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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

He might try to help you, in his way. And that could be pretty horrible. If he didn't like you...well, that could be worse

OK, so it took me awhile to get this next post written, but I had a good reason: I'm lazy. Also I'm going to blame this on the recent snowstorm that hit the Northeast, even though that happened way after I finished reading Horrorscape. But seriously, we got a foot and a half in Jersey and it wasn't even Halloween yet, so I think that excuse can work retroactively.

Since I have been lazy getting these posts written I figure I'll just combine the last two sections of Horrorscapes together in this single entry, and instead of reviewing a couple stories, like I did in my last post, I'll give you a quick comment about each of them.

Part 3: Belief and The Supernatural
Pickman's Model by H.P. Lovecraft - This is the first Lovecraft I'd read and it is what makes me want to read more of the guy. Plus it takes place in Boston's North End, which I lived in for awhile, and could totally believe that evil things are crawling around just below the city.
The Roaches by Thomas Disch - A good though somewhat forgettable creepy crawly horror story and what happens when someone is a lonely clean freak.
The Boogeyman by Stephen King - You can always tell a King story without even knowing he wrote it. He has a certain tone and no matter how crazy things get the characters sound real and flawed. It's fun to see him take on the creature that hides in children's closets.
It's a Good Life by Jerome Bixby - You (probably) know this one, even if you don't know you know it. Twilight Zone and Simpsons did it. Little kid can read thoughts and control things with his mind and hates when people are unhappy or think bad things. What happens when someone with a 5 year old understanding of morality has complete control over everyone? It just confirms that kids are terrifying.

Part 4: Avenging Angels and Faustian Devils
They Bite by Anthony Boucher - Locals tell outsider of the haunted house. It's a simple premise that every horror writer has taken on at some point and this one has a little lesson worked into it. Granted the lesson is along the lines of don't be an ass or you'll get bitten but still.
The Black Lake by Tony Richards - I always have to remind myself that this isn't a King story. It feels like it could be. Who knew a lake could be such a successful predator?

The Raft by Stephen King - OK, so this one is actually a King story. It has those believable characters and then a crazy (and gory) attack. I probably mix up The Black Lake with this one because they're next to one another and they're both about malevolent lakes, which really isn't a horror category I thought would exist, but there you go. I saw a short film version of it but like a lot of King things, go for the book instead of the movie.
Sweets to the Sweet by Robert Bloch - First up, I love the Shakespeare reference. Second, it's another story where children are terrifying. This time the kid's behavior is more justifiable but still, don't mess with kids. If you call someone a witch often enough, will they become one? Bloch is also the guy that wrote Psycho, so you know he can do some quality writing. This is no exception.
If Damon Comes by Charles L. Grant - Another horror story about a kid. See how scary kids are? Although this is more like Bloch's tale where the kid being a super creepy is kind of justified. Kinda creepy but not outright scary like some of the other stories in here.
Ceremony by William F. Nolan - It's kind of like the Boucher story, where someone gets punished by these "avenging angels". Also it's a good reason to avoid taking long bus rides because those always seem to invite creepy things to happen.
Dark Angel by Edward Bryant - Don't think that this is like that Jessica Alba TV show. It's a question of how far should revenge go and how do you know when you've gone too far?
The Playground by Ray Bradbury - Again! children are the creepy factory here. How much can you really protect your children? How far will you go? What do your childhood memories mean for your kids?

Title quote from page 132, from the story It's a Good Life.

Goshgarian, Gary ed. Horrorscape. Kendall Press, 1993.


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High Schools Need to Be Teaching Basic Life Skills

Teach me to adult! What skills do you want your teen to have mastered by the end of high school and is their school currriculum meeting those needs? Consider how to approach teaching critical basic life skills that may not be covered in school. Download Article

The Police Need to Understand Autism

Many police officers need training on recognizing and effectively interacting with people who have developmental and other disabilities. Individuals with disabilities make up a third to a half of all people killed by the police. We, as a society, must stop using the police as a substitute for our failing disability services system. Download Article

Cell Phone Addiction in Teenagers

Cell phone addiction with teens is real and drastically growing all over the world. These devices certainly have some benefits--including helping parents stay connected to their teens as they transition from their care. But the devices also contribute to anxiety, lack of sleep, and other ills for teens. Some interesting data in this article and [...]

Man Posing as Uber driver arrested in Beverly Hills

This article, sadly, is another example of the increasingly common practice of predators pretending to be Uber drivers. Here are three tips to help protect yourself: (1) Never rely on an Uber decal for legitimacy since those can be stolen or easily be counterfeited. (2) Double check that the car arriving matches: the make and [...]

How to Talk with Your Teen about Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is rarely an easy thing to discuss with your teen but is one of the most important conversations you can have as a parent (or caregiver). Making sure the teen in your life completely understands sexual consent is in their best interest! Check out this article for some useful tips about having this [...]

Parental Involvement in Their Child’s Education

This is an interesting read about the importance of parents getting involved in the education of their children. Of course, a real education goes beyond what is taught in school. That's where What They Don't Teach Teens comes in...

Sexting Second Thoughts!

Recent studies have shown the day after sexting 10 percent regret their decision. 80 percent of teens and college students have sexted or have received a picture but is sending one picture really worth it?

Selfie Gone Wrong!

The act of taking a selfie in front of priceless, one of a kind artwork leads an innocent woman being the cause of $200,000 in damage.  Why in the 21st century are humans so consumed on their mobile devices that they are damaging people's art? So how can we go into an art gallery and safely [...]

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Printing & Imaging Association Of Mountain States Offers Digital Print Seminar For Traditional Printers

Monday, November 08, 2004

Press release from the issuing company

November 5, 2004 -- The Printing & Imaging Association of Mountain States will be presenting Changing Profit Centers Seminar - how to complement traditional offset with digital and variable data printing on November 16th at the Denver Press Club. There will be two sessions. The morning session will include the best practices and trends in digital print and concentrate on marketing digital printing and variable data printing. The afternoon session will include “designing for digital”; how to sell digital and variable data printing; and inter-active brainstorming exercises in which attendees actually develop new-to-the-world VDP projects. Many a printer recognizes that the digital wave is upon them, but don’t quite know how to take advantage of the new print technologies. Especially if they are struggling under the burden of capital equipment debt. Changing Profit Centers is designed to give them insight as to how to successfully cope with this dilemma. The seminars’ primary message is how to intelligently and strategically introduce digital printing and an array of potential new services into a traditional offset environment. The concept of “marketing services providers” will be discussed including the results of the TrendWatch Graphic Arts report on the key attributes required to be a successful digital services provider. Also discussed will be how to sell digital printing and variable data printing, and the knowledge required by sales reps. Jim Olsen, President, Imagination, Ink. a marketing firm specializing in variable data printing and electronic communications for one-to-one marketing, is the seminar facilitator. After decades of running printing, publishing and trade association organizations, Olsen is keenly aware of the price pressures on printing services. He sees adding value added services as the opportunity to break away from commodity pricing and begin pricing on value to the customer and not on the traditional per-piece basis. One of the primary topics is using partnering as a way of entering the digital print arena in a prudent and successful manner. Olsen, editor of this year’s edition of the PrintOnDemand Initiative Best Practices is an evangelist of variable data printing and one-to-one communications to the corporate marketing community. In addition, he will share his practical experience of actually selling and producing VDP projects. Attendees will learn: • Best practices and trends in digital print. • The advantage of becoming part of a customer’s marketing team. • How to “morph” from traditional offset to digital printing. • The attributes of a successful digital printer. • How to “design for digital”. • The knowledge requirements of a sales rep. • The steps for implementing a successful customer VDP campaign. Attendees in the afternoon session will participate in a live brainstorming exercise in which they will develop new and unique uses of variable data printing themselves. A live case study! Imagination, Ink. is sending to all the members of the Printing & Imagiing Assocaiation of Mountain Sataes a four-page variable data promotion brochure designed as a newsletter with a unique use of variable data. The headline of the first article states, “ is Only 19 miles away from a Pot of Gold!” Another article is headed “Driving to the Pot of Gold Will Only Take 34 minutes!” The use of a “pot of gold” refers to one’s ability to use value added pricing for value added services. This, along with using personalized messages and versioned text makes the seminar promotion brochure a case study exemplifying the effective use of variable data printing. To see how a brochure like this is developed in InDesign http://www.imaginationink.com/CPC-PIMS.pdf Of special interest will be the topic of how Jim Olsen and Richard Romano of RichText worked through the production of the seminar promotion brochure. To register for the seminar just go here: http://www.regonline.com/18141 or call Jennifer Blanchard at (303) 771-1578.

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10 injured after taxi crashes into crowd outside Logan Airport, authorities say

EAST BOSTON (WHDH) – A taxi crashed into a group of pedestrians Monday afternoon outside Boston’s Logan Airport, injuring nearly a dozen people in what police called a “tragic accident.”

State police responded around 1:40 p.m. to the area of Porter Street and Tomahawk Drive in East Boston for a report of a crash at a taxi-queuing station.

Investigators say a Metro taxi jumped the curb and struck a group cab drivers. Ten victims were taken to Mass General Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, and other area hospitals, Boston EMS says. Police say their injuries range in severity from serious to minor.

The crash is not terror-related and was instead a case of “operator error” in which the driver stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake, according to police.

The driver, a 56-year-old Cambridge man, remained at the scene and is cooperating with troopers. His identity is being withheld at this time. Those who know him say he is a gentleman with no history of driving violations.

Officials have seized the cab and are working to determine if a mechanical malfunction is to blame. The taxi pool was temporarily closed, but has since reopened.

A witness says the driver told him that “he could not” stop the car before slamming into the group. Massachusetts state police Maj. Frank McGinn said all the injured appeared to be cab drivers.

Video from Sky7 showed a badly damaged cab resting against a building.

Police say no charges have been filed against the driver at this time. The investigation is ongoing and active.

(Copyright (c) 2017 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)


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Speaker: Suspend pot negotiations until budget plan approved

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Speaker Robert DeLeo is asking House members working to negotiate a compromise marijuana bill to suspend their talks until a final state budget is approved and sent to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk.

DeLeo issued the statement Wednesday, saying it’s important to get the budget bill wrapped up for the fiscal year that began July 1. He said he believes lawmakers can get a budget to Baker this week.

DeLeo said Massachusetts is widely regarded as being fiscally responsible and a key reason for its consistently high bond ratings has been the commitment to balanced, on-time spending plans.

The Democratic speaker said ongoing negotiations on a final budget and final marijuana bill have never been linked by the House.

Negotiations on both bills are taking place behind closed doors.

(Copyright (c) 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)


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Trump’s budget dismays families hit by drug addiction crisis

NEW YORK (AP) — He slept next to his son’s ashes most nights back when Kraig Moss first met Donald Trump.

In a hall packed with Iowa voters, the presidential candidate looked the middle-aged truck driver in the eye and vowed to fight the opioid crisis that killed his only son two years earlier.

“He promised me, in honor of my son, that he was going to combat the ongoing heroin epidemic,” Moss said of the January 2016 interaction. “He got me hook, line and sinker.”

Moss, an amateur musician, quickly sold enough possessions to fund a months-long tour of more than 40 Trump rallies, where he serenaded voters with pro-Trump songs. His guitar, and the ashes of his late 24-year-old son, Rob, were always close by.

“I had everything riding on the fact that he was going to make things better,” Moss said. “He lied to me.”

Trump’s budget proposal, released this week, would reduce funding for addiction treatment, research and prevention. The most damaging proposed cut, critics say, is the president’s 10-year plan to shrink spending for Medicaid, which provides coverage to an estimated three in 10 adults with opioid addiction. Members of Congress have said they are unlikely to approve the budget as written.

The blueprint comes weeks after the president celebrated House passage of a Republican health care bill that would dramatically reduce Medicaid coverage, while allowing states to weaken a requirement that private insurance cover addiction treatment. A Congressional Budget Office report on Wednesday said a patient’s cost of substance abuse services could increase by thousands of dollars a year in states that chose to weaken coverage requirements.

Some see the moves as a painful betrayal of Americans whose families have been devastated by addiction and who trusted the president’s repeated pledges to make them a priority once in office. Trump’s budget priorities focus on tax cuts, military spending and border security with massive cuts to programs for the poor and disabled.

Those most frustrated include parents who shared their stories with Trump.

“We want to help those who have become so badly addicted,” Trump insisted during a late-March “listening session” on opioid and drug abuse at the White House.

Attendees included Pam Garozzo, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, whose 23-year-old son died of an overdose in December. Trump’s budget requests, Garozzo said this week, run “counter to what we thought he was going to do.”

“That would be a tragedy,” she said. “We’re losing a whole generation of young people to this disease.”

Others responded with similar frustration.

“I didn’t see this coming,” said Paul Kusiak, of Beverly, Massachusetts, who shared with Trump the story of his two sons’ successful battle with opioid addiction during a New Hampshire roundtable discussion eight days before the election. “I’m trying desperately to have hope and take the president at his word.”

During the roundtable, Trump opened up about his father’s struggle with alcoholism. It was enough to convince skeptics in the room he was serious about an epidemic the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says kills 91 Americans each day.

“I believed that he had learned something new and was going to do something about it,” said Patty McCarthy Metcalf, who leads the advocacy group Faces and Voices of Recovery. “He’s let us down.”

Trump has tapped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead a task force to combat the opioid crisis. Trump’s budget request, however, raises questions about whether he’s committed to new programs.

In some cases, the budget would maintain funding levels, such as $1.85 billion for block grants to states that provide addiction treatment for 2.5 million Americans. Funding has been flat for a decade, and advocates say the grants have lost more than $480 million in purchasing power over that time because of inflation.

Trump also would cut funding for addiction research and eliminate support for the training of addiction professionals. He wants to cut prevention programs by more than 30 percent, according to one advocacy group’s analysis. Trump would also eliminate funding for the Department of Justice’s community policing anti-heroin task forces, while cutting millions of dollars of federal support of drug courts, prescription drug monitoring programs and state programs aimed at prescription drug overdoses.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the president’s commitment to the nation’s opioid epidemic, which has ravaged many of the rural areas and small working-class towns where the Republican drew a lot of support.

Trump’s budget turned back from an earlier plan to gut the office of the White House “drug czar.” In a statement Tuesday, Richard Baum, acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the budget “demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to stopping drugs from entering the country and supporting treatment efforts to address the burgeoning opioid epidemic.”

Trump voter Michelle Jaskulski, of Milwaukee, who has a son and stepson in recovery from opioid addiction, believes in the president’s commitment and overall approach. “Money for treatment isn’t necessarily a cure-all,” she said.

Many others touched by the opioid crisis say they’re angry and afraid.

“Inside I’m screaming,” said Sandra Chavez of Sacramento, California, who lost her 24-year-old son, Jeffrey, to a blood infection related to his injection drug use. “We’re going backward with Donald Trump’s plan.”

In Cleveland, a state that gave Trump a critical victory, 36-year-old Justin Butler worries he’ll be back on the streets using and selling heroin if Medicaid no longer paid for his treatment. Butler began his recovery in July after being revived from an overdose in a restaurant parking lot. Trump, he said, is “turning his back on people. He’s a liar.”

The sense of betrayal is perhaps deeper for Moss, 58, who devoted much of last year to promoting Trump’s candidacy.

He’s back to driving trucks from his home in Owego, New York. He says that perhaps he shares some blame for investing too many emotions into Trump’s promise.

“Maybe I felt by combatting the heroin epidemic that was going to make me feel complete, as far as losing my son and being able to move on,” Moss said. “And maybe that’s why it feels like such a letdown he’s not fulfilling his promises.”

(Copyright (c) 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)


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Whedonesque - a community weblog about Joss Whedon
"Nothing is what it appears to be."
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July 11 2010

Veronika Decides to Die German theatrical release on 30th September. Germany is the next country to give a theatrical release to the SMG movie VDTD .

Apart from France and Japan it has had a theatrical release in the various countries it has opened in and the German distributor Capelight Pictures has now set up an official Facebook page to promote that release .

However for the US and UK there is no release scheduled .The previously scheduled US DVD release has been pulled from Amazon.

Yeah, I was so bummed when for nearly a month, the DVD was listed in my Netflix Queue as "Coming Soon". Now, not so much. I'm not certain, but I do think it was going to be streaming on Netflix Watch Instantly. Sigh.

In related news, Possession came in the mail yesterday. Despite the general reviews of "pretty, but forgettable", I'm kind of looking forward to watching it.
I'm in S. Korea at the moment and I managed to catch it just the other day. I had been reading the book and wrongly assumed it had been released in the US and UK because it just seemed like forever since I had seen the trailer. Why on earth they would not release the DVD is just silly, especially now that it's been released elsewhere. (I get that maybe it wasn't expected to gross much at the box office.)

SMG was the PERFECT choice for Veronika!!! I really enjoyed her performance, as well as those of some other actors. There are quite a few differences from the novel, but I thought SMG put so much into the role of Veronika. I don't want to say more and spoil anyone... I will say that while the novel's end was no secret, a person watching the film might appreciate the resolution.

I made a thread for it in the film section on .org.

I think SMG fans will really enjoy her performance in this film. Coelho fans may or may not like the film adaptation.

ETA: I meant to say that a person watching the film without having read the book might appreciate the film's resolution in a way the reader couldn't quite do so. Hope that makes sense.

[ edited by WhoIsOmega? on 2010-07-12 14:43 ]
I was a huge fan of the book and caught the film last year and it was perfect! I mean it's no secret that I'm an SMG fan(being here and all) but I was dreading the release, but after seeing it and how well it was adapted and cast, it was one of those rare achievements for book to film adaptations. But it isn't a cinematic kinda film, it's about a woman trying to commit suicide! So I can see the resistance in releasing it, but still...RELEASE IT!!!
I just bought the DVD the other day, and now I have to manage to get the time to watch it. I have never read the book, but if SMG is in the movie of course I have to watch it :)
Satai, you can appreciate the film very much without having read the book, trust me. Enjoy.
Even with SMG I will not buy I Know What YOu Did LAst Summer or Scream 2. And I won't watch Harvard Man again even tho I repalced my copy when it was stolen. and I'm dubious on re-watching Southland Tales.

I'm upset about this; I thought this might be the vehicle which got her recognition as someone who can carry a non-horror and non-comedy piece.
Every time I hear about this movie, I think about SMG guest-starring on Veronica Mars. Then I get sad.
Did she guest-star on VM? Or not, perhaps that is the reason for said sadness?
No she didn't, sorry Satai and Punsch!
The sadness is moreso that Veronica got cancelled before someone realized what an amazing idea SMG guest-starring on VM would be.
wait, you mean THEY(the producers) didn't think of that when they were giving guest spots to everyother member of the Buffy cast and Joss? Well that's kinda odd...

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10/04/2006 22:17 CET   10030. Moviefone wonders "Who'll Play Wonder Woman?"
31/07/2005 08:27 CET   7410. Joss Whedon put in a special appearance at the Angel Booster Bash tonight.
29/12/2004 22:12 CET   5667. Sunnydale High P.E. Shirt on Ebay.
03/12/2004 16:08 CET   5483. Harmony (well, Mercedes, anyway) on a unicorn!
05/08/2004 21:14 CET   4580. Robia Lamorte explains why she won't be attending the Vulkon con
05/08/2004 11:01 CET   4583. An interview with Robia LaMorte.

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Thursday, June 4, 2015

30th year - N° 155 Thursday, 4 June 2015

30th year - N° 155 Thursday, 4 June 2015

4 June / Today's 15 Events:
217 years ago

Monday 4th of June 1798

Adventurer, writer and sexual athlete Giacomo Casanova dies of several infections of the genito-urinal system at the age of 73 in Duchcov Chateau, Duchcov, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.

107 years ago

Thursday 4th of June 1908

Victim of Fritz Haarmann aka Der Hannover Werwolf Wilhelm Apel is born in Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.

107 years ago

Thursday 4th of June 1908

Adolf Hitler's half-niece and supposed lover Geli Angela Maria Raubal is born in Linz, Oberösterreich, Austria.

102 years ago

Wednesday 4th of June 1913

41-year-old Heroine of the women's suffrage movement Emily Wilding Davison runs on to the track and attempts to grab the bridle of Anmer, the horse owned by King George V in Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Davison entered the race track in order to attach the Women's Social and Political Union flag to Anmer, so that when the horse crossed the finishing line it would be flying the WSPU flag. Davison died four days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital due to a fractured skull and internal injuries caused by the incident.

91 years ago

Wednesday 4th of June 1924

Actor Dennis William Weaver is born in Joplin, Missouri, United States.

89 years ago

Friday 4th of June 1926

The heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world Robert Earl Hughes is born in Baylis, Illinois, United States.

At the age of six Hughes weighed about 92 kilograms (200 lb); at ten, he weighed 171 kilograms (380 lb). By the time of his death, he weighed almost half a ton.

88 years ago

Saturday 4th of June 1927

30-year-old Doctor and serial killer Marcel André Henri Félix Petiot aka The Triangular Chamber of Death Murderer marries 23-year-old Georgette Valentine Lablais in Seignelay, Yonne, France.

73 years ago

Thursday 4th of June 1942

Nazi leader and SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich dies due to injuries inflicted during an assault by the Czech resistance at the age of 38 in Na Bulovce Hospital, Budínova 67/2, Praha, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.

As a represaille for Heydrich's death the Nazis murdered all 173 men over 15 years of age of Lidice and destroyed the whole town.

65 years ago

Sunday 4th of June 1950

Singer Dagmar Krause is born in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

53 years ago

Monday 4th of June 1962

Monika Tafel is sexually assaulted and strangled by serial killer Joachim Kroll aka Jockel aka Der Ruhrkannibale in Schwarzen Weg, Walsum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

She was found two weeks later in a cornfield during a helicopter search for missing girls.

44 years ago

Friday 4th of June 1971

Marxist philosopher György Lukács, originally Löwinger György Bernát dies of natural causes at the age of 86 in Budapest, Central Hungary, Hungary.

35 years ago

Wednesday 4th of June 1980

Marie-Else Scholte is beaten to death by serial killer Bernd Bopp aka The Hammer Murderer in Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

34 years ago

Thursday 4th of June 1981

Suzanne Wagner is abducted and held imprisoned by sex researcher Ulrich Kochwald in Regensburg, Bayern, Germany.

Wagner was locked up as a sex-slave for almost a year.

26 years ago

Sunday 4th of June 1989

575 die in propane and butane pipeline explosion in Asha, Ufa, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia.

A highly flammable cloud that was ignited by sparks created by two passenger trains passing each other nearby. Both trains were carrying many children: one was returning from a holiday vacation on the Black Sea and the other was taking children there.

11 years ago The Eyes had it

Friday 4th of June 2004

Impressive bathroom furniture and plumbing in Hôtel Nissim De Camondo, 63 Rue Monceau, VIIIe, Paris, Île-de-France, France.

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Monday, November 15, 2010

Beautiful sunny day

Today was a bit cooler ... highs in the upper 30s, but the sun was bright and we could finally see all of the snow up in the mountains.

Stout and I went for a lunchtime run up Montana Creek trail.  The wet planks were a bit icy but we made it up to the divide between the Mendenhall River and Peterson Creek during our 75 minute run.

Didn't have the camera today, but here is Stout under the desk at work after the run.

Stout recovering from a tough day
This last weekend's activities:

'Weeding the forest' - helping cut an uphill/downhill route from the ski area up to wedding bowl (our most frequented bc spot).  Devil's club, blueberry, salmonberry bush snipping ... bow sawing larger trees and smashing down large heaves in the ground to allow for a nice skin and descent even with little snowfall down low.

'Chores at home' - cleaning the gear room, moving winter to the front and fishing/summer to the back of the closet.

'Car wash' - windows, vacuum, dusting.  It's pointless to clean the exterior here, but a window cleaning was needed to remove all the Stout Snot in both vehicles.

'Shrimp pull' - well it looks like the shrimp are getting ready to release some offspring (full of eggs), so we pulled our pot and will keep it out of the water for a bit to let them release their eggs.  Did get enough for a good meal though.

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    Creating an inspiring brand vision, positioning and action plan, including Brand Purpose, Brand Revitalisation and Global Branding
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    Strategic innovation to create new products and services, including New Brand Devt, Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture
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Rob Mortimer

Hi David, sorry I didnt notice you had replied!

Here are a few posts/discussions on the Sisomo talk from my blog:

One quote on a few of the early speakers (including Kevin Roberts) was that they were being visionaries, but with little idea on the process application in the real world.

People saw the talk as shiny and polished, but maybe not that accurate for the real world.

Fergus (emailed to David)

First off, let's be fair, Lovemarks isn't entirely in the "forget the
product" camp, it seems more in the "somebody else go sort out the product
while we go do the sexy stuff" camp, but product is at least mentioned.
To give the idea a chance, I did a (30 second) personal audit of all the
products I consume. The only brand that fitted the "inspires loyalty
beyond reason" test for me is Marmite. Does it fit the other attributes of
Lovemark?... "owned by the people who love them?" - let them try changing
it and see what happens!, would I protest if it was no longer there? -
absolutely, is it infused with mystery? - mmm not really, sensuality? -
Marmite! I don't think so... intimacy? - be serious!. Therefore, on an
unrepresentative sample of one (similar bases to the "nomination" of
Lovemarks) Lovemarks doesn't seem to add a great deal to the understanding
of building great brands.

The ultra slick Lovemarks website pretty much sums it up for me, very
flashy wrapper, very little product substance.

David Taylor (from Where'sTheSausage)

Rob, Hi, thanks for popping in. Please can you say some more about what the criticism was about the Siomo talk?

Rob Mortimer

His Sisomo talk was at the Future Marketing Summit recently, and he got quite a bit of criticism.

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text:
Thursday, July 8, 2010

Lost in the Supermarket

Moving from Cheer to Joy, from Joy to All / I take a box / And add it to my wild rice, my Cornish game hens...

--Randall Jarrell, "Next Day"

"I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can not longer shop happily."

-- The Clash

I should have known that this day would come. Like the Clash and the nameless speaker of "Next Day," one of my all-time favorite poems about middle-age, I have lost my claim to mindless happy shopping -- the birthright of all Americans. What's worse, I have given it away in exchange for a hunk of cheese, and thus have nobody but myself to blame.

Flash back twelve months. July 2009, Bill and I had recently extracted our family from Brooklyn, where the only grocery options are Bleak, Bleaker, and the Byzantine systems of the Park Slope Food Coop. There are terrific greenmarkets, certainly, and the Fairway over in Red Hook, but those both demand a major commitment of time and planning. For the greenmarket, you can only buy what you can carry on the subway, and they don't sell Cheer, or Joy, or All. And for Fairway, you have to drive, park, negotiate the chaos of other crazed shoppers, shuttle your grocery bags up multiple flights of stairs, and then re-park the damn car somewhere in the neighborhood. Hardly something you can do every day when you just need a few pork chops and some peaches.

So when we got to New Hampshire's Upper Valley, home of the Hanover Food Coop, we thought we had died and gone to homemaker heaven. They had everything you can buy in America, and lots of it. They had little specialty sections, and a bulk food aisle, fancy artisanal dairy products and real beef. Unlike the Key Food on 7th Avenue, the store didn't smell like a long-abandoned port-a-san. And unlike the Park Slope Co-op, you didn't have to sign your life away to join.

And so we spent last summer in happy shopping bliss, grazing the snow peas, the clover honey, the organic soda spritzers, and the freeze-dried edamame pods and the polenta chips that taste like Bugles with a Ph.D.

And then came France. I stumbled there as a shopper, hard. Nothing in the supermarket looked familiar, and nothing came in an extra-large. All the words for things were different, so that it took me forever to find horseradish (raifort) and sour cream (crème fraiche, but only sort of) and toilet bowl cleaner (bleach is, I think, javel, although I left without ever being sure.) Do you miss those early days of this blog as much as I do? Yes? Well then, click here and take a stroll down Aisle Six of memory lane.

As the year unfolded, I learned a whole new way of living, which of course included a whole new way of shopping. Which of course required forgetting my old life and its ways, at least in part. Which leads me back to the disconnect I felt today.

I thought I had readjusted to the U.S. unscathed, but as it turns out, I was only pretending. You see, last weekend I went back to France. I know, it sounds ridiculous, just to jet off to France for four nights (one of them spent crammed into seat 42C on a British Airways 747) but it was terrific. I'm still working on writing about all of the nuances of this little tidbit of France, but the upshot was that I went there for Jessica and Gerard's wedding -- perhaps one of the most joyful celebrations I've ever attended, (aside from your wedding, of course, which was every bit as nice, except without a gypsy band, a circus tent, raspberries in the champagne, and a cheese course.)

I went back to Aups by myself, leaving Bill and the girls back home, and in between the parties and catching up with friends, I spent a lot of time just wandering my old haunts. The road up from the Bastide, where I would pick thyme and rosemary to put in the dinner. The marché, where I would get fresh apricots and asparagus and beets and carrots and dinde: food all the way through the vegetable alphabet. The boulangerie, the spice store, the place that sold only olive oil and wine.

And the Intermarché, which I eventually memorized. I nearly burst into tears when I saw all that rosé and chocolate and cheese. I waved my carte du fidelite and picked up a little wine and candy to take home in my luggage, plus a mushy round of Banon cheese, all runny and wrapped in oak leaves, and then ate the whole thing with a baguette in the courtyard of my hotel.

I had never realized it then, but I think I spent nearly every moment outside of the house that year procuring some particularly delicious sort of food from some specific place. I thought I was going to France, when really I was going grocery shopping.

But then I had to come back. It's nice to be here, and while we're still not back in Brooklyn, it feels a lot more settled to be here with no other major trips planned for the foreseeable future. In fact, it's not just nice. It's deeply, deeply good in a settled and happy way I had hoped it might be. Perhaps this is just because the kids are in camp, and I have some time -- and Bill -- all to myself, but I think this sense of bien-etre, wellbeing, has to do with the sense of being at home.

(Even so, Abigail keeps checking with us on this: "We're going to stay here, right Mommy?" She will even try to guilt us into letting her watch T.V. rather than go swimming, in the middle of a heatwave. "But I don't want to go to the Pond and swim! This family moves around way too much." We took her to France as a sweet little pixie of a seven-year old, and we brought back a master manipulator.)

So we're home, but there remains the business of adjusting back to shopping reality. The Hanover Food Co-op is just as wonderful as it ever was. It's me who has changed.

All the vegetables were stacked up in their usual, hopeful way, but for some reason they all just seemed cold and uninviting, as though none of them had ever seen a real farm. Fruit that could sit in my fridge for a week and move straight from unripe to pointless without ever aquiring flavor. Industrial-strength cucumbers. There was a bounty of choice, (plenty of it in plastic bags) but no straw panniers to put it in. I started to get a little disoriented.

I left, looking for sanctuary in the wine section. I said to Bill, "I'll just go over here to the wines and pick up a rosé."

He warned me in a gentle, coaxing voice, having already tried this, "There won't be any, sweetheart."

"OF COURSE there is rosé, I said," as though saying would make it so, and then set off to find it.

I kept pacing back and forth in front of the ports and shirazes and merlots, certain that if I scanned hard enough, that nice bottle of rosé would float off the shelf and into my waiting arms. It's only about 92 degrees here today, (not a life-threatening 103, like in New York) but is there anything else that anybody else wants to drink when it feels like this?

(Those of you who knew me when must be wondering: what happened to Launa, the Queen of Beer Drinkers? Dear old Launa, whose last name rhymes with Budweiser? Can't she just pull a Stella out of the fridge for old time's sake and just can it with this snobby rosé stuff? Short answer: no. At least not yet.)

I finally saw something pink, but then looked at the label and saw it was just some awful old Zinfandel. I had a nasty run-in with that stuff in the early 1990's, and it will never again cross my lips. I recoiled from the bottle as though from a semi-poisonous snake.

In the wine section I came up short, but in just about any other aisle I could hardly breathe. There were simply way too many options among packaged foods. I know that Americans are known to thrive on super sizing and rampant variety. I used to be that person. And now, when I look at all those different things, it makes my head hurt. All that Cheer. All that Joy. All that All.

All I wanted? A little clarity. A little less process. As Jarrell's poem goes on to say, quoting William James, "Wisdom is learning what to overlook." I would like the edicts of a thousand years of French culture to swoop in and organize the foodstuffs in a particular and specific way, and help me to wisely overlook.

I want fewer options.

I'm all lost.

It's a phase, I tell myself with one soothing, reassuring voice. Corn syrup and I had a vibrant, thriving relationship before, and we can rebuild that again. Jarred salsa is my friend. Olives are not the only fruit.

I'm all lost.

"FOOOOOOD SNOOOOOB!!!" some other awful voice shouts at me from within my own head. "You're full of pommes de terre and foolishness juice! Snap out of it, and pick up some of this nice guacamole for dinner!! Get yourself down to the store and buy some of America's favorite tropical fruit: Guar." (This voice is very bossy.)

I'm all lost.

The sanest, quietest voice tells me this: Get a grip, and make a little spaghetti with red sauce. There is no ill on this earth that can not be addressed with a nice plate of pasta.

I'm back. It's just my tummy that still hasn't quite returned.

  1. Back away from the corn syrup!

  2. I had radishes from my garden with butter and salt in your honor the other night. I don't blame your tummy for staying in France.

  3. Wonderful post, Launa! I especially like your description of the stacks of hopeful veggies.

    I feel much the same way you describe when I visit a typical U.S. restaurant and receive a plate laden with more food than any human should eat in one sitting, particularly when a doggie bag is not an option.

    (I am writing this, by the way, before heading off to the marché in Riez — and this after several days working in Germany, where my 30 [sigh, okay, 30+]-year-old "one year of university German" is of little help navigating product choices. Anyway, oldest daughter is here and I'd like her to try some rascasse — a Mediterranean fish. I'd usually buy this from the fish truck here in Quinson on Wednesday, but this Wed. is Bastille Day, so I expect the truck won't be coming.)

    Hi to Bill and the girls from David and me. —Lynn

  4. I think food and place are (or should be) inextricably connected. I find that as I get further into this mothering gig, preparing healthy food for my kids becomes more and more important to me, and that, strangely, it is uncomfortable--but rewarding--when I venture out of my familiar zone and take a walk through the Asian supermarket or buy a vegetable as yet unknown to me. And now? Off to make hummus!

  5. OK, I'm not going to rub it in or anything, cause you two rock stars are way cooler then I am regardless of where any of us buy our produce, but you are going to LOVE the Food Coop food. Well, until Bill gets you kicked out.

    (Note that I said the Food Coop FOOD, not the Food Coop itself...)

  6. There is just something (dare I say je ne sais quoi?) about marches in France ... I can almost smell their distinct slightly rotten, slightly exotic, fresh-bread-just-baked smell now. And I am drooling over your baguette and drippy cheese experience, although Bugles with a Ph.D. do sound pretty delicieux. =>

  7. Oh Launa, I so loved this post. Your lovely words painted such a vivid picture of your emotions, your heart and mind. Thank you for this wonderful writing, which I enjoyed with a monster-sized can of cashews.

  8. Oh this post made me swoon in the big girl crush kinda way. I HATE to shop. Canadian/American style shopping anyway. The joy of a good farmer's market or off the back of a hutterite truck I am totally in for but the supermarket makes me anxious in the worst of ways. One of my best friends brought a bottle of good olive oil for his provence in Spain and I kissed him (ok I probably would have kissed him anyway but the oil did not hurt). And now I get an Organic Box of produce delivered to my house weekly so that I can stay out of the grocery store AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Yep, I heart that your stomach stayed in France!


text:
Funeral Home Embalming Controversy Now A Lawsuit

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) A north Alabama funeral home is accused of failing to embalm the body of a man, forcing mourners to leave an open casket funeral due to the smell of the body, 12 days after he died.

In the claim filed Monday in the Madison County Circuit Court, the mother of Norman Holman Jr., claims the body was never embalmed by the Nelms Memorial Funeral Home as requested following his death. Jo Timmie Holman is suing the funeral home and its chief executive officer, Charles Ray, Jr., for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, misrepresentation and for breach of contract.

The lawsuit also claims that funeral home employees were late picking up the family on the morning of the funeral and the limousine driver went to the wrong church further delaying the family.

WHNT News 19 contacted Nelms Funeral Home but employees refused to comment and said any statement would come from their lawyer but did not provide us with the name of an attorney.

The Better Business Bureau rates the Nelms Funeral home with an A+ and has had only one complaint in the past several years, according to the BBB website.

John A. Brinkley, Jr., the attorney for the family, told WHNT News 19 this is not the first time his firm has sued the Nelms Funeral Home.

“I can only pray this was an isolated event, but from my understanding I do not know that it was,” Brinkley said Tuesday.

Family members who did not want to go on camera said Tuesday they are trying to get through this very difficult time and the added stress the alleged botched funeral arrangements have had on the family.


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Life. It began with photosynthesis, when primeval algae-like organisms took in atmospheric oxygen and discharged carbon dioxide as a metabolic waste product. As organisms became more complex, living became synonymous with breathing. Respiration became the crux of life. From the first wailing gasp of birth until the final silence of death, the lungs prime the pump of life, passing air over capillaries in millions of tiny alveoli, where oxygen moves into the bloodstream and toxic carbon dioxide moves out. Oxygen-rich blood fuels each and every bodily function. It is essential, basic, and elemental to life.
     So when something goes awry in the respiratory system, the result is at the least crippling and more often life-threatening. Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both the United States and worldwide, according to the American Cancer Society, and cancer is only one form lung disease takes. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, asthma, and others are included in a range of lung disorders that often cause suffering for decades before people take their last breath.
     Yet the medical community in the United States has had difficulty garnering the money and infrastructure—and some say the will—to tackle lung health with the same vigor as other more “politically correct” health problems such as heart disease or stroke. Lung disease is a health condition with a stigma, largely because this group of devastating disorders is often related to smoking.
     However, many lung diseases develop whether people smoke or not. Among them are asthma (which affects close to 20 million people), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (affecting more than 100,000 people), sleep-related breathing disorders (which affect 5% to 8% of the U.S. population), and tuberculosis (with millions newly infected each year worldwide). And of the 170,000 annual deaths attributed to lung cancer, 15% are in nonsmokers—as was the case with Dana Reeve, a lung cancer activist and the widow of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who herself died of lung cancer in 2006 despite never having smoked.
     “There is a definite bias in the scientific and medical community because many of the most prevalent lung diseases are seen as ‘diseases of choice,’” says Emory pulmonologist Kenneth Brigham. “But one could argue that they are the result of tobacco companies marketing a very addictive substance. The fact remains that a large number of people out there have these diseases, and we are morally obligated as doctors to help them.”
     Fadlo Khuri, a medical oncologist who specializes in treatment of lung cancer, calls it “a modern day plague. The number of deaths from tobacco-related disease exceeds almost all other diseases worldwide. The consequences are heart-breaking, especially when good people are sent a subliminal message that it’s their fault. No one deserves the death sentence and suffering that goes along with lung cancer. Survivors are severely incapacitated by shortness of breath and fear of recurrence. And the odds of survival are very poor after recurrence.”
     A look at the allocation of cancer research dollars underscores the underfunding for lung disease. In 2005, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) spent $279.2 million on lung cancer research out of a grand total of $4.78 billion on research for all cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budgeted nothing for lung cancer research in 2005, while spending $232.6 million for breast, cervical, and prostate cancer research, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance. At the American Cancer Society in 2004, of $130 million for research, $29 million went to breast cancer and a disproportionate $12 million to lung cancer. And the Department of Defense appropriated $150 million for breast cancer research and $85 million for prostate cancer research in 2005, while budgeting only $2.1 million for lung cancer.
     Rather than following the national reluctance to tackle lung disease, the Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC) is bringing it to the forefront. Physicians, nurses, and public health researchers alike are engaged in basic science and clinical trials, patient care, and programs to predict, treat, and prevent all forms of lung disease. In the past five years, WHSC has almost doubled the number of physicians and researchers involved in work related to lung disease. It has expanded its research portfolio with an eight-fold increase in funding, increased the number of trainees in this area, and now has two NIH-funded programs to train lung disease researchers. In short, Emory is working on several fronts to change the paradigm.
     “At Emory, we already are very good at taking care of patients who have lung diseases like asthma, cancer, and cystic fibrosis,” says Jesse Roman, director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.
     A growing number of clinical and research programs that focus on lung disease are creating breathing room for the primer of life. Roman gives a rundown of these specialty areas including interstitial lung disease (a joint venture between pulmonary medicine, thoracic surgery, radiology, and pathology), adult cystic fibrosis (a collaboration between medicine and pediatrics), interventional pulmonology (a partnership between thoracic surgery and medicine), and acute lung injury (a collaboration between medicine, physiology, and pediatrics). Additionally the Emory Sleep Center (with support from neurology and medicine) is tackling lung-related sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, and the Andrew McKelvey Lung Transplantation Center is working on pulmonary hypertension.
     The increasing prestige and prominence of these initiatives has brought forward lung disease as a candidate for one of the WHSC’s new centers of excellence, which seek to upend the traditional model for treating disease. These centers will bring together all the clinical physicians and basic science researchers working on a disease, eliminating competition for patients between specialities, minimizing inefficiences, and introducing new financial and fundraising strategies.
Seth Force, Jesse  Roman, Ken Brigham, Fadlo Khuri
  Something in
the Air

As the familiar brown cloud of smog settles over metro Atlanta on hot summer days, the number of asthmatic children and others with chronic lung diseases in emergency rooms rises.

     Several studies conducted by researchers at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) during the past 10 years bear that out. The most recent efforts include a $1 million study of emergency room visits to 41 hospitals in metro Atlanta dating back to 1994. This investigation compares daily air quality to daily emergency room visits for cardio-respiratory problems.
     “We have more than 10 million emergency room visits in our database,” says Paige Tolbert, chair of environmental and occupational health at RSPH and principal investigator of the project. “These numbers give our current study far greater power than similar research that has been done in the past.”
     This study separates respiratory outcomes into groups by asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper respiratory infections, and pneumonia. Data show a strong connection between ozone levels and asthma attacks. The investigators are seeing associations of urban air pollutants with several other respiratory conditions too.
     Atlanta is an ideal place to study the effects of air quality on health. According to Tolbert, the city has the second highest number of vehicle miles driven per day in the nation, which contributes along with the city’s heat to high ozone levels. And prevailing wind patterns blow emissions from coal-burning electrical power plants in North Georgia toward Atlanta. Their practices governed by more lax rules were grandfathered into EPA clean air regulations under Gail Norton, the first secretary of the interior in President Bush’s administration. These plants pollute the metropolitan area with particulate matter.
     Tolbert’s study—funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—is the largest to date to look at the relationship of emergency room visits and air pollution. It also uses some of the most refined and detailed air quality data available anywhere, thanks to measurements taken with sophisticated equipment by collaborators at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
     Results of the initial research have appeared in the journal Epidemiology. But Tolbert and colleagues are far from finished. The longer the study runs, the stronger the conclusions will be, she says. Policy makers at the EPA and in the state are keeping a close eye on the results coming out of the study, with the findings having direct relevance to standard-setting and pollution control efforts. Ultimately, the researchers hope the impact of their findings will be to help metro Atlantans breathe easier.
Transplanting fresh air
Blood, water, air. All are essential building blocks of life, but of all the organs in the body that pump and transport and mix and breathe, the lungs are the most delicate. When it comes to transplanting a lung or even two from one person to another, timing is especially critical.
     “Coordinating the arrival of the organ with the patient can be the most difficult part of the transplant process,” says Seth Force, surgical director of the lung transplant program. When Force is notified that an organ is available, the first step is a phone conversation to see if the organ is the right size and in good condition for a person on Emory’s transplant list. If it is, the lung transplant team moves into high gear, arranging to get the patient to Emory and to schedule an operating room (OR).
     A single transplant surgery takes approximately four hours, while a double transplant takes twice as long. Donor lungs can come from across the United States, but problems can occur in the donor lung once it has been without blood flow for more than seven hours. Therefore, the distance from the donor to Emory can be a significant limiting factor. This makes it difficult to take lungs from the West Coast, for example.
     When Force joined Emory in 2003, Emory surgeons were performing between nine and 11 lung transplants a year. Since then, the WHSC has recruited three new pulmonologists, a number of specialized nurses, transplant coordinators, and support personnel to boost the number of transplants to 25 a year. Within the next five years, the goal is to reach 50 per year.
     The patients who come to Emory for lung transplants run the gamut. Some need one lung, and some need two. They suffer from cystic fibrosis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis. They have ranged in age from 17 to 70, with younger patients suffering primarily from genetic cystic fibrosis, those in their 50s most often with pulmonary fibrosis, and the older patients with emphysema.
     “Out of the starting blocks we started an aggressive approach to transplantation,” Force says. “But we were limited by a short waiting list. We have spent a great deal of energy in the past three years just trying to build up the number of patients on our list.”
     A rising star in the field doesn’t hurt. As a fellow at Barnes Hospital at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Force worked with Joel Cooper, who is credited with performing the first successful lung transplant. During his time in St. Louis, Force was trained by some of the best in the field at one of the busiest lung transplant centers in the United States. He estimates he participated in 40 lung transplants during that period. Since Force came to Emory, Washington has even tried unsuccessfully to lure him back, according to Alexander Patterson, chief of cardiothoracic surgery there. Force’s “energetic leadership has moved Emory’s lung transplant program into the ranks of the busy and successful programs in the country,” Patterson says.
     The Emory program in lung transplantation got its start in 1993 when pulmonologist Clinton Lawrence joined the faculty from Stanford, another well-known specialty center for lung transplantation. That same year, cardiothoracic surgeon Kirk Kanter performed first lung transplant at Emory. Thirteen years later in 2001, the program was named the Andrew McKelvey Lung Transplantation Center for the philanthropist and CEO of Monsterworldwide.com, who donated $20 million to Emory’s effort. Last year, McKelvey added $5 million more.
     “His support has been remarkable for us,” says Lawrence, who has been McKelvey’s friend and medical adviser for more than 25 years. “These resources have been a real catalyst. They primed the pump and helped us expand dramatically.”
     The success of this program has been a boon to the state of Georgia as well. “We’re the only program in the state, and I don’t think there will ever be another one because it’s too difficult to start from scratch,” Lawrence says.
  A DNA inhaler
The branches of the respiratory system divide downward from the trachea into two major airways called bronchi, which subdivide like the roots of a tree into a million smaller airways called bronchioles. It is here, within the capillaries of millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli that the crucial transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs. Within the alveoli cells, the genes and the proteins they produce direct the action.
     Introduce tobacco smoke to the equation, and a whole cascade of problems begins in the respiratory process. The damage begins when smoke temporarily paralyzes the cilia (microscopic hairs) that normally sweep irritants away. So smoking puts irritants directly on lung tissue and then hinders its natural ability to protect itself. When celia are irritated, proteins call in immune cells, which cluster around the irritation. These immune cells often repel an initial or occasional threat, but if they are called on too often, scar tissue forms, making the lungs stiff and without the elasticity required for efficient respiration. In emphysema, the lung tissue disintegrates because of this persistent inflammatory process.
     It is the role of these tiniest parts of the lung that fascinate Ken Brigham, vice chair of research in the Department of Medicine and director of Emory’s new Predictive Health Initiative. He has tenaciously searched for new treatments for COPD, which includes several lung conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
     “There is simply not much out there to treat these progressive diseases,” he says. “There are no effective drugs at all for COPD that are directed at the root of the problem.” Brigham leads GeneRx+, a small business housed in an incubator run jointly by Emory and Georgia Tech.
     “We’re attempting to find novel therapies because the usual approaches have been ineffective,” he says. “There has been considerable progress in developing asthma drugs but much less with emphysema and COPD. They are slowly progressing diseases that take a long time to study, thereby making drugs for them expensive to develop.”
     Brigham is developing gene- and protein-based drugs that introduce therapeutic proteins into cells. This approach is “gene-based therapeutics” rather than “gene therapy” because the drugs under development do not permanently alter patients’ genes. Instead, they operate outside the patients’ genome, directing cells to produce therapeutic proteins.
     Brigham established GeneRx+ to bring some basic discoveries he had made in the lab to the clinic. Two products are now under development, one a gene-based protein called alpha-1antitrypsin (AAt) and another that resembles a DNA inhaler of sorts.
     The AAt drug, a normal protein that protects the lung against inflammation, has been under development for several years. “Without enough of it, inflammatory diseases like emphysema will develop,” Brigham says. “This protein suppresses the consequences of unregulated inflammation, directly protecting tissues from damaging enzymes.”
     Enzymes made by inflammatory cells digest lung tissue, damaging and eventually dissolving it completely if the person’s defenses (including AAt) don’t neutralize them. Scientists have found that smokers generate so many inflammatory enzymes that they overwhelm the capacity of the lung to protect itself with natural defenses like the protein AAt.
     Brigham hopes to deliver the gene for AAt directly to lung cells to make them generate the protein. That’s where the DNA inhaler known as AuContrAer (short for Automatic Controlled Aerosol) comes in. This aerosol-delivery device delivers the gene responsible for producing AAt directly to the lung. Brigham hopes this tool will deliver more of the drug to lung tissue without damaging the drug in the process. He also hopes the tool will ensure most of the drug ends up on lung tissue rather than back out in the air. AuContrAer has been proven safe and effective in animal trials, and Brigham hopes to start a phase 1 clinical trial in humans soon. AAt has already passed through early phase clinical trials that established “proof of principle” and safety for the drug in humans, and a phase 2 clinical trial for efficacy will be the next step.
     Published in the journal Human Gene Therapy, the initial study of AAt included patients with genetically low levels of this protein so investigators could tell whether the treatment increased the amount of protein. It did.
  ARDS Anonymous

Like innocent bystanders in a bombing, the lungs often are unexpected victims. Delicate and vulnerable, the lungs of alcoholics face even greater risks than healthy ones. In fact, more alcoholics may die from lung injury than from liver damage.
     As David Guidot, director of the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), knows well, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is extremely severe. The condition usually deteriorates until patients must be placed on ventilators and monitored in intensive care. Even then, approximately 50% of ARDS patients die.
     The risk of dying from lung disease is four times higher for alcoholics than non-alcoholics. “And these alcoholics die young,” Guidot says. “The average age of death from ARDS is approximately 30, even among healthy people. By contrast, the average age of death from alcohol-related cirrhosis is 60 to 65.”
     The deadly combination of alcoholism and acute lung injury is thought to stem from a shortage of the antioxidant compound glutathione in the lungs of alcoholics.“Glutathione is found throughout the body, and certain parts of the body need it more than others,” says Guidot. “The alveoli and small airways are very dependent on it. They have 1,000 times the concentration of glutathione than is found in other parts of the body. Chronic alcoholics have extremely low levels of glutathione in the lungs.”
     A former member of the center, Marc Moss, and colleagues published a landmark study on the relationship between chronic alcohol abuse and ARDS in JAMA in 1996. Since then, Guidot and his team have continued the research using animal models and clinical subjects. When they fed alcohol to rats—the best way to control for smoking and other contributors to lung disease—they saw glutathione levels plummet within only four to six weeks.
     “The alcohol itself doesn’t cause these changes,” says Guidot. “It causes oxidative stress, which lowers the amount of glutathione in the lung.”
     This work has been fruitful. The center recently received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for their research and a separate grant to fund the associated training program, which supports five fellows at any one time. The grant supplements a consistent flow of funding to understand alcoholism’s relationship to lung disease. Approximately 25 Emory faculty in fields such as neonatology, physiology, and pulmonary and critical care medicine are engaged in related research at Grady Memorial Hospital, Emory University’s research laboratories, and the VAMC.
     “Emory is the hot spot for the alcohol and lung disease connection,” Guidot says. “When you make the discovery, when you invent the field, you have a big head start. It’s an important public health issue, and we put it on the map.”
     Guidot and colleagues are seeking ways to lessen the risk of ARDS for alcoholics suffering from trauma. Goals include finding better ways to identify alcoholics when they arrive in emergency departments and developing drugs to increase glutathione levels in patients before they develop ARDS. The researchers also are studying how alcohol abuse intersects with asthma, pneumonia, HIV, and lung transplantation.
     In terms of prevention, taking extra doses of glutathione is not a cure because an acute lung infection often is the first sign of damage. By then, it’s too late.
      As Guidot says, “If your house is on fire, it’s too late to install a smoke detector.”
Individualized cancer care
About 1.5 million people die of lung cancer each year worldwide, and the disease kills many people during the prime of life. “The fact that lung cancer survival is so low is a devastating indictment of the quality of care in this country,” says Khuri, deputy director of clinical and translational research at the Winship Cancer Institute. “Lung cancer is an ominous disease that doesn’t have many advocates because there are not enough survivors around five years after their diagnosis.”
     In the past, the NCI has shown little interest in funding lung cancer research, Khuri says. “But we hope that is changing. We’re making inroads.”
     As an example of the turning tide, the NCI recently awarded $7.9 million to Winship, representing one of the largest lung cancer research grants in the country and the largest ever for Emory. Khuri is director and co-principal investigator for the project, along with Emory pharmacologist Haian Fu.
     The grant is built around four scientific projects and supported by three core laboratory facilities to target cell signaling in lung cancer to enhance the success of therapy. Forty researchers and clinicians from 10 departments throughout the WHSC are involved in multiple studies, which are seeking new drugs that interfere with cancer cell signaling. They hope to take advantage of one of cancer cells’ fundamental characteristics.
     “Cancer cells don’t know when to die,” Khuri says. “Part of a healthy cell life is death when it becomes too damaged to function properly. Cell death—apoptosis—is usually programmed into a cell. But cancer cells have a breakdown in the cellular communication system. This breakdown helps them avoid apoptosis, and they proliferate.”
     This team will study and try to exploit the abnormalities of lung cancer cell signaling to develop new drugs and therapies. “We hope to turn the strength of lung cancer into its Achilles’ heel,” says Khuri.
     Molecular signaling pathways within normal cells follow a cascade of molecular reactions that emit proteins, which turn on programmed cell death when the genes become too damaged to work properly. But certain proteins called oncogenes interfere with this cell death process in cancer cells. Targeting the specific genes and proteins involved should make the cancers vulnerable to specific compounds, particularly when those cancers are overly dependent on those oncogenes for their survival. The Winship researchers are searching for novel compounds that target an oncogene to battle the proliferation of cancer cells. Similar approaches have proven successful in other cancers, such as the drug Gleevec for leukemia and Herceptin for HER2-positive breast cancer.
     The research also will seek to better predict which patients will benefit from chemotherapy. “Some people will do poorly regardless of chemo,” Khuri says. “If they would do just as well without it, we would like to spare them. We need better predictors of chemo effectiveness in individuals, and we need to know which kind of chemo will work.”
     A better understanding of lung cancer biology and genetics should help clinicians make more informed clinical decisions. “It’s another step toward individualizing therapy for cancer patients,” Khuri says.
     The studies are important and could prove groundbreaking, but they aren’t a search for a magic bullet. The premise acknowledges that a single genetic mutation doesn’t cause lung cancer. Instead there are many causes on the cellular level, with many genetic mutations from many different sources.
     So the work continues, and more is needed—not only in lung cancer but also in other lung diseases, from asthma to pulmonary fibrosis, from sleep-related breathing disorders to tuberculosis. Politically correct or not, Emory wants to intervene in the cycle that leads from lung disease to death. The vision of the WHSC is to transform health and healing for all people. And in the area of lung treatment, its redoubled efforts may yet yield fresh air and new life.

Valerie Gregg is a freelance writer in metro Atlanta. Ilustrations by David Julian.

cystic fibrosis—one of the most common hereditary diseases that affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and early death. Difficulty breathing, the most common symptom, results from frequent lung infections.

emphysema—a chronic lung disease often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. Symptoms include shortness of breath on exertion, hyperventilation, and an expanded chest.
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—an umbrella term for a group of respiratory tract diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema characterized by airflow obstruction or limitation.

intracellular level—inside the cell

pulmonary fibrosis—involves scarring of the lung. Gradually, the air sacs of the lungs become replaced by fibrotic tissue. When the scar forms, the tissue becomes thicker, causing an irreversible loss of the tissue’s ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a chronic hacking cough, fatigue and weakness, discomfort in the chest, loss of appetite, and rapid weight loss.

interstitial lung disease—a group of lung diseases, most of which involve fibrosis (see above)

sleep apnea—a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, which each last long enough so one or more breaths are missed

oncogenes—a modified gene, or a set of nucleotides that codes for a protein, that increases the malignancy of a tumor cell

alveoli—anatomical structures that take the form of hollow cavities. In the lung, they are spherical outcroppings of the respiratory bronchioles and the primary sites of gas exchange with the blood.

bronchioles—the first airway branches that no longer contain cartilage. Smaller than one millimeter in diameter, they divide until they become terminal bronchioles. Respiratory bronchioles have sporadic alveoli on their walls.

sarcoidosis—an immune system disorder characterized by small inflammatory nodules. It can have the appearance of tuberculosis or lymphoma in x-rays.

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Early Warning Signs May Signal Presence of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Difficulties in performing more challenging cognitive tasks, such as managing one's finances and medications, preparing meals and traveling independently, could be early warning signs that indicate the presence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to Emory University researchers. Other more basic and well-rehearsed daily tasks, such as bathing, grooming, and dressing, can also decline in patients with MCI, but to a lesser extent. The findings will be presented at the 9th International Conference of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia on July 18 at 8 a.m.

MCI is a term described as a subtle decline in thinking abilities. A person with MCI, for example, may experience memory problems greater than normally expected with aging, but that person does not show other symptoms of dementia, such as impaired judgment or reasoning, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Little research has been conducted on whether well-rehearsed activities of daily living, known as ADLs (feeding, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing and toileting) and instrumental activities of daily living, known as IADLs, (laundry, shopping, transportation, driving, meal preparation, managing medications and finances) are compromised early in the disease process.

Therefore, Emory researchers, led by Felicia Goldstein, PhD, associate professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, looked at the decline in ADLs and IADLs in patients with MCI, compared to a group of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a control group. Researchers retrospectively reviewed the histories of 96 patients over a six-month period who filled out questionnaires during an evaluation with a neurologist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of AD and MCI.

"We found that while less impaired than those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, patients with MCI demonstrated a compromised ability to perform IADLs when compared to the control group (no cognitive impairment)," says Dr. Goldstein. "Therefore we are learning that it is critical for physicians to take note of any decline of IADLs during neurological exams. These markers of decline are important so early drug intervention and family education and counseling can begin."

There was also a trend for MCI patients to show some difficulties in activities of daily living, although not as significant as AD patients.

According to Dr. Goldstein, 12 to 18 percent of patients with MCI develop Alzheimer's disease each year. "If we can recognize the early onset of MCI, we can start patients on medications immediately and keep them as independent as possible for as long as possible," Dr. Goldstein explains.

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Daily Message - November 22, 2013

original artwork by: Shaiyla

"Some of us have great runways already built for us.
If you have one take off.
But if you don't have one,
realize it's your responsibility to grab a shovel
and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you."

- Amelia Earhart

Merry Meet and Good Morning :))) Blessings to you and yours for a magickal day today. Today is Friday, November 22, 2013.

Fridays are ruled by Venus, a planet whose properties include, love, beauty, value and comfort. It’s a wonderful day to focus on relationships, love, romance sexual matters, friendships and partnerships. It’s a great day for new opportunities to come about. Today is a good day to work with spells involving love, friendship, beauty, sensuality, healing, peace and harmony. Today is also a great day to be artistic and creative. If you are working with stones today choose to wear emerald or cat’s eye for protection. Use rubies in amulets, and copper for talismans

Tonight's Moon is Waning, Third Quarter with 73% visibility. The Waning Moon is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work except magick designed to banish harmful energies. The Waning Moon represents the Goddess in her Crone aspect. It’s a time to celebrate the wisdom gained through life. The next important event for your magickal workings is the New Moon on December 2, 2013.

We begin our day with the Moon in Cancer. The Moon in Cancer stimulate emotional rapport between people. It pinpoints need, and supports growth and nurturance. It tends to domestic concerns. At 2:12 this morning the Moon begins her journey to Leo arriving at 6:58 this evening. While the Moon makes her journey she will be void of course or between signs. This is a time to minimize doing anything important. Take time out for you to read, relax or exercise. The Moon in Leo draws emphasis to the self, central ideas, or institutions and away from connections with others and other emotional needs. People can tend to be melodramatic. The magickal color of the day is Pink and the incense of the day is Yarrow. Have an amazingly magickal day!

**all times in EST**

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

Put A Little Magick in Your Day!
Premium edition includes daily magickal correspondences, quotes, affirmations, tarot card, spell , and an article teaching you more about your path. :)))

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