#V.P. Anderson

[ibtk]

Book Review: Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill (2024)

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review though Netgalley.)

-- 3.5 stars --

"Friends come and go. But teammates are forever ... Especially if most of them are undead."

Romanian tween Mina is under immense pressure from her parents to qualify for the Olympics. But, when she wipes out in a most spectacular fashion during a competition, her dreams are shattered - along with her arm. Mina's identity has been wrapped up in ice skating for as long as she can remember; who is she without it?

Mina has precious little time for self-reflection before she's kidnapped and conscripted into the Vamps - just one of many teams competing in the Blood City Paranormal Roller Derby. Each team is comprised of one human jammer, who plays alongside her extra-human teammates. Led by their hundreds-year-old captain Val, the Vamps are - you guessed it - vampires. With ghost judges looking on, they go up against all manner of supernatural foes, from witches to werewolves.

But this seemingly fun game has a much darker underbelly - the teams are literally playing for their lives, since getting dropped from the ranking makes you a nomad without union protection. Can Mina learn to trust her teammates and play nice with others, after a lifetime spent viewing other athletes as competitors?

BLOOD CITY ROLLERS is a fun middle-grade graphic novel about vampires, roller derby, self-confidence, and letting go - with a sapphic romance thrown in for good measure. (This is an all-girls' team, after all!) Think: ROLLERGIRLS meets BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER with a dash of VIKINGS. (What can I say, Val is giving strong teenage Lagertha vibes.) Overall I enjoyed it but it did start to drag a little in the middle - I feel like it could have been ~30 pages shorter. The messages sometimes feel a bit heavy-handed but are admittedly age-appropriate (at 45 years young, I'm not quite in the target audience lol).

I was surprised to find that the story ended with a cliffhanger - I'll definitely be checking out the next book in the series.

[ofmdrecaps]

11/25-26/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR: Happy Belated Birthday Kristian!; Taika Waititi; Rachel House & David Fane; Joel Fry; Samson Kayo; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Anapela Polata'ivao; Guz Khan; Nat Torres; Damien Gerard; Fan Spotlight; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Never Left Podcast; OFMD Spin the Bottle; Love Notes;

Also delayed due to Tumblr Blip, sorry all! I have some other great news though! The absolute sweetheart @lowrahh has volunteered to join my team to help get Alt Text added to the recaps! She's on the opposite side of the world so we may have some time syncing differences, but she's been helping me the last few days and it's been amazing! Thank you so much @lowrahh! Alrighty, on to the recap!

== Happy (Belated) Birthday Kristian! ==

Happy belated birthday to our dear Wee John-- Kristian Nairn! (11/25/2024) And guess what, he's on Bluesky now!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Also, coming soon, is a new track by Kristian and MikeT! - Echo!

Source: Elliptical Sun Instagram

= Taika Waititi =

More interviews with Taika about Interior Chinatown! Silly things like "if you had an entrance song, what would it be?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nicki Sun (@nickisun)

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A post shared by GOLD HOUSE (@goldhouseco)

Source: Interior Chinatown Hulu

= Rachel House & David Fane =

Rachel House, our Mary Reed, and our beloved Fang, David Fane were out at the Moana 2 Premiere in Australia! Moana 2 comes out in the US the 27th! Check it out if you can!

Source: ABC Pacific

Just some quick pics of our cast <3

Source: For Your Ref Pod

And David just being adorable.

Source: Awhimai Frasier Instagram

Source: Pere Yonce Instagram

And some silly interview questions at the premiere!

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A post shared by FLAVA (@flavaradio)

Source: Flavaradio

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A post shared by K-Zone (@kzonemag)

Source: Kzonemag

= Joel Fry =

Our dear Frenchie is joining Ncuti Gatwa in the Doctor Who Christmas Special this year!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

= Samson Kayo =

Samson is going to be in the new Voltron cast along with several other amazing stars!

Source: Amazon MGM Studios and AdoptOurCrew Bsky. and Samson's instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

Our ever busy Jim Jimenez, Vico Ortiz is joining "Reckless Spirits", a short comedy film! There's a crowdfunding effort for getting it going! Any gifts made today through EOD on Thursday, November 28 will be DOUBLED by a match (up to $7,500). Wanna learn more or support it? Check out: https://bit.ly/reckless-giving

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by vee hua 華婷婷 [fka vivian] (@hellomynameisvee)

Source: Hello My Name is Vee's IG

Some love from a fan of one of Vico's voice acting works!

Source: Vico's Bsky

I believe this has been share before but Vico is out sharing things they've been tagged in so let's post it again! The audio version of Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson, Tatiana Hill, and featuring voicework by Vico! Check it out here!

Source: Vico's Bsky

= Samba Schutte =

One of the short films Samba starred in - Best Life - has been nominated for the LA Independent Film Channel Festival for 2024!

Source: Valerie and Chaney IG

= Anapela Polataivao =

In case you haven't cried today, here's Rachel House, sending love to Auntie! (Anapela Polata'ivao)

In other Tinā news, it'll be heading to the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival in the World Cinema Now section at select locations between Jan 4-10! To get tickets, visit the Palm Springs Site!

Source: Tinā the Film Instagram

= Guz Khan =

Guz is sending out some love to these bakers!

Source: Guz Khans IG stories

And here's Guz showing off in his sweet ride.

Source: Guz Khan's Threads

= Nat Torres =

Nat Torres, writer extraordinaire, always bringing a smile to our faces <3

Source: Nat's Instagram

= Damien Gerard =

As always, our Father Teach, aka Damien Gerard, one of the coolest cat dads on the web, loves to keep us busy with cat content!

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New mini-episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is up! This time covering The "HighSchool Jukebox" Fics by @oatmilktruther! Read by BabyKraken! Check it out here!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Spotify.

= Never Left Podcast =

A new episode of Never Left is out on your favorite Podcast Platforms! This part 2 of the Flags set-- you can check it out on their linktr.ee!

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram

= Seven_Sugars Spin the Bottle =

For those of you on Bluesky and Twitter, you may have seen this very fun post by Ashley (aka Seven_Sugars). It's a gif of our cast and a spinning bottle! You just screenshot the gif and it tells you who you get! (I got Lucius which is 100% awesome by me, call me Pete because I love that man). Wanna try it out? Visit Ashley's Bsky!

Source: Seven Sugars Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! There's definitely been some reminders lately that this time of year isn't the best time for everyone. Remember to be kind to yourself and don't beat yourself up too much ok? Sometimes you do everything right. Sometimes you do your best, you bust your ass, and then shit goes horribly wrong the last second. Whether it's a draft on something fan related, or getting to work on time, or preparing a candid talk with someone or being careful driving on ice, and someone else hitting you from behind. Whatever it is-- life sometimes just does not cooperate with your expectations.

To top it off, that can be very hard if you've already been dealing with so much. It really can. It can seem like.. NOTHING goes right, and like everything is frustrating, and when your cup is already full of nonsense it just starts overflowing.

You know what the good news is? Your cup will slowly drain over time the kinder you are to yourself. Rest helps it drain, love helps it drain, comfort helps it drain so you can have more room for the next thing that happens. Right now it feels like too much because your body and your mind need a break, and you deserve a break. Winter time is normally meant for human beings and animals to hibernate! To recover with the seasons! But now we work all the time, and it can burn us out real fast. Take care of yourselves, take breaks, and if shit goes wrong, keep taking breaks, if you can, until it doesn't feel so hard anymore <3 I hope you all rest this week and have some self-care time off if you have it-- and if you don't, please be safe out there. Thinking of you.

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[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Coming Out April 2024

🩷 There's something especially sweet about a sapphic romance. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books hitting shelves in April 2024. Which ones are you adding to your ever-growing TBR?

💖 What's your favorite sapphic book?

[ List below. ]

Contemporary 💖 A Happy Good Girl - Marissa Higgins 💖 A Case for Discretion - Ashley Moore 💖 Thawing the CEO - Emily Hayes 💖 Aubrey McFadden Is Never Getting Married - Georgia Beers 💖 The Broken Lines of Us - Shia Woods 💖 Rainbow Overalls - Maggie Fortuna 💖 Here Come the Brides - Micheala Lynn 💖 Houseswap 101 - Jaime Clevenger 💖 Sweet on You - Shannon O'Connor 💖 Sing, I - Ethel Rohan 💖 Light Betrays Us - Greta Rose West 💖 Moving Hearts - Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue 💖 The Last Love Song - Kalie Holford 💖 Playing For Keeps - Jennifer Dugan 💖 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur 💖 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💖 Every Time You Hear That Song - Jenna Voris 💖 Women! In! Peril! - Jessie Ren Marshall 💖 Revisiting Summer Nights - Ashley Bartlett 💖 Leather, Lace, and Locs - Anne Shade 💖 So Long Sad Love - Mirion Malle 💖 Girls Night - I.S. Belle 💖 Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun 💖 Pillow Talk - Stephanie Cooke, Mel Valentine 💖 Good Bones - Aurora Ray 💖 Crash Landing - Li Charmaine Anne 💖 Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine - Nicole Melleby

Paranormal/Horror 💖 Bloodline - Jenn Alexander 💖 Grey Dog - Elliott Gish 💖 Cranberry Cove - Hailey Piper 💖 Court of Wanderers - Rin Chupeco 💖 Something Kindred - Ciera Burch 💖 Blood City Rollers - V.P. Anderson, Tatiana Hill

Fantasy 💖 Call Forth a Fox - Markelle Grabo 💖 Someone You Can Build a Nest In - John Wiswell 💖 Off With Their Heads - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💖 Calling of Light - Lori M. Lee 💖 To a Darker Shore - Leanne Schwartz 💖 The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray - Christine Calella 💖 Saint-Seducing Gold - Brittany N. Williams 💖 A Sweet Sting of Salt - Rose Sutherland 💖 Darker by Four - June C.L. Tan 💖 The Map That Led to You - Ella McLeod 💖 The Merciless King of Moore High - Lily Sparks

Historical 💖 Lighthouse Keeper - Eliza Lentzski

Mystery/Thriller 💖 Rough Trade - Katrina Carrasco 💖 Molten Death - Leslie Karst 💖 Eye of the Ouroboros - Megan Bontrager 💖 Text Me When You Get This - Frances Lucas 💖 Paige Not Found - Jen Wilde

Sci-Fi 💖 Moon Dust in My Hairnet - J.R. Creaden 💖 Hearts Still Beating - Brooke Archer 💖 Harley Quinn: Redemption - Rachael Allen 💖 In Universes - Emet North

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Roller Derby Books

Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit Rosewater (MG) Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill (MG GN) Mighty Millie Novak by Elizabeth Holden (YA) Bruised by Tanya Boteju (YA) Roller Girl by Vanessa North (F/F Romance)

[smashpages]

Out this week: Blood City Rollers (Labyrinth Road, $13.99): 

This new graphic novel by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill has a fun premise — an ice skater is kidnapped by vampires to round out their roller derby team. Mina is “sucked” (get it?) into the high-stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby where she has to learn about both roller derby and the supernatural in order to impress her dreamy new team captain.

See what other comics and graphic novels are arriving in stores this week.

[winningthesweepstakes]

Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson, illustrated by Tatiana Hill

Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson, illustrated by Tatiana Hill. Random House Children’s Books, 2024. 9780593485699 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre: Paranormal/fantasy  What did you like about the book? In this story, Mina is an ice skater who is struggling with disappointing her overbearing mother by leaving ice skating. She has a…

[roesolo]

Happy Book Birthday to VP Anderson & Tatiana Hill's Blood City Rollers!

Blood City Rollers, by V.P. Anderson/Illustrated by Tatiana Hill, (Apr. 2024, Labyrinth Road/Random House Graphic), $13.99, ISBN: 9780593485712 Ages 8-12 What do you get when you a human ice skater joins a vampire roller derby team? A fun story about found family and discovering not only who we are, but what we really want from life. Mina Murray is a 13-year-old figure skater whose mom has big…

[lesterplatt]

The Sands Between from Aidan Tanner on Vimeo.

A woman has a phone conversation with her significant other which slowly deteriorates as she comes to realize that the world around her might not be real.

Starring Jessica Chastain & James McAvoy

Directed by Aidan Tanner (instagram.com/aidan/) Story by Aidan Tanner & Stefan Vucic Written by Stefan Vucic Produced by Arianna Anderson Edited by Simone Smith Cinematography by Aidan Tanner Original Music by Austin Fray Post Produced by Alex Ordanis VFX Supervisor: Geoff Scott Compositors: Jason Snea & Jordan Acomba CG Supervisor: Aaron Wright Additional VFX by Andrey Shu & Martin Klapperbein

Colour finishing services provided by ARTJAIL - Color by Clinton Homuth Color Assistant: Shay Koshy & Kevin Wu Color Producer: Alison Maxwell

Post production services provided by URBAN POST - Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Moore Re-Recording Assistant: Calvin Tran Sound FX Designer Editor: Tom Bjelic Dialogue Editor: Emilie Boucek Foley Artist: Matt Thidideau Foley Recordist: Dave Mercel Packaging Editor: Kyle Campbell Project Manager: Ike Murphy Picture Operations Manager: Bruce Rees Picture Facility Technician: Jon Morrison V.P. of Operations: Roberta Bratti

[artwalktv]

A woman has a phone conversation with her significant other which slowly deteriorates as she comes to realize that the world around her might not be real. Starring Jessica Chastain & James McAvoy Directed by Aidan Tanner (https://bit.ly/3ssOcLL) Story by Aidan Tanner & Stefan Vucic Written by Stefan Vucic Produced by Arianna Anderson Edited by Simone Smith Cinematography by Aidan Tanner Original Music by Austin Fray Post Produced by Alex Ordanis VFX Supervisor: Geoff Scott Compositors: Jason Snea & Jordan Acomba CG Supervisor: Aaron Wright Additional VFX by Andrey Shu & Martin Klapperbein Colour finishing services provided by ARTJAIL - Color by Clinton Homuth Color Assistant: Shay Koshy & Kevin Wu Color Producer: Alison Maxwell Post production services provided by URBAN POST - Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Moore Re-Recording Assistant: Calvin Tran Sound FX Designer Editor: Tom Bjelic Dialogue Editor: Emilie Boucek Foley Artist: Matt Thidideau Foley Recordist: Dave Mercel Packaging Editor: Kyle Campbell Project Manager: Ike Murphy Picture Operations Manager: Bruce Rees Picture Facility Technician: Jon Morrison V.P. of Operations: Roberta Bratti

[harrythegreekblr]

Is the next global bioweapon the Ebinur Lake, China virus?

Joe Biden as V.P. (right) with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state luncheon for China on Sept. 25, 2015 in Washington, D.C. ( Photo by Paul J. Richards for AFP via Getty images).

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/11/why-beijing-not-called-biden-election-transition-china-trump-xi-jinping/

http://sourcedb.whiov.cas.cn/yw/rck/index_65432_1.html

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/timeline

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.625661/full

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/home

Coming to your neighborhood soon.

Research and development (R & D) by:

Robert B. Tesh M.D.

https://www.utmb.edu/sivs/faculty-sivs-faculty-directory/sivs-adjunct-members/robert-b.-tesh-phd-(adjunct)

Dr. David Walker

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/leadership-team

Robert Shope (deceased)

http://archives.news.yale.edu/v32.n17/story13.html

Dennis A. Bente

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dennis-Bente

University of Texas, Galveston

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/home

National Institute of Health (NIH)

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/timeline

Wuhan Institute of Virology

http://sourcedb.whiov.cas.cn/yw/rck/index_65432_1.html

http://sourcedb.whiov.cas.cn/yw/rck/200907/t20090718_2100073.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338912642_Characterization_of_Ebinur_Lake_Virus_and_Its_Human_Seroprevalence_at_the_China-Kazakhstan_Border

Created in the Wuhan China labs on April 4th, 2011.

Called the Ebinur Lake virus.

Until it is changed to COVID-20.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33597934/

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/university-texas-national-biocontainment-laboratory

The University of Texas Galveston National Laboratory is one of four operational BSL-4 laboratory suites in the U.S.

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/biosafety-labs-needed

The others are:

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas

Centers for Disease Control (CNC) and Prevention in Atlanta

BSL-4 labs are associated with human disease-causing illnesses.

https://brassballs.blog/home/pentagon-unable-to-track-its-bioweapons-ft-detrick-dod-ig-pentagon-joseph-jcs-mil-dunford-nato-milley-barbara-holcomb-carolyn-hantz-usadmriid-cox-wheeler-gary-bavarian-nordic-darrin-frank-jackson

They are spread cause through the air (aerosol) such as foggers or planes.

https://brassballs.blog/home/fogging-machines-nato-utah-national-guard-buttigieg-james-b-salt-lake-seattle-crown-council-anderson-mayfield-dtra-flynn-suspected-activity-hepatitis-china-fauci-virus-terrorist-plot-hatched

Or by insects like mosquitoes or ticks.

Or have an unknown cause of transmission.

https://www.nps.gov/nature/upload/UTMB_NPS_Agreement_FINAL_12-14-20-508.pdf

The Galveston National Laboratory is home to research that is funded by:

NIAID

the U.S. Department of Defense

the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

other federal agencies

academic partners,

private foundations

and the Biopharmaceutical industry.

Here is a link for a history of the Galveston Labs:

https://www.utmb.edu/cbeid/timeline

https://www.utmb.edu/pathology/faculty/robert-b-tesh-md

[theopennotebook]

One Way Ticket

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins

Jass 

The sun, the sand, the sea. The way the ocean spray kissed my skin. Everything was perfect. Even the way the sun beat down on my forehead, burning the surface - felt…good. In the distance, I saw Sasha and his friends horsing around in the sand. I was always amazed that those boys didn’t kill each other. Leah - the geek in my math class - was sketching the waves as they crashed on the beach. Her boyfriend Joe lay not too far from her, trying to tan his pale skin. Natalia and Ivy were rubbing on suntan lotion. Nothing could make this moment any better…

“Jass …” I felt something jabbing my side. My head began to float, as if in a pool of water.

“Psst! Jass!” As the jabbing persisted, the blur cleared.

The heat and sand of the beach were quickly replaced by my cold hard desk, the sun by hideous fluorescent lights.

“Jass!”

“What?!” I snapped as I sat up.

I looked around to see the entire class staring in my direction, Miss Anderson tapping her foot impatiently.

“Sorry.” Ivy mouthed as she diverted her gaze.

 Ivy

“Jass …” I jabbed her in the side with my pencil.

She had fallen asleep in class again and Miss Anderson had promised that the next kid to fall asleep in her math class would be sent to the office, ‘no ifs ands or buts’.

“Psst, Jass!”  I don’t know what she was always doing at night that made her so tired in the mornings.

“Jass!” I said a little louder.

“What?!” She screamed, her head snapping off of the desk.

That got Miss Anderson’s attention, as well as the rest of the class’.  Jass shot an angry look in my direction.

“Sorry.” I mouthed as Miss Anderson came over.

“How dare you two interrupt my class?” She said tapping her foot.

I began to giggle, she reminded me of Josh Peck from Drake and Josh. That woman really needed to shave.

“Well, uh…” Jass began, sleep still all over her face.

A knock on the door saved us.

“Miss Anderson, there’s someone at the door.” A redhead girl in the back of the class said, not even bothering to look up from her cell phone.

The whole class turned to see who the visitor was.                                                          

Ugh! Just my luck, Sasha. Why does my brother always have to …be so Sasha?!

“He’s your twin!” Mama says.

“You were meant to always be together and love each other,” Papa says.

I rolled my eyes, to mama and papa’s dismay.  

“Hi Miss Anderson, would you mind if I borrowed my sister for just a second?” Always the charmer… even to women three times his age.

I hated the way all of the girls in our class drooled over him and envied me as I got up to go to the door. What did they think I was going to do? Make out with him? Incest, the game the whole family can play.

He shut the door behind me as I stepped into the hallway.

“What now?”  I asked.

“Cuba.” He said, flashing one of his perfect smiles. He disgusted me.

“What?”

“Cuba. Mama and Papa just texted me saying that they have discounted tickets for Cuba.”

“Keep talking’.” I liked where this was going. Good old parents. Being the Russian Ambassador’s son had its advantages.

“They can get as many as we need. I figure we all go to Cuba for spring break.”

“Remind me to thank them,” I said grinning from ear to ear.

“Get back to class.” He said walking away. “Oh, by the way, I’m driving the Porsche tonight.”

Oh Sasha, never able to let me forget why I hate him so much. I flipped him the bird before heading back.

 Sasha

Why do I have a twin? I guess someone decided that I was so gorgeous that there needed to be two of me. Only they screwed up, and we got Ivanna. I crack myself up.

“Excuse me, young man,” Oh no, V.P Callaghan. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“I'm so sorry Mrs Callaghan. I was taking a call from my father. I promise I’ll get back right away.” I flashed her one of my signature smiles.

“Oh, alright then Mr Shostakovich, just hurry along.”

Too easy. As soon as the V.P turned the corner, I walked down the rest of the hallway and out of the building to my Harley.

Too Easy.

 Natalia

Why did I ever sign up to take calculus?! I’ve always been bad at math, and it does not get easier at the grade 12 level. It won’t be that bad I told myself you may even enjoy it. Yea right! This blows harder than Ivy at prom. 

The door opened, and suddenly I was given a reason why this course was worthwhile Sasha Shostakovich. Everything about him was larger than life gorgeous; his pearly white smile, his pale blue eyes, his chestnut brown hair, even the slight bulge that lay behind his zipper seemed perfect.

“Miss Jennings!” My teacher Mr Melcovitch brought me out of Sasha’s pants and back to reality. “Could you please tell the class the answer to the question on the board?”

“I’ll try…” Giggles erupted around me and I slunk down a little in my chair.

“Alrighty then, if a train leaves station A at x o’clock and a train leaves station B at y o’clock and the two trains are….” Eventually, the question just began to sound like mindless jabber. My eyes slowly shifted back to Sasha and the flawless back of his head.

I was never going to pass calculus if the only thing I was calculating was the slope of Sasha’s ass.

 Sterling

I sat in calculus, desperately trying not to fall asleep. Sasha and I decided it would be fun to go partying the night before our last day of school… some plan that was.  I guess I’m not the only one falling asleep in this pathetic class because Mr M decided to ‘engage us’. His victim? Miss Natalia Jennings.

No offence to Natalia, but she comes off as being your typical, happy go lucky, dumbass cheerleader who will probably sleep her way into University. I’m surprised she hasn’t dropped out of the class. Then again, getting to watch her walk into class after she’s bought another low-cut tank top is a definite perk. 

Sasha and I turned to face her. He nudged me as the look on her face quickly changed from la-la land to real land.

Luckily for “Jugs Jennings”, the bell rang and I gaped as she and her “little” friends bounce out of the classroom.

“Stop drooling, I have news for you.” Sasha teased, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

“What?”

“Cuba. Spring Break. You, me and as many skirts as we want.” He said naughtily.

This was why Sasha was my best friend.

 Leah

The second I left the classroom, I began to scan the hallway for Joe, my boyfriend. He stood, faithfully at my locker, waiting for me to get out of class.

“Hey, Hun,” I said, striding over and giving him a hello kiss.

“Hey babe, how are you doing?”

“Pretty good. Class sucked though.”

“Aww, poor thing.”

Just as he was going in for another kiss, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. I could hear Sasha and Sterling’s Neanderthal-like laughter.

“Do you mind?!” Joe yelled as Sterling tossed me over his shoulder.

Poor Joe, his heart was in the right place, but his mind never was. My friends Sterling and Sasha were at least 3 heads taller than him and could easily take him down in a second.  

“Sorry, were we interrupting?” Sterling giggled.

“Shut up Sterling! You know you’re just jealous!” I said as he put me down.

“Of who? You or Joe? Oh, Leah! I just want you so bad! Oh, yeah right there!” He teased as he and Sasha pelvic thrust at me.

“Cut it out!” Now Joe was pissed. He shoved Sterling in his chest. It didn’t move him very far, but it was enough to change his mood.

“Joe! It’s okay, they’re just kidding.” I jumped in.

“Yea Joeybear, Sterling and I were just having some fun with our bestest buddy Leah,” Sasha said, flashing one of his signature smiles.

I swear if I hadn’t known him for most of my life, I’d seriously consider jumping his bones.

“I just don’t like it,” Joe said, pouting.

“Come on Joe, let’s go,” I said taking his hand and leading him back to my locker. Sterling and Sasha decided to follow.

“Anyways, I have big news about spring break.” Sasha began. His dad had probably bought him some sort of private jet or something. He was always getting things like that, spoiled brat, it’s why we still loved him. “How do you guys feel about spending spring break in a five-star resort in Cuba?”

I almost lost my balance. CUBA?!?! Wow!

“YES!” I said before I could even think about it. “Can Joe come too?”

“Would I have brought it up in front of him if he wasn’t invited?”

“Yes,” Sterling interjected.

“Well… this time, no. Joe

is invited, you’re invited and so is Sterling. Naturally, Ivy will be coming with some of her friends, but we won’t let that dampen our spirits.”

Ugh! Ivy and her preppy, girlie girl, skank friends will be coming with us. Those girls ooze popularity, and not even the kind that I look up to, it’s the kind that makes me want to gag. But whatever, if the price for spending an all-expenses-paid two weeks in Cuba was spending it with Ivy and her “mini-me” squad, so be it.

[deniscollins]

The Amazon Critic Who Saw Its Power From the Inside

Amazon is facing growing antitrust scrutiny due to market domination. Should the federal government break Amazon into 5 different companies -- the retail company, the manufacturing company, the voice recognition company, the cloud computing company and the Prime video company should be the same company? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Tim Bray, an internet pioneer and a former vice president at Amazon, sent shock waves through the tech giant in early May when he resigned for what he called “a vein of toxicity” running through its culture.

Within a few hours, his blog post about the resignation drew hundreds of thousands of views, and his inbox filled up with requests from journalists, recruiters and techies. Soon, lawmakers on Capitol Hill cited the post. It all made Mr. Bray, 65, Amazon’s highest-profile defector.

But there was more he wanted to say.

In the weeks since, he has aimed his brain power not at fixing a coding problem but at framing a broader critique of the company. In talks and blog posts that have drawn attention inside the company, he has called for unionization and antitrust regulation. Amid “the beating of the antitrust drums,” Mr. Bray wrote in one post, he would like to see Amazon separate its retail business from its lucrative cloud computing unit.

“And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone,” he said.

Facing growing antitrust scrutiny at the same time that the coronavirus crisis has strained the company’s operations, Amazon is increasingly forced to defend its record as an employer and its relationship with consumers. On Monday, Jeff Bezos, the company’s chief executive, will testify for the first time before Congress, which is investigating the power of Amazon and other tech titans.

Mr. Bray stands out because while much of the criticism of Amazon has been from the outside — labor groups, lawmakers and rivals — he spent more than five years in the top echelons of the company.

Amazon declined to comment about Mr. Bray.

In a series of video interviews from a gently rocking small boat, docked in Vancouver, British Columbia, that has been his office during the pandemic, Mr. Bray straightforwardly presented his ideas as a matter of logic.

“I am not in some radical fringe because I think the wealth and power in the 21st century is overly concentrated,” he said. “The tech industry is a leading candidate for what could be broken up.”

Tech Feats and Activism

Mr. Bray may have been uniquely predisposed to think about more than engineering problems. Born in Canada, he grew up largely in Beirut, where his father worked as a professor. As political and religious conflict made Lebanon unstable, “it just wasn’t a good place to live,” Mr. Bray said.

His time in Beirut stayed with him after he returned to Canada, making him unable to ignore politics. “Politics there takes the very rare form of riots in the streets and incoming Israeli missiles,” he said.

While a student at University of Guelph, near Toronto, Mr. Bray found joy and skill in computer science. He used it during the early days of the consumer internet, digitizing the Oxford English Dictionary and founding two start-ups. But he is best known among technologists for helping invent XML, a critical standard for storing and sharing data on the internet.

By 2014, after several years at Google, Mr. Bray had joined Amazon. He became a rare “distinguished engineer,” part of an elite group whose clout comes not from managing large teams but from demonstrating engineering brilliance.

Paul Hoffman, who met Mr. Bray in the 2000s while writing technical standards for blogs, said Mr. Bray was one of those people you really want to hate but can’t, a polymath who was highly functional on just a few hours of sleep.

Mr. Bray is definitely “a geeky geek,” Mr. Hoffman said, “but what is atypical is that he also has a lot of other interests.”

In conversation and his writing, Mr. Bray readily cites the economist Thomas Piketty (whose book on inequality he has read “end to end”), admits a love of heavy metal (which he calls “sort of, well, ridiculous,” because “the volume is much louder than can be sanely necessary”) and talks in detail about the climate crisis (which he finds alarming “as a person who has a high respect for quantitative science and understands what mathematical modeling is about”).

He turned some of those interests into activism. In 2018, he was arrested while protesting a proposed pipeline in Canada that would export tar sands oil to Asian markets. And last year, when he saw that thousands of corporate Amazon employees had signed a letter urging Amazon to address the climate crisis more forcefully, he added his name. He was the most senior person to join.

His involvement thrilled organizers. “To have a V.P. just confirmed how strongly Amazon employees felt about Amazon taking significant leadership on climate,” said Emily Cunningham, an Amazon designer at the time who helped organize the letter.

His public dissent angered some leaders at Amazon, Mr. Bray said. He said he had been told to remember the Amazon leadership principle known as “disagree and commit,” the idea that people should vigorously debate internally but that once a formal decision on an issue is made, everyone should fall in line and support it.

“As a V.P., you’re not supposed to go off the rails with conflicting messaging, which is not an unreasonable position,” Mr. Bray said. But that idea would eventually lead to his resignation.

In April, Amazon fired Ms. Cunningham and several other workers who had raised concerns about safety in Amazon’s warehouses. The company said each employee had repeatedly violated various policies. To Mr. Bray, it looked “like an explicit policy of firing anybody who put up their hand.”

“We support every employee’s right to criticize their employer’s working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies,” Jaci Anderson, an Amazon spokeswoman, said in a statement.

For Mr. Bray, the firings crossed a line. He said he had raised concerns internally but could not “disagree and commit,” as Amazon wanted. He stayed for a few weeks to wrap up a project and resigned, leaving $1 million in compensation behind.

He turned to his blog to explain the resignation publicly. Mr. Bray stayed up until 2 a.m., preparing his server to withstand greater-than-usual traffic, should Reddit and Hacker News pick up his post, as he hoped. The plan worked even better than he had expected.

“I was aiming at a soft target, it turned out,” he said.

‘A Deep, Societal Problem’

In the days that followed, Mr. Bray’s critique resonated in Washington, D.C. He spoke with Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat whose district includes Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. And a group of senators mentioned his resignation blog post when they wrote to Mr. Bezos about the firings.

He initially tried to keep a low profile, responding only by email to press requests. But he kept blogging and eventually talked publicly, making even more aggressive criticisms of the company.

On a live video in early June with National Observer, a Canadian investigative news site, Mr. Bray said Amazon was a symptom of concentrated capitalism. “We don’t really have an Amazon problem,” he said. “What we have is a deep, societal problem with an unacceptable imbalance of power and wealth.”

“It’s not obvious to me why the retail company, the manufacturing company, the voice recognition company, the cloud computing company and the Prime video company should be the same company,” he said at the event. “They’re not particularly related to each other, and I think it’s actively distorting and harmful.”

A week later, Mr. Bray spoke at a virtual conference convened by global unions critical of Amazon. He said that unions should be easier to form in the United States and that “one of the most powerful political programs we could run with the aim of correcting the power imbalances that concern us is antimonopoly.” He also said the sheer size of Amazon and other large corporations gave them inordinate power over politics, policies and labor conditions.

The “goodness” Amazon espouses for customers — low prices, endless selection, quick delivery — “isn’t free,” he said. “Right now, the downside of all this goodness is overwhelmingly being experienced by the warehouse workers.”

Amazon has strongly defended its labor conditions, saying that it has spent billions of dollars to make its warehouses safe and that its workers are paid at least $15 an hour, plus benefits.

Mr. Bray soon turned to formulating a business case for breaking up the company. He wrote it in a standard Amazon format, known as a PRFAQ, envisioning how the company would announce the proposal once it was fully enacted. With antitrust pressures growing, Amazon might prefer to “proactively” spin off its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, he wrote, “as opposed to under hostile pressure from Washington.”

He posted the document on GitHub, a coding collaboration tool, asking for help improving the pitch. By spinning AWS off, he argued, companies like Walmart that compete with Amazon would be more comfortable using the cloud computing service, opening up more potential customers.

“Organizations who compete with Amazon want to take advantage of AWS’s industry-leading offerings without having to worry that they are strengthening a competitor,” he wrote.

His post did not go viral like his resignation. But looking at logs on his blog’s server, he could tell that it got attention somewhere critical: inside Amazon.

His suspicion was confirmed when a former colleague told him that Amazon was worried a Wall Street analyst might think the document was a true Amazon document. Could he add a disclaimer?

Mr. Bray updated the proposal. “This document is not an Amazon production,” he wrote. “It describes a hypothetical process that could take place.”

[mrchrispaglia]

The Heart of the Matter

Here are four indisputable facts that I know about Joe Biden:  His middle name is “Robinette”; he’s been a career politician since 1973; he was Vice President of the United States for eight years; he’s NOT Donald J. Trump.  It would appear to me that the final fact is the main (if not ONLY) reason that Biden is at the top of the leader board heading into 2020.

As an Independent voter, I’m not wholly convinced that Joe Biden is the best choice to lead the country out of the primordial morass in which we currently find ourselves.  While I’m not necessarily against the former V.P. because he’s “just another old white guy”, I find it extremely disconcerting that viable candidates with names like Buttigieg, Harris, Hickenlooper, Klobuchar and Schultz are starting from so far back of the starting line.  It sounds like we’re going to have a repeat of 2016, when the Democrats shoved Hillary Clinton down everyone’s collective throat, ostensibly shut Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic National Convention (where Bern just rolled over and played dead), and produced the second worst POTUS candidate of the 2016 Election.

Don’t get me wrong:  Joe Biden can clearly bring dignity back to an office that so desperately needs it. He’s empathic, humble, and every other adjective that Donald Trump isn’t.  

In the grand scheme of things, though, Joe Biden is part of the problem. He’s been a cog in the wheel of the Washington D.C. establishment for almost 50 years.  It doesn’t matter to me that he’s a Democrat since they are just the opposite side of the same coin.  If the only choices that we honestly have were really that different, don’t you think that we would finally be free of our reliance on foreign energy by now?  Don’t you think that Wall Street would not only be better regulated, but better controlled?  Don’t you think that the Military Industrial Complex would have been buried sometime during President Carter’s second term?

I’m not against Democrats and I’m not for Republicans.  I want candidates from all walks of life, who don’t need millions and millions of dollars or followers to capture my attention and pique my interests. Allow ME to decide if their ideas are too “out there”.  I don’t need Anderson Cooper or Laura Ingraham or anyone on local television to tell me why the contender at the top of the polls is the only person with a legitimate shot at the nomination.  In many ways, our election process has become a self-fulfilling prophecy; if you repeat Joe Biden’s name over and over again, and tell the general public that he is our savior, too many people will simply take that on blind faith.  Not exactly the most constructive way to run a democracy, wouldn’t you agree?

Navy Veteran Mayor Pete is easily as engaging, intelligent and well spoken as Joe Biden; Kamala Harris would most likely shred The Donald during a debate; John Hickenlooper is one of the most open-minded, progressive candidates I’ve read about in years; Amy Klobuchar is a fighter, a proven leader, and appears to have a true passion for public service; and Howard Schultz (whether you like Starbucks or not) is a legitimately successful businessman who built himself and his success from the ground up, without the help of his father. All of these candidates appear, on paper, to be the complete antithesis of President Trump. None of these candidates, however, have a truly legitimate chance in 2020 to be the Democratic nominee.  

If the former Veep isn’t a commentary on how lazy we’ve become as a populous, please consider this:  Joe Biden is final proof that the United State electoral process has pretty much run its course.  I’m sure if WAPO or Ronin Farrow dig deep enough, they’ll find a “Joe Biden Milwaukee Acceptance Speech” file somewhere.  Maybe Julian can lend a hand?

While I’m not so naïve to think that the President of the United States makes decisions that directly impact my daily life, I’d love for that man or woman to have empathy, humility and sympathy for other human beings, even if he or she disagrees.  I look not for perfection in my leaders, but for ones who appreciate failure as the learning tool that it is.  I don’t need to be best at everything, or anything for that matter.  I appreciate the beauty of bronze.  The point is that I would never vote for someone like Donald J. Trump as my leader.

Having said all that, I’d like to add that Trump won the Presidency from out of nowhere.  He wasn’t “The Chosen One” or some governor named Bush.  If he weren’t such a slow adult, Donald Trump, believe it or not, would have a legitimate chance to unite the country.  The bottom line, however, is that I just can’t bring myself to follow someone who openly mocks the disabled, whether others approve of that behavior or not.

 With respect to the our current process, Matt Taibbi said it best:  “The Presidential election is a drama that we Americans have learned to wholly consume as entertainment, divorced completely from any expectations about concrete changes in our own lives.”  

We’re back in high school folks, back to the popular, rich, rude and not terribly bright kid “winning”, while the rest of us look for someone who at least shares SOME of our values.  Unfortunately, we are being force fed an option that many of us simply don’t want. I continually hear politicians, particularly Democrats, talk about how “we” have to “win back” the White House.  Even in a two-party system, I have to ask: Who is we and why is winning so important?  While I share many more values of the Democratic party than I do most other parties, I’ve voted for Independents, Libertarians and Republicans.  I am both in favor of the 2nd Amendment and universal background checks.  I’m completely against any sort of faith-based government, and I believe in my heart that, as Hitch said so eloquently, religion poisons everything.

The fact of the matter is that Democrats and Republicans control EVERYTHING, from the process of Independent candidates getting on ballots (which is becoming more and more difficult for them to do) to how much information the American public is allowed to consume.  The only reason that Robert Mueller’s report hasn’t been made public is because is will surely embarrass BOTH sides of the aisle.  What good is having a Senate Judiciary Committee if they hold people in contempt, but never really follow up?

 If you were going to buy a car, but you only had two models from which to pick, you’d probably raise holy hell and demand that you have a third and maybe even a fourth choice.  We aren’t forced to choose to live in only one of two states or go on vacation to either Disneyland or Disney World.  The political process should allow for more choices than what we currently have.  While I’m not holding my breath that a major change will occur during my lifetime, I am hopeful that my children and theirs will be able one day walk into a voting booth and be able to choose between five or six Presidential candidates, all of whom have a legitimate chance to not only win, but to lead with compassion, courage, and wisdom.  

�

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Coming Out April 2024

🩷 There's something especially sweet about a sapphic romance. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books hitting shelves in April 2024. Which ones are you adding to your ever-growing TBR?

💖 What's your favorite sapphic book?

[ List below. ]

Contemporary 💖 A Happy Good Girl - Marissa Higgins 💖 A Case for Discretion - Ashley Moore 💖 Thawing the CEO - Emily Hayes 💖 Aubrey McFadden Is Never Getting Married - Georgia Beers 💖 The Broken Lines of Us - Shia Woods 💖 Rainbow Overalls - Maggie Fortuna 💖 Here Come the Brides - Micheala Lynn 💖 Houseswap 101 - Jaime Clevenger 💖 Sweet on You - Shannon O'Connor 💖 Sing, I - Ethel Rohan 💖 Light Betrays Us - Greta Rose West 💖 Moving Hearts - Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue 💖 The Last Love Song - Kalie Holford 💖 Playing For Keeps - Jennifer Dugan 💖 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur 💖 Finally Fitz - Marisa Kanter 💖 Every Time You Hear That Song - Jenna Voris 💖 Women! In! Peril! - Jessie Ren Marshall 💖 Revisiting Summer Nights - Ashley Bartlett 💖 Leather, Lace, and Locs - Anne Shade 💖 So Long Sad Love - Mirion Malle 💖 Girls Night - I.S. Belle 💖 Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun 💖 Pillow Talk - Stephanie Cooke, Mel Valentine 💖 Good Bones - Aurora Ray 💖 Crash Landing - Li Charmaine Anne 💖 Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine - Nicole Melleby

Paranormal/Horror 💖 Bloodline - Jenn Alexander 💖 Grey Dog - Elliott Gish 💖 Cranberry Cove - Hailey Piper 💖 Court of Wanderers - Rin Chupeco 💖 Something Kindred - Ciera Burch 💖 Blood City Rollers - V.P. Anderson, Tatiana Hill

Fantasy 💖 Call Forth a Fox - Markelle Grabo 💖 Someone You Can Build a Nest In - John Wiswell 💖 Off With Their Heads - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💖 Calling of Light - Lori M. Lee 💖 To a Darker Shore - Leanne Schwartz 💖 The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray - Christine Calella 💖 Saint-Seducing Gold - Brittany N. Williams 💖 A Sweet Sting of Salt - Rose Sutherland 💖 Darker by Four - June C.L. Tan 💖 The Map That Led to You - Ella McLeod 💖 The Merciless King of Moore High - Lily Sparks

Historical 💖 Lighthouse Keeper - Eliza Lentzski

Mystery/Thriller 💖 Rough Trade - Katrina Carrasco 💖 Molten Death - Leslie Karst 💖 Eye of the Ouroboros - Megan Bontrager 💖 Text Me When You Get This - Frances Lucas 💖 Paige Not Found - Jen Wilde

Sci-Fi 💖 Moon Dust in My Hairnet - J.R. Creaden 💖 Hearts Still Beating - Brooke Archer 💖 Harley Quinn: Redemption - Rachael Allen 💖 In Universes - Emet North

[ebhyde-blog]

Title:  Neosho Falls ("series pilot")

Genre:  Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Production Company:  Obvertere Limited

Independent/SAG

Screenplay:  Loron Hays, Eric Hyde

Music:  Matt Pelsma (Hell on Wheels)

Production Status:  GREEN

Release Date:  2018

SYNOPSIS:  Two families in small town Kansas find themselves in the path of an extra-terrestrial visitor.

Why Help?

No one has ever seen a film like this, made by a Kansan, and filmed by Kansans.

The short film stars George Dean (From Ashes to Immortality), Angela Nordeng (Viscious), and Andy Stowers (It Starts with Murder!). It has special appearances by Delilah Rose Pellow (Ex Somnia, From Ashes to Immortality), Paul Ford (Alien Nation), and an extra special guest appearance by Kelly Perine (Downward Hiro), T.V. host Mike Anderson (From Ashes to Immortality) of the Not So Late Show, and Shamrock FC professional MMA fighter Zak Bucia, who choreographed fight scenes in From Ashes to Immortality, and is returning to help in the production of Neosho Falls.

Badass Sinema Unearthed’s Loron Hays, a Kansas resident, is the author of Only When I Breathe and Either Side of the Same Street. He is an active member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and his opinions on film – which favor B-movies and drive-in flicks – can be read at Reel Reviews (www.franksreelreviews.com). Neosho Falls is his first co-written venture with filmmaker Eric Hyde; it won’t be his last.

Eric Hyde is an emerging director and writer from Lawrence, Kansas with a unique cinematic vision. He has worked with Emmy nominated Director of Photography Jeremy Osbern of Through A Glass Productions, SAG actors Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans) and Blake Robbins (The Scent of Rain and Lightning), and Sundance nominated Director Kevin Willmott.

News, Advice, Comments

“People are going to take time out of their lives to watch this, and they are going to pay money. You have to tell a story, and you have to leave the viewer walking away with something." - Marc Havener

"Go make a film!  The only one stopping you is you!" - Blake Robbins

"A very ambitious fight sequence... You must have a very good fight choreographer." - Wes Studi on his fight scenes in From Ashes to Immortality

"I am very proud of you for making this happen... it takes a special gift to motivate and inspire.  I wish you continued good fortune and always remember that sometimes in filming things take a turn.  Try to embrace that it could be for the better." - Blake Robbins

Cast

George M. Dean is a versatile actor who started his career in theater. He was born George Earl Matchette in Dallas, Texas, on December 16, 1978 to Linda Pecina and George Matchette. His first major role was Fight Night where he played a bookie. From there, he went on to play a football coach in 32, a British doctor in Tales of the Interim Net, a police coroner in The Chosen series, and a drunken, abusive father in From Ashes to Immortality. George M. Dean is a character actor who has done Shakespeare, plays, film, commercial, and print work. He studied theater under Tony Piazza and completed three years of college under a full ride theater scholarship. George M. Dean is currently involved with two short films and the series pilot, Neosho Falls. When George M. Dean is not acting, he focuses on his music. He is the C.E.O. for Pauper Inc. and is a musician in the group D.I.D. which is due to release its second album, WOKE, in late 2017. George was raised around the country in a gypsy lifestyle. He dropped out of school when he was 16 to go to work on a pipeline to help out his family after his stepdad was hurt during a volunteer firefighter incident. He decided recently to leave the corporate world and to follow his dream of being a full-time actor.

Angela Nordeng was cast to play the role of Mary in Neosho Falls after meeting director Eric Hyde at Bare Bones Independent International Film and Music Festival, where she was awarded Best Actress. Angela has won awards at various festivals for her work in the feature film Vicious, in which she starred alongside Jason James Richter of Free Willy fame. She can currently be seen in FX's Married and Lifetime's My Crazy Ex, as well as the trailer for the upcoming Will Ferrell film, The House, which will debut later this year. She is excited to announce that she's currently in preproduction for Assembly Line Entertainment's upcoming feature, Arlington Road, with Bruce Dern and has just wrapped principal photography on RD Womack III's untitled film. Outside of acting, Angela enjoys playing guitar, swimming, backpacking, rock climbing, and aerial dance.

Andy Stowers has been working in theatre and film as an actor, writer, director, designer, and producer for over 20 years. He has performed all over the country but does most of his work in and around Lawrence, KS. He received theatre training at Wichita State and the University of Kansas. He co-founded E.M.U. Theatre of Lawrence in 1998, owns and operates The Invisible Hand Framing & Printing Inc., currently performs regularly as a member of Foxy By Proxy Revue, and is father to a beautiful and intelligent, young child.

Rebeca Anderson. No bio available.

Delilah Rose Pellow is so excited to be working with Eric Hyde again after working with him as Evie in From Ashes to Immortality. Delilah has been acting in theatre since the age of 3, and started acting in film/commercials around the age of 6. Some of her other film credits include: The Lucid Engine (Bruce Branit), Men Go To Battle (Zachary Treitz), and The Boy Who Stayed (Dan Hernandez). Delilah loves being on set or stage and can't wait to see where this exciting life of acting takes her!

Kaylin Mally was born in Kansas City. She is currently a sophomore in high school and is on their dance team. She lives with her parents and has a brother, sister and a dog. She has been in the feature film, American Honey, and several other local films and commercials. She enjoys taking acting classes, dance, modeling and just hanging out with her friends. She is planning to move to Los Angeles after high school and continue her education and pursue her dreams.

Alex Hurt is a Lawrence, KS native and senior at Lawrence High School. He is active band member, music producer, and has performance experience in theatrical production. Neosho Falls is his first film.

Henry Letner was born in Omaha, Nebraska on September 3, 1999. Attending Baldwin High School as an incoming senior. Worked small town productions as a child and as a sophomore in high school. Amateur guitar player and performer. Currently focusing on being a student and works at the Baldwin City Pool.

Born the son of a Penn State professor and a Chemical Engineer mother, Kelly Perine showed an innate ability for acting by the age of 5. Kelly’s love of performing kept him active throughout his upbringing, participating in numerous plays in community theatres around PA. His high-school days were spent at Lake Forest Academy on the North Shore of Chicago, where he got his first taste of the big time while doing work for numerous productions shot in the Windy City. After coming to California to attend Pomona College for a B.A. in Film Studies, Kelly continued his education and received an M.F.A. in Drama from the University of California: Irvine. For the past 2 decades Kelly has been a staple in film and Television. You may recognize him from his early appearances on: E.R., Seinfeld, The Practice, Mad About You; along with playing recurring characters on: The Drew Carey Show, Providence, The Parent 'Hood, Malcolm & Eddie, True Jackson V.P., & For Your Love. Kelly has also been a series regular on U.P.N.'s: Between Brothers where he played Weatherman Dusty Canyon, Under One Roof where he starred opposite Flavor Flav, and possibly most recognizably as a regular on U.P.N.’s hit comedy One On One playing the outrageous Duane Odell Knox. Kelly has also been featured in national ad campaigns for: Jimmy Dean Sausages, Go Daddy, H & R Block, Callaway Golf Balls, A.T.&T., Foot Locker, Kelly Tires, Bud Ice, Coors Light, Motel 6, Wendy's, Toyota, Wausau Insurance, Pizza Hut, Captain D’s. Kelly’s movies include “The Babymoon”, “The Wedding Pact”, “Dog Gone”, “Convincing Clooney” & “Speed Dating”. His recent television offerings included appearances on: The Crazy Ones, The Thundermans, Dog With A Blog, Let’s Stay Together, and Austin & Ally. Kelly is also proud to have starred in and Executive Produced “A Perfect Day”, an 18 minute short film which follows his postman character as he talks a troubled teen out of committing a desperate act. It is an award-winning dramatic piece, having been screened at 45 festivals. Kelly wrote/directed/stars in his latest short “Downward Hiro” which is just starting it’s festival run. Kelly also has 3 feature comedy scripts and various television projects in the works.

Television’s Mike Anderson has entertained the Kansas audience since 2011 with his late-night program the Not So Late Show. As the host and principle writer Mike has won several national awards. He was also named “The Most Interesting Character in Small Town America” by Readers Digest. Mike has been featured in local and national commercials but does the majority of his work in the Lawrence and Kansas City area. He has his doctorate from the University of Kansas and has even been published in academic journals and books. He appreciates the finer things and lives his life dancing close to the fire.

Paul Ford, born in Ahoskie, North Carolina on September 18th, 1967. Attended Millbrook High School in Raleigh, NC. Began acting as a child doing commercials for Easter Seals Society, and Jerry Lewis Telethon. Moved to Hollywood, California in 1987. Did some small parts and extra work. Was a professional guitar player from 1988-1998. Now lives and acts in Southern California. Representation KMR Talent Agency Gail Ford Williamson Gwilliamson@KMRTalent.com Manager; Gina Stoj Management ginastoj.usa@gmail.com

Zak Bucia, born Zakary Alan Bucia in Lawrence, Kansas, September 27th 1984, has studied martial arts for over 30 years. He moved to San Fransisco directly out of high school to then become a professional fighter in 2007. He has choreographed fight scenes for the film From Ashes to Immortality as well as acted in Valeo Hospital and Harley Davidson commercials. He currently resides back in his hometown of LFK - Lawrence, Kansas.

Eric Hyde is an emerging director and writer from Lawrence, Kansas with a unique cinematic vision. He has worked with Emmy award-winning Director of Photography Jeremy Osbern of Through A Glass Productions, SAG actors Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans) and Blake Robbins (The Scent of Rain and Lightning), and Sundance nominated Director Kevin Willmott (C.S.A: The Confederate States of America, Chi-Raq). Neosho Falls is a series pilot/short film, and is his second film.

Badass Sinema Unearthed’s Loron Hays, a Kansas resident, is the author of Only When I Breathe and Either Side of the Same Street. He is an active member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and his opinions on film – which favor B-movies and drive-in flicks – can be read at Reel Reviews (www.franksreelreviews.com). Neosho Falls is his first co-written venture with filmmaker Eric Hyde; it won’t be his last.

[gozno84-blog]

Best Coast Beer Adventures. Part 1

For as long as I can remember, beer has been a part of my life. My name is Chris and being born and raised in london Ontario, the home town of Labatt brewery. It’s easy so see why. my mother worked as the secretary for Mr. j.h. moore (v.p of operations Labatts brewery) before it’s sale in 1995 to InterBrew.  Labatt blue and blue light where staples around my house and cases would arrive once each summer. When my parents threw a party annual party all of their friends and kids. Swimming, barbecuing and beer.

My first craft beer experience was at Chaucers bar on Carling St. It was a sample bottle of atomic smash bomb from the flying monkeys brewing company. I visit Chaucers regularly for the wide selection of international imports, but mostly for their delirium tremens keg. I have now drank beer on three continents ,sixteen countries, 7 states and in almost 200 breweries.

After a very long 2015 I was invited to spend three months in BC with my best friend and his fiance.  We travelled from Campbell River to Seattle from Merritt to the beaches of Tofino. 264 different beers from 189 breweries. I left Ontario a craft beer enthusiast and returned with a broadened understand of the craft beer industry.  I also returned with a chip on my shoulder.  The craft beer industry is expanding rapidly but not like the industry is growing in British Columbia. London is only now beginning to make progress with what Anderson’s and the Brewing co-op are producing.

It’s been a little over a year since that adventure, and now it is time to fulfill my duties as best man to my friend and his fiance as I travel back to British Columbia. I will be spending 7 days in Vancouver Whistler, Naniamo and Tofino stopping off at some of my favourite breweries and a few I missed on my last trip. 

I welcome you to join me as I write about my adventures and highlights of the craft beer world in British Columbia.