#Cohoes High School

[starswallowingsea]

meru playing with arashi's cat post has 469 notes now. nice

[aroundthewaygirlao3]

Happy Friday, y'all!

Thanks to @purpledolphin05 telling me that "It Starts (Again) With Us" was their favorite of my fics, I remembered I had always intended to write a shorter companion piece for that one with scenes from Gina's POV and never got around to it.

This will probably update sporadically and out of order from the original fic, but chapter titles will tell you where it sits in IS(A)WU.

Oh, and while all the titles are inspired by Colleen Hoover books, they have nothing to do with them! I actually have never read a CoHo book, but I liked the title for the last one, so I stuck with the theme. 🤷🏻

Hope y'all enjoy getting a little bit more Amaya! I'm also working on a couple of things people have DM'd me about. 👀👀👀 So stay tuned for some other companion/missing moments pieces in the next few weeks!

[thegreatimpersonator]

Everything about coho I have learned against my will. And now I’m sharing it with you lol. Like yeah, one book has step siblings fall in love, another has a high school teacher and their student (she is apparently 18 and in Hs but that does not make it okay), a dude who set a house on fire and caused the girl he dates to be covered in burns before they started dating, and domestic violence!!

And those books are marketed to like teen girls and young women as romance!!!!!!! There’s nothing to romanticize about that!!!

[realife-mermaid]

had someone bring up that coho movie and how the movie makes the dv worse in that it’s very unclear, and i had the thought that we’re once again moving backwards with that shit. i remember in high school reading this naueseating book about this guy who beat the shit out of his girlfriend (after months of emotionally abusing her) and the whole book is about him coming to terms with what he did & the climax is his best friend (who cut him off after the whole thing happened) having a heart to heart over it, and i got so triggered i had to leave and have a panic attack in the bathroom bc we listened to the scene where he beats the shit out of her on tape.

anyways, i was pissed off for a lot of reasons but mainly bc there was a sequel FROM THE GIRLFRIEND’S POV but we had to read from his instead. and i felt like the book made way too many excuses for fucking up this girl’s life bc he’s got daddy issues as if she didn’t ALSO have home problems, and “i guess we’re all good and bad” but he did that shit!!! he’s not good and bad, he’s a bad fucking person and it’s great that he realized it at the ending but there’s a lot more steps after “acknowledging you did wrong” and it was so frustrating to read. but at least….he was still clearly accused of dv, like the whole book is about him being in a court mandated anger management class & wondering why he’s there with the “actually bad” kids.

which made me think about another high school book that i actually LIKED where this guy rapes his friend while she’s sleeping, and it was so good, the rape is the climax, and you can see him continuously justifying his bad behavior and painting himself as the hero even as he’s isolating himself from everyone until he finally justifies “she’s moaning in her sleep” and not hearing her when she confronts him over it. i do think it’s very hard to write like “abusive person realizes they’re abusive and tries to change” but i also feel like no one ever TRIES they’re soooo hung up on the ~realization~ that you fucked up and not on what comes AFTER. so you completely destroyed some innocent person’s life bc you 🫵 can’t handle your emotions, now how are you going to fix the fucjing situation you made??

anyways anyone remember that book breathing underwater? also fucked up to read when you’re disabled & had a terminally ill sister, i hope that dad killed himself at the ending & not the son bc what the fuck is wrong with you

[kodzukenmaaa]

U BOGUTH THE COLEEN HOCER BOOK ???

I did when I started second grade in high school, 1 is from an official bookstore and the other one from a market (it's a fake copy). I still keep it, and now that I think again the book's awful who the heck write "We laugh at our son's balls" I never buy CoHo book anymore, changed to Sarah Adams, Lynn Painter, Lauren Asher, Ali Hazelwood.

[imslowlydisintegrating]

In high school we had to present book reports for our internals in english and this one girl picked CoHo

She also thought oen direction was rock

fall-of-humanitycore

[armypinksblog]

The Dangers Of Romanticizing Mental Illness And Abuse

Colleen is an author and Booktok sensation whose work outsold the Bible this year. 

I was a fan of Coho YA books when I  was younger. She wrote teen characters, so it made sense some of the male and female characters were so immature in their relationships. They'd fumble things but that was okay because they were young characters. 

Her writing was simple and they were fast to get through. But as soon my frontal lobe fully developed and she began to write about adult characters—I was out. 

I remember one called Without Merit, it's about a depressed teen, and her “quirky” family. This family included a mentally ill wife whom the main character's father kept in the basement while he had a girlfriend on the side. 

He’d occasionally visit his wife for relations, and she'd cook him a special homemade meal. So he got assault a woman who wasn't well enough to consent, and had a nice home-cooked meal at the same time. 

Don't worry, there was plenty of racism, ableism, biphobia, sexual assault, and mishandled PTSD too. 

In another Coho book, Ends with Us, the abusive male character pretty much acts like every other Coho male lead—but hits the female main sometimes. 

Her male has gotten a lot of flack over the years with good reason. They're all tall, ridiculously good-looking, and have absolutely no respect for their love interests' autonomy or set boundaries. 

Dreamy things Coho male leads have done:

On November 9, burns down the house of his love interest 

In Verity, a husband suffocates his mentally and physically ill wife

In Slammed, a high school teacher dates his student 

Read more at : https://armypink.com/blogs/news/the-dangers-of-romanticizing-mental-illness-and-abuse

[acotars]

I’ve always kind of thought Coho is for girlies who don’t actually like reading. Which is fine! Books don’t have to be for everyone! But she is not for me 🙅🏼‍♀️

yeah i think her writing is very … consumable? like it’s extremely straightforward and reads almost like TV but less in a stellar, Suzanne Collins way and more in like a … idk. Grey’s Anatomy way?? there’s nothing wrong with greys anatomy i think “trashy” tv is good and coho hits on that same concept to me. for the girls who haven’t read a book since their assigned readings in high school, i bet coho fucking rocks.

SEPARATELY i also think people are just sort of diminishing of romance novels or taught to think of them as silly things for lonely women but i think a lot of people crave romance in media and that’s in large part why shows like greys and bridgerton (and tbh? house of the dragon?) do so well but most people think romance novels are a subgenre Not For Them and i think that’s why books like coho’s and emily henry’s do so well. emily henry is a fucking fantastic writer for one, but at the same time, her books and coho’s books are marketed just outside of conventional romance, so they’re more approachable to non-romance audiences who read them and are just like ??? wow !! i love that the romance is so well-developed in this story !! and it’s like …. right. that’s a romance novel ….. anyway

[gatheringbones]

["In the white, Western world view that I learned as a child, trees, fish, and water were renewable resources. Only 50 years prior, they were conceived of as endless resources, a myth white people brought west into the "frontier." Sometimes when I hiked upriver toward Butler Bar and saw ridge after ridge covered with alder and tan oak, mixed with Douglas Fir and Sitka spruce, I believed trees were endless. Or when I went to the cannery and saw a day's catch of coho and chinook, I thought fish were endless. Particularly in the middle of winter when rain drenched the valley every day, I knew water was endless.

But in the 1960s and 70s, the powers-that-be in the public schools, government, and industry taught us that trees and fish, rather than being endless, were renewable. If clearcuts were diligently replanted, we would never run out of trees, paper, or lumber. If the salmon runs were carefully maintained by hatcheries, we would never run out of salmon. No one even bothered to explain about water.

Clearcuts, our teachers said, were good. They encouraged the growth of fir and pine, the so-called good— meaning profitable— trees that as seedlings need direct sunlight to grow. The practice of replanting and the superiority of tree farms were placed at the center of these lessons. But our teachers went far beyond trees in their defense of clearcut logging. Clearcuts, my classmates and I were told, provided bountiful browsing for deer and other wildlife. Hunters and their supporters quickly added that because this abundance of food, coupled with the disappearance of predators, led to a cycle of overpopulation, deer hunting was not just a sport, but a necessity. And so our worldview developed, layer upon layer. How did the forest and its wildlife even survive before clearcutting, replanting, and sport hunting? We didn't ask because we were children taught not to question. We believed the propaganda.

No one told us about old growth forest. They didn't say, "Understand, a tree farm differs from an old growth forest." We didn't study the cycle of an ecosystem that depends on rotting logs on the forest floor and a tree canopy hundreds of feet high— a cycle neither static not altogether predictable, interrupted sometimes by fire, climate changes, or major volcanic activity, but nonetheless a cycle. I knew big, old trees existed. I remember the winter my favorite fir blew down. After we cut it into firewood, I hunkered down by the stump and counted its growth rings, one for every year of its life. It was 400 years old. But I didn't know about thousands of acres of big old trees. Nor did I know about animals, like the northern spotted owl, that live in old growth forests. No one told us, and the logging industry had quite a stake in the silence."]

Eli Clare, Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation

[curseofaphrodite]

hi hi hi hi

fuck exams tbh i hate it with my everything *sobs* anywhore wishing you do well in your exams

aNYWAYS GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY I LIVED MY WATTPAD MOMENT 😩 so yk my bf he came to my house and i was writing bio test at that time so he was talking and annoying my mother mary 😍👌 anyways once i finished the test he was like "aw i'm so proud of you yayay" *kisses my forehead* oh my god i died and came back bc that was so cute??? and the fact that he knew i probably need some sweet words bc yk i was sick and all so i missed a lot of time. NOW ONTO THE ✨WATTPAD✨ moment the next thing he says is "aren't you a good girl? why yes you are. my good girl." oh my god the fucking butterflies 🦋🦋😩🙏 (i'm pretty sure a whole ass earthquake occurred inside my stomach-) and and and he whispered it in my ear good great god it was so hot i think he knew that did things to me bc then that mf proceeded to smirk (he looked hot asf okay? he didn't look like some old creepy man while smirking. he a seggsy mf sORRY)

no thoughts mind empty just-

moving on

tHE PERSON WHO DRESSED UP AS MY GIRL OLIVE SMITH I HOPE YOU FIND SOMEONE LIKE ADAM CARLSEN<33 (lmao i stalk your profile when i'm bored sorry not sorry astoria)

and why have you not read the love hypothesis tori 🤨🤨🤨🤨 i force you to read it the second you're free ;) [pls do read it so we can simp over adam carlsen together ffs none of my friends like reading and i'm this close to find new friends- nvm i'm changing school so i kinda have to find new friends anyways] [have you read spanish love deception six of crows duology folk of air series dear aaron from lukov with love luna and the lie shatter me series ACOTAR series it ends with us reminders of him ugly love basically any coho books//mariana zapata books?? say yes pls i'm losing my mind i need someone to discuss these with &&& simp over the characters hahah lol i'm rambling nonsense omg bye i'll just go ig] [oh and punk 57 && marriage for one too for plot obviously never for the great smut and hot female oc] i swear i'm not high

since i'm such a generous person (🤣🤌) i'm gonna share another poem of mine with you (only you get to read it vip friend wife things💕)

me 🤝 using emojis unnecessarily

TAKE CARE I LOVE YOU AND I HOPE YOU DO WONDERS IN YOUR EXAMS MWAH MWAH<3

🔮

me 🤝 people who use emojis a lot

first up PLS YOUR BOYFRIENDS SO COOL IM YOUR MAID OF HONOR OK ITS LEGAL NOW IM LEGALLY YOUR MAID OF HONOR. tease him back next time and see how he likes it 😩

@iceaesthiexs FIND YOUR ADAM WHOEVER THAT IS.

also yes I'm yet to read love hypothesis hshjhdkj I generally don't read a lot of books which have romance as their main plotline. BUT I DID READ SIX OF CROWS BE PROUD! omg I read Spanish love deception too but it was a hit and a miss for me. I give it 3/5, deducting two simply because the author KEPT SAYING BLUE EYES LIKE JESUS CHRIST REFER TO THIS, you'll see what I mean. ill put a screenshot here anyway

AJDKA the writing was good tho bestie but the story was inconsistent, this is why i stick to murder mysteries.

I SAW YOUR POEM AND QUEUED IT I THINK!! i have a talented poet friend now 😩😩💌

im not gonna do any wonders but we'll seeeeee. how are your exams going on?

[starswallowingsea]

another post inspired by the bad books book club but it's kind of concerning how a lot of popular YA books these days feature a huge power imbalance and don't like. make it clear that it's unethical and because these are popular with teenage girls it makes me concerned that they're internalizing these messages.

like the love hypothesis for example, which i have actually read and hated so fucking much, the main romance is between a phd candidate and one of the professors at her grad school. while they make it clear that he's not her advisor and can't be on her doctoral advising committee or whatever, he's in the same department first off and can still hold power over olive and in real life that could very very quickly turn sour because of the power imbalance. he very much still has power over her in ways she might not realize yet.

and then you look at......... well everything coho. like in verity the main character is sleeping with her agent which is UNETHICAL and could very very easily lead to a lot of business problems!!!! like you cant fucking do that and there's a reason why its looked down upon for agents to be romantically/sexually involved with clients. because the agent has power over the client. and while i think a fully grown 30 something adult can tell when something is just fantasy, younger adults are much much more impressionable to this kind of stuff. i'm saying this as 22yo college undergrad and i'm not immune to this either, but i'm aware of when i need to step back and ask myself what a text is saying and what it wants me to think because i've cultivated those skills. fresh 18yos who are still in high school and have had most of their high school career online or completely fucked with because of covid might not.

you can have books aimed at young adults that don't involve this type of harmful messaging romanticizing the power imbalance between characters. i see the way people talk about colleen hoover romantic leads and relationships and it's so worrying because nothing in any coho book is romantic and the romantic leads in all these books are like the brooding bad boy stereotype dialed up to abusive and people find it hot and attractive when it should be a massive red flag instead. young adults deserve better books.

[everybodyscupoftea]

hockey!jj: road to the nhl

the ncaa and the stress of being an nhl prospect

@sunnypogue​​ and i are back at it folks - and with this, we’ve finally established all of jj’s backstory

(the next thing we’re working on is the masterlist linking all of our hockey!jj and coho!rafe content - we’re posting on both of our blogs and @sunnypogue​ has a ton of coho!rafe stuff written already for you to catch up on his backstory)

warnings: cursing

Ward knew the Major-Junior leagues were a great opportunity and that they funneled players straight into the NHL - JJ’s end goal

The OHL came knocking as soon as JJ was draft eligible, but the idea of leaving the outer banks during high school to move somewhere way up north to play with even richer kids than he already did was intimidating to him

Then Rafe started looking at college hockey and opened the ncaa option to JJ, which he much preferred

As soon as Ward learned that JJ was considering college hockey, he started contacting coaches from the top hockey schools in the nation

Ward had a whole whiteboard full of schools and corresponding contacts posted up in his office

He sent out JJ’s highlight tape to any D1 school he could get in touch with

(JJ was oblivious - just playin’ hockey & working at the mechanics in his free time)

Actually, outside of playing hockey, JJ had very little to do with the process

Ward would send the emails, field the calls, etc.

Ward even accompanied him on a few recruiting trips, asking all the right questions.

(Did Ward miss one of Rafe’s games to attend the BU recruiting trip? Yes.)

And it paid off - JJ had a lot of college offers from some really good schools

Most of which JJ had no idea existed - Quinnipac? Northeastern? Clarkson?

Of course, there were a few he recognized - Michigan, BU, Denver

(tbh his favorite was Arizona State, but Ward refused because - “what kind of hockey did they play on the West Coast?”)

(JJ imagined it was similar to the hockey they played in North Carolina, but kept his mouth shut - for once.)

After much debate, he decided to attend University of North Dakota

JJ had grown up watching Toews & Oshie college highlights - he couldn’t help but have a soft spot for the school

Plus, the concept of living in North Dakota was hilarious to him

Ward moved JJ in mid-June, sticking around for an additional week to “keep an eye on him”

Despite Ward practically adopting JJ, he still didn’t really trust him

JJ caught Ward hovering at his practices, chatting up the coaching staff, the Athletic Director, his RA - JJ could only imagine what Ward was instructing them to do.

JJ dealt with it the way he dealt with most Ward-related things - he put his head down and played hockey.

JJ’s birthday was mid-September, so he had the luxury of being able to enroll at UND without worrying about the upcoming draft - he wasn’t eligible for another year.

UND was great, the guys were really nice and it was like a fresh start for him - no Ward, no Luke.

No one knew he was just a poor kid from some beach town on the Atlantic Coast with a deadbeat dad - he was “just JJ”

Road trips were his favorite - he’d never really gotten to travel in this region of the US before

He loved the bus rides with his teammates - even the early morning ones.

Plus, his teammates actually LIKED him - unlike his travel team back in NC, who never really embraced him as “one of their own”

(Ward said they were jealous - JJ knew better.)

The team was significantly more laidback than his travel team - despite being one of the best teams in the country

Most of the guys weren’t actively trying for the NHL and were a lot more chill which helped his nerves

Some of the older guys were already drafted, allowed to return back to UND for a year or two before joining their respective clubs

They took JJ under their wing, recognizing his talent immediately

They were always willing to hang around after practice, offering an opportunity for JJ to get a couple more drills in, or hit the gym with him a little extra.

They were full of advice for what to do and what not to do as a prospect

One thing they all advised? Attend the combine

JJ got an invite, late his freshman year, opting to attend despite being pretty unknown.

No one was really talking about him, this scrappy kid from North Carolina, who somehow got a full ride to UND.

He had a pretty impressive combine despite being on the smaller side; the physical testing went well, even though he almost threw up after the Wingate Test

(The kid before him puked twice)

The team interviews were harder, he was unfamiliar with it, unlike the junior hockey boys, his only experience coming from meeting with college coaches

JJ definitely said the Wrong Thing more than once

Ward had always handled the harder questions, the harder conversations - suddenly JJ was getting asked about his attitude issues, what he thought about legalizing marijuana, what he would do if there was a 25 foot python in a room with him - JJ was LOST.

(Also if he got ONE MORE question about his size, he was going to Lose It.)

He felt really alienated because they all seemed to know each other; it was like an exclusive clique.

Thankfully, one of his older teammates from UND was there too - they stuck together despite not really being good friends.

Somehow, he survived the combine (even after he snarked off in an interview when they questioned him about his height - JJ aptly responded with a “well, I’m taller than you, aren’t I?”)

Ward did not like that one.

His prospect status grew. Teams were very interested in him and he got on the media’s radar. Analysts predicted him going late first round, early second even.

Some of his UND teammates got wind of his newfound popularity and googled his name + elite prospects to check out his page

JJ was a little astounded to see how in depth they’d gone on his stats and a little embarrassed by all the teasing, but it was never mean-spirited

Kinda helped him feel like one of the guys which was unfamiliar after being ostracized in his younger years for not having the same economic status

JJ felt a little sick when he entered the draft.

He had been having a recurring dream where he attended the first and second rounds, only to not get picked at all, left sitting in the stands, desperately waiting to hear his name.

Deep down he knew he’d get selected by someone, but there was the inherent fear that teams hated him and would pass on him.

What if he didn’t get picked at all?

Of course, several teams were interested in him - he had a great freshman year, an excellent showing in the Frozen Four (UND lost in the semis, but JJ really put the team on his back), and his name was popping up all over Twitter as a “sleeper first round pick”

He had been in contact with scouts from Philadelphia, Columbus, Nashville and Dallas - he knew they were interested.

Ward regularly kept up with JJ, checking in to make sure his grades were good and he was getting his workouts in to stay in top form for the draft.

“Scouts are going to start attending your games, if they haven’t already.”

“They’ve even popped up at a few of Rafe’s games - they’ll be at yours.”

(That’s how JJ found out Rafe was interested in trying out for the Canes after graduation)

JJ felt stupid, but he was really praying Carolina wasn’t interested in him - he’d rather go undrafted than end up on a team with Rafe again

Hell, he was hoping they wouldn’t be in the same division, much less the same conference - the less he saw of Rafe, the better.

Silly boy thought he’d be in the AHL

JJ didn’t attend the draft because he wasn’t predicted to go super early (also, you know - the nightmares)

He ended up staying in North Dakota to keep practicing and working out with some of his teammates who stuck around

The night of the first round, the group of them ordered food and hung out in one of the boys apartments to watch together. JJ was pretty sure he wouldn’t go in the first round, but his curiosity won out.

He sat in a corner chair, staring blankly at his hands the majority of the evening, too nervous to really even watch

To his surprise, his name was called late in the first round, the Dallas Stars using the 28th pick on him.

(JJ was pretty dejected at this point - Philly and Nashville had passed him up, despite showing a ton of interest earlier in the week)

He was struck still and wordless, barely registering the boys jumping up and down, shaking him, and screaming all around him

“Fuck, dude, you get to play with Seguin and Benn”

Soon after the first round ended, the Stars GM called and he put it on speaker to talk to him

“We love your game, son, we feel you’ll be a good fit for our team. I’m calling to invite you to prospect camp this year, we want the opportunity to see what you can really do. Can’t wait to see you in a Stars uniform.”

Ward called him next, already talking about getting JJ an agent and flight details to get down to Dallas for camp. It was all a blur, and the fluttering in JJ’s stomach got stronger as he realized he’d really made it.

Well, almost made it.

Prospect camp was insane. He felt like he barely slept, it was just eating, media, and hockey. The facilities were amazing and the other guys were so talented.

The competitive atmosphere was nothing like he’d ever felt before, and he thrived, consistently rising to the challenge.

Everyone wanted an invite to training camp, but spots were limited.

The practices were on another level - JJ was bone tired the whole week, body aching from the constant skating & checking.

Scrimmages were fun - JJ loved playing with guys outside the NCAA, enjoying the challenge that came with playing with talented, older prospects.

At the end, he got an invite to training camp

Playing with actual NHLers, some that he’d even grown up watching, was insane.

He was legitimately starstruck when Joe Pavelski checked him into the boards during a practice scrimmage - it took him a couple of seconds to recover.

JJ was the youngest at training camp by far - living out of a suitcase in a random Dallas hotel, trying to figure out whether he needed to re-enroll at UND or not, fielding daily calls from Ward - it was stressful.

(And apparently, his stress was palpable, because the next day, after practice, Tyler Seguin smacked him on the head, demanding that he meet him for dinner that night at Nick & Sam’s)

(JJ did not know what the fuck Nick & Sam’s was, but he figured it out)

Tyler sat JJ down, ordered him a big ol’ steak, & told JJ to tell him what was on his mind because “you’ve been looking constipated for about a week, now.”

JJ just...unloads on him. Tells him everything he’s stressed about - leaving school, moving to Dallas, whether he’s actually good enough to stay on NHL roster - he’s nearly panting by the time he’s done talking.

Tyler, shockingly, is an excellent listener. He offers advice about signing a contract & reassures JJ that he’s talented (“dude, you’re not going down to Austin. They’d be insane.”).

They also discuss the merits of maybe playing an extra season of NCAA before committing fully to the NHL because he was young and it was intimidating

Tyler gave his perspective and mistakes he made as a bit of a warning to starting too young

If anything, the dinner made JJ more confused about his future - would he fuck everything up if he waited another year? What if he got injured at UND, and never actually made the NHL?

He didn’t sleep that night - or the night after.

Ultimately, Ward ended up deciding for him, pushing him into signing an ELC & leaving UND.

“At least you’re guaranteed some money, son. That’s gotta be enough inspiration.”

[woodensunglasses-blog1]

11 Eco-Friendly Sunglasses to Wear in this Summer

"My Future's so bright, and I gotta wear sunglasses!" Well, along with your future, the summer seems bright too. It said that summer and sunglasses are like best friends. They not only look best together but also compliment each other too. And to slay this bright, sunny summer time, you surely need a pair of sunglasses.

But before that let us get to know, why do you need to wear sunglasses?

1. Sunglasses protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays.

2. Sunglasses protect your eyes from infections.

3. Sunglasses decrease headaches, eye blurriness, and migraines.

4. Sunglasses help you to have safe driving.

In this time of modernization, many of us have a significant concern towards the environment. Many of us even started using eco-friendly products already. But, what exactly are eco-friendly products? Products that do not harm the environment from producing, handling, and disposing of them are known as eco-friendly products. Are you looking for some stylish, trendy eco-friendly sunglasses? Well, I am here to help you with finding them. Below I have listed down 11 eco-friendly, up-to-date sunglasses that will mark your fashion statement and give you enough comfort to carry them.

1. Grown Eyewear.

This brand tops our eco -friendly list for its organic, handcrafted sunglasses. The sunglasses are made from hardwoods and durable bamboo that are brought from FSC-certified forests. Each pair of sunglasses has a natural design along

With its most unique grain pattern.along with being stylish in design, the sunglasses are 30%lighter than the ordinary plastic glasses that we get to buy, due to which, the sunglasses are more comfortable to wear .These sunglasses come in all kinds of styles for women, men and also for children.

2. MODO eco-friendly Eyewear.

This brand has come up with innovative, creative sunglasses for their environmentally conscious consumers. From their eco-range, some of the sunglasses frames are made from 93% recycled materials. Some frames made from 63% USDA certified biobased materials. MODO glasses are known for their unique and bold-sleek designs. The brand has an innovative social-friendly motto "Plant a new tree, with each MODO purchase!". These frames are designed, produced and supplied in COHO, New York.

3. SOLO Eyewear.

The brand SOLO has an inspiring beginning. It was a mission to make a difference. Founder Jenny Amaraneni teamed up with her friend Dana Halliday at San Diego State University, and together they launched up SOLO. SOLO Eyewears are handmade from a popular material called repurposed bamboo. The glasses meant to be long-lasting, moisture resistant, light-weighted, and biodegradable. This eyewear brand has held high with its empowering motto "One Idea, One person. One Action can change the world!." The company donates 10% of its profit to those with eye conditions, any surgeries, and free prescription glasses. Till now, SOLO has helped 11000+ people across 32 countries. The best part of this is, SOLO eco eyewear is affordable.

4. Proof Eyewear.

Proof eyewear is a family operated business. It was launched by three brothers in 2010. PROOF eyewear is 100% biodegradable, as they handcrafted from plant-based acetate and FSC certified wood. They are known for their stylish, lightweight, and durable eyewear. These sunglasses come in all styles for both men and women. The main aim of this company was to stand for sustainability, heritage, and giving back. Even they share 12% of their company's profits to many NGOs around the world.

5. Stick & Sparrows Eyewear.

This Australian brand launched in 2013. Stick & Sparrow's sunglasses are known for its combination of creativity and craftsmen's designs. The sunglasses are made from eco-materials like bamboo, reclaimed wood, and cork. They also committed to minimizing waste and using sustainable materials. The unique part of this brand eyewear is that their lenses are scratch-resistant and come with 100% UV protection.

6. Woodwear Eyewear.

The Woodwear eyewear is a brand based on Hermosa Beach, California. The sunglasses are known as "wearable art." The California beach culture inspires all the designs of this brand. And for people who love the sea, sun and sand they would surely love this collection—these sunglasses made from sustainable bamboo material. The Woodwear company also donates a percentage of their profit to new causes to support others and make a positive change for humanity.

7. Warby Parker Eyewear.

Warby Parker eyewear is excellent for people that prefer eco-styles and eco-designs. These eco-friendly sunglasses look wise, practical, and socially impactful. The brand even joined hands with a program, "buy-a-pair, give-a-pair." This program ensures that for every pair of glasses sold, a person in need gets a couple free. Also,

This Eyewear brand has a bonus service for their customer, known as a "Home Try-on service."This service will let you have a free trial of five pairs for five days. So you get to try sunglasses before you buy them.

8. Dick Moby Eyewear.

In 2012, Dick Moby was launched by Tim and Robert, who went for a surfing trip and experienced a beach full of trash. This brand makes glasses out of oil-free materials, wood-based acetate, and recycled metals are making it 100% biodegradable. This Amsterdam based brand commits sustainability and also has some unique, trendy designs. Dick Moby eyewear contains anti-reflection and anti-scratch coating along with UV400 protection lenses.

9. Panda Eyewear.

This USA brand launched in 2012 with a kickstart tagline, "Fashion with a purpose." And the brand has lived to its motto as they produced stylish, light-weighted sunglasses made from sustainable bamboo material. The sunglasses also come with polarized lenses and can protect you from harmful UV rays of the sun. They contribute to free eye exams and eyeglasses around the world.

10. Woodzee Eyewear.

Woodzee is a home for lavish stylish sunglasses that come in unique style frames and colors. It is a Chico, California based brand. The eyewear is made from wood and bamboo, but they also add a touch of classy style with nature's signature. Woodzee has a recycling program that gives the customer a chance to recycle their old wooden glasses and get 50% off their next order.

11. Swell Vision Eyewear.

           A junior in high school wished to grow a business that would inspire others. And he came up with a tagline, "leave the world a better place than we found it!" And that junior grew up to be the founder of Swell Vision Eyewear. The frames of this company are 100% bamboo made. And also, the bamboo is sustainably sourced. These eco-friendly sunglasses come with multi-layered polarized lenses, along with an anti-reflective coating. This eyewear collection is perfect for adventurous and fashion-conscious people.

[larryland]

2019 High School Musical Theatre Awards Nominees Announced at Proctors

2019 High School Musical Theatre Awards Nominees Announced at Proctors

Winners will travel to New York in June to participate in Jimmy Awards®

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.—APRIL 24, 2019—Proctors and The Times Union announced nominees today for the 2019 High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors.

Proctors CEO Philip Morris and Times Union Senior Features and Sunday editor Gary Hahn were joined by Proctors Creative Workforce Director Grace Janiszewski for a Facebook Live…

[518sports-blog1]

SOFTBALL: Cohoes standout to play for Siena in 2018

SOFTBALL: Cohoes standout to play for Siena in 2018

LOUDONVILLE — The Siena College softball team has added three student athletes to its 2018 roster on Monday, including Isabelle DeChiaro of Cohoes High School. “I’m very excited to play for a hometown team,” said DeChiaro. “I am excited for my Family to be able to see me Play softball for another 4 years, but it makes it even better that the hometown team I’ll be playing for is Siena. The coaches…

[thebrewstorian]

Beer and botany

I spent a lovely Saturday morning walking around Luckiamute Meadows, specifically Cliff and Gay Hall's property in King's Valley, for the Greenbelt Land Trust's 2019 Beer & Botany event. I was joined by two of my SCARC colleagues, who are always game for some walking (and beer). We were joined by staff from Greenbelt, 15 or 16 other walkers, and Paul Miller from Sky High Brewing, who shared past beers inspired by these walks and how wild ingredients could be used in beer.

We met at the King’s Valley Charter School, which was established in 1848, and learned more about the history of the school as well as the ways the kids use the area as outdoor school. I will also note that beyond the kids a herd of elk as large as 70 also uses the area.

Nahum King arrived in the Kings Valley area in 1847. He was a financier of wagon train from Missouri and who took out a land claim in 1846. You can learn more about the ”Heart for Any Fate” book by Linda Cruz.

The Hall's used to have cattle, but over the past 20 years they have shifted to more active land management and conservation on their property. In partnership with many groups, including the Greenbelt Land Trust, they have planted over 20,000 trees (most? all? of which are native species).

As we walked we learned more about how ingredients all around us could be used in beer. Miller said anything with sugars works, you just need a lot. 

"Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people."

Spruce tips, rose, lemon balm? Yep. Camas, the starchy tuber used by the native Calopooians? Yep. Fungi? Maybe. 

Speaking of traditional knowledge, one of the people on the walk asked about whether Native Americans made beer. Miller said he wasn't sure but he knows they fermented tea made from flowers and leaves; this drunk was used in small amounts mostly during ceremonies.

Two years ago I did a beer/botany walk with this group around the Owens Farm in north Corvallis and Joel Rea from Corvallis Brewing Supply carried a "fermenting bucket" with him to capture the wild yeast. From that he made "Owens Farm Funk," a beer that lived up to its name. Ingredients, including the yeast, capture a sense of place, literally, in the beer that is made from them. It's the terroir, of course.

Other things I learned? They’ve focused on planting Valley Ponderosa Pine, a native to the Willamette Valley, which was almost wiped out due to over logging.

We stopped at Maxfield Creek, which wasn’t really a creek but a gravel deposit when they moved here 20 years ago. 

Originally, the creek split into 5 fingers, but farmers wanted to get water out of the fields in early 1900s and they altered the land until there was virtually no water in the creek. Log jams resulted, and the "old timers" cleared these jams out because didn’t think it was good for fish. It turns out that log jams were actually good, and as a result of the cleaning out for a long time the fish population was quite low. Now there are lots of fish (lots of cutthroat trout, steelhead, even coho salmon (!), and lamprey), and they report there are no invasive species. Later in the walk we talked more about the OSU friends in the water. Beavers are here (!), but in this spot they don’t build dams on the creek, instead they burrow into the bank. I also learned that beavers are an indicator species of a healthy watershed.

Beavers gnaw on trees. 

And birds peck at them. 

The Hall land was a sheep farm 20 years ago, and besides that there were some big trees and very little undergrowth (because the sheep ate the low stuff). In the future they hope to move away from using chemicals; right now they are spot spraying and trying to find a healthy balance. So it's no surprise that fresh water is number one important for all alcoholic beverages, but Paul talked to us about why brewers work with conservation groups. Beer is directly connected with agricultural as a secondary product, and we all benefit when that product is protected from runoff. The more treatment to land, the more Paul has to do to get it out of water for beer. The treatment he needs to do varies based on which of the two water sources we draw from in Corvallis, what time of day or what time of year it is.

Brewsheds? We didn't talk a lot about them, but I'm definitely keen to learn more about them. Here's the Oregon org: Oregon Brewshed Alliance.

Not directly related to beer, but worth pointing out is this big railroad flat car that runs across the creek, which the cattle used to cross.

Paul talked more about some of the challenges and opportunities in the brewing world for sourcing new beer ingredients. Referencing that Owens farm walk, he talked about how it inspired him to make a "Strawberry Pinot Tart," which featured local flora and fauna, and how that led to him starting the Sky High barrel aging program in lobby. He's very interested in local ingredients: they get their hops from Crosby, grain from Madras, and yeast from Hood River (which is salmon safe) and Portland (which is organic). Paul (and Sky High) also work to support local organizations that are committed to sustainability, renewability, and biodiversity.

We walked by many lovely trees, including redwoods (they are thinking of climate change wants to plant things that grow in California), Indian plum... 

Smaller oaks planted 20 years ago. 

And a wonderfully big and old oak tree. How old is it? There were 260 rings! 

And a little tree growing out of the big tree. 

And some mushrooms. Mushrooms in beer? Yep. 

Brewers usually use them as a flavoring agent. I learned that some produce the same chemicals present in tropical or maple syrup flavors. I also learned that some toxins could remain... You have been warned. 

We learned that this area is an "oak forested wetland," which was left alone by the farmers because it was too wet for cultivation, is what Oregon used to be like. Sloughs and trees keep streams cool and keep fish fed.

There was also a BIG black cottonwood - maybe biggest in Oregon - and we appreciated our time gazing up at it.

Speaking of oak... You may have heard that people use oak to make barrels. I learned that the Halls planted white oaks, which are taking a long time to grow, and that white oak is the choice for barrels because they are water tight (unlike red oak). Something to do with the veins holding water because they swell and close up? Sky High has sources bourbon barrels from Texas and other southern states, but also from wine barrels used by the winery Spindrift in Philomath and House of Spirits in Portland. This cycle reversed too: bad batches of beer can be given to a distiller. Brewers can reuse these barrels over and over, and they appreciate the different flavors imparted into wood. Paul said that organisms squirrel into wood, dry up, then rehydrate in fermentation.

As we walked more we learned more about the opportunities OSU students have had on the property. A group came out several years ago and prepared a report on native plants - they suggested planting poison oak! We all got a good laugh out of that because no one knew where you’d even buy it.

And for those wondering, we had a Blueberry Berlowitz with rose hips.