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Visiting Critic Santis O'Garro challenges herself to a solo dinner without her phone or any distractions, and joins Oliver to discuss the experience.

De onde vem e para onde vai a energia que circula nos ecossistemas? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, como o fluxo de energia se move pela cadeia alimentar, sustentando a vida e moldando os ecossistemas.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Julianna Harsche (@juvisharsche)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Rafael de Falco (@rafel.falco) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia), BláBláLogia (@blablalogia), Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASFOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS. FAO Report: Global Fisheries and Aquaculture Production Reaches a New Record High. Disponível em: .RICKLEFS, R. E. A Economia da Natureza (2010). Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan. 470p

The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week

Graduation Day.  Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels."You know nothing of what you speak of, Ishara, yet you now feel free to insult us," she simmered."Don't know, don't care. It was all before my time. I care about the 'here-and-now' as well as what we do in the future. What I am asking you is what concrete item or 'thing' can be provided to House Zorja to put this blood feud behind you. Name it and House Ishara will endeavor to procure it for you.""We are not merchants," Jana's eyes narrowed."No. I didn't imply you were. If you want new sandals for everyone in your House, I'll find you new sandals. If you want 100,000 acres of ranchland, I'll find you the land. Name it," I persisted."Our prestige cannot be bought," she 'explained'."No, but a blood feud with House Ishara can be avoided by making a request of us in the same way as expressing your desire to harm my daughter can be expressed by denying my offer," I hardened. "And 'fuck you very much' if you think I won't use every son, daughter, mother, aunt, and uncle of Ishara when I come gunning for House Zorja too.""You wouldn't dare bring outsiders into this," Klavdiya interjected."Why not? The offices of Ishara handed House Zorja the coup of the century ~ the capture of the People's Liberation Army Navy nuclear carrier. A member of House Zorja commanded that task, yet they did so by leading forces marshalled by House Ishara, outsider forces. You may wish to keep playing by old rules concerning who is and isn't part of a House, but I am not so constrained, sisters.""So Klavdiya, if House Meenakshi pursues its blood feud with House Zorja, House Ishara will gleefully join them in the pummeling. And we have Isharans in the 9 Clans, the Khanate and the Illuminati who will gladly help us out in slapping them around like the old-fashion curmudgeons they are showing themselves to be, or, House Zorja may request a gift from House Ishara and we will happily clear accounts between them and House Meenakshi in the name of our daughter, Parvati. Their choice.""You are still on the mats," Elsa reminded me. Sikia coiled protectively next to us."And you said something about a lesson being long overdue," Pamela smirked, "Kitten.""Cáel Ishara," Shawnee said in a soft voice, "perhaps it is germane to the argument: the fault of the blood feud rests with House Zorja, not House Meenakshi."I fell on my back, carrying Tad fi with me. She gasped out in surprise while remaining closely cuddled with me. Her right hand never left my lips."Why does no one tell me this shit?" I moaned."You are hard," Tad fi announced. "Are you ready to have more sex?" She was sounding upbeat about our prospects. She was also ignorant of our surroundings being deaf and blind to the mortal realm."Gossamer Wing," I created a pet name for the augur, "we are lying on the sparring mats of a large combat arena in the central Full-blooded training center for Havenstone with roughly 500 sisters in attendance (the audience had grown). While I am enticed by your scent, words, proximity and sweet memories of what we've shared, I'm probably going to be badly beaten up really soon for a terrific diplomatic snafu.""But then we can have sex?""Yeah. I'm totally up for having sex with you after they release me from Medical," I assured her. I looked around her to a very unhappy Mahdi."Can you find it in your heart to forgive House Zorja? Anything I can,""Yes," she abruptly cut me off.What the fuck?"At this time, my hatred of House Ishara, and you in particular, make any grievance I have with House Zorja pale in comparison. You have bewitched my only daughter. She bares your child, and it will be a wonderful child if the soiled augur you've stuck your cock in is to be believed," she ground out bitterly. "I want to go home. I want to find enemies to kill. And when I do, Cáel Ishara, know each and every one of them will carry your face in my mind."She turned to Jana. "Do you agree that we both hate Ishara enough to put aside our current differences?"Jana studied Mahdi, me, then Mahdi again and agreed. She stood. Mahdi stood. They clasped arms like Amazons, then hugged like sisters."Agreed. He is much worse."My thoughts on the matter. Woot! I was having sex! Oh, and I was making Aya happy by ending a blood feud."My admiration of you continues to increase," Krasimira looked at me. "This diplomacy stuff is harder than it looks yet you pull it off so effortlessly.""Yay me!" I muttered."Keeper, are we done?" Sikia asked Krasimira."I believe so," the older Amazon rose to her feet. Sikia was far faster in rising."Mahdi of Meenakshi, you have insulted me and my augur. Defend yourself," she snarled. If Tad fi hadn't been immediately present, Mahdi wouldn't have even warranted a warning no doubt."Had you done your job," Mahdi flowed into her fighting stance, "you both wouldn't be pregnant.""Whoa now," I struggled to rise while keeping Tad fi close and my body between her and the Meenakshi/Zorja side of the mat. "Sikia, I can't let you fight. You're pregnant too.""Don't be stupid, Cáel Ishara," Sikia retreated off the mat, so she could shed her jacket and footwear. "Amazons have fought pregnant for thousands of years.""Hold on now," NYPD Sgt. Larisa Kutuzov said in English as she moved forward. I was a millisecond too late. Larisa's foot touched down on the mat and Marlene Zorja popped her one, a hand chop to the larynx. The senior cop stumbled forward."Mom!" shouted Nikita. Marlene followed up with a leg sweep, putting Larisa face first on the mats, then a fist strike to the back of the head, knocking her out. Neat and tidy in less than two seconds.Nikita was about to charge in when Chaz stopped her."Footwear," he advised in the tone of voice I had learned to associate with him and imminent violence. The moment he stopped her, he was quickly removing his own socks and shoes. Virginia and Pamela were doing the same. I was allowed freedom of movement because I was holding Tad fi. Krasimira exited because of her unique status. The rest were already barefoot."Gale, could you please stay with Tad fi," I tried to hand her off."No," Gale looked me over. "I will fight." No hint on whose side she would be fighting on. Krasimira came to my rescue."I'll take her.""Tad fi," I told the augur, "I have to go get beaten up now, but I promise I will be back for you directly.""This is not your fight," Krasimira said. "The words and deeds are Sikia's.""A, she carries my child and B, the deeds being called into question are my fault.""You told me once they were the Will of Ishara," Krasimira mused."We are one in the same," I gave a lopsided grin."Be careful," Tad fi pleaded. "Your future is a chaotic jumble, I cannot see,""Eh, I've been very bad. We'll talk about it later. Gotta go," I headed onto the mats.Pamela was giving the ground rules to the 'normals': No 'fair warnings'. No 'fair play'. No 'time outs'. You fought until unconscious, or you surrendered."This is going to suck," Virginia assessed our odds. Two Amazons had removed Larisa from the mats and were tending to her. Nikita was kneeling by her side until she heard Virginia, then came our way.Besides Sikia, we had Pamela, Chaz, Virginia, myself and Nikita. Oneida stepping up was nice. She wasn't a great combatant, but we dearly needed the help. Gale joining us was, unsettling. Amazons don't play fair, so this could be a ruse.Against us were all three Zorja and both Meenakshi ~ I imagined Rhada felt she had something to prove to her mother. They'd picked up ten other Amazons and Rhonwenn Nemain. Klavdiya joined them to counterbalance her baby sister. Eight to seventeen ~ ouch."Damn," a familiar voice from my first days on the job spoke up from behind me, "we almost missed this." I didn't dare look over my shoulder. Desiree stepped between Chaz and Virginia. Rachel came up on my left and Tiger Lily on my right. At the tail end of our line was Mona, Meridian, Brielle and Wiesława. Fifteen to seventeen was looking much better, especially considering Desiree had brought five Security Detail warriors with her, all of whom were moving to further bolster our numbers."Rachel," Elsa looked to her underling, "you have no idea why you are fighting.""It is for Cáel. So it must be for a better tomorrow," Rachel laughed."Very well," Elsa smirked."You!" Mahdi pointed at me, and we both charged. It was a jumbled nightmare of clashing bodies, war cries and flashes of movement all around. Our side had two main advantages -While Chaz was by no means the best hand-to-hand combatant present, he knew the basic Amazon style and most Amazons didn't know his. Added to his overall height and bulk advantages, he bought us time.Of greater importance, Rachel, Tiger Lily and Mona had extensive training working as a team, which none of the opponents had.Elsa was the most dangerous individual on the mat. Pamela was the second most dangerous, so Elsa grabbed a couple of partners and ganged up on her to drive her off the mats. Chaz went next, out-Elsa'ed and beaten unconscious. The issue was, it took her too long to accomplish those two feats. By the time she rounded on me, Rachel and Tiger Lily, our half of the field had wiped out theirs. It was six of us (me, Rachel, Tiger Lily, Gale, Wiesława and Desiree) versus four of them (Elsa, Marlene, Klavdiya and Rhonwenn).Still, I was facing Elsa, so a judicious bit of treachery was required."Gale," I huffed and puffed, "please retire. I don't want you to fight your sister.""What?" Gale snapped. She'd taken a beating, yet remained feisty."No, fighting her sister is okay with me," Desiree scowled. "We are still facing fucking Elsa.""All the other women you have mated with have failed. I remain," Gale trumpeted."Oh, you are right," I half-turned. "All the reason you are more precious to me.""Really?""Of course," I deepened my introspective appreciation of her."Oh," and Klavdiya punched Rhonwenn. That was an 'oh, Cáel Ishara must actually care for my baby sister and not be just a Playa' on Klavdiya's part. Yeah. I'm a horrible fucking person at times.Rachel, Tiger Lily and I rushed Elsa. Marlene pivoted to ward against Klavdiya while Gale and Wiesława stormed in against her. Desiree helped Klavdiya finish drubbing Rhonwenn before they combined to force Marlene off the mats. Elsa chose to go down swinging in a dogpile of bodies. I took an ear-ringing blow to the head which allowed Rachel to apply a chokehold and it was lights out for the Head of SD.After some water bottles went around and those concussed returned to wakefulness, the resolution of the brawl was decided. Mahdi apologized to Sikia. It was short, terse and sparing of any empathy, yet was within the bounds of Amazon etiquette. She departed with Rhada, which left me to pick up the pieces, starting with Nikita's mom."Oh," the older woman moaned then, "Ms. Fredrickson? What are you doing here?""Avenging you, Mother," Nikita fluffed up the truth. "She, Cáel and the others cleaned house on the woman who jumped you and her allies.""Desk Sergeant," Desiree gave a curt nod."This isn't over," Larisa winced as she moved to a sitting position."Mrs. Kutuzov, it is over," I headed off a colossal waste of time. "This is my daily life and part of your daughter's life with JIKIT. You will find scant witnesses and no tape recordings of these events. This craziness is just another day in the life here at Havenstone. You stepped on the mat and thus became fair game to any physical confrontation an opponent cared to mete out. Consider this sovereign soil of an independent nation-state.""We," she looked around. "You kicked their asses?""Definitely," Pamela gave a feral snarl."This is plain nuts," she shook her head, winced in cranial pain, then put her aching head in her hands."One of the reasons we've put our dating in hiatus," Nikita comforted her mother while looking at me, and smiling affectionately.Ah, for fuck sakes! I was engaged to someone else and having a dozen kids by ten different women. How could I still possibly be considered viable dating material? Oh yeah, martial valor, laughing at death, I hung out with truly exceptional cool people and I would always be in need of saving, a plus for a crusader like Nikita.I had so many allies to tend to, but only one who seemed to be making an exit. I swooped down on Tad fi long enough to place her fingers to my lips."I'll be right back, friend of a friend in need," and off I went. I caught Tavi of House Stolgos just outside the door. She wasn't avoiding me. She'd been observing Chaz and he had been otherwise occupied.My British companion had played a pivotal role in the combat and taken his beating like a man. He'd been rendered unconscious. So had many others, so no stigma was attached to his loss. Post-battle, he had chosen to sit on his haunches, knees up, talking to several of the Amazons, both kneeling and standing. A few had been bystanders and a few others foes.He stayed on his ass to reduce his height advantage. Letting Amazons make eye contact while not having to look up at you created definite benefits. His good natured approach to his role in the fight and pummeling earned him positive vibes as well. He made it clear the tussle to him was not macho-personal. He was my 'brother / sister / sibling' spiritually-speaking via Pamela adopting us both as her 'grandsons', so my fights were his fights. Sikia had my (Cáel's) child, so that bond extended to her as well ~ family.Pamela and I had schooled him on Amazon psychology and those lessons were now paying serious dividends. 'The Male' hadn't wanted to fight them ~ 'Amazons are tough' he'd confessed, he knew this because he worked with several every day on JIKIT~ but family was on the line, so he fought. Mahdi had apologized, so the matter was settled. The other Amazons he'd fought? They had fought for their reasons and he was okay with not questioning them about it.Why? He was conscious of his conspicuous status as a 'guest', knew he was in no way an Amazon, and was not privy to what motivated them. He didn't want to be an Amazon. He had his own, much younger, martial tradition he was proud of, yet was eager to learn from the vastly greater Amazon war lore because 'winners' didn't have a gender-bias and no other tradition could compete with the Amazons' 3,000 years.Under normal circumstances, the women around him wouldn't have given credence to his praise. He was a male after all. Through the tiny tear I'd created in their insulating social fabric, Chaz was building upon his own exploits. In the after-battle analysis, the Amazons reflected on the realization Elsa had concentrated on him as her number two objective, second only to Pamela who scared everyone who knew anything about her. That bolstered Chaz's appeal.For the Amazons who thought a male would get all pouty and cry over being beaten up by a girl/girls, Chaz was breaking the mold. He wasn't angry. He was amused. The fight had been a learning experience and he'd felt honored to watch, no matter how briefly, a warrior of Elsa's caliber fight. He'd explained 'I', Cáel Wakko Ishara, considered Elsa one of the top 5 combatants I'd ever seen, which included Ajax the Unconquered. The others were Sakuniyas, reborn Amazon and former Queen of Assyria, Saint Marie, the Golden Mare, and Pamela, the Cliff-walker.More happy Amazons because the list's only non-Amazon was a dead Hero from the Trojan Wars and it was well known I 'got around' (aka dealt with violent outsiders.) Chaz was telling the truth, almost. The 'fifth' person on the list was Alal, but explaining him would be difficult, so Chaz edited him for this particular audience. Good man.In the hallway, "Tavi, a moment," I called out. She slowed down, took a few more steps allowing me to catch up."Yes Ishara?" she gave me her best neutral look. Yep. She was jealous."I beg two favors from you," I quickly went down to one knee in her path. That caught her off guard and left her in the awkward position of me being terribly close and staring up at her."I, I will listen," she muttered."I would like to know if you are pregnant," I asked very softly. Yes, she was, but she didn't want to tell me. She contemplated pushing past me. It would be very easy. "I know I am stepping beyond the boundaries between warriors. Please. My destiny has brought you two together. I am at fault here." 'Fault' was the key word."If I have a son, he will be given to the Queen," Tavi's face was stern and unforgiving. "He will live.""That's not what he's worried about," I shook my head. "He wants to be a father to your daughter, Tavi. He wants to introduce you to his mother and grandmothers, maybe his sisters too, if that can be arranged.""Huh?""He is not like me, Tavi. There is no other in his life, but you.""I, I will not leave my House for him," she protested angrily."He would never ask you. That doesn't mean he doesn't want to remain at your side for years to come. He can be a father to your child and not be a part of House Stolgos in the same way you can be a mother to your child and not be a part of Clan Tomorrow.""Oh," she furrowed her brow. "How would this possibly work?""I have an 'in' with the Queen," I winked. "I'll work out something.""He knows I will never stop being an Amazon," she elucidated intensely."Absolutely. He is an intelligence operative after all. He's figured a few things out for himself.""Why doesn't he tell me these things?""Tavi, he threw his body on top of me to shield me from a bomb blast, so he's undoubtedly brave, but telling you what is in his heart is scary for him. As his brother, I see behind his silence,""Oh, what should I do?" she was vexed."Go back in there, demand to speak with him and tell him the truth," I stood up."The truth?""That you are going to have a little StolgosTomorrow-ite running around sometime next year," I exuded confidential friendliness."Cáel Ishara," she tilted her head slightly, "you don't know much about infants, do you?""Nope," I pseudo-confessed. I actually did know something about newborns. I'd studied up so I could make a move on a cute girl whose free time was eaten up by babysitting, so I 'helped out'. Oink."They aren't 'running around'," she turned to head back into the gym, "until the ninth month at the earliest. Normally, running doesn't happen until the eighteenth month.""My fiancée has a three-year old, so she should be able to help me through some of the hardest parts," I babbled along. Tavi didn't give a crap.In we went. Tavi stormed straight toward the bevy of Amazon babes concentrating on 'her' Chaz."Color Sergeant Tomorrow," she abruptly interrupted. "A moment of your time.""Ladies," Chaz uncoiled himself from the surrounding women. The Amazons were either mildly put off, they thought they were about to get laid, or pissed off, they were sure they were about to get laid, and Tavi was stomping on their happy."Yes, Ms. Gentry," Chaz linked his hands behind his back in a 'rest easy' stance. 'Gentry' was the fake last name Tavi used in the outside world. She motioned toward the windows with her head. Off they went. I couldn't hear what was being said, but my lip reading skills were up to the task.T: (I am pregnant)C: (I love you)T: (Oh) ~ stunned. Go Chaz!C: (Well, I don't imagine the Amazons have a marriage ceremony and an Anglican service would be inappropriate, so perhaps we could research a Scythian ritual which could make both families happy) ~ delivered in the patented smooth Chaz style.T: (Marriage? To you?)C: (I will not submit to being anyone's slave nor would I ever ask you to submit to me. Outside of that, will you be my partner and my partner alone until the cliffs separate us?)T: (Amazons are not monogamous)C: (I am)T: (I will, I mean, can I think about this?)C: (I am not going anywhere, Tavi){Pause}T: (Did you put Ishara, Cáel Ishara up to this?)C: (Yes)T: (Why?)C: (I imagine he explained what I am feeling better than I could)T: (Oh, do you want me to meet your mother and grandmothers?)C: (Absolutely)T: (Okay)C: (Okay ~ you would like to meet my Mother and Grandmothers?)T: (No, yes, I mean, yes I would like to meet them and I am okay with you being with no other woman until the cliffs separate us, and I will do the same, no other males)C: (If I pick you up, hug you and kiss you, will your sisters freak out?)T: (I don't know)So Chaz swept Tavi up until her head was higher than his (a feat, considering their 8" height differential) and kissed her deeply. Mumbled words followed. Tavi wrapped her legs around Chaz's waist and out they went. Around me were angry murmurings of the 'did that Amazon just run off with our man' variety. Not my problem. I had plenty of different Amazons wanting my attention. Hallelujah!{8:00 pmDon't try this at home.I covered my face with a pillow and pressed down hard. I'd already tried breathing exercises, meditation and even contemplated more cranial trauma before thinking up this particular crazy idea. It took some mental effort and accessing some of my Alal-'pain sorting' skills to accomplish, but in the end, I felt myself 'let go'.I sat up."Hello," Tad fi beamed."Hey," I took a deep breath. Since we were talking, I must have passed out. Her eyes wandered over the room."Is this the world as you see it?" she wondered. Oh yeah, I had to be creating the environment for her to enjoy.Sikia was kneeling on the bed a foot away, her gaze moving between the two of us. The 'grayness' of her form suggested she was wholly in reality and not in the 'Ishara-space' the goddess had shown me and I was now sharing with my augur."This is how you see me?" she examined her fingers, her wrists, then some long locks of her hair."You are more beautiful," I answered. The impact of my words crossing over drew her eyes back to me. It was the magic of hearing for the normally deaf girl. I concentrated, peeled back some fantasy and attached a realistic form to Sikia. Tad fi followed my gaze."Your hair," she addressed her guardian, "It is lighter than I imagined."Sikia said something I couldn't understand, muffled as it was by my dreaming."I cannot hear you, but I see you through his eyes," the augur carried on her conversation. They touched. It had to be somewhat bizarre for Sikia. As she reached for Tad fi's hand, her friend intercepted the extended member. Their fingers intertwined before completing the journey to the guardian's lips."Don't cry, no, we couldn't have, no, we shouldn't have knocked him out sooner. I don't think he was aware of this discipline when we first met. Were you, Cáel?""No. Perhaps if I had understood more about the consequences of seeing ghosts, I might have," I tapered off. "Now that we know. I can try this more often.""Your health?" Tad fi worried."I might be immortal," I confessed. I was confessing because I was desperately seeking a way to share some of my genetic quirkiness with her ~ some strength to carry her through this pregnancy and spare her life, Dot Ishara be damned."And you would seek a way to spare me," she graced me with her gentle presence. Lying in the 'spirit' world was a whole lot tougher than in the flesh."Yeah. I've got some arcane lore rattling around in my head, plus I have a few outside sources I can ask for help. I'm not giving up on you.""I have foreseen my death.""Well, un-foresee it," I scolded her. "Dot Ishara told me we see what might happen, though nothing is guaranteed. So even your death isn't an absolute. Since it hasn't happened, I see no reason to let it happen. You are going to live to hold our daughter. If not, my immortality is worthless.""You can never save everyone. Sometimes you must let a few go to save the rest," she advised."If I find someone I'm not attached to, I'll let them go. I promise. Until then, I'm, ugh, I'm fading, and I'm keeping you.""We shall see," she murmured. I fell back into my body and into wakefulness."Now we have sex," Tad fi announced in a melodic voice."He is ready to perform," Sikia agreed. She was fondling my balls with one hand while her breath played across my rod. I sat up to see the augur climbing up the bed between my thighs. She kissed my glans, licked across its top, then kissed it again."I've got it from here," she told Sikia."What?" Sikia was confused. Tad fi's lips began to engulf my sceptre."Sikia, come here," I gently pulled on her arm. She was conflicted yet up some came.We started out with tender kisses on the lips. I kept drawing her toward me. My lips and tongue migrated down her chin and throat to her breasts. When she thought my target was her breasts, she was all onboard. That was a mere stop-off point on my journey, though I played around for a while.At the same time, I had to use subtle movements with my hips and clenches with my gluts to school Tad fi on her fellatio. Thankfully, I was doubly-blessed. This wasn't my first time schooling two girls at once and Tad fi could determine more from such minimal reactions due to her heightened sense of my muscle contractions through her touch than any other woman I'd ever met.When I began running my tongue in large lashes underneath her breasts, I confused Sikia once more. She was resistant as my hands on her hips pulled her higher so that my lips and teeth could tease her taut stomach while I twirled my tongue in her belly button. She giggled.I had been slowly wiggling down the bed, backing Tad fi up, so when it came time to mount Sikia on my face, I had the headboard room. I kept her muscular thighs securely in hand because the moment I had her happy, I pushed her up. She looked down, seeking guidance and I motioned her to turn around. She did the eye-ball math, realized she'd be facing her augur, and hastily obeyed. Of course, her movement on the bed alerted Tad fi through mattress vibrations.Sikia was sitting on my face, leaning down so she could run her hands through Tad fi's hair and along her face and lips (and my phallus). I kept my hands pressed between our bodies. My right made the sojourn to my pubic area to play around and give them both something else to suck on, my fingers. My left loitered around between Sikia's breasts and her clitoris when my lips were otherwise occupied.I could cup her clit with my tongue in a U-shape, rubbing it along my taste buds. Most of my time was taken up with my tongue broad lashing her vulva or tightly-twisted and delving into her cunt and my nose pushing against her brown hole. I could tilt myself up so I could make tongue-intrusions into her back passage as well. The first time, she squealed.Before she could decide if she wanted to make me stop (she did, virtually all first timers always default to asking their partner to stop, so you have to distract them), Tad fi wanted to know what had brought her reaction on. Then came Sikia's troubled revelation of what I was doing, how the augur shouldn't suffer through it, despite the increasing pleasure she was receiving, only to finally be unable to supply the answer as to why Tad fi shouldn't experience it too.Sikia shot me a treasured look of bewilderment. I'd brought her to orgasm with my tongue alone. I was a guy after all."Switch?" I suggested. Tad fi was still administering one of the slowest, most considerate blowjobs I'd ever experienced. She wasn't rushing toward anything. Sure, she was unschooled, but was devoting her incredible sensitivities to my pleasure and taking pleasure in her ability to bring me to such excitement."Change places?" she mused. "Okay." Tad fi's lips slid off me with one final, loud 'pop', then she used her spider-like fingers to climb up my body while Sikia traveled south. She lavished butterfly kisses on my face ~ childish, yet so very appropriate between us ~ and I mirrored the gesture.With some reluctance, she mounted me, facing Sikia. My tongue flicking across her clit on its first exploration brought out a joyous gasp. It only got better from there.The Long Slide Into Domestic Life:"Twins?" Hana snuggled into my arms. We were at her place, naked in bed together after a late late-night unscheduled meeting with some VIPs. Despite the late/early hour, she was alert, tense even. It had been a mentally stimulating late night encounter which had brought me to her bed."Yes. That is what Tad fi predicted," I inserted between raining kisses down on her forehead. Hana liked non-distracting attention when she was in this kind of mood. She was exhausting herself mentally as she was building up to being amorous."Ana-Călina and  rp d?" she worked over the names on her tongue. "They have a special meaning?""Only if you are Hungarian and Romanian," I teased her. She elbowed me slightly. " rp d was the semi-mystical pagan warlord who led the Ten Tribes who became known as the Hungarians ~ the Magyar peoples ~ into the Carpathian Basin, present day Hungary. Ana-Călina was born a Byzantine princess of the storied House of Basarab; she married Radu Negru, thus becoming the first Princess of a free Wallachia ~ the foundation for a free Romania. She was also the great-grandmother of Dracula.""So they are famous names with regional historical significance, did they live long, happy lives?"" Árpád, no one knows for sure. His kids were quarrelsome, but they did manage to found a dynasty at the start of the second millennia which ruled for three centuries.""Ana-Călina, yeah. I think so," I continued. "She lived into her seventies and her eldest son left his country stronger, richer and safer than when he received it. She did out live her husband by over fifty years, and got to see her youngest grandson bury most of his rivals, the kids from her husband's first marriage.""Ah, what?" Hana rose up until we were eye to eye. Since she was naked, her boobs swayed slightly as she did so. My eye flickered. "Eyes forward, Mister," she playfully barked. "What happened to all her other grandsons?""Wallachia in the 15th century was a tad rough and tumble," I evaded."They killed one another?""Mostly they were killed by conspiracies amongst their boyars, nobles of the time.""Why does, Tad fi want to dredge up these names again?" she kept eye contact."Not a clue," I pleaded."But you think it is important?""No. I think you are important. Screw Fate. It can name its own kids. We can chose whatever names make you happy, except 'Up'. Up's been taken.""You've named another of your offspring 'Up'? That's cruel, or does that mean something in another language I'm unaware of?" she shifted her shoulders so her boobs wobbled again. Of course, I broke eye contact. I hadn't had sex in hours and her boobies were right there, damn it!"Actually, Pamela and I named this secret agent in Hungary that, just to fuck with his head," I divulged."Oh. Pamela. I should have known," she slowly smiled. "You are being very well behaved," she added. Woot! She noticed I wasn't throwing her down and pawing her delectable flesh. "One more thing before the nookie.""Name them. Their dead," I pledged."Not necessary," her sigh turned into a giggle. "If I'm going to be having twins, I'm going to be rather big come late March. We need an earlier wedding date."Oh, fuck me!"What do you have in mind?" I tried to keep the creeping dread out of my voice."New Year's Day?" she suggested. I did a quick calculation. That was annihilating 78 days out of what remained of my bachelor life. In 114 days my life would cease having any meaning whatsoever. I'd be a Mr. to someone's Mrs. The end"Sure, I can arrange to be killed before then," stumbled out of my mouth."What was that?" Hana pouted."Nothing Dear. Cosmic psychic intersection with an Al -demon; don't know what came over me," I fibbed."Man up," Hana bit my nose. "Our marriage won't be that bad if we both work at it. It isn't like I'm demanding celibacy from you." Then she mouthed 'yet'."Wait. Did you mean celibacy, as in no fun at all, or monogamy, as in only 'happy time' with you?" I desperately sought clarification."Oh," she pursed her lips. "I meant monogamy. I didn't mean to scare you.""Oh, thank goodness," I sighed."Here," her gaze turned tender. "Let me make it up to you." Hana placed one hand on my shoulder and rose up my body until my face was gently nestled in her bosom. Then she wiggled back and forth, basically because I'm a big baby and easy to please. I was alternating which nipple I was kissing in no time."Mmm," she murmured. "I've missed you." Her other hand's fingernails coasted down my abdomen and found 'Mr. Happy' had risen to attention. Okay, he'd been hopping up and down on my groin since she'd said we were 'going to bed' 30 minutes ago. Hana decided wrap up my shaft with her hand, then applied a few tender strokes. I reciprocated by cupping her left tit in one hand, forming a mound with her areola at the center, and began to twirl from the outside inward to her hardened nipple with just the tip of my tongue.It was 4 a.m. Why was I taking it slow when I had my final work review with Katrina in three hours? Hana deserved this and more. Why was Hana doing it? She was her own boss, plus her life was careening wildly outside of anything she'd imagined before she'd first laid eyes on me. Half of the financial empire she shared with her father was suddenly in the hands of a military dictatorship, her beloved father was dealing with the murder of her hated step-brother and she was marrying a Prince in a European cathedral which required someone high in the Vatican's approval process to use.Yeah, her life had gone nuts. Worse, she loved me. And I wasn't the kind of man she ever thought she'd love. She'd thought she'd never love anyone again after her life with her asshole of an ex-husband and their bitter, contentious divorce. I was barely someone she could classify, and Hana was a terribly ordered and organized person. Saying my life was messy was being generous. I was some mysterious warrior-diplomat-playboy-aristocrat who hung out with people more bizarre than me.Hana picked up her tempo. I switched breasts. Her motor was really starting to hum. Any other night, I could have moved straight to revving her up to an orgasm. I had the time to make it two without any problems. A good one and Hana would be happy and drift off to sleep. Instead, I intuited she wanted more, so we developed our own game of cat and mouse with her climax, and its suspension, being our ultimate goal.My left hand danced down the back of her ribcage like playing keys on a piano. It was a light, teasing gesture. Her hair the color of tarnished gold cascaded down as she began placing her own kisses upon my crown. Each move by one partner evoked a response by the other. Hana ran my glans over her glistening labia, getting it nice and slick. I worked down her waist, cupped her ass, and then glided over her thigh to the back of her knee where I started tickling her. She snickered."You are distracting me," she murmured. I wasn't. I knew these things."I like to get the feel of every inch of your flesh," I responded. More mirthful noises from her. Slowly, her gooey vestibule rubbed against and over the top, until I felt myself entering. There, she hesitated. I propelled my hips an inch up, twisted right then left before falling back down, a micro-fuck."Ah," she emoted her approval. "My turn." Hana's knees spread to the side, making a memorable sound on the silk sheets as she impaled herself. This time she rolled her hips forward, back, then did a slow 360 with me  inside her, letting the slow progress over her spark memories for her to savor. "I never believed sex could be like this," Hana hiccupped."How so?" I knew the answer, but wanted her to put her chaotic passions to words. It would make her happier."Experimenting, silly. Stopping in the middle and doing, this," she reversed her hip rotations this time. "I never imagined a lover having such patience, or,""Yourself as being so openly sexually adventurous?" I finished."Yeah," she huffed. "I really, really owe your college professor, plus you and all your diligence, for this," at the last moment, she encountered the gateway to her G-spot. I knew precisely where that gem was. Previously, Hana had gained a vague idea where it was from the perspective of masturbation and our prior lovemaking. Now I had let Hana rediscover that joy with my cock as her tool to utilize as she wished."You realize pregnant women want even more sex," she hummed. She was vigorously working my cock now. Hana had bridged a huge gap, sexually. Normally, a woman of Hana's quality tried to please her man first with the hope her orgasm would soon follow. I was different. My greatest sexual gratification came from her ecstasy. She was confident in that now. By bringing herself to climax, she was making me excited for what would come next."That's okay," I propped myself up on one elbow now that Hana was riding me cowgirl-style. "I dig big chicks." The open-palm slap to the chest was a given."Hercege, you, you are horrible," she growled around a feral smile. The lip-biting, tongue-sucking kiss was equally vicious, primal and leading Hana to the end of her tether. Not only was Hana's sexual trust in me/us expanding, she was putting extra effort into her physical workout regime too. She might still have a ways to go to compete with an Amazon, but it was still going to be a great night."Hercegn , I am nothing but a twisted shadow of masculine lust whose every contour is cast by your muliebrous glow," I teased. Her eyes twinkled. Yes, definitely still going to be a great night."Okay," Hana yawned, "I give up. What does 'muliebrous' mean?" She'd been holding on to that for an hour and a half. It was five-thirty and I was dressing in my biking clothes before heading into work."From the Latin 'muliebri' which means 'womanly'," I answered. Her sleepy eyes drank in both my response and my physique. I had discovered another thing Hana liked and that was to expand her academic/linguistic frontiers. She was enchanted with the idea that I liked to engage her mind along with her body, sparking on all cylinders.She'd crawled over to my side of the bed, her head resting on my pillow, soaking up my scent as she watched me. I knelt down, kissed her on her ear, cheek and finally the side of her lips. Hana was beat."Have a good day and be careful," she mumbled. Her eyes closed. Her chest rose with one last, waking breath before her sleep rhythms took her."Ditto," I whispered. I snuck into  Annela's room and planted a kiss on her head as well. The craziness of my life had a way of cascading over to the ones I loved. Loved? Oh boy,7:00 am Monday, September 8th, Graduation Day!Brielle and her buddy were humming along as the elevator doors closed. Once more, my 'hellish' schedule demanded I change in the elevator. I'd gone to gun practice with my bike clothes on, so I absolutely had to change into business attire in the magic box, in front of them.Juanita adjusting my tie was a less than subtle attempt to strangle me. I was about to be late to my final 'start of day' meeting as an intern in Executive Services, so her chastisement would have to wait. Who would have thunk it? Juanita would have to wait outside for this ceremony. Paula raced with me to be the last one in, only to have Daphne grace us with the 'news':"The meeting won't start for another fifteen minutes," she grinned. "Katrina is bringing up the 'new hires' for the fall program."I finger-flicked my head. The 84 days as an intern was merely the 'training wheels' period. To really be a member of ES was at least a two year training process. The Amazons around me had started their training for this gig when they were fifteen and were eighteen and nineteen now, their ID's said they were older for legal purposes.In theory, my four years in college was counted as 'preliminary' training and provided things such as acclimation to outsider culture ~ aka 'acting normal'. Logically, I would train under someone like Desiree or Buffy for a year before being a full-fledged member of the service."How many this time?" I asked Daphne since she seemed to be in the know."Twenty," she grinned. "We are getting two."I noticed there was still only my tiny desk in Katrina's office. That meant the new guys would be out in the office pool with everyone else. Probably for the best. The ladies were now used to having a male around, so would be careful in what they did and didn't say. I yawned."Tired," Fabiola smirked."Oh yeah," I stifled another yawn. "Met an emissary from the Pope." Fabiola glowered. "No. Seriously. I met an emissary from Holy See. I let Hana know I wanted to get married in a highly improbable place, a ruined cathedral, so she contacted the Catholic Church and one of their guys wanted to meet with me.""That had to be fun," Tigger grinned. "What does the Cult of the Nazarene think of you and the Goddess Ishara?""We actually discussed polytheism and the place of an omnipotent, omnipresent being in the scope of things," I placed my hands behind my back and rocked back and forth. "It was quite interesting. The guy knew his shit."By that, I meant he was probably with the Pope's Secret Service as well as a Brainiac with a PhD in something. He'd promised to be in touch as soon as he heard back from his superiors. He had this hot chick with him who I suspected was a nun. And if his driver wasn't ex-military, it was because he was still in the service. On the plus side, Hana had been beaming when we left, which assured me the meeting had gone well, so we had sex from 4 AM until 5:30, thus my current fatigued state."Are you going to abandon your faith?" Fabiola taunted me."I don't have faith, Fabiola of Minerva. Faith would imply I don't know there are supernatural entities screwing with our lives. I know they do exist, I've met a few. To satisfy your disingenuous curiosity, we discussed the nature of the Weave and it being the possible manifestation of God's Will.""How did that go?" Paula appeared interested."He strongly suggested I should 'revisit my Catholic roots' soon. By that, I think he meant I'm supposed to start attending church regularly," I shrugged. "The Pope is sending an envoy to the Great Khan too, so odds are good I'm getting married," I pronounced the last bit as the doom-laden prediction it was."Oh, yes," Fabiola reached passed Paula and smacked me in the chest with the back of her hand. "That is for insinuating you and I had intercourse to my Mother and the Council.""Was that chastising me for lying, or for not making it so?" I winked."Ah, no!" she pouted. "Stop lying about me."I looked down at my phone."We've got twelve minutes," I double-pumped my eyebrows. "Want to go to Katrina's bathroom?""What! No!" Fabiola

| Mayibuye  | Kuhle, Enoo Napa | Synchronized Feels (Craig Smith Remix)  | Blackwax | Sway Me (Extended Mix)  | Random Soul, Laura Vane   | OK!  | RBØR, Andor Gabriel, Paakman | Dance A Little Bit Closer (Luis Radio Remix)  | Jay Caruso, Phie Claire | Mwaki  | Zerb, Sofiya Nzau | Sashi Sbhamu  | Kuhle, David Montoya | She's The Lighthouse (Original Mix)  | Mijangos | Phylicia (Extended Mix)  | Piero Farho, Levy M | Mawuze Nkosi  | Kuhle, Manoo | Can't Hold Back (Your Loving) (Brian Tappert Rework)  | Kano | Thinking About You (KG Sunset Remix)  | Deepconsoul, Dearson, K.G Sunset | Equation (Original Mix)  | Luis Radio  | Closer To You  | Discosteps | Queimar (Atjazz Galaxy Aart Remix)  | Oveous, Qvln | Don't Let Me Fall  | Ross Couch | Give It To Me (Every Little Step) (Original Mix)  | Big C, Taryn | Ode (Moon Rocket Remix)  | Muzungu, Moon Rocket | Your Energy (feat. Laura Elle)  | Pau Roca | Asolee (Atjazz Remix)  | Fred Everything | Get Away  | Discosteps | Black Moon (Franke Estevez Fuzion Club Mix Vox)  | Tiffany Paige | Sweet Love (Mark Lewis Remix)  | Alton Miller, Bo | Save Me (Original Mix)  | Yooks, Liz Jai | Just Feeling (Original Mix)  | Eric Kupper presents Foundations | Bliss (They Call It Love) (DJ Spen & Michele Chiavarini Remix)  | Kayenne, DJ Spen, Michele Chiavarini | Boo's Frequency (Main Mix)  | Glenn Underground  | Holy Water (Extended Mix)  | Kyra, Cash Only, China Charmeleon | Wipe My Tears (Extended Vocal Mix)  | Mikki Funk, Sara Devine | Shine (Jihad Muhammad Bang The Drum Remix)  | Sahib Muhammad, Jihad Muhammad | Rise To Liberation (Original Mix)  | Gianni de Santis, Nellie Raity | Dancin'  | Mateo & Matos | Came So Close (Rocket Dubz 4x4 Mix)  | Chris Baxter, Foster Rogue, Vula | Falling In Love (Original Mix)  | Jordi Cabrera | Living My Life (Jimpster Remix)  | Franck Roger, Arnold Jarvis | Seek Discomfort (Original Mix)  | Franck Roger, Rona Ray

Por que algumas espécies vivem em famílias, sociedades ou simplesmente grupos? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, os fatores que moldam a vida em grupo e como a seleção natural equilibra os custos e benefícios dessa estratégia.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Julianna Harsche (@juvisharsche)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Rafael de Falco (@rafel.falco) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASRICKLEFS, R. E. A Economia da Natureza (2010). Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan. 470p

O que você pensa sobre a homeopatia? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, como essa forma de tratamento surgiu, seus princípios e eficácia, de acordo com a ciência.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Julianna Harsche (@juvisharsche)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASBLAKEMORE, E. 1,800 Studies Later, Scientists Conclude Homeopathy Doesn't Work. Disponível em: .CARTWRIGHT, S. Homeopathy History, Hahnemann and Origins. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 12 nov. 2024.GRAMS, N. Homeopathy—where is the science? EMBO reports, v. 20, n. 3, 14 fev. 2019.LOUDON, I. A brief history of homeopathy. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, v. 99, n. 12, p. 607–610, 1 dez. 2006.LU, D. “Homoeopathy flourishes in the far East”: A forgotten history of homeopathy in late nineteenth-century China. Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, v. 73, n. 3, p. 329–351, 19 set. 2018.

Ce mercredi (19 mars 2025), la colère a grondé dans les hauteurs de Port-au-Prince. Excédés par l'insécurité grandissante et l'inaction des autorités en place, des milliers de citoyens venus de Canapé-Vert, Pacot et Debussy, des quartiers qui subissent les assauts des gangs, ont investi les rues, bravant la peur pour exiger des réponses. « Les bandits m'empêchent de vivre dans mon propre pays. Je ne peux pas l'accepter. Qu'ils viennent me tirer dessus là, dans la rue. Mais je n'accepterai pas de mourir chez moi comme un lâche », estime ce jeune Haïtien rencontré par Peterson Luxama à Port-au-Prince.Frustrés, les manifestants ont scandé des slogans dénonçant l'impuissance du gouvernement face à la terreur imposée par les gangs.Ces manifestants se disent prêts à se battre pour retrouver le droit de vivre en sécurité dans une capitale, dont la chute parait de plus en plus probable. « Ils veulent nous chasser du pays. Mais nous, nous n'avons nulle part où aller. Nous n'avons ni mère, ni père, ni personne à l'étranger sur qui compter. Notre seul refuge, c'est notre pays, et nous n'acceptons de le livrer aux gangs », assène cet autre manifestant.La foule a progressé pour atteindre les lieux de pouvoir mais ils ont buté sur un grand dispositif de sécurité. Ils ont été accueillis par des tirs en l'air et des gaz lacrymogènes : les policiers ont répondu à la détresse populaire par la force. Les forces de l'ordre semblent plus prompts à étouffer les revendications qu'à combattre l'insécurité qui gangrène la capitale.Pour Frantz Duval, rédacteur en chef du Nouvelliste, « les Haïtiens jusqu'à présents subissaient et ne se plaignaient pas, mais hier c'était la foule des grands jours. » Les quartiers concernés par ces rassemblements ce mercredi « sont les derniers de Port-au-Prince où les gangs n'ont pas encore pénétrés ». Pour l'éditorialiste, il s'agit d'un « sursaut qui s'adresse à la fois aux forces de l'ordre pour leur apporter du soutien mais surtout pour déplorer le fait que les autorités n'ont même pas un mot pour ce qu'il se passe dans la région métropolitaine depuis quelques jours ».Frantz Duval nous parle également de la compagnie Aruba Airlines qui a décidé d'annuler les vols réguliers qui étaient prévus, à partir de mardi prochain (25 mars 2025), entre Port-au-Prince et Miami. 2 mois après son arrivée à la Maison Blanche, Donald Trump est il une menace pour la démocratie ? L'heure d'un premier bilan a déjà sonné : en deux mois de présidence, le président américain qui gouverne par décrets a déjà fait beaucoup d'annonces, pris beaucoup de décisions, souvent contestées et la question se pose : Donald Trump est-il une menace pour la démocratie ? C'est une question qui revient de plus, aux États-Unis mais aussi ailleurs dans le monde. Achim Lippold s'est penché sur la question et estime que rien ne semble freiner Donald Trump. Le président américain qui gouverne agit à un rythme effréné en contournant les institutions et en remettant en cause l'état de droit. Le président américain passe en force même devant les magistrats qui contestent certaines de ses décisions. Pour preuve, le bras de fer qu'il a engagé avec un juge qui lui a ordonné de ne pas expulser plus de 200 Vénézuéliens, membres présumés d'un gang, vers le Salvador.Donald Trump qui effectue également une véritable purge dans l'administration avec des milliers de fonctionnaires licenciés, des agences fédérales fermées, même celles censées être indépendantes.Dans le «Project 2025», un programme ultra-conservateur de 900 pages conçu par ses proches en 2023,on trouvait déjà l'idée de démanteler l'administration fédérale et de remplacer les fonctionnaires par des personnes loyales à Donald Trump. Le Project 2025 propose aussi de s'attaquer à la culture «woke» et de bannir les personnes transgenres de l'armée. Une mesure que Donald Trump a déjà prise, bien que suspendue par la justice.Il s'attaque aussi à un autre pilier de la démocratie : la presse.Le président américain a licencié une grande partie des journalistes de Voice of America, une radio publique créée pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour promouvoir la démocratie. Il accuse CNN de «couverture illégale» et limite l'accès de l'agence de presse AP à la Maison Blanche.Une chose est sûre : rien ne semble l'arrêter dans sa volonté de tester les limites de la démocratie. Au Congrès, sa majorité républicaine est docile. Quant aux démocrates, ils sont inaudibles. Reste la justice et la société civile. Mais seront-elles assez fortes pour freiner le virage autoritaire du président américain ? Floride : le gouverneur de Santis « plus MAGA que Trump »El Pais parle d'un soutien du président américain, le gouverneur de la Floride, Ron DeSantis quis'efforce à rendre la Floride «plus MAGA que Trump», titre le journal.Pour preuve, ce dernier a créé son propre Département d'État pour l'efficacité gouvernementale « inspiré et calqué sur le DOGE dirigé par Elon Musk ».Le gouverneur de Floride a aussi approuvé une loi très dure ciblant les immigrants illégaux qui a fait grincer des dents même côté républicains et dans un élan populiste, a proposé de supprimer l'impôt foncier ce qui le met dans la droite ligne du locataire de la Maison Blanche.Ron DeSantis a toujours été comme « emprisonné dans l'ombre de Donald Trump », estime El Pais. Sa mesure la plus spectaculaire restant celle contre l'immigration, la nouvelle législation alourdit les peines pour tous les crimes commis par les immigrants illégaux, y compris la peine de mort pour les délinquants de premier degré, et crée un nouveau délit : l'entrée illégale sur le territoire américain. Une législation jugée inconstitutionnelle.Certaines villes de Floride comme South Miami se demandent si elles doivent se plier à cette politique ultra répressive ou résister explique le Miami Herald, au risque de voir leurs subventions fédérales fondre comme neige au soleil. Salvador : une vidéo des prisonniers Vénézuéliens vue 39 millions de fois en 3 joursLe New York Times diffuse dans son édition du jour une vidéo de propagande du Salvador, où les 238 Vénézuéliens expulsés des États-Unis vers le pays ont les mains et les pieds entravés par des chaînes. Ils sont extirpés de l'avion qui les emmène au Salvador, et conduit à bord de véhicules blindés au Cecot, la prison de haute sécurité que le gouvernement du président Bukele a construite pour incarcérer les membres de gangs.On les tire par les cheveux, puis on leur rase le crâne avant qu'ils ne soient conduits tête baissée en cellule par des hommes encagoulés. Ces migrants sont accusés par le président Trump de faire partie du gang Tren de Aragua, mais certaines familles de détenus ont démenti ces informations.La vidéo de 3 minutes a été vue 39 millions de fois en 3 jours révèle le NY Times, et ce procédé n'est pas nouveau. Le président Bukele, qui est un ancien publicitaire, a déjà eu recours à ce type de vidéos pour mettre en avant sa politique répressive contre les gangs. On y voit des mises en scènes humiliantes et déshumanisantes lors d'arrestations ou d'emprisonnements. Pour preuve, cette autre vidéo de 2023 des autorités de Salvador, que diffuse le journal, et qui montre des prisonniers alignés, torse nu et accroupis. La caméra fait un travelling au-dessus d'eux, on aperçoit leurs têtes rasées et leurs tatouages, ils se ressemblent tous, comme s'ils n'avaient plus de statut, comme s'ils n'étaient plus des êtres humains. Bolivie : inflation, pénurie de dollars et de carburant provoquent la colère de la population. Des manifestations ont eu lieu ce mercredi (19 mars 2025) à La Paz, contre la crise économique en Bolivie. «Le gouvernement a déjà pris des mesures mais jusqu'à présent, il n'y a eu aucune amélioration, c'est presque une blague. Nous, ce qu'on demande, c'est de vraies solutions», estime ce manifestant rencontré par Nils Sabin. Son reportage est à écouter dans son intégralité dans la version audio de ce podcast. Guatemala : le président Arevalo suspend l'assurance obligatoire pour les véhicules à moteurAu Guatemala, après deux jours de manifestations violentes, le président Bernardo Arevalo a cédé aux demandes des opposants àun décret obligeant les conducteurs de véhicules à moteur à souscrire une assurance responsabilité civile. Les accidents de la route sont la principale cause de décès dans le pays, bien au-dessus de la criminalité. En février, un accident d'autocar a fait 54 morts. La Prensa Libre reprend l'allocution du président guatémaltèque où il dit comprendre le malaise de la population. Les opposants au texte ont mis en avant la situation économique du pays où la pauvreté frappe 60 % de la population.  L'actualité des outre-merOdan Ajiali de la 1ère revient sur le déménagement d'une partie des habitants d'un village de Martinique en raison de l'érosion et de la montée du niveau de la mer.

Você sabe o que é competição em ecologia? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda," uma interação ecológica onde todo mundo sai perdendo, mas que também é uma das principais forças que moldam a evolução das espécies ao longo do tempo.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASBEGON, Michael; TOWNSEND, Colin R. Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems. John Wiley & Sons, 2021.RICKLEFS, R. E. A Economia da Natureza (2010). Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan. 470pTILMAN, David. Resource competition and community structure. Princeton university press, 1982.

Você já ouviu falar de galhas vegetais? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, o que são galhas, como se desenvolvem e como pequenos organismos conseguem manipular o crescimento das plantas para criar verdadeiras estruturas vivas sob medida para eles!Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Julianna Harsche (@juvisharsche)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASHARRIS, M. O.; PITZSCHKE, A. Plants make galls to accommodate foreigners: some are friends, most are foes. New Phytologist, v. 225, n. 5, p. 1852–1872, 6 jan. 2020.IKEUCHI, M. et al. Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Regeneration. Annual Review of Plant Biology, v. 70, n. 1, p. 377–406, 29 abr. 2019.REDFERN, M. Plant Galls (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 117). [s.l.] HarperCollins UK, 2011.

Tus donaciones son importantes. Para donar, envía un texto al 713-561-5012 y coloca la cantidad, seguido de la palabra "SPANISH". Paypal.me/UnityOfHouston seguido por la cantidad y la palabra “ESPANOL"

Tus donaciones son importantes. Para donar, envía un texto al 713-561-5012 y coloca la cantidad, seguido de la palabra "SPANISH". Paypal.me/UnityOfHouston seguido por la cantidad y la palabra “ESPANOL"

O que dá forma às células? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, o que é, como se forma e como funciona o citoesqueleto.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida e Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Técnica de Gravação: Julianna Harsche (@juvisharsche)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASALBERTS, Bruce et al. Biologia molecular da célula. Artmed Editora, 2017.

O que é herpes? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, quais são os tipos, formas de transmissão, sintomas e complicações desses vírus que acompanham a humanidade há milhares de anos.Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda)Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia)Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida Técnico de Gravação: Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis)Editora: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme)Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia) e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora)Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros)REFERÊNCIASBJORNEVIK, K. et al. Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis. Science, v. 375, n. 6578, 21 jan. 2022.DAVISON, A. J. et al. The Order Herpesvirales. Archives of virology, v. 154, n. 1, p. 171–177, 2009.JOHNSTON, C. et al. Viral Shedding 1 Year Following First-Episode Genital HSV-1 Infection. JAMA, v. 328, n. 17, p. 1730, 1 nov. 2022.UMBERTO ROSANI et al. Tracing the invertebrate herpesviruses in the global sequence datasets. Frontiers in Marine Science, v. 10, 14 jul. 2023.WALD, A. Effect of Condoms on Reducing the Transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 From Men to Women. JAMA, v. 285, n. 24, p. 3100, 27 jun. 2001.

Retour sur la piteuse défaite du XV de France contre l'Angleterre avec 2 anciens internationaux Franck Mesnel et le consultant rugby de RTL, Olivier Magne. Les skieurs français à la peine aux mondiaux de ski, analyse de l'ancien champion Luc Alphand. En revanche, la joie d'Arthur Bauchet, sacré champion du monde de para-ski pour la 11ème fois. Gros plan sur le superbowl avec Junior Aho, seul français a évolué en NHL et sur le flag football avec la Kylian Mbappé de la discipline qui sera d'ailleurs olympique en 2028 à LA, Elisa de Santis. Ecoutez On Refait le sport avec Isabelle Langé du 09 février 2025.

Um tubérculo rico em amido. Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com Mila Massuda, como a batata mudou o mundo. Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia) Revisão de Roteiro: Vee Almeida Técnico de Gravação: Caio de Santis (@caiodesantis) Editor: Lilian Correa (@_lilianleme) Mixagem e Masterização: Lívia Mello (@adiscolizard) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares), Matheus Herédia (@Matheus_Heredia), BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) e Biologia em Meia Hora (@biologiaemmeiahora) Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast, do grupo Tocalivros (@tocalivros) REFERÊNCIAS ABEL, W. Agricultural Fluctuations in Europe. [s.l.] Routledge, 2013. HARRIS, P. M. The Potato Crop. [s.l.] Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. HILLS, T. The People's Potato and the Great Irish Famine. [s.l.] New Generation Publishing, 2008. NUNN, N.; QIAN, N. The Potato's Contribution to Population and Urbanization: Evidence From A Historical Experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, v. 126, n. 2, p. 593–650, 2011. ORTIZ, Oscar; MARES, Victor. The historical, social, and economic importance of the potato crop. The potato genome, p. 1-10, 2017. READER, J. Potato : a history of the propitious esculent. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011. SPOONER, D. M. et al. Systematics, Diversity, Genetics, and Evolution of Wild and Cultivated Potatoes. The Botanical Review, v. 80, n. 4, p. 283–383, dez. 2014.

Andy De Santis is a private practice dietitian and 11x published author from Toronto, Canada who has spent the last 2-3 years refining his professional focus on the world of liver health with a special emphasis on the role diet plays in reversing fatty liver disease.  Andy's Links:Fatty Liver Online Course: https://www.fatty-liver-masterclass.com/checkoutInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andytherd/?hl=enTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andytherdDr Steph's Links: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drstephpeacock Instgram: https://www.instagram.com/drstephpeacock/ Sunlighten: https://www.stephaniepeacock.com/Sunlighten-Affiliate Use code: DRPEACOCK AirDoctor: https://stephaniepeacock.com/affiliate-airdoctor AquaTru: https://stephaniepeacock.com/affiliate-aquatru Prolon: https://stephaniepeacock.com/affiliate-prolon Work with me: https://stephaniepeacock.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter: https://stephanies-newsletter-c410d1.beehiiv.com/subscribe

"I personaggi del nostro cinema vivono tutti in solitudine. Nudi di sentimenti, nudi di ossessioni, agiscono in un modo del quale non è mai possibile vedere gli orizzonti, i confini. Mai proiettati in un paesaggio: alle loro spalle o dinnanzi ai loro occhi restano stanze fredde, spazi disabitati" Torniamo indietro agli albori del cinema italiano per ricordare la carriera di uno dei suoi più grandi maestri. Ecco a voi la vita (cinematografica e non solo) di Giuseppe De Santis.

Over the last few decades, the human population has seen a 50% decrease in testosterone levels in men. We discussed some of the reasons why during our chat with Dr. Marc Sklar on IG Live. You can check that out in our IG Reels feed. Male fertility is such a complex topic with so many factors that influence it, including nutrition. That is why we are so excited to speak to Andy De Santis RD MPH. Andy is a private practice dietitian from Toronto, Ontario who also holds a Master's degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Learn more about Andy's services: https://andytherd.com/ Get tested for BPA, phthalates, parabens, and other hormone-disrupting chemicals with Million Marker's Detect & Detox Test Kit: https://www.millionmarker.com/

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Freddy Gray is joined by Amy Wax who is a professor at Penn University to discuss education in America. Recently the Florida Governor Ron De Santis has been embracing a return to ‘classical education' which emphasises liberal arts and western teachings. Amy Wax speaks to Freddy about how education in America has been taken over by ‘woke' ideologies, what simple teaching techniques should be retuned to the classroom, and whether there is any need for the Department of Education. 

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Freddy Gray is joined by Amy Wax who is a professor at Penn University to discuss education in America. Recently the Florida Governor Ron De Santis has been embracing a return to ‘classical education' which emphasises liberal arts and western teachings. Amy Wax speaks to Freddy about how education in America has been taken over by ‘woke' ideologies, what simple teaching techniques should be retuned to the classroom, and whether there is any need for the Department of Education. 

Você sabe o que é uma Taenia e como ela afeta a saúde? Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com a Mila Massuda, como esses parasitas se disseminam, quais riscos eles oferecem, as doenças relacionadas (teníase e cisticercose) e a importância de práticas adequadas de higiene e alimentação para a prevenção de infecções.

Kina De Santis talks about her background in tech and how she applies that experience in running her real estate brokerage. Kina talk about her "high touch" approach to client service and how she is constantly refining her team's processes. Kena also describes how she uses the "startup accelerator" model to provide individualized coaching and support for her agents. Last, Kina discusses how she uses the help of virtual assistants to proactively address client needs. If you'd prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube!  Please follow Kina on Instagram and TikTok. Get your seat for our first ever Live Event The Blueprint to Become A Top Agent In 2025 here. Kina De Santis can be reached at kina@reframere.com and (949) 537-2600 This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks.

CITR's 24 Hours of Radio Art in a snack-sized format. Dark Ambient. Drone. Field Recordings. Noise. Sound Art. Or something. This morning's broadcast features CRYO CHAMBER COLLABORATION, rhubiqs, CORRADO MARIA DE SANTIS, and ALVIN CURRAN.

Backyard Envy's James DeSantis Steps Behind The Rope. Backyard Envy, one of the classic Bravo shows gone but not forgotten. James talks this classic Bravo show where we followed him and his fellow Manscaper partners, and co-stars, Mel and Garrett as they beautify the back yards of the rich, famous and many of our fav fellow Bravolebrities and Housewives. Speaking of Bravolebrities, James talks about some of his Housewife Friends and encounters including, but certainly not limited to, Tinsley Mortimer, Dorinda Medley, Countess Luann and Bethenny Frankel who he explains has “won” Housewives. He talks working for and pitching a than coupled up Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, Kristen Doute, Bobby Berk, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell, Lady Gaga and Patricia Arquette. With all the talk about the return of Jeff Lewis' Flipping Out 2.0, London Housewives and a possible Shahs of Sunset 2.0 which Reza hinted at recently, we figured today the perfect day to share this blast from the past chat about this much missed Bravo show. Tune in now. Happy Thanksgiving.  @james_desantis @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS & AD FREE EPISODES Available at - www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope  BROUGHT TO YOU BY:  OAK ESSENTIALS - oakessentials.com (Use Code Velvet15 For 15% Your First Order of Clean, Spa Quality Skincare Essentials) IRESTORE -  https://www.irestorelaser.com/VELVETROPE (Get Hundreds of Dollars Off For Huge Black Friday Sale Their iRESTORE Elite To Regrow Your Hair At Home) LOLAVIE - lolavie.com/VELVET (From Now Until Cyber Monday You Can Shop Their Best Sale of The Year & Get 25% Off Jennifer Aniston's Award Winning Hair Care) MANSCAPED - manscaped.com (Use Code Velvet For 20% Off Plus Free Shipping on The Chairman™ Pro Package) HINGE - (Refresh Your Hinge Profile Early OR Download Hinge Today and Set Your 2025 Dating Intentions Now!) PAIR EYEWEAR - paireyewear.com (Use Code Velvet Rope For 15% Off Your First Pair For Infinite Possibilities of Stylish Frames)  GOBBLE gobble.com/velvet ($120 Off Across 4 Boxes, Plus Free Shipping and Free Cookies on Gobble's Lean and Clean Dinner Subscription) ADVERTISING INQUIRIES - Please contact David@advertising-execs.com MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Au deuxième jour de AWS re:Invent, je reçois Virginie et Jérémie pour débriefer les keynotes de Peter de Santis et Matt Garman

 1 in 3 people have fatty liver disease. In today's episode, we're joined by registered dietitian Andy DeSantis to dive deep into liver health, with a special focus on fatty liver disease—a growing epidemic that demands attention. Andy is a private practice dietitian, 11-time published author, and a social media sensation known for making evidence-based nutrition advice accessible and engaging. Over the years, he's focused his expertise on helping people understand and combat fatty liver disease through nutrition and lifestyle changes.Here's what we covered in the episode: how to test for fatty liver diseasewhat causes fatty liver nutritional tips to help prevent and reverse the diseaseAndy's top liver-loving foodscoffee's impact on the liver (spoiler alert - this is good news)supplements that could be beneficial for liver health lifestyle tips for a healthy liver some wild myth busting along the wayYou can also find Andy at his website and Instagram Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @girlsgonewellnesspodcast for updates and more wellness tips. Please subscribe to our podcast and leave a review—we truly appreciate your support. Let's embark on this journey to wellness together!DISCLAIMER: Nothing mentioned in this episode is medical advice and should not be taken as so. If you have any health concerns, please discuss these with your doctor or a licensed healthcare professional.

MARCELO DE SANTIS Marcelo is as thoughtful, accomplished and smart as he is a terrific human being. Born and raised in Argentina, he is a seasoned C-suite executive with over 25 years of global experience. He also happens to be a world-class mountain climber that has summited some of the highest peaks on earth. He is former Chief Digital Officer at Thoughtworks, Group Chief Information Officer at Pirelli, and Chief Information Officer, North America at Mondelez. He serves on the boards of UNICEF and HITEC  and was co-founder of Angeles Investors, a venture capital organization dedicated to funding minority-owned technology startups. Marcelo also established Employee Resource Groups focused on diversity at Kraft Foods, Thoughtworks, and Mondelez, demonstrating his dedication to fostering an open and inclusive workplace culture. In 2019 he was nominated by Crain's as one of Top 50 CEOs, entrepreneurs and technologists. He is also a published  author, the book:  “Figure Eight: Leadership Strategies for Times of Exponential Technology Innovation”  Marcelo earned his Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. in Computer Sciences from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa. RELATED LINKS Angeles Investors Profile Thoughtworks Profile The Ascent Gartner Peer Community Hispanic Executive Article GENERAL INFO| TOP OF THE GAME: Official website: https://topofthegame-thepod.com/ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/topofthegame-thepod/feed.xml Hosting service show website: https://topofthegame-thepod.podbean.com/ Javier's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/javiersaade  SUPPORT & CONNECT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96934564 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551086203755 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOPOFGAMEpod Subscribe on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/vLKLE1SKjf6G Email us: info@topofthegame-thepod.com   THANK YOU FOR LISTENING – AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS  

As a digestive health dietitian, time and time again, I seem to conveniently ignore the fact that the liver is considered part of the digestive system…and this episode is my attempt to correct that glaring oversight!  Today we are talking all about liver health with Toronto-based dietitian Andy De Santis, including specific nutrition advice for fatty liver disease and I have to say, even if you haven't thought about liver health in the past, you will be FASCINATED by this episode…because, really, liver health is connected to, and reflects, overall health. Andy shares so much practical, actionable advice that will help anyone achieve better overall health, from fighting chronic inflammation to improving blood sugar response and supporting cardiovascular health. Because it really is all connected…and nutrition is so, so important for helping you live your healthiest, most active life no matter your health goals. Yes, we are also going to cover a lot about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In this episode, you'll gain a better understanding of why NAFLD/MASLD occurs, and how nutrition supports the underlying causes of this increasingly common condition. About Andy: Andy is a private practice dietitian and multi-time published author from Toronto, Canada. He graduated from the University of Toronto School Of Public Health with a master's in nutrition in 2014 before starting his career in the research and education department at Diabetes Canada. Since then his mutual passion for writing and social media has taken him down the private practice path with his most prominent area of practice interest now being fatty liver disease. On this episode we chat about: What Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease…and what's with the name change? What causes NAFLD? Is it fat you eat? Or something else? Two simple foods to eat daily to reduce your risk How the microbiome is connected to liver health The best researched supplement to support fatty liver Lab tests for liver health Lifestyle factors that lead to high triglycerides Why omega 3 fats matter Important phytochemicals to eat more of…and where to find them Do you actually have to lose weight in order to reduce liver fat? Are you hitting your healthy sleep threshold? Support the Pod! We couldn't make this podcast happen without the support of our amazing listeners… I love hearing your feedback on these episodes to be sure to join the conversation on our instagram @theallsortspod @desireenielsenrd @andytheRD If you love this episode, please share it with your friends and family, or take a minute to rate, review or subscribe on your favourite podcast app. We appreciate EVERY. SINGLE. LISTEN! Full show notes, including episode links and recommendations, available at desireerd.com/podcast

Had my guy Andy (@andythrd) back on the podcast to talk about liver health. If you didn't listen to our first episode:Listen to it on Spotify HEREListen to it on Apple Podcast HERETopics discussed on this episode:-Recap on the liver: what it does + why it's important.-Fatty liver disease - prevalence, concerns + what to do about it.-Alcohol and it's impact on the liver.-Fructose - should it be something you avoid at all cost??-Important foods + compounds that improve liver health.-Liver disease in relation to insulin resistance, metabolic disease and the gut microbiome. + many.. many side tangents in-between. Where to find Andy:IG: @andytherdCheck out his Fatty Liver Coaching Program HEREWhere to find me:IG: @lukesmithrdCheck out my website HERETIA for listening! This was a fun chat, I know you'll enjoy this one.

This episode is FULL of incredible strategies on how to support your liver and reduce inflammation. Andy De Santis, RD joins us in today's episode spilling all the educational information on supporting your liver and eliminating inflammation in the body. The two are connected, and we want to focus on both for optimal health. We're diving into causes of poor liver health and inflammation, nutritional strategies to focus on, lifestyle support, and more! Timestamps: 06:26 - What is fatty liver disease? 08:32 - How does someone know if they have a fatty liver or poor liver health? 11:03 - How often should people get labs checked? 14:46 - What are some of the biggest triggers/causes for fatty liver/poor liver health? 16:55 - How is inflammation tied to poor liver health? 21:58 - What is the optimal dose for omega-3 fatty acid supplement? 25:08 - What are some of the biggest triggers/causes for inflammation? 27:04 - what is the inflammatory index and diet? 29:54 - what are the top few anti-inflammatory nutrients? 35:07 - What are some other key nutrients that help with inflammation and liver support? 40:53 - Are there any specific lifestyle changes someone should focus on for liver support and inflammation? 46:50 - supplements for liver support and inflammation ----------------------------------------------------------- FIND ME ON IG: @jfaye_rd FIND ANDY ON IG: @andytherd WORK WITH ME! MORE INFO HERE

From poolside to night out - this is Beachhouse RADIO, October 2024 #BHR57

Florida no se recupera de Helene y se alista para el huracán MiltonTampa se prepara para enfrentar el huracán Milton.El gobernador Ron de Santis declaró estado de emergencia para la mayoría de condados en la florida.Yucatán bajo el furioso azote de Milton.Unos 50 jóvenes vandalizan otra tienda 7-Eleven en California.Tributos y protestas en conmemoración tras un año la ofensiva bélica de Hamas.Encuentran decapitado al alcalde de Chilpancingo, México.Policía en Texas arresta a 20 sospechoso de pertenecer al grupo criminal "Tren de Aragua".Escucha de lunes a viernes el ‘Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna' con Maity Interiano y Elián Zidán. 

There is a limited time to jump into D'Arcy's Profitable Portfolio course and five-week mastermind. Think of how your business can grow in just five weeks, with personalized coaching and portfolio review from D'Arcy herself, live accountability and community support from an incredible group of like-minded photographers, proven strategies for booking higher-paying clients, confidence and clarity about your pricing and positioning, and comprehensive resources and implementation support for everything you learn.  Join Now: https://darcybenincosa.com/profitable-portfolio-bonuses   As an experienced photo editor and presets creator, Martina De Santis brings a wealth of expertise back to the Play It Brave Podcast this week, returning by popular demand. Tune in for Martina's expertise about embracing collaboration, mastering editing skills, and leveraging knowledge to take your photography business to new heights. CLICK HERE FOR FULL SHOW NOTES.

In this week's episode, Marni welcomes Kristal De Santis to the Life Check Yourself studio. Kristal is a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Strong: A Relationship Field Guide for the Modern Man, she shares insights on masculinity, partnership dynamics, and how men can thrive in today's shifting societal expectations. They explore the complexities of modern relationships, particularly focusing on the evolving roles of men and women. Together, the duo uncover actionable strategies to build stronger, healthier relationships based on mutual understanding and growth.   Redefining Masculinity in Modern Relationships The Importance of Emotional Safety in Love Effective Conflict Resolution and Repair Strategies   The Evolution of Masculine and Feminine Roles in Relationships [00:08:35]   In today's relationships, both men and women are navigating an unprecedented level of freedom. With traditional gender roles evolving, the challenge becomes making intentional choices that benefit both partners without falling back on outdated expectations. The key is creating new, shared rules for the partnership while respecting each other's individuality.   "The paradox of choice is that when everything is on the table, how do you make the right choice for yourself?"    Love Languages Reimagined: Building Emotional Safety [00:23:45]   Emotional safety is foundational to a successful relationship. While love languages help communicate affection, they only work if partners feel secure. Safety allows individuals to express their needs freely, and without it, no amount of acts of service or physical touch can stabilize the relationship.   "If you don't have safety, the relationship will still be on shaky ground." Communication Breakdowns and Repair Conversations [00:47:20]   When conflicts arise in a relationship, repairing the emotional damage requires time and effort. Quick apologies aren't enough; true healing involves understanding the other person's perspective and demonstrating accountability. Deep-seated issues may need repeated conversations, but each discussion can strengthen the bond and help both partners grow.   "The deeper the wound, the more stitches you need."   Make a Connection: 3 Secrets Men Wish You Knew *Free Download* How to Eliminate Burnout: How to use the Radical Living Blueprint to Reinvent Your Life Ready To Take Control Of Your Life?  Book A Call With Us Unlock the shocking truth about how your unique personality type is silently shaping your future Strong: A Relationship Field Guide for the Modern Man- Get Your Copy Now STRONG.LOVE- Kristal Desantis Website  

¡NUEVO EPISODIO! Hoy te traigo a Isabella de Santis, venezolana que vive en Madrid. Isabella es mamá de dos niños. A pesar de tener Síndrome de Ovario Poliquístico (SOP), no tuvo dificultades para quedarse embarazada. Isabella me cuenta cómo fueron sus dos partos inducidos y cómo descubrió que tenía mamas tuberosas y el impacto de ello en la lactancia. Isabella es super positiva, espero que disfrutes este episodio tanto como yo. Clica PLAY y empezamos! ************************ Si este podcast significa algo para ti, me encantaría que hicieras algo para mí: Primero, sigue o suscríbete al podcast en Spotify o tu app de podcasting favorita. Suscribirte al podcast te ayuda a ti porque no te perderás ningún episodio, y me ayuda a mí porque no te perderás ningún episodio! ;-). Ve a Spotify, al podcast "Planeta Parto" y clica al botón de seguir / suscribir. Mientras estás ahí, te estaré también agradecida si tienes el momento extra para dejar una reseña de estrellas, y compartir un episodio con ESA amiga que vaya a DISFRUTAR escuchando el podcast. Gracias!!! Por cierto, también me encantará saber de ti directamente. Mi contacto más directo está en Instagram https://instagram.com/planetaparto.podcast/ o por email en isa@planetaparto.es

Une discussion variée et sincère avec Nick de Santis : Son implication avec le club montréalais de la Super Ligue du Nord, le foot local, Canada Soccer sous Jesse Marsch et évidemment Ignacio Piatti et le CF Montréal.Objectif 1000 abonnés (ou plus...comme 2000) ↙️https://www.youtube.com/@CouscousPiriPiri?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.tiktok.com/@couscouspiripirihttps://www.instagram.com/podcastccpp/Liens:https://www.youtube.com/@CouscousPiriPirihttps://ccpp.beehiiv.com/subscribe ✉️https://linktr.ee/couscouspiripirihttps://www.tiktok.com/@couscouspiripirihttps://www.instagram.com/podcastccpp/https://twitter.com/niltonjorgehttps://twitter.com/sofianebenzaza

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Send us a Text Message.On this episode we talk with Andy De Santis, RD MPH. Andy is a private practice dietitian and 11x published author from Toronto, Canada.  Having been a generalist early in this career, Andy has spent the last several years focusing on the fatty liver space given the broad prevalence and significant health implications of this increasingly common condition.We discuss with Andy:nutrition for fatty liver disease and general liver healthmaking nutrition guidance accessible for patients and how Andy likes to include lightheartedness and humor, especially on social media.benefits of the Mediterranean diet that can be customized for the individualsome interesting additions to our meals, like capers, which have big benefitshow small changes over time can have a large impactdifferent herbs and spices we like that have great benefitsYou can find Andy on Instagram @andytherdKale studies: Kale Contains Many Unique Anti-Cancer Compounds - American Institute for Cancer Research % (aicr.org)Frontiers | Kale improves bowel movements in constipated women and affects some intestinal microbes and metabolites: a pilot study (frontiersin.org)Want to work with The Crohn's and Colitis Dietitians but have questions?Book a call - HEREMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebirdLicense code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

En este episodio muy especial de Songmess Chile nos adentramos en el enormemente influyente mundo de Quemasucabeza, posiblemente el sello definitivo del indie chileno. Hoy nos guía el fundador del sello, Rodrigo Santis, también conocido por sus proyectos Congelador y Caravana, y que convierte a Quemasucabeza en un emblema mundial de la música chilena editando discos clásicos de Gepe, Pedropiedra, Alex&Daniel, Ases Falsos y muchos más. Nuestra conversación no solo repasa los 25+ años de trabajo del sello, sino también su trabajo con el Festival Neutral, incursiones a Argentina y México y un playlist lleno de clásicos. Esperamos que disfruten esta gran entrevista y que revivan esta era tan bonita de la música latinoamericana. Playlist: Gepe, Pedropiedra, Congelador, Niños del Cerro, Caravana, Coiffeur, Fakuta y Princesa Alba. Quemasucabeza Web: https://quemasucabeza.com/ Quemasucabeza Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quemasucabeza Quemasucabeza Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quemasucabeza/ Quemasucabeza Twitter: https://x.com/quemasucabeza Quemasucabeza TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@quemasucabeza?lang=en Richard Villegas Instagram: www.instagram.com/rixinyc/?hl=en Songmess Instagram: www.instagram.com/songmess/?hl=es-la Songmess Facebook: www.facebook.com/songmess/?ref=settings Songmess Twitter / X: twitter.com/songmess Songmess Merch: via DM #BOPS Playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/2sdavi0…4c1c4fc2c8714771 Subscribe to Songmess on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or SoundCloud, find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and contact us at songmessmusic@gmail.com.

Italian hotelier Valentina De Santis has turned dreams into reality at Passalacqua on Lake Como. Often referred to as the Italian Eloise at the Plaza, she grew up running the corridors of her family's hotel, the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, and was instilled with a love for hospitality at a young age. She joins Melissa to share stories of her magical childhood, her deep rooted love for hotels and the unexpected, serendipitous journey of her family's latest endeavor, the mystical Passalacqua. After opening in 2022, the intimate, family-owned villa was recently named the “World's Best Hotel” by the World's 50 Best, an achievement Valentina says goes beyond the family's wildest dreams. Through tangible passion, Valentina reveals the vision behind Passalacqua, the history of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, her advice for making the most of your time on Lake Como and the power of filling your life with beauty. Follow Valentina De SantisInstagram: instagram.com/valentinadesantisssFollow PassalacquaWebsite: passalacqua.itInstagram: instagram.com/passalacqualakecomoFollow Grand Hotel TremezzoWebsite: grandhoteltremezzo.comInstagram: instagram.com/ghtlakecomoFollow IndagareWebsite: indagare.comInstagram: instagram.com/indagaretravelYoutube: youtube.com/@indagaretravelFollow Melissa on Instagram: instagram.com/indagarefounderPlan your trip to Lake Como with Indagare: Custom-Planned Travel, Self-Planned Travel

Send us a Text Message.This week on the podcast we welcome Andy De Santis, a Registered Dietician specializing in fatty liver disease. If you're not familiar with this health concern, you're not alone, but Andy tells us it is extremely common among adults. And there's no medication to treat it. Thankfully, we can improve our liver health, and avoid or even reverse fatty liver disease, with changes to our diet. Fatty liver disease means that you have fat inside your liver that can, over time, affect liver function and cause liver injury. Andy's philosophy is not to drastically change the diet through elimination. He's more likely to suggest a good balance of healthy foods, while still enjoying the things you love to eat in moderation.  Here are three food categories Andy suggests as a starting point for good liver health:healthy fats, like avocado and nutslegumes like beans and lentilsfatty fish like salmon He has lots of great advise for us to ensure our bodies are metabolizing fat the way they should and therefore avoiding or improving fatty liver. Andy also gives helpful tips for making and sticking with any changes to our diet. We all know it can be challenging, especially if those things we should be eating are not our favourites or require a little extra work to prepare.  For more information on eating for fatty liver and overall good health, please use the links below to follow Andy on social media, check out his blog for tips and recipes, and don't forget to look into the numerous books he has written on eating for good health.  Big thank you to Andy for being our guest on the show! Episode Links~~~~~ Article: The Best Foods for Fatty Liver Disease~ Andy De Santis on Instagram~ Andy De Santis Website~ Interview with Alberta Pulse Growers~ Pulse Recipes~ Roasted Chickpea Recipe~~~~ Three Kitchens Podcast - a home cooking showCheck out our website where you can listen to all of our episodes and find recipes on our blog: www.threekitchenspodcast.comYou can support the show with a small donation at Buy Me A Coffee.Want to be a guest? We want to hear from you! Join us on our socials!Instagram @three_kitchens_podcastFacebook @threekitchenspodcastYouTube @threekitchenspodcastTikTok @threekitchenspodcastRate, review, follow, subscribe and tell your friends!

What is it like growing up in one of the most storied and iconic hotels in Italy? Ask Valentina de Santis, who was raised in the kitchens and ballrooms of Lake Como's Grand Hotel Tremezzo and now runs the charismatic Passalacqua along with her parents nearby. Lale chats with the hotelier to hear stories of life on Lake Como, get tips on traveling in both summer and the off-season, and what it really means to live La Dolce Vita.

Joanne, Bernardo Siqueira e Guilherme Moura discutem sobre os principais pontos no diagnóstico e tratamento das valvopatias aorticas. Referência: 1.Tarasoutchi, F., Montera, M. W., Ramos, A. I. O., Sampaio, R. O., Rosa, V. E. E., Accorsi, T. A. D., Santis, A. , Fernandes, J. R. C., Pires, L. J. T., Spina, G. S., Vieira, M. L. C., Lavitola, P. L., Ávila, W. S., Paixão, M. R., Bignoto, T., Togna, D. J. D., Mesquita, E. T., Esteves, W. A. M., Atik, F., Colafranceschi, A. S., Moises, V. A., Kiyose, A. T., Pomerantzeff, P. M. A., Lemos, P. A., Brito Junior, F. S. , Weksler, C., Brandão, C. M. A., Poffo, R., Simões, R., Rassi, S., Leães, P. E., Mourilhe-Rocha, R., Pena, J. L. B., Jatene, F. B., Barbosa, M. M., Abizaid, A., Ribeiro, H. B., Bacal, F., Rochitte, C. E., Fonseca, J. H. A. P. , Ghorayeb, S. K. N., Lopes, M. A. C. Q., Spina, S. V., Pignatelli, R. H., & Saraiva, J. F. K. (2020). Atualização das Diretrizes Brasileiras de Valvopatias – 2020. Arq. Bras. Cardiol., 115(4), 720-775.

Wilson Santos has been thinking about opening a French fry-centric restaurant for years. “This concept is like decades in the making,” Santos said. “To be honest, I went to Amsterdam, the first trip was in 1994. I was doing a study abroad program in England and on the weekends, I would try to take a trip around Europe. And I just took a trip with some friends that I met in England, went to Amsterdam and I saw these fries.” The fry shops became a common snack for Santos during his visits. “I just thought, ‘Why don't we have this in the U.S.?'” Santos said. He got his first chance to try the concept when his first restaurant concept, Vinyl Arts Bar was undergoing a rebranding during COVID. Vinyl Cafe served as Santos interpretation of an Amsterdam coffee bar, but instead of marijuana, he offered hemp. He also offered fries. “So I put about six different sauces on the menu, I did the cone fries, and then you have the hemp,” Santis said. “Now people are smoking hemp They're eating the fries and they get the whole Amsterdam experience.” Santos sold the space about six months later. That was in 2020. In March, he was finally able to open The Fry Shoppe at 489 N. Semoran Blvd. “We're a few blocks up from Full Sail University — just light up from University Boulevard to Aloma (Avenue) so we're right on the corner of Semoran Boulevard and Aloma (Avenue) — really high-traffic intersection for us,” Santos said. The business owner truly believes in the concept and is taking a big gamble on himself to get The Fry Shoppe up and running. “I was looking for investors for a long time, I had presentations and meetings and nobody wanted to invest. Nobody believed in it. You know, people said I was asking too much,” Santos said. “I'm glad I didn't get any investors at the end of the day. It would have been a mistake. So things happen for a reason. I ended up — I couldn't get funding for it and I didn't have the money. I just — I'm a risk taker, I sold my house.” Santos is now renting a place near his restaurant. He believes the concept is ripe for a franchise. “I'm not gonna stop until we have multiple locations. I'm persistent,” Santos said. He believes The Fry Shoppe could find itself in mall food courts, food halls, or at airports. However, he needs to get this original location firing on all cylinders first. I know that in the next month, we'll be at 100%. We have to add delivery — so we have to add DoorDash UberEATS are the two big ones. We haven't even marketed heavily to the student population right down the street at Full Sail They have over 20,000 students. This is affordable food for students,” said. On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, Santos talked more about his trips to Amsterdam that inspired his restaurant. He also gives Candace Campos a rundown on his most popular sauces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Had a blast chatting with my colleague + fellow dietitian - Andy De Santis - on this episode. Andy is a wealth of knowledge in the nutrition space. Topics discussed on this episode:-What are our bodies primary 'detox' organs? What does detox even mean?-How 'detox' can be a buzzword + marketing tactic in the wellness space.-Taking care of our liver: what it does, nutrition/lifestyle interventions, monitoring our health through routine bloodwork.-Fatty liver disease: how it happens + consequences of a liver that isn't functioning properly.-Importance of micronutrients and plant compounds from the diet.-Does it matter if these fiber foods are canned, frozen, fresh, organic or conventional?-Supplements and common nutrients that are beneficial for overall health.-Coffee.. what's the deal with it? Is it 'good'? Health benefits that come from coffee + how it can help you poop in the morning. Considerations when drinking it etc.+so much more in-between.I loved this episode and I know you will too!Where to find Andy:Instagram: @andytherdBlog: andytherd.com/blogWhere to find me:Instagram: @lukesmithrdCheck out my website HERETIA for listening!

Tim Forbes scored a goal at his college lacrosse game and looked up to see who was cheering loudly--Tim will never forget spotting his friend, Santis, as well as a young, homeless man they had befriended, Thomas. Tim learned "radical empathy" through his encounters with Thomas. Tim was touched by Thomas' humanity and saw Christ residing in him--Thomas also ministered to Tim. Through this experience in his young adulthood, coupled with many years of ministry and a career in Catholic school administration, God has taught Tim to practice empathy with those he serves, as well as those he disagrees or struggles with.  Tim senses God's call to hope and serve in all circumstances--he is now working at the Judge Dinkins Educational Center, which "provides juvenile vocational training in Davidson County for adolescents who might be at risk or engaged with the juvenile or criminal justice system. The Center's programs are supported by social and emotional learning and focused on sustainable, hands-on education for long-term employment." Learn more at jdecnash.org.

C'est un peu le lancement de la campagne américaine, le premier test pour les candidats républicains, le moment où ils sont sanctionnés ou non par les électeurs plutôt que les sondages. Même si tout est à relativiser. Le Caucus de l'Iowa est un moment important dans la vie politique américaine par moins 30 degrés, les électeurs républicains se sont déplacés pour mettre en tête Donald Trump avec plus de 30 points d'avance sur ses deux adversaires : Nikki Haley et Ron de Santis. Mais comme souvent aux Etats-Unis, rien n'est joué d'avance... Chaque semaine, le mardi, Arnaud Tousch nous adresse une lettre d'Amérique. Un podcast sous forme de courrier audio, posté depuis Manhattan, à New York. Une carte postale sonore pour nous aider à mieux comprendre cette Amérique à la fois si familière et parfois totalement déconcertante.

C'est un peu le lancement de la campagne américaine, le premier test pour les candidats républicains, le moment où ils sont sanctionnés ou non par les électeurs plutôt que les sondages. Même si tout est à relativiser. Le Caucus de l'Iowa est un moment important dans la vie politique américaine par moins 30 degrés, les électeurs républicains se sont déplacés pour mettre en tête Donald Trump avec plus de 30 points d'avance sur ses deux adversaires : Nikki Haley et Ron de Santis. Mais comme souvent aux Etats-Unis, rien n'est joué d'avance... Chaque semaine, le mardi, Arnaud Tousch nous adresse une lettre d'Amérique. Un podcast sous forme de courrier audio, posté depuis Manhattan, à New York. Une carte postale sonore pour nous aider à mieux comprendre cette Amérique à la fois si familière et parfois totalement déconcertante.