#J.A. Sullivan

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Fantasia Announces First Wave of Titles for Its 28th Edition

The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 28th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 18 through August 4, 2024, returning yet again at the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screens and events at Montreal’s Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée.

Poster art by Donald Caron The festival’s full lineup will be announced on July 3, but in the meantime, Fantasia has revealed a select first wave of premiere titles, along with a first look at its 2024 poster art. The festival’s 2024 poster art, created by Montreal visual artist Donald Caron, brings back two of the festival’s most beloved characters from earlier editions, returning by popular demand. The cinema-loving cat and pug, barreling into the future on a sidecar motorcycle, embody the excitement, playfulness, and absurdity that Fantasia has championed since its inception in 1996.

28th Fantasia International Film Festival

CHUCK RUSSELL RETURNS TO HORROR WITH WITCHBOARD, A WILD RE-IMAGINING OF THE CLASSIC 80'S FRANCHISE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr0d00hy1h8 From A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS and the beloved1988 remake of THE BLOB to THE MASK, ERASER, and THE SCORPION KING, director Chuck Russell has no shortage of imaginative fantasy/horror classics under his belt. Now he returns to the genre he’s marked so brilliantly with a radical reinvention of Kevin S. Tenney’s 1986 Canadian cult favorite WITCHBOARD. Emily (Madison Iseman, ANNABELLE COMES HOME) and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez, Hulu's Only Murderers in the Building) discover an ancient Wiccan artifact, a pendulum board, as they prepare to open a bistro in New Orleans' French Quarter. Emily becomes obsessed with the board's powers, exposing her to the ancient spirit of the Queen of Witches. Desperate to help his fiancé, Christian seeks the advice of occult expert Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower, Netflix's Stranger Things, the TWILIGHT saga), but Babtiste has dark secrets of his own. Shot in Montreal by cinematographer Yaron Levy (UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING). Also starring David La Haye (TRUE NORTH), Charlie Tahan (Netflix's Ozark), Antonia Desplat (AppleTV+'s Shantaram), and Mel Jarnson (MORTAL KOMBAT).

PRESENTED BY MIKE FLANAGAN, CHRIS STUCKMANN’S SHELBY OAKS IS HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4u3Z72KhN8 A woman's desperate search for her long-lost sister, a famous YouTuber who investigated paranormal happenings, falls into obsession upon realizing that the imaginary demon from their childhood may have been real. After a successful Kickstarter campaign that broke records across the platform, the highly anticipated feature debut feature from YouTube creator Chris Stuckmann is finally here and ready to scare the pants off the world. SHELBY OAKS delivers in all departments. Starring Camille Sullivan (HUNTER HUNTER), Brendan Sexton III (DON’T BREATHE 2), Sarah Durn (RENFIELD), Keith David (THE THING, NOPE), and Michael Beach (AQUAMAN). Produced by Aaron B. Koontz, Cameron Burns, and Ashleigh Snead, and Executive Produced by Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy, among others.

MIGUEL LLANSÓ’S INFINITE SUMMER IS A TRIPPY, TRANSHUMANIST FEAT OF FILMMAKING Estonia-based Miguel Llansó (CRUMBS, JESUS SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIGHWAY) is a singular gift to cinema. Fantasia is proud to be bringing the visionary iconoclast back to Montreal for the World Premiere of what may be his most compelling creation yet: INFINITE SUMMER, a trippy transhumanist sci-fi exploration vibrant with humor, poignancy, and gonzo invention. On a summer break, Mia and her friends try a meditation app that that’s somehow related to the operating system of the Tallinn Zoo, changing in the body chemistry of its users into something between pollen and cosmic dust. Mia will need to choose between saving her friends or joining them.  An astonishing film, produced by legendary US producing partners Allison Rose Carter and Jon Read (EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, AMERICAN HONEY), Rain Rannu (CHASING UNICORNS, THE INVISIBLE FIGHT), and Tõnu Hiielaid (KRATT), and Llansó himself, starring Hannah Gross (Netflix’s Mindhunter), Johanna Rosin, and Teele Kaljuvee-O'Brock.

TRUTH BE TOLD, CONFESSION IS A MASTERFULLY CRAFTED SINGLE-LOCATION THRILLER Every Winter since Sayuri’s tragic disappearance sixteen years ago, Asai and Jiyong climb the mountain where it happened to honor her memory. However, an intense blizzard and a catastrophic injury convince Jiyong he’s done for and, before forcing Asai to leave him to die, he shares a devastating revelation. Asai returns, however, after finding a nearby cabin and now, isolated for the night, the two have to deal with Jiyong’s not-so-last words... the hard way. Two award-winning Fantasia legends, director Nobuhiro Yamashita (LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM) and actor/writer/director Yang Ik-june (BREATHLESS), along with superstar Toma Ikuta (THE MOLE SONG trilogy), team up to adapt a beloved manga into a narrative and technical achievement, one of the best single-location thrillers ever created. With stellar performances and masterful direction using every inch of his set to generate maximum tension, CONFESSION flirts with perfection at every level - and must be experienced in a theatre.

JAYRO BUSTAMANTE’S RITA WILL HAUNT YOUR MEMORY AND BREAK YOUR HEART Following up on the international success of his brilliant LA LLORONA (2019), director Jayro Bustamante’s RITA fuses mythical fantasy and whimsical imagery with themes of childhood innocence and the potent emotional register of a story based on a harrowing real-life event, wherein 41 young women needlessly burned to death inside a Guatemalan orphanage in the midst of a protest about inhumane conditions. At its core is the powerful performance of Guiliana Santa Cruz, who speaks for all the young women who suffered. As a result, the story speaks much to the power of female anger, and yet, not once does the director lose sense of the fact that at its heart, Rita’s tale is one of girlhood, of dreams, of an innocence lost, and regained within the bosom of female solidarity.

THIS MAN BLENDS WESTERN INSPIRATIONS WITH J-HORROR TROPES IN A PERFECT MELTING POT OF TERROR An inexplicable wave of tragic deaths plunges two investigators into the heart of a fateful whirlwind, where logic and facts have no value as a far-fetched urban legend seems to come true. A mother plagued by terrifying dreams, seeing her friends and colleagues disappear one after the other, and her family witness the horror unfold. Director and screenwriter Tomojiro Amano (TRAPPED IN MAKYO) skillfully fuses the styles of Eastern and Western classics, referencing RINGU, IT FOLLOWS, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET among others, to create an intimate, oppressive work that constantly keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as it slowly and subtly unveils the pandemic-like slaughter outside. At the crest of the international horror-film harvest of 2024, already a banner year, THIS MAN is sure to lodge itself in viewers' memories. With such potential, a Hollywood remake wouldn’t be surprising.

LOWELL DEAN’S DARK MATCH CONJURES SIX-TIME CHAMP CHRIS JERICHO AS A CULT LEADER! After his success with the WOLF COP films, Canadian filmmaker Lowell Dean switches it up and takes horror to the ring! When small-time wrestlers get a big payday for a private gig, they jump at the chance for fame and fortune, but the event, run by a mysterious leader who calls himself “The Prophet,” demands plenty of blood on the mats and involves a sinister, demonic deal! Set in the wrestling heyday of the 80s, DARK MATCH is an action-packed rumble on the ropes shot by acclaimed cinematographer Karim Hussain (INFINITY POOL, POSSESSOR). Starring wrestling legend Chris Jericho as the charismatic leader of its bloodthirsty cult, Ayisha Issa (TRANSPLANT), and Steven Ogg (AMC’s The Walking Dead), you’ll get more than your share of intrigue, action, and gore inside this ring! Septentrion Shadows section.

A SAMURAI IN TIME IS WORTH THE TIME AND TRAVEL TO SEE An Edo-period swordsman is flung into the future, arriving in modern Kyoto to confront utter confusion—and an acting career. The medieval warrior transported to modern times is a variant of the time-travel subgenre that has been explored many times around the world. Award-winning writer/director Junichi Yasuda (GOHAN), however, offers a take on the theme that’s not only clever, funny, and distinctly Japanese, but remarkably poignant. Shot on location at Toei Studios Kyoto, A SAMURAI IN TIME is held together by the subtle and convincing performance of lead actor Makiya Yamaguchi. More than just a fun fish-out-of-water fantasy, it’s an homage to samurai cinema as it wanes as surely as the shogunate once did.

SWIPE RIGHT ON ELRIC KANE’S DATING APP CHILLER THE DEAD THING A young woman, lost in a series of meaningless connections through dating apps, falls in love with a charismatic man who is hiding a dark secret that turns her affair into a dangerous obsession. Smart, tragic and unsettling, Pure Cinema host Elric Kane’s first solo-directed feature is a character-driven supernatural nightmare that explores the demons of modern dating in ways that are both horrific and disturbingly relatable.  Swipe right on this profound piece of genre cinema that is destined to become a horror classic. Staring Blu Hunt (Netflix’s Another Life), Ben Smith-Petersen (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD), Katherine Hughes (ECHO 3), and John Karna (SCREAM). Co-Written by Webb Wilcoxen (The Frontier). Produced by Monte Yazzie, Matt Mercer (BLISS), and Rebekah McKendry (GLORIOUS).

MASHING UP GENRES, MASH VILLE IS A KOREAN CULT CLASSIC IN THE MAKING Someone has died after drinking the bootleg liquor brewed by Se-jong and his two younger brothers. While on a mission to retrieve their deadly booze before another person perishes from it, they come across two homicidal cultists who are terrorizing the villagers. The love that director Hwang Wook (LIVE HARD, DOG EAT DOG) harbors for the Western, action, and comedy genres shines through from start to finish with stylish cinematography, quirky characters, and an incredibly entertaining screenplay. Most importantly, pitch-black humor abounds. Hwang and company commit to their absurdity, and it’s an absolute blast, a genre-mashing crowd-pleaser sure to be a Korean cult classic as time goes on.

LUCÍA PUENZO’S ELECTROPHILIA CASTS A SUBVERSIVE NEW VISION A woman wakes up from a coma six weeks after being struck by lightning and finds herself compulsively drawn to electric currents as her body’s workings begin to change. She soon joins an underground support group of strike survivors led by a dangerously charismatic doctor, opening a doorway into unexpected new explorations. A gripping, sensorial experience with a visceral emotional core, ELECTROPHILIA is the latest creation from Cannes-award-winning Argentinian filmmaker and novelist Lucía Puenzo (THE FISH CHILD, XXY). Reminiscent of CRASH-era Cronenberg, it is a subversive and beautiful genre work, a different kind of self-discovery tale, and a new breed of dramatic thriller. Starring Mariana Di Girolamo (Pablo Larrain’s EMA), German Palacios (EL RAPTO), and Guillermo Pfening (THE GERMAN DOCTOR).

A MORALLY CHALLENGING TALE OF REVENGE, PENALTY LOOP TAKES A FAMILIAR THEME ON A DEVILISHLY TWISTED PATH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-uwF0-__uY Left bereft by the wanton and inexplicable murder of his girlfriend, Jun chooses his own justice, carefully planning the perfect murder of the man who led him to become what he wants to eliminate. Once the vengeance is consummated, he wakes up with a confirmed sense of déjà-vu and his target alive and well, repeating the same routine as the day before. Offering a breathless, dark, and innovative variation on the time-loop concept, writer/director Shinji Araki (THE TOWN OF HEADCOUNTS) establishes himself as a sure thing in contemporary Japanese genre cinema with this unpredictable, shocking narrative that constantly twists and turns toward a conclusion that’s as satisfying as it is devastating. Carried by a convincing duo of actors in perfect sync, PENALTY LOOP is an accomplishment condemning Araki to return to the forefront with each of his future projects.

THE ADAMS FAMILY BIRTH CREATURES AT A SERBIAN FRACKING SITE IN HELL HOLE A road trip through Canadian oil fields conjured up fantasies of secrets deep in the dirt for the Adams family, and inspired them to create HELL HOLE, an indie rock-n-roll monster movie set at a far-away fracking site. Known for their DIY ethos, John and Lulu Adams and Toby Poser, partnering with Shudder, have joined the team behind The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs and FX legend Todd Masters to shoot their latest in Serbia with a local cast and crew. Absurd, mutinous, and transgressively comical, Hell Hole is old-school sci-fi horror, yet in typical family fashion, they subvert the genre with textures of biological and environmental horror in tandem with questions of gender and bodily autonomy. This will be the fourth time that Fantasia World Premieres work from the gifted filmmaking family, following launches of THE DEEPER YOU DIG, HELLBENDER, and WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS.

DEAD DEAD FULL DEAD MUTATES THE WHODUNIT GENRE Junior police officers Balraam and Zubeida make a cute couple, but not the most diligent detectives. Called to a posh apartment tower to investigate a reported murder, the seemingly straightforward case quickly becomes a conundrum that would confuse even Sherlock Holmes. When the victim herself returns from the afterlife, matters become even more muddled, and soon enough the question isn’t who killed her... but who didn’t?! With the deadpan delirium of his debut feature, Mumbai-based editor and filmmaker Pratul Gaikwad offers a very odd, otherworldly mutation on the much-loved mystery-comedy genre. Featuring paranormal powers and multiple manias, cosmic wonders and covert class warfare, celestial bureaucracy and dysfunctional love, and even a supernaturally transformed goat, Gaikwad’s surreal whodunit offers a bit of everything... except perhaps proper law-enforcement procedure.

VOIVOD: WE ARE CONNECTED OFFERS A THUNDERING TRIBUTE TO LEGENDARY PROG METAL PIONEERS From the moment they exploded out of Jonquière in the early ‘80s, Voivod have been widely hailed as one of the most original and influential metal bands in the world. Years in the making and produced with full access to the band’s archives, Felipe Belalcazar’s illuminating VOIVOD: WE ARE CONNECTED brings the story of a groundbreaking 40+ year career to the screen with energy, insight, and a palpable sense of love. The long-awaited doc will be launched in the very province that birthed the band and Fantasia couldn’t be prouder. With appearances by Tobias Forge (Ghost), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Jason Newsted (Metallica – and brief Voivod member), Zach Blair (Rise Against, GWAR), Tom G Warrior (Celtic Frost, Triptykon), and Ivan Doroschuk (Men Without Hats), among many others. Docs from the Edge section.

A FANTASTICAL JAPAN RETURNS IN FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA: FROM BIWA LAKE WITH LOVE After stealing hearts at Fantasia 2019, where FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA won the Audience Award for Best Asian Feature, director Hideki Takeuchi returns to a fantastical version of Japan—“definitely not a portrayal of any actual place”—with a completely original story independent from the ’80s manga from which it takes its name. Read the full article

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Book Review: A Silent Dystopia (Stories of A Quiet Apocalypse) by Various Authors

Book Review: A Silent Dystopia (Stories of A Quiet Apocalypse) by Various Authors

A Silent Dystopia is, as the title suggests, a collection of stories based within the A Quiet Apocalypse universe, meticulously brought to life by respected author Dave Jeffery. A Silent Dystopia (Stories of A Quiet Apocalypse) sees 10 of the most talented authors pen a short story each set in the A Quiet Apocalypse world, where they have the freedom to add their own creative style while…

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Neophron percnopterus

By Koshy Koshy, CC BY 2.0 

Etymology: A Childish Trickster

First Described By: Savigny, 1809

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Afroaves, Accipitrimorphae, Accipitriformes, Accipitridae, Gypaetinae

Status: Extant, Endangered

Time and Place: Since 12,000 years ago, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Egyptian Vultures are known from locations across India, Western Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe 

Physical Description: The Egyptian Vulture is a small vulture, only about 54 to 70 centimeters long with a wingspan of a little more than twice that size. It is also very distinctive in color, and extremely fluffy (which makes sense, given it is probably closely related to the Bearded Vulture). It has a very long and narrow head, which is bare and yellow over the eyes and beak; the tip of the beak is sharply hooked and black. The back of the head and neck is very fluffy and white. The rest of the body is also very puffed, mostly white but with black edges and tips to the wing feathers and tail feathers. It has white fluffy legs, with only some of the feet bear; the feet are pale in color. The females are usually much heavier than the males. The juveniles are significantly darker than the adults in color. 

By Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Diet: Egyptian Vultures primarily feed on large dead animals such as carrion of birds, livestock, wild mammals, and even dogs. Usually it will prefer scraps from large carcasses. Sometimes it will also eat eggs! 

By Вых Пыхманн, CC By-SA 3.0 

Behavior: These vultures are pragmatic opportunists, eating a wide variety of carrion that are often rejected by other vulture. It even competes often with crows and other corvids - more pragmatic, intelligent birds! These vultures spend a lot of the day soaring overhead, searching for food from up to one kilometer away; they also will perch and search for food on trees and cliffs. They tend to congregate in large numbers where there is good sources of food - even though this bird is rare. They will pull off chunks of carcass and often will throw stones at eggs to open them up - a documented use of tools! They also will use twigs to roll up and gather strands of wool for nest-lining. They aren’t very loud birds, making small whistles, grunts, groans, and hisses when needed. Somewhat social birds, they are usually found in pairs or in large groups around carcasses, though often they spend time alone. 

By Jiel, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Egyptian Vultures breed in the spring, with pairs courting by soaring high together and then swooping and spiraling down. They are monogamous for at least one breeding season, and may stay with the same mate for many years or even their whole lives. They tend to come back to the same nest sites year after year. They make nests out of twigs and wool, placed on cliff ledges and on large tree forks. Neighboring birds may form polyamorous groups with a mated pair, allowing for the two pairs of adults to aid each other in caring for the young. Usually the birds prepare for copulation by giving each other food, and preening each other to get in the “mood”. They lay around two eggs usually, which are incubated for around one and a half months. All adults will incubate the chicks, which are very brown and puffy. They stay in the nest for up to three months, cared for by the parents for most of that time. They reach sexual maturity between 4 and 6 years of age, and can live for nearly four decades, though most tend to die by the fifth year of life in the wild. 

By PJeganathan, CC BY-SA 4.0 

The vultures tend to soar on thermal wind, using the heat to raise themselves higher in the air; on the land they’re much less graceful, waddling around awkwardly. They are very calculating animals, waiting for predators to leave a carcass before approaching. They’ll even feed on poop to get carotenoids - pigments - from large herbivorous mammals. They tend to migrate only in the northern part of their range - in Africa and India, they stay mainly in the same location year-round. They glide extensively while flying, wasting as little energy while migrating as possible. 

By Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Ecosystem: Egyptian Vultures prefer open areas, preferably ones with dry and arid habitat. They especially prefer locations near cold and wet climates, such as scrub habitats. They also frequent deserts, steppes, pastures, and some fields, though they try to stay near rocky places when nesting. They also can be found in mountainous regions at lower or mid-level altitudes. They are hunted upon by golden eagles, eagle owls, and red foxes as young; they also are very vulnerable to other mammalian predators (like wolves) as adults and to human interference. In fact, human activity takes a toll on population size. 

By Tomasz Baranowski, CC BY 2.0 

Other: Egyptian Vultures have gone through extensive population decline, though in some locations the population is more stable now and recovering. They are greatly affected by human activity, including things such as power lines and hunting, intentional poisoning, and superstition-based activity. Since vultures are considered harbingers of doom, people tend to be afraid of them - and they aren’t always the prettiest birds, so people don’t feel emotional attachment to them enough to avoid killing them. Declines in herding and livestock maintenance among humans also has lead to some population decline. Combinations of these factors in many countries make conservation efforts difficult to implement. Some attempts to preserve this vulture have included “vulture restaurants”, where carcasses are made available to vultures nearby.

~ By Meig Dickson

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García-Ripollés, Clara; López-López, Pascual; Urios, Vicente (2010). "First description of migration and wintering of adult Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus tracked by GPS satellite telemetry". Bird Study. 57 (2): 261–265.

Grande, Juan M.; Serrano, David; Tavecchia, Giacomo; Carrete, Martina; Ceballos, Olga; Díaz-Delgado, Ricardo; Tella, José L.; Donázar, José A. (2009). "Survival in a long-lived territorial migrant: effects of life-history traits and ecological conditions in wintering and breeding areas". Oikos. 118 (4): 580–590.

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Hartert, Ernst (1920). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna. Volume 2. Berlin: Friendlander & Sohn. pp. 1200–1202.

Hernández, Mauro; Margalida, Antoni (2009). "Poison-related mortality effects in the endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) population in Spain". European Journal of Wildlife Research. 55 (4): 415–423.

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Jaume, D., M. McMinn, and J. A. Alcover. 1993. Fossil birds from the Bujero del Silo, La Gomera (Canary Islands), with a description of a new species of quail (Galliformes: Phasianidae). Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal 2:147-165

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Liberatori, Fabio; Penteriani, Vincenzo (2001). "A long-term analysis of the declining population of the Egyptian vulture in the Italian peninsula: distribution, habitat preference, productivity and conservation implications". Biological Conservation. 101 (3): 381–389.

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Margalida, A.; Benítez, J.R.; Sánchez-Zapata, J.A.; Ávila, E.; Arenas, R.; Donázar, J.A. (2012). "Long-term relationship between diet breadth and breeding success in a declining population of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus". Ibis. 154: 184–188.

Margalida, Antoni; Boudet, Jennifer (2003). "Dynamics and temporal variation in age structure at a communal roost of egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) in northeastern Spain". Journal of Raptor Research. 37 (3): 252–256.

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Meyburg, Bernd-U.; Gallardo, Max; Meyburg, Christiane; Dimitrova, Elena (2004). "Migrations and sojourn in Africa of Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) tracked by satellite". Journal of Ornithology. 145 (4): 273–280.

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Negro, J.J.; Grande, J.M.; Tella, J.L.; Garrido, J.; Hornero, D.; Donázar, J.A.; Sanchez-Zapata, J.A.; Benítez, J.R.; Barcell, M. (2002). "Coprophagy: An unusual source of essential carotenoids". Nature. 416 (6883): 807–808.

Orta, J., Kirwan, G.M., Christie, D.A., Garcia, E.F.J. & Marks, J.S. (2019). Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Palacios, César-Javier (2004). "Current status and distribution of birds of prey in the Canary Islands". Bird Conservation International. 14 (3).

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Seibold, I.; Helbig, A.J. (1995). "Evolutionary History of New and Old World Vultures Inferred from Nucleotide Sequences of the Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 350 (1332): 163–178.

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Tauler-Ametller, H.; Hernández-Matías, A.; Pretus, J. L.L.; Real, J. (2017). "Landfills determine the distribution of an expanding breeding population of the endangered Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus". Ibis. 159 (4): 757–768.

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[lesbian-books]

Lesbian Authors

A.J. Adaire  Pat Adams-Wright  Dorothy Allison  S.W. Anderson  Elizabeth Andre  Mavis Applewater  Ann Aptaker  J.A. Armstrong  Michelle Arnold  Clare Ashton  K. Aten  Victoria Avilan  Darla Baker  Roslyn Bane  Ann Bannon  Solia Panche Bealti  Alison Bechdel  Georgia Beers  Sharon Marie Bence  Bridget Birdsall  Harper Bliss  Andrea Bramhall  Jaye Robin Brown  Anna Burke  Amalie Cantor  Brandee Carbo  Suzie Carr  Dawn Carter  C.L. Cattano  Becky Chambers  Kate Charlton  Sharon Cho  Barbara L. Clanton  Hannah Abigail Clarke  Shelby Cochran  Helen Corcoran  Jeanne Córdova  Audrey Coulthurst  Delores Cremm  Maggie Dane  Emily M. Danforth  Sandra de Helen  Barbara Dennis  Nicole Dennis-Benn Stefani Deoul  K.E. DePalmenary  T.L. Dickerson  Jennifer Diemer  Sarah Diemer * Jane DiLucchio  J.M. Dragon  Moondancer Drake  K.B. Draper  Cassandra Duffy  A.L. Duncan  Nann Dunne  Sarah Ettritch  Lillian Faderman  Sara Farizan  Leslie Feinberg  Anna Ferrara  Fannie Flagg  Jane Fletcher  Laura Foley  Katherine V. Forrest  Diane Fortier  Giselle Fox  Anna Furtado  Elisa M. Galbreath  Lynn Galli  S.L. Gape  Nancy Garden  Lyn Gardner  S. Anne Gardner  Pauline George  Ana B. Good  Parker Gordon  Erin Gough  Kimberly Cooper Griffin  Nicola Griffith  Agnes H. Hagadus  Anne Hagan  Radclyffe Hall  S.M. Harding  Ellen Hart  Nancy Ann Healy  Fran Heckrotte  Natasja Hellenthal  Dotti Henderson  Claire Highton-Stevenson  Gerri Hill  E.M. Hodge  Dayna Ingram  Isabella  Jae  Adiba Jaigirdar  Jo Jennings  Heather Rose Jones  E.A. Kafkalas  Karin Kallmaker  Riley LaShea  Stacey-Leanne  Lez Lee  Malinda Lo  Ann-Marie MacDonald  Renee MacKenzie  Prudence MacLeod  Lise MacTague  Lucy J. Madison  Rachel Maldonado  Siera Maley  Laurie J. Marks  Julie Maroh  Michelle Marra  Paula Martinac  Arkady Martine  Q.C. Masters  Andi Marquette  Pamela Mauldin  Robbi McCoy  M.K. McGowan  Gill McKnight  Ann McMan  Heather McVea  Mary Meriam  Ronni Meyrick  Martha Miller  Rogena Mitchell-Jones  K.A. Moll  Sallyanne Monti  Annette Mori  Bonnie J. Morris  Jaycie Morrison  Niamh Murphy  Charlene Neil  Natasha Ngan  Nik Nicholson  Baren Nix  Ocean  Paula Offutt Chinelo Okparanta  Chris Parsons  Angela Peach  Julie Anne Peters  B.J. Phillips  Ashley Quinn  Radclyffe  Cheryl Rainfield  Adan Ramie  Nina Revoyr  Rhavensfyre  Julia Diana Robertson  Nita Round  Morgan Routh  Joanna Russ  Laurie Salzler  Shamim Sarif  Lacey Schmidt  Sarah Schulman  Tina Sears  Cass Sellars  Merry Shannon  Fiona Shaw ** Kaden Shay  Djuna Shellam  Jen Silver  Jennis Slaughter  Adrian J. Smith  E.H. Smith  Vanessa Snyder  Alison R. Solomon  Raven J. Spencer  Ali Spooner  Rose Stone  Carren Strock  Rebecca Sullivan  Leandra Summers  Mariko Tamaki  Michelle L. Teichman  Keira Michelle Telford  Rae Theodore  M.E. Tudor  Vanda  Elle Vaughn  Missouri Vaun  Anastasia Vitsky  Tillie Walden  Sarah Waters  HollyAnne Weaver  Laney Webber  Louise Welsh  Caren J. Werlinger  K.D. Williamson  B.L. Wilson  Catherine M. Wilson  Barbara Winkes  Lee Winter  Jeanette Winterson  Chris Anne Wolfe  T.J. Wolfe  Jacqueline Woodson  Fiona Zedde  Kristen Zimmer 

* Also writes under the pen names Elora Bishop and Bridget Essex

** Not to be confused with the Irish actress of the same name

This list is subject to changes. Compiling a list of lesbian authors is a challenge because not all authors are out and my sources of information are limited. I had to rely on finding author bios, interviews, tweets, etc. in which an author mentions her sexual orientation. I also got many of these names from the Lesbian Authors Guild. 

[mautadite]

june book round up

18 books this month! this is late because i just couldn’t find the time to sit down and write it but it’s finally here! and i completed my reading challenge! whoo! mostly e-books and audiobooks once again, and also a good few arcs. (i’m still so proud to be able to say that lol.)

the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle - stuart turton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a murder mystery/thriller that takes place in the midst of a house party. kind of a groundhog day thing; the same day repeats over and over, and one of the guests wakes up in the body of a different guest EVERY day, and will do so until he solves the mystery. this was one of the cleverest books i’ve ever read, seeing everything come together was so good. but the last reveal left me kinda like... was THAT the point of all of this?? also one part of this book is grossly fatphobic.

breeze of a spring evening and other stories - yu dafu ⭐️⭐️⭐️ collection of short stories written and set in 1920s china/japan. there was a lot of examination of men’s desire towards younger women which bored me. but the writing was good, and i really enjoyed when the writer talked about being chinese and living in japan; that feeling of isolation of loss of self and country,

her lady’s honor - renee dahlia ⭐️⭐️ first arc of the month! historical f/f romance set after wwi. one character is a vet (in both senses of the word, she served as an animal doctor during the war) and the other is the daughter of the first character’s old captain. i wanted to like this a lot more than i did but the writing was dull, needed a better edit, and the structure/plot was just all over the place. the characters were fine, but not hugely compelling, and i didn’t fall in love with their romance.

his cocky cellist - cole mccade ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really good m/m romance about a cellist/masseur and a young billionaire who end up becoming entangled. fictional billionaires are the only good ones. this had really pretty prose (sometimes a liiiiiiiiiiiittle bit purple), great characters, great chemistry, and just a lovely romance overall.

his cocky valet: after story - cole mmcade ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ cute coda to the first book in the series. a HEA in a way that works for these specific characters.

night owls and summer skies - rebecca sullivan ⭐️⭐️ another arc, another book i sadly didn’t enjoy much. this is ya f/f, about a girl who is sent unwillingly to the camp that she attended in childhood. the bare bones of the writing was fine, but it tried to be a romantic comedy in ways that just didn’t work. a lot of the humour was a total miss. and the book dealt a lot with bullying, while also letting the love interest get away with some truly shitty stuff. 

arms wide open - donna jay ⭐️⭐️⭐️ contemporary f/f romance about a married couple going through some rough patches, who decide to try to spice things up by inviting a third person into their bed. it was cute, not spectacular. while i liked the characters a lot, because the book opened with them already in love (having problems, but never OUT of love) this book was missing what i love about most romances: the falling in love bit!

my heart’s in the highlands - amy hoff ⭐️⭐️⭐️ another arc and oh man this is an extremely generous rating for a book that really wasn’t that good, but hit the spot for me in specific ways. it’s historical f/f time travel romance about a woman from the 19th century who travels back to the 13th century and falls in love with a gruff highlander warrior woman. this is not very well written, has so many unexplained plot points, (how did a woman from the 19th century build a time machine? none of our damned business) didn’t seem too concerned with historical fidelity, and had some dubcon, which, bleh. but i still REALLY liked parts of this. i’m just so weak for historical f/f romance.

when all the world sleeps - j.a. rock and lisa henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️ contemporary m/m romance between a chronic sleepwalker who lives in fear of the things he does when he’s sleeping, and a cop. this was fine. sometimes sad and sweet, sometimes weird and overdone. the police character was fine most of the time, but he also reminded me of why i don’t like reading romances with cops. especially In These Times. every tiny abuse of power made me want to snap. the actually romance was good, but i’ve read better.

yellow jessamine - caitlin starling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ another arc! fantasy sort of horror with some f/f leanings. really wonderful prose, AMAZING characters, and really lush, unsettling horror. i don’t read/enjoy a lot of horror but this was great. i adore complicated women so much

where the forest meets the stars - glendy vanderah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on a genre scale i guess this is contemporary/mystery? a moving novel about a biologist (who’s a breast cancer survivor) who meets a little girl claiming to be an alien who comes from the stars. it didn’t go the way i was kind of expecting it to, and i enjoyed it. it had an m/f romance that i liked... mostly? there were some tropes i coulda done without, and it was really lazy in the way it addressed trauma.

silver ravens - jane fletcher ⭐️⭐️⭐️ yet another arc! i really enjoyed fletcher’s celaeno series so i was excited to be approved for this f/f fantasy/adventure novel. an out-of-work IT professional is swept into fairy world with fae and mystery and intrigues aplenty, and a mercenary captain she falls for. the writing was fine, but some of the world building really bugged me, and there wasn’t enough romance imo.

second nature - jae ⭐️⭐️⭐️ f/f paranormal romance about a writer who’s begun to have strange dreams about a society of animal shifters, and the liger shifter who’s been tasked with finding her, and if need be, killing her. this could have been a great book (i especially really liked the characters and how they were described, and the plot) but the writer did one of the things i really hate: giving us the pov of the villain from the very beginning, letting us know his plans, motivations, EVERYTHING. it felt like we spent the entire book waiting for the protags to catch up, and it just wasn’t entertaining.

dragonoak books 2-3 - sam farren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the last two books in the dragonoak series, an f/f high fantasy series. they were too long, the plot was shaky, and there were some irksome bits but holy crap, i loved these books so much. SO MUCH. they have some of my very favourite characters and tropes EVER. lots of queer ladies, lots of trans characters, necromancy, batles, found families, friendships, damaged characters, REALLY EXCELLENT ROMANCE.. the book had flaws aplenty but i’m ready to forgive them all. (

when i was you - minka kent ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i don’t usually read thrillers, but i decided to try this out on a whim after seeing the cover and it was... fine. it helped that i didn’t read the blurb, bc that meant i had no idea where it was going. after the first huge twist it did become kinda meh tho.

the hole -  hye-young pyun ⭐️⭐️⭐️ psychological horror about a man who survives the car cash that killed his wife. he ends up paralysed, and is living with his mother in law, and one day he looks out the window and sees her digging holes in the garden. this was an EXTREMELY slow book. it took ages for anything to really happen. there were a lot of flashbacks and internal monologuing. the absolute best part of this book came at almost the end, where there was a big sorta revelation and the writing became really crisp and cutting and just really good. it had a really fitting end.

the silvers - j.a. rock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ m/m sci-fi romance. humans are in search of water for earth, which is running out. they come across intelligent life on a new planet: a race of people called silvers. the captain of the mission and one of the silvers develop a close relationship... this was really good; i loved what it had to say about humanity and nature and the ways we can and do hurt each other. very interesting, i don’t think i’ve ever read anything like it.

and that’s it for june! i ended up reading a fair few things out of my usual comfort zone. for july, i think i’m going back to a majority romance; i’ve missed that. currently reading to have loved and lost.

[blschaos3000-blog]

Have Cheetah,Will View #360 - "Don't Open the Door"

Have Cheetah,Will View #360 – “Don’t Open the Door”

Its 8:51 pm warm

So as of late,I have been struggling to find my film vibe…I mean its here but lately I have been in the mood to read more and so I have. I currently am reading a World War Two book describing the Battle of Berlin and have found it an incredible read. But one can’t live reading war histories only and so when I was offered a chance to do a rare book review by J. A. Sullivan who a…

[scifiandscary]

The Crows by J.A. Sullivan #Fiction

Today Sci-Fi and Scary Presents: The Crows by J.A. Sullivan #Fiction

This Sunday we’re proud to present a short story from J.A. Sullivan! We want to thank authors for sharing their fiction with us to help take our minds off the current situation.

*Note: The Crow’s originally was published on The Bold Mom’s site. It was posted for the 2018 October Terror Short Story Contest

The Crows

I need to leave before the world wakes. The mid-summer sun is nearly up.…

[justapillowpetpanda]

5 Horror Films to See at Fantasia Festival 2024

The 28th Fantasia Festival is bringing audiences new and unique voices in horror. While the content is overflowing with talent, five titles have caught my attention more than the others. Dystopian nightmares, morbid thrillers, and much more have made my list for this year's festival. The festival runs from July 18 through August 4, 2024, in Montreal, Canada. It will be returning to the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screens and events at Montréal’s Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée, Théâtre Plaza, and BBAM! Gallery. The festival website is now live with over 125 features and 200+ shorts available to be explored. Tickets are also available for pre-order.

5 Horror Film Picks from Fantasia Festival 2024

Azrael Azrael - Directed by E.L. Katz It’s the post-apocalypse and after escaping captivity from a cult of mute religious fanatics, losing their ability to speak in the process, Azrael (Samara Weaving, READY OR NOT) and her partner Kenan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, FEMME) are traversing the treacherous forest in an attempt to evade their captors and keep their freedom. However, after falling back into the clutches of evil, Azreal learns that she will be sacrificed to appease an ancient evil that lurks within the shadows of the trees. Not willing to become demon food for a cult that has only caused her harm, Azrael must fight tooth and nail to secure her and Kenan’s freedom Note from Britt: I'm beyond excited to see Weaving in another horror film, she's a fantastic addition to any film of this genre she's in. Combining a likely fantastic performance with some ancient evils, this is bound to be a hit.

Shelby Oaks Shelby Oaks - Directed by Chris Stuckmann Who took Riley Brennan? That's the question asked by millions of devoted, even obsessed fans of the popular YouTube series Paranormal Paranoids, which ceased production when Brennan and her three co-hosts disappeared near the deserted town of Shelby Oaks, Ohio in 2008. Conspiracy theories have run rampant over the years, but none are more determined to get to the truth than Riley's sister, Mia (Camille Sullivan), who has finally agreed to telling Riley's story to a documentary film crew (Emily Bennett and Rob Grant) in the hopes of finding closure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNLrvuWhFKQ Closure, however, refuses to be found as a series of shocking events opens the door to a deeper mystery surrounding Riley, one that leads Mia to follow her ghost-hunting sister's footsteps down a path to confront demons of the past and get answers that can only be found somewhere within the darkness of Shelby Oaks. Note from Britt: This is a unique and exciting experience to see someone have for their indie horror film, especially with support from someone like Mike Flanagan! I love a mysterious set of events and creepy surroundings, sign me up for conspiracy theories galore in this documentary-style horror film.

PÁRVULOS - Directed by Isaac Ezban  Award-winning Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban (THE INCIDENT, THE SIMILARS, PARALLEL, EVIL EYES) returns with his fifth and most personal feature, a nightmarish vision that he’s spent the last seven years bringing into light. The film is a dystopian coming-of-age horror story, set in a near future after a grim viral calamity, that begins with three young brothers living alone in a remote cabin. Hidden in their basement is a terrifying secret that they’ve adapted to... and have been living with for some time. Where it goes from there will pull the breath from your lungs, as the children’s hermetically sealed world is forcefully expanded—and invaded—by monstrous elements that are gut-wrenchingly beyond their control. What can they do to protect each other? Can this family save itself in a world they no longer recognize? Note from Britt: Dystopian settings and horror often come hand-in-hand. Having siblings experience a horrific world and unknown future is thrilling and gut-wrenching to say the least. I'm hopeful for this film to display some heartfelt and deeply unsettling performances.

Hell Hole Hell Hole - Directed by Toby Poser & John Adams Far away, in the desolate Serbian wilderness, a U.S.-led fracking crew uncover a dormant monster gestating inside a centuries-old French soldier. Now awakened and exposed in its most dangerously fragile state, it tears through the men on the grounds in search of a new womb. The screening will be preceded by the World Premiere of the Adams family’s chilling new short, PLASTIC SMILE, produced as part of the new Screambox Original series: TALES FROM THE VOID, a horror anthology based on the most viral and haunting stories from r/NoSleep. Note from Britt: Old monsters in the Serbian wilderness??? YES, PLEASE.

The Soul Eater - Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo A pair of quite different investigators arrive in Roquenoir, a town in the French mountains, and wind up approaching the same case from two different directions. Commander Elisabeth Guardiano (Virginie Ledoyen, 8 FEMMES) has been sent to look into a married couple’s grisly murder, and Captain of the Gendarmerie Franck De Rolan (Paul Hamy, DESPITE THE NIGHT), from the “department of alarming disappearances,” intends to track down a group of missing children. https://vimeo.com/974219281 Their missions turn out to be linked, and one of the elements tying them together is “The Soul Eater,” a local bogeyman legend intended to encourage kids not to wander off into the woods. This creature may not be a myth after all, and as strange details about that double killing come to light and more bizarre deaths occur, Guardiano and De Rolan are drawn toward discovering a shocking truth. Note from Britt: French horror is hitting it out of the park this year. I'm beyond intrigued by the premise of The Soul Eater, both the investigation portion and the supernatural. Read the full article

[scienceblogtumbler]

Advances in Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the broad range of neurodevelopmental and physical effects that result from prenatal exposure to alcohol. People with FASD may have facial abnormalities and growth impairments, but the most profound effects are cognitive and behavioral deficits. These deficits can contribute to lifelong learning disabilities, poor social skills, and other problems that impact daily functioning (e.g., living independently or holding a job), as well as overall health and well-being. A significant public health problem, FASD affect an estimated 1 to 5 percent of first-grade children in the United States, according to a 2018 study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) that was conducted by the Collaboration on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevalence (CoFASP) and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Research on FASD is a priority for NIAAA, and for many years we’ve supported studies to understand how alcohol disrupts prenatal development and how FASD can be prevented, diagnosed, and treated,” says NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D. “Basic, translational, and clinical research are providing valuable insight into the mechanisms that underlie the learning deficits and health problems associated with FASD, thereby shedding light on potential intervention strategies.”

For example, in a recent study led by Wolfram Goessling, M.D., Ph.D., and Olivia Weeks at Harvard Medical School, researchers reported a connection between prenatal alcohol exposure and metabolic disorders in adults. Their analyses of a patient database at a large academic health system found that adults with FASD had an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, lower HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels, and elevated triglyceride levels compared to those without FASD. Low HDL cholesterol and elevated triglyceride levels are associated with increased risks of stroke and heart attack.

The researchers also investigated the relationships between metabolic dysfunction and prenatal alcohol exposure using a zebrafish model of FASD. When they examined alcohol-exposed zebrafish at adulthood, they found that a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet resulted in obesity and high glucose levels in male but not female zebrafish. High blood glucose is an indicator of diabetes in humans. The researchers also found an association between increased abdominal fat and abnormal liver development in the adult alcohol-exposed zebrafish, suggesting that the molecular mechanism for such alcohol-related pathology is a highly conserved in zebrafish and an evolutionarily basic component of physiology.

Given that alcohol is frequently used with other substances, NIAAA-supported scientists are investigating the combined effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and substances such as tobacco. As part of the multisite Prenatal Alcohol in SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network, investigators from the United States and South Africa recently reported that children born to mothers who both drank and smoked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy have a twelvefold increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)—the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year—compared to those who were unexposed or only exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy. Dual exposure to alcohol and tobacco was associated with substantially higher risk than exposure to either substance alone, suggesting that combined exposures to alcohol and tobacco have a synergistic effect on SIDS risk.

In another recent NIAAA-supported study, Kazue Hashimoto-Torii, Ph.D., of the Children’s National Research Institute in Washington, D.C., and colleagues investigated the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the motor deficits associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Previously, the researchers showed that prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with differences in expression of nearly 100 genes. More recently, they focused on the increased expression of a gene, known as Kcnn2, which encodes a protein involved in regulating neuron activity in brain systems associated with learning1 in the motor area of the cerebral cortex in a mouse model of FASD. The researchers demonstrated that increased Kcnn2 expression correlated with deficits in motor skill learning caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. They also observed improvements in these learning deficits when a drug was administered to inhibit activity of Kcnn2, suggesting that Kcnn2 inhibitors may be a potential pharmacological intervention for certain learning disabilities in FASD.

NIAAA-supported clinical research is also focused on developing interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and colleagues have been investigating whether supplementing the diet with choline during early childhood brain development could improve memory and executive function in children with FASD. Choline is an essential nutrient with a key role in myelination2 and is known to impact brain development and cognition. In a previous study led by Jeffrey Wozniak, Ph.D., the researchers showed that choline supplementation is feasible and tolerable with minimal side effects among 2- to 5-year-old children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol. In their recently published, 4-year follow-up study on the choline recipients, researchers report that children who received choline had better nonverbal intelligence, visual-spatial skills, and working and verbal memory, as well as fewer symptoms of negative behavior compared to the children who did not receive choline. It is important to note that these effects were evident years after choline administration had ended, suggesting that developmental trajectories had been altered.

“Prenatal alcohol exposure contributes to an array of lifelong physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems,” says Dr. Koob. “These detrimental effects highlight the need for strategies to improve FASD prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. NIAAA’s recent efforts towards the development of a consensus FASD overarching research classification system could accelerate progress in these areas.”

For more information, see “Consensus Meeting on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Research Classification” and “Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders” in the Fall 2020 issue of NIAAA Spectrum.

1Kccn2 stands for potassium intermediate/small conductance calcium-activated channel, subfamily N, member 2, and is a gene that encodes a protein channel involved in regulating neuronal excitability in brain systems associated with learning.

2Myelination is the formation of an insulating layer or sheath around neurons that allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently.

References: May, P.A.; Chambers, C.D.; Kalberg, W.O.; Zellner, J.; Feldman, H.; Buckley, D.; Kopald, D.; Hasken, J.M.; Xu, R.; Honerkamp-Smith, G.; Taras, H.; Manning, M.A.; Robinson, L.K.; Adam, M.P.; Abdul-Rahman, O.; Vaux, K.; Jewett, T.; Elliott, A.J.; Kable, J.A.; Akshoomoff, N.; Falk, D.; Arroyo, J.A.; Hereld, D.; Riley, E.P.; Charness, M.E.; Coles, C.D.; Warren, K.R.; Jones, K.L.; and Hoyme, H.E. Prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in 4 US communities. JAMA 319(5):474–482, 2018. PMID: 29411031

Weeks, O.; Bossé, G.D.; Oderberg, I.M.; Akle, S.; Houvras, Y.; Wrighton, P.; LaBella, K.; Iversen, I.; Tavakoli, S.; Adatto, I.; Schwartz, A.; Kloosterman, D.; Tsomides, A.; Charness, M.E.; Peterson, R.T.; Steinhauser, M.L.; Fazeli, P.K.; and Goessling, W. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Predisposes to Metabolic Abnormalities in Adulthood. Journal of Clinical Investigation 130(5): 2252–2269, 2020. PMID: 32202514

Mohammad, S.; Page, S.J.; Wang, L.; Ishii, S.; Li, P.; Sasaki, T.; Basha, A.; Salzberg, A.; Quezado, Z.; Imamura, F.; Nishi, H.; Isaka, K.; Corbin, J.G.; Liu, J.S.; Imamura Kawasawa, Y.; Torii, M.; and Hashimoto-Torii, K. Kcnn2 Blockade Reverses Learning Deficits in a Mouse Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Nature Neuroscience 23(4): 533–543, 2020. PMID: 32203497

Wozniak, J.R.; Fink, B.A.; Fuglestad, A.J.; Eckerle, J.K.; Boys, C.J.; Sandness, K.E.; Radke, J.P.; Miller, N.C.; Lindgren, C.; Brearley, A.M.; Zeisel, S.H.; and Georgieff, M.K. Four-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of choline for neurodevelopment in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders 12(1):9, 2020. PMID: 32164522

Elliott, A.J.; Kinney, H.C.; Haynes, R.L.; Dempers, J.D.; Wright, C.; Fifer, W.P.; Angal, J.; Boyd, T.K.; Burd, L.; Burger, E.; Folkerth, R.D.; Groenewald, C.; Hankins, G.; Hereld, D.; Hoffman, H.J.; Holm, I.A.; Myers, M.M.; Nelsen, L.L.; Odendaal, H.J.; Petersen, J.; Randall, B.B.; Roberts, D.J.; Robinson, F.; Schubert, P.; Sens, M.A.; Sullivan, L.M.; Tripp, T.; Van Eerden, P.; Wadee, S.; Willinger, M.; Zaharie, D.; and Dukes, K.A.. Concurrent prenatal drinking and smoking increases risk for SIDS: Safe passage study report. EclinicalMedicine 19:100247. PMID: 32140668

This article first appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of NIAAA Spectrum.

source https://niaaa.scienceblog.com/334/advances-in-research-on-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders/

[newyorktheater]

Below is the list of nominations announced tonight for the 15th annual New York Innovative Theater Awards, which celebrates the best of the city’s independent theater — aka Off-Off Broadway. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on September 16th, 2019. This year’s nominees include 147 individual artists and 64 productions presented by 73 theater companies!

Entangled by The Amoralists

In The Bleak Midwinter by Stuffed Olive

Queen by Astoria Performing Arts Center

Truth/Dare by Project Y

#YourMemorial by Pigeonholed

Red Emm and the Mad Monk by The Tank

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Alex & Eugene Isle of Shoals Productions, Inc. Aja Downing, Reggie Herold, Katherine Leidlein, Joseph M. Mace, Rori Nogee, Noah Pyzik, Jae Shin, Anna Stefanic, Brittany Zeinstra

Hamlet (What Dreams May Come) Ript Theater Company in association with The Secret Theatre Lindsay Alexandra Carter, Ade Otukoya, Chauncy Thomas, Nathan Winkelstein

The Maids The Seeing Place Theater Erin Cronican, Christine Redhead, Gaia Visnar

Plan G Randomly Specific Theatre Allan Hayhurst, Lauren LeBeouf, Tiffany May McRae, Sarah Misch, Larry Phillips, Forrest Weber

Spring Awakening Gallery Players Taylor Bloom, Aaron Braden, Harrison Bryan, Jacob Anthony Cain, Brendan Charles, Osborn Focht, Nick Godfrey, Gaby Greenwald, Nathaniel Gregory, Mikaela Kafka, Raquel Kahn, Isabella King, Thomas Kuklenski, Nicole Lopez, Gaby Mank, Tyler Moscaritola, Mariela Flor Olivo, Amanda Starr

Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums Of Love) Wise Fish Theater Collective in association with Martina Bonolis & Meghan Ginley Zach Gamble, Meghan Ginley, Robin Johnson, Kent Koren, Franco Pedicini, Isabel Shill, Stephen Zuccaro

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Amie Cazel Pregnant Pause Good Pilgrim

Kim Katzberg Dad in a Box Eat a Radish Productions

Larry Phillips The Art of Acting: A Master Class with Fozzie Bear Larry Phillips

Laura Sisskin Fernandez You Hold a Pole Everday Playful Substance

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE

Bruce Barton Hamlet Hudson Warehouse in association with Susane Lee

Daniel Burns She Calls Me Firefly Parity Productions in association with New Perspectives Theatre Company

Connor Chaney The Harrowing of Hell American Theatre of Actors in association with Collectio Musicorum, Inc.

Desmond Dutcher Mary, Mary Retro Productions

David Leeper Stupid Fucking Bird Stripped Scripts

Jacob Lewis Lovendahl Experimenting with Katz New Ambassadors Theatre Company in association with Julia Botero

Federico Mallet Eight Tales of Pedro The Secret Theatre

Scott McCord The Head Hunter One Shot Deal

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE

Maybe Burke Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Adiagha Faizah You Wouldn’t Expect American Bard Theater Company

Melissa Glasgow A Chorus Line Gallery Players

Meghan E. Jones Mary, Mary Retro Productions

Meredith M. Sweeney Catch the Sparrow Isle of Shoals Productions, Inc.

Jo Vetter The Poor of New York Metropolitan Playhouse

Yokko Shinka Ren Gyo Soh

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

Adam Belvo The Brutes spit&vigor in association with Jay Michaels Arts & Entertainment

Harrison Bryan Spring Awakening Gallery Players

Braeson Herold Worse Than Tigers The Mill in association with New Ohio Theatre

Milo Longenecker The Fantastical Dangerous Journey of Q Rebel Playhouse in association with 14th Street Y

Vinnie Penna Twelfth Night Boomerang Theatre Company

Olivier Renaud Stupid Fucking Bird Stripped Scripts

Evan Teich Assassins The Secret Theatre

Ronnie Williams Man Frog and Other People Necessary I. T. E. M. S. Project

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

Heather E. Cunningham Mary, Mary Retro Productions

Naomi Lorrain Entangled The Amoralists

Lori Elizabeth Parquet Operating Systems Flux Theatre Ensemble

Mahima Saigal Queen Astoria Performing Arts Center

Lisa Strum whatdoesfreemean? Nora’s Playhouse in association with The Tank

Shannon Marie Sullivan Worse Than Tigers The Mill in association with New Ohio Theatre

Gaia Visnar The Maids The Seeing Place Theater

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY/MOVEMENT

Shiloh Goodin Spring Awakening Gallery Players

Eddie Gutierrez A Chorus Line Gallery Players

Alex Johnson Alex & Eugene Isle of Shoals Productions, Inc.

Joey McKneely Shadows, a dance musical Go Joe Enterprises

Shoko Tamal The Tempest The Secret Theatre

Yoshiko Usami Shinka Ren Gyo Soh

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Adam Knight Stupid Fucking Bird Stripped Scripts

Katie Lindsay Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Lauren A Shields Assassins The Secret Theatre

Sara Thigpen Twelfth Night Boomerang Theatre Company

Owen Thompson The Tempest The Secret Theatre

Yoshiko Usami Shinka Ren Gyo Soh

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

Annie Garrett-Larsen And Then There Were None The Secret Theatre

Asa Lipton Alex & Eugene Isle of Shoals Productions, Inc.

Anthony Logan Cole The Tempest The Secret Theatre

Kia Rogers Operating Systems Flux Theatre Ensemble

Kia Rogers Real Rodrigo Nogueira in association with The Tank

Cha See Honors Students Tavine Productions

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Michelle Beshaw Duke Oldřich & Washerwoman Božena, the True Story GOH Productions in association with Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre

Sarah Marie Dixey Hamlet (What Dreams May Come) Ript Theater Company in association with The Secret Theatre

Julia Kulaya Experimenting with Katz New Ambassadors Theatre Company in association with Julia Botero

Marissa L. Menezes Once Upon a Mattress Gallery Players

Ben Philipp Mary, Mary Retro Productions

Yunzhu Zeng Where Is My Maple Town MapleTown Production Company

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

Matt Carlin Worse Than Tigers The Mill in association with New Ohio Theatre

Jack Cunningham & Rebecca Cunningham Mary, Mary Retro Productions

Gabriel Firestone Whirlwind Jordan’s Play Lab in association with Rebecca Crigler & Barn Owl, LLC

Lily Guerin The Year of the Solar Eclipse Kyoko & Ezra

Daniel Hogan Friendly’s Fire The Rising Sun Performance Company in association with the Theatre at the 14th Street Y

Matthew D. McCarren Goodbody The Crook Theater Company

Tim McMath Cannibal Galaxy: a love story Between Two Boroughs Productions

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN

Beata Bocek Duke Oldřich & Washerwoman Božena, the True Story GOH Productions in association with Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre

Margaret Montagna Queen Astoria Performing Arts Center

John Salutz Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Aj Surasky Worse Than Tigers The Mill in association with New Ohio Theatre

Jeanne Travis Honors Students Tavine Productions

Fan Zhang Cannibal Galaxy: a love story Between Two Boroughs Productions

OUTSTANDING INNOVATIVE DESIGN

Hao Bai, Eric Marciano & Ildiko Nemeth – for Projection Design Electronic City, The New Stage Theatre Comapny

Yana Birykova – for Projection Design Cannibal Galaxy: a love story, Between Two Boroughs Productions

Magnus Pind Bjerre – for Video Design The Neurology of the Soul, Untitled Theater Co. No. 61

Raquel Cion, Maia Cruz Palileo, & Kim Katzberg for Video Design Dad in a Box, Eat a Radish Productions

Sarah George & Sonya Plenefisch – for Properties Design Whirlwind Jordan’s Play Lab in association with Rebecca Crigler & Barn Owl, LLC

John J.A. Jannone – for Video Design The Female Role Model Project, Transforma Theatre, Inc.

Keo X-Men – for Graffiti Design This Is Modern Art, Blessed Unrest

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC

Karen Bishko, Maxim Moston, & Edison Woods Shadows, a dance musical Go Joe Enterprises

Beata Bocek Duke Oldřich & Washerwoman Božena, the True Story GOH Productions in association with Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre

Luis D’Elias Eight Tales of Pedro The Secret Theatre

Joe Jung A Midsummer Nights Dream Smith Street Stage

Teresa Lotz Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Francesco Santalucia MacBeth First Maria Ensemble

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SHORT SCRIPT

Eliza Bent The Beyoncé Adjusted Realists

Kathleen Jones Pregnant Pause Good Pilgrim

Kim Katzberg Dad in a Box Eat a Radish Productions

Teresa Lotz She Calls Me Firefly Parity Productions in association with New Perspectives Theatre Company

Larry Phillips The Art of Acting: A Master Class with Fozzie Bear Larry Phillips

Carrie Robbins The Dragon Griswynd Days of the Giants LLC

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL FULL-LENGTH SCRIPT

Emily J Daly #yourmemorial Pigeonholed

Gabriel Jason Dean Entangled The Amoralists

Tori Keenan-Zelt Truth/Dare Project Y Theatre Company

Dorothy Lyman In The Bleak Midwinter Stuffed Olive, Inc. in association with Allison Threadgold & Tana Sirois

Alexis Roblan Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Madhuri Shekar Queen Astoria Performing Arts Center

Charly Evon Simpson Entangled The Amoralists

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ART PRODUCTION

The 11th Dimension ETdC Projects’ Lab in association with Roi Escudero & Valentin Ewan

Arkham Part of the 10th Annual H.P.Lovecraft Festival Radiotheatre in association with Theatre At St.John’s

Befuddled 101 Amnesia Wars Productions

Electronic City The New Stage Theatre Company

The Harrowing of Hell American Theatre of Actors in association with Collectio Musicorum, Inc.

now my hand is ready for my heart: intimate histories LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club In Association with Mount Tremper Arts

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Assassins The Secret Theatre

Caroline, or Change Astoria Performing Arts Center

A Chorus Line Gallery Players

Into The Woods Theater 2020

Red Emma and the Mad Monk The Tank & Emma Orme

Spring Awakening Gallery Players

OUTSTANDING PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

36 Juniper Wrong House Productions

In The Bleak Midwinter Stuffed Olive, Inc. in association with Allison Threadgold & Tana Sirois

Queen Astoria Performing Arts Center

Shinka Ren Gyo Soh

Whirlwind Jordan’s Play Lab in association with Rebecca Crigler & Barn Owl, LLC

Worse Than Tigers The Mill in association with New Ohio Theatre

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

And Then There Were None The Secret Theatre

Hamlet (What Dreams May Come) Ript Theater Company in association with The Secret Theatre

The Maids The Seeing Place Theater

Mary, Mary Retro Productions

Stupid Fucking Bird Stripped Scripts

The Tempest The Secret Theatre

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City’s Off-Off-Broadway,

NYIT Award Nominations 2019: Off-Off Broadway’s Finest Below is the list of nominations announced tonight for the 15th annual New York Innovative Theater Awards, which celebrates the best of the city’s independent theater — aka Off-Off Broadway.

[essaywriting011-blog]

BUS703, Task 2 – Literature Review

New Post has been published on https://essays-writing.us/bus703-task-2-literature-review/

BUS703, Task 2 – Literature Review

  Research proposal on either of the 2 scenarios

1. Tyre Retailer

A well-known Australian tyre retailer, with a 25 per cent market share in the Australian market

found their market share declining steadily year by year. Despite selling trusted, well-known brands

like Dunlop and Good Year they are steadily losing their customers. When a new CEO joined the

company, she decided to do a walk through and visit to 20 of their key retail stores, visiting both

stores located in regional areas and in cities. She made a few key observations, firstly the stores had

very high counters, where store managers hid behind and only some customers, like tall men, could

comfortably stand there and talk to the staff in the stores, yet half of their cash customers were

women. The stores required customers to stand and the magazines on the counter were trucking

and car magazines. Most women who entered the stores were quite uncomfortable and often tried

to leave as soon as they could. The new CEO got the impression from her store visits that the retail

environment was unwelcoming for their customers, however as there were more than 700 stores,

she decided more research was needed.

Human Resources

An aged care facility has called in your help. They are finding that many of their employees who work

with elderly patients and residents like nurses and age care workers are frequently off sick. The

medical certificates they are receiving often state burnout, fatigue, or work-related stress as a

reason for these absences. The CEO of the aged-care facility has recently attended a conference on

employee well-being in the health service sector and found the keynote speaker’s speech very

insightful. By attending the conference, she now realises that the working conditions within the

aged-care facility is emotionally and physically draining and have limited programs in place to

address the issue. In addition, there is pressure on employees to view residents, more like

customers, than patients, staff are often expected to learn new IT (information technology) systems

or have to learn how to handle new technical equipment. She realises that all these pressures have

an impact on the burnout staff are experiencing. She wants to find out more about this in her own

organisation, the health sector and how to address this and have called you in to do a three-month

research project but is somewhat lost of where to start.

BUS703, Task 2 – Literature Review

  This document will help you with the literature review section you need to develop for your research proposal for Task 2. You need to choose one scenario and develop a research proposal for that scenario, please make this choice based on interest.

The literature review in Task 2 should contain at least 10 credible sources. This document will help you by providing 3 per scenario as a starting point. Please search the USC Library to find these articles.

Tyre Retailer: Store Attractiveness

  Relevant research articles

·         Kaltcheva, V.D. and Weitz, B.A., 2006. When should a retailer create an exciting store environment? Journal of marketing, 70(1), pp.107-118.

·         Burke, R.R., 2002. Technology and the customer interface: what consumers want in the physical and virtual store. Journal of the academy of Marketing Science, 30(4), pp.411-432.

·         Park, H.H., Jeon, J.O. and Sullivan, P., 2015. How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention? The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 25(1), pp.87-104.

  Keywords: Store environment, consumer preferences

    Human Resources – Burnout based on Job-Demands-Resources Model

Relevant research articles:

·         Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker, A.B. (2004). Job demands, job resources and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 293—315.

·         Edwards, J.A. & Webster, S. (2012). Psychosocial risk assessment: measurement invariance of the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards Indicator. Work & Stress, 26, 130—142.

·         Kubicek, B., Paškvan, M. and Korunka, C., 2015. Development and validation of an instrument for assessing job demands arising from accelerated change: The intensification of job demands scale (IDS). European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(6), pp.898-913.

  Keywords: Emotional labour, Personality of service staff, Burn out

[queenofallshereads]

About the book:

Sully Must Get Her Childhood Friend Off the Naughty List Before They’re Both Scrooged.

When Edwina “Sully” Sullivan’s life imploded, she left behind her job on the police force and her unfaithful husband to start a new life as the general manager of her hometown theater, the Cliffside Theater Company.

For five years, she focused on budgets instead of crime and kept the Cliffside running alongside its mercurial artistic director. But when her childhood friend is suspected of killing his father, no one is looking for another culprit. So, in between keeping A Christmas Carol on budget and Scrooge sober, Sully dusts off her investigative skills to find a murderer. Her two lives collide when her ex-husband arrives on the scene to play lawyer and she’s forced to confront her past in order to save her present.