#L.B. Anne

[n0cturnel]

The girl who looked beyond the stars by L.B. Anne

Opinions:

A very mysterious book which can make you feel uneasy if you read it at night for too long lol. It’s about a girl named Sheena and her friends, Chana, Teddy and Ariel. Some kids from Michigan. Sheena ends up seeing things, and begins speaking to an old man called Mr. Tobias who helps her figure out who she is as a “gleamer”.

The story continues in the next book, which I will have to buy at some point but for now I adore the characters and it’s a great book when you’re feeling young and wanting to adventure with Sheena. It also touches on some topics such as anxiety attacks and stressful situations. As well as an almost kidnapping type scene, when a guy was chasing them in their car. Not many things which I can say are bad about this book.

Overall great reading experience, definitely about an 7/10, due to not reading the second book yet and it can be a bit uneven in some chapters.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in July 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy July! Pride Month may be over, but remember: Read Queer ALL Year. Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Earth to Alis - Lex Carlow 🧡 Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts - Adam Sass 💛 The Sky on Fire - Jenn Lyons 💚 The Meaning of Liberty - Sage Donnell 💙 Making It - Laura Kay 💜 The Black Bird of Chernobyl - Ann McMan ❤️ A Map of My Want - Faylita Hicks 🧡 The Devil You Know - Ali Vali 💛 The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power - Various 💙 The Second Son - Adrienne Tooley 💜 Cursed Under London - Gabby Hutchinson Crouch 🌈 Forbidden Girl - Kristen Zimmer

❤️ Rise - Freya Finch 🧡 Undercurrent - Patricia Evans 💛 Online Rebellion - Blue Matt Jeff 💚 Wolf Gift - T.J. Nichols 💙 Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream - Tehlor Kay Mejia 💜 Miller: Origin - Starr Z. Davies ❤️ The Shadows Beyond - T.J. Rose 🧡 The Ones Who Come Back Hungry - Amelinda Bérubé 💛 Their Viscountess - Jess Michaels 💙 Fast Holiday - Kerry Lockhart 💜 The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky - Josh Galarza 🌈 The West Passage - Jared Pechaček

❤️ The Hades Calculus - Maria Ying 🧡 Misrecognition - Madison Newbound 💛 One Last Summer - Kristin Keppler 💚 Waypoint Seven - Xan van Rooyen 💙 Hiding Him - Adam Hattan 💜 Thousand Autumns - Meng Xi Shi, Me.Mimo ❤️ The Adventure Zone, Vol. 6: The Suffering Game - Various 🧡 Rowan & Aldred - Lucie Fleury 💛 Yoke of Stars - R.B. Lemberg 💙 Casting Vows - Ariella Talix 💜 Count Felford's Vessel - S. Rodman

❤️ The Actor and His Secret - Ben Alderson, Laura R. Samotin 🧡 How To Die Famous - Benjamin Dean 💛 So Witches We Became - Jill Baguchinsky 💚 The Amazing Alpha Tau Romeo and Juliet Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 💙 The Noble’s Merman - S.S. Genesee 💜 The Loudest Silence - Sydney Langford ❤️ Life is Strange - Brittney Morris 🧡 Bury Your Gays - Chuck Tingle 💛 I Will Never Leave You - Kara A. Kennedy 💙 The Blonde Dies First - Joelle Wellington 💜 Under the Lupine Moon - A. Knightley

❤️ Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf - Deke Moulton 🧡 Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher - Katie Siegel 💛 The Ghostkeeper - Johanna Taylor 💚 Trespass Against Us - Leon Kemp 💙 Exes & Foes - Amanda Woody 💜 The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl - Bart Yates ❤️ Unbound - J.A. Vodvarka 🧡 StreamLine - Lauren Melissa Ellzey 💛 Time and Time Again - Chatham Greenfield 💙 No Road Home - John Fram 💜 Queen B - Juno Dawson 🌈 A Darker Mischief - Derek Milman

❤️ Beautiful & Terrible Things - S.M. Stevens 🧡 Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time - Elle Beaumont, Lou Wilham 💛 About Last Night - Laura Henry 💚 You Had Me at Happy Hour - Timothy Janovsky 💙 Moonbane - Jamie Jennings 💜 Between Fate & Failure - Amber D. Lewis ❤️ Blessed by the Cupid Distribution System - Robin Jo Margaret 🧡 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💛 Twisted Magic - Barbara J. Webb 💙 Rare Birds - L.B. Hazelthorn 💜 At the End of the River Styx - Michelle Kulwicki 🌈 Origin Story - Jendi Reiter

❤️ Eras of Us - Shannon O'Connor 🧡 Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema - Willow Maclay, Caden Gardner 💛 A Wolf in Stone - Jane Fletcher 💚 Toward Eternity - Anton Hur 💙 Portrait of a Shadow - Meriam Metoui 💜 Anyone's Ghost - August Thompson ❤️ Home Ice Advantage - Ari Baran 🧡 Unbelievable You - Chelsea M. Cameron 💛 Incorrect Eyes - Andromeda Ruins

[ask-sebastian]

I have a letter for Anne, but I can't get it to her. Do you think you can? It is of the utmost importance!

Dear Anne Sallow,

I recently went through my parents library, and found a book on curses and cures. So, I went through it to see if I could find a curse that sounded very similar to what you have. I may have found a cure, but I'm not sure so please get back to me with news of if it worked.

Sincerely, L.B.

*sets letter on Ominis' table*

[thematicparallel]

REREAD UNTIL SOC CH.16!!! thoughts!!!!!!!!

once again complaining about shadow and bone tv precisely because it's not about six of crows instead. point 1, i think it was wasted opportunity that we barely saw kaz's sleight of hand & lockpick talents

thinking about them planning the ice court heist, kaz saying "this can be done and we're the ones to do it" oh the blacksailsism of it all!! and who's more powerful? the one who made the storm or the one who convinced us into battle to defeat it?

if i loved Inej less, then i might be able to talk about it more

if i loved Inej more, then i might also be able to carve a man's eye out of its socket as easy as shucking an oyster

the way Inej has no Dregs tattoo because Kaz didn't want to be the one to mark her again after her time at the Menagerie & both of them knowing, feeling her impermanence with the Dregs no matter how irreplaceable she is.. also thinking about Suli paths & how they travel a lot, which would parallel Inej's desire to captain a pirate ship & Kaz making it true...... god!!

will never forgive L.B. for trying to redeem Matthias, trying to make the readers sympathize with a bigoted piece of shit he says to nina "i saved your life and you accused me of being a slaver" BITCH YOU WERE A LITERAL SLAVER & WORSE...... glad he'll die later

black sails parallels that live in my head: inej = anne (choosing freedom by way of high seas piracy). kaz = max (embodying the place they chose to haunt)

[ulkaralakbarova]

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life’s pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being “renewed” in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Logan: Michael York Francis: Richard Jordan Jessica: Jenny Agutter Box: Roscoe Lee Browne Holly: Farrah Fawcett Doc: Michael Anderson Jr. Old Man: Peter Ustinov 2nd Sanctuary Man: Randolph Roberts The Woman Runner: Lara Lindsay Billy: Gary Morgan Mary 2: Michelle Stacy Woman Customer: Laura Hippe Sandman: David Westberg Sanctuary Woman: Camilla Carr Cub: Greg Lewis Timid Girl: Ashley Cox Sandman: Bill Couch Runner: Glenn R. Wilder Last Day Character (uncredited): Joe L. Blevins Sandman Daniel (uncredited): Roger Borden Sand Man (uncredited): Greg Bransom City Dweller (uncredited): Paula Crist The City Computer (uncredited): Virginia Ann Ford Cub (uncredited): Chuck Gaylord Cub (uncredited): Mitch Gaylord (uncredited): Johnny Haymer Confused City Dweller (uncredited): Jessie Kirby 3rd Sanctuary Man / Ambush Man (uncredited): Greg Michaels 1st Sanctuary Man (uncredited): Bob Neill Love Shop Woman with Toy (uncredited): Renie Radich 1st Screamer in Logan’s Apartment (uncredited): Candice Rialson Screamer Party Woman (uncredited): Cheryl Smith Runner Great Hall (uncredited): Ron D. Thornton Film Crew: Director: Michael Anderson Novel: William F. Nolan Novel: George Clayton Johnson Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman Producer: Saul David Original Music Composer: Jerry Goldsmith Director of Photography: Ernest Laszlo Editor: Bob Wyman Production Design: Dale Hennesy Costume Design: Bill Thomas Associate Producer: Hugh Benson Makeup Artist: William Tuttle Hairstylist: Judith A. Cory Unit Production Manager: Byron Roberts Stunt Coordinator: Glenn R. Wilder Casting: Jack Baur Set Decoration: Robert De Vestel Property Master: Jack M. Marino Sound Editor: John Riordan Visual Effects Designer: L.B. Abbott Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski Music Editor: William Saracino Dialect Coach: Leon Charles Script Supervisor: Ray Quiroz Choreographer: Stefan Wenta Second Assistant Director: Alan Brimfeld Second Assistant Director: Win Phelps Assistant Director: David Silver Stunt Coordinator: Bill Couch Key Grip: Martin Kashuk Electrician: Don Stott Associate Editor: Freeman A. Davies Assistant Editor: Chuck Ellison Unit Publicist: Don Morgan Stunts: Dick Ziker Stunts: Jeannie Epper Stunts: Loren Janes Stunts: Beth Nufer Stunts: Alex Plasschaert Stunts: Regina Parton Stunts: Lori Thomas Stunts: Mike Washlake Stunts: Russell Saunders Stunts: Barbara Graham Stunts: Tommy J. Huff Stunts: Sunny Woods Stunts: Paula Dell Stunts: Chuck Gaylord Stunts: Mitch Gaylord Stunts: Rosemary Johnston Stunts: Whitey Hughes Stunts: ‘Wild’ Bill Mock Stunts: Gary Morgan Stunts: Dar Robinson Stunts: Walter Robles Stunts: Angelo De Meo Stunts: Paula Crist Stunts: Dottie Catching Stunts: Bill Couch Jr. Stunts: Gregory J. Barnett Stunts: Craig R. Baxley Stunts: Phil Adams Stunts: Denny Arnold Stunts: May Boss Special Effects: Glen Robinson Movie Reviews: Richard: It’s a ‘Future Vision’ type of movie, plus a bit of an adventure into the unknown. At least for the two “Runners’ who have escaped out of their bubble world. It is fraught with twists and turns in a post Peak-Oil world, where society has finally found a solution to the resources of the planet. The ‘chosen’ few, however have one little catch, their lives have a unique way of ending, until these two discover a new way, and a Lie that was being told to all of the citizens. (Warning for younger viewers,there are scenes where (At the time,) it was considered risque to show people jumping into a freshwater pond and going skinny dipping).

[lboogie1906]

Zara Frances Cully (January 26, 1892 – February 28, 1978) was an actress. She was known for her role as Olivia 'Mother Jefferson' Jefferson on The Jeffersons, which she portrayed from the series beginning in 1975 until her death. She was the eldest of 10 surviving children born to Ambrose E. and Nora Ann Cully in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Cully family was musical with Ambrose serving as the music director of the church they attended, Zion AME Church. Zara's younger brother, jazz trumpeter Wendell Cully, played with Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. She graduated from the Worcester School of Speech and Music. In 1940, after an appearance in New York City, she became known as "one of the world's greatest elocutionists". After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, she began producing, writing, directing, and acting in numerous plays. For 15 years she was a drama teacher at her studio as well as at Edward Waters College. She had become known as Florida's "Dean of Drama." Upset by the racism she experienced in the Jim Crow-era South, she decided to move to Hollywood, where she became a regular performer at the Ebony Showcase Theatre. By the time she acquired the role of 'Mother' Jefferson, she had accumulated a long list of acting credentials spanning a half-century, including such movies as The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970), a starring role in Brother John (1971), and Sugar Hill (1974) and Darktown Strutters (1975). Her TV career went back to what critics call 'the Golden Age of Television', including appearances on the highly acclaimed Playhouse 90 series. Aside from The Jeffersons, her television credits included The People Next Door, Run for Your Life, Cowboy in Africa, The Name of the Game, Mod Squad, Night Gallery, and All in the Family. She was one of the oldest performers active in television at the time of her death. She married James M. Brown, Jr. (1914-1968) and they had four children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn4XZDLrBYE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sanguineanne]

LB is pretty laid-back and chill, but also very clever and a bit cunning. He’s Ben’s younger brother, and best friends with Anne and Peony.  LB is fairly logical, but far from responsible. He loves messing with his friends, and messing around in general. It's hard to tell what he's thinking or feeling from a glance, but he tries very hard to make sure that he's never an unpleasant person to be around. He's the idea guy, very creative and a bit ambitious when it comes to making plans, but usually others are the ones carrying the plans out. 

(Full name: L.B. Decamp. he/him, trans man and gay. 18 years old at the beginning of the webcomic.) 

[erikhandy]

A huge thanks to Black Hare Press for including my story, Silver, in their latest anthology, Greed!

Check it out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R821XFG

[hrsun111]

INTOWN REPORT for 12/5/19 – 12/11/19

THURSDAY, 12/5

5 Star Bar – Telekinetic Yeti, Darvaza, + Hexicon

1720 – Lousi Futon

Alex's – Five Guys...One Cover Band, Glitter Wizard, + Crimewave

The Belasco – Daughters, Protomartyr, + Show Me The Body

Bluespade 75 Studios (E.L.A.) - The Virus, Cinderblock, The Venomous Pinks, + HeadNoise

Bootleg – Lisa Prank, Rose Melberg, + Worriers

Doll Hut – Slaughterhousers, The Pawns, + The Tragic Radicals

Dynasty Typewriter – Michelle Buteau

Echo – Magic Sword, + Go Dark

Echoplex – Saint JHN

Fonda – Sasha Sloan, + Winnetka Bowling League

The Hi Hat – Bonavega, Brasko, + Mood Killer

Harvard & Stone – Baby A, + The Emerald

House of Blues - Gryffin

House of Machines – Love Nothing EP release, Deep Fields, New Balance, + Lindsay B

Largo at the Coronet – Anthony Jeselnik

Little Joy – No Exits, Programmed For Pleasure, + Del Lucrii

Malone's - Big Rig Dollhouse, Ascent, + Tragic Radicals

Maui Sugar Mill – Midnight Cloud, John Thompson, High Grass,+Carry On Band

Moroccan – Moon Hooch, + Coco Columbia

Observatory – The Hu, + Crown Lands; From Indian Lakes, Queen of Jeans, + Yummm (Constellation Room)

The Palace – Vagabon, + Angel Olsen (also Friday)

Petie's Place - The Kitty Litter Disco Show Band, Review Killer Lords (Tribute to The Lords of the New Church) + The Flutterbyes, free entry with a toy donation for Children's Hospital LA

Redwood Bar – The Tearaways (feat.Clem Burke), The Reflectors, + Mogg

Satellite – Salute to Lou Reed with Angie Bowie, LoveyDove, The Dick & Jane Family Orchestra, + Mary Woronov

The Smell – Banny Grove, Pregnant, + Brendan Eder Ensemble Theater at Ace Hotel – The Revolution (Prince's former band) Troubadour – Alex Cameron, + Holiday Sidewinder (also Friday) Wiltern – Snoop Dogg, + more

Zebulon – The Make-Up, + Seth Bogart

FRIDAY, 12/6

5 Star Bar – Endless Struggle, Destruction Made Simple, Dead77, Gob Patrol, + Dcon

1720 - Graves Bootleg Theater – Madison Cunningham, Johanna Samuels, + Pet Dress

Doll Hut – Reagan Youth, Functional Lunatics, The Lewd, Damaged, Justified Anger, Ciphors of Transcendence, Krovak, The Order of Nine Angels, The Outskirts, Pig City, 6pm

El Rey – Dreamers, Arrested Youth, + American Teeth Garden Amp – The Adolescents, The Zeros, The Crowd, + more! Glass House – The Hu, + Crown Lands The Hi Hat – Sonny & the Sunsets, + The Gonks Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Drab Majesty, + Body of Light House of Blues - Thrice House of Machines – The Dickies, Cheap Tissue, + DM Tina & The Bumps The Lash – Body of Light, + DJ Drab Majesty Lodge Room – Surfbot, Dumb F**ks, + Nice Maui Sugar Mill – Dr. Savage &The Shrunken Heads, Super Villian, + Caroshi Moroccan – Kills Birds, Daisy, + The Living Roomers Observatory – The Wrecks Pappy & Harriet's – Ryley Walker, + Black Mountain Petie's Place – Dickwad (also Sat.)

Redwood Bar – Drug Front, Dante HH, + Graveyard Bandits Regent – The Slackers, Viernes 13, Soul Ska, + Gabriela Penka Teragram – Marco Benevento, + The Mattson 2 Zebulon – Judge, Regional Justice Center, Section HB, + Down to Nothing

SATURDAY, 12/7

5 Star Bar – A Darker Bright

1720 – Minty Boi, Twin Tribes, + She Past Away

Alex's – Boyo, Dustin Lovelis, Nik Freitas, Tino Drima, + Emily Edrosa

Alpine Village - 7th Annual Krampus Ball with Rosemary's Billygoat, Hammerstein Band, Totendanse, + Krammpstein

American Legion Post 206 (Highland Park) – Master Cylander, Sapphic Musk, Somos Mysteriosos, Ley Valentine, + Stars at Night

Bootleg – Mike Krol, Night Shop, + Jess Cornelius

Catch One – Reagan Youth, The Voids, The Skeptix, The Virus, Defiance, Cheap Sex, Thulsa Doom, + more! 2:00pm

Doll Hut – Punxmas Toy Drive with Ravens Moreland, Big Mess, The Whining Pussies, The Pawns, Shubees, SLOKA, Mr. Firley, Dirty Hammer, + Time Kats (entry with 1 unwrapped toy)

EB's at The Farmer's Market – The Stardust Ramblers The Echo - Glades El Cid – Eyedress, + Natia & The Renaissance Family El Rey – Greyson Chance

The Factory- Daisy Chain, Lunch Lady, Silky & the Scopers, + Dummy Glass House – Aly & AJ, + Armors The Hi Hat – Fitness, + Somme Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Mount Eerie, + Julie Doiron

LEM HQ (835 N La Brea Ave.LA) – Crisis Actor, Safeword, Le Face,+DJsTerminal A Lexington – Drop Top Jesus, Wagemaker, Mountains of Delusion,+Living Darkness Lodge Room – Louis Cole Maui Sugar Mill – Punk Rock Karaoke, + Shiner's Club

Meltdown (1644 S La Cienega, Unit 4, LA) – Justus Profitt, Poll Tax Riot,+Noah Salem Moroccan – From Indian Lakes, Queen of Jeans, + Yummm Observatory – Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Glitter Wizard, + Masked Intruder Pappy & Harriet's – KOLARS, + Soft White Sixties

The Paramount – Very Be Careful

Permenant Records Roadhouse (former location of Cafe Nela) – DJ Frankie & the Witch Fingers

Redwood Bar – Tramp For the Lord, + Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls Regent – High On Fire, Power Trip, Devil Master, + Creeping Death (sold out) Roxy – Black Flag, + The Linecutters Silverlake Lounge – Dangerously Sleazy, Fox Medicine, + Cosmic Kitten Teragram – Defeater, + Modern Life is War Troubadour – Lindsay Eli Wiltern – Snoh Aalegra Zebulon – Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Kevin, + Perfection

SUNDAY, 12/8

Alex's Bar – Headless Palms, The Sleeping Sea Kings, + Boom Years

All Star Lanes – Boy In the Water, Margeaux Sippell, Jack Rabbit,+Arch Stanton

Bootleg Theater – Tow'rs, + B.R. Lively

C.I.A. - Angela Bowie, Cat Museum, + The Chelsea Club

The Echo – Myles Parrish

Echoplex – Nothing, Launder, No Swoon, + Sprain

Fonda - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Glitter Wizard, + Masked Intruder

The Hi Hat – Tribute to Jim Morrison by The Burning Doors, + John Lennon Memorial Celebration

Lodge Room – Jason Lytle Moroccan – Spindrift, Federale, Roselit Bone, Sir Woman, + Dylan Meek Observatory – High on Fire, Power Trip, Devil Master, + Creeping Death The Pike (L.B.) - Hamapple

Redwood Bar – Blood Wisdom, Beatnik Party, + Calico Sky Roxy – With Confidence, Seaway, Between You & Me, + Doll Skin Teragram – Ours, Chris Shinn, + Black Angel The Wiltern – CHVRCHES, + Dominic Fike

MONDAY, 12/9

4th Street Vine – The Cure & Friends Aratani Theatre at JACCC – An evening with Flea Bootleg – Henry Hall, Polyplastic, + Corvax Echo – Courtship Echoplex – Trap Girl, Agenda, Strangers, La Pregunta, Skirt Cocaine,+DJ Bat Slave The El Rey – The Pineapple Thief Fonda – Fabio Frizzi Moroccan Lounge – Halfnoise, Blackpaw, + And That Zebulon – Shannon Lay, + Earth Girl Helen Brown

TUESDAY, 12/10

5 Star Bar – We Were Giants, + Next Door to Heaven 1720 – Unearth, + Darkest Hour

Bootleg – Erin Anne, Potty Mouth, + Cartalk Echo – Say Sue Me, + The Pantones Echoplex – Madame Gandhi El Rey - Zhavia

Fonda – The Hu, + Crown Lands The Hi Hat – Georgi Kay, Esbie Fonte, + Psychic Twin

Lodge Room – Rob Bell

Moroccan – Channel Tres, + The Briggs

Novo – Cindi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle, Bily Porter, Brandi Carlile, Carol Leifer, Charlie Musselwhite, Emily Estefan, Henry Rollins, Perry Farrell, Marilyn Manson Lily Tomlin, Margaret Cho, + more! (Home for the Holidays benefit)

Redwood – Thee Idylls, Dylan Champion, Kid Bandit,+The Path of Most Resistance Resident – Stalley Roxy – Divinio Nino, Bardo Martinez, + DJ Venus

Zebulon – William Tyler, + Xylouris White

WEDNESDAY, 12/11

4th Street Vine – Downtown, Sleeperz, + Calm Kill Alex's – Las Chicas Tristas, White Woods, Slice, Sea Moya,+DJ Caliate Y Escucho Bootleg – The Monolators, Soft Sailors, + Saint Heartbreak The Echo – Khemmis, UN, + Future Usses El Rey – Berhana, + Pomo Fonda – Conan Gray, + Denee Highland Park Bowl – Emmitt James, JeremyJones, + Shaelle The Hi Hat – Mothica, Cannons, HUX, + Velvey Starlings House of Blues – Falling In Reverse Lodge Room – Rob Bell Moroccan – Channel Tres Observatory – Allah-Las, Mapache, + Tim Hill Redwood Bar – Here Lies Man, Sissy Brown, + Mars Rodriguez Roxy – Role Models, + Jackie Hayes Teragram – Fruit Bats, + Kacey Johansing Troubadour – Beouine Zebulon – Xylouris White

LIVE ON LIVATION, WEDNESDAY NIGHTS FROM MIDNIGHT TO 2AM THURSDAY MORNINGS (PST) ON KXLU 88.9FM, LOS ANGELES & KXLU.COM

12/11 – Otniel y Los Condors 

12/18 – Dangerously Sleazy

12/20 – Livation fills in for Demolisten with special guest Bruce Duff, 6-8pm

12/25 – Lucky Otis

12/27 – Livation fills in for Demolisten with Clifton AKA DJ Soft Touch 

1/1/2020 – Buzz Clic Adventure

1/8 – Crisis Actor

1/15 – PR Shake

1/22 - Jason Paul & The Knowitalls

2/12 – Ley Valentine

2/19 - Cheap Tissue

2/26 - JesuCrisis

reverbnation.com/venue/livation 

intownreport.wordpress.com 

livation889fm on Instagram l

theosangelesbeat.com

kxlu.com

[deracinemagazine]

Volume IV | Summer 2019—Now Live

Volume IV is now live! Click here to read the latest issue.

A huge thank you to all of our contributors and readers for continuing to support us on our literary journey. We hope you enjoy Volume IV!

Contributors: Aremu Adams Adebisi, Anne Bazarnic, Tiffany Belieu, Jakub Beralski, Robert Beveridge, Adrian Ernesto Cepeda, lenora cole, Emma Croker, Jason Fisk, Kate Garrett, Kristin Garth, Kateri, James Knight, Courtney LeBlanc, Annabel Mahoney, Emmanuel Ojeikhodion, Simon Perchik, Noelle Schmidt, L.B. Stringfellow, Micaela Walley, Jennifer Wilson, Bonnie E. Carlson, Jack Caulfield, Bill Cook, Toshiya Kamei, Kuzuha Makino, Prisha Mehta, Phil Mershon, Ron Riekki, Holly Ann Shaw, Chris Beckitt, C.R. Smith, Bill Wolak, and Christopher Woods.

[murderballadeer]

2. Your most rewatched movie. 5. Top 5 films of your favorite actor and actress. 6. Top 5 performances of your favorite actor and actress.

Hi! 

2 – Your most watched movie. Singin’ in the Rain! I’ve seen it 29 times.

5 – Top 5 films of your favorite actor and actress. 

Katharine Hepburn: Holiday (1938), Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1968), Desk Set (1957), Alice Adams (1935), Pat and Mike (1952)

Spencer Tracy there’s probably gonna be a lot of overlap here but whatever : Libeled Lady (1937), Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1968), Desk Set (1957), San Francisco (1936), honestly he was the only good part of that movie Pat and Mike (1952)

6 – Top 5 performances of your favorite actor and actress. OK I’m gonna pick two more actors to make this more interesting so

Carole Lombard: Irene Bullock (My Man Godfrey), Hazel Flagg (Nothing Sacred), Ann Smith (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), Maria Tura (To Be Or Not To Be), Regi Allen (Hands Across The Table)

James Stewart: L.B. Jefferies (Rear Window), Jefferson Smith (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington), Dr. Ben McKenna (The Man Who Knew Too Much), John Ferguson (Vertigo), George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life).

Thank you!

(movie ask game)

[justalittlebluetiefling]

tag rules: answer all questions, add one question of your own, and tag as many people as there are questions

Tagged by @hostagetakerandhistraitor​. Thank you!

1. Coke or pepsi: Coke

2. Disney or dreamworks: Disney

3. Coffee or tea: I prefer tea, but I drink coffee more. 

4. Books or movies: Books

5. Windows or Mac: Windows

6. DC or marvel: Marvel + Wonder Woman

7. Xbox or PlayStation: I get in trouble at work every time they find out I play more Playstation games, but I own both systems.

8. Dragon age or mass effect: This question is kind of rude, but I guess if I have to pick, I’ll pick Mass Effect. But only the trilogy, not Andromeda. (Not that I had any major problems with Andromeda, but my loyalty is to Commander Shepard)

9. Night owl or early riser: Night owl

10. Cards or chess: Cards. I am ridiculously bad at chess.

11. Chocolate or vanilla: They go together goofs! <---- Bridget knows what’s up.

12. Vans or converse: Converse

13. Lavellan , Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar: Lavellan

14. Fluff or angst: Angst

15. Beach or forest: Forest

16. Dogs or cats: Cats. Ideally both, but no dogs for me until I have a yard.

17. clear skies or rain: Rain

18. cooking or eating out: Take out... I’m lazy.

19. spicy food or mild food: Mile

20. halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas: Christmas. I like the lights.

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: Too cold. It’s easier to bundle up and get warm.

22. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Telekinesis. (Again, I’m lazy.)

23. animation or live action: I mean, if we’re talking anime vs live adaptations, then obviously anime. But outside of anime, live action.

24. paragon or renegade: Paragon. I try to be Renegade, but it doesn’t work.

25. baths or showers: Showers

26. team cap or team iron man: Cap

27. fantasy or sci-fi: Sci-fi

28. Do you have three or four favorite quotes? if so what are they:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

“I think some people are just inexplicably bonded. Drawn by forces beyond their own comprehension, they have no choice but to gravitate toward one another. Destined by fate to keep crossing paths until they finally get it right.”— L.B. Simmons

“Someday, somewhere - anywhere, unfailingly, you'll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.” - Pablo Neruda

“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.” - T.S. Eliot

29. netflix or youtube: Netflix

30. harry potter or percy jackson: This question is too hard... ugh... Harry Potter

31. when you feel accomplished: when my niece tells me she wants to have a life like mine.

32. star wars or star trek: I guess Star Wars? I don’t like this question.

33. paperback or hardback: Paperback. 

34. horror or rom-com: Rom-com. I get really vivid nightmares after watching horror movies.

35. tv shows or movies: TV shows

36. spotify or pandora: Spotify

37. zootopia or inside out: Inside Out

38. favorite book: I’m going to name a bunch, because I can’t pick. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey. A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. Dune by Frank Herbert. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan.

39. favorite flower: Dahlias

40. what field of study are you in (or aspire to be in): Writing.

41. song lyric you really love?

“Hold me like you never lost your patience. Tell me that you love me more than hate me all the time. And you’re still mine.” - Lost on You/LP

42. what’s your MBTI type? ISFJ

43. fave movie: Princess Bride

44. favorite tv show(s): The 100, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Veronica Mars, Anne (with an E), Bob’s Burgers, Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Battlestar Galactica

45. top three authors: I read more for books than tracking authors so I don’t really know <------ Same

46. favorite season? Autumn

47. favorite high school musical? 1

48. silver or gold? Silver

49. favorite food? Pasta

50. dream vacation? Italy

51. last dream you remember? I had a dream that I was meeting my mom somewhere and she called me to say she had a surprise. She pulled into the parking lot at the same time as me and my nephew was in the car with her. And then we all got on a train, but like an old-timey train, and before I got on, I dropped my ticket through a crack in the sidewalk, but the conductor let me on anyway.

52. city or country: City.

53. Slow burn or love at first sight: Slow burn, as long as there’s lots of mutual pining. Maybe one-sided love at first sight into slow burn.

54. Night on the town with friends or night in with friends? Night in

55. Mashed potatoes or fried? Mashed

56. Do you have any siblings? If so, how many? I have one younger brother and he’s super cool.

Tagging: @blueshirtbell, @thehundredtimesobsessed, @dracoterrae9099, @nvermindiseeyou, @vallennes (there’s no way I can tag 56 people, that rule is nuts)

[bookjunkiez]

MYTHS AND MAGIC - Alchemy With Benefits - BOOK TOUR

MYTHS AND MAGIC – Alchemy With Benefits – BOOK TOUR

PARANORMAL CRAVINGS VIRTUAL REVIEW BOOK TOUR AUGUST 22ND THROUGH SEPT 5TH DESCRIPTION/BLURB MYTHS & MAGIC sends you on a wild ride across universes where a safe return cannot be guaranteed. Abolished magic returns to Earth. Telekinetic sorcerers, witches, and fairies discover their powers. Humans become cyborgs. Dragons prowl the depths of Iceland’s volcanoes. All this and more is packed inside…

[ezatluba]

Dog collars hang above a tub filled with raw beef and rice as kennel owner and trainer John Farmer prepares to feed some 60 dogs. In total, they eat about 90 pounds of beef mixed with commercial dry dog food, water, electrolytes, rice or macaroni, multivitamins, and supplements to combat anemia.

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

Concerns about the dogs’ welfare and declining betting revenue have led tracks across the country to close in recent decades.

Eight greyhounds thunder around the sandy oval at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Fla., the oldest continuously operating dog track in the U.S. Florida voters chose to effectively ban dog racing in the state by the end of 2020, which will wipe out nearly the entire American greyhound racing industry.

BY CRAIG PITTMAN

OCTOBER 1, 2020

It’s 8:30 on a Saturday night in August. A gibbous moon hangs low in the Florida sky, its pale glow no competition for the red neon proclaiming, “GREYHOUND RACING” and “DERBY LANE.” About 300 people are scattered around grandstands that once held thousands, murmuring among themselves while the loudspeaker plays big band and rockabilly tunes.

They fall silent when it’s time for Frederick Davis to lead the parade of dogs.

“TNT Sherlock,” says the announcer, calling the names of the eight sleek animals as Davis makes them pause in front of the stands. Each dog wears a big number attached to a snugly fitted vest known as a “blanket.” “Tailspin,” the announcer calls, “…Charlotte York….”

Next, Davis, 41, and the eight handlers he supervises will put the dogs in the starter’s box. The mechanical rabbit named “Hare-son Hare” will zoom past, squeaking and shooting blue sparks. The doors will fly open, and the greyhounds will burst onto the track, their bodies a blur, their paws tossing sand in the air as they gallop around the oval for 30 seconds. They hit speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, making them second only to the cheetah, the fastest land animal on Earth.

In its glory days of the 1950s, Derby Lane attracted thousands of avid racing fans, such as Joe DiMaggio, who left Marilyn Monroe sitting in the car while he ran inside to place his bets. Now only a few hundred show up for the races, a sign of how its fan base has dwindled.

Famed sports columnist Ring Lardner called Derby Lane “the Churchill Downs of greyhound racing.” When the dogs run, you can still get a hint of its glory days. This was once a place that seemed full of glamour and excitement. The stands would be packed with men and women in suits and hats. Babe Ruth and Sophie Tucker were frequent visitors. Joe DiMaggio once left Marilyn Monroe in an idling car chatting with the valet while he ran inside to place his bets.

Derby Lane is the oldest continuously operating greyhound racetrack in the United States, but it’s headed on its last stretch. Two years ago, Florida had more greyhound tracks than any other state—11 out of 17 nationwide. Now it’s down to three, with about 1,700 dogs still racing.

In 2018, Florida’s voters had the chance to approve a constitutional amendment—Amendment 13—that would ban betting on greyhounds as of December 31, 2020. The proposal, which effectively bans greyhound racing, was brought by critics of the sport who contend dog racing is cruel and inhumane.

The racing industry bet on beating the amendment, arguing that its supporters were exaggerating stories of dogs’ mistreatment. The industry spent just a fraction of what supporters did on the campaign, believing the sport was popular enough that the majority of Floridians wouldn’t vote to ban it.

Greyhounds stretch their legs at Farmer Racing. Though generally gentle and non-aggressive, greyhounds often wear muzzles around each other because they can get competitive

They misjudged. Nearly 70 percent of voters said yes to the shutdown. Now the tracks must close by New Year’s. Derby Lane’s final race will be December 27.

Davis, a tall, slender man with dreadlocks and a quick smile, will be one of 400 Derby Lane employees out of work. He isn’t sure what he’ll do next. He’s been at the track for 14 years and considers this his ideal job.

“I love dogs,” he says, “and I love being outside.”

He might try to become a security guard, he says. That way he could work with dogs again—guard dogs, though, not greyhounds.

He’s not the only Derby Lane employee wondering about the future.

Decline of dog racing in the U.S.

Since the peak of dog racing in 1985, state laws have led to the closure of racetracks across the country. After Florida’s tracks close at the end of 2020, and Iowa and Arkansas’ by the end of 2022, only two active commercial racetracks will remain­—both in West Virginia.

“It’s a shame to have to shut down after 95 years,” says Derby Lane CEO Richard Winning, 64, whose office overlooks the track. His family has owned Derby Lane since it opened in 1925. He predicts that once the Florida tracks close, the ones in other states will follow.

“In 20 years, will anyone even remember what greyhound racing was?” he asks.

This is the one thing on which he agrees with Carey Theil, whose Massachusetts-based greyhound advocacy group, Grey2K USA, spearheaded the drive for Amendment 13: Once Florida’s tracks are gone, so too is the whole industry.

“Florida really was the industry,” Theil says.

Proverbs, royalty, and bribes

Winning is a born storyteller, with a droll manner, a gray beard, and a trio of cigars tucked in the pocket of his teal fishing shirt. He started out at the track 45 years ago collecting 50-cent pieces from the turnstiles, and since then he has worked almost every other job. He remembers when the regulars included rakish gamblers called “The Flicker” and “Champagne Tony,” the track restaurant served a 37-ounce prime rib, and a live band—not recordings—played between races.

Winning says greyhounds are the only breed of dog mentioned in the Bible, which is sort of true. The King James version of Proverbs 30:31 includes them in a list of things which are “comely in going.” (Scholars say the original Hebrew refers to Afghans or Salukis).

The King James translators knew about greyhounds because, back in the early 1600s, England was enthralled by a sport called “coursing,” in which two greyhounds raced to catch a scampering rabbit. Queen Elizabeth I was a fan—hence greyhound racing’s nickname, “the Sport of Queens.”

Dog collars hang above a tub filled with raw beef and rice as kennel owner and trainer John Farmer prepares to feed some 60 dogs. In total, they eat about 90 pounds of beef mixed with commercial dry dog food, water, electrolytes, rice or macaroni, multivitamins, and supplements to combat anemia.

Farmer rubs down his dog Rick Swift Creek with a muscle-soothing liniment. He also checks his dogs for ticks, looks at their nails, and massages their muscles. The dogs spend their days either waiting for the 30 seconds they’re racing or recovering afterward.

In the 18th century, an eccentric English nobleman obsessed with coursing created the modern English greyhound through selective breeding, according to Cynthia A. Branigan’s The Reign of the Greyhound. With lean, aerodynamic bodies, long legs, and shock-absorbing foot pads, greyhounds were built for speed. They have a proportionally bigger heart than other breeds, and more red blood cells and hemoglobin, which carry more oxygen to their limbs. Their sprinting gait (a “double suspension rotary gallop”) and high proportion of fast-twitch muscles power short, quick bursts of speed.

But dog racing as we know it today originated with an American inventor named Owen P. Smith who ironically wanted to be kind to animals. To him, the dying rabbits sounded like a child screaming.

The son of a Memphis undertaker, Smith was a sometime barber who loved to tinker. His brilliant idea: replace the live rabbit with a mechanical one. In 1910, he secured a patent for “the Inanimate Hare Conveyor.”

“Nobody in the history of any sport brought about a change comparable to that worked by the inventor of the device, and yet no inventor in sports history is so little known,” Sports Illustrated commented in 1973.

Smith did more than invent a humane lure. He and two partners designed the first modern greyhound track, which opened in 1919 outside Oakland, California. It failed, as did several others they opened. The tracks flopped because they didn’t allow betting. Gambling, while popular, was illegal.

The first commercially successful track was one Smith and his partners opened in 1921 in a swampy South Florida area known as “Humbuggus,” later to become the city of Hialeah. It was so close to the Everglades that the track owners hired a snake-catcher to intercept stray reptiles. Five thousand people turned out for the first race, watching a dog named Old Rosebud take the $60 purse, according to Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture, by Gwyneth Anne Thayer.

The key to its success: Electric lights. Running races at night meant working people could attend. With Florida’s 1920s land boom in full roar, thousands of new residents sought evening entertainment. The track ran until 1926, when a hurricane demolished it. New owners converted it to horse racing.

Flamenco Dancer, also called Bunny, was one of Farmer’s champion racing dogs. Between 2017 and her retirement in 2020, Bunny earned more than $83,000 in purses, of which Farmer got a percentage. Most racing dogs retire at about five years old, when they start to slow with age.

In 1950, thousands of fans would gather at Derby Lane to watch the races from the grandstands.

Uniformed monkeys ride greyhounds around a track in Culver City, California, in 1932.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, a number of tracks had monkey “jockeys.”

R.L. “Tex” Block, an owner and trainer, stands in front of the Derby Club in 1970 with seven of his dogs.

Kitty Wilkerson, the 1969 Festival of States “sungoddess,” stands with L.B.’s Dallas, the winner of the festival’s all-ages championship race.

Owner and trainer Jeanette Eagan ran dogs at Derby Lane from 1925 to 1980. She’s pictured here with Eagan’s Stephen, Eagen’s Maestro, and Rum Dum.

In 1925, on the other side of the state, Derby Lane opened under a cloud. The partners who built it ran out of money and couldn’t pay what they owed for the real estate or the lumber. That’s how T.L Weaver, Winning’s great-grandfather, took possession of the venue. He grew beans in the infield, says track historian Louise Weaver, and between regular races had monkeys in uniform ride the dogs as if they were jockeys, their outfits sewn onto the greyhounds’ blankets so they couldn’t jump off.

Although betting was illegal, tracks in the 1920s “did something sneaky,” Winning said. “They sold shares in the dogs.” The winners would get their money back plus a “dividend.” Losers would fail to recoup their “investment.” Other tracks skipped the subterfuge and ran “on the fix”—they bribed local lawmen.

In 1931, with the Depression bankrupting local governments, Florida legislators floated a bill to legalize wagering on dog and horse races and tax it. Governor Doyle Carlton, a Bible-thumping Baptist, opposed the bill. Thirty years later he contended, “interested parties were buying their way through the legislature” and claimed gamblers offered him $100,000 to sign the bill. He vetoed it instead. State senators overrode his veto, making Florida the first state to legalize betting on horse and dog races.

Once that law passed, racing took off. New greyhound tracks popped up across the state, from Tampa (1932) to Orlando and Jacksonville (1935) to Pensacola (1947) to Key West (1953).

Greyhound racing became part of Florida’s sun-and-fun image. Mickey Mantle filmed a cigarette commercial at Derby Lane. Boxing champs and movie stars hung out at the tracks. The 1959 movie A Hole in the Head shows Frank Sinatra and Keenan Wynn betting on races at Miami’s Flagler Kennel Club.

Susan Butchko, who has been fostering and adopting greyhounds since 1999, pets her newest adopted dog, a retired racing greyhound named Remy. Often described as “45-mile-per-hour couch potatoes,” greyhounds make good pets, owners say.

A newly adopted greyhound explores her new home. She was placed through GST Sun State Greyhound Adoption, which is working to find homes for the hundreds of dogs needing homes once the track closes in December.

At Dippel’s Florida home, retired racing greyhound Roxanne walks through the shallow end of the swimming pool.

‘Dachau for dogs’

Florida tends to be a sunny place full of shady people. The money involved in dog racing attracted plenty of them. Winning recalls seeing Tampa mob boss Santo Trafficante, Jr., laying down bets at Derby Lane. Some mobsters were more than customers. Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky had an interest in South Florida dog tracks, according to Scott Deitche, author of seven books on the Mafia.

A state racing commission was supposed to keep out unsavory elements. But in 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver’s Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime reported that mobsters controlled the commission and made illegal campaign contributions to politicians, including then Governor Fuller Warren.

The mob’s involvement sparked frequent rumors about fixed races where dogs were overfed before the race to slow them down, or their toes cinched up with rubber bands to alter their ability to run, or they were drugged to make them faster or slower.

Dog-doping has continued to be a problem, particularly with the use of cocaine, which can grant a short-term burst of speed. In 2017, state racing officials revoked a trainer’s license because five of his greyhounds running at Derby Lane had tested positive for cocaine. Months later a trainer at a North Florida track was also suspended after a dozen of his dogs tested positive. In the three years since then, state officials say, 10 more trainers have had dogs test positive for cocaine.

The use of performance-enhancing drugs is just one of greyhound racing opponents’ concerns about the industry. Grey2K, which has spent nearly 20 years compiling reports on the welfare of racing greyhounds, says that even standard industry practices amount to mistreatment. When the dogs aren’t racing, for example, they’re often confined to small cages in warehouses. Dogs are forced to race under conditions that can cause serious injuries, too, they say. Grey2K’s website has collected documented cases of greyhounds that have broken their legs and backs, fractured their skulls and spines, and even gotten electrocuted by the lure.

The Florida Greyhound Association, an industry group, did not respond to requests for comment.

The larger concern is what happens to them when they’re not racing.

What makes greyhounds the fastest dog breed also makes them susceptible to injuries on the racetrack.

The low body fat content of about 2 percent and a thin single-layer coat reduces the ability to self-regulate temperature.

At two points during the stride all feet are free from the ground. This allows short bursts at up to 45 miles per hour but offers poor endurance.

A deep chest enables lung power and holds a very large heart that can go from 100 to over 300 beats in one minute, promoting muscle oxygenation.

Long, strong legs with a large proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers allow sprinting but lead to fatigue fast.

In 1952, the Greyhound Racing Record said only 30 percent of greyhounds bred for racing would become competitors, leaving open the fate of the other 70 percent. Even those that do race only do so until they’re about five years old. Grey2K has compiled all the news stories over the years about greyhounds being destroyed or sold to laboratories for experimentation.

Among their evidence of cruelty: a 2010 case from a track in the Florida Panhandle town of Ebro, where a trainer left 37 dogs to starve to death after the racing season ended. He ended up pleading guilty to more than 30 counts of animal cruelty and being sentenced to five years in prison.

Possibly the worst case happened in 2002. A security guard for the Pensacola track was arrested after authorities found an Alabama junkyard where, over 10 years, he had killed and buried some 3,000 greyhounds. He said he’d been paid $10 each for shooting them when they got too old. A prosecutor called the junkyard “Dachau for dogs.” The guard died before he could be brought to trial on animal cruelty charges.

Graying greyhound fans

The scandals cut down greyhound racing’s popularity as fans were turned off by the repeated reports of mistreatment. Meanwhile, competing gambling operations—first the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes’ casinos, then the Florida Lottery—began siphoning off the profits, Winning said.

The loyal fans tended to skew older. In 2001, when Steven Soderbergh filmed a scene at Derby Lane of George Clooney and Brad Pitt recruiting someone for their Oceans 11 robbery, their target was Carl Reiner, then 79. He fit in perfectly with the graying greyhound crowd.

Greyhounds in a daily matinee race at Derby Lane chase the mechanical lure around the oval track, a pursuit that’s over in just 30 seconds. Between races, a tractor emerges to smooth the sand down flat again to minimize injuries—a point of contention between the racing industry and critics

Photos of the finish line help Derby Lane judges determine which dogs finished in which place.

Farmer holds award plaques for “America’s Top Sprinter” in 2008 and “America’s Top Distance Dog” in 2015. He keeps his cache of awards and mementoes in an overflowing Tupperware container.

“Young people don’t like to have to handicap” the dogs’ chances, Winning grumbles, referring to the way ardent bettors carefully examine each dog and its record. “They just want to stare at their phones” and not put the time in.

Now the typical race fan is Jim Wickert, 77, a retired golf course owner who shows up at Derby Lane every Wednesday and Saturday sporting his jaunty tan Orvis fedora. A Derby Lane regular since 2003, he enjoys handicapping the dogs’ chances.

“I like trying to figure them out,” he said. “I don’t bet big, but it’s still exciting when you do figure things out and they run the way you think they should.” He said he once won $10,000 on a race.

He’s not sure where he’ll go once the track closes. Nothing else seems as exciting.

When Winning looks back at Florida’s racing heyday, in the 1980s, he remembers Keefer, the dog that won the Distance Classic in 1986. Some 12,779 people turned out that day to watch this superstar run—the largest crowd in track history. Now a Saturday crowd at Derby Lane might number 700 tops, Winning says.

The decline of U.S. dog racing is in part attributed to a drop in gambling. In turn, that has led to a reduction in greyhound breeding.

Year-to-year drop in wagers reflects the decreasing number of tracks open. As gamblers lose their favorite tracks, they tend not to migrate to others.

Over the past 10 years, the money brought in by live greyhound racing has dropped from $117 million to less than $40 million a year, state figures show. At Derby Lane alone, it dropped from about $12 million to $3.2 million in 2019.

The industry tried to adapt, winning legislative approval in 1997 to add poker rooms and simulcasting, which allows bettors at one venue to wager on races at another. Now the poker rooms are packed with younger customers, and the simulcasting has its fans too. Those will go on after dog racing ends, Winning says. But it wasn’t enough to save Florida’s racetracks.

‘45-mile-per-hour couch potatoes’

For a decade, Grey2K tried to persuade Florida legislators to ban greyhound racing, to no avail, Theil says.

Finally, they appealed to the state’s Constitutional Revision Commission, which meets every decade to update the constitution. A Tampa area state senator named Tom Lee—Winning calls him “our idiot legislator”—proposed Amendment 13. The amendment technically bans betting on live dog races, but by extension, it essentially bans the races themselves. Without betting, there is no profit, and the tracks can’t afford to stay open.

Grey2K and its allies, such as the Humane Society of the United States, spent $3 million convincing voters to pass it, Theil says. They spent almost all of it running graphic TV ads showing injured racing dogs.

The Florida Greyhound Association fought back with ads that asserted that Grey2K was exaggerating its stories of injuries and death, as well as warning that the amendment was full of “trickeration” that would somehow lead to bans on hunting and fishing. Its yard signs implied that banning racing would also ban greyhounds.

But the association couldn’t get support beyond its declining fan base. Thayer, author of Going to the Dogs, says the track owners, kennel owners, and dog trainers had been too fractured among their individual interests for too long to present a unified front.

Nearly 70 percent of the voters said yes to the amendment. Winning and others in the industry insisted the voters were confused somehow. A lawsuit to overturn the vote went nowhere.

The impending shutdown makes the future of more than 8,000 dogs associated with the Florida tracks uncertain. Greyhound adoption agencies are trying to find them homes, although not all the agencies are allowed to help. Those that supported the ban are not welcomed by track owners. Only adoption agencies that opposed the amendment can get dogs.

Track veterinarian Donald Beck and trainer Kelsie Gubbels care for BD Wells, who has a minor ligament injury. When he's healed, he’ll go to GST Sun State Adoption to find his forever family.

One of those is Tampa resident Sharon Dippel’s GST Sunstate Greyhound Adoption. She and her husband, Brian, have adopted eight former racing greyhounds themselves. They go through a couple of 44-pound bags of dog food every 10 days or so, she says.

So far, Dippel says, plenty of people have lined up to adopt the soon-to-be-unemployed dogs. She says it helps that the tracks are not all shutting down at once. Some closed shortly after the 2018 vote, while others closed in early 2020 because of the coronavirus.

Who’s adopting them? “Everyone you can think of,” says Linda Lyman of Bay Area Greyhound Adoption in Tampa, another of the organizations working to find homes for Derby Lane’s 776 dogs. “People who had greyhounds in the past or even just heard about them.”

They’re not high-strung animals, says longtime Derby Lane veterinarian Donald Beck. They’re affectionate. In his years of working at Derby Lane, he’s never been bitten—but he has been scratched a few times by excited dogs jumping on him.

As pets, greyhounds still like to run when they get outdoors, even without a mechanical device to chase, Dippel says. But when they get back indoors? “They’re a 45-mile-per-hour couch potato.”

Plenty of people got into the racing business because of their affection for greyhounds. Trainer and kennel owner John Farmer, a Klamath Tribe member from Oregon, fell in love with the breed when he was 11 and his mother let him watch races at Multnomah Greyhound Park. He’s now 55, with so many mementoes of his winning dogs that he carries them in an overflowing Tupperware container.

Once Derby Lane shuts down, he figures he’ll have to relocate to one of the few remaining states that still have greyhound racing: West Virginia, Iowa, or Arkansas—though Iowa and Arkansas’s tracks are expected to close by the end 2022. (Texas’s last track closed in June for financial reasons.)

Grey2K is working to convince those states to join Florida in outlawing the industry, just as it’s going after the other countries where it remains legal: Australia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Farmer remains hopeful that he can use his Native American heritage as a way to save racing in Florida. He’s got a plan to convince either the Seminole or the Miccosukee tribes to acquire a track that would operate in conjunction with one of their casinos and thus be exempt from state or federal regulation. That would, he said, “build a tradition.” So far, though, the tribes have expressed no interest.