Doctors to be Trained in CHIP HIV Intervention
Posted on May 21, 2010 by Chris Tarricone
A new partnership with the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute could lead to hundreds of African American doctors being trained in a nationally-recognized HIV prevention intervention developed at CHIP.
With UConn Incentive Grant funding, UConn’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS) and the Cobb/NMA will train physicians in the east coast region of the NMA in CHIP’s Options intervention. Following successful completion of the pilot project, the partners will seek additional grant funding for a nationwide roll-out of Options to the NMA’s full membership.
Using powerful health behavior change methods, Options enlists trusted healthcare providers to talk with HIV-positive patients during routine medical appointments about reducing their risky sexual and drug use behaviors. Clinicians work collaboratively with patients in assessing their risky behaviors and willingness to change. Together, clinicians and patients then develop strategies and set future goals that are written out in a “prescription” for safer sex or drug use behaviors.
The intervention, developed by a research team led by CHIP Director and Professor of Psychology Jeffrey Fisher and CHIP Associate Director Deborah Corrnman, is one of the few risk reduction interventions for use with HIV-positive patients. It has been tested with urban populations and proven effective in the U.S. and South Africa. It also has been lauded by the CDC as a promising intervention and included in its Compendium of Evidence-Based HIV Prevention Interventions.
Options has been funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Department of Defense.
To date, over 500 trainings in Options have been completed both nationally and internationally.
The NMA is the oldest and largest organization of African American physicians in the United States with a mission to create parity and justice in medicine for African American physicians and their patients. The Cobb Institute was created in 2004 by the NMA to promote wellness, conduct research and eliminate health disparities including in the area of HIV/AIDS.
“This is an ideal partnership at an opportune time,” Fisher said. “We’ll be putting an intervention that has been proven effective into practice with one of the populations at greatest risk for new HIV infections.”
African Americans account for 45 percent of new HIV infections – more than any other ethnic or racial group in the U.S. – yet they make up only 12 percent of the total U.S. population.
“Healthcare providers have an excellent opportunity to address risk behaviors and reinforce safer
behaviors in their HIV-positive patients, because they have a trusting relationship and repeated contact for reinforcement,” Fisher explained.
Options, which Fisher’s team developed in consultation with physicians and patients, uses a patient-centered, non-judgmental and supportive approach.
CICATS and Cobb/NMA formed its partnership in July 2009.
Fisher, Cornman and the CHIP research team, including the Cobb/NMA Options Project Coordinator Joanne Cunningham, are working with Dr. Randall Morgan, Jr., executive director of the Cobb Institute, and Dr. Nicole Jarrett, director of Health Policy Research for the NMA.
To date, a daylong meeting with Dr. Morgan and Dr. Jarrett was held at the UConn Health Center campus in early January as part of a broader Cobb/NMA and UConn Planning Committee Meeting hosted by Dr. Judith Fifield, director of the Ethel Donaghue Center for Translating Research into Practice and Policy. In mid-January, an 11-member Cobb/NMA UConn Options Advisory Board, comprised of nationally known physicians and HIV specialists, was convened and the first board meeting was held in early February.
Most recently, Fisher, Cornman and Cunningham attended the 11th Annual Scientific Colloquium held in Arlington, Virginia. There, Fisher made a presentation to the NMA attendees about the Options project.
The first focus groups for the pilot project are planned for early summer with physician trainings to follow.
The UConn Incentive Grant was awarded to Fisher and Fifield, partners in the Community Engagement Core of CICATS.
New Aetna Grant Targets Childhood Obesity
CHIP collaborators are bringing parents and pediatricians together to target obesity in Hartford children as young as age 2.
With a new grant from the Aetna Foundation to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Dr. Michelle Cloutier, a professor of pediatrics at the UConn Health Center and a CHIP affiliate, and Amy Gorin, an assistant professor of psychology and a CHIP principal investigator, will develop and test an intervention to address obesity in African American and Latino children between the ages of 2 and 4.
“In general, rates of obesity are higher in underserved populations. In Hartford, 40 percent of African American and Latino children are obese or at risk for obesity by the time they start school at age 5,” said Cloutier, the grant’s principal investigator. The UConn researchers will assess how parents in the target population view their children’s diet, activity level and weight and they will work with pediatricians to deliver meaningful messages to parents about those topics. The messages will be linked to intervention strategies families have stated that they can implement at home. Cloutier and Gorin’s team will train participating healthcare providers in a technique known as ‘brief motivational counseling,’ so that they can effectively and efficiently reinforce the identified messages and intervention strategies at every check-up during the course of the study.
“A physician can say, ‘Eat less and exercise more,’ but that doesn’t help a family learn the specific things it needs to do differently,” said Cloutier, an expert in medical messaging. “This intervention will provide messages that can be tailored and customized for each family and that can be delivered consistently at every medical visit in three minutes or less.”
Cloutier and Gorin’s preliminary work on this project included developing a 21-question survey, called Growing Up Healthy, and conducting the survey with parents of children seen at two Hartford clinics affiliated with Connecticut Children’s. Parents were invited to complete the survey if they had a child with a Body Mass Index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) considers a child overweight if his or her BMI falls between the 85th and 95th percentile. A child is considered obese if his or her BMI falls above the 95th percentile.
Through their survey, Cloutier and Gorin identified several behaviors linked with children being overweight or obese. These included the amount of juice consumed, the type and amount of milk consumed and the amount of television viewed daily. These behaviors will be the focus of the intervention they are developing.
“The strength of this intervention is its simplicity,” Cloutier said. “Small changes in these three areas over the course of a year could make a huge difference.”
The researchers plan to recruit up to 40 pediatricians and 250 children to participate in the study. They anticipate each child will see a healthcare provider at one of the two Hartford-based clinics three to five times during the course of the study, which will last one year.
They will compare the BMI of each child at the beginning of the year with his or her BMI at the end of the year to determine the intervention’s effectiveness. They also will evaluate if it is efficient for pediatricians to deliver the brief obesity intervention at every visit, given the time constraints they face.
Cloutier, who also directs the Asthma Center at Connecticut Children’s, is optimistic, based on the results she had with a disease management program she created for pediatricians and their patients. The award-winning program, Easy Breathing, helped busy physicians identify and treat asthma in their patients.
She believes it is because of the success with Easy Breathing, coupled with the extent of childhood obesity and the concern that pediatricians have in this area, that Hartford’s pediatric community has been so enthusiastic about Growing Up Healthy to date.
Cloutier and Gorin’s pilot work on this project was funded through an award from The Donaghue Foundation and a UConn Research Foundation Faculty Grant.
CHIP Director Named Distinguished Professor
UConn Today, April 20, 2010
CHIP Director Jeffrey Fisher is one of three UConn faculty members named a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor this year in recognition of excellence in research and teaching.
Three faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are this year’s new Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors.
Jeffrey D. Fisher in psychology, Harry A. Frank in chemistry, and Johann Peter Gogarten in molecular and cell biology all earned the distinction, which is the University’s highest award for faculty excellence in research, teaching, and service.
“These are three outstanding researchers and teachers who have made substantial contributions to their fields and mentored a new generation of scientists,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “They set the standard for the College’s mission of excellence in teaching, research, and service.”
Posted in InCHIP Affiliates in the News, InCHIP Today, News
CHIP’s Brown Bag Lecture Series Now Available via LIVE Webcast
CHIP’s regular Brown Bag Lecture is now available LIVE! Users can access the talk 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start by clicking here.
CHIP’s AITC is Now a UConn Fee-for-Service Center
Posted on May 19, 2010 November 25, 2015 by Chris Tarricone
With help from CHIP and AITC Director Timothy Gifford, Principal Investigator Kerry Marsh has parlayed a $2 million federal grant to study sexual risk behavior in virtual reality (VR) environments into a resource for the entire University.
Spring 2010 CHIP Lecture Series
The CHIP Lecture Series hosts speakers of national and international prominence who share late-breaking research. The spring 2010 schedule can be found here.
Statistical Support for CHIP Affiliates
If you are in need of any statistical help, we have set up an arrangement with Dr. Ming Chen of the UConn Statistics Department in order to fulfill your statistical needs.
CHIP Statistical Support is offered to give CHIP-affiliated investigators the opportunity to have a methodological and statistical pre-review of a proposal being prepared for major external funding. Statistical support can also be used to assist CHIP-affiliated investigators with other health related research work. This opportunity is available throughout the year.
If you are in need of any statistical help, we have set up an arrangement with Dr. Ming Chen of the UConn Statistics Department in order to fulfill your statistical needs. Please follow the directions below in order to gain access to a statistical consult.
Step 1: Visit www.stat.uconn.edu
Step 2: On the left side of the stat dept main page, under “Consulting”, click on “Application”.
Step 3: On the consulting main page, click on “Start Online Application” and then follow the step-by-step instructions to complete the online process.
Step 4: If Step 3 is successful, Dr. Chen will automatically receive an email notification. Then, he will set up the userid and password and notify the applicant.
Step 5: Dr. Ming Chen will arrange an initial meeting.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jeff Fisher at jeffrey.fisher@uconn.edu.
Health Behavior Change Courses at UConn
The University offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in health behavior change and health policy. Click here for a listing.
CHIP Graduate Student Affiliation
CHIP now offers an Affiliate status to graduate students to accommodate your interest in multidisciplinary research in the area of health behavior change.
There are a number of benefits that you may experience as a CHIP Student Affiliate. First, there may be opportunities for collaboration or mentorship with highly-regarded, well-published and funded researchers from across the health behavior change domain. Through our network of CHIP Affiliates, we can guide you toward graduate research and career opportunities.
Second, you will receive notice of our CHIP Brown Bag Lecture series that attracts presenters of national and international prominence who share late-breaking research in the fields of health behavior change and health communication related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, obesity, alcohol abuse, diabetes management, and medication adherence. Search our database of previous presenters here.
CHIP uses a significant portion of its funds to foster new health behavior change research. Specifically, CHIP graduate students may apply annually for grants to conduct preliminary research related to CHIP overarching goals. Priority is given to promising research likely to develop into a larger study and garner external funding (such as a National Research Service Award proposal through the National Institute of Mental Health). Click here for further information.
To become a graduate student affiliate, please e-mail the following information to C.Stacey.Leeds@uconn.edu:
— Department
— E-mail address
— Name of your advisor
Abstinence-only Sex Ed Leaves Kids Unprotected
Hartford Courant, February 12, 2010
CHIP Principal Investigator Blair Johnson penned an op-ed in favor of safer sex education programs for teens.
Posted in InCHIP Affiliates in the News, News


Clemson expert questions tariffs as a negotiating tool, says net-zero effect on jobs
Scott Baier, a specialist in trade liberalization, cast doubt Tuesday on whether Trump's trade tactics would help the South Carolina economy.
Clemson expert questions tariffs as a negotiating tool, says net-zero effect on jobs Scott Baier, a specialist in trade liberalization, cast doubt Tuesday on whether Trump's trade tactics would help the South Carolina economy. Check out this story on greenvilleonline.com: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2018/08/01/clemson-prof-tariffs-threat-tariffs-poor-negotiation-strategy/869903002/
Anna B. Mitchell, The Greenville News Published 6:30 a.m. ET Aug. 1, 2018
An industry analyst says he expects a proposed White House plan to impose tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts to move forward and have a negative impact on carmakers and dealers. (July 19) AP
Economics Professor Scott Baier spoke Tuesday at an Upstate Chamber Coalition meeting in Spartanburg
A shipping container is place on a train at the South Carolina Inland Port in Greer on Monday, September 25, 2017. (Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)Buy Photo
1994 study found protectionist trade investigations yield little success
Extent of tariffs' impact unknown until costs work their way through the supply chain, experts say
Uncertainty prevails locally as business leaders await president's next move
Proposed auto tariffs could cost up to 2,000 manufacturing jobs in South Carolina
SPARTANBURG — The chairman of Clemson University's economics department says tariffs and the threat of tariffs are an unreliable tool at best for negotiating better trade deals for the United States.
Scott Baier, a specialist in the causes and consequences of trade liberalization, offered his assessment of the current trade war during a gathering Tuesday of the Upstate Chamber Coalition. The Trump administration has since the beginning of the year imposed tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, raw steel and aluminum, and a range of Chinese raw materials and components.
Taken together, said Kris Denzel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President Trump's 2018 tariffs affect $75 billion in goods, $34 billion of them from China alone. The president has also called for an investigation into automobile and auto parts imports and the possibility of a 25 percent tariff on those.
Tariffs fallout: BMW announces price increase on South Carolina-made SUVs sold in China
Push back: Bevy of Upstate auto suppliers oppose Trump administration's proposed tariffs
"The current administration uses the notion that we're going to threaten to put tariffs on or we won't put tariffs on because we want you to behave better," Baier said. "In the history of the United States, its ability to use this negotiating tactic to help people behave in a better way, it doesn't really show up in the data."
Managers and financial officers from a host of regional small- and medium-sized businesses and manufacturers — including Berger turning tools, Röchling engineering plastics, Tietex industrial fabrics, Hogan construction, Trelleborg tires and the Elliott Davis accounting firm — came to the Spartanburg event with questions about how long existing tariffs might last, whether new ones are likely and what long-term damage they might do to the state's economy.
Denzel and Baier agreed that no one will know the impact until negotiations conclude and the costs of import taxes work their way throughout America's complex, globally integrated supply chain.
Uncertainty prevails locally
Charles Johnson, chief financial officer of Leigh Fibers, said much of his company's business is tied to the auto industry. Leigh Fibers recycles textiles, converting them into lint-like sound-deadening and fire-retardant materials that manufacturers like BMW use to insulate vehicles.
"So far the tariffs have had a minimal impact," Johnson said. "It's wait and see."
Allen Smith, president of the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce, said the evolving issue has caused unease in the business community.
"There's one thing that business people value probably above all else," he said, "and that's certainty."
Melody Horton with Elliott Davis said she works with many foreign companies in or considering opening shop in South Carolina. She asked Baier whether he believed Trump's tariffs and threats of more were just a negotiating tactic.
"We all thought maybe this is just a short-term issue," Horton said. "But now it's beginning to feel like it's the beginning of a trade war."
"I'd like to believe this is a negotiating tactic, that the Trump administration wants to lower the barriers for our exports," Baier said, "but it does seem like it's escalating on our part and the response by other countries seem to be escalating as well."
Though not good for the economy, he said, the overall costs of the current tariffs — assuming Trump does not follow through on threats to tax the foreign auto industry and billions of dollars of Chinese consumer goods — are about 0.1 to 0.2 percent of America's gross domestic product (which totals $18.6 trillion compared to China's $11.2 trillion, according to the World Bank).
"So the costs aren't large, but they are there, and they will impact certain industries quite hard," Baier said.
Oft-cited research says tariffs a no-go
In his presentation, Baier referenced an oft-cited 1994 book by Kim Elliott and Thomas Bayard — Reciprocity and Retaliation in U.S. Trade Policy — that examined American protectionist trade investigations going back to the Reagan administration. The authors assessed the success of those investigations, seeing if they opened up foreign markets for U.S. exporters, reduced foreign subsidies or produced better protection of U.S. intellectual property, Baier said.
The Trump administration launched another such an investigation, under Section 301 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, to justify the tariffs on China.
"So Bayard and Elliot found that of the 72 investigations filed in the U.S., negotiations were 'successful' less than 50 percent of the time," Baier said. "Of the 12 cases where the U.S. retaliated against foreign competition, success was achieved in only two of the 12 cases."
Tariffs also have a net-zero effect on jobs, Baier said, because protectionist policies tend to preserve jobs in one sector while threatening those in another.
South Carolina buyers who imported a total of $550 million in steel last year would see costs increase about 20 percent if they were to purchase that same amount of steel now, Baier said. Steel prices have gone up 45 percent since Jan. 1, he added, and aluminum 23 percent.
Consumer product companies such as Coca Cola, Polaris and Sam Adams have announced tariff-related price increases in the wake of these supply-chain increases, and the cost of washing machines jumped 16 percent from March to May after Trump imposed a tariff on that industry's imports.
Carolina auto jobs
Auto tariffs are still on the table, Denzel said, though talks between the Trump administration and the European Union last week look promising and have placed a pause on their going forward.
"This is the big one," Denzel said of the proposed auto tariffs. "We figure it would have an economic impact maybe about 10 times the size of what we see on steel and aluminum. So you are looking at possibly applying tariffs on about $350 billion worth of imports."
Car prices would go up $2,500 to $4,500, Baier said, and 1,000 to 2,000 South Carolina jobs in the auto-manufacturing sector would disappear.
Allen Smith, president of the Spartanburg chamber, said people in his county, the home of BMW, are all about talking to trade partners and working out better deals.
"We think it's necessary that government officials do things to support free trade; however, we don't think that should be done at the cost of local jobs," he said. "And unfortunately, based on today's presentation, that could be an unintended consequence of some of these tariffs."
Read or Share this story: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2018/08/01/clemson-prof-tariffs-threat-tariffs-poor-negotiation-strategy/869903002/
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Female Authors
Books By Women
Becoming An Author
20th September 2018 11th March 2019 charlieFemale Authors
Her Life And The Cromwell Trilogy
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel is a prolific writer from England. She is known for her expertly crafted historical fiction novels, short stories and personal memoirs. Born in 1952, Mantel has won the Booker Prize twice so far. The first award was given for her book Wolf Hall. This is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Cromwell’s early days in Tudor court. Its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies was also awarded the Booker Prize.
This makes Mantel the only woman to have received this particular award twice. The only other writers to do so were J G Farrell, Peter Carey and J M Coetzee. She is currently writing the concluding third part of her Cromwell trilogy. The current title for this book is The Mirror and the Light.
Her O ther Work
Mantel’s first novel was Every Day is Mother’s Day. This came out in 1985 and was soon followed by a sequel called Vacant Possession. She later worked as a film critic for The Spectator. She retained this position from 1987 to 1991. Mantel has also provided reviews for a number of other newspapers and magazines, both in the UK and US.
She continued to gain acclaim with her later novels such as Eight Months on Ghazzah Street. Released in 1988, this book draws on Mantel’s time when she lived in Saudi Arabia. One of the key themes is the clash between cultures in this nation.
Her book Fludd takes place in the mid 1950’s and deals with Roman Catholicism. In this story a mysterious character arrives in the fictional town of Fetherhoughton. He changes the lives of the other protagonists forever.
Sticking To A Routine
Choosing A Format
Valerie Solanos
Five Female Authors of the 19th-Century
LITERATURE – Jane Austen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIYiThAyY8s
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Griet Eeckhout
Muay Thai Professional
Photo Credit: KoylOgraphy
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First Name Griet
Last Name Eeckhout
Nickname/s The Painapple
Birth Name Griet Eeckhout
Born Belgium
Residence Belgium
Nationality Belgian
Weight class Flyweight
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Corinne Laframboise Unanimous Decision MMA 12/08/17 TKO 41: Champions, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5:00 R3 / 3×5 Pro Flyweight • 125 lbs • Preliminary Card • Weigh-In: 125.2 lbs (56.8 kgs)
Ashley Nichols TKO (Punches) MMA 06/16/17 TKO 39: Ultimatum, Complexe JC Perreault, St. Roch, Quebec, Canada
3:31 R1 Pro TKO Strawweight Tournament Semi-Finals • 115 lbs • Preliminary Card
Bryony Tyrell Unanimous Decision MMA† 04/08/17 360 Promotion: Volition, Centre Jean Moisse, Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium
5:00 R3 / 3×5 Pro 360 Vacant Strawweight title • 116 lbs • Main Card • Weigh-In: 114.4 lbs (51.9 kgs)
Lindsay Garbatt Rear-Naked Choke MMA 01/13/17 TKO 37: Rivals, Tohu, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3:07 R1 Pro Strawweight • 117 lbs • Main Card • Weigh-In: 117.2 lbs (53.2 kgs)
Judith Levi TKO MMA 10/29/16 360 MMA Fight Nights: Genesis, Centre Sportif Jean Moisse, Belgium
4:47 R2 / 3×5 Pro Strawweight • 115 lbs • Main Card
Daniela Kortmann Rear-Naked Choke MMA 04/09/16 MMA Meets Wild West, El Dorado Templin, Templin, Brandenburg, Germany
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Aitek Emadi Draw MMA 08/23/15 K-1 Germany Topalevents
Sandra Redegeld TKO (Punches) MMA 05/02/15 Fight Lounge: Rulezzz
3:42 R1 Amateur ……………………………………………………………………………………..
Anke Van Gestel Points Muay Thai 11/27/10 Merchtem, Belgium
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I'll Mature When I'm Dead
Amazing Tales of Adulthood
I'll Mature When I'm Dead ( )
Author: Barry, Dave
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Imprint: Penguin AudioBooks
Book Format: CD-Audio
List Price: USD $29.95
Unabridged CDs, 5 CDs, 6 hours
Read by TBA
A brilliantly funny exploration of the treacherous state of adulthood by the Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist.
Detailed Subjects: Humor / General
Physical Dimensions (W X L X H): 5.27 x 5.83 x 0.84 Inches
Book Weight: 0.31 Pounds
Barry, Dave (Author)
Dave Barry was born in Armonk, New York on July 3, 1947. He received an English degree from Haverford College in 1969. His early attempts at small-town journalism for the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, were directed towards local matters, such as zoning and sewage. In 1975, he briefly attempted to teach business writing to business people. Since then, he has worked as a professional humorist.
For many years he wrote a newspaper column that appeared in more than 500 newspapers and for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He is the author of numerous fiction, nonfiction, and young adult books. His novels include Big Trouble, Tricky Business, Lunatics, and Insane City. His nonfiction works include Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States, I'll Mature When I'm Dead, You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About, and Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer Is Much Faster): Life Lessons and Other Ravings from Dave Barry. His young adult books include the Starcatchers series and the Never Land series.
Dave Barry's title, Best. State. Ever, made the New York Times bestseller list in 2016.
Red, White and Royal Blue
McQuiston, Casey


Calif. filmmaker admits guilt, gets probation
Andre Salvail
A California documentary filmmaker who was arrested by Aspen police in March after an alleged theft at the Marolt Place seasonal-housing development pleaded guilty Monday in Pitkin County District Court to two misdemeanors in connection with the incident.
Andrew Anthony, 27, previously faced a felony trespassing charge in connection with the March 21 events that led to his arrest. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts — criminal possession of a financial device and theft — through a plea agreement with the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Judge Gail Nichols sentenced him to two years of supervised probation, which he will serve in California.
Police said Anthony was highly intoxicated when he showed up at an acquaintance’s apartment and was asked to leave. Upon leaving, he took some items with him, including someone else’s wallet, police said.
He allegedly returned to the apartment and was told to leave again. He was arrested after the second incident.
A website for Best Coast Productions, of Santa Barbara, California, lists Anthony as the CEO. The website describes Best Coast as a video-production company “focused on promoting underground music with a positive message, small business and extreme sports.”
According to the movie-information website IMDB.com, Anthony co-directed and shot a 2012 documentary called “Stillness,” featuring the voice of Irish-American actor Malachy McCourt, brother of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Frank McCourt.
Anthony told Nichols he has lived in the Aspen area for the past two winters. His family and his business are in California, he said.
A public defender representing Anthony said he is prepared to make restitution to the victims. Anthony also has made arrangements to receive counseling for alcohol abuse through an inpatient treatment facility in California.
“I’m just sorry this happened,” Anthony told Nichols.
In the days following his arrest, he told The Aspen Times that the incidents at Marolt Place and the arrest itself were misunderstandings and that all of the charges likely would be dropped. One charge, felony trespassing, was dropped.
In other District Court action on Monday:
• Weston J. Petrovich, 26, pleaded guilty to a felony drug-possession charge and received probation. Petrovich, a local restaurant server at the time of his arrest more than two months ago, ran away from an Aspen policeman who suspected him of holding drugs outside the Belly Up music club in the early-morning hours of June 8. The policeman then identified him through the club’s surveillance video and arrested him that same evening at his workplace on East Hopkins Avenue. Nichols told Petrovich that if he successfully completes his probation, his record will be changed to reflect a misdemeanor, not a felony.
• Nichols reduced to $1,000 the bond for a 23-year-old homeless man accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Minnesota native Russell L. Nelson, who has been in the custody of the Pitkin County Jail on $5,000 bond since Thursday, allegedly harbored a 17-year-old runaway girl from Arapahoe County. Assistant District Attorney Scott Turner argued against his release on a personal-recognizance bond, pointing out Nelson’s extensive criminal history. A local man who recently met Nelson spoke up and said he would feed and house Nelson, a recovering substance abuser, if Nelson were set free. Nichols noted that Nelson had obvious knowledge of drug- and alcohol-counseling programs in Aspen, and Nichols agreed to reduce the bond but stipulated that Nelson attend counseling sessions five times a week and appear for all scheduled court dates.
andre@aspentimes.com


top tunes of 2018
Each of the last two years I’ve written posts about how much music has shaped the year. In 2016 there was a lot of shit that went down and music was the bright spot. Last year was one of my favorite years in music in a while so 2018 had a lot to live up to. So as the year comes to a close, the results are in. It was in no way comparable to last year, but thats okay! Because music was still important as it always is.
2018 as a whole will never be comparable to last year. I felt too much in 2018 and in the process I lost a lot of perspective. I had to dig myself out of personal holes so many times. A lot of which I hadn’t felt in years. In a way I’m still trying to overcome some personal struggles but one thing I learned this year is that it could be worse. So I try to remind myself of that. Despite losing perspective at times, I was able to gain it back through meeting new incredible people, through traveling all over the country, through new experiences, and most importantly through music.
I worked harder and put in more miles than I ever had in the past this year all because of a goal that started last January. My friend and I planned a trip to London. I went on that trip last week and it was definitely a trip I won’t soon forget. As much as all the work made it worth it. It was the journey of the year that made it special and so many songs and bands that got me through this weird rollercoaster of a year. So without further delay, here are some of my faves from 2018:
“NUMB” by Hayden James
According to Spotify, this is my top song of the year. Spotify isn’t lying either. It’s now my second most played song on my iTunes. I fell in love with this song during EDC Las Vegas, a festival which ultimately changed the course of the year for me. This song related to my life in all the ways at times, so I kept turning to it. Plus it’s a big fucking mood! I saw Hayden James perform at Electric Forest this year and was able to catch this song during his sets both weekends and during his Weekend 2 DJ set. The bass was so overpowering, but I loved it nonetheless. Now, 7 months later and I’m still choosing to listen to this song. It will forever be associated with this year and all the ups and downs that came with it.
“Safe” by Bay Ledges
This song was released in 2017 but I first heard this song in the spring of 2018 and I became hooked on it. It was a song that I would constantly choose to play whenever I was scrolling through my iTunes in the car or on Spotify. We also kept hearing it on our drives from Joshua Tree to Indio during Coachella this past year. It always puts me in a good mood and creates such a vibe. I was lucky enough to see Bay Ledges play last month and to hear this song live. Even if the song was released in 2017, it still got me through 2018.
Kygo was my top Spotify artist this year. It makes sense. After seeing Kygo play at Coachella, one of my favorite sets of the festival, I got really into listening to his music. I eventually created a Kygo Spotify playlist that I’ll occasionally use to work out to. I’ve always been into the tropical house style of electronic music so it was a matter of time before I dove head first into Kygo and all of his tunes that I’ve already been listening to over the past 3 years. I kind of credit the song “Stargzing”, but overall I love almost all of Kygo’s tracks and seeing him live was incredibly fun. This was the year that made it happen for me and the Norwegian DJ.
“Curious” by Hayley Kiyoko
2018 can be defined by the hashtag 20GAYTEEN and that’s all in part to Hayley Kiyoko. She released her first full length album this year and exploded in the music scene. She performed at Coachella, sold out her tour, opened for Panic! At the Disco, performed with Taylor Swift, and won a VMA! It’s been an epic year for Lesbian Jesus. This song was released early in 2018 as a single to promote Hayley’s debut album. It’s been one of my faves ever since. I snuck away during work at Coachella to catch a glimpse of her set Weekend 2, but missed a large portion of it. It wasn’t until I worked a Panic! At the Disco show that I got to see the entirety of her opening set and felt all the proud mom feelings. I saw Hayley play a small venue show in Philly in late 2016 and it’s been pleasure being a fan and seeing her grow so much since then. This year was the icing on the cake for that. So to answer the question, in case you were curious, it is serious that she’s only going up from here.
2018 was a comeback year for Arctic Monkeys. They released their first album since 2013’s AM, toured worldwide, and played numerous dates on the festival circuit. It was my goal this year to see them play and I did while working their show at Forest Hills Stadium back in July. Although their new album wasn’t the comeback I hoped for, 2018 revitalized my interest in Arctic Monkeys and caused me to listen to their music even more than I did in the past. I found a love in old songs like “Suck It And See” and “I Bet That You Look Good On the Dance Floor”. I also eventually started to enjoy their latest release. It seems like the Monkeys will be riding the 2018 wave into 2019 as well so hopefully they coast back to the states soon.
“Saturday Sun” by Vance Joy
Vance Joy released his sophomore album this year back in February. “Saturday Sun” was a single from that album that was the theme of my Coachella 2018 experience. On our 1 hour drives to and from work every day from Joshua Tree, we listened to Alt Nation on Sirius XM. “Saturday Sun” was in the rotation at the time at it seemed like we heard it ever time we got in Denise’s car. It became our Coachella song. The whole experience culminated on Sunday of Weekend 2 when Vance Joy asked to sit at our table in catering and ate lunch with us. This song will always remind me this year and drives through California with my Day One since Day One Weekend One, Denise.
“Wanderlust” by James Bay
There’s no special story behind this song compared to the others I have on here. It’s just one that I kept going back to once I had it on my iTunes and Spotify playlists. I got into it right before I left for Electric Forest in June and it’s been a staple ever since. It gave me a new opinion on James Bay, whose music I thought was always slower and created romance type vibes. This song was an indie pop/rock dream that I never knew I needed from James Bay this year.
It took me a while to get into the new Florence and the Machine album, but I did just in time to see her live at the Barclays Center in October. Again just like the Arctic Monkeys, High As Hope, the 2018 follow-up to 2015’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, was a bit of a disappointment to me initially. In general, it seemed like after a big 2017 of brilliant albums, 2018’s hype wasn’t cutting it for me. New music from 2018 just took a little while to get used to. Once I did I fell for songs like “Hunger” and “Patricia”. Florence reminded me this year when I needed it most that “it’s a wonderful thing to love” and I’m grateful for that.
“Body” by Loud Luxury
“Body” came to me around the same time as “NUMB” at EDC Las Vegas so it makes total sense that it would always play after “NUMB” on my iTunes rotation. I first heard the song on the way to site at EDC via Josh Hurlbert’s music. My friend Erin and I were jamming to it. I didn’t know the name of the song after that, but I needed to find out. So after some detective work, Josh figured out the song I was referring to and told me what it was called on load-out day. It’s been as much of a favorite as “NUMB” since EDC and a great work out track as well. I can’t say I’ve listened to Loud Luxury beyond “Body”, but it’s been a big hit of 2018 all around so I’m sure there will be more great tracks to come from the electronic artists.
Bishop Briggs ended 2017 for me and moved right in 2018. Her debut album came out in May and she was high on my list to see live until I saw her perform at Electric Forest. I will say my interest in Bishop Briggs kind of faded after seeing her perform live, but for the first half of this year I was focused on her debut album and possibly seeing her in the summer. She didn’t disappoint at Forest either. Her performance was full of energy and power that had everyone feeling as bad ass as her by the end of the set. It was a highlight of the festival that seemed to be one of my lowest points of the year. Thankfully, I survived the Forest and went on to have some great festival experiences beyond that.
“Happy Man” by Jungle
“Happier” by Marshmello, ft. Bastille
“Whippin'” by Kiiara
So that’s it! 10 songs and artists that were big for me in 2018 (plus a few runner-ups!). There was another band that I easily could have put on the list but I decided to hold off because 2019 will surely be a big year for them. That band is Vampire Weekend. Their comeback started in 2018 with a few festival appearances, including a special one that I was witness to at Lollapalooza, but they’ve yet to release their much anticipated fourth full length album. There were rumors it would come out in 2018, but that hasn’t happened. So I expect 2019 will be the year for them. They’re already slated to play Firefly in June and I’m sure more dates and festivals are in the works as well. I can’t wait. They’re who I’m most excited about heading in to this new year.
As with any year, there will be plenty of new music and new discoveries for me. I didn’t plan on this year being better than 2017 and it wasn’t honestly as far as music goes. Professionally though, 2018 was my best year yet. When I set out to follow my music industry dreams in 2015 (technically 2016 but it started in 2015), my goal was always to be better, learn more, and grow every year. I’ve done that so far, especially this year. I have no plans to stop any time soon either. I’ve started to reach some goals I’ve had, but I have so much more to do and accomplish. I’m so lucky I get to do what I love. I’m grateful for everyone that’s helped and supported me, everyone I’ve met, and all the experiences I’ve had. I owe it all to music. So hopefully next year is even better because I plan on trying to make it that way and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of new tunes to help me through it all. Be back next week for the Coachella 2019 lineup release!
“All of life is energy vibrating at different frequencies. It has been said, the universe is a uni-verse, one song or vibration that plays throughout existence and gives us life. When we get in tune with that tone, we are in harmony with life. Music is a way we can tap into that power. That is why we feel music with our whole being. It moves us, stimulates our imagination, opens emotions, and can pass language and cultural barriers. It lives on a primal level, one that we can all connect with.”
Posted in Music, Uncategorized and tagged 2018 music review, 20GAYTEEN, Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Bay Ledges, Bishop Briggs, Body, Body Loud Luxury, Coachella 2019, Coachella 2019 lineup release, Curious, Curious Hayley kiyoko, dashboard confessional, EDM, Electric Forest, Electric Forest 2018, electronic, electronic dance music, electronic music, florence and the machine, Happier, Happier Marshmello, Happy Man, Happy Man Jungle, Hayden James, Hayley Kiyoko, High As Hope, indie, indie music, indie pop, indie pop music, indie rock, indie rock music, james bay, jungle, Kiiara, Kygo, Loud Luxury, Marshmello, Marshmello ft. Bastille, Music, music is sacred, music review, NUMB, NUMB Hayden James, pop, pop music, Safe, Safe Bay Ledges, Saturday Sun, Saturday Sun Vance Joy, spotify, top songs of 2018, top tunes of 2018, trop house, trop house music, tropical house, tropical house music, vance joy, Wanderlust, Whippin, Whippin Kiiara, years & years on December 27, 2018 by prostreetcross. Leave a comment


Home / A Portrait of Magritte by Markus Pierson (2001)
A Portrait of Magritte by Markus Pierson (2001)
Product Code: SG089
Markus Pierson began his professional life as an accountant in his early 20’s. after a near-fatal bout with Crohn’s disease in early 1985, Pierson declared the accountant “dead” and in his place was a man pursuing his dream to become a successful artist.
Pierson's coyote series was born in June of 1986, after Markus heard the Joni Mitchell song, “coyote.” the song centered on its main character, simply referred to as “coyote,” a reckless, footloose wanderer who would entice woman only to leave them behind for the next adventure. Pierson aspired to be the carefree coyote described in those lyrics and did something he’d never done before or since: made a drawing of a song.
In the decades that followed, Pierson's work has evolved to include a vast array of paintings, drawings, sculpture, hand-pulled serigraphs and original found-object works. Over time, the metaphor of the coyote has taken on a more poignant and profound purpose. At its essence, the work urges us to pursue our dreams, wear our hearts on our sleeves, and to celebrate all of life’s ups and downs.
M. Pierson has had nearly one hundred solo exhibitions in galleries across America, Australia and New Zealand, museum exhibitions and representation at international art fairs including Art Miami, Sofa Chicago, Chicago Contemporary & Classic, and many others. Markus has amassed a collector base including museums, heads of state, major corporations and celebrities worldwide.


Film ID: YFA 16
HULL VICTORY CELEBRATIONS (1945)
Made by Debenham & Co, Beverley, this film records the City of Hull’s Victory in Europe Celebrations, May 1945; it includes extensive footage of all servicemen and women who participated in the victory processions and salute at Victoria Square.
NEAR AND FAR (1945)
This is a film from the Noel Beardsell Collection of family trips to Flamborough, Wentworth Woodhouse, and London.
Film ID: YFA 176
BEVERLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOUNDERS DAY (1942)
On June 18th, 1942, a Founder's Day ceremony took place at Beverley Minster. It was attended by the Lord Mayor, members of the clergy, army cadets and scouts. Members of the local community were also in attendance. The film was made by Ernest Symmons who owned the Beverley Playhouse Cinema. He filmed local events for newsreels which he would show before a main feature.
SALUTE THE SOLDIER (1944)
This film documents a fund raising event for the Green Howards, an infamous Yorkshire regiment. Salute the Soldier week features a procession from international regiments, speeches from senior military leaders (Charles De Gaule is possibly in attendance) and local dignitaries. Other fund raisings schemes include an open air service.
WINGS FOR VICTORY (1943)
This film records the events of 'Wings for Victory' week held in Bridlington and District 12th to 19th June 1943. The military agencies and local community join to raise money to pay for new aeroplanes that will be used to help Britain win the Second World War.
HOMEGUARD 1 (1942)
Part one of a training film made by the army in Yorkshire that shows the best methods of camouflage and fieldcraft for the Home Guard. Using short clips of film footage and intertitles are used throughout to explain the right and wrong way to carry out their certain manoeuvres.
Part two of a training film made by the army in Yorkshire that shows the best methods of camouflage and fieldcraft for the Home Guard. Using short clips of film footage and intertitles the film explains the right and wrong way to carry out their duties.
Part three of a training film made by the army in Yorkshire that shows the best methods of camouflage and fieldcraft for the Home Guard. Using short clips of film footage and intertitles the film explains the right and wrong way to carry out their duties.
BRIDLINGTON WARSHIPS WEEK (1940)
This film records the events of a 'Warship Week' fundraising appeal held in Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Each day different events would be held to encourage people to donate money to help build warships for the war effort. Intertitles would precede the events of each day that celebrated Home Front services.
CIVIL DEFENCE (1941)
This amateur film, set in Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, shows clear examples of the work that different Home Front agencies undertook during war time. As well as capturing a Warship Week in the heart of the town, the film includes interesting scenes showing a female ARP officer going about her work.
VISIT OF LADY MOUNTBATTEN (1942)
This is a film from Bridlington showing various events during 1942, including a campaign to forge links between the youth of Britain and America, a visit by Lady Mountbatten, Armistice Sunday, a procession of wartime service personnel, and a celebration of the victory in Libya.
A SCRAP OF PAPER (1919)
This film, made by Debenham & Co. of York, was made in order to raise money for the dependents of war casualties as well as soldiers disabled during the conflicts of World War I. It features a mixture of drama and actuality footage.
KING GEORGE AND QUEEN VISIT HULL (1941)
This E.F. Symmons film documents the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Kingston-upon- Hull in August 1941. All in black and white, it contains some superb footage of the damage to Hull’s buildings caused by the Luftwaffe, many close-up shots of the visiting Royals, and depicts the amazing resilience of the people of Hull even in the face of the destruction of their homes and communities.
KINGSTON UPON HULL PEACE DAY CELEBRATIONS (1946)
This film features a Commemoration for the members of the police force who lost their lives fighting in World War Two.
THE WRECKED ROHILLA (1914)
Topical Budget newsreel 167-1 (4/11/1914)
Original film held by British Film Institute
ON THE WAR PATH AND SPORT'S DAY (1950s)
Made by Bill Freeman, this film contains a variety of footage from the 1950s including scenes of Hilderthrope Primary School, Bridlington Spa, and a school sports day.
VISIT OF US AMBASSADOR (1941)
This film documents the Viscount and Lady Halifax's visit to Hull in 1941. They have come to visit the city after The Blitz during World War II. The day begins at the Dorchester theatre where they view the film and are presented with a wooden engraved case containing the film. They also visit a refuge for people whose homes have been bombed and look at the worst hit sites of the city.
PEACE DAY 1946 FREEDOM OF HULL (1946)
This film documents the Peace Day celebrations in Hull. It includes troop and cadet inspections as well as a parade of the East Yorkshire Regiment and accompanying parties through the city.
CIVIL DEFENCE WEST PARK (1962)
In 1962, a Civil Defence Rally was held in West Park, Hull. This rally was different from previous events as it brought together all defence volunteers from across the Yorkshire region. This film documents the activities surrounding the event from initial preparations, set up in the park, defence displays, informational marquees, and musical entertainment and is accompanied by commentary explaining the events.
MILITARY RACE (1916)
This film, made by Debenham & Co., documents a military race at the Beverley Racecourse on Saturday, 29th April, 1916. The cross-country race was organized by the Northern Command Cross-Country Association and included 435 starters. Upwards of 250 men finished the 6.5 mile race including winner Lance Corporal Chapell.
TERRITORIALS ARRIVING IN BEVERLEY SUNDAY JULY 25TH 1937 PART ONE (1937)
This is the first part of a two part film of the Territorial Army in Beverley. This part shows them arriving in Beverley, marching to the Westwood where they are have set up camp and are cooking.
TERRITORIALS ARRIVING IN BEVERLEY SUNDAY JULY 25TH 1937 PART TWO (1937)
This is the second part of a two part film of the Territorial Army in Beverley. This part shows them camped in the Westwood, cooking and eating.
RAF BEVERLEY SCENES (1942)
This is a film of the RAF in Beverley, with a march through Beverley – made alongside another film, ‘Inspection of the ATC 399 (Beverley)', YFA number 5158.
INSPECTION OF THE ATC 399 (BEVERLEY) (1942)
This is a film of Beverley Air Training Corp on parade through the Market Square – made alongside another film, ‘RAF Beverley Scenes’, YFA number 5157.
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Princess’s possessions to go up at auction in Sussex
Part of the 19th century ruby and diamond brooch
Maria Hudd
A small group of items originally owned by Princess Margaret are to be sold at auction in Sussex later this month.
They were among a collection that provoked a bidding frenzy at Christies in 2006, when 1,000 people packed into four salerooms, all trying to acquire a piece of royal history.
A 1967 aquamarine brooch made by John Donald
Everything in the sale sold for many times its estimated value, and the four lots being offered for sale in Sussex were all bought that day.
A 1967 aquamarine brooch made by John Donald, which has the Princess’s ‘M’ monogram on the reverse, is a classic piece of retro designer jewellery. The pre-sale estimate is £5,000-10,000.
Also included is a 19th century ruby and diamond brooch, again monogrammed on the reverse, and again estimated at £5,000-10,000.
A 19th century silver figure of a Hussar on horseback was given to the Princess as a wedding gift from the King’s Royal Hussars in 1960, and was on display in the dining room of her private apartment in Kensington Palace. The estimate is £5,000-7,000.
The final lot is a group of books on ballet which were presented to the Princess, and all have been signed by the various authors and dancers, with dedications. This group is estimated at £2,000-3,000.
Each item comes with a leather bound document or provenance signed by Viscount Linley, under who the original sale was instructed.
The sale will take place at Burstow and Hewett of Battle on Wednesday, September 19 as part of an auction of antique and modern jewellery, silver, and fine art.
For more details, visit www.burstowandhewett.co.uk.
Magistrates Court results for the Eastbourne area for June 19 - 27


Barbells, books and beer
Most of the good things in life begin with "B"
La Perle des Antilles
On November 7, 2018 By expatpowerlifterIn 3rd World, Cultural differences, Dealing with adversity, haiti, travel
This may sound maudlin, but sometimes hate does turn into love and sometimes, if you’re in the right frame of mind, a challenging situation is indeed an opportunity. By the time I left home at 18, I had moved house 17 times in 3 continents, 4 countries, 3 US states and the District of Columbia. One of those places, for better or worse, was to have a major influence on my life. In the early 70s my family moved to Haiti for what was supposed be “a few years”.
If nature abhors a vacuum, it’s equally true that young children abhor uncertain, chaotic situations. So let me reiterate what I just said in the paragraph above – it was the 1970s (an era, in retrospect, when everyone was seemingly flying by the seat of their pants) and I had just landed in the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, a 3rd world country ruled by secret police and a “president for life” dictator. Oh, and we didn’t speak the language (creole). My parents spoke French and my sister and I had spoken French as younger children but at that point had forgotten it after a few years in inner-city DC. (Haiti was\is considered a francophone country but the reality is that the vast majority of the population do not speak French.)
My father’s job allowed us to have a comfortable life of a higher standard than we’d just had in DC, complete with a pool and servants. I was in a new school (again), and as per usual most of the kids had known each other since infancy. While it was an “American” school, most of the kids flat-out spoke creole amongst themselves outside of class. I was told we’d move again in a few years so it seemed sort of pointless to learn the language and otherwise get attached to this place that I wasn’t overly fond of.
It wasn’t all bad, of course, because in spite of extreme poverty and political corruption, Haiti was – and is – a country unlike no other. There is natural beauty (including the best beaches I’ve ever seen anywhere), an extremely vibrant culture and great cuisine. I might have been a moody little git, but it’s hard not to like pate, poulet creole and fresco gwenadin ak pistache griye (shaved ice with grenadine syrup and grilled peanuts – trust me). However, what really burned Haiti into my memory, and not in a good way, was the final breakdown of my parents’ marriage and also a fairly scary health issue my mother encountered. I had made friends and was doing OK in school but I really couldn’t wait to see the last of that country.
Leave we did, and for a few brief years my sister, my mother and I ping-ponged around the US Midwest and East Coast. Somewhere along the line I made a fetish out of “normalcy”. I longed to fit in, to be as vanilla as possible, to blend into the crowd. Finally, we ended up in incredibly small-minded town in the metropolitan Boston area as my mother worked ridiculous hours, raised 2 kids and pursued her degrees in arguably the best university in the US. My “normalcy” campaign was an abject failure. Sure, I had made a few friends and had become reasonably proficient at baseball but I was far from what you’d call popular. In fact, I received more than my share of shit, straight up bullying, at school because I was a shy, geeky, pimply new kid (entirely on me) but also because of my family situation (beyond my control). At roughly the same time I discovered the martial arts and latched on with laser focus. I trained 4 hours a day 5 times a week so after a year or 2 I began to get fairly proficient. The better I got, the more local notoriety I received and, for the most part, the bullying stopped. After a fight or 2, kids decided to pursue easier targets.
Nevertheless, I was miserable anywhere outside of a dojo, and school, especially, was the 9th circle of hell. I began to skip obscene amounts of school. Towards the end, I was skipping every Monday and Friday. To this day, I’m not sure how I got away with it, but let’s just say that my middle school was a bit of a chaotic, Lord of the Flies situation for students and teachers alike. Most kids probably would have fallen in with a bad element at this point but honestly, I was too geeky to be accepted by the “bad element”. Skipping school was the limit of my rebellion.
All miserable things must come to an end so, eventually, the day came when my mother sat my sister and I down to announce that we’d be going back to Haiti for a brief period so she could finish her doctoral thesis. Looking back, as the divorced parent of 2 children, I appreciate the courage behind her decision. As a self-involved young teenager, naturally, my first thought was “WTF, why me and why, of all the places in the world, there???” And I didn’t want to leave my dojo, the one place that I fit in. Soon thereafter, however, the school administration finally noticed my laughable attendance record and the dragnet began to close in. Suddenly, a few months in the Caribbean didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
In no time at all, we were back in Port-au-Prince. This time, though, the experience was going to be radically different. My sister and I were older and there was less “family drama” to complicate things further. On the other hand, we had very little money and were operating well and truly without a safety net. Money equals power everywhere, but even more so in desperately poor countries. The 3 of us lived in 1 rented room for the first few months. In adult terms, we had only been gone for a few years, but as an early adolescent it seemed like decades.
It was like “The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao” in reverse, only I was painfully skinny (we all were back then) and incredibly “blan”. Even my Irish-American schoolmates in Boston used to give out to me for how pale I am…so while my school in PauP reflected all the colors in the rainbow, I selflessly anchored the far gringo end of the chromatic spectrum. The similarities with the book, however, outweighed the differences: it was the very early 80s, I was on the island of Hispaniola and, oh yes indeedy, was very socially awkward.
My mother had managed, by dint of a level of hustle one rarely sees these days, to send us to our old school. This was notable because it’s a private school and as I mentioned above, she had very limited funds at that point. (In fact, I’m fairly certain her income was poverty level by US standards, but in Haiti in those days it was “middle-class”. One didn’t often see an entire “blan” family with limited means (and, at the time, limited connections) so it’s accurate to say we were a rarity.) My classmates were an interesting mix of Haitian elite (the 1 percent), embassy brats, some missionary kids and a few odd-ball cases like my sister and I. It was a weird mix by anybody’s standards. The 14 year old kid on my left might have a Patek Philippe on his wrist and had driven himself to school in his BMW while the kid on my right could be a snuff-dipping South Carolina redneck in training. Every high school has cliques and subcultures, but this place added class and a wider range of socio-political issues to boot. (We had, for example, Lebanese, Palestinians and Israelis in our school – which made for an interesting period after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982).
I also searched around for a new dojo – one that I could get to via public transportation (aka Tap-taps, camionettes and “publiques” (ancient communal taxis of a sort) and we could afford. We eventually found one and I began training with my new dojo mates. It was my first real re-introduction to unadulterated Haitian culture. Nobody spoke English, just Creole (mostly) and French (sorta). It was a real old school dojo, with the old-school “recitation of the credo” before every training session, all counting and technique names in Japanese and, distressingly (for me) they insisted on wearing a full gi at all times. Wearing a full gi while performing intense physical exercise in a stifling, non-air-conditioned dojo in a tropical country was, shall we say, challenging at first. I puked a few times and passed out at least once before my body adjusted. That being said, my dojo mates and instructors where really cool guys and surprisingly accepting of the goofy “sans-ave” “blanmana” that was deposited in their midst. Oh, and they were the most flexible bunch I had ever run into, capable of doing full splits with little or no warm-up. Long after I finally gave up the martial arts, I’d often run into guys from the old dojo whilst out and about in PauP/Petionville and they were always extremely cool.
In spite of a very modest living situation, a certain amount of culture-shock, a high-school environment on steroids and being the new kid once again I couldn’t honestly say that my level of adolescent angst and general miserableness was worse than it was in the States. Still, I longed to return to Boston and continue training with my original dojo. This might seem strange but as I’ve said before, karate was the only thing in my life that was entirely mine in which I had achieved a certain level of success and notoriety. However, as the months wore on, it became increasingly obvious that a “short stint” in Haiti was becoming a longer, more open-ended affair.
It’s fully to my mother’s credit that she allowed me to return to Boston and my old dojo. Much credit also goes to first instructor and mentor, P, as he agreed to do the heavy lifting transportation wise, waiving the already cheap monthly fees, etc. Be that as it may, I was essentially a young teenager living with very nice strangers back in the same damn town. I realized 2 things very quickly: a) I missed my mother and sister a whole lot and b) man, did I ever hate that town. I had always thought the fault was squarely on me but I realized the town sucked, too. It seemed to dislike me, and I , it. I remember a visceral feeling of suffocation and it dawned on me that there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of its’ philosophy. As much as I hated to leave my original dojo, I felt, surprisingly, a very strong desire to return to Haiti.
So, in very short order, I found myself back in funky ol’ PauP. My living situation hadn’t changed, it was still as “challenging” as ever, but my attitude had. I was still miserable, but I realized that non-stop moaning wasn’t solving anything. I eventually learned creole, made a number of friends (many of them outside of school) and, hell yes, even met girls. I returned back to my PauP dojo for a time, at least. After a few years, we had a very small, old school traditional shotgun style house on a hill overlooking downtown PauP. It was filled to the tin roof with books that we had brought and that various of my mother’s university colleagues had left which was key as we didn’t have a TV. Hell, the phone didn’t even work half the time. Those books saved my sanity and gave me a painless “by osmosis” education that saved my *ss in school. Boredom is a very powerful motivator, one that is increasingly rare these days. My sister eventually left for college, leaving just my mother and I. My mother’s various jobs often took her into countryside for days at time which effectively left me, by this time an older teenager, alone. I know what you’re thinking, and you wouldn’t be totally wrong (see above re: friends and girls). I learned a number of valuable lessons, like it’s possible to get by on 2 gourdes worth of fritaille a day in a pinch and who I could sell my clothes to if my friends and I had prematurely blown the food budget on parties.
It’s worth noting that in some respects the Haiti I am referring to no longer exists. At that time it was far safer than most US cities at the time. While I did run into some issues whilst literally running in the streets, it was pretty tame. I routinely cut through slums, on foot, at all hours of the day. We’d do things like hop a tap-tap (or hitchhike) to Grand Goave (a town on the coast outside of Port-au-Prince) to watch a voudun ceremony, drink rum and return back home the next morning. Crime and insecurity was not really a factor in those days, as crazy as that sounds now. I often wonder if our ultra low-budget, no connection having re-introduction to Haiti as described above would do-able these days. I’m not sure it would be.
Haiti is a complex place, one that you hate and love simultaneously. It’s “The land of unlimited impossibilities” that’s always capable of breaking your heart.
haitilife lessonsthird culture kidstravel
When life don’t give you squat, squat gives you life.
What to do when you don’t feel like training…
Veganism and Strength Sports May 26, 2019
To sleep, perchance to dream… January 11, 2019
An ode to fringe activities… January 1, 2019
What to do when you don’t feel like training… December 30, 2018
La Perle des Antilles November 7, 2018


Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism (http://www.iowawatch.org/2017/09/02/an-iowa-desperados-greatest-sorrow/)
Iowa History
An Iowa Desperado’s Greatest Sorrow
By Cheryl Mullenbach/Iowa History | September 2, 2017
More on Iowa History
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Courtesy Library of Congress
Polk Wells was sentenced to life in prison.
“Aside from the overt criminal acts described and a too liberal use of profanity, my life has been approximately pure and correct,” Polk Wells said from his prison cell at Anamosa, Iowa. And he swore he never used liquor or tobacco.
However, during his lifetime the words “desperado,” “bandit,” and “wanted: dead or alive” were frequently seen in connection with Polk Wells. And according to an 1895 article in the New York Times, he was the “greatest of Iowa desperadoes.”
Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays.
Cheryl Mullenbach is a former history teacher, newspaper editor, and public television project manager. She is the author of four non-fiction books for young people. Double Victory was featured on C-SPAN’s “Book TV” and The Industrial Revolution for Kids was selected for “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.” Her most recent book, Women in Blue traces the evolution of women in policing.
Visit her website at: www.cherylmullenbachink.com
Wells blamed his early life of crime on a mean stepmother. Running away from his Missouri home at the age of 12, he won a pot of money in a poker game, bought a “cowboy’s outfit,” and headed west. After spending several years roaming throughout the western territories, Wells returned to Missouri in 1872 and married Nora Wilson. He went into the grocery and liquor business, but wasn’t successful as an entrepreneur. He left his wife and baby but promised to return.
When Wells returned to Nora two years later, she had married a man named Al Warnica. According to Wells, “Warnica was a hard-working young fellow, and I determined not to interfere, for there had been no intentional wrongdoing. I gave him $300 to buy a team, kissed Nora good-bye, mounted my horse, and rode away to the West.”
Wells quickly fell into a life of crime—committing highway robberies and robbing banks throughout several states. He killed a Mormon bishop in Utah in 1876. And in July 1881 he stole a couple of horses from a farmer near Sidney in southwest Iowa and rode to neighboring Riverton where he robbed the bank of $4,600.
Fremont County Sheriff Dan Farrell put together a posse of local citizens, and they took off over the prairie in pursuit of Wells. The sheriff followed Wells all the way to Randolph, Wis., where a shoot-out occurred. Carrying at least three bullets in his body from Sheriff Farrell’s gun, Wells was taken back to Iowa. (Wells once claimed his body housed 27 bullets from various encounters over his career.)
Back in Iowa, Sheriff Farrell collected a $1,000 reward; and Wells pleaded guilty to highway robbery and was sentenced to 10 years at Fort Madison Penitentiary. Only a month into his sentence, Wells escaped by overpowering a prison guard with chloroform; and the guard, John Elder, died.
While on the run, Wells hid out in a haystack in the barn of a family named Winterbottom. Word of the prisoner’s escape had traveled fast, and Mrs. Winterbottom convinced her husband to check out the barn. Taking his pitchfork along as a precaution, the farmer plunged the fork into the hay pile, striking Wells in the head, neck and breast. But the prisoner managed to wrestle the weapon from Winterbottom and took off across the countryside.
Wells hid out for several days but was recaptured and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the guard. He passed time by studying, practicing Christianity and giving talks at the prison Sunday school. He became a skilled leather tooler. Officials said he was a model prisoner. He wrote a book about his life of crime and had received an offer from a publisher but was holding out for more money according to an interview he gave to the New York Times in 1895.
Polk Wells died of consumption at Anamosa prison in September 1896. Before he died, Wells said his greatest sorrow was hearing a mother threaten her kids, saying she would give them to Polk Wells if they didn’t behave. “I floundered in the lowest depths of shame and remorse at having my name used as a cudgel to coerce little children into submission and obedience,” Wells said.
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• “Career of Polk Wells,” Des Moines Register, Sept. 13, 1896.
• “Iowa’s Famed Desperado,” New York Times, Jan. 29, 1895.
• “Polk Wells Dead,” Perry Daily Chief,” Sept. 13, 1896.
• “Polk Wells Dies in Prison,” Estherville Daily News, Sept. 18, 1896.
• “Wanted: Polk Wells, Dead or Alive—$1,500 Reward,” Washington Citizen, March 14, 1947.
• “Western Bandits Caught,” New York Times, Feb. 27, 1882.
Iowa History, a weekly column by Cheryl Mullenbach exploring Iowa history, will appear on IowaWatch on Saturdays. Mullenbach is a former history teacher, newspaper editor, and public television project manager. She is the author of four non-fiction books for young people. Double Victory was featured on C-SPAN’s “Book TV” and The Industrial Revolution for Kids was selected for “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.” Visit her website at http://www.cherylmullenbachink.com/.
Anamosa
desperadoes
Estherville Daily News
Iowa murders
Iowa state prison
Polk Wells
The Prairie City Bank Robbery That Ended In An Iowa Cornfield
It was about 1:30 in the morning on October 28, 1902, when Prairie City dentist, Dr. S. B. Gidford, woke up in his room across the street from the bank. As he stuck his head out a window, a “loaded 44-caliber Colt” was “presented to his face” by a stranger who told him his life was “worth less than 30 cents.”
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Aston Martin Zagato Production
Aston Martin Zagato
Rather than segregating its racing pedigree from its consumer-facing arm, Aston Martin has decided to turn it to good use.
The V12 Zagato race car has been tweaked to allow it to go into full production and is expected to make an official appearance at Kuwait’s Concours d’Elegance this weekend.
Under the hood is a six-liter V12 engine churning out 510 horsepower, which produces a 0-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph.
All of the styling of the racing version of the Zagato has been kept the same, except for a few minor modifications to the body required for the track. Unfortunately, Aston has decided to limit production of the car to just 150 pieces, and slapped a £330,000 price tag on the side.
The current V12 Vantage can be picked up for some £200,000 less. Then again, it’s not quite the same as knowing your Aston can drive flat-out for 24 hours and still turn heads.
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As a new bride, I pledged to be strong after second breast cancer diagnosis
Juanita Johnson Anderson, 57, elected to have a double masectomy following her second diagnosis in 2013. Today, she is cancer free.
As a new bride, I pledged to be strong after second breast cancer diagnosis Juanita Johnson Anderson, 57, elected to have a double masectomy following her second diagnosis in 2013. Today, she is cancer free. Check out this story on shreveporttimes.com: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/guest-columnists/2016/10/02/new-bride-pledges-strong-after-second-breast-cancer-diagnosis/91148014/
Juanita Johnson Anderson, Guest columnist Published 6:00 a.m. CT Oct. 2, 2016 | Updated 10:17 a.m. CT Oct. 3, 2016
Juanita Anderson(Photo: Special to The Times)Buy Photo
EDITOR'S NOTE: Throughout the month of October, The Times will periodically publish reader-submitted accounts of surviving breast cancer. Juanita Johnson Anderson, 57, is a breast cancer survivor who elected to have a double masectomy following her second diagnosis in 2013. Today, she is cancer free. This column has been edited for clarity and length.
My first breast cancer diagnosis came in 2007, followed by a lumpectomy (a procedure in which a portion of the breast is removed.)
What should have been eight weeks of treatment turned into 12 because of infection, which led to hospitalization. They tried Tamoxifen (a medication used to treat breast cancer). But I had a reaction to it and there was nothing else at the time. There was a six-year period during which it could return, and it did.
In 2013, I was a new bride having just been married in June.
One morning, in August of that same year, my husband touched an area of my breast asking, “Is that painful?" What I thought! I looked in the mirror, closed my eyes, said a prayer and called my doctor. The lump was inflamed.
When my mother and I walked across the street to the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center that same month she told me,”you are about to get some news that is going to be hard to hear, but know that God has you.”
Still, cancer is the hardest word to hear besides you are pregnant.
Throughout my life, I’ve tried to keep a positive outlook and a good sense of humor. Ecclesiastes 3:1-12 is the chapter of seasons. "Nothing happens without reason and in due season."
My doctor looked at me and said, “I am sorry. It came back, and I need to remove the whole breast. Once again, I closed my eyes, the tears slowly started to fall, I said a prayer. Looking at him I said, "OK, let’s talk. When can we do this? Is there a possibility that it can come back in the second breast? How long will I be down? And the most important one, pain medication afterwards, right?"
Throughout the month of October, The Times will periodically publish reader-submitted accounts of surviving breast cancer. (Photo: Courtesy photo)
I was determined to be strong. I decided to have them both removed. I endured four strong treatments of chemotherapy that started on my birthday Sept. 27, 2013.
I wiped my head one morning in bed and all my hair was on the pillow, I took a shower to remove the fuzz. I was crying again because I was tired. I could not take Neulasta shot, it caused legions all over my head and a huge one in my back that had to be surgically removed. What was planned as a day surgery turned into an eight-day stay.
I have strong support from family, friends, church family and total FAITH. I broke down, depression set in, anger, a total sense of loss, mourning a free spirited life to one of almost a recluse.
I still cry. My mother gave me a scripture one day and told me to read it; to make me stronger — Psalms 121.
I have no feeling in the breast area right now, nor my right underarm. I speak to people about breast cancer and encourage them to get their exams. Breast cancer runs deep in my fathers’ side of the family, my sister two years older endured the same thing in her twenties.
Doctors report today Sept. 20 is that I'm cancer free. I still cry today, but it is because I am a SURVIVOR.
Throughout the month of October, The Times will periodically publish reader-submitted accounts of surviving breast cancer. Submit your story by emailing yourstories@shreveporttimes.com. Stories will be accepted through Sept. 30 and should be no longer than 500 words.
Read or Share this story: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/guest-columnists/2016/10/02/new-bride-pledges-strong-after-second-breast-cancer-diagnosis/91148014/
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