride my cock up and down.There we were, two very different couples separated by less than a dozen feet, both fucking in different ways. Lance was giving Pastor Bill oral attention in a manner that dictated long familiarity to not only cock-sucking, but blowing Pastor Bill in particular. Rio had one hand placed against the door sill in order to stop us from spilling out of the closet while the other was tucked against her stomach.The four of us were pushing toward climax but Pastor Bill was the first one to the trigger. I was still feeling the oily smoothness of my cock inside Rio's vagina while rubbing both breasts through her shirt and bra when Lance began chocking and sputtering. The bastard hadn't even warned Lance that he was cumming.Good ole Pastor Bill reached across the desk to grab two Kleenex. As he did so, his other hand came down to rest on a slick spot Rio and I had left on his desk. He looked at his hand with disgust and wiped it off his hand before handing a tissue to Lance.“Get going to class,” Pastor Bill told his cock-sucking companion.“Of course, Pastor William,” Lance responded as he cleaned his face. As he headed to the door, he turned to the preacher.“Do I have to do another marriage counseling session with Felicity? She is so damn annoying,” he whined.“Lance, you are going to have to keep up appearances and that means spending the occasional night with her,” Pastor Bill lectured him. “As distasteful as she is, she is the socially acceptable choice for your spouse if you plan to have a political career.”“I wish this whole marriage thing was over with already,” Lance sighed. “Then I could stick her in the house and get her out of my life.”“Remember, a woman is a duty, but you know how to get your pleasure. Take your pill when you have to lay with her, and if nothing else, use her back door,” he chuckled.“I suppose so,” Lance conceded, “but I'll have to shut her up. She blathers on and on incessantly and her voice is so grating.”“Well,” Pastor Bill laughed, “you can always use her mouth too.” Lance snorted and left the room; Bill followed a minute later.For our part, the whole exchange between Pastor Bill and Lance got Rio hotter and hotter. She was rocketing back against me until I was afraid the slapping of our flesh would alert our host to our presence.Once he was gone, Rio went off.“Fuck me, damn it,” Rio exulted. “I'm going to rape their asses.” I wasn't sure how that would work. It wasn't like Rio's or my word would go all that far. I decided to spin her back around and kick her leg up over my arm so I could fuck her while gazing into her eyes.The first thing I noticed was the sheer joy etched all over her face. The second thing I noted was her phone in hand, set on record. There was going to be some severe damage over this and I had to do damage control, but first I had to screw Rio to orgasm.“Ah, ah, ah,” Rio moaned. “You are churning me up inside, you fucking brute. This is so fucking good.”“And the video?” I inquired.“Fucking brilliant,” she panted, “My best idea yet.” I drilled Rio several more strong strokes and she gripped me tightly and sexually exploded on me. She kept squeezing my cock with her vaginal muscles as I came in her as she was still cresting her wave.“Oh, Zane,” she wept tears of joy on my shoulder, “You make all this other shit bearable.”“No problem, bro,” I sighed happily, “but we need to talk about the video.”“Yeah,” she snorted, “you have a plan. I'm going to bypass me having a temper-tantrum and get straight to you making me happy with how clever you are.”“We find more ways to bring Felicity over to our side, then hit her with this when she's wavering,” I detailed. “We still need credibility and that's going to take Barbie Lynn on our side. Once we get Felicity, we can get Mrs. Wellington too. That gives us access to everyone in the church.”I set Rio onto her feet and handed her panties too her. Rio shimmied into them and grinned.“Now I'm all sloshy inside. Is that thing a damn fire hydrant?”“You weren't complaining a minute ago,” I countered.“I'm not complaining, but all those bitches in class are going to know I've been fucked,” she snickered.“Who are you going to blame?” I wondered.“Pastor William, our glorious shepherd; I can describe just what his cock looks like now,” she grinned manically.“I think we are back to that whole 'credibility' issue,” I reminded her.“You aren't going to let me have any fun,” Rio pouted.“Well, work on this; I'm pretty sure Lance isn't the only guy here that the pastor is using. Lance was a tool, nothing more,” I told her. “It could be fun to find out who his other toys are.”“I hate you for having a better idea than me,” Rio giggled, “but I love your deviant mind more.”“I love you too, Baby,” I said as I brushed her cheek. “Let's get to class before they get to ridicule us for arriving late.” Rio grabbed my hand and sprinted with me out of the office. We were late to class but only just. This time I'd studied so Mr. Coleman wasn't able to humiliate me, though some wise-ass taunted me about being on a women's committee.“Yes, I do,” I confirmed, “and what committee are you on?”“Athletics committee,” he sneered. I gave him a shit-eating grin right back that gave him pause.“So I hang out with a bunch of MILF's, which is a pretty red-blooded American male thing to do, while you hang out with a bunch of guys, which is pretty homo-erotic,” I chuckled.There was a deafening silence in the room. We had broken up for church service and a few guys were almost out the door. The target of my aggression was first stunned, then angry.“Mr. Braxton, that is quite enough out of you,” Mr. Coleman snapped.“I'm sorry about that, Mr. Coleman. I thought he was ribbing me about my committee so I teased him back about his; I wasn't serious,” I lied.Andy, the guy who'd given me a hard time, elected that moment to get in my face.“That wasn't funny, Braxton,” he snapped. Mr. Coleman remained conspicuously silent.“Gosh, Andy,” I quipped, “I don't know where to begin. How about, we are in a House of God and shouldn't be raising a fist against one another.”“If that doesn't work, do understand that you get the first punch, then I break you like a twig,” I continued with eagerness written all over my face. “You are an elementary school teacher and I have years of martial arts experience.” Andy suddenly paled.“Mr. Braxton,” Coleman growled again. “How dare you threaten somebody?”“Um, Mr. Coleman, Andy got in my face, so what exactly are you getting on my case about? Wouldn't the situation be better served if you stopped him in the first place?” I said.“Andy should be able to take a joke better,” another guy in my class, Christopher Gilbert, joined in. “Besides, Zane's right; the wives on the committee are attractive and their husbands are lucky men.”That seemed to end the matter because Chris Gilbert was the son of somebody and carried weight in this crowd. We continued to depart but I felt obliged to stop Chris.“Thanks, but I'm not sure why you just backed me up there,” I questioned.“Maybe you're not such a bad guy,” he grinned.I had to think that over. I barely knew Christopher Gilbert. He was 23, son of a big real estate guy, he was a property manager, whatever that was.“I have to appreciate the timing of your epiphany,” I joked.“It came to me late Thursday night when I had a security issue at one of my properties,” he grinned. Oh, crap. His daddy must own the mall where I had that little altercation.“Sorry if I cost you a good night's sleep,” was all I could say.“Let me say that, 'damn, you're fast,' and it would have been mean of me to let Andy get his ass handed to him in front of all his friends,” Chris related. “He's really not a bad guy either.”“I'll keep that in mind,” I nodded.We were making our way to the church hall when Rio, Iona, and Barbie Lynn intercepted us.“Hey, Ms. Masters,” Chris said to Barbie Lynn. He looked at the other two girls.“Christopher Gilbert, this is Rio Talon and Iona Becket, two of my classmates and closest friends,” I introduced my buddies.“So, Chris, how do you know Barbie-licious?” Rio smirked.“Huh?” Chris said.“Rio has an intense sense of humor, Chris,” I intervened. “Pay her no mind.” Before Rio cold make things worse, I placed an arm behind her and pinched her butt. “Behave,” I warned her.“Okay, Zane,” Chris chuckled. “Good luck with that one. To answer your question: I know Ms. Masters from a few years back at a youth retreat. We were both counselors. Take care now.” He turned and walked off to his section of the tabernacle while the girls and I went off to ours.“So, Barbie, were you hot for Chris back at camp?” Rio persisted.“Chris? Nah, he had a girlfriend back then; they both went to the University of Virginia. I think they broke up right before they graduated but I'm not sure,” Barbie Lynn informed us. “Besides, I had a fiancé too.”“Had? Have you tossed him over for Zane?” Rio teased. I sighed and Barbie Lynn blushed.“Nah, Shugah, I tossed him over for you,” Barbie Lynn whispered into Rio's ear.“Just for that tantalizing tease, no Honey Glaze for those hot crossed buns of yours,” Rio bantered right back.“Am I the only one who remembers we are in a church?” lectured Iona.“No, you are not,” Christina surprised us. “Now stop trying to make a scene and sit down with the rest of us.” We dutifully obeyed because three of us respected Christina and I had one of Rio's arms twisted behind her back.At the end of service there was no problem getting the gang to go down to the space between the pews and the podium where the important people gathered. I caught Pastor William shooting me a hooded look but I blew him off. I was here for someone else, as was Barbie Lynn and Rio. Iona was tagging along to make sure we kept out of too much trouble.“Hey, Sahara,” I greeted the pastor's wife, who hovered near but wasn't part of the action.“Why, hello, Zane,” she smiled. “Did you enjoy the service?”“I'm still a little fuzzy on the message of seeking wisdom in God's word instead of Man's technology,” I grinned. “After all, I have an app that gives me helpful Bible verses on demand.”“I think you missed the point, Zane,” she shook her head with mirth. “We need to trust the Word of God over the simple technological solutions that fail to take in the moral implications of the results.”“Wow, when you say it that way, it makes sense,” I applauded. Sahara blushed and gave me another smile.Rio and Barbie Lynn had closed in on Felicity, allowing Iona and I to come up behind Mrs. Wellington. I put my hand on the small of her back and positioned myself at her side.“Hello, Mrs. Wellington,” I greeted her. I knew her first look at me would define a lot about how she felt about last night.“Zane,” she beamed at me. “How are you doing today?”“Better now,” I grinned. “I just wanted to say that I'm downloading those files we discussed when I get to campus this afternoon.”“Oh,” Mrs. Bainbridge sneered, “is Mr. Braxton working on a special project already?”“Zane,” Rochelle Wellington smiled to her rival sweetly, “send Kendra a copy of the notes you showed me. Kendra, Zane has a talent for 3-D imagery that the committee will find quite useful. I thought you might find it nice to have our newest member showing some interest.”“Oh, it is his interest that I'm worried about,” Kendra commented, with a pretty obvious look toward Sahara.Before I could respond to that jab, I felt a hand on my shoulder trying to pull me around.“Pastor William wants a word with you,” Lance informed me.“Okay,” I shrugged, then turned back to Kendra. “Mrs. Bainbridge, I admit that it is my fault that I find Mrs. Penny to be kinder, more compassionate, and more spiritually understanding than you. She is a gentle soul who better relates to what a young man needs.”“Pastor William wants to see you now,” Lance insisted.“That's nice, Lance. I'm talking to your mother,” I said dismissively. “Rochelle, thank you for agreeing to mentor me; I appreciate you helping me understand this Church and this community by taking some of your valuable time to listen to my ideas.”“Ladies, have a nice Sunday. Okay, Lance, let's go see what Pastor Bill wants now,” I told him.“His name is Pastor William,” Lance corrected me somewhat angrily.“No, his name is William Penny and he happens to be a pastor,” I jibed. Lance's response was stymied by our arrival at Pastor Bill's circle of cronies.“Ah, Glenn,” Bill greeted me. “I would like to invite you to dine with my wife and I tomorrow night.” I was smart enough to know that wasn't really an invitation, but still,“I'd like to but this week is our first round of testing for the semester so I'm not sure I can break free,” I answered.“You find time enough for other things, like jail,” he lectured me in a personally degrading matter.“Pastor William, as you will learn about me, people who cross me or threaten the ones I hold dear, I beat bloody and leave broken on the ground,” I smiled evilly right back. The confusion that threat caused was evident because I hadn't been quiet.“Jesus loves the Peacemaker,” Pastor Bill bantered back.“Winners write the history books,” I countered.“That is not very Christian of you,” Mr. Wellington, the Mayor, pointed out.“Jesus Christ ended up nailed to a cross; Emperor Constantine, who converted the whole Roman Empire to Christ's worship, got to build his own city,” I responded.“I won't be as famous but I'll do more and get to bury my enemies before I die,” I added.“Are you sure you were a missionary in Thailand?” another church elder asked.“Oh, I was a missionary all right, but not a very good one. I left the hard work to my Uncle Tim and Aunt Jill,” I informed them.“Did they convert many heathen souls to the World of our Lord?” a third man inquired.“It is not that simple. They taught people to read English and got them in the practice of reading the Bible,” I explained. “They have over a thousand years of culture to work against and many of the tenants of Buddhism are close to our own Christian virtues so it is hard work.”“So that would be a 'No',” Pastor Bill gloated.“Really?” I grinned. “When Uncle Tim went missing, 200 of his flock risked floodwaters in an eventually futile effort to save him. How many of us would risk drowning to save you, Pastor William? I would say that when lives were on the line, his flock did their Christian duty.”I noticed Jill standing on the edge of the group listening, her eyes close to tears. Hey, I hated Tim, but I wasn't going to let these spineless bastards degrade the man in front of his widow, no matter how I felt.“I'm sure we would all rise to the challenge,” Mr. Wellington pontificated.“Then you are as good a man as Uncle Tim,” I trapped him with his own words.“Your Uncle Tim gave everything, including his life,” Pastor Bill said with a smug, superior smile. “His willingness to give should be an example for all.”“I'm already giving. The Festivities Committee's budget seems a bit anemic so I'm going to be funding some of their efforts,” I enlightened him.“That is not how tithes are normally handled,” Pastor Bill corrected me.“I'm not a normal guy,” I grinned. “Pastor, I'll look over my schedule and call your house to let you know if I can swing dinner tomorrow. It has been a wonderful chat but I have to be going now.”I turned and left them there, confident I hadn't made any friends among Bill's inner circle. The price of their friendship was way more than I was willing to pay and it wasn't just monetary. My girls swarmed around me, even Jill.“Thank you, Zane,” Jill said softly. “Tim would have been proud.”“Jill, I said that for you, not him. You stood by him and that shouldn't be trampled on by people who don't know any better,” I comforted her.“I was getting ready to cry out 'Blood and Souls for my Lord Arioch,” Rio grinned.“Why did you antagonize them?” Iona wondered.“They are used to bullying people and getting their way. I let them know I was more than willing to fight,” I told Iona.“He also wanted the women to see what he was doing,” Barbie Lynn said. “I saw a few females, Felicity included, who thought a great deal of how Zane handled the situation.”“Girls love watching men fight over them,” Rio laughed as we exited into the parking lot.“Is everyone coming to our place for lunch?” Jill asked. I took a quick look around the girls who nodded their approval.“Sure thing, Jill; we will be at home in an hour,” I answered.Getting back to campus and into casual clothes wasn't a problem, nor was lunch with Jill. We sat around and shot the shit for an hour afterwards but school work demanded that we head back to school to do some actual classwork. I went by Raven's to pick her up because she'd left me a text (by way of Iona) that she'd made some progress over the weekend.“We really should study in the library,” Raven told me as we headed to my room.“The last time I checked, the library didn't have a snack bar,” I told her. Raven was less than convinced and a bit nervous until we opened the door to the bottom of the steps leading to the Solarium where I lived and the voices of multiple girls welcomed us.“You have company?” she questioned me.“All freshmen are welcome in my room, Raven. You'll see,” I informed her.“Is there going to be anyplace for us to study, ” Raven began to confound me, then we came to the point where you could see past the side of the stairs into the Solarium.“Oh, God,” she muttered at the scope of the room, “you, you have pool tables!” she ended up in a near squeal. “I love pool!” She took a few steps forward into the room before looking back at me. “What is all this? Where did this all come from?”“I was given the entire Solarium as my room, sort of, and I decided to convert most of it to a common area for the freshman class,” I said.“How long has this been going on?” she wondered.“We did it yesterday,” Iona said from the closest sofa. She put down her laptop and walked over to us. “Zane paid for the stuff and we students put it in. Let me show you around.”“You do that, Iona,” I told her, as I gave my diminutive friend a hug, “I'll be in my room.”Iona led Raven deeper into the complex of entertainment while I headed to my room, which seemed to be the quietest place to study today.ValerieI passed around the Chinese silk screens that shielded my private area from the rest of the Solarium and saw my new monster-sized bed. I also saw the tall, honey-blonde Amazon reclining on it, looking my way.“Come here, my Love-Monkey,” she said in a deep, husky voice. I'm sure my mouth gaped open.“Ah, I don't believe we've been introduced,” I managed to finally say. She smiled and patted the bed beside her.“You are seriously hot and I'm positive I'd remember you if we'd met, but I don't and I do need to study so I'm going to ask you to please leave,” I groaned. “Trust me, I really don't want to be asking you that either.”I heard laughter from the far side of the bed and Rio slowly raised her body into sight.“Bro, the look on your face is priceless,” she chuckled.“So this is really your room?” the other girl inquired.“I told you it was,” Rio grinned.“Yes, it is,” I responded as well. “In fact, this entire floor is mine, mainly because the Administration has nowhere else to stick me.”“Rio, what's going on here?” I turned to my other friend.“Honest, Boss,” she beamed, “I found her when I got home. She's my new dorm mate, your replacement.”“You were her first roommate?” the newcomer asked.“For all of one night,” I confessed. “Then everyone realized she had boobies, and I didn't, and I developed this current life of seclusion.”“This is your version of seclusion?” she questioned.“What can I say?” I sighed. “I'm a man of creature comforts. That still doesn't explain you on my bed. Rio?”“She is Valerie Palmer, a new addition to the school,” Rio started, “but that's not the cool part. She's a member of the Stormriders motorcycle gang.” Seeing my lack of name recognition, Rio added, “They are a big deal in the West, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, of course.”“Nice to meet you, Valerie.” I knelt on the bed and extended my hand. “I'm Glenn Zane Braxton, but everyone calls me Zane. Welcome to FFU, and what brought you to us?”“Dad is a born-again Christian and he wanted me to come here, so here I am,” she shrugged. Now, to me that made no sense, as she should have been eighteen, thus her own person, but who was I to press into her personal matters.“Damn it, Zane, I keep forgetting you were living in a cave for the past two years,” Rio shook her head. “Her grandfather is Daniel 'Damien' Palmer.” Again, I didn't know who that person was.“My grandfather is doing three life sentences,” Valerie said with a degree of weariness.“Fine. I should take it the Stormriders are not a motorcycle club, then,” I grinned at her.Valerie's eyes and mine locked for several seconds.“Are you arrogant, stupid, or really unconcerned?” Valerie asked me.“A little of all three,” Rio chimed in.“You should never ask a man if he's arrogant because if he is, he won't know it,” I responded.“I'm smart enough to get into this university, but them I'm dumb enough to be the only guy at this university,” I continued. “I can honestly tell you I really don't care who you were before you came here. It is none of my damn business. If you want to be friends, I'm game.” Valerie nodded. “Oh, and Rio is a nutjob, but if you hurt her, I'll make you suffer, I swear it.”“Is that supposed to scare me, rich boy?” Valerie said, becoming very serious and sitting up, “because I'm not impressed.”“I didn't say it to impress you, Valerie,” I met her gaze, “I believe in fair warning. I don't care if you are damaged goods or you are one stone-cold, bad-ass bitch; you mess with Rio and I'll take her pain out of your hide.”“Rio, I thought you told me this guy was cool,” Valerie said to Rio while still looking at me.“Best guy in the whole God-damn world,” Rio beamed.“Zane, have you ever stabbed somebody?” Valerie quizzed me.“On purpose or by accident?” I asked.“How do you stab someone by accident?” Valerie wondered.“You toss their ass into a stand of bamboo so hard the stalks break and they get impaled,” I answered. “I take it you've done it on purpose.” She shrugged.“Do you fight much?” she changed tact.“More than I should,” I replied, “but I butt in where I don't belong too much.”“Me too,” Valerie nodded, “on the 'I fight more than I should' thing.”“Well, I would rather talk shit upfront than spill blood later,” I pointed out.“Like warning me about Rio,” she nodded.“Please believe me, she's a nut and will get on your nerves, so please don't toss her out a window or down the stairs because I'm actually attached to her,” I grinned. Rio flopped on the bed.“I should be mouthing empty denials but Zane's pretty much right,” Rio snickered, “and if he hadn't fucked me silly on the preacher's desk this morning, I'd be in his face about this bullshit.”“You had sex on your preacher's desk?” Valerie smiled.“Zane, what are these girls, what the hell?” Raven went off. “What kind of bedroom is this?”“Raven, you know Rio and this is her new roommate Valerie. Valerie, this is Raven,” I groaned.“Hey, Raven,” Valerie greeted her. “So do you normally walk into Zane's bedroom too?”“No,” Raven blushed. “He invited me over to do some work on our English project.” Iona stepped in behind Raven and waved to Rio.“Iona, Valerie; Valerie, Iona,” I sighed.“Wait!” Valerie raised her hand and looked back to me. “Are you gay? Because I see a lot of girls strolling into your room and none of them have been identified as your girlfriend yet.”“Technically, that would be Heaven,” Iona volunteered. “She's a senior.”“Can we get back to everyone being in Zane's room?” Raven grumbled. “And what is he doing with a bed as big as my entire room back home?” Valerie appraised the room.“Got it,” she laughed. “You are sleeping with her (Iona) and her (Rio), but not you (Raven).”“Of course I'm not sleeping with him,” Raven shot back. “I took a Purity Pledge, as should all of you.”“I'm not a virgin,” Valerie responded.“Me, either,” Rio waved.“I am,” Iona raised her hand.“That's nice,” I directed. “Rio, Valerie, and Iona, please leave. I've invited Raven to my room so we can do actual classwork because I occasionally like to pretend I'm in college for an education.”“On it, Zane,” Rio snickered. “Come on, Valerie, let's go check out the hot tub. I wanted to show you to Zane so he could put you on his 'To Do' list.” Iona shook her head and left.“I've got a boyfriend,” Valerie clarified.“Thank God,” I muttered, which drew looks from all three women. After Rio and Val left, Raven kept staring at me.“I, does this happen to you often?” she finally asked.“Yes, but I've learned to adjust,” I pointed out.We sat down on the bed, Raven pulled out four library books on the period we were looking into, and we began going through them and taking notes.“Is Heaven really your girlfriend?” Raven asked after a while.“Yes, but it is more complicated than that. I love another girl but I don't know if she loves me, and I spend time with a dozen other girls here, plus I have friends at a Sorority House off campus,” I explained.“And you sleep with Rio, who isn't a virgin, and Iona, who is,” she stated, and I confirmed with a nod.“I was wrong. If you can keep all that straight in your head, you have a good grasp of details. We are going to do fine on this term paper.”“Thank you, Raven,” I smiled at her, and for a change, she smiled back.GUST FRONTI would have liked to spend the night with Iona and Barbie Lynn but Iona informed me that Coach Dana Gorman had tested her security code earlier in the day and I figured something was up; nothing good for me and my friends. Sure enough, at 12:10 in the morning, my little buzzer by the bed that informed me that a key code was being entered woke me up.I silenced the alarm (no sense in letting them know that I had it) and waited in bed. Shortly thereafter, the Coach and two female security guards came strolling in.“Alone?” Dana quipped.“You asking me out?” I grinned.“Get up; we need to check the bed, if that is what you call this thing,” she motioned to my sleeping platform. I dutifully got out of bed.“What are you doing?” she snapped when she realized I was naked.“Getting out of bed like you asked me to. I sleep in the nude, or didn't you already know that?” I yawned.“Put some clothes on,” she ordered. I picked up my robe and put it on while they stripped back my sheets and looked for bodily fluids under the dark light. I had been at my Aunt's the past two nights, so yes, my bed was still fresh. Unsatisfied, Dana and her two buddies began roughly going over my place.When they finally discovered nothing (my hiding places were specifically designed), the two officers turned and left.“I'll be keeping an eye on you, Zane. You can expect this to be a regular occurrence,” she promised. I simply stared. We remained looking at one another for a minute because she knew I was up to something.“That's right, step out of line and make my job easier,” she noted. Again I kept my silence. It would have been easy to take this personally but I'd told her this was War and I took that seriously. I doubted I was the sole beneficiary of their attention so I had to get ready to respond to their next move.“Nothing to say?” she asked. I kept staring. “Say something, damn it,” she growled.“Good night, Coach,” I obliged. She shook her head, turned, and walked away. When I saw the door close behind her I went back to my room and took out my phone. I made three calls to the concerned parties and a final call to Iona, to have her wipe my call log. I can't say I slept well that night.Showering in the morning was troublesome enough on normal days but this morning, Rio decided to invite Valerie to join us. I did my best to pretend to ignore her, which wasn't easy. Valerie was around six feet with milky skin where the sun didn't reach and tanned where it did. Her hair was golden-blonde and she was trimmed, not shaved. Her eyes were grey with a hint of blue around the edges; he breasts were a solid C without a hint of sag. There sure were a lot of blondes going to this school.I could see the mental calculations going through her head as she walked in and the other girls eyed her. In the hierarchy of this place, I didn't hold a place; proximity to me showed a girl's status among the crowd. Opal was top dog, but Rio and Iona were marked by their close relationship with me as well.Valerie clearly thought about walking away from it all to spare herself the drama and the grief. She countered that with the knowledge that she had to fit in somewhere in this school, and as non-traditional as she was, her best bet was with us. She answered that internal struggle by taking the shower one down from me, next to Opal.Opal expressed her dominance to Valerie by corralling me into a body massage and a show of mutual affection. I thought Valerie was unimpressed with those actions but as we got into it, I sensed she was intrigued by the notion of having sex without actually having sex, and the sexual arousal that came with it.As I settled in front of the sink to brush my hair, shave, and brush my teeth, Valerie took the sink beside me.“You don't seem to mind all these naked bodies around you,” she noted.“Why should I? I enjoy them and they enjoy me. I like making them happy, and my presence certainly makes their lives more difficult so I'm glad to help,” I explained.“So, do things ever go to the next level?” Valerie asked.“Not here, and not with most of these women; they are virgins and happy about that fact. They want to be virgins on their wedding nights and I respect that,” I answered.“Rio makes you out to be some sort of sex-crazed stud monster,” Val informed me.“Rio's not a virgin and her only plans for marriage involve her being a black widow to her old, rich husbands,” I grinned.“Is she, bi-sexual?” Valerie whispered.“Yes, I can verify that she is,” I replied quietly. “Has she hit on you yet? Wait, silly question, have you thrown her out of your bed yet?”“This morning I found her sucking on my nipple through my nightshirt,” she smirked.“Rio needs constant reminding of where the boundaries are,” I informed Val.“You two talking about me?” Rio came bouncing up. “Is there a three-way in our future? Who gets tied up?” Valerie groaned in response.“Rio, there is such a thing as personal space and acceptable roommate behavior,” I told Rio. “Things like spontaneously feeling her up while she sleeps are BAD!”“God, damn it!” Rio squalled, “But did you see the size of those bad boys? They are huge and puffy and I swear, they were calling out to me across the room.”“In my long and illustrious career with the female nipple, they have never talked to me. If you don't behave, I'm going to have to tie you up at the next orgy and make you watch,” I warned. I couldn't threaten to take away something she had, like her piercings; that would make her dig in her heels. Instead, I went after the things she was looking forward to.“Don't forget to secure her hands over her head so she can't diddle herself,” Valerie got into the sport of things.“Good point,” I agreed.“Major buzz-kill, you two. Valerie, you are trying to make your first day here no fun at all,” Rio teased.“Which reminds me; Valerie, has Rio warned you about Handmaiden's Duty?” I inquired. Rio looked offended that I would say such a thing while Val looked confused.“It is a tradition here that requires all freshmen to perform a task of a non-damaging nature for any and all upperclassmen. They cannot grab you in class or a dorm room, but anywhere else is fair game,” I informed her.“My first task was to be a bench for someone to sit on,” Rio grinned.“Mine was to kiss a girl,” I nodded.“Kiss her? Cordelia damn near passed out, you kissed her so long and deep,” Rio teased me.“The first one was very nice and chaste,” Iona stepped up and added. “It was the second one that curled her toes and started the stampeded on Zane.”“What do I do if a girl asks me to kiss her?” Valerie worried.“Tell her you are waiting for your herpes to clear up,” Rio volunteered.“It isn't likely to happen,” Iona came across with sounder advice. “Homosexuality is frowned on at this campus.”“I'd tell you to kiss them and enjoy the moment, but I'm a guy,” I shrugged.“I'm still not sure what is normal for this place,” Valerie related.“Rio and Zane are aberrations,” Iona offered. “Most of the girls here are fundamentalist Christian virgins who are looking to get married once they graduate this place.”“What is your story?” Val asked Iona.“I was pretty much the girl I just described until I met these two,” she smiled. “Now I feel that I have, options.”“Options like prison time,” Rio laughed, “or becoming a sex toy at an S&M club.”“I was thinking more like taking a summer and roaming the country,” Iona glared Rio.“Maybe I could teach you to ride a motorcycle and you can come with me,” Valerie offered.“That would be wonderful!” Iona brightened up. “When could we start?”“This afternoon, if you like,” Val responded. “My ride is in the parking lot.”“You have a motorcycle, here?” Rio exclaimed.“Rio, it is hard to be in a motorcycle gang without a chopper,” Valerie pointed out.“On that note, I have to go,” I sighed. New girls were starting to migrate in, meaning I had to retreat to my room. “Take care, everyone.”The crapstormThe crapstorm fell on us as we left the dorm. All kinds of upperclassmen snatched up freshmen as they appeared and shadowed Pro-Christina students they couldn't grab. Rio and I were able to shove off of Valerie before she was identified as being with one of us, so she made it to the Dining Hall unmolested.I didn't have to do anything too heinous, carry three backpacks while reciting the Gospel of Luke from memory (ugh). They made Rio sing 'Onward Christian Soldier' because it was the only religious song she'd admit to knowing. She did a horrific hack-job of it too. They had Iona going through the descendants of Noah; she knocked them back flawlessly, Brainiac.It got better at the Dining Hall door where Rhaine oversaw the removal of every electronic device from the incoming students, no phones, tablets or laptops, nothing capable of rapid communication. Then came the assigned seating designed to break us all up. Surprisingly, Valerie looped back around and joined us in the line.She leaned into me.“What the fuck is going on?” she whispered.“There is a war going on between the Pro-Christina faction Rio, Iona and I belong to, and the Pro-Rhaine faction, which is supported by the Administration. I didn't want to get you involved,” I explained as I saw Mrs. Marlowe closing in.“Mr. Braxton, be quiet,” she snapped.“Of course, Ms. Marlowe,” I nodded to her; she glared back. We had assigned seating for breakfast, isolating us. Conversations were kept to a minimum by roving teachers and the mood was getting grim, made worse by a slow drizzle that began to fall outside. Still, things weren't hopeless.As I was putting my food tray away, Paige of the Science Club slipped past me.“Copper Seven,” she whispered.Cordelia, head of the Science Club, was definitely the smartest person on campus. She'd created a list of contingency plans for us to use if things went bad. We should have been getting them on our phones but the Chancellor had stymied us there.Instead, things were circulating by word of mouth. In this case, Copper Seven, things were simple. Copper meant theft and Seven was the code for communications. We were stealing the facility's phones, crashing their computers, and doing whatever mischief we could to make communications difficult, if not impossible.I had the pleasure of passing the word on to Rio, who gave me a look that would have made any brigand with a handful of gold proud. I didn't know the specifics of Rio's criminal history but I knew she definitely had one, and I'd have been stunned if pickpocket and shoplifting weren't part of her repertoire. I'd warned Coach Gorman about making shit like this fascist suppression policy up.I barely recalled what I was forced to perform on the way to Assembly because what happened there was so memorable. We got the standard lecture, then the Chancellor laid into Christina for all the disruptions the student body was going through, Christina and a few other malcontents. What made it memorable was, at the end of Dr. Bass's speech, a freshman I barely knew, Millicent Pierce, stood up and raised her fist in defiance.“That's bullshit!” she cried out.“Sit down and be quiet, child!” the Chancellor commanded. “Coach Gorman,” she then directed our head of security toward the young girl. Millicent wasn't done yet.“You are lying to us!” she screamed out again.As Gorman and a second teacher made their way to our young rebel, Rio stood up with a raised fist.“Shame!” Rio called out. A dozen of us followed suit. Teachers flooded off the stage but Cappadocia figured out that if you joined up with other girls and linked arms, they couldn't drag you out.Girls were screaming at girls, shoving began, and soon blows were being exchanged and Assembly degenerated to a nasty furball. We were threatened with demerits, detention, and finally expulsion, but nothing seemed to curtail the conflict. I saw Ms. Goodswell leave the melee and go to the base of the podium and begin to plead with Bass about something.I could see that Goodswell was trying to get the Chancellor to let Christina come onto the stage and quiet her followers but our Glorious Leader wouldn't budge. Christina could see the gestures and I knew she was about to end things anyway. There was something I had to do before things fell apart.I leapt up and began using the backs and arm rests to jump across the crowd. I made it to Millicent right ahead of Gorman. Millicent seemed stunned to see me hovering over her but it was too noisy to communicate. I pulled her up and retreated back the way I'd come, keeping her out of Gorman's clutches for the moment.“Thanks,” she grinned at me.“Who is your Spiritual Advisor?” I responded. “We need to get you to her so you don't face the Chancellor alone.”“Ms. Trenton,” Millicent responded.Ms. Trenton wasn't one of the 'good guys' but she wasn't on our enemies list either. I located Trenton and angled us toward her.“This is crazy,” Millicent gasped. After all, if we tumbled, we might very well break our necks. Ms. Trenton didn't look happy to see either one of us but she immediately clued into why I was dropping her student off on her. She grabbed Millicent by the arm and led her away. This was a good thing because our rebellion was about spent for the moment.A minute later we had quieted down. Dr. Bass threatened us with a whole new series of punishments before exiling us off to our first classes. I had the joy of getting hate blasted my way by both the Chancellor and Coach Gorman. I didn't have long to dwell on it because the moment we stepped out, a new group of upperclassmen descended on us freshmen.“Walk the other way or I'll feed you your lungs,” growled Rio as she stepped in front of a group of us and stared down a slightly larger group of students. At times like this, I really wish Rio knew how to fight. On the other hand, she plays 'crazy' real well and it takes a certain desire to experience pain to conf
Preacher William, Valerie, & the seeds of discord. (Part 11)- A Spring Break 13-part Novel.Christina's late night visit.By FinalStand. The player above contains the intro section. Listen to the complete episode by clicking here, at Steamy Stories. Anyway, we were uncoiling from the sofa and Rio was giving me this mysterious look when there was a knock at the door.“Dude, it is 11 o'clock,” Rio muttered. “Only bad news arrives this late.”“I'll go check it out,” I shrugged. There wasn't much else I could do. I opened the door and there stood Christina, looking pretty depressed.“Do you want to come in?” I asked.“I know you have company,” she replied. “Can we talk outside?” It wasn't too chilly but I wasn't wearing too much either.“Of course,” I walked onto the porch, leaving the door mostly closed behind me. “What's wrong?”“I've worked things out with Faith and the other girls,” Christina paced nervously. “We are all going to keep quiet about what you learned and see how we can turn this to our advantage.” I didn't say anything because she hadn't come to tell me the news of what had been the obvious move on her part so I was left wondering what was going on, then I saw it.I opened my arms to the side, palms forward, and waited. She saw the move and looked me over with obvious reluctance for what would come next. Finally, she stepped up to me and rested her forehead on my shoulder and let me encase her in my arms. It sucks to be alone, but it truly sucks being alone and being the one in charge even more.“God, Zane, I fucked up. I could have ruined Heaven's life,” she sighed. “The others trusted me and I let them down.”“You are not doing Heaven any favors by being paralyzed with doubt,” I told her. “You had no idea who you were up against and even if you had, you would still have weighed what was best for Heaven against the risks and pretty much acted in the same manner.”“You don't understand Heaven,” Christina said. “You don't understand her home life.”“Her home life is not my concern, Christina,” I pointed out. “The Heaven here and now is my concern, though, and it is the concern of several more friends she's made since coming to this school, friends she wouldn't have if she stayed in a hole.”“What if I fuck up again?” she worried. “So many girls are depending on me to keep the Chancellor at bay.”“I fuck up all the time and I'm still here,” I countered. “I know what you mean, though. Sometimes when these girls look at me like they expect me to have all the answers and I've got nothing, I want to run and hide.”“We don't have that luxury. We chose to stand up and now we must carry on in our struggle. I don't know about you, but I wasn't raised to quit,” I related to her.“I made a mistake, Zane. I don't make mistakes,” she declared.“I'm confused; have we lost?” I questioned her.“No,” she grumbled, “and that is not what I meant. I brought Faith in, I misread her, and we all suffered because of it. I was deceived.”“Well, someone should remind Christina Buchanan from time to time that she's human, and a pretty smart woman at that,” I replied. “You don't have to win every battle, only the last one.”“That is what my grandfather said,” she mumbled into my shoulder.“He sounds like a clever guy,” I said softly. “He should go far someday.” Since he was one of the richest men in America, I was probably right.“You can be a real jerk at times,” she muttered, but I noted she wasn't moving.“I have to agree with you,” I said, as I got up on my tiptoes and kissed her on the top of the head. I leaned back and tilted her head to me with a finger under her chin. “Christina Buchanan, would you marry me?” No one said anything for a minute.“Can I think about it?” she finally whispered.“Of course,” I assured her. “How could I be in love with you if I couldn't wait for you?”“How can you love me when you don't even know me?” she asked.“That's why it is love and not like,” I answered. “There are times you really piss me off but there is never a moment I don't want to be with you.”“You don't like me?” Christina studied me.“Right now I like you just fine, but you can be a real pain at times. See, I know what's right and you refuse to know your place,” I responded.“And what place is that?” she smiled.“Above me, smiling down,” I leaned in for a kiss.“No,” she shook her head.“No?” I pleaded.“We have a long way to go before I let you treat me like another one of your girls,” Christina informed me.“Okay,” I agreed.“No hard sell in my emotionally vulnerable state?” she mused.“You are safe with me, Christina,” I assured her.“That's good to know, Zane. Now go inside before Rio blows a gasket,” she smiled, slipped out of my arms, and walked toward her car. I still soaked up the marvel of her receding silhouette.Rio was leaning against the wall just inside the hallway when I got back in.“I don't get the two of you,” she grinned.“I love her,” was my only response.“That's good, because she's fucking nuts about you,” Rio laughed. I couldn't decide whether she was kidding or not.Later, we lay together in bed, Rio partially over me where she alternated between listening to my heartbeat and kissing my shoulder. She also had a hand between her legs and was doing some serious vaginal stimulation.“Zane.”“Yes?” I replied.“I had an abortion,” she confided in me.“Oh, okay,” was all I could manage to come back with.“‘Oh.' Is that it?” she sounded a bit hurt.“I figure there is more to the story than you had an abortion. So are you going to tell me what it is?” I inquired. She mulled that over for a few seconds.“I did some really stupid shit, like getting shit-faced drunk at some parties with people I barely knew, and pretty much got used like a whore. I didn't really care, and eventually I got knocked up,” she told me.“My parents, the big Pro-Lifers that they were, smuggled me out of state to a private clinic and aborted the kid. They never asked my opinion on the matter but I imagine that having a pregnant daughter who couldn't even name the father wasn't on their agenda,” she recited bitterly. I wrapped an arm around her, rolled over on her, and kissed her gently on the lips.“I don't know what to say,” I began. “I can't imagine what it was like to go through that.”“Huh,” Rio snorted. “My parents slapped me with anti-depressants and an implant, my ‘friends' told me it was for the best, not being teen Mom material and all, and I treated myself like a whore.”“Hell, I sucked and fucked the entire lawn crew once; I fucked my little brother's friends; and I became known as the girl who would ride bareback at my school. It is a miracle I didn't contract herpes or AIDS,” she recited sadly. “I think I hated just about everybody.”“You know that none of that matters to me; right?” I asked. “You are still that woman I woke up next to on day one.”“To the bitter end,” she recited.“To the bitter end,” I affirmed, my promise to stand by her no matter what.“Why couldn't you be in love with me?” she sighed.“You are asking an eighteen-year-old how this love thing works?” I teased her. “I've been lucky enough to meet five women in the past two weeks I'd like to spend forever with, and I love the one I'm least likely to end up with. I'm clueless.”“Me, Iona, Barbie Lynn, Christina and Heaven?” Rio guessed. I nodded, which made her snicker. “You really want to spend forever with Heaven? You are a glutton for punishment.”“Heaven can be really nice,” I defended my girlfriend.“She's got a permanent case of PMS. Hell knows what would happen if she actually had PMS,” Rio teased me back.“So you don't want to spend any more time with her?” I inquired.“Fuck that,” Rio giggled, “I like them brave, bold, and saucy in the saddle. I'd love breaking her down, or having her break me trying.”“Fine,” I announced after a moment's contemplation.“Fine?” she asked.“I'm not going to break my word to Jill but I can't wait to fuck you until we get back to campus, so how would you like to screw on Pastor Bill's desk before Sunday school?” I suggested.“I'd love to leave a little something extra on that gold-plated conman's desk,” Rio purred.“Now, Zane, do you think you could bend the rules ever so slightly and finger-fuck me? I'm ever so horny,” Rio pleaded. I figured it couldn't hurt too much; right? I rubbed and rubbed one hand down to her crotch where Rio had already pulled her soaked panties down to mid-thigh. With my other hand, I pushed up her top, exposing her ripe nipples, chain and all.I plucked a nipple into my mouth, letting my tongue play along the stud before sucking in more of the breast, increasing the pressure on the nipple itself. Rio was well worked up already and now began to writhe beneath me. My free hand passed below her carefully groomed chevron-shaped pubic mound and along her clit.Her folds welcomed me like molten gold, so hot yet silky smooth to the touch. As she started to moan, Rio stuck the meat of her palm into her mouth and bit down in order to keep quiet. I spent a minute playing with her two studs in her labia before working two fingers deep inside her, twisting them, and seeking out her G-spot.“Gak!” Rio convulsed as I stroked it. Oh, yeah, I thought, as I began to seriously work it over. Rio's fluids were sloshing around my fingers, her other hand began pressing my whole mouth over her breast, and she kept bucking up against me. I now began to alternate between rhythmically tapping her special place and brutally finger fucking her, driving two fingers in and slapping her clit with my palm.“Uh, uh, uh, ugh, ugh, um,” Rio began panting, then her body arched and she screamed into her clenched fist. “Oh, fuck, that's good,” she finally managed to get out. Before I could respond, she grabbed my head and drew me up for a fierce kiss. She tore at my lips and tried to steal my breath away.“Tell me you want me,” she pleaded with a desperate hunger tinged with fear.“I want you, Rio, always,” I responded with my own heat and need. Slowly the passion ebbed from Rio's eyes and a playful demeanor replaced it.“You are such a dumb blonde, Glenda,” she sighed happily. Glenda had been the name that had allowed me admission to school in the first place, Glenn Zane Braxton, Glenda.I answered by pulling my fingers out of her cunt, taking a lick, then pushing them through her lips. Rio daintily sucked on them, pulling them in and cleaning them off before biting down like the little bitch she is and making tears come to my eyes.“What the fuck!” I hissed.“That's for not giving me your dick, Asshole,” she snickered. When I looked ready to explode, she pouted her lips, rolled onto her stomach and stuck her bare ass up in the air for a spanking. I grunted and rolled over onto my side, away from her.“Good night, you witch,” I sulked.There was some rustling behind me a minute later, then Rio snaked an arm around me and pressed her body to my back.“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I act crazy at times.” I rolled over to face her.“I know what I'm getting into, Rio,” I comforted her. “That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt at times.” I displayed my wounded fingers. She kissed my fingers, I kissed her lips, and we both finally went to sleep.Preacher William, Valerie, and the seeds of discord.*You can live without freedom the same way you can live without light, happiness, or music*Jill didn't know what to make of our prompt appearance Sunday morning for breakfast already dressed for church. I'd convinced Rio to not try a hard sell with my aunt, instead playing it calm, cool, and collected. The real reason we wanted to get to church early was because I'd come up with the idea of screwing Rio on Pastor Bill's massive mahogany desk before class and she'd become infatuated with the scheme.GAINING DEFINITIONWe had to remember our Bibles before eagerly heading out the door. Mine went back to my missionary days while Rio's was brand new, a gift from Jill. She'd lost her old one on the trip from Arizona to Virginia, or so she'd told Jill. In reality, she had torn hers apart page by page and stuffed it down the airplane toilet during the flight, her way of spreading the gospel.Once at the church, we split up, Rio and I getting together a few minutes later. I was unsure about the security cameras in the hallway but Rio shrugged it off. She followed the wires to the closet the system was kept in, picked the lock, and deleted the last two hours of footage before deactivating the whole system.I was clever enough to wipe off all our fingerprints before we made for the pastor's office. This time, Rio's improvised, lock picks weren't necessary as the secretary kept the door unlocked. We slipped past her station to the larger office beyond and I chased Rio around to the 'big chair'.“So, Bad Boy, are you going to make me a Bad Girl?” Rio taunted me.I stepped up between her thighs and got ready to feast on her succulent cunt lips when she held me up.“I don't think we have time for that,” Rio grinned. She slipped out of her panties, which I quickly pocketed (having learned from the first Barbie Lynn incident), and hopped up on the desk facing me.I unbuckled my belt, fixed the button, and unzipped my pants. My penis came smoothly out of my boxers and I lined up with Rio's slit. Her juices were already flowing by the time my cockhead graced her full lips.“Oh, that's what I've been looking for,” Rio moaned, as I pushed forward inch after glorious inch inside her.She wrapped her arms around my neck and came close to doing the same with her legs around my waist by the time I was fully into her. I got a few half-thrusts into Rio, our faces only inches apart, when I began to push her back down on the desk.“No, I want to look into your eyes,” she told me. I nodded and started driving my cock in a strong steady rhythm.“Rio,” I said softly.“Yes,” she breathed heavily.“I like saying your name,” I explained. “I like the sound of it and the way it makes me feel.”“I, ” I was sure she was fighting for a snarky reply but then she smiled and said, “Okay.”“Oh. God, Oh, Fuck,” Rio gasped, as we began, getting her close to climax. I stopped when I first heard the voices. “What?” Rio panted. I pulled her off the desk and looked for a place to hide. There were three other doors out of the room. I took the closest, yanked up my pants, and dragged Rio to it.It turned out to be a large closet with vestments, coats, and a few changes of clothing inside. Before I could finish shutting the door, Rio put her hand in the way. Before I could inquire why, the main office door opened and in came Pastor Bill and Lance Wellington. They were yammering on about something or other; I really wasn't paying attention.All that changed after Pastor Bill took his seat behind the desk and swiveled it to the side. Lance came around the desk and knelt before our spiritual leader. His body blocked my visual but I heard a zipper being undone and some clothes being pushed aside. What Lance proceeded to do was clear enough, though.Rio was between me and the door; she looked over her shoulder and grinned evilly. Before long, she had my cock in her hand and was maneuvering it back to her pussy from behind. I moved my hips down, she arched up, and I slipped back into the hole I'd been in not a minute before. I stayed still while Rio began to ride my cock up and down.There we were, two very different couples separated by less than a dozen feet, both fucking in different ways. Lance was giving Pastor Bill oral attention in a manner that dictated long familiarity to not only cock-sucking, but blowing Pastor Bill in particular. Rio had one hand placed against the door sill in order to stop us from spilling out of the closet while the other was tucked against her stomach.The four of us were pushing toward climax but Pastor Bill was the first one to the trigger. I was still feeling the oily smoothness of my cock inside Rio's vagina while rubbing both breasts through her shirt and bra when Lance began chocking and sputtering. The bastard hadn't even warned Lance that he was cumming.Good ole Pastor Bill reached across the desk to grab two Kleenex. As he did so, his other hand came down to rest on a slick spot Rio and I had left on his desk. He looked at his hand with disgust and wiped it off his hand before handing a tissue to Lance.“Get going to class,” Pastor Bill told his cock-sucking companion.“Of course, Pastor William,” Lance responded as he cleaned his face. As he headed to the door, he turned to the preacher.“Do I have to do another marriage counseling session with Felicity? She is so damn annoying,” he whined.“Lance, you are going to have to keep up appearances and that means spending the occasional night with her,” Pastor Bill lectured him. “As distasteful as she is, she is the socially acceptable choice for your spouse if you plan to have a political career.”“I wish this whole marriage thing was over with already,” Lance sighed. “Then I could stick her in the house and get her out of my life.”“Remember, a woman is a duty, but you know how to get your pleasure. Take your pill when you have to lay with her, and if nothing else, use her back door,” he chuckled.“I suppose so,” Lance conceded, “but I'll have to shut her up. She blathers on and on incessantly and her voice is so grating.”“Well,” Pastor Bill laughed, “you can always use her mouth too.” Lance snorted and left the room; Bill followed a minute later.For our part, the whole exchange between Pastor Bill and Lance got Rio hotter and hotter. She was rocketing back against me until I was afraid the slapping of our flesh would alert our host to our presence.Once he was gone, Rio went off.“Fuck me, damn it,” Rio exulted. “I'm going to rape their asses.” I wasn't sure how that would work. It wasn't like Rio's or my word would go all that far. I decided to spin her back around and kick her leg up over my arm so I could fuck her while gazing into her eyes.The first thing I noticed was the sheer joy etched all over her face. The second thing I noted was her phone in hand, set on record. There was going to be some severe damage over this and I had to do damage control, but first I had to screw Rio to orgasm.“Ah, ah, ah,” Rio moaned. “You are churning me up inside, you fucking brute. This is so fucking good.”“And the video?” I inquired.“Fucking brilliant,” she panted, “My best idea yet.” I drilled Rio several more strong strokes and she gripped me tightly and sexually exploded on me. She kept squeezing my cock with her vaginal muscles as I came in her as she was still cresting her wave.“Oh, Zane,” she wept tears of joy on my shoulder, “You make all this other shit bearable.”“No problem, bro,” I sighed happily, “but we need to talk about the video.”“Yeah,” she snorted, “you have a plan. I'm going to bypass me having a temper-tantrum and get straight to you making me happy with how clever you are.”“We find more ways to bring Felicity over to our side, then hit her with this when she's wavering,” I detailed. “We still need credibility and that's going to take Barbie Lynn on our side. Once we get Felicity, we can get Mrs. Wellington too. That gives us access to everyone in the church.”I set Rio onto her feet and handed her panties too her. Rio shimmied into them and grinned.“Now I'm all sloshy inside. Is that thing a damn fire hydrant?”“You weren't complaining a minute ago,” I countered.“I'm not complaining, but all those bitches in class are going to know I've been fucked,” she snickered.“Who are you going to blame?” I wondered.“Pastor William, our glorious shepherd; I can describe just what his cock looks like now,” she grinned manically.“I think we are back to that whole 'credibility' issue,” I reminded her.“You aren't going to let me have any fun,” Rio pouted.“Well, work on this; I'm pretty sure Lance isn't the only guy here that the pastor is using. Lance was a tool, nothing more,” I told her. “It could be fun to find out who his other toys are.”“I hate you for having a better idea than me,” Rio giggled, “but I love your deviant mind more.”“I love you too, Baby,” I said as I brushed her cheek. “Let's get to class before they get to ridicule us for arriving late.” Rio grabbed my hand and sprinted with me out of the office. We were late to class but only just. This time I'd studied so Mr. Coleman wasn't able to humiliate me, though some wise-ass taunted me about being on a women's committee.“Yes, I do,” I confirmed, “and what committee are you on?”“Athletics committee,” he sneered. I gave him a shit-eating grin right back that gave him pause.“So I hang out with a bunch of MILF's, which is a pretty red-blooded American male thing to do, while you hang out with a bunch of guys, which is pretty homo-erotic,” I chuckled.There was a deafening silence in the room. We had broken up for church service and a few guys were almost out the door. The target of my aggression was first stunned, then angry.“Mr. Braxton, that is quite enough out of you,” Mr. Coleman snapped.“I'm sorry about that, Mr. Coleman. I thought he was ribbing me about my committee so I teased him back about his; I wasn't serious,” I lied.Andy, the guy who'd given me a hard time, elected that moment to get in my face.“That wasn't funny, Braxton,” he snapped. Mr. Coleman remained conspicuously silent.“Gosh, Andy,” I quipped, “I don't know where to begin. How about, we are in a House of God and shouldn't be raising a fist against one another.”“If that doesn't work, do understand that you get the first punch, then I break you like a twig,” I continued with eagerness written all over my face. “You are an elementary school teacher and I have years of martial arts experience.” Andy suddenly paled.“Mr. Braxton,” Coleman growled again. “How dare you threaten somebody?”“Um, Mr. Coleman, Andy got in my face, so what exactly are you getting on my case about? Wouldn't the situation be better served if you stopped him in the first place?” I said.“Andy should be able to take a joke better,” another guy in my class, Christopher Gilbert, joined in. “Besides, Zane's right; the wives on the committee are attractive and their husbands are lucky men.”That seemed to end the matter because Chris Gilbert was the son of somebody and carried weight in this crowd. We continued to depart but I felt obliged to stop Chris.“Thanks, but I'm not sure why you just backed me up there,” I questioned.“Maybe you're not such a bad guy,” he grinned.I had to think that over. I barely knew Christopher Gilbert. He was 23, son of a big real estate guy, he was a property manager, whatever that was.“I have to appreciate the timing of your epiphany,” I joked.“It came to me late Thursday night when I had a security issue at one of my properties,” he grinned. Oh, crap. His daddy must own the mall where I had that little altercation.“Sorry if I cost you a good night's sleep,” was all I could say.“Let me say that, 'damn, you're fast,' and it would have been mean of me to let Andy get his ass handed to him in front of all his friends,” Chris related. “He's really not a bad guy either.”“I'll keep that in mind,” I nodded.We were making our way to the church hall when Rio, Iona, and Barbie Lynn intercepted us.“Hey, Ms. Masters,” Chris said to Barbie Lynn. He looked at the other two girls.“Christopher Gilbert, this is Rio Talon and Iona Becket, two of my classmates and closest friends,” I introduced my buddies.“So, Chris, how do you know Barbie-licious?” Rio smirked.“Huh?” Chris said.“Rio has an intense sense of humor, Chris,” I intervened. “Pay her no mind.” Before Rio cold make things worse, I placed an arm behind her and pinched her butt. “Behave,” I warned her.“Okay, Zane,” Chris chuckled. “Good luck with that one. To answer your question: I know Ms. Masters from a few years back at a youth retreat. We were both counselors. Take care now.” He turned and walked off to his section of the tabernacle while the girls and I went off to ours.“So, Barbie, were you hot for Chris back at camp?” Rio persisted.“Chris? Nah, he had a girlfriend back then; they both went to the University of Virginia. I think they broke up right before they graduated but I'm not sure,” Barbie Lynn informed us. “Besides, I had a fiancé too.”“Had? Have you tossed him over for Zane?” Rio teased. I sighed and Barbie Lynn blushed.“Nah, Shugah, I tossed him over for you,” Barbie Lynn whispered into Rio's ear.“Just for that tantalizing tease, no Honey Glaze for those hot crossed buns of yours,” Rio bantered right back.“Am I the only one who remembers we are in a church?” lectured Iona.“No, you are not,” Christina surprised us. “Now stop trying to make a scene and sit down with the rest of us.” We dutifully obeyed because three of us respected Christina and I had one of Rio's arms twisted behind her back.At the end of service there was no problem getting the gang to go down to the space between the pews and the podium where the important people gathered. I caught Pastor William shooting me a hooded look but I blew him off. I was here for someone else, as was Barbie Lynn and Rio. Iona was tagging along to make sure we kept out of too much trouble.“Hey, Sahara,” I greeted the pastor's wife, who hovered near but wasn't part of the action.“Why, hello, Zane,” she smiled. “Did you enjoy the service?”“I'm still a little fuzzy on the message of seeking wisdom in God's word instead of Man's technology,” I grinned. “After all, I have an app that gives me helpful Bible verses on demand.”“I think you missed the point, Zane,” she shook her head with mirth. “We need to trust the Word of God over the simple technological solutions that fail to take in the moral implications of the results.”“Wow, when you say it that way, it makes sense,” I applauded. Sahara blushed and gave me another smile.Rio and Barbie Lynn had closed in on Felicity, allowing Iona and I to come up behind Mrs. Wellington. I put my hand on the small of her back and positioned myself at her side.“Hello, Mrs. Wellington,” I greeted her. I knew her first look at me would define a lot about how she felt about last night.“Zane,” she beamed at me. “How are you doing today?”“Better now,” I grinned. “I just wanted to say that I'm downloading those files we discussed when I get to campus this afternoon.”“Oh,” Mrs. Bainbridge sneered, “is Mr. Braxton working on a special project already?”“Zane,” Rochelle Wellington smiled to her rival sweetly, “send Kendra a copy of the notes you showed me. Kendra, Zane has a talent for 3-D imagery that the committee will find quite useful. I thought you might find it nice to have our newest member showing some interest.”“Oh, it is his interest that I'm worried about,” Kendra commented, with a pretty obvious look toward Sahara.Before I could respond to that jab, I felt a hand on my shoulder trying to pull me around.“Pastor William wants a word with you,” Lance informed me.“Okay,” I shrugged, then turned back to Kendra. “Mrs. Bainbridge, I admit that it is my fault that I find Mrs. Penny to be kinder, more compassionate, and more spiritually understanding than you. She is a gentle soul who better relates to what a young man needs.”“Pastor William wants to see you now,” Lance insisted.“That's nice, Lance. I'm talking to your mother,” I said dismissively. “Rochelle, thank you for agreeing to mentor me; I appreciate you helping me understand this Church and this community by taking some of your valuable time to listen to my ideas.”“Ladies, have a nice Sunday. Okay, Lance, let's go see what Pastor Bill wants now,” I told him.“His name is Pastor William,” Lance corrected me somewhat angrily.“No, his name is William Penny and he happens to be a pastor,” I jibed. Lance's response was stymied by our arrival at Pastor Bill's circle of cronies.“Ah, Glenn,” Bill greeted me. “I would like to invite you to dine with my wife and I tomorrow night.” I was smart enough to know that wasn't really an invitation, but still,“I'd like to but this week is our first round of testing for the semester so I'm not sure I can break free,” I answered.“You find time enough for other things, like jail,” he lectured me in a personally degrading matter.“Pastor William, as you will learn about me, people who cross me or threaten the ones I hold dear, I beat bloody and leave broken on the ground,” I smiled evilly right back. The confusion that threat caused was evident because I hadn't been quiet.“Jesus loves the Peacemaker,” Pastor Bill bantered back.“Winners write the history books,” I countered.“That is not very Christian of you,” Mr. Wellington, the Mayor, pointed out.“Jesus Christ ended up nailed to a cross; Emperor Constantine, who converted the whole Roman Empire to Christ's worship, got to build his own city,” I responded.“I won't be as famous but I'll do more and get to bury my enemies before I die,” I added.“Are you sure you were a missionary in Thailand?” another church elder asked.“Oh, I was a missionary all right, but not a very good one. I left the hard work to my Uncle Tim and Aunt Jill,” I informed them.“Did they convert many heathen souls to the World of our Lord?” a third man inquired.“It is not that simple. They taught people to read English and got them in the practice of reading the Bible,” I explained. “They have over a thousand years of culture to work against and many of the tenants of Buddhism are close to our own Christian virtues so it is hard work.”“So that would be a 'No',” Pastor Bill gloated.“Really?” I grinned. “When Uncle Tim went missing, 200 of his flock risked floodwaters in an eventually futile effort to save him. How many of us would risk drowning to save you, Pastor William? I would say that when lives were on the line, his flock did their Christian duty.”I noticed Jill standing on the edge of the group listening, her eyes close to tears. Hey, I hated Tim, but I wasn't going to let these spineless bastards degrade the man in front of his widow, no matter how I felt.“I'm sure we would all rise to the challenge,” Mr. Wellington pontificated.“Then you are as good a man as Uncle Tim,” I trapped him with his own words.“Your Uncle Tim gave everything, including his life,” Pastor Bill said with a smug, superior smile. “His willingness to give should be an example for all.”“I'm already giving. The Festivities Committee's budget seems a bit anemic so I'm going to be funding some of their efforts,” I enlightened him.“That is not how tithes are normally handled,” Pastor Bill corrected me.“I'm not a normal guy,” I grinned. “Pastor, I'll look over my schedule and call your house to let you know if I can swing dinner tomorrow. It has been a wonderful chat but I have to be going now.”I turned and left them there, confident I hadn't made any friends among Bill's inner circle. The price of their friendship was way more than I was willing to pay and it wasn't just monetary. My girls swarmed around me, even Jill.“Thank you, Zane,” Jill said softly. “Tim would have been proud.”“Jill, I said that for you, not him. You stood by him and that shouldn't be trampled on by people who don't know any better,” I comforted her.“I was getting ready to cry out 'Blood and Souls for my Lord Arioch,” Rio grinned.“Why did you antagonize them?” Iona wondered.“They are used to bullying people and getting their way. I let them know I was more than willing to fight,” I told Iona.“He also wanted the women to see what he was doing,” Barbie Lynn said. “I saw a few females, Felicity included, who thought a great deal of how Zane handled the situation.”“Girls love watching men fight over them,” Rio laughed as we exited into the parking lot.“Is everyone coming to our place for lunch?” Jill asked. I took a quick look around the girls who nodded their approval.“Sure thing, Jill; we will be at home in an hour,” I answered.Getting back to campus and into casual clothes wasn't a problem, nor was lunch with Jill. We sat around and shot the shit for an hour afterwards but school work demanded that we head back to school to do some actual classwork. I went by Raven's to pick her up because she'd left me a text (by way of Iona) that she'd made some progress over the weekend.“We really should study in the library,” Raven told me as we headed to my room.“The last time I checked, the library didn't have a snack bar,” I told her. Raven was less than convinced and a bit nervous until we opened the door to the bottom of the steps leading to the Solarium where I lived and the voices of multiple girls welcomed us.“You have company?” she questioned me.“All freshmen are welcome in my room, Raven. You'll see,” I informed her.“Is there going to be anyplace for us to study, ” Raven began to confound me, then we came to the point where you could see past the side of the stairs into the Solarium.“Oh, God,” she muttered at the scope of the room, “you, you have pool tables!” she ended up in a near squeal. “I love pool!” She took a few steps forward into the room before looking back at me. “What is all this? Where did this all come from?”“I was given the entire Solarium as my room, sort of, and I decided to convert most of it to a common area for the freshman class,” I said.“How long has this been going on?” she wondered.“We did it yesterday,” Iona said from the closest sofa. She put down her laptop and walked over to us. “Zane paid for the stuff and we students put it in. Let me show you around.”“You do that, Iona,” I told her, as I gave my diminutive friend a hug, “I'll be in my room.”Iona led Raven deeper into the complex of entertainment while I headed to my room, which seemed to be the quietest place to study today.ValerieI passed around the Chinese silk screens that shielded my private area from the rest of the Solarium and saw my new monster-sized bed. I also saw the tall, honey-blonde Amazon reclining on it, looking my way.“Come here, my Love-Monkey,” she said in a deep, husky voice. I'm sure my mouth gaped open.“Ah, I don't believe we've been introduced,” I managed to finally say. She smiled and patted the bed beside her.“You are seriously hot and I'm positive I'd remember you if we'd met, but I don't and I do need to study so I'm going to ask you to please leave,” I groaned. “Trust me, I really don't want to be asking you that either.”I heard laughter from the far side of the bed and Rio slowly raised her body into sight.“Bro, the look on your face is priceless,” she chuckled.“So this is really your room?” the other girl inquired.“I told you it was,” Rio grinned.“Yes, it is,” I responded as well. “In fact, this entire floor is mine, mainly because the Administration has nowhere else to stick me.”“Rio, what's going on here?” I turned to my other friend.“Honest, Boss,” she beamed, “I found her when I got home. She's my new dorm mate, your replacement.”“You were her first roommate?” the newcomer asked.“For all of one night,” I confessed. “Then everyone realized she had boobies, and I didn't, and I developed this current life of seclusion.”“This is your version of seclusion?” she questioned.“What can I say?” I sighed. “I'm a man of creature comforts. That still doesn't explain you on my bed. Rio?”“She is Valerie Palmer, a new addition to the school,” Rio started, “but that's not the cool part. She's a member of the Stormriders motorcycle gang.” Seeing my lack of name recognition, Rio added, “They are a big deal in the West, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, of course.”“Nice to meet you, Valerie.” I knelt on the bed and extended my hand. “I'm Glenn Zane Braxton, but everyone calls me Zane. Welcome to FFU, and what brought you to us?”“Dad is a born-again Christian and he wanted me to come here, so here I am,” she shrugged. Now, to me that made no sense, as she should have been eighteen, thus her own person, but who was I to press into her personal matters.“Damn it, Zane, I keep forgetting you were living in a cave for the past two years,” Rio shook her head. “Her grandfather is Daniel 'Damien' Palmer.” Again, I didn't know who that person was.“My grandfather is doing three life sentences,” Valerie said with a degree of weariness.“Fine. I should take it the Stormriders are not a motorcycle club, then,” I grinned at her.Valerie's eyes and mine locked for several seconds.“Are you arrogant, stupid, or really unconcerned?” Valerie asked me.“A little of all three,” Rio chimed in.“You should never ask a man if he's arrogant because if he is, he won't know it,” I responded.“I'm smart enough to get into this university, but them I'm dumb enough to be the only guy at this university,” I continued. “I can honestly tell you I really don't care who you were before you came here. It is none of my damn business. If you want to be friends, I'm game.” Valerie nodded. “Oh, and Rio is a nutjob, but if you hurt her, I'll make you suffer, I swear it.”“Is that supposed to scare me, rich boy?” Valerie said, becoming very serious and sitting up, “because I'm not impressed.”“I didn't say it to impress you, Valerie,” I met her gaze, “I believe in fair warning. I don't care if you are damaged goods or you are one stone-cold, bad-ass bitch; you mess with Rio and I'll take her pain out of your hide.”“Rio, I thought you told me this guy was cool,” Valerie said to Rio while still looking at me.“Best guy in the whole God-damn world,” Rio beamed.“Zane, have you ever stabbed somebody?” Valerie quizzed me.“On purpose or by accident?” I asked.“How do you stab someone by accident?” Valerie wondered.“You toss their ass into a stand of bamboo so hard the stalks break and they get impaled,” I answered. “I take it you've done it on purpose.” She shrugged.“Do you fight much?” she changed tact.“More than I should,” I replied, “but I butt in where I don't belong too much.”“Me too,” Valerie nodded, “on the 'I fight more than I should' thing.”“Well, I would rather talk shit upfront than spill blood later,” I pointed out.“Like warning me about Rio,” she nodded.“Please believe me, she's a nut and will get on your nerves, so please don't toss her out a window or down the stairs because I'm actually attached to her,” I grinned. Rio flopped on the bed.“I should be mouthing empty denials but Zane's pretty much right,” Rio snickered, “and if he hadn't fucked me silly on the preacher's desk this morning, I'd be in his face about this bullshit.”“You had sex on your preacher's desk?” Valerie smiled.“Zane, what are these girls, what the hell?” Raven went off. “What kind of bedroom is this?”“Raven, you know Rio and this is her new roommate Valerie. Valerie, this is Raven,” I groaned.“Hey, Raven,” Valerie greeted her. “So do you normally walk into Zane's bedroom too?”“No,” Raven blushed. “He invited me over to do some work on our English project.” Iona stepped in behind Raven and waved to Rio.“Iona, Valerie; Valerie, Iona,” I sighed.“Wait!” Valerie raised her hand and looked back to me. “Are you gay? Because I see a lot of girls strolling into your room and none of them have been identified as your girlfriend yet.”“Technically, that would be Heaven,” Iona volunteered. “She's a senior.”“Can we get back to everyone being in Zane's room?” Raven grumbled. “And what is he doing with a bed as big as my entire room back home?” Valerie appraised the room.“Got it,” she laughed. “You are sleeping with her (Iona) and her (Rio), but not you (Raven).”“Of course I'm not sleeping with him,” Raven shot back. “I took a Purity Pledge, as should all of you.”“I'm not a virgin,” Valerie responded.“Me, either,” Rio waved.“I am,” Iona raised her hand.“That's nice,” I directed. “Rio, Valerie, and Iona, please leave. I've invited Raven to my room so we can do actual classwork because I occasionally like to pretend I'm in college for an education.”“On it, Zane,” Rio snickered. “Come on, Valerie, let's go check out the hot tub. I wanted to show you to Zane so he could put you on his 'To Do' list.” Iona shook her head and left.“I've got a boyfriend,” Valerie clarified.“Thank God,” I muttered, which drew looks from all three women. After Rio and Val left, Raven kept staring at me.“I, does this happen to you often?” she finally asked.“Yes, but I've learned to adjust,” I pointed out.We sat down on the bed, Raven pulled out four library books on the period we were looking into, and we began going through them and taking notes.“Is Heaven really your girlfriend?” Raven asked after a while.“Yes, but it is more complicated than that. I love another girl but I don't know if she loves me, and I spend time with a dozen other girls here, plus I have friends at a Sorority House off campus,” I explained.“And you sleep with Rio, who isn't a virgin, and Iona, who is,” she stated, and I confirmed with a nod.“I was wrong. If you can keep all that straight in your head, you have a good grasp of details. We are going to do fine on this term paper.”“Thank you, Raven,” I smiled at her, and for a change, she smiled back.GUST FRONTI would have liked to spend the night with Iona and Barbie Lynn but Iona informed me that Coach Dana Gorman had tested her security code earlier in the day and I figured something was up; nothing good for me and my friends. Sure enough, at 12:10 in the morning, my little buzzer by the bed that informed me that a key code was being entered woke me up.I silenced the alarm (no sense in letting them know that I had it) and waited in bed. Shortly thereafter, the Coach and two female security guards came strolling in.“Alone?” Dana quipped.“You asking me out?” I grinned.“Get up; we need to check the bed, if that is what you call this thing,” she motioned to my sleeping platform. I dutifully got out of bed.“What are you doing?” she snapped when she realized I was naked.“Getting out of bed like you asked me to. I sleep in the nude, or didn't you already know that?” I yawned.“Put some clothes on,” she ordered. I picked up my robe and put it on while they stripped back my sheets and looked for bodily fluids under the dark light. I had been at my Aunt's the past two nights, so yes, my bed was still fresh. Unsatisfied, Dana and her two buddies began roughly going over my place.When they finally discovered nothing (my hiding places were specifically designed), the two officers turned and left.“I'll be keeping an eye on you, Zane. You can expect this to be a regular occurrence,” she promised. I simply stared. We remained looking at one another for a minute because she knew I was up to something.“That's right, step out of line and make my job easier,” she noted. Again I kept my silence. It would have been easy to take this personally but I'd told her this was War and I took that seriously. I doubted I was the sole beneficiary of their attention so I had to get ready to respond to their next move.“Nothing to say?” she asked. I kept staring. “Say something, damn it,” she growled.“Good night, Coach,” I obliged. She shook her head, turned, and walked away. When I saw the door close behind her I went back to my room and took out my phone. I made three calls to the concerned parties and a final call to Iona, to have her wipe my call log. I can't say I slept well that night.Showering in the morning was troublesome enough on normal days but this morning, Rio decided to invite Valerie to join us. I did my best to pretend to ignore her, which wasn't easy. Valerie was around six feet with milky skin where the sun didn't reach and tanned where it did. Her hair was golden-blonde and she was trimmed, not shaved. Her eyes were grey with a hint of blue around the edges; he breasts were a solid C without a hint of sag. There sure were a lot of blondes going to this school.I could see the mental calculations going through her head as she walked in and the other girls eyed her. In the hierarchy of this place, I didn't hold a place; proximity to me showed a girl's status among the crowd. Opal was top dog, but Rio and Iona were marked by their close relationship with me as well.Valerie clearly thought about walking away from it all to spare herself the drama and the grief. She countered that with the knowledge that she had to fit in somewhere in this school, and as non-traditional as she was, her best bet was with us. She answered that internal struggle by taking the shower one down from me, next to Opal.Opal expressed her dominance to Valerie by corralling me into a body massage and a show of mutual affection. I thought Valerie was unimpressed with those actions but as we got into it, I sensed she was intrigued by the notion of having sex without actually having sex, and the sexual arousal that came with it.As I settled in front of the sink to brush my hair, shave, and brush my teeth, Valerie took the sink beside me.“You don't seem to mind all these naked bodies around you,” she noted.“Why should I? I enjoy them and they enjoy me. I like making them happy, and my presence certainly makes their lives more difficult so I'm glad to help,” I explained.“So, do things ever go to the next level?” Valerie asked.“Not here, and not with most of these women; they are virgins and happy about that fact. They want to be virgins on their wedding nights and I respect that,” I answered.“Rio makes you out to be some sort of sex-crazed stud monster,” Val informed me.“Rio's not a virgin and her only plans for marriage involve her being a black widow to her old, rich husbands,” I grinned.“Is she, bi-sexual?” Valerie whispered.“Yes, I can verify that she is,” I replied quietly. “Has she hit on you yet? Wait, silly question, have you thrown her out of your bed yet?”“This morning I found her sucking on my nipple through my nightshirt,” she smirked.“Rio needs constant reminding of where the boundaries are,” I informed Val.“You two talking about me?” Rio came bouncing up. “Is there a three-way in our future? Who gets tied up?” Valerie groaned in response.“Rio, there is such a thing as personal space and acceptable roommate behavior,” I told Rio. “Things like spontaneously feeling her up while she sleeps are BAD!”“God, damn it!” Rio squalled, “But did you see the size of those bad boys? They are huge and puffy and I swear, they were calling out to me across the room.”“In my long and illustrious career with the female nipple, they have never talked to me. If you don't behave, I'm going to have to tie you up at the next orgy and make you watch,” I warned. I couldn't threaten to take away something she had, like her piercings; that would make her dig in her heels. Instead, I went after the things she was looking forward to.“Don't forget to secure her hands over her head so she can't diddle herself,” Valerie got into the sport of things.“Good point,” I agreed.“Major buzz-kill, you two. Valerie, you are trying to make your first day here no fun at all,” Rio teased.“Which reminds me; Valerie, has Rio warned you about Handmaiden's Duty?” I inquired. Rio looked offended that I would say such a thing while Val looked confused.“It is a tradition here that requires all freshmen to perform a task of a non-damaging nature for any and all upperclassmen. They cannot grab you in class or a dorm room, but anywhere else is fair game,” I informed her.“My first task was to be a bench for someone to sit on,” Rio grinned.“Mine was to kiss a girl,” I nodded.“Kiss her? Cordelia damn near passed out, you kissed her so long and deep,” Rio teased me.“The first one was very nice and chaste,” Iona stepped up and added. “It was the second one that curled her toes and started the stampeded on Zane.”“What do I do if a girl asks me to kiss her?” Valerie worried.“Tell her you are waiting for your herpes to clear up,” Rio volunteered.“It isn't likely to happen,” Iona came across with sounder advice. “Homosexuality is frowned on at this campus.”“I'd tell you to kiss them and enjoy the moment, but I'm a guy,” I shrugged.“I'm still not sure what is normal for this place,” Valerie related.“Rio and Zane are aberrations,” Iona offered. “Most of the girls here are fundamentalist Christian virgins who are looking to get married once they graduate this place.”“What is your story?” Val asked Iona.“I was pretty much the girl I just described until I met these two,” she smiled. “Now I feel that I have, options.”“Options like prison time,” Rio laughed, “or becoming a sex toy at an S&M club.”“I was thinking more like taking a summer and roaming the country,” Iona glared Rio.“Maybe I could teach you to ride a motorcycle and you can come with me,” Valerie offered.“That would be wonderful!” Iona brightened up. “When could we start?”“This afternoon, if you like,” Val responded. “My ride is in the parking lot.”“You have a motorcycle, here?” Rio exclaimed.“Rio, it is hard to be in a motorcycle gang without a chopper,” Valerie pointed out.“On that note, I have to go,” I sighed. New girls were starting to migrate in, meaning I had to retreat to my room. “Take care, everyone.”The crapstormThe crapstorm fell on us as we left the dorm. All kinds of upperclassmen snatched up freshmen as they appeared and shadowed Pro-Christina students they couldn't grab. Rio and I were able to shove off of Valerie before she was identified as being with one of us, so she made it to the Dining Hall unmolested.I didn't have to do anything too heinous, carry three backpacks while reciting the Gospel of Luke from memory (ugh). They made Rio sing 'Onward Christian Soldier' because it was the only religious song she'd admit to knowing. She did a horrific hack-job of it too. They had Iona going through the descendants of Noah; she knocked them back flawlessly, Brainiac.It got better at the Dining Hall door where Rhaine oversaw the removal of every electronic device from the incoming students, no phones, tablets or laptops, nothing capable of rapid communication. Then came the assigned seating designed to break us all up. Surprisingly, Valerie looped back around and joined us in the line.She leaned into me.“What the fuck is going on?” she whispered.“There is a war going on between the Pro-Christina faction Rio, Iona and I belong to, and the Pro-Rhaine faction, which is supported by the Administration. I didn't want to get you involved,” I explained as I saw Mrs. Marlowe closing in.“Mr. Braxton, be quiet,” she snapped.“Of course, Ms. Marlowe,” I nodded to her; she glared back. We had assigned seating for breakfast, isolating us. Conversations were kept to a minimum by roving teachers and the mood was getting grim, made worse by a slow drizzle that began to fall outside. Still, things weren't hopeless.As I was putting my food tray away, Paige of the Science Club slipped past me.“Copper Seven,” she whispered.Cordelia, head of the Science Club, was definitely the smartest person on campus. She'd created a list of contingency plans for us to use if things went bad. We should have been getting them on our phones but the Chancellor had stymied us there.Instead, things were circulating by word of mouth. In this case, Copper Seven, things were simple. Copper meant theft and Seven was the code for communications. We were stealing the facility's phones, crashing their computers, and doing whatever mischief we could to make communications difficult, if not impossible.I had the pleasure of passing the word on to Rio, who gave me a look that would have made any brigand with a handful of gold proud. I didn't know the specifics of Rio's criminal history but I knew she definitely had one, and I'd have been stunned if pickpocket and shoplifting weren't part of her repertoire. I'd warned Coach Gorman about making shit like this fascist suppression policy up.I barely recalled what I was forced to perform on the way to Assembly because what happened there was so memorable. We got the standard lecture, then the Chancellor laid into Christina for all the disruptions the student body was going through, Christina and a few other malcontents. What made it memorable was, at the end of Dr. Bass's speech, a freshman I barely knew, Millicent Pierce, stood up and raised her fist in defiance.“That's bullshit!” she cried out.“Sit down and be quiet, child!” the Chancellor commanded. “Coach Gorman,” she then directed our head of security toward the young girl. Millicent wasn't done yet.“You are lying to us!” she screamed out again.As Gorman and a second teacher made their way to our young rebel, Rio stood up with a raised fist.“Shame!” Rio called out. A dozen of us followed suit. Teachers flooded off the stage but Cappadocia figured out that if you joined up with other girls and linked arms, they couldn't drag you out.Girls were screaming at girls, shoving began, and soon blows were being exchanged and Assembly degenerated to a nasty furball. We were threatened with demerits, detention, and finally expulsion, but nothing seemed to curtail the conflict. I saw Ms. Goodswell leave the melee and go to the base of the podium and begin to plead with Bass about something.I could see that Goodswell was trying to get the Chancellor to let Christina come onto the stage and quiet her followers but our Glorious Leader wouldn't budge. Christina could see the gestures and I knew she was about to end things anyway. There was something I had to do before things fell apart.I leapt up and began using the backs and arm rests to jump across the crowd. I made it to Millicent right ahead of Gorman. Millicent seemed stunned to see me hovering over her but it was too noisy to communicate. I pulled her up and retreated back the way I'd come, keeping her out of Gorman's clutches for the moment.“Thanks,” she grinned at me.“Who is your Spiritual Advisor?” I responded. “We need to get you to her so you don't face the Chancellor alone.”“Ms. Trenton,” Millicent responded.Ms. Trenton wasn't one of the 'good guys' but she wasn't on our enemies list either. I located Trenton and angled us toward her.“This is crazy,” Millicent gasped. After all, if we tumbled, we might very well break our necks. Ms. Trenton didn't look happy to see either one of us but she immediately clued into why I was dropping her student off on her. She grabbed Millicent by the arm and led her away. This was a good thing because our rebellion was about spent for the moment.A minute later we had quieted down. Dr. Bass threatened us with a whole new series of punishments before exiling us off to our first classes. I had the joy of getting hate blasted my way by both the Chancellor and Coach Gorman. I didn't have long to dwell on it because the moment we stepped out, a new group of upperclassmen descended on us freshmen.“Walk the other way or I'll feed you your lungs,” growled Rio as she stepped in front of a group of us and stared down a slightly larger group of students. At times like this, I really wish Rio knew how to fight. On the other hand, she plays 'crazy' real well and it takes a certain desire to experience pain to conf
Check out this remastered episode of Under The Sheets from Season 1. Lidiya Yermakova is a Lawyer in Toronto. She has represented professionals before complaints and discipline committees, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, the Superior Court of Justice and the Divisional Court. Listen in as we rap about things to consider when dealing with the regulatory body and how having the proper representation is something you need!! You don't know what you don't know... 2rmtsandamic.com conedinstitute.com massagetherapymedia.com
In today's episode we are delighted to be joined by Satyashil Awadhare, a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect. Satyashil talks us through his early career and how he fell into Salesforce having explored some different career paths. He explains what his first day as a 'Salesforce Expert' looked like and how his journey evolved, from Developer to Architect and then Salesforce Certified Technical Architect. Satyashil explains what it was like when he first emigrated to Australia from India, and what the early challenges were. He talks us through when the CTA became a goal for him and what sparked the interest, as well as what it was like preparing for the Review Board as a Salesforce employee. Having worked for Salesforce consulting business as well as Salesforce themselves, Satyashil explains the difference between a Program Architect and a Technical Architect role, and then explains what he is most excited about from his most recent move and a new experience, working on the customer side with Google in San Francisco. Make sure you're following Satyashil on Linkedin for his updates and we hope you enjoy the chat.
This week's podcast discusses the case opined by the Review Board of the United States Copyright Office (‘Board') on the registrability of works generated by Artificial Intelligence (‘AI'). The Board reiterated the position under the United States copyright law that human intervention is necessary for a work to qualify for copyright registration. Additionally, the podcast also discusses, in brief, the position of copyrightability of AI-generated work in India and China.Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in May 2022 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/copyright-authorship-to-artificial-intelligence-who-owns-it/#Authors: Rajalakshmi R, Partner (LKS), and Anushka Verma, Associate (LKS)Voice: Anushka Verma, Associate (LKS)www.lakshmisri.com
Accessory Dwelling Units: What are They and Who are They For? In this Living to 100 Club Podcast, we explore the topic of Accessory Dwelling Units, commonly called ADU's. Our guest for this conversation is Lisa De Jesus, a leading authority on planning, permitting, and building these secondary living units on your property. Sometimes referred to as granny flats, casitas, and even garage conversions, the “accessory” in the ADU term refers to an “accessory” to an existing home on a single or multi-family lot. Why is there a push to add ADU's to your property? Are some parts of the country seeing more of these additions? Who are the typical homeowners making this choice? When do city or county zoning laws come into play, and how does one get the proper building permits? What about costs, and what about returns on these investments? And one of the central questions, where does the resistance or pushback come from. Who is not so welcoming to this trend? Stay informed about one of the hot trends to increase housing stock and be sure to tune in. Mini Bio Lisa De Jesus is the owner of ADU Gurus LLC, located in Vista, California. Her company understands everything needed to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit on a single family parcel or a multi-family lot. Her practice offers an understanding of ADU feasibility, parameters for local government acceptance, development impact fee (DIF) waivers, financing, architectural design and construction management. She provides property owners with Structural Plans and Title 24 documentation to obtain permits to build ADUs in any local municipality. Considered the San Diego County "ADU Expert", Lisa is a native San Diegan, a former City of La Mesa Planning Commissioner. She currently sits as a Vista City Council appointed Commissioner on a local Review Board. Her key strength is helping to navigate the complexities of a city's Planning & Building Departments. Lisa earned an Associate of Arts in Spanish from Grossmont College and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from San Diego State University. She has a 20+ year interest in and involvement with local government, specifically in density and in-fill. Items Mentioned for Our Listeners Lisa's website: ADU Gurus
Accessory Dwelling Units: What are They and Who are They For? In this Living to 100 Club Podcast, we explore the topic of Accessory Dwelling Units, commonly called ADU's. Our guest for this conversation is Lisa De Jesus, a leading authority on planning, permitting, and building these secondary living units on your property. Sometimes referred to as granny flats, casitas, and even garage conversions, the “accessory” in the ADU term refers to an “accessory” to an existing home on a single or multi-family lot. Why is there a push to add ADU's to your property? Are some parts of the country seeing more of these additions? Who are the typical homeowners making this choice? When do city or county zoning laws come into play, and how does one get the proper building permits? What about costs, and what about returns on these investments? And one of the central questions, where does the resistance or pushback come from. Who is not so welcoming to this trend? Stay informed about one of the hot trends to increase housing stock and be sure to tune in. Mini Bio Lisa De Jesus is the owner of ADU Gurus LLC, located in Vista, California. Her company understands everything needed to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit on a single family parcel or a multi-family lot. Her practice offers an understanding of ADU feasibility, parameters for local government acceptance, development impact fee (DIF) waivers, financing, architectural design and construction management. She provides property owners with Structural Plans and Title 24 documentation to obtain permits to build ADUs in any local municipality. Considered the San Diego County "ADU Expert", Lisa is a native San Diegan, a former City of La Mesa Planning Commissioner. She currently sits as a Vista City Council appointed Commissioner on a local Review Board. Her key strength is helping to navigate the complexities of a city's Planning & Building Departments. Lisa earned an Associate of Arts in Spanish from Grossmont College and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from San Diego State University. She has a 20+ year interest in and involvement with local government, specifically in density and in-fill. Items Mentioned for Our Listeners Lisa's website: ADU Gurus
In today's episode we're thrilled to be joined by Melissa Shepard, Salesforce CTA, Golden Hoodie recipient and Founder of Lizztech Consulting, a Salesforce consulting business based in the USA. We discuss Melissa's background, how she first joined the Salesforce ecosystem from roles in Java and .Net, and what her career trajectory has looked like since, including a period working in product development. We discuss the difference between a Developer or Engineer and an Architect, why she decided to pursue the CTA initially, what her personal journey looked like, and how her role has shifted since passing the Review Board. As a Golden Hoodie recipient, Melissa shares what the acknowledgement means to her, and we also touch on her new venture, a not for profit called ScaleUp Archs. She explains what it is, and what her plans and goals are for it. Make sure you're following Melissa on LinkedIn for her updates and we hope you enjoy the chat. We'd like to thank our episode sponsors, FormAssembly for their support in bringing you this episode. Tired of wasting time on tedious processes? Try FormAssembly—the secure, all-in-one, Salesforce-connected data collection platform. FormAssembly helps customers streamline and automate data collection processes, enabling organizations in all industries to save an average of 55 hours each week on manual data entry. Using the platform's new Workflow Builder, non-technical users can map entire data collection workflows, eliminate inefficient processes, and make better, faster decisions—all without code or help from IT. Visit http://formassembly.com/talenthub to learn more about the #1 enterprise data collection platform for Salesforce.
This episode I Welcome Ty Wilson to the podcast as we talk about his journey in the Cybersecurity space, mentorship, our connection through Black Tech Twitter, and of course legacy. 1:06 Black Tech Twitter 8:36 Ty's Background 15:05 The Cybersecurity Grind 25:00 Mentorship 34:30 Looking for Love Meet Ty Wilson Mr. Tyrone E. Wilson is a passionate information security professional with 25 years of experience in information technology. Wilson also has extensive knowledge in computer network defense, vulnerability assessments, cyber threat analysis, and incident response. Currently, Wilson is the Founder and President of Cover6 Solutions, LLC; which teaches companies and professionals various aspects of information security, penetration testing, and IPv6. Wilson is also the organizer of The D.C. Cyber Security Professionals. With over 8,500 members, it is the largest #Cybersecurity meetup group in the United States. In addition, Wilson is also on the Review Board of BSides NoVA, Howard University, and Hacker Halted and has presented and/or taught classes at many of the major tech conferences.
In today's episode, we're joined by Salesforce CTA and Principal Architect, Lilith Van Biesen, who is based in Belgium. Throughout the episode we discuss how she first found her way into the Salesforce ecosystem, and what inspired her to set her sights on the Salesforce CTA. She explains why gamification resonated so keenly with her, and the resources, people and coaching in the ecosystem who she sought insights, knowledge and motivation from. As a Salesforce CTA, Lilith talks us through her journey, her experiences of the Review Board and the partial pass, how she approached study, and why she now finds giving back so rewarding. We talk about talent attraction and how companies can best position themselves and their roles to appeal to Salesforce CTAs and upcoming Salesforce talent. Make sure you're following Lilith on LinkedIn for her insights and feel free to reach out with any questions that you may have, as she's more than happy to assist you on your journey. We hope you enjoy the discussion!
It's been a stormy start to the new year with several blizzard and freezing rain storms. And the ongoing love-hate relationship continues with the province's power provider. People love to hate Nova Scotia Power, especially when the lights go out. The company has applied to increase its rates by ten percent over the next three years. And that has once again ignited the debate about how the utility is managed and regulated. Claudia Chender is the NDP House Leader and the Natural Resources and Renewables spokesperson for the party. Earlier this week, she released a statement calling on ratepayers to "tell the Utility and Review Board and Tim Houston's government that Nova Scotia Power's plan needs to be more about protecting people, not protecting corporate profits.”
In today's episode, we're joined by Salesforce CTA and Program Architect for Salesforce, Nicolas Vanden Bossche, who is based in Belgium. Throughout the episode we discuss how he first launched a career in the technology sector, and how he found his way into the Salesforce ecosystem having completed a Masters. Nicolas spent a number of years in consulting, and he shares details of the projects he's worked on and his approach to them, how he stood out and found opportunities to progress, and why he chose the Architect pathway. Prior to joining Salesforce, Nicolas enjoyed a career spanning several years with one consulting partner which is fairly unusual with the ecosystem currently, and so he explains why he made that choice, and the benefits he saw in doing so. As a Salesforce CTA, Nicolas talks us through his journey, his experiences of the Review Board, how he approached study, and why he now finds giving back so rewarding. Make sure you're following Nicolas on LinkedIn for his insights and feel free to reach out with any questions that you may have, as he's more than happy to assist you on your journey. We hope you enjoy the discussion!
Judge Argonaut Deepcreek faces the Review Board and the Beview Roard. Argonaut Deepcreek: Zach Sinclair Prectal Lippery/Greg: Addison Houle Lectal Prippery/Writ: Andy Ransom Commercial Music by Lucindo Teixeira Listen to The Birthday Girls on your favorite streaming service! Sponsor: HyperMegaUltra.com New shirts every week!
Mr. Chhina was placed in immigration detention pending deportation from Canada. The Immigration and Review Board held 12 reviews of his detention and each time ordered continued detention. After 10 months, Mr. Chhina applied to the Court of Queen's Bench for a writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that his detention was lengthy and indeterminate, therefore illegal. He invoked his right under s. 10(c) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to have the validity of his detention determined and to be released if the detention was not lawful, under s. 7 of the Charter to life, liberty and security of the person and not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice, and under s. 9 of the Charter not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta declined to exercise jurisdiction to hear the habeas corpus application. The Court of Appeal Appeal allowed an appeal and remitted the applicaiton to the Court of Queen's Bench for a rehearing on its merits. Argued Date 2018-11-14 Keywords Courts - Jurisdiction, Habeas corpus, Immigration, Procedure - Courts - Jurisdiction - Habeas corpus - Immigration - Immigration and Refugee Board reviews respondent's immigration detention and orders continued detention - Respondent applies to Court of Queen's Bench for writ of habeas corpus - Whether courts should decline habeas corpus jurisdiction in immigration matters - Whether reviews of immigration detention decisions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27, are more limited and less favourable than reviews by way of habeas corpus - Whether reviews of immigration detention decisions for Charter compliance can only occur on habeas corpus applications - Whether reviews of immigration detention decisions do not require expertise in immigration matters?. Notes (Alberta) (Civil) (By Leave) Disclaimers This podcast is created as a public service to promote public access and awareness of the workings of Canada's highest court. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Court. The original version of this hearing may be found on the Supreme Court of Canada's website. The above case summary was prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch).
Tamara Payne visits Friends Like Us, in a one-on-one with host Marina Franklin, discussing her Pulitzer Prize biography on Malcom X Co-Authored with her father Les Payne. Tamara Payne is the co-author of The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X written with her father, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Les Payne. Prior to working on the book, Tamara graduated from William Smith College, Geneva, NY. After graduating, she worked at McNeil/Lehrer News Hour on channel Thirteen for about a year. She then moved to China where she taught English for two years in Shandong Province. After returning from China, Les Payne, her father, brought her on to work on the project about the life of Malcolm X. Tamara was the principal researcher while working in commercial real estate. After Les Payne's sudden passing in 2018, Tamara made it her purpose to finish his life's work. The Dead Are Arising has won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for biography, the 71st National Book Award for nonfiction and the 52nd NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - biography. The Dead Are Arising is available wherever books are sold. Tamara's Father -Les Payne - Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, columnist and former Newsday editor responsible for national/state/foreign and health & science news at the paper for a quarter century. Payne also served as the Editor of New York Newsday. His news staffs won every major award in journalism, including six Pulitzer Prizes. The Inaugural Professor for the David Laventhol Chair, at Columbia U. Graduate School of Journalism, Payne received 4 honorary doctorate degrees, including the 2012 honor from Old Dominion University; and from his alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where he delivered the Commencement Address. Some of Payne's major investigations as a Newsday reporter included: migrant farm laborers on Long Island; involuntary sterilization of minority women; U.S. Atomic testing in Nevada; illegal immigrants; The Black Panther Party, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Payne is also the author of the ``The Life and Death of the Symbionese Liberation Army,” the radical group that kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst and terrorized the West Coast. As a correspondent for Newsday, Payne reported extensively from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the United Nations. In the wake of the 1976 Soweto uprising, he traveled throughout South Africa and wrote an 11-part Newsday series that the Pulitzer Prize jury selected for the 1978 award in international reporting; it would have been his second Pulitzer in four years, an accomplishment unprecedented for a reporter at that time. The Review Board overturned the committee's selection and, without explanation, gave it to the jury's 4th choice, the New York Times. As a founder, and the 4th president, of the National Association of Black Journalists, Payne worked diligently to improve media fairness and employment practices and to expand the coverage of black and Third World communities. He also co-founded the “TrotterGroup,” a national organization of newspaper writers of commentary. Payne served six years as a Ranger in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain. He commanded a Nike-Hercules anti-aircraft missile battery, and during an assignment in Vietnam, ran the command newspaper as an army journalist, and wrote messages and speeches for Commanding Gen. William C. Westmoreland. Born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Payne grew up in Hartford, CT, graduating from high school, with honors, and from the University of Connecticut, with a BA degree in English. Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.
Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. He is currently employed by the Department of Homeland Security to work on the Biden Administration's climate and immigration policies.
The CBC's Paul Withers explains how a decision by the NS Utility and Review Board opens the door to the first green energy company selling power directly to customers. We hear from a woman on PEI who donated part of her liver and hears from the recipient's family. And on the phone-in: How is inflation hitting you the hardest?
In this episode Marian Harrison describes what it was like growing up in rural Arlington, Washington, the change in the community as the economy shifted throughout the decades, the work she did for local government, and family. Born in Everett, Washington 1931, Marian Harrison is a Mother of 7, grandmother of 11.Marian was an employee of the Arlington School District for 22 years, a member of Public School Employees of Washington, current Chair of the 38th Legislative District Democrats, formerly the Chair of the 10th District Democrats, and has worked around 30 campaigns. Serves on many boards and commissions in Snohomish County, which include the foster Care Citizen's Review Board, and the Children's Commission.
In today's episode, we're joined by Germany based Salesforce CTA, Tsezarii Zhydetskyi. Throughout the chat, Tsezarii shares his early career background, how he initially became a part of the Salesforce ecosystem and why he commenced on the path of working towards the CTA. We talk about his experiences in Salesforce Consulting, which decisions led him to select the roles that he's undertaken, and why he ultimately chose the architecture route. We discuss his journey to CTA, in terms of technical capability, his approach to the Review Board, and the mental preparation that required him to tailor his daily routines to maximise his productivity, even when he was pushed to make time sensitive decisions. Tsezarii gives a really candid insight into the value of building a support network with others in the Community also on the same path in order to learn from eachother, and he shares the highlights of those experiences. Make sure you're following Tsezarii on LinkedIn to stay connected, and if you have any questions, then Tsezarii is happy to chat with you online. Don't forget to check out our episode sponsors, FlowRepublic for details about their Elite Salesforce Academy coaching, and a big thank you for their support in bringing you this episode. We hope you enjoy the chat!
The second and final part of a very special episode of Inside the Nudge Unit, recorded to tie in with the recent 10 year anniversary of the Behavioural Insights Team. Join our CEO, Professor David Halpern, with the founders and pioneers of behavioural economics, Professor Richard Thaler, Professor Cass Sunstein and Google's head behavioural scientist Dr Maya Shankar, discussing how ‘nudge' has evolved over the last decade and where the science of human behaviour is headed next. Richard Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioural economics. He has been at the forefront of research into psychology of decision-making and economics for over two decades and is the co-author of the international best seller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness in which the concepts of behavioural economics are applied to tackle many of society's biggest problems. As well as being co-author of the best-seller Nudge, Cass Sunstein is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School and Chair of the World Health Organization's technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and served on President Barack Obama's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Maya Shankar is Google's Global Director of Behavioral Economics and joined Cass Sunstein as a Senior Advisor within the Obama White House administration where she founded and served as Chair of the White House's Behavioral Science Team — a team of scientists charged with improving public policy using research insights about human behavior. Maya completed a post-doctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at Stanford after receiving a Ph.D. from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship and a B.A. from Yale in cognitive science. To learn more about BIT's first and next 10 years, go to www.bi.team/bit10. You can find every other episodes of Inside The Nudge Unit at www.bi.team/our-work/podcast-inside-the-nudge-unit and keep up to date with all our latest insights on Twitter @B_I_Tweets. Further reading Nudge is available to buy as paperback or e-book on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nudge-Improving-Decisions-Health-Happiness/dp/0141040017 Read more about Maya Shankar's work on behavioural science at her website https://mayashankar.com/bio Check out Richard Thaler's Nobel Prize winning work here https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/thaler/biographical/ Credits Editing by Andy Hetherington Music by Rich O'Brien
Part 1 of a very special episode of Inside the Nudge Unit, recorded to tie in with the recent 10 year anniversary of the Behavioural Insights Team. Join our CEO, Professor David Halpern, with the founders and pioneers of behavioural economics, Professor Richard Thaler, Professor Cass Sunstein and Google's head behavioural scientist Dr Maya Shankar, discussing how ‘nudge' has evolved over the last decade and where the science of human behaviour is headed next. Richard Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioural economics. He has been at the forefront of research into psychology of decision-making and economics for over two decades and is the co-author of the international best seller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness in which the concepts of behavioural economics are applied to tackle many of society's biggest problems. As well as being co-author of the best-seller Nudge, Cass Sunstein is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School and Chair of the World Health Organization's technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and served on President Barack Obama's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Maya Shankar is Google's Global Director of Behavioral Economics and joined Cass Sunstein as a Senior Advisor within the Obama White House administration where she founded and served as Chair of the White House's Behavioral Science Team — a team of scientists charged with improving public policy using research insights about human behavior. Maya completed a post-doctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at Stanford after receiving a Ph.D. from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship and a B.A. from Yale in cognitive science. To learn more about BIT's first and next 10 years, go to www.bi.team/bit10. You can find every other episodes of Inside The Nudge Unit at www.bi.team/our-work/podcast-inside-the-nudge-unit and keep up to date with all our latest insights on Twitter @B_I_Tweets. Further reading Nudge is available to buy as paperback or e-book on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nudge-Improving-Decisions-Health-Happiness/dp/0141040017 Read more about Maya Shankar's work on behavioural science at her website https://mayashankar.com/bio Check out Richard Thaler's Nobel Prize winning work here https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/thaler/biographical/ Credits Editing by Andy Hetherington Music by Rich O'Brien
In today's episode, we speak with UK-based Certified Technical Architect and European Salesforce CTO at Capgemini, Tameem Bahri, about the release of his book, "Becoming A Salesforce Certified Technical Architect". Throughout the episode, we discuss his Salesforce career, his journey to CTA, and where the idea first originated to write a book. Having led CTA development programmes in large SI's previously, we delve into what makes people ready to take on the Review Board, how the role of Architect has changed over the years, and the common problems that he sees within the architecture space. We talk about the contents of the book, and how it covers example-led architectural strategies and best practices. The episode will also be useful to people preparing for a career in Salesforce, and Tameem gives his insights into the non-technical side of the skills spectrum, and of course, what excites him about the future of the platform. You can order your copy of "Becoming A Certified Technical Architect" online here. Electronic versions can also be purchased at Kindle. Do make sure you're following Tameem on LinkedIn for more content and insights, and we look forward to seeing your posts and tweets about the book on our social feeds. We'd like to thank our sponsors, FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy for their support in bringing this episode to you, and we hope you enjoy both the podcast episode and the read!
In today's episode, we're joined by Salesforce Manager and Certified Technical Architect, Nikunj Doshi. Nikunj has an interesting story, having begun his career in sales and business development, before first learning to code as part of an intensive training program with Infosys in India. He explains what the training campus and the culture are like, as part of one of these large intakes, and how he found the program as a way to learn. Having worked as a Tech Lead for a broad range of international clients in India following his completion of the program, Nikunj went on to relocate to Australia. With the support of mentors and peers, he worked his way into an architecture role, and pursued the CTA credential. Nikunj walks us through his two Review Board attempts, what he learned, and how he was able to achieve the elusive pass, the second time around. He gives valuable tips and insights for others who have also the ambition to become a Certified Technical Architect. We discuss the Developer role, and it's day-to-day challenges; the issue of poor quality code, and the importance of conscientiousness in this area. It was great to catch up with Nikunj and hear his story, including how he immersed himself in the ecosystem when he first arrived in Australia. Definitely follow him on LinkedIn to continue to follow his story! We'd like to thank our sponsors for this episode, FlowRepublic, the elite Salesforce Academy, who are experts in coaching other aspiring CTA's through their preparation. We hope you enjoy the episode!
In today's episode, we're joined by Cameron Cronin, who is a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect and Principal Director at Accenture, based in the UK. Hailing from Australia, Cameron first began his Salesforce career in Sydney a decade ago, and he shares with us what it was like to be a part of an emerging market, and how his skills and experience have led him across the globe. We think you'll find it fascinating to hear about the market back then, and how it has changed, in detail. Having previously worked at Tquila UK, a highly regarded organisation that was able to cultivate talent to convert a high number of CTA's, Cameron describes his time there, and the reasons why so many achieved the elusive credential and have gone on to do great things in their careers. As one of their first CTA's, Cameron talks about what his own CTA journey was like, and how the Architect role itself has changed over the years, as Salesforce has evolved and acquired further capabilities. Having been a CTA for a number of years, he sheds light on the traits of the very best Architects, and how he identifies whether a person is near ready for the Review Board. As a manager of large teams, Cameron gives insight into his own journey as a manager, particularly given that he is technical himself, and the qualities that he looks for when hiring, including on the non-technical side. All in all, a really interesting episode to kick off 2021, from a valuable perspective by Cameron given his tenure in the ecosystem. Make sure you're following him on LinkedIn, and that you check out our episode sponsor, FlowRepublic, who are masters in coaching and mentoring aspiring CTAs. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Monday, January 11, 2020 at 7:00 PM (PST) Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC. PIDE) Speaker: Prof. Cass R. Sunstein About Speaker: Cass R. Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioral Insights Team in the United Kingdom.
Today I sit down and chat with Larry Shallcross, Chair of the Probable Cause Panel and Van Jacobsen, chair of the Ethical Practices and Review Board. We discuss what each panel does from receiving a complaint, all the way to the decision making process. Learn more about how the EPRB and Probably Cause Panel work together and how they help enforce the rules of the Arabian Horse Association.
Part of the Colloquium on AI Ethics series presented by the Institute of Ethics in AI. This event is also part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients - or that two judges in the same courthouse give different sentences to people who have committed the same crime. Suppose that different food inspectors give different ratings to indistinguishable restaurants - or that when a company is handling customer complaints, the resolution depends on who happens to be handling the particular complaint. Now imagine that the same doctor, the same judge, the same inspector, or the same company official makes different decisions, depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. These are examples of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical. Noise contributes significantly to errors in all fields, including medicine, law, economic forecasting, police behavior, food safety, bail, security checks at airports, strategy, and personnel selection. Algorithms reduce noise - which is a very good thing. Background reading: two papers (i) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3300171; (ii) https://hbr.org/2016/10/noise Speakers Professor Cass Sunstein (Harvard Law School) Commentators: Professor Ruth Chang (Faculty of Law, University of Oxford) and Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt (Jesus College, Oxford and Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford) Chaired by Professor John Tasioulas (inaugural Director for the Institute for Ethics and AI, and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford). Biographies: Professor Cass Sunstein is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities. In 2020, the World Health Organization appointed him as Chair of its technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and after that, he served on the President's Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board. Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and many nations on issues of law and public policy. He serves as an adviser to the Behavioural Insights Team in the United Kingdom. Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt is Principal of Jesus College Oxford and a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. He has researched and published on topics in artificial intelligence, cognitive science and computational neuroscience. In 2009 he was appointed along with Sir Tim Berners-Lee as Information Advisor to the UK Government. This work led to the release of many thousands of public sector data sets as open data. In 2010 he was appointed by the Coalition Government to the UK Public Sector Transparency Board which oversaw the continued release of Government open data. Nigel continues to advise Government in a number of roles. Professor Shadbolt is Chairman and Co-founder of the Open Data Institute (ODI), based in Shoreditch, London. The ODI specialised in the exploitation of Open Data supporting innovation, training and research in both the UK and internationally. Professor Ruth Chang is the Chair and Professor of Jurisprudence and a Professorial Fellow of University College. Before coming to Oxford, she was Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University, New Brunswick in New Jersey, USA. Before that she was a visiting philosophy professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a visiting law professor at the University of Chicago. During this period she also held a Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol College where she was completing her D.Phil. in philosophy. She has held fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and the National Humanities Center and serves on boards of a number of journals. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Her expertise concerns philosophical questions relating to the nature of value, value conflict, decision-making, rationality, the exercise of agency, and choice. Her work has been the subject of interviews by various media outlets in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Taiwan, Australia, Italy, Israel, Brazil, New Zealand, and Austria, and she has been a consultant or lecturer for institutions ranging from video gaming to pharmaceuticals to the CIA and World Bank. Professor John Tasioulas is the inaugural Director for the Institute for Ethics and AI, and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford. Professor Tasioulas was at The Dickson Poon School of Law, Kings College London, from 2014, as the inaugural Chair of Politics, Philosophy & Law and Director of the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law. He has degrees in Law and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a D.Phil in Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He was previously a Lecturer in Jurisprudence at the University of Glasgow, and Reader in Moral and Legal Philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he taught from 1998-2010. He has also acted as a consultant on human rights for the World Bank.
Buy the book here: https://gum.co/dont-say-that/podcast-specialMichael's pluralsight courses here: https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/michael-callaghanRough Transcript (powered by Otter.ai)George Stocker 0:00 Hi, I'm George Stocker, and this is the build better software podcast. Today I have the pleasure of talking with Michael Callahan, lead software engineer at Walt Disney World. And I want to welcome you to the show.Michael Callaghan 0:11 Thank you, George, happy to be here.George Stocker 0:13 So for the those of us who may not know about you, or what you do, tell us a little bit about yourself,Michael Callaghan 0:19 where can I start, I am halfway through my third decade of professional software development. It was way back in the ninth grade in buoy High School. When the data processing teacher, we actually had that class, took pity on me, and allowed me to essentially use her dumb terminals in the classroom after school to teach myself basic. That led to a love for computers and software that never really waned. Even though it was about 10 years after graduation, before I got my very first paid software development gig. And I even got burned out in the late 2000s. Well, mid mid to late 2000s. And didn't work for three years in the industry. And fortunately, that that changed. And I'm now in my 10th year at Disney with Disney Parks experiences and products, where I build what we call cast facing web applications.George Stocker 1:28 So applications for the internal employees that work at Microsoft, or not Microsoft at Disney,Michael Callaghan 1:35 correct. As you may or may not be aware, Disney Parks refers to their employees as cast members, because the entire place if you will, is the metaphor as a as an ongoing show. So even us, we were called backup house cast members, because we're never on stage.George Stocker 1:53 And now you have a book that just came out, which I had the privilege to read. It's called "Don't Say That at Work". Tell us a little bit about that.Michael Callaghan 2:00 What can I tell you about that, as you can probably imagine, if you've done anything for any length of time, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. Hopefully you recover from those mistakes and learn from them. This book is about some of what I consider the more egregious errors that I've made over my career, and some cases, mistakes that somebody else might have made or things that I've observed. And I just decided to put them down in essay form, came up with 20 topics and went ahead and publish the book. So far, it's been well received. George Stocker 2:36 Now, before we dive deeper into your background, I want to dive a little bit into the book. And in the book you talk about not only, you know, mistakes that that you've made, but also things that both software engineers and software leaders should be aware of. And you have a story in it about about one of your bosses, can you go deeper into that storyMichael Callaghan 2:57 I mentioned a few different bosses in the story is which one he is talking about in particular,George Stocker 3:03 it was it was a boss that was not was not altogether truthful.Michael Callaghan 3:09 That was a fun experience, because that was very early in my career. And so I was still naive, wet behind the ears, whatever phrase you want to use. And I never had a college degree, at least not at that point. I was a University of Maryland computer science dropout twice. So when I got my very first software development job in 1995, I felt very fortunate that someone was willing to give me a chance without a degree. That did not turn out too well. And then I got my second job. And that was this particular boss. Not only did he not give me the job that he hired me to do, which was that of a Macintosh developer. And yes, I was a Mac developer before it was cool back when we used Pascal. But not only did he not give me the job that he had hired me to do a few years into the into the job, I want to say bout a year and a half, maybe two years. He asked me to falsify my resume. Because what he would do was send resumes of his employees when he when he would bid on a job. So we were as we were an independent software development shop. And he would go and bid on different development projects, bring them back in house, and then he would manage the project. So this particular client wanted only college graduates to work on their project. And that's their prerogative. I didn't have a degree. And when I pointed that out to him, and he did two things very quickly. One he got annoyed with me for not having a degree even though he knew that and then second, he went ahead and modified my resume to say that I had a computer science degree when he sent it to the client. As you can imagine, I didn't take that very well. But this is my my boss. This is my livelihood, doing what can you do about it. Eventually, I decided that I couldn't in good conscious, keep working for this guy. So I started looking for other jobs. So I went ahead and submitted my resignation and turned over the key to the office and walked out the door, essentially.George Stocker 5:16 But that's not the end of it, is it?Michael Callaghan 5:17 It is not.You have read the book. So right after I resigned, I thought we were on pretty good terms. He sent me an email that said, Hey, would you mind signing this affidavit? I just need something for, for the record saying that, you know, you officially quit and you don't have any company property. And then you're not going to solicit any of our clients or, or employees to try to poach them. I was good with that I looked through it didn't seem to be anything scary in there. So I signed it to the back a day or two later, I was cleaning out my desk, at home, my work from home desk, and I found a couple of CDs that obviously belonged to my employer, my former employer. So I sent off a quick email to him, I said, hey, I've got these CDs. I must have overlooked them. If you want, I can bring them by the office sometime, put them in the mail, whatever you want, set them aside. didn't think anything more about it. That Saturday, I got a priority overnight, FedEx letter from his attorney, accusing me of stealing, not only the CDs, but also source code, and informing me that I was now the subject of both civil and criminal investigations.George Stocker 6:31 And so at that point, how are you? How are you feeling like to get that that letter petrified,Michael Callaghan 6:38 absolutely terrified. And here I am, I've got a wife in a newborn, I think my son was about 18 months old, maybe close to two years. And here I am being told that I'm going to be arrested and thrown in prison. Because I committed perjury by saying that I hadn't kept any company property. But youGeorge Stocker 6:57 did the right thing, and that you engage the lawyer in this kind of entertainment that ever gets in the situation. talk to a lawyer before you do anything. And you talk to a lawyer and a lawyer. I didMichael Callaghan 7:07 talk to a lawyer. But keep in mind, it was Saturday. There was no Google there wasn't really much of an internet in 1997. To speak of. So I there wasn't a lot of research I could do there wasn't, I couldn't go to a website and ask questions or, you know, legal online forums, I had to go to the Yellow Pages for New Hampshire, find a lawyer pretty much at random, and wait until Monday. So I had to wait two whole days, not knowing what was gonna happen. And then Monday morning, I called someone that I had found that offered one hour free consultations and explained to him what happened. He had me come into his office with everything that I had, you know, the letter or the the email the the letter that I had signed, saying that I wasn't going to take anything and meet him in his office that morning. When I got there, he reviewed everything he heard my side of the story said, this seems like overkill. This seems kind of silly. So let me just go ahead and give this guy a call. Maybe we can take care of it right now. I won't even charge you anything. I'll just, I'll just help you take care of it. And when he made the call, my boss flipped out. I don't think he was expecting me to fight back. I assumed he just thought I would roll over and cower, which kind of what I want it to do. But one of the one of the cool things about the call from my attorney said, Let's call him Mr. Smith, said Mr. Smith, you can't go around threatening criminal prosecution to as a private citizen. He said, That's not how this works. He says, in fact, you could be putting yourself in legal Jeopardy by doing that. In this state, he goes, so I would appreciate it. If you don't go around making threats like that to my client. You know, now I'm getting nice and puffed up. That was the wrong thing to say to this guy. He he was not one that could be intimidated. And I could hear through the other end of the phone. He was just screaming at my attorney. Eventually everything calmed down. But when they got off the phone, the the lawyer looked at me and said, Well, I thought we could take care of this pretty easily, but it looks like not. And so I had to hire him officially and give him a $500 retainer. And then he took over negotiations with my former bosses attorney. And the way it all ended up, I ended up driving to this other attorney's office, giving him the two CDs and another affidavit and believe it or not, I was also required to apologize for putting my boss and all in his company through this ordeal, and it cost me $500 so for the privilege of doing that, but in the end, I never served any prison time. So I guess it's all good.George Stocker 9:49 Yeah, no, it was it was a harrowing story to read. And it it reinforced at least for me in my background is Ensuring that when you're interviewing at a company, or when you're working somewhere, you know, if you see small things that look like they're out of place, you see small moral misgivings that that can, you know, that's not just the first time that somebody's done something about, you know, falsifying your resume and sending out to his clients or prospective clients for the company is not probably the first time that they've done something that is ethically questionable. And you need to be on the lookout for that, because it could lead to in fact, what you went through, which is a pretty harrowing experience.Michael Callaghan 10:38 It was definitely a harrowing experience.George Stocker 10:41 Now, on the lighter side of the book, the book has 20 some odd lessons about things not to do at work. And one of the other passages that really stuck with me was, don't say no at work, and you give an example of how things are handled during a Walt Disney experience. Can you go into more detail?Michael Callaghan 11:03 Yes. And let me preface that by just explaining that. I am not a Disney operations cast member. I don't work in the parks. Well, I do sometimes, but not it's not my job. So I haven't been through a lot of this training. But I've seen it in action. And I've always marveled at it. So if, if, if I can let me start with a real quick story that's not in the book. Have you been to Walt Disney World?George Stocker 11:27 I have about some I'm ashamed to say about 20 years ago now, I have only been one. Okay.Michael Callaghan 11:34 So the location that I'll mention probably wasn't won't mean anything to you. In the one of the newer sections of Magic Kingdom is new Fantasyland. And in new Fantasyland is the beasts castle from beating the beast in that castle is in a restaurant called br guest. And on one of the few occasions that I have actually gotten to work in the parks. I was helping out on on a abnormally. Let's see what how the right how to put this to the right way. It was a holiday period with increased Park attendance. How's that? And I was working in VR guest a kind of as a volunteer, helping with keeping parties together and handing out menus. And someone came up to me holding the menu and they said, Hey, can I keep this? Keep it? What do you mean? You know, do you get your food? No, no, I want to keep it for forever as a souvenir. I was taken aback as I never heard that question before. And it wasn't something that I was trained to deal with. And my first thought is, well, of course you can't keep this it's you know, people need these. This is its menu. And so that was mine. incident reaction was? No, of course not the look on this guest face when she handed me the menu and walked away. Something I won't forget anytime soon. And what I learned from that, from the manager in the in the restaurant was we don't tell guests No. What if they make something you know, what if you can't accommodate them? What if it really is an unreasonable request? And she said, Well, first of all, that's not an unreasonable request. People take our menus all the time, we're we're aware of that. You're Second, you need to learn to say no without saying no. Okay. So that leads me to the story that's in the book. And we were in my family and I were in Disney's Hollywood Studios outside of the sci fi dining restaurant, and we had reservations and we had checked in, we're waiting for our table or our car, if you've ever been there, and people would come up to the hostess at the podium outside the restaurant and ask, do you have any tables available? And I never once heard her say the word no. And I watched for quite a while. She would say things like, I'm sorry. We don't have any tables available. But would it be okay, if I helped you find another restaurant nearby? That seemed to be her go to answer. Or, you know, another possibility for another restaurant might be? Could we see you at the bar? Could we can you know? Would you be okay? Or would you be open to take out? Apparently some of the Disney restaurants do that. And I did not know that at the time. So there are all sorts of ways to tell people No, without telling them No. Because when you tell them no, the conversations over, you really can't go any further. But if you say I'm afraid I can't help you in that particular request. Is there another way I can help you? And we can move forward? Or there? We don't have any tables now. But what about an hour from now? Would that work for you? So the goal is always to be trying to help rather than just shutting down saying no. So you can move on with your day.George Stocker 14:36 There are a lot of stories in your book and they and they all seem to have a a personal perspective to it, which provides a lot more of an emotional background. And we won't go into the example here too much. But you you put yourself into this book, you know with with all of the examples That you wrote, like the time that and people should read the book, like the time that you were in a net meeting call and accidentally, after a rather tense conversation accidentally ended the conference for everybody on the call. And it's, it's just like, I can feel your how much of yourself you put into this book. And it shows when you're reading on the pages, and I feel like I was feeling those emotions with you. While you were writing it, how was that process for you?Michael Callaghan 15:28 For the most part, it was just me in a brain dump of what I remembered about the situation. And the particular one that you're referring to now I call it my temper tantrum. That was at HP back in 2005. And the reason I remember that one so well, is because I almost wrote a book at the time about it. And I never got any farther than a bunch of chapter titles. And so I was cleaning out my harddrive one day. And I found this file, looking through it. And I said, I remember this. Oh, yeah. And I had forgotten about that. I'd forgotten about that. Oh, yeah, I remember doing that. So in that one. And I think that's probably one of the more detailed chapters in the book, because I had all that information right in front of me, that I could draw from. Now, if you're asking, how was it emotionally? Looking back on it, it's just kind of funny to me now. Because I remember, right after I hung up on that call, I started getting instant messages from my co workers. Did you just hang up on everybody? And I said, you know, did I? I guess I did because I initiated the call. And it's not like today's zoom calls Weren't you click leave it says, you know, disconnect. Everybody, yes or no? It was just the call has been ended by the by the originator or something of that nature. And it was done.George Stocker 16:45 Now you are the lead software engineer atMichael Callaghan 16:49 Disney Be careful. Let me let me correct you there. I am a lead software engineer. It's a title. It's notGeorge Stocker 16:56 I'm not the lead the lead of anything. The lead the lead, you know, you're one of several correct InMichael Callaghan 17:02 fact, there were four leads on my, on the team that I'm currently on. SoGeorge Stocker 17:06 now as a lead at Disney, what does that entail? What is your day to day look like?Michael Callaghan 17:12 It really depends on the project. So I've done everything from lead the team, which is what you would expect from the title. So I was on a team and I would help with the running the stand ups and work with the the business owners on story grooming and everything you might imagine that a lead would do. And seeing the project through from initial funding, through planning through execution and delivery, through getting sustainment turned over. So I've done that these days with everything going on in the world and with with Disney, it's more of a where do we need something right this second? Can you go help with that? It wasn't long ago that I was writing node scripts to talk to JIRA, the live in Ohio, quote, what do you call JIRA?George Stocker 18:07 I try not, I tryMichael Callaghan 18:08 not to also but at this point in time project management system, right. So we were moving the system from from one machine or one version to another, and they wanted some custom code written to copy a lot of the the issues from one system to the other. They said, well, Mike, do you know node? I do know node. All right. Can you run with this for a few weeks? Sure. Because literally, it's wherever we need you right now. And I think that's a result of COVID. At this point, I'm just happy to have a job.George Stocker 18:40 And how big is your team at Disney?Michael Callaghan 18:43 About a dozen of us total, including some managers,developers, testers, etc. George Stocker 18:50 Okay, and the and this team is the team responsible for internal facing a cast member applications or there's severalMichael Callaghan 18:59 there are several teams. So I want to be careful not to try to you know, dig into the the internal structure workings of the company, because I am not a spokesman for the company. So I'm working on a very small, vertical segment for reservations. And that's about as far as I'll go into, at this point.George Stocker 19:19 Okay. Now, during your career, you've worked at Disney, you've worked at HP. And you and you've talked about a little bit at the top of the show you talked about a few years where you were burnt out. Can you talk about what led up to that, to that burnout Michael Callaghan 19:35 temper tantrum and howGeorge Stocker 19:36 and you recovered for it. It was the temper tantrumMichael Callaghan 19:38 temper tantrum.I think this is in the book that I was given the opportunity to stay on with with hp. They didn't fire me. But they also didn't let me continue on in that project the way I had been because I was I was a de facto leader on that project. And so when I made the decision to do what I did, that led to the lukol The temper tantrum. I kind of knew that if it didn't work, it was going to be bad. But I did it anyway. So when my manager called and she was in California, at the HP headquarters out there, and I was in Southern New Hampshire, so we couldn't have been farther away physically, if we had tried, she gave me the option to stay on with hp for no less than a year in a probationary state, which meant no, no raises no potential promotions or anything like that. So and then they would revisit it in 12 months to see where I had whether I had been a good boyfriend for the year, I did not relish the idea in 2005, of continuing on a project that at this point was five years old and written in Visual Basic six. So I told her, I had another option for her. And that's that I would just give her my two week notice. And she wouldn't have to deal with me anymore. She negotiated an extra two weeks out of me. So I stayed around for another month after that, essentially, helping the the contractors that then hired, understand the software. And then I left. A few months later, I packed up, I moved from Southern New Hampshire to Central New Hampshire. And for the next two and a half to three years, I was a failed real estate investor. And I say failed, because it started out pretty good. And then I started losing money and losing money and losing money.George Stocker 21:29 Was that around the time that the bubble burst on housing?Michael Callaghan 21:32 Yes, right after I made my first few deals, where, where it looked like, Hey, you know, I can make a living doing this. And so I started making a living doing that. And then suddenly, I was no longer making a living doing that. Now, I went from making $50,000 on two deals on a row, to making 15,000 on a deal. That's okay, you know, if you do one of those a month, that's still pretty good, right? And then $7,000 on a deal, and then barely breaking even on a deal. And you'd think that with a software development background, that the pattern would emerge. But it didn't, because I was blinded by my desire to make it work. And so from there, where I should have simply stopped, I lost over the next few years, I think I lost over $200,000. So that was fun.George Stocker 22:20 I'm, I'm trying not to like betray the fact that my mouth is agape. And I'm like, that's, you know, that's that's a lot of money. Michael Callaghan 22:29 Fortunately, I didn't lose it. I mean, it didn't come out of my pocket personally.What had happened was the, the properties were over leveraged. And there were two in general, though, that really were the killer. And I don't know if you want a real estate story that's not in the book, but I consider it one of my biggest failures.George Stocker 22:48 failure is something that helps us learn so sure,Michael Callaghan 22:51 there was a house. And in reality, it was a mobile home was a quote unquote, manufactured home in the town of Jaffrey New Hampshire, right at the base of Mountain monadnock, the tallest mountain in southwest New Hampshire, gorgeous countryside, beautiful mountain views. It was a pristine, open level lot that someone stuck a mobile home in the middle of, but the price was right. It was in good condition. It already had a tenant in it. So I went ahead and bought it and then immediately refinanced it. Because it was undervalued. I took I took the cash, to put it into another property in Concord, New Hampshire, which is the state capitol. So I'll get to that one in a minute. But the tenant I had already talked to, and she wanted to buy the place. But she needed some time to line up her finances. I said, Well, you know what, this is a great opportunity for me. I bought the property from the original owner, who was an out of state landlord, refinanced. It took $80,000 in cash out to fund the no the next investment, immediately put it under contract with the tenant and said, okay, you'll pay rent to me, because you know, you're still a tenant, you'll pay rent to me. Until we go to closing. She said, that's great. I said, I'll tell you what, I'll make it even better. I'll credit you the monthly rent towards the purchase price. Between now and closing. She's wonderful. We're all friends, everybody's happy. Tenants don't always keep their word. I don't know if you're aware of this, but sometimes they stop paying rent. And that is exactly what this one did. And what I later found out is that that was the reason that the house was available in the first place. She hadn't been paying rent to the other guy, either. She gave me one or two months, I guess to string me along and then stop paying. New Hampshire is pretty landlord friendly, not tenant friendly. They're pretty landlord friendly. So I gave her an opportunity to to catch up said hey, do you even still want to buy this place and she finally admitted to me that there was no way she would ever qualify to buy the house. So we agreed that she was just going to go ahead and move out. month went by. I heard nothing jafra was a little bit too far for me to be driving by on a regular basis. So I figured I'd give it another week and then maybe I drive out and see what's going on. Instead, I got a phone call from the town of Jaffrey foot. Well, this can't be good. They said, Mr. Callahan, we just wanted to let you know that we shut the water off to your property on mountain road. May I ask why is it Yeah, the the water guy reading the meter, he said, we noticed that you had used twice the amount of water that you normally do in a month. So he went to the door knocked the only sound nobody answered the door. But the only sound he could hear was water running.George Stocker 25:39 Oh, no.Michael Callaghan 25:41 This was probably January. I don't know where you live. But January in New Hampshire is cold, single digits for weeks at a time. What he or what we eventually discovered was that the tenant had left took all of our stuff moved out, turned off the electricity. Now there's no heat, water pipe leading to the toilet froze and broke. When the temperature went back up, and and the pipe unfroze. Now it's spewing water throughout the entire plot property. By the time I got there, it had all drained out because the floor had collapsed, for the most part with all the water. And there were water stains going up about a foot on the walls. So this thing was a foot underwater at one point. And as I mentioned, it's a manufactured home. It can't handle that the walls were destroyed, the floor was destroyed. There was nothing salvageable about this place. I eventually talked the the lender that had refinanced it into accepting $80,000 for the property when it was originally had been valued around $200,000. And I sold it to a guy who was going to demolish the thing and build his own house on it. So that was $120,000 paper loss. I still had the money from the from the cash out from the refinance. But for some bizarre reason, they didn't ask for that. And I Well, I guess I didn't have it because it was in the next house. So they ended up taking what's called a short sale. So they accepted less for pay off. And then they sent me a 1099 tax statement for the remainder. So I had to pay income taxes on that, on that, quote, unquote, gain,George Stocker 27:18 which is really just the amount that you wouldn't have had.Michael Callaghan 27:20 Right.George Stocker 27:24 Now, the you get back into software development after this this hiatus, you know, what was it like getting back into software development? And what did you do?Michael Callaghan 27:38 I got a call from a friend of mine, guy I went to high school with who knew that I had been a computer nut since ninth grade. He had a company in Maryland. And he needed a software developer, contractor, essentially, he said, Hey, I know, you really, really want to do this real estate thing. He says, but I could use a favor. Would you be open to maybe 1020 hours a week, just consulting and doing a little bit of programming for me, that led to a heart to heart conversation with him. After I agreed I did it for a little while part time, because he said I could do it from New Hampshire, I didn't have to come to Maryland. But then after my next real estate disaster, and there was a funny one after that, that one. He said to me something I'll never forget. He said, I think you might be better off if you stick to your core competencies. And as long as I've known you, your core competency has been software development. And I could use you. So at that point he offered me and I accepted a full time job with this company. And that's how I went back into the industry.George Stocker 28:43 And from there, you eventually found your way. Do you work? Or do you live in Florida now?Michael Callaghan 28:51 I do. So the the Maryland gig led to was a was a number of years, probably good three years, remote work, I flew down to Maryland once or twice a month just to show my face in the office. And that company eventually went out of business. financial problems, right? If you don't sell you don't, you don't bring in revenue, you can't stay in business. That's that led to a couple of minor contracts here and there. And then I got a chance to go to Dell in Texas. The skills I picked up at Dell in Texas, directly led to my current gig at Disney World. So if I hadn't gone to Dell, I probably wouldn't have qualified for my current job and could not be more grateful for the path that that I've been on since then.George Stocker 29:38 And so what were those things that you learned at Dell,Michael Callaghan 29:42 I was hired at Dell, essentially to be an ASP dotnet developer, when and when I say ASP dotnet I mean web forms if you're familiar with that at all. So doing C sharp, server side C sharp web development with heavy web form technology. While we were at Dell, or while I was at Dell, Microsoft came in, did a training, remember what they called it, it was like a developer conference. But it was only for people at Dell. So it was just a small conference room at a local hotel. And I was excited when I heard about it. But then I figured it was only going to be four employees. But they said, No, no, no, no, go ahead and take it. So we can't pay you to go. But you're welcome to go. So I went ahead and went, I met Phil hack, who was with Microsoft at the time.George Stocker 30:31 It was this when they were introducing ASP. NET MVC.Unknown Speaker 30:35 Exactly. Well, it wasn't the very first time because it was MVC version 2. version one didn't impress me much. So we kind of stuck with, with, with web forms. But it was the perfect time, the perfect opportunity, because the product I was on was feeling heavy. And it had a lot of a lot of code that was there, specifically to do the things that MVC two gave you out of the box. So over the next, I think it was there about a year and a half total, I was able to take what I had been introduced to at that developer seminar, and help rewrite that entire project with MVC two, and I think the code size got cut in half. Because of all the boilerplate we were just able to delete, and things like view state. Oh, gosh, I had forgotten. How can you bring that back into my mind?George Stocker 31:34 I will never forget my scars with webforms. Sadly,Unknown Speaker 31:39 yeah, so MVC 2. And that technology led me to when I interviewed with Disney, that was one of the technologies that I had on my resume. And they asked me about it. So I explained that story to them. And it turned out that the people who interviewed me knew a lot of the folks at Microsoft. And so they were, I guess that I dropped the appropriate name. And so I got thatGeorge Stocker 32:04 job. And now at Disney, what sort of technology stack do you use?Michael Callaghan 32:10 I don't think this is a secret. Yeah, I don't think it's a secret. Because if you look at if you go to Disney tech.com you you can find job postings for for all sorts of web development technologies, but it is mostly known on Angular. So I don't think it's a secret, if we're advertising for that. So just about everything I do these days is either node or Angular. I have not I was hired as a dotnet. developer, haven't done dotnet since 2012 2013. Except for one time when I I kind of sneaked in into a project. Not the same story. Yeah, not it wasn't the same as my as my my temper tantrum. But it was very similar circumstance, it was, folks, the dotnet will work perfectly here. Let's just use it. But instead of being sneaky about it, I got the approval up front to do it. Interestingly enough, sorry that that project, went live on Valentine's Day. So February 14 2018, it's now been two and a half years, the dotnet portion of that application has had one problem in production. And it was a configuration typo on my part. Other than that, it's been flawless. They don't reboot it. They don't touch it. It just works. I wish I could say the same for most of our web technologies.George Stocker 33:33 Yeah, I find myself cursing Angular every few months or so as we upgrade. But one of the things I know about Angular is that it really does remind me a lot of web forms. It's the it's the same paradigm. Just this time shifted all the way to the client and wrapped up in a pretty new bow.Michael Callaghan 33:52 interesting you say that because I'm I'm fond of telling people that it reminds me ofGeorge Stocker 33:55 Silverlight. Did you were you able to develop in Silverlight before they killed it?Michael Callaghan 34:01 Yes, I did both WP F and Silverlight.George Stocker 34:03 Yeah, they are now I guess blazer today would be the new would be the new Silverlight.Michael Callaghan 34:11 Yeah, I haven't looked at it.George Stocker 34:13 Yeah. So you as a technology leader, one of your jobs, I assume is to evaluate new technology choices and ensuring that it works for your organization. Now, what are some questions that you ask yourself when you ask your team when someone brings up a new technology choice, like let's say blazer or you know, moving from template driven forms to reactive forms in Angular?Michael Callaghan 34:39 Well,I guess I have to start by correctingyour your original supposition there, and that is that I really don't have a lot of say in what technologies we use. As you can imagine, it's a huge company. So they There are teams whose job it is to is to evaluate those technologies. I was on one of those teams once. And that's kind of where we came where we came up with Angular or the use of Angular and node.George Stocker 35:11 Is it sort of like an architectural Review Board of some sort?Michael Callaghan 35:14 Something like that? Yes. So there's a series of teams that make these decisions, they evaluate these technologies, they come up with reference implementations of these technologies. They set up training to show people how to use these technologies, they approve open source technologies, or maybe, in some cases, do not approve open source technologies. Do you need me to say that again? Did you hear the buzz?George Stocker 35:38 I did, but it's it's okay. Now with how do you interact? You know, in general, what are your What is your advice for interacting with such a committee? Because I've, I've had those, I've interacted with them in the past. But I've also been on small teams, also, where you have a lot more autonomy. How do you, you know, what's your advice for trying to sell them an idea you have?Michael Callaghan 36:01 I think the, the trick, so when this team started, I was actually on it, I had been lent out from my manager to work for a few months on that team. And one of the early decisions we made is that we don't want this architecture team to be considered an ivory tower. We don't want to be up, you know, in our tower on high making commandments. But instead, we wanted it to be collaborative. And although we didn't really get what we were hoping for, I think we had envisioned almost an open source model. If here's our here are GitHub repos. If you have something to add, add, it will will will take pull requests will, will collaborate, will do whatever you need to do, so that it feels like a partnership, not just thou shalt do this. And for the most part, I think that worked, this would have been 2015 2016. So it's been four or five years. And some of that spirit lives on in the team. So they they will collaborate, they will they will send someone to a project to help collaborate on the development in the selection of the technology. And if the technology that the development team needs is not currently in the approved basket, there is a reasonably simple process to get it approved. For example, I had to use ionic once or I didn't have to, I chose to use the Ionic framework for a project that was very time and dollar sensitive. Ionic had not been approved by this team. Fortunately, the project was given to this team. And I was sent to the team to help not only build the project, but also to help sway the technology choice. And so after a little bit of demonstration, and some proofs of concept, I was able to show Hey, we really do need to use ionic for this project to get it done quickly, ahead of schedule and under budget, because in this particular case, there were a bunch of old Windows CE II handheld devices that were going to stop working by the end of the year, because of they were no longer receiving security updates, and would not be able to handle the new Wi Fi certificates. So they were going to die if we didn't do something. So we were able to use the technology we needed to and because of that ionic got approved for use in the company.George Stocker 38:27 Yeah, and for people who may not know what ionic is, is a hybrid mobile application framework. It uses. It sits while the old version of version one x set on top of Cordova and was effectively a UI framework and a a one time for producing mobile applications that could work on both Android and iOS based devices. Now, what were your constraints where ionic made the most sense where it was at those constraints? Was it the UI framework and just the speed of development with JavaScriptMichael Callaghan 39:01 a little of both. So I've told this story publicly before, so I'm pretty sure I'm authorized to continue sharing it. It was for Disney's magical Express. And they have handheld devices, where when you come here on vacation, you can sign up for Disney's magical Express, it's a shuttle from the airport, to the resort, and they take care of your luggage as well. So you get luggage tags sent to you a few weeks before your arrival. And you put your put these tags on your luggage and they've got barcodes on them. At the airport, they wanted to use ruggedized Android devices to scan these barcodes. After resorts. When you get to Walt Disney World property they were using iPhones. So there was an argument early on about well, are we going to do it for Android. We're going to do it for iPhone. And so I raised my hand I said, Well, why don't we just do it for both? Well, we don't have that kind of time Rajat. Well, no, no, we'll use ionic and then we'll just deploy it to either to both of them. Because I only can do that. So they asked me to do a proof of concept. And the hardest part about the perfect concept was the fact that they had a hardware vendor chosen for the barcode reader, they weren't going to use the camera because the camera is too slow. So they had hardware barcode reader, and I fired off an email to their support folks. And I asked them if they supported ionic. And the reply I got back was something to the effect of Never heard of it. But if you can handle Cordova we have a plugin. So okay, downloaded their plugin, fired up a new ionic project, deployed it to my iPhone, and that afternoon was scanning barcodes of Kleenex boxes, soda bottles, everything that that I could find in the conference room. So they said cool use ionic.George Stocker 40:44 They that's the when I was dealing with I was doing Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE. And the hardest part, just like for you The hardest part was the device interaction for the hardest part for us was, you know, tapping into the Bluetooth on the device. And there were Cordova plugins for it. And then ionic, you want to wrap those into Angular wrappers. And that allowed us to use these Cordova plugins inside of the application. But that was in fact, the hardest part was anything dealing with the device, if you had nothing, if you didn't have to deal with the device at all, any of the device hardware, it probably the easiest thing out there. But still, it's even easier using ionic than it is to try to do the same thing with Android that you would do with iOS. Now in the time we have left, you know, where can people learn more about you? And where can peopleMichael Callaghan 41:41 grab your book, the place to learn more about me is probably my blog website, which is walking river.com. My books are all available at Amazon. You can simply search for Michael de Callahan. Or you can go to walking river gumroad.com. anything, any title that's not Amazon exclusive will be available at gumroad.George Stocker 42:05 Wonderful. Now, the book is don't say that at work. And it's lessons from Michael Callahan. And my guest today has been Michael Callahan. Mike, thanks for joining me.Michael Callaghan 42:16 It was a pleasure, sir. I appreciate you having me.George Stocker 42:18 All right, folks. That'll do it for this week. We'll see you next time on the build better software podcast. Thanks
Catherine is this week's guest on the podcast to share her experience telling the story of Shante Smith and the founding of her company Enlighten Me, which aims to help teenagers and adolescents with their mental health. Matt and Catherine also provide updates on the Citizen's Review Board in New Britain and how restaurants are doing one week after Connecticut began phase three of its reopening. Don't forget to rate and subscribe! This week's stories: New Britain woman starts own company to help empower area youth: https://bit.ly/2SRHWdr Many area restaurants still struggling to get by: https://bit.ly/3iZE2tx Proposed civilian review board in New Britain rejected: https://bit.ly/3nQn9VN Bristol public schools to get $1.2 million to help costs associated with reopening: https://bit.ly/3lZCeCT A new Vietnamese restaurant, opening on Berlin Turnpike: https://bit.ly/376vejd Berlin fitness center moves into new, larger space in town: https://bit.ly/313Dfl6
In today's episode, we're joined by Salesforce CTA Lorenzo Frattini, who is the Founder of the Salesforce product, Clayton. With a background in software engineering, Lorenzo explains how he first became a part of the Salesforce ecosystem, and his journey into Consulting within the Salesforce world. As a previous team member of Tquila UK, Lorenzo revisits working amongst bright minds in the market, and how he initially took the path to achieving the CTA. Lorenzo shares key insights into the Developer ecosystem, and highlights the importance of good quality code and security for a business, plus the steps to address poor code within an org. Lorenzo also has a useful take on some of the ways that you can build on your skills to make you a stronger candidate for the Review Board and beyond, encompassing soft skills such as communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Make sure you're following Lorenzo on LinkedIn for further content and information about Clayton, and we'd like to extend a big thank you to FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy for their support in sponsoring this episode. Make sure you visit their website to find out more if the CTA is within your sights.
In today's episode we're joined by Salesforce CTA and Program Architect Director at Salesforce, Arjan Kramer, who is based in the Netherlands. Having seen Arjan speak at Dreamforce, we were keen to hear about his Salesforce journey and the roles he's played both before his life at Salesforce, and since joining the ecosystem. He shared with us his career plans when he was younger and how the skills he learned even in his younger years have been transferable in his role today. Prior to working at Salesforce, Arjan had a lengthly tenure at Capgemini in the Netherlands, and he goes into detail as to how he was able to keep learning and progressing during those years. He shared with us how he first heard of the CTA program, his CTA journey, and the gaps he had to overcome to be successful when he met with the Review Board. Arjan is a generous contributor in the Community, and an accomplished public speaker, and he shared his own tips on building your confidence and finding a sense of calm in performance. He explains how these skills help him in his Architect role, and what other traits and skills make a great Architect in his mind. Make sure you're following Arjan on Twitter and LinkedIn for future content and speaking engagements at Salesforce events. Thank you to our sponsors FlowRepublic, the Salesforce Elite Academy for their support with this episode. We hope you enjoy the episode! #salesforce #salesforcecta #cta #technicalarchitect #dreamforce #salesforcepodcast #journeytocta #pathtocta
In today’s episode of The Decision Corner, we are joined by Cass Sunstein, the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. Professor Sunstein is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. He is a prolific writer, who has written over 40 books, and hundreds of articles, including the international bestseller and essential introduction to behavioral science, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008). He is a recipient of the Holberg Prize, which is bestowed by the Government of Norway. The Holberg Prize is recognized as a counterpart to the Nobel Prize for unparalleled contributions to scholarship in the humanities or the law. Sunstein is currently the Chair of the WHO technical advisory group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health, and he advises the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and countries around the world on issues of law and public policy. He was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from 2009 to 2012; subsequently, he served on the President’s Review Board on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board. He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, “sludge,” fake news, and freedom of speech. In the episode, we discuss: What is fun? What kind of people have the most fun, and whether that is something worth pursuing as a society. The effectiveness of fun in marketing, such as Amazon’s frustration-free packaging project. The role of fun in policy-making: determination and playfulness in Taiwan, how jokes can lead to optimism and hope, New Zealand’s Prime Minister’s attempts at making peoples’ days better. Political leadership and vulnerability. Making mandated behavior change a more tolerable and shared enterprise. Fear appeals: the benefits of enhancing high stakes situations to prevent harm. Populism and the need for personal connections with our political leaders. Cass’s nuanced distinction between the first and second waves of behavioral science. FEAST (Fun, Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely): Cass’s guidelines for engaging affective responses when developing policy. Why every revolution must tolerate dancing. What Cass Sunstein asked a world-class athlete about having fun under pressure.
Amy Barbera has been strategically connecting with people she has been submitting music to. And when she was winning competitions, she was utilizing that to get more publicity and bring her fans on board. I met Amy through the Women of Substance Podcast when she submitted her music. If you are interested to get on our show where we can promote you through our different social channels and our listeners, you can leverage that exposure to show your fans that you are doing something fun and also get to rally your existing fans to share it. You can also connect with other artists who are featured on the show and possibly collaborate with them. If you want to submit to our Review Board, you can do so at www.wosradio.com It all started when Amy was in elementary school. Though she lacked confidence, Amy joined a talent show where she won money by singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. That made her feel that music could be her destiny. Eventually, she joined a choir and musical theater while in college. When she was young, she had anorexia. Through healing, she realized she had to move out of Maryland to seek for opportunities to pursue her passion. She already knew that time that her calling was singing and music. She went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. In that place, she also found a local church. The pastor in that church immediately told her she was to be a lead singer and that started her musical journey. She only started vocal training in her twenties. Back in Maryland when she was young, she developed vocal chord nodules when she was a cheerleader and had undergone surgery. All her vocal teachers said it was a miracle that she sings the way she does even after that. Amy knows her calling was to reach people with her original music. Her message through her music is mainly about God's hope, healing, love, grace and other inspirationals like nature and pursuing your dreams. She does not feel the need to stick to the usual genres. She's not afraid to explore other music styles outside of her genre as well. Before the lockdown happened, she did shows with her mom on her Youtube channel. During the lockdown, she was able to slow down, take much-needed rest and became more active in Youtube doing home videos to let people hear her message. Amy advises to step out of the box and stretch to an area you are not that familiar with as an artist. She invested in doing videos over the years and she has submitted them for competitions. Two years ago, she released an album called "Make Me a Butterfly". Her friend, Robynn, used one of her songs, "Breath of Angels" to close out her short film, "You're Never Alone". She was the one who told Amy about Filmfreeway where she can submit songs and music videos. This outlet has thousands of festivals all over the world and this is where she won a bronze medal for the Global Music Awards and got good reviews and wins for other such competitions. She has gotten a lot of exposure due to joining different international competitions. She also creates promo videos and gets a lot of support from her fans. Even if she doesn't win in some of the competitions she joins, she does get other awards like people's choice and is otherwise happy to get nominated. Winning awards has opened a lot of doors for her. People have reached out wanting to work with her and interview her. It also helped build up her credibility. The Global Music Awards is recognized as music's golden seal of approval and they also have affiliations with other big companies. Even big movies are in Filmfreeway. It's an avenue that opened a lot of opportunities for her. It really helps that through this, even during the Coronavirus she has something great to look forward to. Aside from joining competitions, she also promotes her music even behind the scenes so when judges check her videos they are able to see the views. Her attitude is, even if the song has been released,...
Amy Barbera has been strategically connecting with people she has been submitting music to. And when she was winning competitions, she was utilizing that to get more publicity and bring her fans on board. I met Amy through the Women of Substance Podcast when she submitted her music. If you are interested to get on our show where we can promote you through our different social channels and our listeners, you can leverage that exposure to show your fans that you are doing something fun and also get to rally your existing fans to share it. You can also connect with other artists who are featured on the show and possibly collaborate with them. If you want to submit to our Review Board, you can do so at www.wosradio.comIt all started when Amy was in elementary school. Though she lacked confidence, Amy joined a talent show where she won money by singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. That made her feel that music could be her destiny. Eventually, she joined a choir and musical theater while in college.When she was young, she had anorexia. Through healing, she realized she had to move out of Maryland to seek for opportunities to pursue her passion. She already knew that time that her calling was singing and music. She went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. In that place, she also found a local church. The pastor in that church immediately told her she was to be a lead singer and that started her musical journey.She only started vocal training in her twenties. Back in Maryland when she was young, she developed vocal chord nodules when she was a cheerleader and had undergone surgery. All her vocal teachers said it was a miracle that she sings the way she does even after that.Amy knows her calling was to reach people with her original music. Her message through her music is mainly about God's hope, healing, love, grace and other inspirationals like nature and pursuing your dreams. She does not feel the need to stick to the usual genres. She's not afraid to explore other music styles outside of her genre as well. Before the lockdown happened, she did shows with her mom on her Youtube channel. During the lockdown, she was able to slow down, take much-needed rest and became more active in Youtube doing home videos to let people hear her message. Amy advises to step out of the box and stretch to an area you are not that familiar with as an artist. She invested in doing videos over the years and she has submitted them for competitions. Two years ago, she released an album called "Make Me a Butterfly". Her friend, Robynn, used one of her songs, "Breath of Angels" to close out her short film, "You're Never Alone". She was the one who told Amy about Filmfreeway where she can submit songs and music videos. This outlet has thousands of festivals all over the world and this is where she won a bronze medal for the Global Music Awards and got good reviews and wins for other such competitions. She has gotten a lot of exposure due to joining different international competitions. She also creates promo videos and gets a lot of support from her fans. Even if she doesn't win in some of the competitions she joins, she does get other awards like people's choice and is otherwise happy to get nominated. Winning awards has opened a lot of doors for her. People have reached out wanting to work with her and interview her. It also helped build up her credibility. The Global Music Awards is recognized as music's golden seal of approval and they also have affiliations with other big companies. Even big movies are in Filmfreeway. It's an avenue that opened a lot of opportunities for her. It really helps that through this, even during the Coronavirus she has something great to look forward to.Aside from joining competitions, she also promotes her music even behind the scenes so when judges check her videos they are able to see the views. Her attitude is, even if the song has been released, there are still millions of people in the world that haven't heard it. For example, when she has a new follower on Instagram, she sends them a private message introducing herself and encouraging them with a link to her music. Through that, she has gotten some radio interviews among other stuff. She loves doing this apart from doing Filmfreeway.If you want to connect with Amy Barbera, you can find her online at www.amybarbera.com. She is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reverbnation among others -- just look for her name, Amy Barbera.Links mentioned in this episode: www.wosradio.com and www.amybarbera.com
SalesTrip is disrupting travel and expenses. SalesTrip is founded by the team behind Invoice IT, an AppExchange solution for Billing and Invoicing that was acquired by Steelbrick in 2015, then just a few months later Steelbrick was acquired by Salesforce for a whopping $360 million.SalesTrip launched in 2019 and in 2020 was hit by a global pandemic resulting in worldwide lockdown and travel ban. This makes 2020 a tough time to launch a Travel startup.Wes Nolte has worked leading the cloud team at the Telegraph newspaper in London and was very early on the team at Tquila, a platinum Salesforce partner, which he helped grow and was eventually sold to Accenture in 2015.As an early leader of the ecosystem Wes Nolte was an original Salesforce MVP, started the London Salesforce Developer Meetup and co-wrote one of the first books on Salesforce with Jeff Douglas… and was an early Salesforce Certified Technical Architect. At Tquila Wes started a very successful training program to coach a number of architects on the team who would go on to pass the Review Board - including me.Today I am speaking with Wes about his entry into the Salesforce ecosystem and his time at Tquila and now SalesTrip. We focus on some different ways for enabling trials of your AppExchange product including Test Drives, Trialforce and using In App Guidance to enable the trial. -App Etc. is supported by Precursive. Precursive believes the best companies help their clients realize value quickly, leading to customers for life. Your customer should never notice the transition between unified sales, professional services and customer success teams. Precursive helps manage and improve customer onboarding, project management and professional services automation, all in Salesforce.
Stories From Our Event Coverage And From Around The World Sometimes we are there, sometimes we are not — either way, we still get the best stories. Black Hat USA 2020 Recap And What Is Happening Next | With Kymberlee Price And Steve Wylie Guests: - Kymberlee Price, BHUSA Review Board - Steve Wylie, Black Hat General Manager The game is never over. We just reach milestones. This year's Black Hat Conference USA certainly got to a big one. Participants from the business, research, and hacker communities came together - virtually, for the first time - for the 2020 edition of the Las Vegas-based event. As discussed during the kick-off podcast, this virtual event presented the opportunity to expand the audience in many different ways and bring a whole new level of engagement to the table. This is precisely what happened: the event drew in attendees from 117 countries and a sizeable first-time attendee. As both Kymberlee and Steve pointed out, the online interaction was probably the biggest challenge and the most difficult thing to replicate. They pulled this off: many experienced virtual "lobby con" both inside and outside the conference platform, with like-minded individuals, members of the data science community, and the blackhat Review Board members. Beyond the content itself, there's a lot to be learned for how we will consume content moving forward and how we will likely expect to engage with each other in a world where in-person-only events may be a thing of the past. Steve and Kymberlee provide some interesting insights into the future of Black Hat in this context. The future of conferences looks hybrid, and that is a good thing. ______________________________ Learn more about this channel's sponsors: - Cequence: itspm.ag/itspcequweb - ReversingLabs: itspm.ag/itsprvslweb - Semperis: itspm.ag/itspsempweb Be sure to catch all of our Black Hat USA 2020 virtual coverage here: https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-event-coverage Interested in sponsoring our coverage? You can explore podcast sponsorship options here: https://www.itspmagazine.com/podcast-series-sponsorships
In today's episode, we were joined by one of the world's first 10 CTA's all the way from Oregon in the USA, Irena Miziolek. Irena was the world's first-ever female CTA, and we were honoured that she took the time to share her story with us. Irena was able to provide such a unique insight into the evolution of the CTA, including how it was developed and perceived at the time that she became aware of it. Having previously been a judge on the Review Board, she explained the skills required to pass, and how it should be approached by people who have the goal in their sights. Having been in the Salesforce ecosystem for a number of years, Irena was able to share her views on certifications which have since been phased out and replaced, and how she would hire for her own team. Irena possesses so much knowledge and has contributed heavily to the Salesforce ecosystem, we'd recommend that you follow her on LinkedIn, and we hope you enjoy the chat! A big thank you to our sponsors, FlowRepublic, the Salesforce Elite Academy for their support with this episode.
In today's episode, we talk with Salesforce CTA, MVP, and Master Architect at Odaseva, Carl Brundage, based out of Pennsylvania in the USA.We kick the episode off by understanding how his education and background first led him into the world of I.T. More specifically how Carl found his way into the Salesforce ecosystem and the roles that he's played up until this point. We talk to Carl about his role today with Odaseva and what it's like to work for an AppExchange product organisation. We wanted to delve into Carl's certification journey, given the extensive list of certifications that he has achieved, and we discuss his view on the value of certifications, and why he believes they're important. Being a Salesforce CTA who has been a judge on the Review Board, we cover the topic of CTA with Carl in detail, discussing the various different types of Architects, how somebody can begin to self-assess if they should set the CTA as a goal for themselves, and the Architect mindset. As Carl has trained a number of aspiring CTA's previously, he is able to provide deep insight into how you should approach setting as a goal for yourself and how best to prepare. We enjoyed discussing the Einstein platform with Carl in particular, where it's positioned and what about it excites him for the future. Carl gives a lot back to the Salesforce ecosystem and we're honoured that he took time out to share his story for this podcast episode, we hope you enjoy it! Make sure you're following Carl on LinkedIn and Twitter, and you can check out Odaseva here. This episode was brought to you by our sponsors, FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy, and so make sure you check them out if the Salesforce CTA is a goal that you are looking at working towards.
Von Zeit zu Zeit kommt es zu Beschwerden was die Freigabepolitik von Apps im AppStore betrifft. Auch wenn es viele Richtlinien von Apple gibt - manche sind gleicher als gleich. Der Dienst Hey.com war mit einigen Problemen konfrontiert - während auf der anderen Seite die ersten Kartellanhörungen gegen Apple starten. Der Konzern aus Cupertino gibt viele Vorgaben für die Freigabe von Apps im eigenen Store heraus, einige könnten am Ende Wettbewerbsverzerrend sein. Dementsprechend sieht sich Apple auch mit Verfahren in den USA und der EU konfrontiert. Die jüngsten Vorfälle rund um hey.com schütten weiteres Öl in ein ohnedies schon loderndes Feuer. Hey.com will keine 30 Prozent zahlen Bei Hey.com handelt es sich um einen neuen E-Mail-Dienst mit zugehöriger App. Der Dienst stammt von den Machern von Basecamp, dementsprechend sind die Entwickler durchaus bekannt. Beim Start der App fordert diese einen auf, dass ein Account angelegt und ein Abo abgeschlossen wird. In Version 1 der App war dies noch okay für Apple, bei einem Update wurde dies aufgrund dieser Praktik aber abgelehnt. Review-Board zeigt wenig Verständnis Darauf hin schritt das App-Review-Board ein, es äußerste sich auch direkt gegenüber der Presse. Eine Praxis die Entwicklern eigentlich untersagt ist, Apple aber offenbar nicht. Das Schreiben als passiv-aggresiv zu bezeichnen wäre eine Untertreibung - es war ein offener Angriff gegenüber den Anbietern der Anwendung und des Dienstes. All das trug sich bereits vor der WWDC zu, und der Konzern hat sich nicht entschieden das Thema in irgend einer Form zu bearbieten. Aktuell sieht sich Apple mit einigen klagen konfrontiert, das geht auch an den Sprechern nicht vorrüber. Statt wie ein "in die Ecke gedrängtes Tier" zu agieren sollte Apple lieber nachdenken was ihre Plattform aus macht - ein Tipp meinerseits: Es sind auch die vielen tollen Apps und Services. ----- Wenn euch dieser Podcast gefallen hat, würden wir uns freuen, wenn ihr Apfeltalk unterstützen würdet. Einerseits könnt ihr uns auf iTunes bewerten – damit erhöht sich die Sichtbarkeit dieses Podcasts – oder uns andererseits auf Steady unterstützen. Förderer auf Steady erhalten die Apfeltalk SE sowie die Film und Serien Folgen immer bereits am Sonntag, alle anderen Hörer am Freitag. Außerdem sind alle Folgen werbefrei und ihr bekommt Zugriff auf unsere wöchentliche News-Zusammenfassung. Empfehlt uns auch gerne euren Freunden!
Women's Spaces Radio Show of 7/13/2020 with host Elaine B Holtz and guests Debbie McKay on the League of Women Voters webinar "How to Run for City or Town Council and Mary Moore on 20 Years of Advocating for a Citizen's Review Board of County Law Enforcement - Show ID: WSA200713Visit the web archive page for the show for descriptions of the interviews, biographies of the guests, links referenced, announcements, and the music playlist at http://www.womensspaces.com/ArchiveWSA20/WSA200713.html
Women's Spaces Radio Show of 7/13/2020 with host Elaine B Holtz and guests Debbie McKay on the League of Women Voters webinar "How to Run for City or Town Council and Mary Moore on 20 Years of Advocating for a Citizen's Review Board of County Law Enforcement - Show ID: WSA200713Visit the web archive page for the show for descriptions of the interviews, biographies of the guests, links referenced, announcements, and the music playlist at http://www.womensspaces.com/ArchiveWSA20/WSA200713.html
In today's episode, we're joined by New Zealand based Certified Technical Architect, Brad Riley, to talk about his technology career before Salesforce and the story of how he initially became involved with the platform. We talk about how his life in Consulting opened up the world of Salesforce certifications, and how he was inspired to pursue the Salesforce CTA, by one moment in particular. Brad gives insight into not only how he prepared for the Review Board, but also how he sees his responsibility as a CTA having made the achievement, and what it has meant for him in his life. Brad talks us through the work he does with the Davanti Consulting internal Architecture capability within his role, giving him the chance to support upcoming Architects to help them on their own journeys. This is a really insightful episode, we hope you enjoy it, and we recommend that you follow Brad on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradri/. This episode is sponsored by FlowRepublic, the Elite Salesforce Academy.
Justice Betty King QC says the two major impediments about the voluntary assisted dying process is the number of trained doctors, and VAD patients not having access to telehealth.
Interview with Tyrone E. Wilson Founder & President of Cover6 Solutions. www.cover6solutions.com IG: cover6solutions Mr. Tyrone E. Wilson @tywilson21 (Twitter) is a passionate information security professional with 24 years of experience in information technology and has a mission to improve as many lives as possible through education in cybersecurity. Wilson also has extensive knowledge in computer network defense, vulnerability assessments, cyber threat analysis, and incident response. As a former cybersecurity analyst for the United States Army, Wilson developed security structures to ensure American intelligence systems were protected from foreign threats. Currently, Wilson is the Founder and President of Cover6 Solutions, LLC; which teaches companies and professionals various aspects of information security, penetration testing, and IPv6. Wilson is also the organizer of The D.C. Cyber Security Professionals. With over 7,500 members, it is the largest #Cybersecurity meetup group in the United States. In addition, Wilson is also on the Review Board of BSides NoVA and Howard University and has recently presented and/or taught classes at major conferences and events such as BSidesNoVA 2020, BSidesNoVA 2019, BSidesDC 2018, ISACA GWDC Cybersecurity & Risk Conference, ISSA Mid Atlantic Security Conference, BSides NoVA 2017, BSides DC 2017, and DCCyberWeek 2017. Wilson was also a Keynote Speaker at the Hacker Halted 2019. Lagniappe Legends Video Interview: YouTube Lagniappe Legends Channel: https://youtu.be/u2_hhVM1nvU Facebook Lagniappe Legends Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheLagniappeLegends/videos/2699536200291021/ Podcast and Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/LagniappeLegends --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lagniappelegends/support
James Clement conducts research into anti-aging technologies. He has studied people over 110 years of age and has found a strong genetic connection to their super long lives. Yet, periodic environmental signals such as fasting and certain dietary supplements will prompt human cells to effectively cleanse themselves and recycle materials for energy. This causes cells, and thus bodies, to live longer. *This episode was originally released on September 25, 2019.* TRANSCRIPT: Intro: 0:01 Inventors and their inventions. Welcome to Radio Cade a podcast from the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida. The museum is named after James Robert Cade, who invented Gatorade in 1965. My name is Richard Miles, we’ll introduce you to inventors and the things that motivate them, we’ll learn about their personal stories, how their inventions work and how their ideas get from the laboratory to the marketplace. Richard Miles: 0:39 I’m going to live forever as a song from the musical fame, and if only that were true, but it turns out we can slow down some of the effects of aging and here to join me in my time machine thought capsule is, James Clemett, the CEO of Better Humans, a company that conducts research into longevity, disease prevention, and general human enhancement. Welcome to Radio Cade, James. James Clemett: 1:00 Thank you, glad to be here. Richard Miles: 1:01 So James, I’m not going to make you sing any songs from any hip musicals, probably to your relief, but I would like to have you start out by defining for us what anti-aging technologies are and what they actually do. And I’m going to ask my very first follow on question. Does this mean that we can live longer? Or does it mean we aren’t afflicted by the normal conditions that apply to aging people? James Clemett: 1:23 So the answer is yes to both of those things. We actually have longer living healthier people amongst us right now. I spent the last 10 years studying supercentenarians, and have met many women and men 106 , seven, eight years and older, all the way up to Morano in Italy who’s 117 who are still cogent, living by themselves, often cooking their own food, and cleaning their own homes. One gentleman at 109 had just driven from the Tucson area to Denver in a sports car for his daughter’s 80 something of birthday, a remarkable a feat for any elderly person, but at 109, amazing. So my initial quest was to figure out how these people live so long, how they do so in really great shape, and then to see what can we learn from that and apply to the rest of us who aren’t so lucky. Richard Miles: 2:17 So James, I’ll just ask a kind of a nerdy social science question. It sounds like there are enough supercentenarians so people not just a hundred, but a hundred what? James Clemett: 2:25 110. Richard Miles: 2:26 Okay. Are there enough of that population to study and make valid conclusions that study this? James Clemett: 2:32 That’s sort of debatable. Okay. So my mentor, George Church, one of the top geneticists in the United States, he’s at Harvard Medical School, he believes that you can discover rare phenotypes from even in of one . So a single person compared to everyone else’s genetics, you can tease out what the differences might be. And certainly in a small family, brothers and sisters and mom and dad, et cetera, that haven’t don’t have a similar phenotype. Then you have an even better group to compare. So a mother and a son let’s say who have protection against diabetes and can seemingly eat pure sugar and their blood sugar doesn’t rise at all, and in that same family are two type two diabetics. Like that’s a perfect scenario, tt’s actually one that I’m currently studying. But uh, other people, Craig Venter being on the other side of that coin and I’ve had meetings with him about this issue believes you need thousands, maybe tens of thousands of subjects, and unfortunately, the number of people who at any one given time are documented supercentenarians in the world is about 60. And the turnover unfortunately is pretty fast. Um , so in five years there’s basically a completely new group of 60 people, but that’s still a small number when you’re trying to tease out genetic variables, but we’ve actually been seeing some success in this. There are several scientists that spend their life focused on this and doing it near Barselli at Albert Einstein Medical School. Uh , Tom Pearls at Boston College are two of the leading experts in this field. And I based a lot of the work in my study on their past work. Richard Miles: 4:11 So this is something I think a topic that is fascinating to most people, you know, looking at these 110 plus people, and you read an interview with someone like this and you read of one characteristic or one habit they have and go, aha, there we go, you know, they drank whiskey every morning or such and such. How much of when you interview, you study these people, how much do you take into account their sort of environmental habits versus their genetic makeup? James Clemett: 4:34 Well, I came into this from the genetic side. So I had been on the board of directors of one of the first direct to consumer genetic testing companies, co-founded by George Church. George is a genetics professor, so we got together to start this study back in 2010, specifically, to look at the genetics. And even at that time, researchers from Europe had pretty much said that when it comes to supercentenarians, their ability to share this genetic information with family members, such as siblings, was 17 times higher than non-supercentenarians. So for example, a change in the genes that increase your chances of breast cancer, for example, is just a small order of magnitude, so it’s maybe a 30% increase. Here, we’re talking about a 1700 times increase percent increase. So 17 times greater chance of being a centenarian, if you have a close relative, who’s a supercentenarian. So it’s an amazing genetic advantage and we wanted to specifically focus on that. However, more relevant to your point is, in meeting the approximately 60 people of this age group that I did over a multiyear period. I can tell you that they come from Southern States, African-Americans whose parents were slaves. They come from recent Jewish immigrants, came to America, fleeing the Holocaust and Nazi Germany and became 110 year olds here. And I don’t think that it is an environmental issue. We’ve tried to talk to them about their diets, not just at 110, but what do they recall eating when they were growing up, et cetera, and of course these people born at the turn of the century between the 18 hundreds and the 19 hundreds, they weren’t eating McDonald’s and other fast foods, they didn’t have the luxury of these fantastically stocked grocery stores. So primarily they were doing what my grandparents did. I grew up on a farm and my grandparents lived right across the street from us and had a huge garden that they not only lived from in the summer, but then they canned all the vegetables for the winter and they had their own livestock. So they took that to a shop and had it butchered. And that’s what they ate from as well. This is the same thing you see in both blue zones and with these supercentenarians while they were growing up is that they ate very natural foods. Richard Miles: 7:00 If I understand correctly, your research has identified what’s going on at the cellular level and that relationship to aging. If you could walk me through a little bit, what you found dealing with inflammation with zombie cells, what do you think you’ve found is going on at the cellular level with regard to aging or coming up with therapeutic anti-aging medicines? For instance. James Clemett: 7:20 One of the things I did around 2013, I spent a year just looking at metabolism and how it’s tied into calorie restriction, the ketogenic diet, fasting, et cetera, and about 500 papers into that, I started connecting dots. And the dots all seem to lead to an intracellular pathway called M-TOUR. It’s a relatively new discovery from the 1970s based on bacterium that was found in the soil at Easter Island. And basically this complex that’s inside all of our somatic cells. So every cell that has a nucleus tells us whether the conditions are right environmental conditions for that cell to go through cell division and to produce proteins. And so, if any of these environmental conditions don’t meet the case, it stops that process and goes into recycling it’s existing proteins and organelles on pretty much a dysfunctional basis, meaning it will take misfolded proteins and high R O S reactive oxygen species producing mitochondria. Those are the bad mitochondria that are producing a lot of free radicals as they make the ATP that energizes the cell and through a process called autophagy. It will surround these with a membrane, bring them to the lysosome, which is filled with acid, and then dissolve these proteins and organelles back to their basic compounds to be recycled in the cell. So, it’s a very conserved process that goes all the way back to bacterium to allow the cell to survive hardship like a drought, food scarcity, not enough oxygen in the environment, different environmental triggers. But in humans, it very much tells the cell when it’s time to repair itself and when it’s time to make more of itself. This is at the heart of almost every anti-aging intervention we know of, including a lots of nutraceuticals. So a mega three Glucosomine ECG T , which is the extract from green tea, curcumin, lots of these things, suppress inventory and turn on autophagy and like most things in life, you don’t want it all one way or the other. So you can’t say, gee, I’ve read all these things that say fasting is really beneficial. I’m just going to fast for the rest of my life. I’m not going to eat anything that should be really beneficial, right? So instead you have to cycle these things back and forth. And whether it’s following how we evolved, which was there were droughts, there were winters, there were ice ages, all kinds of things which impeded our ability to supply ourselves with all the nutrients and oxygen and everything it needs. Humans we’re constantly going back and forth between feast and famine on a daily basis even. Richard Miles: 10:11 So stress, no stress, stress, no stress. And that’s, yes , kind of what keeps the cell healthy, or at least keeps it from doing bad things. James Clemett: 10:18 Well, it’s more that organisms have evolved to utilize these challenges. So by getting rid of the misfolded proteins and dysfunctional organelles that are inside the cells, it actually turned out that the cells would live longer, and in better health and that’s the organism as a whole would live longer. So, we interrupt that process at our own peril. And unfortunately, from about the mid 1800s on, we’ve made so many advancements in agriculture and industrial agriculture, producing food products, preserving them with refrigeration for example, being able to ship things all over the world, both because of shipping in airplanes, but also the logistics we have capable of now of just-in-time produce at any grocery store practically in the Western world. We basically find ourselves with no famine ever in the Western world here , foods that didn’t even exist in human history or have been modified through human effort. So if you look at old photographs, even Renaissance paintings of fruit, they don’t look much like our fruit now they’re really small, they were not really that great tasting. This is one of the reasons for example, apples were made into cider. Nobody ate an apple before the genetics were changed by human. Richard Miles: 11:36 47 different varieties right? James Clemett: 11:38 Yes, yes. And they’re filled with sugar and really delicious to eat. Unlike what was made in the 1700s, for example, and our founding fathers drank this low alcohol ale and cider, primarily because you didn’t have clean water. Richard Miles: 11:51 Right, right. James Clemett: 11:52 And to those products, they get boiled and then fermented, and those two processes is very protective against bacteria and other funk that would contaminate water and was found in groundwater. But we forget all this history and we forget how humans evolved. And we look at this abundance that we have now is just being normal and thinking that we just snack all day sitting at our desks, getting up only maybe to go to lunch that we’re not going to have any ill effects and I think this is one of the things I’ve seen from both studying the supercentenarians, looking at the people who live in the so-called blue zones or health oases and studying the intracellular mechanisms that I think are being triggered by those people who live in these areas and follow these different lifestyles that allows them to live so long and so healthy is that this inter autophagy coin, so to speak, with one on one side and one on the other is really one of the fundamental anti-aging principles that we know now. Richard Miles: 12:50 One of my theories about how this has gotten worse is whenever you get a package at home, with too much candy you got like, I know what I’ll do, I’ll bring it to work. Right? And so I place these to work in DC, I would never eat candy at home, but my golly theres a bowl of snickers there, and every time you go get a cup of coffee, you’re going to stop at least once and get a tootsie roll. James Clemett: 13:06 Yeah. And if you’re in a large office, I previously had a career as an international tax lawyer and a park Avenue firm. You can end up in a big enough organization that there’s a birthday or two every day. Richard Miles: 13:17 Oh sure every day yeah, every day. James Clemett: 13:18 There’s always cake there. Richard Miles: 13:18 Yeah you never have to bring your lunch right, there is something. Um , James, let’s talk a little bit about the business or the commercialization aspect of the technologies that you’re working on. People like movie stars and celebrities have always been dabbling in anti-aging processes for a long time have had access to all the latest treatments, some of which are probably work and some are quacks, but you want to actually make some of these technologies more available to just regular folk , lower costs. What does that look like? You have a company already, or are there companies that are getting these things to market? And I presume they’re what drugs? Or there’s some sort of treatments that are reasonable costs and that will eventually become a mass market type of phenomenon. James Clemett: 13:57 Your first point, anti-aging up until very recently has been mostly cosmetic. So it’s been basically tricking the outside world based on your skin and your muscle tone and things like that, that you were still Richard Miles: 14:09 A facelift ain’t making you any younger, right? James Clemett: 14:11 You are still exactly, but certainly in the last 10 years, and now five years, we’ve seen just an exponential increase in our knowledge regarding anti-aging therapies. Uh, I started studying in 2008 and 2009, looking at where I thought the most impact was going to be, and it was, and I still think in kind of a combination of two things, STEM cells and genetic therapy and my unfulfilled dream so far is to combine those two. So taking your autologist STEM cells, taking them out of your body, genetically improving them. So let’s say you’ve got an allele, like I have for increased risk of diabetes. Let’s change that and then expand and put those STEM cells back into you so that you now have better genetic code then you started off with. So that’s where I’m ultimately headed in my own research, but there’s lots of scientists now working in anti-aging. I’ve seen a tremendous change where I would talk to scientists and they would say, Oh, I’m totally on board with this, but I can’t tell anyone. And I was actually at a scientist presentation at Harvard, I think it was five or six years ago when he said I just got tenure, and now I can tell this entire audience that my sole focus in life is slowing down aging. And he said, I had to wait till I got tenure to do that, but that’s no longer the case. And now there’s anti-aging companies, you’ve got Google with Calico, HLI, which is something Craig Venter is associated with Human Longevity, Inc. Set up by Brian Johnson , Ajax with Mike West, Unity Biotech, lots of companies that are all looking at anti-aging therapeutics that will directly intervene in some aspect of aging in order to reverse damage that’s already been done or prevented from happening. And I’m very much involved in this, currently, doing human clinical trials in areas where it involves nutraceuticals or things that don’t necessarily have commercial value. So better humans. The organization that I founded and operate through is a nonprofit and we’re entirely subsidized by a small number of donors. We have a pretty good budget. It’s worked up over the years. So I started off with a very small lab in Los Angeles. I moved to Gainesville and I’ve been building a much larger lab and we’re hiring local PhDs and bringing in PhDs with various specialties from outside the U.S. And I’m particularly focused on taking anti-aging therapies that are not going to be commercialized because either they’re based on information that can’t be patented or they are involving already generic drugs and or nutraceuticals. So for example, the Mayo clinic researcher Jim’s Kirkland came up with a combination of drugs, one a chemotherapy adjunct called it’s hot nib and another, a nutraceutical called Quercitin, which working together do a great job of killing off these senescent zombie cells. So these are cells that are stopped in their life cycle process. So instead of replicating, they go into this senescent or acquiescent cycle where they no longer replicate and they become dysfunctional and they actually produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. So those are proteins that basically tell cells and their near environment, I have some sort of problem you should send over immune cells and either get rid of me or send other anti-inflammatories. And if I’m being challenged by a virus or a bacteria, kill them off, but these are cells that probably haven’t been attacked by a virus or a bacteria, but for other reasons, usually genetic damage just haven’t been able to complete their normal cell cycle. And they get stuck in this for a really long period of time. And as they build up and it’s believed that elderly people might have as much as 10 or 12% of their entire bodily cells are senescent. And these are producing these pro-inflammatory cytokines. You end up with individuals with very high levels of what’s called chronic systemic inflammation. And their body is constantly in a fight or flight situation where they’re trying to deal with an invader that doesn’t exist. And so their organs receive all these pro-inflammatory proteins and basically stopped functioning as well. So there’s drugs that kill off these cells, right? And your body restores new healthy cells in their place. So it’s at least theoretically a really great therapy. The Mayo clinic was the first to highlight this and to say that they believed that it would work for certain pathologies like, osteoarthritis and pulmonary fibrosis. I had talked to the researcher at a conference to find out when they were gonna launch a clinical trial and he wasn’t sure. So I decided to get an IRB. That’s a institutional Review Board. They basically look at clinical trials and determine whether or not this is ethical in terms of the risk versus the potential benefit to medicine. And I got approval for a protocol to treat people with, inaudible and inaudible is a generic drug, persantine is an over the counter and nutraceutical you can buy, and we did a year long study giving 30 patients who had osteoarthritis and two who had pulmonary fibrosis in addition to osteoarthritis, these compounds only three times and saw absolutely amazing results. Richard Miles: 19:25 So we’re talking about, in one case, a generic drug that’s already available and an over the counter, what was the second component? James Clemett: 19:30 Nutraceutical. Richard Miles: 19:30 Nutraceutical. Which is basically a supplement from either the plant or animal. James Clemett: 19:36 Correct . It’s a flavonoid, which comes from plants. Richard Miles: 19:38 Okay. So that sounds very promising. I’ve already decided we’re going to schedule our followup podcast 55 years from now when I will just have made it as a supercentenarians, and we’ll see how this goes. James, in the time remaining, I’d like to ask you a little bit about yourself from listening to you talk, it sounds like you’ve been a scientist your entire career, but that’s in fact not true. You did hint already that you’re international tax lawyer, and then before that you actually started out in politics, right. Or a version of politics, let’s go back before pre-professional you were from Missouri or were you raised on a farm or where were you raised? James Clemett: 20:11 I was raised on a farm, my parents themselves were not farmers, but they built a house on my grandparents farm and my dad was an electrician, my mom was a nurse. I have one sister a year older than I am. I was born in 55, and so, I recall seeing John at Kennedy’s, who we choose to go to the moon speech, for me, the entire Gemini, Mercury, Apollo missions were just meant for a kid. Richard Miles: 20:36 Right. James Clemett: 20:36 I was just absolutely infatuated with rocketry and space and astronomy and all this stuff. In high school, I was torn between opposition to the Vietnam war politically, and I would say most of my high school teachers who were luckily fairly young and liberal, versus my interest in science, and so I ended up going to college to study both of those. The science in the field of psychology through neurophysiology, and I was really lucky and I got an internship with a neurophysiologist at a nearby medical school and got published in science as a coauthor on a paper when I was a junior in college, which is a really big deal and I was very fortunate for that. But my other major was political science, and I helped politicians, mostly Democrats in Missouri get office. I ended up immediately after college working for the president pro-term of the Missouri Senate, helping him prepare for a gubernatorial election, and in that process decided I would go to law school. Again, really fortunate to get accepted to University of California Hastings Law School. I went there and pretty much right away was dissuaded by people who had sort of gone the route I’d looked at of international government as a career choice. Those who had done that basically talked me out of it. So I ended up becoming an international business and tax lawyer getting a job in Hawaii and helping mostly Asians from Japan and Hong Kong, which was still British at that time, invest in the United States and then went to NYU, got an advanced law degree in international tax planning, ended up working in New York City for a few more years, and then just decided to become a business person, and I sort of took my love of molecular biology and became a brew master opened up a brew pub at a college campus. Richard Miles: 22:24 Bullet proof logics. James Clemett: 22:26 Uh , yeah, I went from one bar to another and then just followed many entrepreneurial interests. But when I was turning 50, my parents were turning seventies. My dad had had open heart surgery and I was really starting to comprehend what aging was going to do to them, and decided that rather than being a dilettante and just standing by the sidelines and reading other people’s books and taking their advice, I would get into the field myself . Richard Miles: 22:52 That’s amazing career arc. I got to say, James, I just want to know who’s going to play you in the movie. Right? You trained as a scientist, you went into politics, you became a lawyer, and then back into science, and in nature where people are starting to think about retiring, you’re plunging back into a pretty challenging field. I mean, this is not just some hobby, right? James Clemett: 23:09 That’s right. In the past 10 years, I’ve read over 18,000 scientific papers. And , um , I feel like I’ve made up for the fact that I didn’t specialize in college, in biology, that I didn’t become a doctor or a PhD. And I spend most of my time going back and forth between reading new papers , talking to other scientists and thinking about my own experiments and where we’ll go from there. So the , the purpose of the lab is to basically back up some of the clinical trial work that we’re doing with being able to use a mass spectrometer, to analyze proteins in people’s blood, to do gene expression and DNA sequencing in our lab as well. So I’m really pleased that I have this ability. I absolutely love what I’m doing, I wake up every day, really excited to do one more thing, to try and slow down aging, and I kind of use my now nearly 90 year old parents as my inspiration and sort of guidance that we need this because I see so many people in their seventies and eighties that are suffering. And I recall meeting these hundred and nine, hundred and ten, year old people, they were doing just great. Richard Miles: 24:13 Well I would think that’s inspiration itself right? For you to say, hey mom, dad, you got to live another 20 years for even making it to my study. Right? James Clemett: 24:19 Right. Absolutely. And I think there’s something referred to by Aubrey DeGrey as longevity, escape velocity, and it basically means that as science provides us with better and better understanding, we will develop therapies that will just give you like one more year’s worth or two more years worth of healthy lifespan, and I think in the very near future, we’re going to get to the point where this happens more quickly than one year, Richard Miles: 24:44 Right. James Clemett: 24:44 So that we actually gain life span as time goes by, instead of it decreases as we age. Richard Miles: 24:51 James, one final question, if you could go back and talk to your 21 or 22 year old self coming out of college, and you’ve got these two distinctly different interests, what do you wish you knew then that you know now, anything? James Clemett: 25:03 So I’m a big sci-fi fan, and this idea of going back and telling yourself something never seems to work out in those stories. I think I would have preferred a lifetime in science rather than other areas. I’m basically a humanist at heart. So I deeply care about human beings and their ability to act. At the time, I thought politics was my way to help society and humans, but I think I’m more personally predisposed to figuring things out and that science is a perfect fit for me. Richard Miles: 25:35 James has been fascinating interview and I’ve already got the studio booked for a 2074 for our followup interview to talk about. James Clemett: 25:43 I hope we’re both here too to do that. Richard Miles: 25:44 Exactly, but thank you very much for joining me today on Radio Cade. James Clemett: 25:48 Thanks very much. Richard Miles: 25:48 I am Richard Miles. Outro: 25:49 Radio Cade, would like to thank the following people for their help and support Liz Jist of the Cade Museum for coordinating inventor interviews . Bob McPeak of Heartwood Soundstage in downtown Gainesville, Florida for recording, editing and production of the podcast and music theme. Tracy Collins for the composition and performance of the Radio Cade theme song, featuring violinist, Jacob Lawson and special thanks to the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention located in Gainesville, Florida.
In today's episode, we're joined by Germany based CTA and Founder of InnoTrue, Doina Popa. We first met Doina over five years ago and having collaborated on a number of content pieces previously, it was great to catch up with her. Doina has a unique perspective on the Salesforce landscape, having previously worked in a senior capacity for a broad spectrum of business types, and has a deep understanding of the nuances between ISVs, end users, consultancies, and even Salesforce themselves. As the third female CTA in the world and the first outside of the USA, we spoke with Doina about her journey to CTA, how she prepared for the Review Board, and how her experiences and thirst for knowledge have led her to recently launching her own Salesforce Consultancy following a relocation back to Germany. Doina is generous and inspiring with her time, and is heavily involved in a number of on and offline Salesforce initiatives, as well as being a Master Coach at Architect Training Academy, FlowRepublic. We enjoyed hearing what excites her for the future, and her plans for the Women in Tech Community Group in Munich. Make sure you're following Doina on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/doinapopa/. We hope you enjoy the episode!
In today's episode we catch up with Sydney based Salesforce Certified Technical Architect, Chris Baldock. Chris relocated to Australia seven years ago with his Salesforce career, and soon discovered a common passion and camaraderie for learning within the close-knit team that he had joined at Consulting Partner, Cloud Sherpas. Working alongside existing CTA's and other talented colleagues with aspirations to reach that career pinnacle, Chris was inspired. We find out how that particular role has shaped his career today, the people who helped him on his CTA journey, and why he continues to enjoy team management, mentoring and leadership at his current organisation. He shares what being a CTA is really like, and talks us through how Partners of different tier and size can be quite different from one another. We enjoyed hearing how he prepared for the Review Board, and what continues to excite him about the platform as we look further into 2020. Make sure you're following Chris on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-j-baldock/, and we hope that you enjoy the episode
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing, we delve into the dangers of space exploration, including those that are surprisingly earthbound. We also discuss the relative merits of not filleting your wife. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon mission this month, what better way to honor the legacy of the US space program and the men and women who made it possible, than to spend some time exploring what their work means for all of us today. Over the course of the next three shows, we’re going to delve into the thrilling world of space exploration. In Falken's Maze, technologist and former professor Jason Thomas explores the intersection of technology, history, and culture. Created for listeners nostalgic for the 80s but who also want to understand the complexities of today, our show demystifies the world's most compelling technologies and events through 80's movies, music, and television. This is where history, tech, and retro pop collide. If you enjoy the show, tell a friend, leave a review, click some stars!! Find us online at www.falkenspodcast.com. References: WKRP In Cincinnati Opening Theme IMDB Review of WKRP Biography of Hawley Harvey Crippen by Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Thunderstruck by Erik Larson The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe We Reach the Moon: The New York Times Story of Man's Greatest Adventure by John Wiloford A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin Report of the Apollo 204 Review Board by NASA Music: CBS Special Presentation Intro Street Dancing by Timecrawler 82 is Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (4.0) International license Paint The Sky by Dysfunction_AL (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Right About Time Open Music Revolution Innovation Open Music Revolution
Flux Capacitor, the podcast about the future of electricity, Episode 006, featuring two discussion that host Francis Bradley recorded with cohost Tim Egan from the Canadian Gas Association, at the annual CAMPUT conference. In cooperation with CAMPUT, the association Canada's Energy and Utility Regulators, Francis and Tim talk energy regulation with the Chair of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, Peter Gurnham, and Manitoba Public Utilities Board Chair Robert Gabor. Transcripts of our conversations will also be posted to the ERQ, the Energy Regulation Quarterly, at http://www.energyregulationquarterly.ca/#sthash.Gp0ncoTI.dpbs
Check out this sit down we had with Lidiya Yermakova. Lidiya is a Lawyer at Koziebrocki Law Firm in downtown Toronto. Lidiya has extensive experience assisting professionals at regulatory proceedings, including complaints, investigations, and discipline matters. Lidiya's practice includes professional regulation, health law and general litigation. She also assists professionals with employment law aspects of their practice. She has represented professionals before complaints and discipline committees, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, the Superior Court of Justice and the Divisional Court. Listen in as we rap about things to consider when dealing with the regulatory body and how having the proper representation is something you need!! You don't know what you don't know... ConEdInstitute.com 2massagetherapists.com
Convo with Kyle: Bishop is joined by Donald Schmid, attorney, and member of the Diocesan Review Board. Together, they discuss how the Diocese is diligently working to protect the youth in Fort Wayne-South Bend. Including the critical role of the Review Board, the Safe Environment program, the process followed when an allegation comes in, the parallel tracks of criminal law and canon law, and how Bishop’s first priority is the healing of victims. ------ RESOURCES: - Law Offices of Donald J. Schmid - https://www.donaldschmidlaw.com/ ------ Truth in Charity is brought to you in part by Notre Dame Federal Credit Union. ------ Live: www.redeemerradio.com Follow us on social media: www.Facebook.com/RedeemerRadio www.Twitter.com/RedeemerRadio www.Instagram.com/Instagram Submit your question(s): Call / Text (Holy Cross College text line) - 260-436-9598 Online - www.RedeemerRadio.com/AskBishop E-mail - AskBishop@RedeemerRadio.com Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloud | RSS
Archbishop Lucas addresses the twin evils of clerical sex abuse and the abuse of power in our Church. Highlights: Acknowledging the problems, resolving to address accountability of bishops (0:00 - 5:00) "I think it's fair to say the institutional Church has failed our people in this area." (5:15 - 5:48) Ensuring a safe environment in the Archdiocese of Omaha through training, reporting, and cooperation with law enforcement (5:49 - 9:50) Auditing and compliance with the Dallas Charter, archdiocesan Review Board (10:07 - 11:24) What's broken in the system of reporting bishops' misconduct? (11:25 - 14:28) Archbishop Lucas' experience in his previous diocese dealing with a bishop's scandalous conduct. (14:29 - 17:21) Prayer as an active response to sin and scandal. Not just "pious talk". (18:03 - 22:15) The challenge our seminarians face. Archbishop's conversation with them, expectations for formation (22:20 - 23:49) Archbishop's instruction to seminarians: "Raise hell" if you see grave offenses against chastity. (23:50 - 26:35) Be free and live in the truth. Don't cooperate with evil. Encourage one another in virtue. (27:16 - 30:46) Archbishop offers a closing prayer for victims of abuse and for the whole Church. (31:33 - 33:07) This episode was recorded on August 24, 2018. _Abuse by a member of the clergy or another Church employee should be reported to law enforcement. Additionally, anyone concerned about the actions of clergy or any Church worker should contact our Manager of Victim Outreach and Prevention, Mary Beth Hanus, at 402-827-3798 or toll-free at 1-888-808-9055. _
Today on "All Of Us" host Greg Grinberg talks with Caprice Mendez, Strategic Program Manager at the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, and Barbara Fair & Holly Tucker, New Haven activists for policing reform and justice reform, talking about LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion), a model started in Seattle and now being replicated across the country, the CERB (Community Executive and Review Board), and other efforts to make New Haven the example we all know it can be.
Today on "All of Us" host Greg Grinberg talks with New Haven activist Catherine John about the May Day general strike in support of unity and immigrant communities, and policing reform in New Haven through the proposed Community Executive and Review Board. tinyurl.com/nhvcerb
intrusive passing of the tax provision of Obama's healthcare plan. This has created a fissure in the Constitution, a horrible outcome that opens a door to the government violating our civil liberties. Jonathan breaks down the consequences of the violations, such as our liberty to choose and right to privacy in the interest of a government mandate that only benefits the government. Moving on to TSA, Jonathan divulges the massive problems with this act. “The TSA is an institution that is riddled with corruption and riddled with abuse,” he explains. The elderly, pregnant women, infants and disabled individuals with no record of criminal activity are being subjected to humiliating and highly intrusive searches all over the U.S. Jonathan defines the difference in tactics from a defensive position versus an offensive position, with the latter producing far better results. He advocates training the citizenry to be more aware of suspicious behavior and to better defend themselves. Jonathan gives an update on the work against the FDA and the First Amendment. Jonathan W. Emord is one of the nation's leading free speech attorneys. He has defeated the Food and Drug Administration a remarkable eight times in federal court, more times than any other attorney in American history, earning him the title, “FDA Dragon Slayer.” He is the 2007 recipient of the Cancer Control Society's Humanitarian Award for “winning and preserving our great civil rights to life, to liberty, and to health freedoms.” He is the only non-scientist ever appointed to the Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists and serves as that organization's Vice Chair. In 2010, he became the first person awarded the title “Honorary Nutrition Specialist” by the CBNS. Congressman Ron Paul says “[a]ll freedom-loving Americans are in debt to Jonathan Emord for his courtroom [victories]” and calls him a “hero of the health freedom revolution.” Formerly an attorney in the Reagan Administration's Federal Communications Commission, Emord has practiced constitutional and administrative law in Washington, D.C. for the past twenty-five years. He has been a Guest Lecturer, Georgetown University, Department of Biochemistry, Course in Nutrition. He is on the Review Board of the Journal of Food Product Marketing and International Journal of Food & Agribusiness Marketing. He is routinely consulted by industry, Congress, and the media on regulatory issues that affect health freedom. He is the author of four critically acclaimed books: Freedom, Technology and the First Amendment (1991); The Ultimate Price (2007); The Rise of Tyranny (2008); Global Censorship of Health Information (2010); and Restore the Republic (2012). Mr. Emord is the American Justice columnist for USA Today Magazine.
Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, Executive Editor of The Anchor, newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River, and Domenico Bettinelli of Pilot New Media Today's topics: Archdiocese of Boston's release of names of clergy accused of sexual abuse Summary of today's show: Scot was joined by Fr. Roger Landry and Domenico Bettinelli to discuss Cardinal Sean's statement today regarding the Archdiocese's release of the names of clergy publicly accused of abuse of a minor over the past 60 years, both living and deceased, the names of clergy whose public accusations against them were deemed unsubstantiated, and the website that makes all the information available to the public. 1st segment: Because our usual transcriptionist was a guest on the show today, we do not have a transcript. However, we do have the text of Cardinal Seán's open letter to the Catholic community. Cardinal's Decision Regarding the Archdiocese of Boston's Publication With Respect To Its Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child August 25, 2011 My Dear Friends in Christ, The Archdiocese of Boston's commitment and responsibility is to protect children and to ensure that the tragedy of sexual abuse is never repeated in the Church. Since the crisis erupted in 2002, we have endeavored to regain trust by addressing the needs of survivors and those who have suffered as a result of clergy sexual abuse, investigating and responding to all allegations of misconduct involving minors, removing abusive priests from active ministry consistent with our zero tolerance policy, and creating and maintaining safe environments for children in our churches and schools. Much has been accomplished in Boston since 2002, but our work in this area is continuing, and we will remain ever vigilant. The Archdiocese is continually evaluating its policies and practices to ensure that our child protection and abuse prevention efforts are further strengthened. Consistent with that effort, I have studied suggestions that we enhance the present Archdiocesan policy with respect to sharing information about clergy accused of sexually abusing minors. This is a complex issue involving several competing considerations. On the one hand, there is the critically important need to assure the protection of children and also important considerations related to transparency and healing; on the other, there are interests related to the due process rights and reputations of those accused clergy whose cases have not been fully adjudicated, including deceased priests who were not alive to respond to the allegations. After a careful study of our present policy in light of these considerations, as well as after a chance to consult with my advisors and advisory bodies, including the Presbyteral Council and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, I am announcing today revisions to the policy of the Boston Archdiocese with respect to disclosing names of clergy accused of sexually abusing minors. This revision comes after serious and thoughtful consideration and prayer by myself and many others. I am acutely aware of the harm that the abuse of children by clergy has caused in the lives of so many. And while I know there will be some who believe our policy changes should go further, after careful consultation and consideration of views expressed by many people and groups, I believe that the changes we are making are appropriate and I would like to share my rationale for arriving at this decision. Since 2002, the Archdiocese has had in place a vigorous policy with respect to disclosing information about clergy accused of abusing minors. First and foremost, it is the policy of the Archdiocese to immediately report to law enforcement all allegations of clergy sexual abuse of children. These notifications are made to local District Attorneys' offices, the Massachusetts Attorney General, and, when appropriate, federal law enforcement. These notifications are made whether or not the person reporting the abuse is still a minor, whether or not the accused cleric is still alive, and whether or not the allegations have been evaluated to have even the semblance of truth. Second, the Archdiocese publicly discloses when a member of its clergy is removed from active ministry pending an investigation into an allegation of child abuse. Finally, the Archdiocese publicly discloses when a member of its clergy is convicted of sexual abuse of a child as a result of a criminal process or when, after a canonical process, a member of the clergy is removed from the clerical state. In addition to these disclosures in individual cases, the Archdiocese has released extensive information about the abuse cases in Boston. The Archdiocese published, in February 2004, a comprehensive report on the number of accused priests in the Boston Archdiocese, as well as the number of victims of those priests, in the period 1950-2003.[1] This report compiled various key statistics regarding the allegations of abuse made against clergy in the Boston Archdiocese, as well as information on settlements that had been reached historically by the Boston Archdiocese. In addition to this report, the Archdiocese has published annual financial reports starting in 2006, including, among other financial information, information about the abuse settlements reached each year, the financial sources for those payments, and the related costs for Archdiocesan pastoral and child protection efforts.[2] Additionally, the Archdiocese has produced extensive documentation with respect to past allegations of clergy sexual abuse both in response to requests from law enforcement and in civil litigation. Information from those files has been summarized in a report published in 2003 by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.[3] The policy which I am announcing today will retain our present practices and also supplement them in key respects. First, the Archdiocese has created for its website (www.bostoncatholic.org) a compiled list of names of accused clergy in the following categories: The names of all Boston Archdiocese clergy who have been found guilty of sexually abusing a child, either by the Church (canon law), the State (criminal law), or both. In the case of criminal convictions, the cleric either has been convicted after a criminal trial or has pled guilty to a crime involving the sexual abuse of a child. In the case of canonical processes, the clerics whose names are included either have been dismissed from the clerical state at the end of the canonical process, or have been assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no ministry possible. The names of all Boston Archdiocese clergy who have been laicized after having been accused of sexually abusing a minor. Laicization under Church law is a process whereby the priest voluntarily requests that he be separated from the clerical state. The names of all clergy of the Archdiocese who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child where canonical proceedings remain to be completed. In each case, the cleric involved has been removed from public ministry and remains on administrative leave. The names of Boston Archdiocese clergy who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child, but who had already been laicized and therefore were no longer in active ministry by the time the accusations were received. The names of those deceased clergy of the Archdiocese who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child, but where criminal or canonical proceedings were not completed. In most of these cases, the accused priest had died before the allegations were received. This represents the first time that names of accused clerics have been compiled by the Archdiocese in a central location and a readily accessible format. Second, as to each member of the clergy whose name is listed in these categories, the Archdiocese has included in this website the following pertinent information: the cleric's year of birth and year of ordination; whether the cleric is alive or deceased, and if deceased, the year of death; for members of the clergy who are alive, their status as well as the date of any laicization, dismissal, or conviction of the accused cleric; and a link to the cleric's assignment history. This list, which is searchable, will be regularly updated as additional announcements are made in the future. Third, I have decided to publish a separate listing of the names of those clergy who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child where the allegations have been found unsubstantiated by the Review Board after a preliminary investigation or where the priest has been acquitted after a canonical process. In a number of cases, these priests have been returned to active ministry. The revised policy being announced today attempts to balance appropriately several considerations which bear on this matter: The Church needs to be open about clergy accused of crimes against children in order to help foster the process of healing and restoration of trust. Accused priests or deacons who have been laicized or dismissed are no longer in the clerical state and consequently no longer under the authority of the Archdiocese; to the extent they pose any ongoing risk to children, a comprehensive disclosure of their names may assist in addressing that risk. Not only must the Archdiocese honor its commitment to protect children, it must also be mindful of the due process concerns of those whose guilt has not been established. In the present environment, a priest who is accused of sexually abusing a minor may never be able to fully restore his reputation, even if cleared after civil or canonical proceedings. Reputational concerns also become acute in cases concerning deceased priests, who are often accused years after their death with no opportunity to address the accusations against them. In arriving at our revised policy in this area, I have carefully weighed these considerations. I also have considered what a number of other dioceses have done. I believe that, to the extent possible, our revised policy addresses the concerns and views that have been expressed, is consistent with if not more expansive than civil law, and best balances the considerations mentioned above. In arriving at this revised policy, there were a few issues that were particularly difficult and I would like to comment briefly on them. The first issue has to do with the listing of the names of deceased priests who have been accused of abusing a child. More concern was expressed as to this category than any other. As to deceased priests, there is, by definition, no consideration relating to child protection, and the countervailing considerations related to due process and protecting reputations become more substantial. In the vast majority of these cases, the priest was accused after he had already passed away and accordingly had no chance to address the allegations being brought against him. In a very large percentage of these particular cases, there has been a single allegation of abuse; that is not said by way of minimizing the allegations of misconduct, but rather to point out that there is little evidence on which to base a decision of guilt or innocence. It is extremely difficult to determine the credibility of these accusations, given that they involve matters that typically occurred decades ago. After consideration of all perspectives, I have decided to include in our compiled list the names of deceased priests if the criminal or canonical proceedings against that priest were completed before his death or if the priest has already been accused publicly. I emphasize that our decision not to list the names of deceased priests who have not been publicly accused and as to whom there were no canonical proceedings conducted or completed (most were accused well after their death) does not in any way mean that the Archdiocese did not find that the claims of particular survivors who accused those deceased priests to be credible or compelling. Indeed, in many of those cases, the Archdiocese already has proceeded to compensate the survivor and provides counseling and pastoral care to those individuals. Another issue which drew substantial commentary was whether a standard of “credibility” should be used to determine the listing of an accused priest. After consideration, I have decided not to rely on that term in making decisions about those accused clergy that should be listed on our website. The term “credibility” can have a variety of meanings, and, in this context, can mean anything from “plausible” but not proven, to “more likely than not” (the standard used in civil cases), to the high standard used for convictions in criminal and canonical cases (“beyond a reasonable doubt”/subject to “moral certitude”). I have decided instead to proceed by listing the names of clergy in the categories described above. Another issue to which I have given substantial consideration has to do with listing names of accused priests who are not priests of the Boston Archdiocese, but are religious order priests or priests from other dioceses. After careful consideration, I have decided to limit the names that are being published on our website to clergy of the Boston Archdiocese. I have decided not to include names of religious order priests or priests from other dioceses on our list because the Boston Archdiocese does not determine the outcome in such cases; that is the responsibility of the priest's order or diocese. I recognize that, over the years, many religious order priests and priests of other dioceses have served within the territory of the Boston Archdiocese, including in assignments at our parishes. In its 2004 report, the Archdiocese published information with respect to the number of religious order priests and priests from other dioceses who had been accused of abusing minors while serving within the Archdiocese. Archdiocesan policy is that, as soon as an accusation of misconduct is received against a religious order priest or a priest from a different diocese, we immediately notify law enforcement, as well as the superior of that order or the bishop of that diocese, and revoke the accused priest's faculties to minister within our Archdiocese. Under canon law, it falls to the superior or to the bishop to investigate and evaluate the accusation, taking appropriate canonical action. I urge the religious orders and other dioceses to consider their own policies with regard to publishing the names of accused clergy. I hope that other dioceses and religious orders will review our new policy and consider making similar information available to the public to the extent they have not already done so. Lastly, I have considered what should be done with the names of priests as to whom allegations were found unsubstantiated. I have decided to include in a separate list the names of accused clergy where the accusations have been found not substantiated after an investigation by civil authorities or by the Church if the names of those priests are already in the public domain. The Archdiocese already makes an announcement when a priest who previously has been publicly removed from ministry is allowed to return to active ministry following an investigation. However, I have decided not to include the names of accused clergy against whom allegations have been found unsubstantiated where their names have not been previously publicized. I believe it would be unfair to these clerics to release their previously unpublicized names on a list of accused priests after civil or Church processes have already found the allegations against them to be unsubstantiated. In total, 159 names of accused clerics of the Boston Archdiocese are included on the lists being published today. Of these, 22 represent cases that are still in process canonically, with the priest on administrative leave and having no public ministry. It is my wish and goal that these remaining cases be processed as expeditiously as possible. At the conclusion of those cases, additional announcements and amendments to the list will be made accordingly. To put this information in context, there have been to date a total of 250 clerics of the Boston Archdiocese accused of sexually abusing a minor. There are 91 names that are not being included on the lists published today, which can be summarized as follows: 62 names of deceased clergy as to whom canonical proceedings were never conducted or completed and who have not been publicly accused; 22 priests of the Boston Archdiocese as to whom the accusations of misconduct with a minor could not be substantiated;[4] 4 priests or former priests of the Archdiocese who are not in active ministry and are the subject of a preliminary investigation; and 3 priests who were already laicized or dismissed by the time they were accused, and who have not been publicly accused. It is important to note that the allegations of sexual abuse by Archdiocesan priests generally do not involve claims about current misconduct, but rather involve abuse occurring decades ago and before the Church adopted its current child protection policies. As described in detail in the report published by the Archdiocese in February 2004, the vast majority of the complaints received by the Archdiocese before 2004 involved incidents alleged to have occurred from 1965 to 1982, with a substantial decline in the number of incidents thereafter. More recent data, collected through 2010, confirm that same historical pattern. Only 4% of the 198 allegations received by the Archdiocese in the past six years involve child abuse alleged to have occurred more recently than 1990; over 90% of the incidents are alleged to have occurred before 1985. I do not say this in any way to minimize the abuse of minors by Boston priests, which is heinous, or the serious mistakes made by the Church hierarchy in responding to it. Nor do I seek to ignore the harm caused to survivors by these historical incidents, harm which is both current and the subject of our ongoing pastoral response. Rather I simply seek to place the problem in context and to give the faithful some confidence that the policies adopted by the Church to protect its children starting in the early 1990s have been effective. These policies include equipping children to report abuse; training our clergy, volunteers, and staff to identify and report suspected abuse; conducting annual background checks for all clergy, volunteers, and staff; and upholding the norm of zero tolerance by ensuring that no priest who has sexually abused a child will be permitted to exercise any ministry. Since 2003, approximately 300,000 children have received safe environment training through their parish schools or religious education programs. Approximately 175,000 adults – including diocesan and religious order priests, deacons, candidates for ordination at Archdiocesan seminaries and in diaconate formation, educators, employees, parents, and volunteers – have been trained to recognize and report suspected abuse. More than 300,000 CORI checks have been conducted for Archdiocesan and religious priests, deacons, educators, volunteers, and other personnel working with children. Almost 400 reports of child abuse or neglect (51A reports) have been filed with the Department of Children and Families (formerly the Department of Social Services) by our parishes and schools since these safety programs began. The majority of reports were made as a result of a child self-disclosing abuse to someone in the parish. In almost all cases, the abuse involved someone in the child's family, a neighbor, other children, or an adult known to the child. The Archdiocese will supplement the lists being published today on its website on a regular basis and will continue to make announcements at key stages of individual cases, consistent with prior policy. In addition, nothing that is being announced today undercuts the continued willingness of the Archdiocese to discuss with individual survivors of abuse information with respect to the accused priest. Despite our every effort to provide accurate and current information, in this first effort to provide a listing there will be errors and omissions. I would ask that anyone with additional information or corrections to the lists being published to contact our Delegate for Investigations at (617) 746-5639. It is my belief that in amending our policy and organizing this information on our website so that it is readily accessible, we take one more step forward in our efforts to assume responsibility for our past failures and reaffirm our commitment to assure that our present day standards protect the children of our community. We recognize that this announcement may serve as a painful reminder of the wounds many survivors carry and we invite any individual who has been harmed by clergy sexual abuse to contact our Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach at (781) 794-2581 or (866) 244-9603. Having met with hundreds of survivors, I know firsthand the scars you carry. And I carry with me every day the pain of the Church's failures. I express once again my sorrow for your pain and my apology for any way the Church and its clergy have failed you. My deepest hope and prayer is that the efforts I am announcing today will provide some additional comfort and healing for those who have suffered from sexual abuse by clergy and will continue to strengthen our efforts to protect God's children. Sincerely Yours in Christ, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Boston [1] Statement of Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley Regarding Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston from 1950-2003, available at a href="http://www.bostoncatholic.org/uploadedFiles/News_releases_2004_statement040226.pdf">http://www.bostoncatholic.org/uploadedFiles/News_releases_2004_statement040226.pdf. [2] Available at . [3] Available at [4] Of these 22 priests, 4 are deceased, 8 are retired or on health leave, 1 has been restricted by the Archdiocese from engaging in active ministry for other reasons, and 9 are in active ministry without restriction.
March 29th, 2011 topics include Government Spending, Taxes, Health Care System, Agent Orange, Budget Security, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario, Human Rights, Compensation for Victims of Crime, Health Services Appeal and Review Board, South East LHIN, Social Service Programs, Worker Safety, New Schools, Hearn Generating Station, Bill 114, Rights of Tenants and Landlords, and Environmental Protection.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
