Topic: ART NEWS
EAST TRENTON ART SHOW
« | February 2017 | » | ||||
S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 |
EAST TRENTON ART SHOW
GOAT YOGA
Lainey Morse didn’t mean to invent a new wellness activity.
She certainly didn’t mean to start a vacation trend for city-dwellers seeking an escape from the bustle of modern life, but as of early Thursday morning, her "goat yoga" practice has a waiting list of 1,200 people.
They’re waiting to take a regular yoga class on her farm in Albany, Ore., with one addition: Morse’s eight goats will be scurrying about and interacting with the yogis. In the warmer months, the practice takes place in a field. In the colder ones, it moves to a barn.
“When the yoga class is going on, they’ll wander around, they’ll curl up on their mats and fall asleep, they’ll cuddle up next to someone and interrupt their pose,” Morse told The Washington Post in a phone interview. Sometimes they climb on to their backs. “The look on these people’s faces is just pure bliss.”
It certainly seems to be — reviewers refer to the experience as “calming,” “relaxing” and “fun.”
Cherie Twohy, a participant, wrote of the class, “I’ve had a rough couple of years, and this put a smile on my face that I can’t remember feeling in a while.” Another, Abbie Hicks, was even more enthusiastic, writing,” There are no words for how fun and awesome this experience was!”
Lauralei Schuster found humor in the experience, writing, “The baby goats played all around us and climbed on laps or chewed on various things while their mamas looked on. The yoga was relaxing and energizing and occasionally hilarious when the goats jumped on someone.”
It’s become such a hit that most of the 1,200 will be traveling to join in.
“Pretty much no one in my local community comes to these classes. It’s mostly people that live in big cities like Seattle and Portland,” Morse said. “They all live in these big cities, and they don’t get to experience country life or have interaction with goats.”
In November, she quit a job she loved at Henderer Design and Build to manage the business full-time. If that sounds like a living encapsulation of the popular Twitter hashtag #FollowYourBliss, perhaps it is, but it’s how Morse has always conducted her life — and how the practice came to exist in the first place.
Ten years ago, the outdoorswoman from Michigan found herself living in the tan, endless desertscape of Phoenix, Ariz., desperately missing lush greenery, when she saw a glossy photograph of Oregon in a wall calendar.
“It was really mossy and beautiful,” she said. “So I flew into Portland and rented a car” to find a new home. When she rolled into Corvallis, she knew immediately, thinking to herself, “This is where I’m going to live.”
“It was a big leap of faith, and it totally paid off,” she said. “That’s why I named my farm No Regrets Farm.”
The next order of business in warding off regrets was fulfilling her lifelong dream of owning goats.
“I had never had them, never been exposed to them, never even touched one. But I’d see videos and think they’re just such cool animals.” So she acquired two baby goats — which she named Ansel and Adams after the famed photographer — and a copy of "Raising Goats for Dummies."
By fall of 2015, four small goats strutted around her farm, but that’s when tragedy doubled down on her.
Already in the middle of a divorce, she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an immune system disorder similar to lupus.
“Every day I would come home from work, sit out in my field and spend time with my goats,” Morse recalled. “It ended up being so therapeutic to me. It’s hard to be sad and depressed when you have baby goats jumping around you.”
She extended her good fortune to others by inviting harried friends to join her for what she coined Goat Happy Hour and, “by the time they left, they didn’t remember they were stressed.”
“When you get baby goats, you get super popular. Everyone wants to come to your house,” she said. “People who are just having an off-day or are depressed will ask if they can come spend some times with my goats.”
The crowds at her farm began growing — she even auctioned a child’s birthday party off, which proved fateful: at that party, one of the children’s mothers asked to hold a yoga class in the field with the goats.
As news organizations discovered the practice, her clientele grew. Recently, Oregon State University contacted her in hopes of providing goat yoga for some of its students, and Morse has partnered with a local winery to host the most zenful of tranquil activities: goat yoga with a wine tasting.
“I think the whole combination of country life, animals and yoga just went so beautifully together that people just resonate with it,” she said. “The world is so stressed out right now, and they don’t want to think about politics, ISIS and war. It’s a happy distraction.”
These days, eight goats wander around the tree pose-holding visitors.
The veterans are a 100-ish pound boar goat named Dodger, “who had some brain damage when he was a baby. … He’s not quite there, but it makes him so sweet and lovable, so he’s everyone’s favorite now,” and five Nigerian dwarf goats, “which are mini-goats,” Morse gleefully said.
If you’ve ever worked for a bad boss, you’ve probably uttered these famous words …. “I don’t get paid enough to put up with this crap!” Bad bosses destroy morale and employee engagement and, more often than not, they brighten up the whole company when they quit or are finally fired. So what makes someone a bad boss? The following 15 behaviors are a few of our favorites:
So here are the behaviors that will kill employee engagement. Can you imagine working for a boss like this? I don’t know about you, but I would quit. No one gets paid enough to put up with that crap. Abuse in the workplace is worse than an abusive home. Why you ask? Because you spend more time at work,for most, than you do at home.
Women's March Washington Jan 2017
https://www.facebook.com/359697407526169/photos/?tab=album&album_id=726682457494327
Other photos from March by Duffy
By Tammy Duffy, PhD
They thought about 200,000 would come.
The number of people who came were 1.3 million and counting to Washington DC, on January 21, for the Women's March on Washington. They came from all walks of life and places in the United States. I spent time speaking with a lot of women, including the homeless on the street. The homeless had the best stories as to why they were at the march. They had the most hope for America.
In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. "Women’s March ‘Mission & Vision’"
The women and men who walked did so to honor those female warriors before us--the suffragettes, women’s libbers trailblazers like Margaret Thatcher, Condelleza Rice, Hillary Clinton and others―and give voice to their concerns in a new era. I marched because I am concerned. I am concerned about Women's rights. I did not march to de-legitimize the presidency. I marched to better understand everyone's position. I am a republican who struggled on who to vote for this election. I did vote. As a scientist I like a more analytical approach to decisions. Selfishly, I want to see this type of decision making with our new administration.
I grew up in the hood. My grandparents lived in East Trenton, NJ. My parents lived in the attic of my one grandparents home when they first got married for year. My Father had his own business and actually did a lot of the steel construction for President Trump's casinos in Atlantic City. I grew up learning how to appreciate that a hard day at work can reap many rewards. My parents had no money to send me to college, yet I was able to achieve a PhD in Health Physics. America is a land of great possibility.If you have passion and time you can do anything no matter how much money you have.
I am concerned with the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence. PP believes that respect and value for diversity in all aspects of life is essential to our well-being. They also believe that reproductive self-determination must be voluntary and preserve the individual's right to privacy. The government should not be involved in this. Planned Parenthood's ability to train families on the enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships is key to a families success. The key to a childs success. The key to America's success.
Planned Parenthood also provides comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of each individual. They act as an advocate to public policies which guarantee these rights and ensure access to such services. Their ability to provide educational programs which enhance understanding of individual and societal implications of human sexuality. The video controversy damaged their brand. The videos are believed to be doctored. Who knows the real truth. What I do know is that PP has given the women in the disparate communities of the United States their only resource for healthcare and knowledge for sexual health, etc. Taking this away will severely damage the health care costs and well being of millions in the United States. The communities that utilize these resources are the very people who have the highest health risks. The education for birth control, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, or medically accurate sexuality education are now defunded for PP. This means open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion and birth control for all people, regardless of income, location or education is viewed as not important to defund it.
Ivanka Trump wants to focus on women's issues. Yet, I have never seen or heard that she has visited the bowels of the inner cities to learn what the real issues are for the middle and lower class of America. She needs to come and visit us. She grew up very privileged, she cannot have a clear understanding or background on the real issues that mid and lower class America has. This is not to criticize her, but to guide her on how to develop programs that work and are sustainable. We want her to help us and the only way to do that is to visit us.
Women can change a society. We have seen this globally with the implementation of microfunds in poverty stricken countries to women and they transform their communities.
Women in America are still 35 percent more likely than men to be poor in America, with single mothers facing the highest risk. Currently, 35 percent of single women with children live and raise their families in poverty.
Despite composing nearly half of the workforce, women account for 60 percent of the nation’s lowest paid workers. The salaries for the vast majority of jobs held by women, in industries such as retail and hospitality, are consistently lower than in traditionally male career paths, such as construction, engineering, and energy. For this reason, Legal Momentum is working to expand women’s pathways into non-traditional work, which promises stronger salaries, stable benefits, and a pathway from poverty to prosperity.
Women and children account for over 70 percent of the nation’s poor. Unfortunately, the nation’s anti-poverty and safety net programs have repeatedly failed to take into account the reality of women’s lives and provide sufficient provisions for helping women and families escape poverty. Until very recently, and as is still the case in many states, unemployment insurance in most states was limited to full-time workers, leaving part-time workers – the vast majority of whom are women – with no assistance if they lost their jobs. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the country’s main program for addressing family poverty, does not provide enough support to prevent acute material hardships – like hunger, homelessness, and utility cut-offs – for the families that rely on it. Work requirements for women with very young children create even higher hurdles. With women accounting for over 90 percent of adult TANF recipients, reforming this program is critical to alleviating women’s poverty.
There are 11.5 million single-mothers in America. While women’s workforce participation has increased, the supply of affordable child care has lagged far behind, meaning that many single moms literally cannot afford to work or have to spend a large share of their meager income on childcare.
More than one in eight women, more than 16.9 million, lived in poverty last year. Poverty rates were particularly high for families headed by single mothers — 1 in 3 (36.5 percent) lived in poverty. More than half of all poor children (56.2 percent) lived in female-headed families in 2015.
Poverty Rates in District of Columbia
Women: 16.3%
Female- Headed Families: 40.3%
Black women: 23.9%
Hispanic women: 11.3%
Asian women: 15.8%
Native American women: -
Women 65 and older: 15.0%
Children: 25.6%
Poverty Rates in New Jersey
Women: 10.6%
Female-headed families: 33.6%
Asian women: 7.4%
Black women: 17.2%
Hispanic women: 21.0%
Native American women: 16.9%
Women 65 and older: 9.0%
Children: 15.6%
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Poverty-State-by-State-2016.pdf
I do agree that some of the posters women, men and children were carrying during the march were vulgar. There is nothing to gain in that level of vulgarity. Two wrongs do not make a right. I found it disturbing when I saw 10 year old girls walking with their Mom's and the 10 year old was holding a sign that said, "Don't touch my pussy." That kind of parenting is not parenting, it was simple craziness to see that.
Fortunately only a few people out of the 1.3 million that attended the march could actually hear the celebrities. The celebrities do not matter. Their voices for the most part are heard only that day, and do not influence or help inhibit a change. There are some that do make a difference, but not every day of their life. Where the celebrities were positioned you could not get near that area on the side of the museum so the vast majority never heard their rhetoric. There is nothing to gain in their vulgarity either.
When you speak to women who went to other marches that day there is a unique thing that happened at all the marches. There was no pushing and shoving, everyone was in a positive energetic mood and there was lots of love in the air. At every march. That alone is simply magnificient. Imagine taking that level of passion, you could change the world.
Women's rights are human rights. We need to continue to fight for equal rights and not have reversed Roe Vs Wade. Individual choice matters, its our constitutional right. We need to passionately assert that we will not rest until we ensure that women have the right to control our own bodies, that with hard work and diligence we can break the glass ceilings of our choosing, that we will not tolerate sexual harassment, bullying, and assault by strangers and acquaintances alike, either in color. It is our moral imperative to dismantle the gender and racial inequities within the criminal justice system. It's not ok. Women need to speak up when they are not at marches. I have watched women in corporate America put up with horrible situations for they are afraid to open their mouths about a sexual harassment in workplace. There are too many times that a company does not address it, even when a complaint is filed. That company is worse than the harasser in my opinion when they refuse to address it. Women need to not be afraid and stand their position and demand action.
There has to be an economy powered by transparency, accountability, security and equity. All women should be paid equitably, with access to affordable childcare, sick days, healthcare, paid family leave, and healthy work environments. We can only hope that this is addressed with the new administration. All workers – including domestic and farm workers, undocumented and migrant workers - must have the right to organize and fight for a living minimum wage. There are numerous farmers who hire undocumented workers to harvest their crops. They are not paying them what they should. This needs to be corrected.
Civil Rights are our birthright, including voting rights, freedom to worship without fear of intimidation or harassment, freedom of speech, and protections for all citizens regardless of race, gender, age or disability. We believe it is time for an all-inclusive Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Every American should feel their voice matters, all the time. To silence the press, the American public is not what democracy is about. There is no doubt there is so much press tht is dishonest. It is rather disturbing. I do more fact checking with my blog than newspapers do with the articles they print.
During yesterday's march people chanted,"This is what a Democracy looks like." I felt so proud to be an American yesterday. The inspiration I left DC with yesterday is electric. I did not just march, I want to make a difference for women in America. I wantour new administration to view the march in DC yesterday as women supporting change. We want positive change and a voice when changes are made.
I try to live every day in solidarity. I believe in social justice, conversations can’t just stop because they’re inconvenient. Everyone must speak up and hold their feet firmly to the ground or change cannot happen. If you change nothing, nothing changes.
It's the courageous conversations that women have that opens dialogues with people and groups. We need to get the youth of America integrated in making change. They are not just our future, they are our present. How do we create space for them?
The rhetoric of the past election cycle was insulting from both sides to the American public. We are now confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear. The global marches clearly sent a message. In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington sent a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We want to stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We want to work together to direct America into the right direction. Everyone needs to embrace each other or we cannot succeed.
There were some poignant messages in President Trump's inauguration address:
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.
Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
And this, the United States of America, is your country.
I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.
When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.
There should be no fear – we are protected, and we will always be protected
You will never be ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.
The American public needs President Trump to live up to these words. They are very powerful words. They are great words. There will be decisions made that the American public may not like.
It will always be important for our new President to let the American public understand the "why" a decision is made. The politicians of America never to do this. If the 'why" is shared,ie. defunding Planned Parenthood, the possible (as being reported in the press, not sure if this is correct) defunding of the National Endowment of the Arts, etc, Americans better understand the decisions. President Trump was elected because the American public is fed up with the status quo in Washington. They wanted drastic change. He is representative of that drastic change.
President Trump needs to be given a chance to change our country whether you voted for him or not. The damage that has been done over the past decade to America is monumental by career politicians who only care about their own pocketbooks and not the American public. I recently sent a letter to 10 NJ politicians on a critical safety issue in my town. We have gotten ZERO response from all 10 politicians. That is disgraceful. This is that status quo in our government though.
It will not take overnight to fix and course correct America. The correct facts are important. The way the information is shared with the press and American public is important. The American public is important. I want the leader of our free world to positively impact the rest of my life and those younger than me.
To use the words of our President.. with only subtle alteration...
TO all of our people, we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People. The United States of America, is your country.
I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.
There should be no fear – we are protected, and we will always be protected.
God Bless America and the new President of the USA, President Donald Trump. We want our country back. Fight for us, keep us safe and protected.
They thought about 200,000 would come.
The number of people who came were 1.3M and counting to Washington DC on January 21 for the Women's March on Washington. They came from all walks of life and places in the United States. I spent time speaking with a lot of women, including the homeless on the street. They had the best stories and the most hope for America.
In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.Women’s March ‘Mission & Vision’
The women and men who walked did so to honor those female warriors before us--the suffragettes, women’s libbers trailblazers like Margaret Thatcher, Condelleza Rice, Hillary Clinton―and give voice to their concerns in a new era. I marched because I am concerned. I am concerned about Women's rights. I did not march to de-legitimize the presidency. I am a republican who struggled on who to vote for this election.
I grew up in the hood. My grandparents lived in East Trenton, NJ. My parents lived in the attic of my one grandparents home when they first got married. I grew up learning how to appreciate that a hard day at work can reap many rewards. My parents had no money to send me to college, yet I was able to achieve a PhD in Health Physics.
I am concerned with the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence. They believe that respect and value for diversity in all aspects of our organization are essential to our well-being. They also believe that reproductive self-determination must be voluntary and preserve the individual's right to privacy. Their ability to train families on the enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships is key to a families success.
Planned Parenthood provides comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of each individual. They act as an advocate to public policies which guarantee these rights and ensure access to such services. Their ability to provide educational programs which enhance understanding of individual and societal implications of human sexuality. The video controversy damaged their brand. The videos are believed to be doctored. Who knows the real truth. What I do know is that PP has given the women in the disparate communities of the United States their only resource for healthcare and knowledge for sexual health. Taking this away will severely damage the health care costs in the United States. The communities that utilize these resources are the very people who have the highest health risks. The education for birth control, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, or medically accurate sexuality education are now defunded for PP. This means open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion and birth control for all people, regardless of income, location or education is viewed as not important to defund it.
Ivanka Trump wants to focus on women's issues, she says. Yet, I have never seen or heard that she has visited the bowels of the inner cities to learn what the real issues are. She needs to come and visit us. She grew up very privileged, she cannot have a clear understanding or background on the real issues that mid and lower class America has. We want her to help us and the only way to do that is to visit us.
Women can change a society. We have seen this globally with the implementation of microfunds in poverty stricken countries to women and they transform their communities.
Women in America are still 35 percent more likely than men to be poor in America, with single mothers facing the highest risk. Currently, 35 percent of single women with children live and raise their families in poverty.
Despite composing nearly half of the workforce, women account for 60 percent of the nation’s lowest paid workers. The salaries for the vast majority of jobs held by women, in industries such as retail and hospitality, are consistently lower than in traditionally male career paths, such as construction, engineering, and energy. For this reason, Legal Momentum is working to expand women’s pathways into non-traditional work, which promises stronger salaries, stable benefits, and a pathway from poverty to prosperity.
Women and children account for over 70 percent of the nation’s poor. Unfortunately, the nation’s anti-poverty and safety net programs have repeatedly failed to take into account the reality of women’s lives and provide sufficient provisions for helping women and families escape poverty. Until very recently, and as is still the case in many states, unemployment insurance in most states was limited to full-time workers, leaving part-time workers – the vast majority of whom are women – with no assistance if they lost their jobs. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the country’s main program for addressing family poverty, does not provide enough support to prevent acute material hardships – like hunger, homelessness, and utility cut-offs – for the families that rely on it. Work requirements for women with very young children create even higher hurdles. With women accounting for over 90 percent of adult TANF recipients, reforming this program is critical to alleviating women’s poverty.
There are 11.5 million single-mothers in America. While women’s workforce participation has increased, the supply of affordable child care has lagged far behind, meaning that many single moms literally cannot afford to work or have to spend a large share of their meager income on childcare.
More than one in eight women, more than 16.9 million, lived in poverty last year. Poverty rates were particularly high for families headed by single mothers — 1 in 3 (36.5 percent) lived in poverty. More than half of all poor children (56.2 percent) lived in female-headed families in 2015.
color. It is our moral imperative to dismantle the gender and racial inequities within the criminal justice system. It's not ok. Women need to speak up when they are not at marches. I have watched women in corporate America put up with horrible situations for they are afraid to open their mouths about a sexual harassment in workplace. There are too many times that a company does not address it even when a complaint is filed. That company is worse than the harasser in my opinion when they refuse to address it.
There has to be an economy powered by transparency, accountability, security and equity. All women should be paid equitably, with access to affordable childcare, sick days, healthcare, paid family leave, and healthy work environments. We can only hope that this is addressed with the new administration. All workers – including domestic and farm workers, undocumented and migrant workers - must have the right to organize and fight for a living minimum wage. There are numerous farmers who hire undocumented workers to harvest their crops. They are not paying them what they should. This needs to be corrected.
Civil Rights are our birthright, including voting rights, freedom to worship without fear of intimidation or harassment, freedom of speech, and protections for all citizens regardless of race, gender, age or disability. We believe it is time for an all-inclusive Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Every American should feel their voice matters, all the time. To silence the press, the American public is not what democracy is about. During yesterday's march people chanted,"This is what a Democracy looks like." I felt so proud to be an American yesterday. The inspiration I left DC with yesterday is electric. I did not just march, I want to make a difference for women in America.
I try to live every day in solidarity. I believe in social justice, conversations can’t just stop because they’re inconvenient. Everyone must speak up and hold their feet firmly to the ground or change cannot happen. If you change nothing, nothing changes.
It's the courageous conversations that women have that opens dialogues with people and groups. We need to get the youth of America integrated in making change. They are not just our future, they are our present. How do we create space for them?
The rhetoric of the past election cycle was insulting from both sides to the American people. We are now confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear. The global marches clearly sent a message. In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington sent a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We want to stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We want to work together to direct America into the right direction.
There were some poignant messages in President Trump's inauguration address:
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.
Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
And this, the United States of America, is your country.
I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.
When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.
There should be no fear – we are protected, and we will always be protected
You will never be ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.
The American public needs President Trump to live up to these words. They are very powerful words. They are great words. There will be decisions made that the American public may not like. It will always be important for our new President to let the American public understand the "why". If the 'why" is shared,ie. defunding Planned Parenthood, the possible (as being reported in the press, not sure if this is correct) defunding of the National Endowment of the Arts, etc, Americans better understand the decisions. President Trump was elected because the American public is fed up with the status quo in Washington. They wanted drastic change. He is representative of that drastic change.
President Trump needs to be given a chance to change our country whether you voted for him or not. The damage that has been done over the past decade to America is monumental by career politicians who only care about their own pocketbooks and not the American public. I recently sent a letter to 10 NJ politicians on a critical safety issue in my town. We have gotten ZERO response from all 10 politicians. That is disgraceful. This is that status quo in our government though.
It will not take overnight to fix and course correct America. The correct facts are important. The way the information is shared with the press and American public is important. The American public is important. I want the leader of our free world to positively impact the rest of my life and those younger than me.
Whether you are sad or happy about the up and coming Trump presidency, you can escape the world at the Sagamore Ice Bar after the inauguration.
See the transformation of 18,000 pounds of crystal-clear ice into one of the “hottest and coolest lounges” in the Adirondacks. Exquisite ice carvings and sub-zero temperatures make this swanky lounge an unforgettable experience. After sipping cocktails the Ice Bar, step inside and warm up next to the cozy fireplace at Caldwell’s Lounge or mingle over hors d’oeuvres and authentic Italian specialties at La Bella Vita.
Click here to view the Ice Bar Food and Drink Menu!
The ice bar will be open during the weekends and hours below. Please note the sculptures will also only be viewable during these times. They are covered in during the day to prevent melting!
To be able to accommodate everyone, we will have the following enhancements throughout the property.
Conversations with Photography Greats: MCCC Professor Michael Chovan-Dalton Hosts ‘thePhotoShow’ Podcast
Professor Michael Chovan-Dalton, coordinator of the Photography and Digital Imaging program at Mercer County Community College (MCCC), is as busy in his time off campus as he is in the classroom. Chovan-Dalton is the creator of thePhotoShow, a podcast he co-hosts with Kai McBride, a photo professor and manager of photography facilities at the School of the Arts at Columbia University.
The inaugural episode of thePhotoShow aired in July 2015 and, 37 episodes later, the hosts show no signs of slowing things down.
The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, where Chovan-Dalton earned his BFA, and Charles Traub, the chair of SVA’s Photo and Video Graduate Program, have been key sponsors of the project, providing the hosts with recording facilities and an eager base of listeners that keeps on growing.
Chovan-Dalton sees the podcasts as a way for the photography community to communicate and grow. “The show is a means to connect and reconnect with photographers I have known and to expand that community to new photographers,” he explains.
Chovan-Dalton and McBride book all the guests, who have welcomed the show’s conversational format. “We let our guests go in any direction or expand upon any idea. We record until we all feel like we have said what we wanted to say,” Chovan-Dalton explained.
In December, for the very first time, the show was recorded before a live audience at SVA. Chovan-Dalton moderated a screening and Q&A session with director Martin Bell about the documentary “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell,” a film Bell made with his wife, acclaimed photographer Mary Ellen Mark, prior to her death last year.
While he has enjoyed his conversations with all of his guests, Chovan-Dalton said it has been especially gratifying to speak with some of his mentors and people whose work he has admired for a long time, such as Thomas Roma, Charles Traub and Susan Kismaric.
Chovan-Dalton says his students are not required to tune in, but they certainly benefit if they do. He often references the podcasts in his History of Photography (PHO 110) course. “I am constantly learning new things about historical and contemporary photography. My guests personally knew the photographers, directors, curators and gallerists who made or are making history.
In addition to his BFA from the School of Visual Arts, Chovan-Dalton earned his MFA from Columbia University. Episodes of thePhotoShow are available at www.thePhotoShow.org
Make 2017 the Year You Really Get into Shape
THE WORKAHOLICS WORKOUT
The Author of this blog is a triathlete, marathoner, mountain climber, adventurer. This year she will climb Mt. Everest to base camp. These activities can only be done if you are in shape.
We all have busy schedules and our biggest excuse for not getting into shape is that we do not have the time. You have to make the time. When you do, you will be healthier and feel better about yourself. Make 2017 the year yo have no more excuses.
You do not have to be an extreme athlete to focus on being in shape. Save your money for you also do not have to belong to a gym or a boutique workout place to get in shape.
You can do it from the comfort of your own home. There is no annoying make believe trainer at the gym that you have to meet with to assess you, only to give you some cookie cutter training program.The gyms do a horrible job of cleaning the equipment. People are on their honor system to clean a piece of equipment prior to an after use. They do not do this. So whatever germs the person prior has left on that treadmill, you will pick up. Whatever germs they have left on a yogamat, you will pick up. It's just gross.
So have a healthier, cleaner atmosphere to workout in this year, your home. The outside air. All you need is passion and dedication and a little help from Duffy's Cultural couture to succeed.
This year you can subscribe to a weekly workout plan that will help you get in shape for 2017. Each week we will post a new workout that you can do from your home.
For those of you stuck behind a computer all day, you can still get your workout in. We will show you exercises you can do at your desk with things on your desk. You do not have to buy any extra equipment.
How this will work.... You will first pay an annual subscription fee of $10 USD. Then each week you pay an additional $1USD for the weekly workouts. They will be sent to you by email as a PDF.
You can pay week by week, you can stop at any time or you can pay all at once ( $62 USD for the year). They will be sent every Saturday.
This gives you 52 workouts. One per week. If you include your cell phone # we will send you motivational text messages through the week to keep you motivated.
You can share your stories and photos with Duffy's Cultural Couture and we will you can be the focus of a inspirational story in 2017 on the blog.
To sign up for your Workaholics Workout send an email to: tammy.duffy@yahoo.com to begin your steps to a healthier you in 2017. Write in the reference of the email Workaholics Workout.
**As with any workout, always check with your physician to make sure you are capable. Do not do anything you cannot do. We all know our limits. With any exercise, just do not do it if you cannot.
**Payments will be made thru Paypal to tammy.duffy@yahoo.com
Hamilton Stinks: Ignoring Public Health and Safety
This is a letter that was sent to the leadership of NJ. Will the leadership rally and help residents or will residents public safety and health continue to be ignored?
A chemical truck driving thru Cornell Heights in Hamilton NJ
Ice Rink created by poor infrastructure in Hamilton
How Dangerous Has Hamilton Mercer County Become?
FBI Report 2016
Excerpts from the FBI Crime Report
The crime rate in Hamilton is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 37 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Hamilton is 1 in 27. Based on FBI crime data, Hamilton is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to New Jersey, Hamilton has a crime rate that is higher than 92% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes. In fact, after researching dangerous places to live, NeighborhoodScout found Hamilton to be one of the top 100 most dangerous cities in the U.S.A.
Importantly, when you compare Hamilton to other communities of similar population, then Hamilton's crime rate (violent and property crimes combined) is quite a bit higher than average. Regardless of how Hamilton does relative to all communities in America of all sizes, when NeighborhoodScout compared it to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most.
The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 18,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Hamilton does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Hamilton.
For Hamilton, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Hamilton is one in 82.
Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that Hamilton experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.
NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Hamilton's rate for property crime is 25 per one thousand population. This makes Hamilton a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Hamilton is one in 40.
Importantly, it was found that Hamilton has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. This is compared to communities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Hamilton is one in 175.
The only person feeling safe in Hamilton is the Mayor. The residents pay over $500,000 a year for her own personal security detail.