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Working within CCLS means more than just putting in your time and getting a paycheck. It is about supporting people with disabilities as you help them learn to become more independent in their community. There are Employment Opportunities throughout Wisconsin.
With more than 40 years of experience in supporting individuals with a wide range of disabilities, CCLS has come to be trusted and relied upon by long-term care providers for their training needs. Our state-approved staff trainers promote client dignity, individuality, and rights in each class they teach. Their years of direct care and training experiences are a benefit to the more than 2500 students that annually attend their classes. Between our offering of over 45 courses and our customized training, we are confident that you will find the training your employees need.
CCLS is a provider of services/supports for individuals with developmental disabilities, mental illness, physical disabilities, or functional limitations of advanced aging. We provide clients with person-centered, individualized community supports. Client needs, strengths, and desires are always considered as we work with them to build valuable supports.


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A Certificate in Essential Raw Plant Based Desserts Online
Deliciously Raw Culinary School
Complete Sweet Online to achieve your Certificate in Essential Raw Pastry Arts.
A 10 module virtual learning in making the most delicious and decadent raw plant-based desserts, that look just like the ones you see in the patisserie shop – just with a food processor and a decent blender (and optional dehydrator/oven).
Everyone knows that eating a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruit, and low in refined sugars and dairy-laden foods, is better for your health and your waistline.
But what if you really love your food – especially desserts and sweet treats?
There is a way you can enjoy desserts and sweet treats that you never thought possible.
Well, instead of telling yourself what you can and can't eat, why not learn to make delicious desserts with all of the guilt free good stuff such as raw fruit, nuts, coconut, seeds and even vegetables?
It sounds strange but you can learn to make decadent cakes, delicious cookies, incredible ice creams and even tantalising tarts that taste and look just like the ones you see in the patisserie shop – just with a food processor and a decent blender.
The difference is that these desserts are full of good things that don't spike your blood sugars like dairy and gluten laden dessert can. They are plant based, dairy free and gluten free – and also raw so all the nutrition is well and truly left in.
Raw foods are becoming more and more popular. From the 'must have' spiralizer gadget to chia seeds for breakfast and coconut water, it seems that more and more people are becoming aware that a diet rich in plant based foods is a great idea to help us look and feel better.However, there is so much more you can do than spiralize a courgette.
Imagine being about to make delicious desserts such as creamy cheesecakes, dreamy key lime pie and show-stopping ice cream sundaes, cookies and strawberry tarts.
Is it really possible to eat all these raw yet they taste truly like a decadent dessert? Yes, it is. You will be amazed at what you can make with little more than a blender and food processor. Sweet has lots of tips, techniques, recipes and guidance to show you how.
Meet your Trainer
The training will be led by Deborah Durrant, a qualified chef in advanced raw and living cuisine. Deborah combined her interests as a lifelong passionate foodie with a keen interest in a raw plant-based diet to found the Deliciously Raw Culinary School. After working in the creative sector for 25 years she followed her dream to train as a chef at the Matthew Kenney Culinary School and wants to break the myth that raw food is about eating boring salad and show you can enjoy fabulously indulgent food with many nutritional benefits.
Deborah holds a Masters degree in Change Skills from the University of Surrey. This may seem surprising but this is at the heart of Deborah's practice as a chef and trainer. With every healthy plant-based bite that we eat, we are committing to making a change to our health and wellbeing.
All modesty aside, if you've tried any of my recipes already you'll know that everything I make is delicious first and raw second. If you haven't tried any of my recipes, you can try any of the free recipes on my website to get a flavour (sorry, no pun intended) of the kind of food I make. Since 2005, I tried to eat a high raw diet, but I kept returning to my most favourite cooked foods. What changed things for me was learning how to make the most amazing and delicious raw foods that taste so good that people don't even think about the fact that they are raw.I pride myself on making raw twists on cooked classics, and my family and friends prefer the raw foods I make, finding them much more satisfying and full of flavour. I have also developed 8 course raw tasting menus for pop ups and other events and had the pleasure of being a personal chef for private fine dining clients.
I trained as a Chef with Matthew Kenney Culinary in the US (previously named 105 degrees), and I am a Qualified Chef in Advanced Raw and Living Cuisine. I am one of very few people in the world to have completed Matthew's Professional Applications programme. What that means for you is that I can teach you some pretty cool techniques. If you don't know Matthew, he founded Pure Food and Wine in New York and MAKE in Santa Monica, and currently has Plant Food and Wine in Venice, CA, White Lotus Miami and The Gothic in Belfast Maine. I worked at the Gothic in Maine after my training and can also bring to our work the experience of a professional kitchen. Matthew also has a string of raw food books to his credit. I really am proud to say that I have trained with the best.
"Deborah Durrant's patience and generosity of spirit shine through on all the courses she offers. She finds a way to share her immeasurable wealth of knowledge in a way that is easy to understand no matter what level you are at on your raw food journey – beginner or advanced. She thoroughly understands her subject and imparts it in a way that can be transferred and applied very practically in your own life. She doesn't just teach 'recipes' she trains you to know what ingredients and components are needed to recreate your favourite cooked dishes – she instils you with the knowledge, knowhow and intelligence to go forth and start creating – rather than just copying. Her teaching style is light hearted and well thought out and she layers information to make sure it is easily retained. A true inspiration. I highly recommend her courses"
Jo Helesfay-Evans | www.InnerLightHolistics.com
Sweet is a step by step online programme which provides you with all the skills and technical know-how you need to make your own healthy raw desserts and treats.
The majority of the desserts on the programme just use a blender and a food processor, but if you are feeling adventurous some of the recipes use a dehydrator (and alternative methods for using a freezer or oven are provided). If you have had limited use from your dehydrator or haven't yet got it out the box ( you know who you are), then you might be interested to learn how to make chocolate tea bread in it and candied nuts.
Over 10 delicious modules, the Sweet Intensive covers:
The essentials of setting up your raw desserts pantry
A guide to the raw desserts equipment requirements
How to make unctuous custards, mousses and parfaits
Creating your own cookies and teabreads
Making tantalising tarts and pies that look just like you have bought them from a high end patisserie
Cheeky little cheesecakes and delices that are freezer friendly so you can have them on hand whenever you need them
Incredible ice creams and frozen desserts – plus essential tips for the creamiest ice cream.
Speciality sponge cakes such as chocolate hazelnut layer cake
Scrumptious bars and slices which are perfect for lunch boxes and 'in between' snacks.
Fabulous finishing touches to add the grand finale WOW factor to your dessert
Throughout the programme, you will learn the fundamentals of making desserts and sweet treats, over 30 different recipes and lots of techniques – plus you will have the opportunity to put into practice what you have learned to create your own delicious dessert at the end of the programme.
A Certificate in Essential Raw Desserts approved by The Vegetarian Society will be awarded to participants who successfully complete the programme. To achieve this, each participant will be required to complete assignments and upload photographs of their work throughout the programme – and to have completed all of the assignments by the end of sweet.
Module One
Setting up your raw dessert kitchen
- Getting organized
- Essential and useful equipment for your raw desserts pantry
- What to keep in your raw desserts pantry and how to store it
- Pantry preparation
Module Two
The building blocks of creating raw desserts and tea time treats
- Measurement conversions
- Understanding the range of raw ingredients including flours, sweeteners and setting agents
- How to make date paste for sweetening raw desserts
- How to make buckwheatsicles* for adding crunch
- How to make almond butter
- How to make oat flour
- How to make candied nuts*
- How to cold-brew coffee
Module Three
Creating your own cookies and teabreads
- How to make cashew flour
- Tips for successful cookie making with and without a dehydrator
- Almond and raisin cookies*
- Creating your own cookie*
- Working with Thai coconut meat
- Working with cacao butter
- Cappuccino brownies* with white chocolate icing
Module Four
Tantalising Tarts and Crème Patisserie
- Sweet pastry crust
- Hazelnut crust
- Crème patissiere
- Fruit patisserie tarts
- Pecan pie
- Making coconut milk from scratch
- Coconut meringue
- Lemon meringue pie
- Making butterscotch
- Banana and butterscotch tart
- Hazelnut ganache
- Chocolate hazelnut tart
Module Five
Quick and easy nut free desserts
- Fermenting yoghurt
- Coconut yoghurt
- Chocolate mousse
- Cashew yoghurt
- Hazelnut yoghurt
- Summer berry mousse
- Lime mousse
- Blackberry, coconut and lime layered parfait
Module Six
Cheesecakes and Delices
- White chocolate cheesecake
- Chocolate brownie and raspberry cheesecake
- Key lime pie
- How to create a ripple effect
- Berry ripple cheesecake
- Mint chocolate cheesecake
Module Seven
The art of making dairy free ice creams, palate cleansing sorbets and frozen desserts
- The art of making a creamy dairy free ice cream
- How to freeze ice cream
- Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream
- Neopolitan ice cream
- Gelato
- Ice cream sandwich cookies
- Pina colada granita
- Moulded ices: Kulfi and cherry yoghurt ice pops
- Ice cream sundae with chocolate and caramel sauce with candied nuts
Module Eight
Speciality Sponge Cakes
- How to create a flavoured finishing syrup
- How to create an icing you can pipe onto a cake
- Angel cake style sponge cake
- Raspberry and pistachio ice cream cake
- Chocolate torte style sponge cake
- Chocolate hazelnut layer cake
- Mango and passion fruit sponge
- Open textured chocolate gateau style sponge cake
- Red velvet cake
Module Nine
Snack bars and slices
- Shortbread and streusel
- Almond butter
- Rich toffee sauce
- Almond butter snack bars
- Quick chocolate
- Crunchy chocolate hemp toffee bars
- Apricot streusel slice
- Toffee apple slices
Module Ten
Creating your own delicious dessert
- Key Elements of plating for show-stopping presentation
- How to create your own delicious and decadent raw dessert
The programme recipes include
- Cookie recipes, guidance on developing your own cookies and cappuccino brownies – the perfect accompaniment to a warming drink.
- Sweet pastry crusts and mixed fruit tarts which will look like you've been to a high end patisserie
- Pies such as pecan pie and lemon meringue pie
- Banana and butterscotch tart
- Creamy cheesecakes including mint chocolate, key lime, berry ripple, white chocolate raspberry brownie
- The art of making a dairy free ice creams, speciality ice creams such as neapolitan ice cream and kulfi
- Creating ice cream sundaes, sauces and glossy fruit sauces and candied nuts
- Refreshing piña colada granite and cherry yoghurt ice pops
- Ice cream sandwich cookies for children and other treats for grown-ups
- Delicious cakes such as raspberry and pistachio ice cream cake and chocolate hazelnut layer cake with espresso foam
- Almond butter snack bars and crunchy chocolate toffee bars which are perfect for lunch boxes
- …and more…
What's included in the programme?
You will also be able to upload your assignments and receive feedback from Chef Deborah throughout the programme.
Join our raw foodie community and have access to the SWEET FACEBOOK FORUM where you can chat, swap ideas and ask questions of Chef Deborah and other participants.
A DIGITAL HIGH RESOLUTION FULL COLOUR CERTIFICATE IN ESSENTIAL RAW PLANT BASED PASTRY ARTS on successful completion of the assignments and programme.
I have been to California for courses, to organic farms, to Thailand cities and islands and this was definitely one of my best courses EVER. Even if you know a lot – you learn more. Even if you know nothing, it's easy enough to follow to learn a lot. Even if it's for fun or business… it's worth it. thank you Deb. Love LOVE LOVED it!"
Jeannie Vorster, Fruitful Living Health Shop, South Africa
How do I know if Sweet is right for me?
Sweet is suitable for anyone who wants to make healthier teatime treats and desserts to impress and wow their friends and family or if you already know the basics of raw food and want to expand your repertoire and show just how fabulous raw food can really be.
The chances are that you have already invested in your health to a significant degree, whether it's time and energy in learning how to eat healthily, money in experimenting with different raw foods and recipes that may or may not have worked out, or paying for weight loss programs or treatments for health issues that you'd really rather do without.
You may experience mealtimes as a battle ground with your family as you try and move them away from refined sugars or encourage them to eat more fresh fruit and veg.
Experimentation can be costly in many ways, and the last thing you want is to spend hours making recipes that don't taste good, or wasting a lot of money on ingredients that you just don't use.
Without proper planning, raw food can become a very expensive affair!
With Sweet, you can learn how to make delicious raw desserts in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Whether you're new to raw foods, experienced and stuck in a raw food rut, or whether you need some new delicious raw dessert inspiration, Sweet will provide you with amazingly delicious dessert recipes and useful technical know-how so you can introduce a whole new range of raw desserts to your life… that will give you a sense of eating something truly delicious – without the negative impact that many cooked desserts have on your body and with all of the nutritiousness and deliciousness left well-and-truly in!
The dessert is the last impression that anyone has of a meal – let's make it count.
Click here to see the answers to frequently asked questions.
"Sweet was the second online programme I have taken part in with Deborah Durrant and I wasn't disappointed by the content. The course contained so many different techniques to make a huge host of delicious sweet things that rival their cooked counterparts.
Online support was always there, not only from Deborah herself but also from the other course participants. It was exciting to see photos of what the others were producing and wonderful to have such camaraderie within the group.
The main gain for me though was finding out that I really can make beautiful and delicious desserts and teatime treats – this course gave me the confidence that I had lacked previously.
If you're looking for the ultimate pleasurable experience then look no further – this online programme is it. I can guarantee you will not find anything better and will learn so much. Deborah's expertise and knowledge shines through and you will find that she really cares about making sure you achieve the best end result in your work. "
Sue Halfyard, Spain
I love to cook, eat, entertain and grow things. I'd always thought of 'raw food' diets as faddy and probably boring. Deborah's incredibly accessible and entertaining training has changed my perspective. As well as introducing some key techniques, explaining the benefits and principles, she proved that raw food could be treat rather than torment.
The recipes are easy to follow and the taste luxurious and delicious. I would highly recommend Deborah's courses to anyone who is interested in adding another string to their culinary bow or explore the health and vitality benefits of raw food."
Tricia Jenkins, London
How does the programme work?
Once the programme begins, you have access to the programme. You can work through all the activities for each module and submit the assignment online. Once a module has become unlocked, you can move backwards and forwards to complete the tasks and recipes in the order you wish. If, for example, you don't have time to complete an activity on day 3 you can go back to it and complete it later in the programme.
How much time will the programme take?
I have estimated that the contact time with the food will be up to around 2-3 hours a day for 10 days. That doesn't allow for setting time or freezing time – much of which allows you to get on with other things whilst the freezer is doing the work. It is so much easier than keeping an eye on the oven!
After all the modules are unlocked, complete the assignment to gain your Essential Raw plant based Pastry Arts Certificate approved by The Vegetarian Society.
Can I download the materials and keep them?
Yes the recipes and guides are fully downloadable and you can refer to them after the course has finished.
I don't have a blender. Can I still take part in the programme?
The majority of the recipes require a food processor or blender. You will struggle without one. It's how we achieve such creamy and delicious results. You can take part in the programme but you will be limited in what you make.
I don't have a dehydrator. Can I still take part in the programme?
Around 3 of the recipes require a dehydrator as a necessity. Another 3 require one as optional. That said, you could use an oven on a low setting or using the freezer instead.
What if I can't get my hands on some ingredients such as Thai coconut meat?
Generally substitutions can be found. Just ask Deborah what you can use to substitute for any hard to find ingredients.
Do I have to complete the assignments and take part in the programme discussions?
No, you can download the guidance and recipes and work through them at a pace to suit yourself. If you would like to gain your Certificate in Essential Raw Pastry Arts, you will be required to complete the assignments.
There's a lot of desserts, will I end up with over 30 desserts in a week? I can't eat that many.
The course is not time limited so you can complete the course at a pace to suit you. The majority of desserts can be frozen and this is an instance where the freezer will be your friend. Once frozen the desserts will keep for up to 3 months if stored correctly. These desserts also make excellent gifts for friends.
I have a specialist diet. Is the programme suitable for me?
The programme is suitable for those who follow a gluten free, dairy free and vegan diet. Nuts are used on the programme but not peanuts. Also coconut is used.
How is this different from Entice, the 5 day LIVE pastry arts programme?
Entice is the raw pastry chef Level 1 training programme with entirely different recipes and a different prospectus. Entice is also an in-depth hands on programme with different techniques – plus you have the Deliciously Raw pantry and equipment to play with throughout the week. If you are thinking about doing Entice, SWEET is an ideal introduction to the world of raw pastry arts.
Secure your place and join us today.
Complete the programme to achieve your Certificate in Essential Raw Pastry Arts.
Please note – after your booking you will receive an email from Deborah. This is not automated so there may be a slight delay if she's in the kitchen.
"For anyone who is looking to take their raw food recipes to the next level, whether for personal gratification alone (and of course impressing friends and family) or for high-level professional development, then Deborah is one of just a very few people in the UK I would wholeheartedly recommend without hesitation."
Karen Knowler | The Raw Food Coach | www.therawfoodcoach.com
Refund Policy: Since Sweet is a non-tangible irrevocable product, I do not issue a refund once you have had access to the online materials. The right to cancel your participation in Sweet ends once you have accessed the online product. By accessing this information you will have utilised my services and your right to cancel will have ended. If you require technical support to access the programme , please email firstname.lastname@example.com. In exceptional circumstances, online participation in Sweet can be paused and resumed at a later date, in a future programme. If you need to pause your participation, please email stating your full name to email@example.com.
Deliciously yours,
Learning to cook in a new way, I've taken part in several online raw food cooking courses, and wanted to add a new dimension of knowledge to my raw food cooking. From insider Chef's notes, to cooking tips, to contrasting scrumptious recipes, to the dynamic forum which felt like our Raw Food Chef was at our elbow guiding us."
Philomena, Ottawa, Canada
Photography credit: Dawn Langley

subset: commoncrawl


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Auction website eBay is reviewing the sale of artwork and other items associated with Rolf Harris, it has announced.
The 84-year, who was found guilty of child sex offences earlier this week, will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
Since his conviction there has been a brisk trade of his work on eBay, but in a statement, the website said it was considering a ban on items associated with the shamed entertainer.
In a statement, the company said: "eBay doesn't allow sale of offensive items on our site, including those related to criminal activity.
"As soon as an issue comes to light, we immediately remove any listings which related to the allegations. We continuously review our policies and have considered these situations carefully.
"We are in the process of closely reviewing the items for sale on our site that relate to Rolf Harris. We acted immediately when we learnt of the allegations and have kept this issue under continuous review."
On eBay, a signed limited edition print of Harris's The Straw Hat - an image of a female wearing only pants and a hat - is listed for £500 and has just eight people watching it.
There are 34 bids on an original oil painting by Harris depicting a harbour scene, with the current bid at £410.
On the listing, the seller has a note saying: "despite rolf court appearances it doesnt take away the fact he is a very good artist therefore its a superb future investment" (sic).
Another painting on eBay, the rear view of a naked female, is priced at £200 and has five people watching it.
The value of the veteran entertainer's art has plummeted since he was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault against four girls, the youngest of who was just seven-years-old.
Experts claim the prices paid for Harris' work are likely to remain "enormously down" for "a very long time".
The Australian-born painter, who will be stripped of his Bafta in the wake of his convictions and could face losing his prestigious CBE, is "not the world's greatest artist" anyway, according to art dealer Peter Nahum.
"From what I've seen he makes popular pictures which have sold a) because they're nice, and hangable, and b) because he is who he is. I don't think people will want those hanging on their wall. There's plenty of other choices," he said.
Mr Nahum, who is known for his appearances on BBC's Antiques Roadshow, dismissed reports that art dealers would be snapping up Harris's paintings at low prices in the hope their value would increase over time.
"What art dealers? Where's the proof?" he said.


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Cherokee Boy Scout Reservation
Forest Statement
By David Halley, RF
Cherokee Boy Scout Reservation is a 1,700-acre Boy Scout camp in Caswell County, North Carolina. A majority of the property was donated by BassettFurniture Company to the Old North State Boy Scout Council in 1966. See a map here. For the most part, the council spent the first 20 years of its ownership developing an overnight summer camp and a 26-acre swimming lake on about 200 acres of the property. Most of the other portions of the property were left alone.
Around 2003 the council started discussing the use of the remainder of the camp and exploring the possibility of managing the forests. Some of the council and staff initially resisted the idea, but after several years of discussion, promotion by the board of director's president and presentations by potential consulting foresters, the council decided to proceed with developing a forest management plan that would guide the sustainable and ecologically responsible management of the forests on the property. In 2006 the council hired my forestry consulting firm, True North Forest Management Services, to prepare a comprehensive forest management plan and timeline of activities for Camp Cherokee. I completed the comprehensive plan in 2006, and the council granted permission to proceed with active management shortly after.
For the most part the plan was a restoration plan. When the camp took over the property, the existing forests were, for the most part, the product of repeated cuttings commonly called high-grading, diameter-limit cutting or select cutting. This is a practice that reduces forest health and value over time by taking the best and leaving the rest. What was growing at Camp Cherokee during my initial visits was not a very good indication of the quality forest that could be growing on the good soil types. So I proposed a coordinated effort of planned forest improvement harvests and management activities to enhance or restore the quality and vigor of these degraded forest stands. I first designated 42.5 percent (680 acres) of the camp as riparian "no active management" forest buffers to protect water quality and provide undisturbed wildlife corridors. What was left was about 700 acres of upland hardwood forests and 180 acres of pine forests. For these forest types the plan called for silvicultural sound harvesting practices guided by Forest Guild principles to restore the true values and yields of these forest stands. For the upland hardwood forests, I recommended hardwood improvement cuts (shelterwood) and the creation of small group openings to improve the quality and growing conditions of these hardwood stands. The hardwood improvement cuts were also designed to promote the development of advanced oak and hickory regeneration in the understory. The small group openings (group selection) were designed to create some age diversity and early successional wildlife habitat within these undisturbed forests. The pine forests were mainly old grown-up fields that had regenerated in low quality Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) forests that were senescing and falling apart. The plan was to harvest these low-quality Virginia pine stands and replace them with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and native shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), a species of concern since recent forest inventory data had shown a significant decline in this species in North Carolina.
We divided the property into 12 different management units with the goal of slowly restoring each of these units over time. Each year we selected several different management units for treatment and developed a detailed prescription for each. Then local logging companies thinned and harvested these units. True North Forest Management Service worked closely with the logging companies to make sure that the marked hardwood improvements were harvested without damaging the residual stand or the site. The council also selected logging companies with whole-tree chippers that were able to utilize small diameter midstory trees, tree tops and logging debris normally left on site for fuelwood. We also targeted midstory trees for removal (as part of the shelterwood process) to allow more sunlight to reach the forest floor, which enables advanced oak regeneration to flourish and creates a more visually pleasing forest. What was left were the "mother trees" to seed the next forest. We tried to save the best, and cut the rest to reverse the previous high-grading trend. The key to success was getting the entire logging crew to understand the prescription goals and the importance of taking their time to protect the "mother trees". Marvin Preslar, the camp ranger, said that "the loggers were as proud as we were after they finished."
Fast forward to 2015. To date we have undertaken the following silvicultural and management operations:
- Harvested timber in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 from all 12 management units;
- Generated more than $200,000 in timber income;
- Completed 411 acres of marked hardwood improvement cuts (modified Oak Shelterwood);
- Converted 176 acres of degenerating Virginia pine forests to shortleaf pine (47 acres) and loblolly pine (129 acres) forest;
- Created 25 acres of small group openings (0.6 to 2 acres in size in upland hardwood sites to promote age diversity;
- Conducted a precommercial thinning on 47 acres of shortleaf pine to eliminate Virginia pine that seeded in after planting;
- Completed extensive road building, improvements and maintenance;
- Conducted eight acres of shortleaf pine seed tree harvests;
- Promoted advanced oak regeneration on 149 acres with understory hardwood control (basal spray) on hardwood sites; and
- Planned control burns to promote oak regeneration in the next year.
Since we began management in 2006, Camp Cherokee has become a Certified Tree Farm (2009) and a Forest Stewards Award recipient from the North Carolina Forest Services. It also has been the host to several forestry field days and the Southeast Regional Forest Stewards Guild meeting in 2014. Fred White, a founding Forest Guild member who attended the meeting, commented that Camp Cherokee is one of the finest examples of sustainable, ecologically responsible forestry he has seen.
As the one who oversees forest management on the property, I commend the Old North State Council for taking their stewardship of the land seriously. They are an excellent recipient of the Forest Stewards Guild's Model Forest distinction and a great demonstration area for promoting the long-term Guild-style management that leads to site, forest, wildlife and wood product improvements.
"We want to show scouts how to practice land stewardship through leading by example so future generations can enjoy Camp Cherokee and share in all its beauty," said Rodney Carpenter, Scout Executive for the Old North State Council.
Colin Lemon, Director of Camping and STEM, is proud to state, "As far as we know, we are currently the only Boy Scout Camp in the country with the Model Forest distinction."
Forest Statistics and Documentation:
- Acreage: 1,700 acres
- Dominant Species Present: white oak, red oak, yellow poplar, American beech, black oak, chestnut oak, red maple, sweetgum, green ash, loblolly pine, Virginia pine and shortleaf pine
- Primary Uses: sawtimber, pulpwood, fuel chips, wildlife, recreation, archery hunting
- Model Forest Manager: David Halley, True North Forest Management Services, www.truenorthforestry.biz
- Tree Farm Certification: www.treefarmsystem.org
- Old North State Boy Scout Council: www.bsaonsc.org
- Boy Scouts of America: www.scouting.org
- Read about the forest in Scouting Magazine in their February 8, 2016 article.
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text:
Well Monday has come and gone here so quickly. Today is a Public Holiday so that made for a nice long weekend for me. I had a lovely time with the family and spent a few days in the bush.
So with no internet this weekend apologies for a late post.
My project is this cute little Dino Pop Up Box Card I did for a special little boy turning three. This was a custom order for his Dino Party invites.
Thanks for looking and have a great week!!!
Files used for this project were


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It was the tea-selling woman!
If people call Varanasi a "Holy city" or "Lord Shiva's city" she is no indifferent to me.
Returning back from the ceremony of cremation from Manikarnika Ghat, an everyday ritual taken place famously known as "Burning ghat" of Varanasi. I saw along the edges of the river people are having a fun evening , Sadhus smoking weeds, crowds were watching multiple religious ceremonies, and street vendors selling food and crafts who were almost dispersed when on my return back the lodge. A frightful feeling and cold sweat in the numbing month of December, realised it was just foolish of me to stayed that long in Ghats all alone.
After crossing three to four ghats I was confused about the right staircase towards my room. I heard one female voice coming from one deep dark staircase, thought to take steps up. A great sigh of relief! I knew, I could locate the lane where my Lodge was. The voice got louder and rough when I reached upto middle of the staircase. I saw shadow of three men and one woman, as if they were trying to force her for something and some filthy words to made my blod freeze. Sound of slaping and whaking her took sudden silence, when I was passing by them close..I could hear her suppressed weeping. I was reasoning that is it really possible in Holy city of "Lord Shiva" ?
Waking up next morning as usual I walked down to the Ghats to have my morning tea. It's heavy fog to see any clear picture whether the lady had opened her tea stall yet or not and disappointed seeing her closed store. "May be it's too cold and and foggy to start her stall", I thought. I walked down toward Manikarnika Ghat to looking for another tea stall. I know the famous silent "Chai-Baba" (tea-monk) stall was there. Yes, he was precisely the same as described by many tourist in their travel memoir.
Three days went on, and her store was still closed. I have only two days to leave Varanasi and may be I will never going to see her again. That day my friend accompanied me for the whole day as his research on Vedic astrology was hold out for the day. I told him about my curiosity to meet the lady before I leave. I asked him, "have you ever noticed her"? She always greets people who come to her store. Doesn't she look mysterious? I don't understand despite she makes fine tea with ginger why very less people show up. She spotted me very first time when I went to her for tea. She had no ungracefulness when I told her about my solo visit in Varanasi. Instead she said that she wished to be as liberated as me and belong to this class of society. I smiled at her and said, "It's not about class of our society, It's my spirit and zeal"
It was my last day in Varanasi so my friend from Canada(the research guy) and another Yogi form Germany decided to have lunch together. One of a local guy who works in the restaurant where we usually go for the lunch and dinner and been very sincere to my Canadian friend for many years, sat next to us. He always comes up with some local news to tell about. I was thinking, "What's today!" and he stared at me first as if I have done something bad to him. He straight away told me, "If you visit Varanasi next time, never walk alone in the dark passages, specially the staircase which you came up few days ago. There is a disputes their every evening after she closes her tea stall". And I took a sip of water before which I was about take a bite of my Chapati. "She was once a prostitute after her father died" he said looking at my friend. "Her father was a poor priest but managed to look after his family by serving ritual prayers for the tourist. At the age of thirteen only she was forced to be a prostitute by her mother. Many times she has been bitten up, abused and faced ferocity. But, she became a learned and skillful prostitute by the age of seventeen. After sometime she got married and started selling tea near one of the ghats. Everyone thought that her past life was buried behind after marriage, but nothing happened like that. Her husband became her flesh dealer very soon. Every evening there are some deals in that dark staircase and she was forced to overwork by her husband". I soon realised It was the tea selling lady that evening.
I asked him, "Do you know where she is? I haven't seen her for last five days."
He told looking at three of us, "She has been sent to one of a brothel of infamous district in Shivdaspur."
Her face is still vivid in my mind. She will always be the tea selling lady on the bank of river Ganges. If people call Varanasi a"Holy city" or "Lord Shiva's city" she is no indifferent to me. I will always keep wondering…. what will happened to her!


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Let's get this party started!
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advertisement Following the launch of their prenatal class series in October 2016, Melissa Griffin and Jessica Hill, two Westport moms


text: The United Mutual Board is looking for qualified candidates to fill a position vacated by Howard Klein due to his recent passing. The term of the position is until October 2016. Interested candidates are invited to pick up and fill out an application from the General Manager's office in the Community Center. Each candidate must submit an application and a 200-word (maximum) candidate statement to email@example.com no later than noon Monday, March 17. The Board will hold a special board meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 20 in the Community Center to fill the position.


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When the year started I told myself I was not doing a new years resolution, I was going to be selfish and do one thing for myself every month. Its May now and I only did this 2 times. Lately I feel like I've done the opposite. I feel so overwhelmingly busy that I feel like I have no time for myself not even for my own personal grooming and I'm tired of it. I have been thinking of how tired I am and wondering how did things get to this point? I came to a realization. I got so caught up with working hard and staying busy to distract myself of the loss of my dad that I lost myself. I sort of gave up on myself. I guess I felt this at the end of the year and that's why I felt like I had to at least do one thing for myself but still haven't mastered this plan of mine.
The loss of my grandma helped me realize this. When she died, once again I felt like I had missed out a lot. I stopped frequent visits to avoid feeling sad and partially because I was really busy and didn't make time for her. I'm tired of it! I'm tired of working, I'm tired of being responsible for others, I'm tired of dealing with people, I'm tired of WORK! I feel like I need change, I feel like I need a mental break. I want to wake up and exercise, go on a hike, eat a breakfast at my own pace and read a newspaper. I want to take time to do my makeup. I want to learn how to sew. I want to spend an entire day with my mom. I want to do something fun with my sister. I want to go on a vacation with my husband. I want to do things that bring me joy. But how do I do it?


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"Investing is at its most intelligent, when it is at its most business-like" -- Benjamin Graham
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Is it a Small Caps World, After All?
For some time (starting in mid 2005) I became concerned about the returns I was achieving with small cap stocks. I started allocating away from small caps, but, I was early. Too early. The Russell 2000 has continued to set new all-time records, and has returned nearly 14% since the beginning of the year. This is terrific for holders of small caps (I still have about 20% of my portfolio dedicated to small caps), but the stocks were already expensive. Small cap stocks are trading at 40 times trailing earnings, and 2.6 times book value. Earnings projections (which are usually optimistic), are projected to be about 15% per year.
Small cap stocks now face significant challenges growing earnings. Most small cap stocks do not issue debt, they borrow from commecial banks at rates indexed to the prime rate, which has been rising with federal funds. Higher borrowing costs mean higher interest expense, and slower asset growth, or lower leverage.
Small caps have had a run, because the prime rate dropped to 4.5% in 2003, and during that period smalls could add debt to finance rapid growth. That will become far more difficult. However, small caps' run has been so strong, and persisted for such a long period, many investors comparing mutual fund returns are concluding that "small caps are where its at" at precisely the wrong moment, when small caps will be at significant disadvantage to large caps in terms of capital costs. I heard this morning on Bloomberg radio that retail funds flows into small cap mutual funds was larger in the first quarter of 2006 than all of 2005 (this compares with returns, which were as large in the first quarter of 2006 as all of 2005).
It is therefore time to exit lower quality stocks and move to more defensive territory. Large stocks with strong cashflows and dividends are likely to outperform in the years ahead, both because of economics and also demographics (boomers need dividend income in retirement).
I note that small caps run is likely to continue, at least one more quarter. But sooner or later, thsi is going to end, and potentially painfully. I am reminded of the trader who said to the amateur, "you can have the first 30% and the last 30% [of a price move] and I'll just keep the nice safe 40% here in the middle". Even if the Fed doesn't keep raising rates, smalls will have difficulty gaining access to cheap capital. If the Fed sees the necessity of continuing to raise rates, bank financing could become downright expensive, and profits could actually fall, rather than simply grow slowly.
I will be moving money from smalls to large and international stocks, though I will be holding my most promising small cap stocks.
3 comments:
You make a great point in that the inflow of retail investors money into small caps being so large, when the gains have already been made means that's for lack of a better term..where the dumb money is going. Where's the smart money going? I agree with you, large caps. Rather than picking which stock in the large cap arena will fair best, I simply like the ETF "DIA". The Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF. I'll take all 30 stocks on the dow. My favorite however is HD.ReplyDelete
Jason Tillberg
I am actually focusing on dividend paying stocks (and, of course, other cheap, special situations). My view on this is that the Boomers control most of the wealth of this country, and, the wealth they don't control is coming their way from their parents. Since they need a source of rising income, and since traditional cash flow investments like real estate are trading at very high prices (compared to cash flows), dividend payings stocks with consistent and rising earnings are going to be their best bet. Thus, most dividend payings stocks (disproportionately large cap), which can raise their dividends at a rate at least that of inflation, are going to become favored vehicles, and will likely appreciate, at least until the yields become too low for sensible cash flows.ReplyDelete
A fantastic blog yours. Keep it up.ReplyDelete
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I send you warm regards and wish you continued success.


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In 2016, I invested 2,504 hours in work, which is 29% of the available 8,760 total hours we all have in one year. And approx. 237 days, or 65%, of the available 365 days I did some work.
Time is my most valued resource, more so than money. It is easy to track money, but tracking time has become more valuable for me now. I believe that awareness is the key to everything and without the awareness of how I'm investing my most valued resource (time), I have no idea if I'm making decisions that align with my values and intentions on a day-to-day basis.
At the start of 2016, I did my first time audit (for Q4 2015) and it was an eye opening exercise. I realized I was not aware of the realities of where I was investing my work time and fooling myself. This experience motivated me to track my work time all throughout 2016, which I did by making an entry at the end of each week in a simple spreadsheet pulling data from my calendar.
58.2 hours per week is on average how much I invested in work.
Here is a histogram (that looks like a New York skyline, where I also invested a lot of time, more on that below) of how many hours I invested per week throughout 52 weeks in 2016.
I invested a total of 2,504 hours in work last year. Taking out weeks I invested away from work (i.e. time off on vacation, etc.), that turns into an average of 58.2 hours per week. I normally did some work on one day during the weekend (i.e. either one of Saturday or Sunday), so if I worked an average of 5.5 days per week, that is 10.6 hours per day.
Reminder: the sample size for this data set is the entire year. I was consistent in tracking my investment for all 52 weeks.
48% of my days are invested on-the-road.
Only 52% of my time was invested in Toronto, although this surprised me as I thought it was even less. Perhaps being on the road constantly changed my perception of how much I was away, in that those days feel longer and stretched out where days in our Toronto office may go by faster. The "other" category is primarily London (where we have an office) and a few days in Silicon Valley.
57% invested in meetings with no single category more than 22%.
Quick legend of what is included in each of the above categories:
- Sales Meetings is time invested with prospective customers
- Partner Meetings is time invested with current customers (who we refer to as "partners" internally at Polar)
- Internal Meetings is time invested with my team
- Planning Activities is time invested on my laptop, working in presentations, documents, spreadsheets or Slack on activities related to the organization and strategy
- GTM Activities is time invested in all go-to-market activities such as presentations, demo and meeting prep, press activities and various marketing programs
- Corp Activities is time invested in building the corporation, including recruitment, business development and time with our Board
Here is the breakdown by category, by week. I invested a lot in other people. Makes sense given the leadership role that I play both in our industry and with our team. I enjoy it and get a lot of energy from it. 61% of my time was invested in market-facing activities, which also makes sense given my strengths and where I think I can contribute the most to our organization.
I'm proud that my total time invested in internal meetings was 21.5%, this is down considerably from 33% in Q4 2015 from my first time audit. We set the intention to reduce internal meetings at Polar in 2016 and our collective team data shows we were successful in doing so.
9 weeks invested "on the business" in 2016.
As an entrepreneur and leader, when I invest time away from work, it really means that I am investing time to work "on the business" versus "in the business". When time away, it could be on vacation, courses or adventures (always disconnected, of course), my thoughts will float towards my vision for the market and business, our strategy to continue to grow and assessing how our values are guiding our behaviours and actions. Also it provides a chance to re-energize, re-focus, re-balance and reset for myself.
In 2016, I invested the equivalent of 215 business days (43 weeks) "in the business" and 45 business days (9 weeks) "on the business". And the 45 days were spread out somewhat evenly throughout the year which I was proud of.
Note that the 45 business days away included statutory holidays (given our global offices in Canada, US, UK and Australia, I found that I did not stick to statutory holidays for any one country consistently).
9 weeks away sounds like a lot, and it is. I invested in taking time away more than anyone else on my team last year. And I doubt anyone came even close to me. Taking time away (and disconnecting) has become so important for me and I value the investment greatly. We have a flexible time away and vacation guideline at Polar, and leading by example is a key ingredient to cultivating the culture we are trying to build at our company.
Your turn.
I continue to track my time investment (and have changed up the categories for 2017) and encourage you to do your own as well. Here is a simple spreadsheet template (make a copy of it) that you can use yourself.
Note: There are many apps available that can help do this automatically but I prefer the "traditional approach" of doing it manually as it reinforces the theme of awareness, which is the point of this in the first place.
In addition to tracking how I invest my time at work, I also track my phone usage (thanks to an app I've become obsessed with) and my sleep and habits.


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To £35,000 basic
Commission scheme to 35% plus bonuses
Pension, Healthcare, Life Assurance
Gym membership
International Incentives
This is a fantastic position for an exceptional recruiter to join a specialist design division and progress their career.
An award winning specialist Construction and Property agency in London, with clients across the UK, now seek a senior consultant to join their Architectural team. The team is well connected and have been recruiting in the Architectural sector for over eight years and have a strong client portfolio. Joining this business will give you a great platform to maximise your earnings and career prospects as their is clear progression to begin managing another consultant or becoming a Principal consultant. If you have a love for design and could use your proven agency recruitment skills to become part of a growing business that has fantastic potential and is prepared to invest heavily to expand, then contact us to arrange an initial meeting.
Call our London Director for a confidential discussion and more details.


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Take 28 girls out of 11 different nations between age 16 and 35, let them meet with snowboard legend (and Olympic gold medallist) Nicola Thost, send them in the park with five freestyle coaches and you will get a Burton All Girls Snowboard Camp!
After a successful kick-off in the Kleinwalsertal at the beginning of February (with even Donna Carpenter, Vice President of Burton Snowboards, taking part), the second camp was held from February 24 to March 3 in Mayrhofen/ Austria – the motto: Jump, jump, jump. And the mission was completed successfully!
But let´s start at the beginning: On Sunday all girls had arrived at the Alpin Hotel Schrofenblick and the Welcome Night could start – with a Burton Goodie Bag (with a T-Shirt, Gravis bag, beanie, gloves, stickers and more) for every girl and an introduction by Nicola Thost, initiator and organizer of the camps. The girls were split into five groups, depending on their level of riding and what they expected to learn in the camp. Melanie for example, 26 years old and from Munich, had concrete plans: "I would love to be able to do a Fifty/Fifty to Backside Boardslide at the end of the week!" Others like 16 years old Kasia from Poland have never went into a park or jumped over a kicker. That had to be changed and the Jump Mission was ready to start!
The Burton Park in Mayrhofen with different kicker types and rails was the perfect playground for the girls who could throw their old equipment in the corner and test new Burton women snowboard gear and protection (I love those R.E.D. protection pants made of red lace!). Normally girls are afraid of going in the park by themselves – they think that the guys are better and are afraid that they will be laughed at, get send away or just be ignored. But going in the park with a cool looking coach and in a group, suddenly none of the girls had a problem with trying something new, slamming and trying it again. And the guys were not even sneaking!
"With my camps I want to bring together girls from all over the world to share the fascination and life of snowboarding", Nicola Thost explains. "The concept of the camp is to explore the diversity of snowboarding in a non-competitive way and improve riding with no fear. As important of course is sharing all this with a group of motivated girls and friends!" Last year´s first three camps were all booked out and Nicola soon realized that there are more girls who want to improve their snowboarding than she would have thought. So the amount of camps was doubled this year, going up from three to six.
During the week in Mayrhofen, the girls not only improved their riding but also learned about board tuning and avalanche safety, relaxed in the wellness area of the hotel, watched girl´s snowboard movies and, as a highlight, went for a trampoline session where the girls inspired each other to do all kind of tricks, spins and rotations.
Even rain on Wednesday couldn´t stop the girls from going up on the mountain and stay in the park until even the best outerwear was giving up. Every day Nicola joined another group, answered every question of the girls and gave them tips in the park. At the end of the week she was proud that all girl had fulfilled their personal goals: "Every one of them made a big step forward within this week and was able to come over her fear of jumps and kickers. I enjoyed the kicker-, rail- and trampoline sessions as much and all I can say: Jump mission completed successfully!" Also the girls were smiling after the week and most of them want to come back. "I couldn´t imagine that I can have so much fun in riding with girls -thought they only look for her hair. All the girls in the group were on the same riding level and we got motivated by our great coach and motivated ourselves in between the group- it was so much fun! I hope I can take part in a camp next year again!" says Melanie from Germany. And Dolores, 17 years old and from Switzerland, continues: "You have to be part of the camp at least one time because you will take home so much more than you brought with you – so many new friendships won´t fit in a suitcase!"
If you want to see more pictures from the Burton All Girls Snowboard Camp in Mayrhofen, check out the gallery on www.burtonallgirls.com.
And in case you want to join one of the four still remaining camps – there are still some places left for the Adventure Week in Morzine/ France from March 25 to 31 and for the Nature Experience in Wäsabergen/ Sweden from April 22 to 28 (all camps cost 670 Euro for one week all inclusive, only the arrival is individually).
Words: Melanie Schönthier
Photos: Frank Stolle


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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Austrian court declines to give chimp personhood
With a tip of the hat to How Appealing, there were a number of stories late in the week about an interesting case out of Austria involving a chimpanzee named Pan and the attempt to have the court recognize legal personhood on the Pan's behalf. According to the AP article that the stories were based on, Pan and another chimp named Rosi were captured as a baby in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled into Austria for use in experiments. Customs officials discovered the shipment ad turned them over to an animal shelter, where they have lived for the past 25 years. Now, the animal shelter has filed bankruptcy and Austrian animal activists are concerned about what will happen to the chimps. A judge dismissed a case brought by an animal group ruling that the group had no legal standing to argue on Pan's behalf. The group states that it will appeal to the Austrian Supreme Court.
Labels: Chimpanzees
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Finally received Parallel events Manifesta 10 catalog with 2 spreads for our project – SALE / video art for public space
Finally received Parallel events Manifesta 10 catalog with 2 spreads for our project – SALE / video art for public space
This gallery contains 58 photos.
SALE was held during Manifesta 10! June 27-29, 2014 This time with support of Alya Hestanti (the third curator) and Alexander Somov. Despite of many difficulties we made it and overall it was a good screening. Thanks for everybody involved! Some artists came from abroad. Was great to see friends and meet some new! In …
We made it in Cambridge!
SALE – the video art project with more than 30 pieces from artists around the Globe.
Curated by Olga Karyakina, Ekaterina Kravtsova and Marina Velez Vago.
2 days screening in public market.
October, 19-20
The Guildhall
Market Square, Cambridge CB2 3QJ
In collaboration with Olga Karyakina we curated a video art project SALE during Public Art Festival Art Moment in Moscow, August 3
In public space we put a grocery tent and asked visitors to chose piece they like.
Participated Artists:
Karolina Rychlik /Польша/, Moritz Geiser /Germany/, Margarita Vasques Ponte /Scotland/, Emily C-D /USA, Mexico/, Bettina Furnee/The Nederlands/, Pablo Fernandes Zapata /Germany, Colombia/, Camila Rhodi /Brazil/, Dillon de Give /USA/, Diego Del Poso Barriuso /Spain/, Kristino Rav /Estonia/, Berenger Brooks /France, Tanzania/, Pavel Kiselev /Russia/, Dasha Gusakova /Russia/, Ekaterina Craftsova /Russia/, Olga Karyakina /Russia, /Maria Obukhova /Russi/, Natasha Shabanova /Russia/
In October we hope to do updated version in Cambrige, UK


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"RAGE OF INNOCENCE": More exclusive pics, commentsMovies/TV,News Michael Gingold
We first told you here about RAGE OF INNOCENCE, the psychochiller that marks horror satirist Mark Pirro's jump into serious genre territory, and now we've got more exclusive photos to share, plus word that its lead actress has made the jump into a major film franchise.
RAGE OF INNOCENCE stars Stef Dawson as Raven, an unbalanced teenage girl who launches a deadly game of manipulation and worse against the new boyfriend (John McCafferty, 3rd photo below with Chelsea Cook) of her mother (Tammy Klein, 4th photo below with Dawson). The news came down last week that Dawson is following up her RAGE turn by playing Annie Cresta in THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 and 2, the third and fourth installments of the blockbuster series. Pirro is thrilled for his young star, telling Fango, "Stef is the most professional actress I've ever worked with, and without a doubt the most devoted to her craft. It's no surprise that the producers of THE HUNGER GAMES saw this too. I'm just glad that we finished up with her before she made this leap to the stars."
You can read more about RAGE OF INNOCENCE at the Pirromount Pictures official website and the movie's Facebook page.


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Amtrak long distance overnight train WiFi performance
In 2013-2015, Amtrak trialed WiFi in their long-distance overnight trains by having Verizon MiFi (the handheld size portable) units put in each car's SCA (Sleeping Car Attendant) roomette and in the Lounge Car. These MiFi were on the unlimited plan, and provided basic, reasonable service. They actually provided better service than on the highly overloaded Northeast Regional train WiFi.
Amtrak overnight train Wifi equipment installed in 2015-2016 brings real improvement to the Wifi performance.
Equipment will vary over time, but here are some photos of Amfleet coach installs. In Viewliner sleeper cars, the WiFi AP antenna is installed in the middle of the car, near rooms 4⁄5. The AP MAC was from Zebra Technologies (a subsidiary of Extreme Networks, Inc.). Since in general Amtrak cars (coaches, sleepers) are about 26 meters (85 feet) long, this is a reasonable maximum range.
There is 5 GHz BSSID with hidden SSID at 20 MHz bandwidth.
AmtrakConnect is 802.11n on 2.4 GHz at 20 MHz bandwidth, MCS-15 (130 Mbps) 2x2 spatial streams (at least, my hardware is 2x2).
Measured Performance
Tested with beta.speedtest.net.
|Latency (ms)
|Upload (Mbps)
|Download (Mbps)
|50 - 100
|0 - 8
|0 - 12
The Acela Express Wifi is 2x2 antenna, MCS-9, 40 MHz as of Fall 2017. This yields a 400 Mbps raw connection rate.
VPN connections do drop periodically, which might be annoying for you. I would avoid watching video, but if you do, consider low quality (144p or 240p) video to avoid sucking up too much of the train LTE bandwidth. Also informally I believe they rate limit devices (via MAC address) that use too much bandwidth, so be glad for what you get.
The network traffic is tunneled through to New York as with other Amtrak WiFi service.


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Just west of the Strip, in a nondescript industrial park, sits Boomers Bar, a divey joint with dartboards and cheap drinks. Boomers also has a back room that, once a month for the past three years, has earned the nickname "the Boom Boom Room"—its live burlesque night attracting so many people, you'd think it was 1935. At a recent showcase, the room was so packed, folks sat on the floor, kneeled in corners and stood in rows at the back, all to get a peek at performers working that onstage magic hard.
The Details
- Last Saturday of each month, 8:30 p.m., $12.
- Boomers Bar, 3200 W. Sirius Ave., 368-1863, liveburlesqueinlasvegas.com.
Burlesque has been back in a big way for a while, but like any DIY-driven movement, the quality and seriousness of a given company can vary wildly. One issue more specific to the burlesque revival in recent years: an erosion of its humorous heritage. Yes, burlesque should be sexy, but it's also meant to be frivolous, playful and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Too often, modern burlesque creates an atmosphere that feels strip-club sexy but leaves the Benny Hill behind, squeezing too much charm from the experience.
That's why I was so excited to see a diverse modern burlesque company that clearly remembers its roots. It has a lot to do with the MC. The company Live Burlesque in Las Vegas—run by burlesque superstar Cha Cha Velour ("burlesque beauty, tattooed cutie")—has one of the funniest and most endearing MCs I've seen, Blanche DeBris.
Her stage presence marries Phyllis Diller with Miss Piggy, then somehow makes it funnier. Sporting a sparkly, skintight evening gown and two pounds of bright blue eye shadow, the middle-aged DeBris uses a high-pitched, breathless voice to tease the audience and half-heartedly seduce the dancers. All that would be plenty, but it's the one-liners that make her a true find. I almost spit my drink across the room when she huffily announced that "anyone who thinks more than a mouthful's a waste doesn't deserve to have a booby in his mouth."
The Enthusiast
The other good news is that Blanche doesn't have to carry the show on her own. Blending classic and neo-burlesque styles, the company puts on a show that veers from Bobbie Baltimore's seductive Billie Holiday number and Aya Fontaine's unforgettable green goddess routine to Red Snapper's hip-hop-inspired dance and Moana Marie's S&M act, set to Garbage's "I Would Die for You." They even threw in some boylesque, a riotous Davy Crockett routine by Mr. Snapper. And when Fontaine shook her emerald skirt free from her pale hips and gave her red hair a shake, I'm pretty sure steam rose from a few heads in the crowd.
Despite tight quarters, the audience stayed for the whole thing, intermission and all, and egged on the dancers with such hoots and hollers that the Boom Boom Room nearly went boom. As we filed back to the bar after the final act, I realized I'd become a big fan of Boomers. I also couldn't believe I'd paid just $12 for the best show I'd seen in a long time. Thankfully, the seven people I came with felt exactly the same way, so I knew I hadn't simply been mesmerized by twirling tassels.


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Social and behavioral scientists say that almost all of us suffer from one of two financial illusions: the wealth illusion or the poverty illusion. And, which ever one you have, will determine whether you would rather have a million dollar lump sum to retire on, or $50,000 a year for life for both you and your spouse! Let's dig into that study today by three prominent researchers, reviewed in the Wall Street Journal
Why are upscale real-estate developers suddenly offering artists free rent? The answer: they're looking to up rents by upping their "Cool Quotient!" says the Wall Street Journal. There's always been an "art scene Paradox": As a neighborhood or city known for its creative community becomes trendy, the artists who made it that way no longer afford to live there. Learn how several developers are trying to solve it. And have you ever heard of "apartment scalping"? Its going on in San Francisco and Vancouver and will be hitting 100 cities this coming year. We'll cover that and more--
Trend traders are saying that 'Trump trade 1.0 is now as "dead as a doornail.', but Trump Trade 2.0 is where the action is! Listen to what Nick Colas, Conver-gex chief market strategist has to say. Then, CNBC's Deirdre Bosa explores how automation and robotics will change the future of the U.S. workforce and perhaps the markets.
It's a Tatro Tuesday! One of Money Radio's all time favorites, Bill Tatro, joins Steve and I today to talk about Trumponomics, tax reform, and the market forecast as the Trump agenda runs head on into Congress and the looming market shutdown. We'll also hear what Larry Kudlow has to say.
...It's NOT business as usual! In his short time in office, President Donald Trump has met with 170 CEOs in charge of many companies listed in the S & P 500--of all political persuasions. Tax reform and untangling regulations has been the theme. That's more than President Obama met with in eight years. Here from one major CEO who was at the meeting this week. Plus learn about the new Ronco IPO. Then estate planning attorney Richard Dwornik clears up what happens to a person's debts when they die. Can you inherit someone else's debt? Find out.
Close to 15 million new jobs will be created in the U.S. over the next decade as a direct result of automation and artificial intelligence, equivalent to 10% of the workforce, according to estimates in a new report from Forrester Research. Those gains, however, will not come close to offsetting the 25 million jobs that technology will eliminate by 2027, Forrester predicts. While politicians focus on health care and who has health insurance, 10 million people will likely be out of a JOB who still want to work. And hear what former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has to say about how to resolve the stalemate in Congress over health care and insurance.
Will Bill Gates's idea to tax robots gain traction not only in the U.S. but in England? It could happen! Find out why, and get an update of breaking financial news plus hands on investment ideas you'll hear more about at the upcoming Mastering Money workshop Thursday April 27 in Tempe.
In this special podcast, Steve answers many of the questions that are important for consumers to know before considering an annuity and "signing on the dotted line." Learn about the various types of annuities, what happens when you die, where you can find the most income, how to keep your money safe, and how to keep your costs very low (or even zero)


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I feel like I've discovered a treasure. The Inquisitor's Key is the latest installment of the Body Farm series by the writing team ofJefferson Bass. I downloaded the book for free several months ago and I would say spend the money on this one (and I'm banking the other books in the series are good too). I plan on buying the others.
Set in the primary location of Avignon France, the book features the beauty of the medieval city, it's history which can be quite dark, it's artwork which is glorious and a modern day mystery. There are real-life characters throughout the book, but I won't tell you who they are. I found it fun to find out in the end of the book.
Dr Brockton heads up Tennessee's body farm. He has an assistant named Miranda who is in France on involved in a mystery that involves bones that could be Jesus Christ's, the Shroud of Turin's origins and possible explanation, and the history of Avignon in the medieval age. The book is interesting, well- paced (some readers didn't like the history background. They found it dragged.), and well researched. There's a murder and a tangled web of intrigue surrounding the bones.
I love stories set in France, and I love art history. I like history in general and being a lapsed Catholic, I find stories of the history of the church and its mysteries fascinating. And I love a good mystery. This book has all of this, so of course I loved it. I am excited now to read the rest of the series, and I'll review them as I do. The books are written by the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson known as Jefferson Bass. I would tell you it's ok to start with this book if you want to, and like me go to the beginning novel afterwards. Or you can start at the beginning and wait for this treat. And yes, it's worth the money. For the record, it has to be pretty damn good for me to part with $7.99 for the Kindle edition. I will gladly pay for these books in the future.
Five Stars.