text:
andrewhalteromniblog
Uncut Gems (2019)
Review: American Psycho (2000)
Review: The Exorcist III
Review: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Review: Brawl on Cell Block 99
Jack Bennett on Poem: After the Bombs
Macxermillio on Poetry: Nightmare 1
shrinksarentcheap on Poem: Apocalypse
nicolebinder on Poem: Fear
Syedah Maryam Iqbal on Poem: Stone Faces
Comedy Theory
great directors
The D.A.C (Differently-Abled Comedian)
December 29, 2016 December 29, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogadvice, Andrew Halter Comedian/Writer, Comedy, humor, personalLeave a comment
Cole's Open Mic (2338 N. Broadway)
It's Wednesday, and for Chicago standup comedy, that means it's time for Cole's Open Mic. Cole's is the most popular open-mic in the city; the reasons for this are many, and plainly obvious. The bar's layout is perfect, with an open bar area ideal for drunken socializing cut off from the back performance space by a shallow walkway, which does a good job of limiting the noise pollution. The beer specials ensure that the crowd, which is often quite large, will before the mic starts be more than suitably tipsy. Beyond that, what most sets Cole's open mic apart from other open mic's in the city is its exemplary opening act, Foz the Hook.
Foz, who frequently refers to himself as "Your old pal Foz" is a tunesmith, piano player and raconteur who frequently launches into carousing renditions of crowd favorites like "Drunk Astronauts," and between songs regales his audience with wistful observations of life, most of which are forgotten nearly immediately. After Foz brings his set to a close, the open mc host, Adrienne Brandyburg takes the mic and warms up the audience with a few minutes of her own comedy, which does a good job of bringing the room together and getting them ready to laugh. Each week, Adrienne also offers free to drinks non-comedian audience members, ensuring that the crowd will be mostly passive and friendly.
I have been going to Cole's Open Mic for seven years, and thus I have the privilege of getting "bumped" up near the top of the list upon request, but this is a privilege offered to few. "Bumping" is a thing that most Chicago open mics participate in, wherein those whose comedy has been frequently seen and are known to be talented are given preference; therefore they receive a better spot on the list. I remember, when I was first starting out in the open mic scene, I felt "bumping" was a horrid injustice, and one that I would never support or participate in. After a few years of effort in open-mic comedy, childish principles like this are easily discarded.
For new comics going to Cole's Open Mic, I would recommend showing up between 2-3 hours prior to its 9:30 start time, for if you find yourself late on the list I'm not sure how attentive an audience you'll have. I usually show up around nine, allowing me to gage the mood of the room and predict how large an audience I'm likely to receive. Showing up early, especially when you are just starting out, is vitally important for the open mic comic. The time you spend getting to know the other comedians, and the friendships you are able to build with other people in the scene, can be an enormous help in your journey to become a standup comedian. It is very important to know your audience, what they are looking for, and what they will laugh at.
If I am soon to perform in front of a large or medium sized group of people who've never seen me before, as I was this night at Cole's, it is important for me to get them comfortable with my "accent." The "accent" I refer to is the sound of my voice, as it was altered by the traumatic brain injury I suffered a little over a decade hence. Because of my "accent," it is important that in my first bit I either address my speech directly, or quickly disabuse my audience of the notion that I am to be pitied in any way. In this instance I used the latter technique, opening by saying that "despite my voice, which might lead you to believe that I am somehow mentally handicapped, I crush pussy on the regular." The shock of this vulgarity, and the brazen nature of my self confidence, normally, as it did in this case, causes the audience to react with raucous laughter.
After this strong start, and in a way that references my personal malady, I can flow through the rest of my set easily enough. I then did this by saying that though I "crush pussy" regularly, there is only one for me, as I am in a committed relationship with a woman that I am in love with. I then slid from this description of love and wonderful commitment into some details of our relationship, namely, that my girlfriend does not shave or trim her pubic hair. I described how it is a favorite habit of mine to give my girlfriend a "noogie on her bush," though she finds this particularly annoying. I described that when she tells me to stop, I tell her I will, and then I just go back to it. I explained that I do this until she finally responds with fury, yelling in my best imitation of an extremely annoyed and perturbed woman, "Stop it!"
After these two bits, as is often my habit at Cole's Open Mic, I launch into some fairly standard crowd work, gently ribbing the audience and laughing along with the assembled crowd. Being a differently-abled comedian, this is normally one of the more interesting things for me to do on stage. For most comics, crowd work normally concerns handling crowds of people who disrupt the flow of ideas, adding their own egos into the comedian's stage time. These people are typically called hecklers, and I can say that my condition, and the sound my voice makes due to my condition, has meant that I've very rarely had to deal with hecklers. Hecklers usual intention is to gain the support of the crowd at large, and if it seems as though the heckler is picking on a disabled comedian, the crowd is liable to turn on them. Conversely, because my tone of voice may seem pitiable to a large portion of the audience, I instead must use my interaction with the crowd to make them more comfortable with me.
After my set, I customarily hang out for a little while, but as the back performance area becomes choked with comics waiting to go up, I tend to take my leave not long after performing. Cole's on Wednesday night displays the always-beating heart of the Chicago standup comedy scene, and as I am a (fairly) beloved veteran of the room, it is where I can take the most chances. It is there that I can explore the possibilities open to me, being a disabled standup comedian and a standup in general.
Zen Comedy: Exaggerated Reality
November 1, 2016 November 1, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Comedy, Finest Hour, Jock Rock, joke, joke writing, Mitch Hedburg, Patton Oswalt, philosophy, Richard Pryor, Stephen Wright, writingLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian often ruminates about how every comedian uses the specifics of his or her own personal life as inspiration for their comedy. He says that while not all comics reference events in their own lives specifically, all comedy naturally flows from ones own experiences. "However," he says, "Never simply describe anything." I believe that by this he means that it is a mistake to believe that the events of your life are ever on their own funny enough for a joke, and that the comedy rather comes from each comedian's interpretation of the world. Each comedian takes in the detritus of the world as he or she sees it, and regurgitates a skewed interpretation that is artfully hilarious. One comedian who seems to take this advice and use it to its fullest potential is Patton Oswalt, and he shows the truth of it again and again in his exemplary album "Finest Hour."
In one particularly hilarious section Patton describes his tendency to "jock rock" out the events of his life; that is, to invent simple sing-song narration to accompany the mundanities of everyday existence, accompanying each tune with a simple unexcited "yeah" at its end. After a couple of increasingly silly ditties about buying stamps at the post office and eating a sleeve of saltines in his underwear, he ends the bit with a touch of self-recrimination. "Jackin' off to internet porn in my office while I should teach my daughter to read, yeah." This bit is fantastic in that it finds the humor in the tedious while at the same time including some sharp self criticism, (see "Zen Comedy: Getting Real" for additional examples of this) which imbues the bit with riotous truth.
Personally, I struggle with this principle, especially when attempting to describe things that might be funny on their face, though they can easily slip into simple indecency. Recently, I suffered from the fact that I had a large, painful boil right next to my anus. Fearing that it was a hemorrhoid, I did a bit of research, finding that the cause of hemorrhoids is the tendency some people (myself included) have to bear down and force out difficult bowel movements. Upon discovering this (or so the joke claims) I was instantly dejected, as I have long found difficult and time-consuming bowel movements to be one of the few remaining aspects of my physical existence in which I can claim a consistent victory.
I believe this concept to be very funny and I have found with it some success in my standup, but in order for this bit to become exceptional, The Zen Comedian would tell me that I should try to exaggerate its reality. Perhaps I should speak of achieving stillness in myself, focusing singularly on the bowel movement as I pass it, perhaps even placing my palms flat against one another as if in prayer. Maybe I will grit my teeth, growling with faux effort before I describe hearing a single "plop" sound, and leaping into the air raising my fists in victory. I feel that like Oswalt, I can potentially find in this bit and bits like it the opportunity to make my performance more expressive, hopefully making this into a truly great bit. Whether or not I continue to perform this joke, the lessons I've learned about drawing hilarity from within and bringing it out into the world will be of great help in the future.
Zen Comedy: Honest Vulgarity
October 5, 2016 October 5, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, comedian, Comedy, Dave Attell, dirty jokes, honesty, laying pipe, standup, vulgarity, Zen ComedyLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian, when asked whether it is simply a crutch to rely on dirty material, had this to say: "Jokes come from within, and they should never be censored." As always, the Zen Comedian's advice may at first seem inscrutable and unsatisfactory, but I believe that when considered fully, it holds great wisdom. I take this counsel to mean that no joke was ever enhanced either by the addition or subtraction of objectionable material, and that it is a mistake to consider the cleanliness of material as apart from your bit's core subject matter. When writing material, if your mind naturally goes not the realm of what is considered "dirty" material, it is important to let your mouth go there too (that's what she said).
For a modern example of this principle taken to its greatest fruition, I look no further than Dave Attell, and his consistently impish demeanor. In his most recent special "Road Work," he has a bit where he considers that his sex toys were probably made in China, and this excites him. "I know it's sick but it does make it a little more erotic knowing that little hands have been all over them, doesn't it?" I don't know if Dave Attell actually thinks this about his sex toys, but when thinking of jokes about sex toys, this consideration made him laugh. This is what the Zen Comedian means in saying that "jokes come from within," and it is this type of honesty that the Zen Comedian warns against censoring.
I've been working on a bit that might be considered "dirty" by some, but it contains a greater honesty about myself than I have heretofore achieved. I tend to open a set with this joke, stating first that "you may not think it to look at me, but I am a dues-paying member of the pipe-layers union." I then pause as around half the audience laughs and the other half wonders what I mean, then I clarify with a simple statement: "Because I lay pipe." This joke is honest in that do share an active sex life with my girlfriend, and in that I genuinely giggle to myself when I consider well-worn colloquialisms like "laying pipe" used in this way. I love this bit in the exquisite pause I allow myself between the first and second punch line, and in its brusque honesty.
Not long ago, I would never have developed a bit like this, because I might have deemed its use boastful, but that would have been censoring myself. When the Zen Comedian says that jokes should never be "censored," I don't believe he speaks of vulgarity per se, but only that the jokes should come out of you unencumbered by too much thought. So the Zen Comedian's core lesson, it seems to me, is that the comedian should never compromise what in his or her jokes is most funny, regardless of its level of vulgarity.
Zen Comedy 6: Ad Libbing
April 5, 2016 April 5, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Comedy, Don Rickles, funny, improvisation, insult humor, racismLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian, though a practiced master of handling and communicating with his audience, does not participate in what is often called "crowd work." The Zen Comedian tells us that as Master Rickles demonstrated in his 1968 album "Hello Dummy!," a complete performance can be made purely out of a communication with specific audience members, but to call this "crowd work" is a misnomer. Listening to the album, it seems obvious to me that Master Rickles had a list in his head of racially offensive material, looked his audience over, and went to work, marking off racial strata in his head and ensuring to offend everyone.
Towards the middle of the album, Master Rickles looked in the front row, and seeing a man of middle eastern descent, said "this is Americana, an Arab sitting in front of a Jew. And I say this from my heart, you pain in the ass I don't want ya here." Rickles then went on to say "I'd rather have the colored guy [in front] at least he'd do a coupla numbers for me." The crowd roared with laughter at this, and though this type of material could accurately be called "crowd work," the Zen Comedian tells us to recognize how practiced and professional its delivery is. From the way this racially charged vitriol spilled out of Master Rickles, we can see that though their targets were not selected until the performance, these jokes were written well beforehand.
The lesson to be culled from Master Rickles is not, I believe, that brash racial insensitivity is innately hilarious, because it isn't. Though I may in the future write an article discussing the Zen Comedian's position on racial avarice, for now I am simply calling attention to Rickles's openness. I believe this is Rickles' greatest lesson, that the comedian, when looking over his or her audience, need not see challenge, but possibility. This is a lesson I myself, in my simplistic and amateurish fashion, have attempted to utilize. Recently I did a show at a comic book store during which I made a joke about how simple it would be for any of the audience to steal some merchandise, and many people laughed. This itself was not what I would call ad-libbing, as I'd thought of this joke before the show had begun, but as I told the joke a great opportunity to ad-lib occurred to me, and I got the biggest laugh of my set.
As I joked about stealing from the comic-book store, it occurred to me that I should likely discourage that type of behavior, so I did. I said, with as much flair as I could manage, that I would not rob anything "unless I steal yo' girl." At this assertion, the audience roared with guffaws, as it played to my strengths in self-deprecation. My statement, about how I was liable to "steal yo' girl" was a plainly ludicrous statement for me to make, being that I am a skinny, bespectacled intellectual, or what would likely be called a "nerd." Using my own openness, observational skills, and knowledge of myself, I was able to ad-lib in a way that I received more full and enthusiastic laughter than any of my pre-written "bits" were able to. Through the lesson's gained from Master Rickles about observation and openness, I showed myself how ad-libbing, with proper preparation, is one of any comedian's most valuable assets.
Zen Comedy 7: Timing
March 24, 2016 March 24, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Andrew Halter Comedian/Writer, anticipation, Burger King, Comedy Theory, confessional, expectation, Jack Benny, joke, priests, Standup comedy theory, Timing, Zen, Zen ComedyLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian, upon hearing reference to the cliché; "timing is everything," responded with the use of another cliché from the immortal Vince Lombardi: "timing isn't everything, it's the only thing." With this lesson, the Zen Comedian meant that timing is not only the most important aspect of each and every joke, but is in fact the true substance of all comedy. I learned this lesson very powerfully when I was around ten years old, from comedy's greatest master of timing, Jack Benny.
When I was a child, I collected cassettes of classic radio comedy, and though I had many favorites (The Bickerson's, Fred Allen, Abbot & Costello) Jack Benny, who will be referred to as Zen Master Jack from here on, was my favorite. Zen Master Jack's most dominant character trait was his stinginess, and likely eighty percent of the jokes on his radio show revolved around this aspect of his character. He even had an underground safe in which he kept his massive fortune, like Scrooge McDuck. On one of his trips to this safe, he was accosted by an assailant who held a gun to his face and demanded: "Your money or your life!"
At this Zen Master Jack said nothing for a very long time. I remember listening to the audience bristle, ready to erupt as the pause went on and on. I could envision the burglar's frustrated expression as I listened to the sounds of laughter from the live audience grow louder and louder. Eventually the burglar had enough waiting and yelled "Well! Your money or your life!" to which Zen Master Jack responded almost immediately "I'm thinking it over!" The crowd roared with laughter, not at the joke itself, because it was even then a simple and predictable gag, but simply because of the way it was timed.
Though the live audience at the recording of this classic bit had the advantage of watching Zen Master Jack's vaguely effeminate annoyed expression, most of the crowd and all listeners at home laughed simply at their own imaginations. Many listeners at the time I'm sure didn't even know what the face attached to this voice on the radio even looked like, but they laughed at the anticipation of a response. The Zen Comedian tells us that if the audience is offered an effective set-up, even if it is extremely simple, they can fuel their laughter with their own anticipation. Searching my own comedy for the places I most make use of this lesson, I recall the punchline to my "Burger King Confessional" joke.
The concept of this joke is that to expedite the penance process, Burger King has merged with St. Ignatius (a Chicago Catholic church) and created the worlds first Drive-Thru/Confessional. The punchline to this joke comes after the fast food patron confesses to molesting his nephew. The Priest/drive-thru operator begins by repeating the order, "Large Fry, Medium Dr. Pepper, Whopper Jr. and," and then pauses for a good length of time. After I've allowed the audience to anticipate what they well know will be a joke, perhaps even to the point of laughing in expectation, I drop it on them. "Hey who hasn't?" I've learnt (or believe I have) from Zen Master Jack that the greatest laughter comes from anticipation, even if it is anticipation of the laughter to come.
Zen Comedy 26: Silliness
March 16, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Comedy, Eric Idle, funny, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Monty Python, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Terry Gilliam, Terry JonesLeave a comment
There is an element of comedy that the Zen Comedian recognizes as completely indispensable, though it is also frustratingly indefinable. This element of comedy is called silliness, and nowhere was silliness pushed harder than in the brilliant sketch comedy of Monty Python. Though this is not standup comedy, the lessons it can teach about the way to effectively subvert reality in a joke could prove invaluable to any proprietors of hilarity.
Monty Python recognized the hilarious power that silliness has when it's taken to its extreme. In one particular segue between sketches in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, ostensible news footage of a meeting of freemasons is being shown. In this footage, a large group of around ten proper english gentlemen, with hats and coattails, are all hopping down the street with their pants around their ankles. When the show jumps to this footage, the laughter it sparks in the live audience is loud and sharp. It is simply hilarious to see a bunch of men with their pants at their ankles hopping down a sidewalk.
Silliness is not only useful in individual moments, but with silliness alone, brilliant comic conceits can lead to hilarious sketches. My personal favorite Monty Python sketch, "The Argument Sketch" begins with a moment of pure absurdity, and just gets weirder from there. The sketch begins with Zen Master (Michael) Palin in a business suit walking up to a receptionist at her desk and saying "I'd like to have an argument please." From there, the sketch goes from one hilarious conceit to the next, until Zen Master Palin is clobbered by Zen Master (Terry) Jones offering "Being hit on the head lessons."
When this sketch finally ends one officer of Scotland Yard arrests another for violations of the "Ending sketches without using a proper punchline" act. I'm a huge Monty Python fan, and this was neither the first nor the last time they wrote themselves into a corner only to cheat their way out. They could do this because their devotion to silliness was so complete that they could do anything they wanted. The Zen Comedian explains how this knowledge can be useful to the standup comedian in four simple words: "There are no rules." So if you are having trouble with a bit, and every logical route open to completing the routine seems boring, just remember Monty Python, and that there is no proper way to construct joke.
Zen Comedy 5: Always Have a Pen
March 10, 2016 March 10, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Andrew Halter Comedian/Writer, Comedy, funny, Joan Rivers, joke writing, note taking, Standup comedy theoryLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian's wisdom is not relegated to the ethereal and philosophic, for he has practical counsel as well. The Zen Comedian's practical advice, as I attempt to simultaneously understand and invent it, comes down to four words only: always write it down. Whether or not you are the type of comedian who slaves over his bits and concepts before bringing them to the stage or you are the type comedian who prefers to work on his or her feet, the pen is your best friend.
For the first type of comedian, who molds and shapes his or her bits as would a blacksmith at a forge, this is obvious. This type of comedian, it would seem to me, would have extensive notes. For an example of this, I point to Joan Rivers, one of the most prolific and consistently hilarious joke writers in history. As was featured in the entertaining documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Joan has in her office a cabinet stuffed to bursting with notecards on which every joke she has ever told is written out. For this type of comedian the pen is their constant companion and help-mate, but even for those who work more on their feet the pen is indispensable.
For the comedian who relies on sudden inspiration to create his routines and begins a set unsure of where it will go exactly, the pen is an absolute necessity. This is because for this comedian, any time of the day or night, inspiration may strike, and he or she should be ready. If in the supermarket this comic hears a precocious youngster tell a lady she looks like a water balloon, and finds it hilarious, he or she should absolutely retrieve a scrap of paper from his pocket (keep all your receipts, you'll need scratch paper) and scribble something like "fat lady = water balloon" on it.
The Zen Comedian teaches us that whatever type of notes you create, whether they are Joan Rivers-meticulous or sloppy and simple, always be creating notes. It is important to not at this point to recognize that no type of note is definitively superior to any other type, but the taking of notes is absolutely vital. The exercise of taking notes is not only a source of material, but it is also vital training. The more you take notes, the more you will become accustomed to considering all situations comedically, and jokes will start to occur to you more often.
The pen, for the comedian, is not necessarily purely physical, but is also a state of mind. Just yesterday I did a show at a comic book store, and it occurred to me that the crowd would respond positively to mention of the fact that they were surrounded by valuables that were not tied down in any way, and they could in my words "just walk away with some of this shit." When I inserted this idea as a makeshift opener, the crowd reacted very positively, and I was off to a strong start. So, in the end, the Zen Comedians counsel is very simple, whether it is the physical object or a state of mind, always have a pen.
Zen Comedy 14: Endless Possibilities
February 22, 2016 February 22, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter, Comedy, Emo Phillips, funny, pathos, Standup comedy theory, Steven Wright, writer's block, Zen, Zen ComedyLeave a comment
The Zen Comedian offers no specific advice to aid in joke writing, because he says that every comedian's jokes must find their genesis in his or her own soul, without outside input. However, he does offer sage counsel to any victims of writers block: "The comic mind is an infinite palette, combine colors to create infinite potential." A palette, for those who don't know, is that thing with a thumbhole and all the different colors of paint on it that artists used to mix colors, and I think that this is an excellent metaphor for the writing and the performance of jokes. Two Zen Comedy masters that make excellent use of all colors on their personal palettes are both very different and almost seemingly interchangeable, Emo Phillips and Steven Wright.
Both of these comics use unexpected and weird punchline-oriented comedy, which could become tiresome in fairly short order, but their performance styles are each unaccountably compelling when combined with the substance of the jokes they tell. Steven Wright delivers his jokes in a flat monotone, moving very little and leaving a worn expression on his face as if he is very tired. This aspect works extremely well in combination with short bits like "I bought some powdered water but I don't know what to add," because his palpable lack of enthusiasm blends well with a skewered take on reality and the English language. Emo Phillips is almost the opposite, with his ludicrously high-pitched voice and habit of constantly moving his body, he seems like a ball of nervous energy. In one of my personal favorite bits, he describes slapping someone whom he mistook for an old classmate on the back before he realized that "if that's really Jimmy Peterson, he would have grown up too." These are each brilliantly weird bits, and when combined with unconventional performance style's as they are, they make the routines they are part of engrossing and hysterical.
I am not proposing that these offbeat performance styles are necessarily beneficial, only that they demonstrate the value of the Zen Comedian's wisdom. Zen master's Phillips and Wright simply perform in the ways most beneficial to the jokes they've written. Wright's jokes are deadpan absurdist observations, and Phillips' jokes are the inner monologue of a madman, so each of their styles complement these qualities perfectly. So translating the Zen Comedian's wisdom into practical advice, I'll say that when working on a new bit, a comedian should experiment with different ways to tell their jokes, as well as constantly altering the substance of all material.
In my own stand-up, I've for years been using a bit wherein I share what I feel is great wisdom I've learnt from my car accident and subsequent time in the hospital, boiling it down to three simple truths. These truths are: 1. love will not save you, 2. happiness is temporary, and 3. you will die before you are ready. I realize that this does not read as comedic, but this type of blunt cynicism can be very funny, as long as I perform it correctly. I believe I've learnt that the most effective way of delivering this joke is to be flippant, as though I think that these facts should be plainly obvious to everyone, but I don't fully understand why this is the best way to tell the joke. I will therefore continue to experiment with this joke, uncovering more of what the Zen Comedian calls "infinite possibilities," and just maybe, someday I'll find one I can be satisfied with.
Zen Comedy 7: The Only Thing (repost)
January 27, 2016 January 27, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogAndrew Halter Comedian/Writer, Comedic timing, Comedy, Jack Benny, Old-time radio, Standup comedy theory, Timing, Zen ComedyLeave a comment
I am here reposting an earlier Zen Comedy article of mine. If you seek to read this blog in its original form, I've included the link here. From this link, you can read any of my previously logged Zen Comedy posts.
https://thezencomedian.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/zen-comedy-7-the-only-thing/
When I was a child, I collected cassettes of classic radio comedy, and though I had many favorites (The Bickerson's, Fred Allen, Abbot & Costello) Jack Benny, who will be referred to as Zen Master Jack from here on, was my favorite. Zen Master Jack's most dominant character trait was his stinginess, and likely eighty percent of the jokes on his radio show revolved around this aspect of his personality. He even had an underground safe in which he kept his massive fortune. On one of his trips to this safe, he was accosted by an assailant who held a gun to his face and demanded: "Your money or your life!"
The concept of this joke is that to expedite the penance process, Burger King has merged with St. Ignatius (a Chicago Catholic church) and created the worlds first Drive-Thru/Confessional. The punchline to this joke comes after the fast food patron confesses to molesting his nephew. The Priest/drive-thru operator begins by repeating the order, "Large Fry, Medium Dr. Pepper, Whopper Jr. and," and then pauses for a good length of time. After I've allowed the audience to anticipate what they well know will be a joke, I drop it on them. "Hey who hasn't?" I've learnt (or believe I have) from Zen Master Jack that the greatest laughter comes from anticipation, even if it is anticipation of the laughter to come.
Zen Comedy 25: Jokes with Heart
January 24, 2016 January 24, 2016 AndrewHalterOmniblogcomedians, Comedy, Emo Phillips, Mitch Hedburg, standup comedy, Standup comedy theory, Steve Martin, ZenLeave a comment
The Zen comedian says: "The joke teller must always be smiling in his heart." Personally, I find this to be extremely practical and valuable advice. Taken most simply, this counsel could mean that every joke one writes must first make him or herself laugh, but that is only one possible meaning. The Zen Comedian's advice is not so simple, and is open to a myriad of interpretations.
First of all, I find it important that The Zen Comedian's advice, in this case, is directed to the "Joke teller," and not the comedian. Not every comedian tells jokes per se, as there are many comedians that tell stories, rather than crafting jokes. For the comedian that tells a story, especially a story that would normally be considered sad, an inner smile is not necessary, and may not even be helpful. When the Zen Comedian speaks of the "Joke teller," I believe he is referencing a certain type of comedian, most clearly typified by the likes Mitch Hedburg, Emo Phillips, and the man who showed us what standup comedy could be in the hands of a performance artist, Steve Martin.
Steve Martin had a joke that he did at least near the beginning of countless performances. In this bit, Mr. Martin would simply step to the microphone and say "here's something you don't often see," after which he'd pull his lips apart with his fingers and yell while jumping up and down at least three times. It is such a simple joke that it may elicit more eye rolling than laughter, but when he was fully energized, his spirit was infectious.
The standup comedy of Steve Martin gets right to the center of what the above lesson teaches us. What is most evident in Steve Martin's standup, and what made his unconventional style loved by the largest crowds that any standup act had ever seen at the time, was the joy he took in each piece of it. The joy you feel telling jokes that make you laugh will spread to your audience, and they will join you.
Addendum: The Zen comedian does not encourage laughing out loud on stage at your own material. He gave me no specific lesson on this, as he felt it obvious.


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POLIN Museum
of the History of Polish Jews
A fairly recent grand addition to Warsaw's portfolio of museums. Years in the making it opened in 2013/14 with great fanfare – and it soon won prestigious awards. Yet I wasn't altogether convinced (explained below), from a general point of view and of the exhibition design overall. For the dark tourist, however, the Holocaust section, as well as the post-war, communist-era section are topically quite relevant, of course. The rest can be skimmed or skipped.
More background info: The first proposals for setting up a museum like this go back to 1995. As an actual project, the museum was founded back in 2005 by the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland together with authorities of Poland and the City of Warsaw, as a public-private institution.
The museum's location right in the heart of what was the Warsaw Ghetto (see Ghetto Trail) made it a sensitive issue. But a large international team pulled it together in a relatively short time. When I was first in Warsaw, back in 2008, there was only a small pavilion with plans, drawings and photos outlining the future design of the museum to come. Yet that same year it already won its first award (Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award), i.e. before it was even built!
The building was finished in 2013 and already opened to the public in April that year, even though it took another year and a half for the Core Exhibition to be finished and also open, on 28 October 2014.
In 2016 the museum won the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award by the Council of Europe.
It is certainly now THE focal point in Warsaw with regard not only to Jewish studies in general, but also especially with regard to the dark history of Warsaw in WWII and the fate of its ghetto.
What there is to see: The first and largest feature of the museum is the distinctive design of the building itself, so it's worth taking that in for a while before heading inside.
Once through the door, the next pre-visit obstacle is the tough security check that we've come to expect from all museums related to anything Jewish. So it's airport-like metal detectors, emptying pockets, and all that before you can finally enter the main exhibition, called the Core Exhibition here.
This already implies there are other elements too, including temporary exhibitions (which require separate/additional tickets) as well as a resource centre, an auditorium, conference rooms, a large shop and a restaurant. I only went to see the Core Exhibition, so the following outline will concentrate on that alone.
The museum promises a "journey through 1000 years" of Polish Jewish history, so predictably it kicks off with some really old bits, starting in the Middle Ages.
I openly admit that history that old somehow fails to fascinate me sufficiently, so I just skimmed through these early sections and actually skipped virtually all of the informational elements here (be in text or audiovisual format). The impression I did get, however, was that of an extremely visual approach.
There are plenty of things that are fantastic to look at, such as the reconstruction of a synagogue's interior, but other elements are also somewhat "crude", and surprisingly simplistic – such as the cartoon-like figures of people, semi-animated in wall projections. But these are animated only in so far as the whole cut-out shapes of these figures move, but they're not actually full animations (i.e. with lips moving and gestures or such like … it's more like those animations in Monty Python's Flying Circus .. minus the wacky humour, of course).
Obviously there are lots of religious objects and works of art on display, and there are also plenty of interactive touchscreens and video projections. Everything is bilingual, in Polish and English.
The sections where my interest started to get stirred a bit more were those entering the modern age, such as that of industrialization. There is one part about the textile industry that flourished in the 19th century (and beyond) especially in Lodz. Having just visited that city, I recognized many of the images of the grand brick factories and names of their Jewish owners.
Visually the most awesome bit, though, is the reconstructed "Jewish Street" … at least until you (quickly) realize that what looks like real ornate facades and shop signs are actually just clever projections onto white walls. The lampposts and cobblestones on the floor are real, though.
Content-wise, things get more into the territory of dark history (and thus of dark-tourism interest) in the 20th century, especially as we approach WWII. The road towards the Holocaust is amply illustrated by evidence of increasing persecution and humiliation of Jews, not only but especially in Nazi Germany, of course.
A particularly richly illustrated part of this section is, as you would expect, about the Warsaw Ghetto. This is followed by the onset of the worst phase of the Holocaust from 1942, with mass "deportations" (in Warsaw especially from the so-called Umschlagplatz) and eventual "liquidation" of the ghetto.
More generally, the exhibition also provides extensive information and grim illustration of the mass extermination of Jews, first at the hands of the "Einsatzgruppen", with mass shootings at sites such as Ponary in what is today Vilnius, Lithuania, and eventually, following the Wannsee Conference, in the industrialized mass murder of Jews in the "Final Solution" (i.e. in the gas chambers of the death camps).
The last section of the exhibition is the one I found the most illuminating: it's about the post-war story of the surviving mere ca. 300,000 Polish Jews (and this is something that I had not been so familiar with, in contrast to the history of the Holocaust). While many went to Palestine (initially often illegally) and played a key part in the founding of the state of Israel, others stayed in Poland and tried to rebuild a life from the rubble and trauma.
However, especially in the late 1960s, Polish Jews once again faced a wave of anti-Semitism, hostile propaganda and repression. Many were forced to leave (again mostly to Israel).
This section also touches on the controversies surrounding the preservation and commodification of the sites of the Holocaust, including the fact that during the communist era it was routinely left unmentioned that the vast majority of the victims at these sites were indeed Jews (the same applied all over the Soviet sphere of influence). One especially problematic issue was also that of a Christian convent that was established right on the edge of Auschwitz in the 1980s. After the outrage this caused it was eventually moved elsewhere (by papal decree).
The late 1980s saw more changes for the Jewish community in Poland and especially its heightened recognition – also helped through the political changes brought about by the Solidarnosc movement (cf. Roads to Freedom, Gdansk) that led to the fall of communism, first in Poland itself, then all over the Eastern Bloc.
All this is amply illustrated and narrated and I found myself spending more time in this final section of the museum than I had spent in all the previous sections put together.
So all in all I felt it was a very rewarding visit, even though the initial parts of the exhibition and some aspects of its design had left me rather cold to begin with. But this was well compensated for in the last two or three sections.
The POLIN Museum can best be compared to the Jewish Museum in Berlin. There are several similarities in design, their stories of inception and the missions both museums adopt. Note that neither are Holocaust museums as such (this is often erroneously assumed by some), though both have sections on that darkest of subjects. In comparison the Warsaw museum covers this in more detail and explicitness, whereas the equivalent institution in Berlin chooses a more abstract approach overall. Both museums have excellent sections on the post-war developments and social issues, though they obviously cover very different things pertaining to the respective countries in question and so can't really be compared in content.
However, both museums devote the majority of exhibition space to aspects of older Jewish history, Jewish culture, art and religious questions – and these will naturally be of less interest to decidedly dark tourists (but of great interest to Jewish Heritage tourists). The presentation of these aspects is somewhat more convincing in Berlin, and in terms of architecture, Berlin's Jewish Museum's extravagantly modernist design by Daniel Libeskind can hardly be beaten so easily anyway. Impressive as it may be in its own right, the POLIN museum's architectural design necessarily falls way behind its Berlin counterpart. But that's only a purely aesthetic judgement which is of little importance for the overall evaluation of the merits of the two museums as such and their contents.
Location: in the heart of what used to be Jewish Warsaw, in the northern half of the city centre, about a mile (1.5 km) west of the Old Town. Right on the square with the Ghetto Uprising Monument (see Ghetto Trail), between the streets Zamenhofa, Anielewicza, Karmelicka and Lewartowskiego.
Google maps locator: [52.2494, 20.9936]
Access and costs: a little bit off the beaten mainstream tourist track, but not difficult to find; a bit pricier than many other museums in Poland, but still reasonable.
Details: To get to the museum you could simply walk it – it's only about a mile (1.5 km) from the Old Town. If you are including the museum in a full walk of the Ghetto Trail, then you'll find it on this circuit anyway,
If, however, you want to use public transport for getting there you can do that too. Bus lines 111 and 180 bring you the closest to the museum (it has its own dedicated stop "Nalewki Muzeum"). The nearest tram stops are on either Andersa (e.g. lines 4, 15, 35, stop Muranow) to the east or on aleja Jana Pawla II (lines 17, 33, 37, 41, stop Anielewicza). From there walk up the street Anielewicza either westwards or eastwards, respectively.
Getting there by car is not recommended (except perhaps at weekends, when a few parking spaces are made available by the museum on-site).
Admission tickets are now sold inside the museum (previously it was from windows on the outside, namely on the southern side of the building; but this has now changed as I have been informed. Why this change I have no idea).
Admission: regular tickets for the Core Exhibition cost 25 PLN (some concessions apply, there are also reduced group tariffs).
Free on Thursdays.
Admission to the temporary exhibition on its own is 12 PLN. Combination tickets for both this and the Core Exhibition come to 30 PLN.
You can pre-purchase all types of tickets online from the museum's website (polin.pl).
Hiring an audio-guide costs an additional 10 PLN. They are available in various languages, including English, French, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, Hungarian, Russian, Italian and Spanish.
Guided tours of the Core Exhibition with a live guide are also available and cost 35 PLN; tours in English are available on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Opening times: Monday, Thursday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday open late till 8 p.m., closed on Tuesdays (which is unusual – normally Jewish museums remain closed for the Sabbath, Fridays/Saturdays from dusk to dusk, but not here, for some unexplained reason).
NOTE: last admission is a full two hours before closing!
Also note that you may have to allow a little additional time for the usual security checks at the entrance.
Time required: the "official" estimate seems to be two hours (given last admission times – see above), but those especially interested in the final couple of sections alone could probably do with less than that. Those, on the other hand, who want to get to the bottom of everything the museum offers could probably spend much longer in here.
Combinations with other dark destinations: Most obviously: the Ghetto Trail that the museum sits at the very heart of. But also the Jewish cemetery, Korczak orphanage and the Pawiak prison.
For yet more see under Warsaw in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: The area of the former ghetto is today one of the most drab and uninspiring, architecturally and in terms of its atmosphere, so there's little reason to roam around here other than for the ghetto history bits. But the "nice" parts (in the mainstream tourism sense) of the city aren't too far away. The Old Town core, for instance, is only about a mile (1.5 km) away, so within walking distance.
See also under Warsaw in general.
POLIN museum 01 - new institution
POLIN museum 02 - modern architecture
POLIN museum 03 - model
POLIN museum 04 - maze-like floor plan
POLIN museum 05 - in the exhibition
POLIN museum 06 - old stuff
POLIN museum 07 - Judaism through the ages
POLIN museum 08 - synagogue reconstruction
POLIN museum 09 - grand throne
POLIN museum 10 - Lodz industrialists
POLIN museum 11 - Jewish street
POLIN museum 12 - on the road towards the Holocaust
POLIN museum 13 - utter destruction
POLIN museum 14 - post-war propaganda drove many more Jews away
POLIN museum 15 - museum shop
POLIN museum 16 - exiting
POLIN museum 17 - the museum behind evening flames in front of the ghetto uprising monument

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


All donated bikes must be in good working order. Minor wear is OK, but we reserve the right to turn away any bike with major damage or wear. In addition to bikes, we are collecting toys for kids up to age 13. So spread the love, it's the Brooklyn way!
To get 10% off a new kid's bike, you must purchase it on the same day as you donate the old one. Click here to browse our selection of new kid's bicycles, tricycles, and balance bikes.
Get 10% off a new kid's bike when you donate a used kid's bike to our Holiday Toy Drive.
And since we're talking about kids getting bikes for Christmas, this is a good time to repost a Letter to Santa that made the rounds on Twitter a couple of years ago. It's more true now than it has ever been.
You can't get a real bike at Walmart, K-Mart, Target, Toys-R-Us, or on Amazon.
Bicycle stores like ours sell kid's bikes that are lightweight, well-designed, and well-made. That means they are easy to ride and they last for a long time with very little maintenance. Department stores and mass market retailers sell kid's bikes that are heavy, poorly designed, and poorly made. They are difficult to ride at best, and they frequently break altogether. Any difference in the initial purchase price is quickly made up in extra maintenance for the department store bikes. So what's the point?
When you buy a kid's bike from Bicycle Roots, you are sure to get a high quality bicycle your child will love. Our staff truly knows and loves bicycles, so we can help you find the right model and size for your child. We can even show you how to teach your child how to ride a bike! And since we're really trying to make things easy for Santa, we offer free holiday storage for your purchases. When you purchase a bike from us, we can hold it for you at the store right up until Christmas Eve.
Bicycle Roots is an independently owned and operated bicycle store serving residents of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Flatbush in Brooklyn, New York. We sell high quality bicycles, tricycles, and balance bicycles for kids of all ages, as well as fun and useful kid's cycling accessories like training wheels, bells, helmets, and elbow and knee pads. Stop by our store at 609 Nostrand Avenue or shop online at www.bicycleroots.com.


The total area is 4000 sq. ft. with state of the art infrastructure to provide high standard quality products. We have special setup for Contract Manufacturing.
Our organization has developed a capacious warehouse unit, which has the capacity of 4000 units. Further, this unit is well segregated in various storage sections. These storage sections enable us to store all the procured raw materials and finished products in a systematic manner. Moreover, we are backed by the facility to deliver our consignments within 15 days.
Along with our warehouse, we have developed a well equipped packaging division, which is backed by latest technology and advanced tools. This section supports us in packaging and labeling our orders in an organized manner. Our organization is backed by huge distribution network, which allows us to deliver all our consignments to our clients' within a stipulated time frame.
We have developed a technologically advanced R & D division, which is backed by advanced equipment and tools. This unit allows us to conduct proper research on the fast growing industry and implement the changes appropriately in our organization.
Our R & D team plays a vital role in the progress of our business. We have employed a diligent team of R & D professionals, who tracks the market changes on daily basis. Their continuous support has shown us the way to success and has helped us achieve one of the reputed positions in the industry.


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Home METAL NEWS	BLOOD OF SERPENTS: Decibel Debuts The First Single "Devil's Tongue" From The Album "Sulphur Sovereign" (Release In September)
BLOOD OF SERPENTS: Decibel Debuts The First Single "Devil's Tongue" From The Album "Sulphur Sovereign" (Release In September)
Swedish black metal horde BLOOD OF SERPENTS issue the first single "Devil's Tongue" from their sophomore album "Sulphur Sovereign", due for release on September 25 via Non Serviam Records on digipak CD and digitally.
States the band: "'Devil's Tongue' channels the Pre-enochian black magicks lost in times long past. The arcane language of hell is at the smoldering heart of this blistering track. Let the words burn bright as a beacon of insolence!"
HEAR "Devil's Tongue" from the Exclusive Premiere of DECIBEL MAGAZINE RIGHT HERE
Digital Purchase/Stream: http://smarturl.it/kiwwcf
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzK2WFOvzkg
Forged in 2012 by the guitarists Fredrik Nilsson and Kristian Roupe, black metal force BLOOD OF SERPENTS hail from the deep forests of Småland, Sweden. Spawning two mini releases and one critically acclaimed full length within the six years of existence, BLOOD OF SERPENTS are proud to present their second album, "Sulphur Sovereign", after years of writing, line-up changes and adversity.
"Sulphur Sovereign" is the first offering to feature the drummer Christoffer Andersson and the vocalist Thomas Clifford (Throne of Heresy, Abscession). With the newly recruited assets, the band has taken a decided step into a supreme black metal direction, going at full speed with forceful vocals that rip and roar with equal measure. Mixed with dark melodic guitar works and crushing riffs, Sulphur Sovereign is a full on black metal attack interspersed with atmospheric pieces and haunting melodic parts.
Containing ten tracks of genuine Swedish black metal, Blood of Serpents are finally ready to set free the beast — known as Sulphur Sovereign — upon the world. This is a defining moment for the band who has found their true sound in the sphere of accursed black metal.
The album is produced by Lars Broddesson (ex-Marduk) and mixed and mastered by Magnus Devo Andersson (Marduk). Amazing Gustave Doré inspired artwork was executed by Khaos Diktator.
"Sulphur Sovereign" will be out worldwide on September 25, 2018 through NON SERVIAM RECORDS on digipak CD and digital format.
Webshop: https://bit.ly/2uMaYiN
Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/2OedQx8
BLOOD OF SERPENTS:
https://www.facebook.com/bloodofserpents
https://www.youtube.com/user/bloodofserpents
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ENxs4wWUXm4NdPYkBu8hF
NON SERVIAM RECORDS:
http://www.non-serviam-records.com
https://www.facebook.com/nonserviamrecords
https://twitter.com/nonserviamrec
https://non-serviam-records.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9mK64qlsSwxcgCdnv6-5Tw
https://soundcloud.com/non-serviam-records
info@non-serviam-records.com
Zoheb M.
Black MetalBlood of SerpentsNon Serviam Records
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Solace Increases Production Capacity, Purchases New Equipment for Consumer Healthcare and Pet Wellness Production
News, Top News
production facility
VANCOUVER, May 14, 2019 /CNW/ – Geyser Brands Inc. (TSXV:GYSR) ("Geyser Brands" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its acquisition target, Solace Management Group Inc. ("Solace"), has completed the build out of its new production and manufacturing facility located in Coquitlam, BC.
Built to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the new 7500 sq. ft. facility will increase production capacity by up to 10-fold. Solace's product portfolio is currently comprised of 23 products and 57 SKU's of both pet and consumer healthcare goods. The new facility will also allow Solace to develop and license new products that are either ready for production or are in various stages of development.
Solace has upgraded all of its manufacturing capacity to semi or fully automate its processes. New equipment includes an industrial oven, advanced blending and mixing systems, rotary depositing, large volume kettle blending, tincture bottling system and vertical-form-fill product packaging. These advancements will allow Solace to maximize current demands for its own products and brands.
Solace's research and development team will also be relocated to the new facility, providing them with access to needed equipment and allowing them to work closely on the production of new SKUs. A key component to growth and relevance in the consumer-packaged goods sector is constant innovation and development of products that consumers need. By combining Solace's own expertise and advanced manufacturing technology with Geyser Brands, Solace and Geyser Brands will endeavour to meet the growing consumers' needs for healthy and relevant products.
In 2018, the Global Wellness Institute estimated that the global wellness economy was a $4.2 trillion market, growing 12.8% from 2015 to 2017. Geyser Brands and Solace hope to tap into this growth on their way to becoming leaders in the global consumer healthcare market.
As previously announced, Geyser Brands has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire Solace Management Group Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $3.9 million, consisting of $400,000 cash and 5,833,333 common shares at a deemed price of $0.60 per share. The proposed acquisition of Solace Management will not be an "arm's length transaction" as defined under the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Closing of the Solace acquisition remains subject to the entry by the parties into a binding definitive agreement, the satisfactory completion of due diligence investigations, and the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Solace and Geyser Brands anticipate signing a binding definitive agreement by the end of next week, following which Geyser Brands will seek TSX Venture Exchange approval.
"The new production facility is definitely a milestone for Solace. The acquisition of Solace will provide us with a great head start as we seek to establish ourselves as a leading provider of health-focused hemp and CBD products. We have some new amazing products in the queue and being able to fulfill demand is key." said Andreas Thatcher, CEO of Geyser Brands.
ABOUT GEYSER BRANDS
Geyser Brands Inc. builds health-based hemp CBD consumer products in the Nutraceutical, Cosmetics, Food & Beverage and Pet sectors world-wide. R&D investment in NanoFusion, a proprietary all-natural nanotechnology, delivers topical, cream, beverages and baked goods, oil, and tincture formulations with superior bio-availability and water-solubility.
Geyser Brands is a Health Canada approved Licensed Producer ("LP") in Port Coquitlam, B.C. that holds a cultivation license and is anticipating its processing and sales licenses. Geyser Brands is exclusively focusing on leveraging these assets to provide the regulatory infrastructure for its global brands and distribution strategy, acquiring hemp- and plant-based brands and infusing them with new CBD product lines in jurisdictions where the therapeutic ingredient is legal. Geyser Brands' proprietary NanoFusion technology surrounds oils and solves for the insolubility of CBD. Geyser Brands will utilize its 7,000 sq. ft. licensed facility in British Columbia for the manufacturing and distribution of its hemp and CBD-based products internationally.
For more information, visit Geyser Brands' website at www.geyserbrands.com.
Andreas Thatcher
THIS NEWS RELEASE, PROVIDED PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE CANADIAN REQUIREMENTS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS ABSENT REGISTRATION OR APPLICABLE EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
CAUTIONARY AND FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward‐looking statements and forward‐looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward‐looking statements or information. Forward‐looking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward‐looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the marijuana industry in general such as operational risks in growing; competition; incorrect assessment of the value and potential benefits of various transactions; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws and government regulations. In addition, the proposed acquisition of Solace Management Group Inc. remains subject to the execution of a binding definitive agreement and other conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. There is no assurance that the proposed acquisition of Solace will be completed as described in this news release, or at all. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward‐looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
SOURCE Geyser Brands Inc.
Sumit Mehta of MAZAKALI
In addition to his role as Founder and CEO at MAZAKALI, Sumit is a consultant to The Arcview Group and the Managing Partner of Emerald Ventures. A frequent speaker at investment seminars, Sumit acts as a mentor to Arcview and Canopy companies and serves on the Canopy Investment committee as well as the NCIA Finance […]
Willow Biosciences Inc.
Headquartered in Calgary, Canada , Willow and its team of scientists are leaders in the field of biosynthetic production of high value plant-derived compounds.
Xtraction Services
Xtraction Services provides state-of-the-art, fully-automated, supercritical CO2 extraction machines with on-site staffing at no upfront cost, and a simple volume-based pricing model.


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Scandivepres es un género de plantas con flores con una especies pertenecientes a la familia Celastraceae.

Está considerado un sinónimo del género Acanthothamnus Brandegee

Especies seleccionadas
Scandivepres mexicanus

Referencias

Celastroideae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Everybody wants a piece of the North Saskatchewan. Some want to cycle, paddle or run through the river valley. Some want to walk their dogs. Others want to enjoy a coffee, beer or entertainment riverside. How can we have it all? The debate over access and amenities in the river valley has been ongoing for as long as most Edmontonians can remember. But to fully grasp accessibility, it helps to know what's already there, what's in the works and what the future holds. There's a lot to enjoy already—if you know where to go—and more is set to come.
For starters, in the central river valley, the funicular and south LRT will open new portals onto the river valley. Meanwhile, new development is in planning for Dawson Park and Rossdale Flats. From 82 St. on the east to 136 St. on the west, north and south of the river valley topography is changing quickly. By 2025, you might find yourself strolling seamlessly from European promenade into western Canadian wilds within just a kilometre or two along the riverbank. Until then, here are the basic puzzle pieces easily accessible from the core, mapped out to represent the changing physical reality of Edmonton's most treasured natural asset.
There's a new vision for this dated downtown parkland recognizable by its unique white clay coulee formations and popular bike trails. Final design and construction timelines aren't known yet, but planning and consultation are underway.
By 2020, a new LRT line—with pedestrian crossing—will span the valley, linking to a south side station by Muttart Conservatory. Mechanized Access and "Touch the Water" Promenade. We're just a year away from a funicular linking the Hotel MacDonald area to the river valley, where the vision is to build a promenade stretching to the new Walterdale Bridge within the next, well, let's say decade; the City needs more time for funding and development.
The final arch was raised this spring and completion is anticipated by 2017.
The vision for Rossdale Flats suggests park and public market space, upscale residential and mixed commercial, but construction is still years away.


Natural sunlight is healthy! Bring some sunlight into your home with the installation of new Velux Skylights. Or replace those bubbles with Velux Skylights to let the light in. Because of their superior performance, Velux Skylights, Roof Windows and Sun Tunnels are the only brand of skylights installed by R A Jones, Inc. Our team is certified as Authorized Velux Installers, so you can feel confident that your Velux Skylights are properly installed.
Velux Skylights in the cathedral ceiling are part of this sunroom addition.
Velux Skylights bring the outside in.
A Velux Sun Tunnel with its flexible duct will bring sunlight into any room in your home.
The Solar Powered Velux Skylights in this addition automatically close in the event of rain.
Velux Skylights are complimentary anywhere, even on a screened porch.
The room over the garage is the right place to add Velux Skylights!
Sunlight is healthy! Bring it into your home anytime of the year with Velux Skylights.


Beautiful amber color with golden highlights, heavy and thick legs.
The nose is woody and recalls a demerara rum; it is deep and thick, with notes of licorice, burnt brown sugar. Alcohol is quite present, fruity (dry nuts) and citrus (orange peel + / shell) + cocoa.
The attack is very soft and sweet on the same fruits, still woody (licorice strength) and brown sugar in the form of cooked caramel. it is gentle on the spices.
The final is long and is heavily woody (licorice), spicy and ends with a slightly acidic (refreshing) note.
Clove, hint of coconut, coffee, chocolate, and hints of tobacco combine to form a very complex nose while maintaining a good balance. A very expressive nose that promises a lot of fun.
In the mouth, a mixture of spices and coconut supported by a beautiful presence of a strong but not annoying alcohol. Chestnuts, chocolate, nuts are added fairly quickly and confirm the complexity detected in the nose.
Very nice finish, lingering and warm. The memory of spices and some hints of tobacco finisheswonderfully this tasting.
At the sight, this old rum seems syrupy, but not oily.
The nose is definitely woody, but also notes of tobacco, coffee and caramel. You can also smell a hint of raisins.
Very aggressive attack in the mouth can confirm woody character and tastes of caramel notes, tobacco, coffee. It is long in the mouth and is prolongs the taste for several minutes after tasting.
Nose: Quite deep and concentrated. This is not the regular 40% stuff. Chocolaty and coffeyish, with a pleasant spicy tang (mostly clove). Think of a high ABV Kahlua. Peppermint ice cream with chocolate chips. Or the other way round: Get 27 poured on a chocolate ice cream. Very pleasant anyway.
Mouth: Oh yes indeed, this is hotter than the average products, which helps balancing the sweet side of the spirit. Hot and creamy. Melting high end dark chocolate ice cream. Crushed mint leaves.
Finish: Long, getting drier now, with nice tannins.
Comment: A very pleasant and tasty rum, with a great balance between power and softness, alcohol and sweetness.
Nose: spicy oak pleasant after he took a little air.
Mouth: woody and spicy as the nose.
Finish: rather long, caramel and gentle enough at the end, banana plug outbreak.
Nose (85): (5)more than average. molasses, citrus, spices, vanilla, banana.
Taste (88): powerful, oily. honey, spices, wood, vanilla, chocolate.
Finish (87): (4)average. honey, spices, wood.
Nose: Vegetal, white fruits, citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit), bitter almonds, candied fruits, precious wood, humidor, mineral touches. A nose of a beautiful complexity that is reminiscent of a single malt aged in refill bourbon.
Palate: The alcohol is very well integrated. Warm and changing mouth offers marzipan, almond paste, candied fruits, spices (cinnamon, ginger), ripe fruit and traces of red fruit before returning to citrus.
Finale: Short but nice on the red fruit (raspberry).
Comment, Very nice and flawless, very easy to drink.
Nose: Lots of ripe fruit (bananas, dates, prunes), with caramel and honey. The woody is quite smoky. Licorice, molasses. Develops later on lively and fresh citrus.
Palate: The cask, it is pretty vanilla and caramel, but not excessive, with woody notes which are developing rapidly. Rather light. Very focused on exotic fruits.
Final: a point-smoke on the oak.
Nose: elegant and somewhat shy, but I get notes of molasses, coconut, vanilla and just a hint of pipe tobacco. Then fruity notes shine through, oranges, apricots and candied apples.
Taste: quite a bold entrance, with more coconut and vanilla and some sweet spices (cloves, ginger, all-spice). Also the same fruity notes, plus some cherry added. Very nice mouthfeel, but the finish is a little short.


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Cut through the clutter. Know it all.
MGM's Lawsuit: Legal Experts Share Insights on the Controversial Case
by Michael J. Shapiro | July 19, 2018
Jonathan T. Howe, M&C's longtime legal expert
The lawsuit filed by MGM Resorts this week, a complaint for declaratory judgment, seeks a court ruling with respect to the mass shooting that occurred at Mandalay Bay last year. Because it names attendees of the concert at which the shooting happened as defendants, the suit caused a massive public outcry. However, as explained in the NBC News article, which was referenced in yesterday's Meeting News, MGM isn't seeking anything from the victims.
"All we are doing, in effect, is asking for a change in venue from state to federal court," said Debra DeShong, MGM Resorts senior vice president of global corporate communications and industry affairs, in a statement. "We are not asking for money or attorney's fees, and our complaint is directed only at people who have already sued us or have threatened to sue us. We are seeking justice through the federal court system in order to reach a timely resolution."
The grounds for moving the case to a federal court, according to MGM's complaint, are based on the post 9/11 federal SAFETY Act, which limits liability claims for acts of terrorism when security services are provided by a qualified vendor. In the case of the music festival outside Mandalay Bay that the shooter targeted, security provider Contemporary Services Corp. was a vendor qualified by the Department of Homeland Security.
"The explanation provided by NBC does a good job of clarifying what the lawsuit filed by MGM on behalf of the Mandalay Bay is all about," responded John S. Foster, Esq., attorney and counselor at law with Foster, Jensen & Gulley, in a post on Northstar Meetings Group's MIForum. "A suit for declaratory judgment is commonly used. This type of suit is filed in order to get a judge to make a ruling and issue a judgment on one or more critical legal issues in a dispute. It is not intended to dispose of the suit or require one side to be held responsible. Its entire purpose is to focus the court on one or more specific issues that the filing party requests to be addressed that they believe will cut the litigation time and expense for both parties. The reason it is couched as a lawsuit of one party against the other is to give the second party a chance to respond as to whether they believe the court should or shouldn't make a ruling.
"The suit is strictly a procedural move that doesn't require anything of the victims except to agree or disagree," continued Foster. "The defendant's lawyer has already said he will file a motion against the declaratory judgment by having the court claim that MGM is not exempt from liability.
"This suit by MGM is not anti-hospitality or anti-victim," Foster concluded. "As a public company, they are required to exercise due diligence to protect their stockholders if they have a valid defense under law to not be held liable. I have no opinion on whether or not they will prevail."
No doubt MGM is following a procedure it must to properly defend itself, agreed M&C legal expert Jonathan Howe, founding partner and president of Howe & Hutton, Ltd. But he's not so sure he would have gone about it the same way, from a public-relations standpoint. "MGM served the meal before it set the table in this case," he said. "A lot of times in these situations, setting the table is really important. They could have offered up their concerns and what options they had and then filed the declaratory action, rather than filing the lawsuit and then explaining what they did. I don't know if it would have made it more palatable, but I do think it would have been more understandable."
As for the suit itself, Howe believes he probably would have taken the same action as MGM, if involved in such a situation. But he doesn't entirely agree that the complaint isn't anti-victim. "It is anti-victim in the fact they're trying to cut MGM out of any possibility liability," he asserted. "It is an attempt to limit the ability of an alleged victim to pursue MGM for damages."
Whatever the decision, it will have ramifications and spark further discussion about the future of hotel responsibility. "How far does a hotel have to go to protect people on the street, or other guests, from a guest in the hotel? Be careful what you wish for here, because we don't want hotel lobbies to look like airport terminals," advised Foster. "Everyone must have their luggage X-rayed, guests' luggage must be inspected, guests are interrogated as to why they are there, guests have to come to the front desk if they stay more than a certain number of days to explain why they're staying longer, etc. I, for one, don't want hotels to be like airline terminals, but it might get to that."
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The form which one should use to apply for British Citizenship is Form AN.
British Citizenship is defined in the British Nationality Act 1981.
Once clause which is very interesting is that an application for child for his registration as a British citizen can be made at any time after s/he has attained the age of ten years, providing that for each of the firth ten years of her/his life, the number of days on which s/he was absent from the United Kingdom in that year does not exceed 90. This one should keep in mind.


Suicidal thoughts or behaviors are treatable.
Whether your teen is thinking about suicide or has already attempted it, there are treatments available. The first -- and absolutely necessary -- treatment is getting under the care of a mental health professional. That typically means "therapy": a regular appointment with a psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker (or sometimes a qualified member of the clergy). The goal here is to get to the root of the problem through talking and to learn effective and healthy coping mechanisms so that suicide is no longer perceived as the only way out of a problem.
If your teen is on the brink of trying or has already attempted suicide (a mental health professional will be able to help you determine the former), in-patient hospitalization may be necessary until your teen is no longer in danger.
Your teen's treatment may also include medication, if it is deemed appropriate by both you and the doctor.
No one wants to find out their child has a problem, but the alternative to being aware and getting involved is even scarier. The best way to prevent a teen suicide is to watch, listen, ask and seek help. You not only don't have to do it alone -- you shouldn't.
Call (800) SUICIDE for advice or information if you think your teen may be in trouble.
For more information on teen suicide, mental illness and related topics, look over the links below.


Wellness Apps are an incredible method to take practice with you wherever you go. They are extraordinary for individuals who travel, and are an advantageous method to work out. Wellness Apps can be utilized on a tablet, or on a PDA. Five wellness applications are examined here, and indicated how they are flexible and helpful for any individual who wishes to enhance their wellbeing.
Purefit Wherever Exercise is accessible for use on iPads and iPhones. It is an incredible application, where you can get the free lite adaptation, and in the event that you like it you can pay a little charge to get the full application. It is to a great degree valuable for individuals who travel a considerable measure, and incorporates a wide range of activities that should be possible anyplace, and whenever.
A Pomodoro clock application, however not particularly a wellness application, can be utilized to remind a man in an inactive activity to get up and move around and far from their work area, for five minutes each half hour. New examinations are prescribing that individuals who work at a work area get up and spend no less than five minutes moving around and far from their work areas, keeping in mind the end goal to help advance better wellbeing, and diminish the negative impacts of having an inactive activity.
Wellness coach is accessible in the Itunes store, and it has gotten a ton of five star appraisals from clients. It gives a far reaching and broad arrangement of activity, including ones that should be possible in a conventional exercise center setting, and ones that can be performed at home. It likewise gives chances to track exercises, and furthermore to track wellness objectives, for example, weight reduction or enhanced wellness.
Purefit Keto Wellness stream is an exercise application that incorporates alternatives for sharing advancement via web-based networking media stages. It furnishes the client with access to gushing HD recordings, and the client has a decision of more than 100 unique activities. It gives off an impression of being a fantastic application with a considerable measure of usefulness. The capacity to impart advance to others is an amazingly helpful instrument, as it can be utilized as a social help, where gatherings of individuals help each other in accomplishing their wellbeing and wellness objectives.


Up in the morning with the rising sun, we're going to the lake and have some fun. This does require an early reveille, because the fish wake hungry. From the dock you will be transported via fast motor launch a private tropical island. From there you will transfer to the fishing launches, and start fishing. The most common fish caught are Peacock bass and Oscars. With the right tackle, bait, and technique Snook and Tarpon can be landed. Come noon you will return to the island to enjoy a lunch of your freshly caught fish. We will visit Monkey Island as we return to the dock via motor launch.
The most common fish caught are Peacock bass and Oscars. Come noon you will return to the island to enjoy a lunch of your freshly caught fish.
Departs 7:00 am. Returns 1:30 pm.


CUMULUS Top 40/Mainstream KCHZ (95.7 THE VIBE)/KANSAS CITY PD/afternooner MIKE O'REILLY adds PD duties at sister Alternative KCJK (X105.1). O'REILLY replaces LANCE TIDWELL, who resigned to move closer to home and just landed OM duties at TOWNSQUARE/FT. COLLINS (NET NEWS, 4/26).
O'REILLY previously programmed MIDWEST TELEVISION Hot AC KFMB (100.7 JACK FM)/SAN DIEGO. He spent eight years in AMERICA's FINEST CITY before relocating to KC and joining THE VIBE in NOVEMBER 2015.


Santorini is probably the most famous of all Greek Islands. It is a part of the Cycladic group of islands and is located on the Aegean Sea. It is also the southernmost island among this group.
When you talk about Santorini island, you instantly think of the amazing volcano that marks the geographical feature of the island, the yet unsolved and puzzling myth of Atlantis that rages in the minds of many scholars till today, the world's largest caldera, the beautiful sunset views, the scenic villages located on the rim of this caldera and the spectacular beaches of the island.
In fact, Santorini beaches are quite different from any other beach in Greece or around the world, as they are characterized by their black and red sand, coming from the volcano. There are numerous beaches on Santorini but the most popular are found on the eastern side.
The most famous beach of Santorini is definitely Red beach, which has been characterized by many travel guides as one of the most romantic and sexiest beaches in the world. This beach took its name from the red volcanic rocks that cover the coast and the seabed. Not surprisingly, the water is very hot as it is coming directly from volcanic thermal springs. A huge rock surrounds Red beach and protects it from winds.
Other famous Santorini beaches include Perissa, Kamari and Perivolos, on the south eastern side of the island. These beaches have black sand and clean water, while they are surrounded by huge rocky cliffs. These three are the most organized tourism resorts of the island and you can find plenty of Santorini hotels and Santorini apartments close to them. Their long size is convenient and allows them not to get much crowded in summer. Some water sports clubs are also found there. If you enjoy water sports, you are adviced to try diving in Santorini: the volcanic underwater with rare flora and fauna will be unforgettable.
However, apart from crowded beaches, Santorini also has a few calm coves to enjoy some privacy. Such a calm and picturesque cove is Cape Columbo on the northern side of the island, with black sand and a rocky surrounding. Cape Columbo is frequently affected by northern winds and waves are pretty strong.


text:
Kwon Alexander (born August 3, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Alexander has also played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.

Early years
Alexander attended Oxford High School in Oxford, Alabama. An impact player on the defensive side of the ball, Alexander missed most of his 2011 senior campaign with a knee injury after posting 144 tackles, 17 sacks, and six forced fumbles (three recoveries) as a junior in 2010. Oxford finished the season 12–2, advancing the AHSAA Class 6A state semi-finals where they lost 32–22 to Marlon Humphrey's Hoover. Alexander participated in the Under Armour All-American Game as a member of the black team. He was chosen as a finalist for the High School Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. He was also named to the 2011 ESPN All-Alabama Football Team and was a Class 6A All-State Football Team Honorable Mention.

Alexander was also a state qualifier in track & field at Oxford. At the 2011 AHSAA 6A Section 4, he posted personal-best times of 11.24 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.99 seconds in the 200-meter dash, placing 9th and 7th, respectively.

Regarded as a four-star prospect according to ESPN.com, Rivals.com, and Scout.com, Alexander was ranked No. 19 in the 2012 Scout.com Final Southeast Top 150. He was ranked No. 45 in the Press-Register Super Southeast 120 and No. 29 in the 2012 ESPNU 150. He was listed in the MaxPreps 2012 Top 100. He was rated as Alabama's No. 3 prospect by ESPN.com, No. 11 by Rivals.com, and No. 6 by 247Sports.com. Nationally, ESPN.com and Scout.com rated him as the No. 3 linebacker, 247sports.com rated him as the nation's No. 9 linebacker, while Rivals.com rated him at No. 20. He committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.

College career
Alexander attended LSU from 2012 to 2014. As a true freshman, he played in seven games with two starts and had 12 tackles. As a sophomore, he started nine of 13 games. He finished the season with 65 tackles. As a junior, Alexander led the team with 92 tackles and had 1.5 sacks. After his junior season, Alexander entered the 2015 NFL Draft.

Professional career
On December 31, 2014, Alexander announced on his Twitter account his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL Draft. Alexander was one of 33 collegiate linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alexander completed all of the necessary drills, finishing second among all linebackers in the 40-yard dash, sixth in the bench press and short shuttle, and ninth in the three-cone drill.

On March 27, 2015, Alexander attended LSU's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for team representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams, including Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin and general managers from the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers. During the draft process, he attended only one private visit with the San Francisco 49ers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Alexander was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the second best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by NFL analyst Charles Davis and was ranked sixth best outside linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScouts.com, and was ranked the seventh best linebacker by Matt Miller of NFLDraftScout.com.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Alexander in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The Buccaneers traded their fourth (128th overall) and seventh round (218th overall) picks to the Oakland Raiders in order to move up four spots and select Alexander. He was the 11th linebacker drafted in 2015.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2015 season
On May 12, 2015, the Buccaneers signed Alexander to a four-year, $2.75 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $478,322.

Alexander entered training camp, competing for the job as the starting strongside linebacker against Danny Lansanah. After performing well, he was moved to middle linebacker to compete for the starting role against veteran Bruce Carter. Head coach Lovie Smith named Alexander the starting middle linebacker alongside outside linebackers Lavonte David and Lansanah.

Alexander made his NFL debut and first NFL start in the season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and recorded five combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 42–14 loss. Two weeks later, he recorded ten combined tackles, two pass deflections, and made his first NFL interception off of a pass attempt by Ryan Mallett in a 19–9 road loss to the Houston Texans. During Week 5, Alexander made five combined tackles, two pass deflections, and made his first NFL sack on Blake Bortles as the Buccaneers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 38–31. Prior to Week 8, Alexander's younger brother, Broderick Taylor, had been murdered just two days prior. He started the following game and recorded 11 combined tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception during a 23–20 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons. His efforts earned him the title of NFC Defensive Player of the Week. On December 7, Alexander was given a four-game ban for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances and missed the last four games of the season (Weeks 14–17).

Alexander finished his rookie year with 93 combined tackles (59 solo), nine pass deflections, three sacks, and two interceptions in 12 games and starts. He also had an overall grade of 31.6 from Pro Football Focus. The Buccaneers finished fourth in the NFC South with a 6–10 record and Lovie Smith was fired at the end of the season.

2016 season
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was promoted to head coach and hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith as defensive coordinator. Smith retained Alexander as starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season.

Alexander started in the season-opener at the Atlanta Falcons and recorded 17 combined tackles and a sack in a 31–24 victory. Two weeks later, he made seven combined tackles and returned an interception off of Case Keenum 38 yards for his first NFL touchdown during a 37–32 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. During Week 8, Alexander recorded a season-high 14 solo tackles and broke up a pass in a 30–24 overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders. During Week 15, he recorded a career-high 21 combined tackles (11 solo) in a 26–20 road loss against the Dallas Cowboys.

Alexander finished his second professional season ranking fourth in the league in tackles with 145 combined (108 solo). He also had seven pass deflections, three sacks, and an interception in 16 games and starts. He earned an overall grade of 77.3 from Pro Football Focus and was their most improved second-year linebackers.

2017 season
Alexander started in the season-opener against the Chicago Bears and recorded a solo tackle, a pass deflection, and intercepted former teammate Mike Glennon during a 29–7 victory. He left the game after sustaining a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the next four games (Weeks 3–6). In Week 15, Alexander recorded a season-high 13 solo tackles as the Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons by a score 24–21.

Alexander finished his third season with 97 combined tackles (70 solo), four pass deflections, and a career-high three interceptions in 12 games and starts. On January 16, 2018, he was named to his first Pro Bowl replacing injured Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. Pro Football Focus gave Alexander an overall grade of 68.0, ranking him  48th among all qualifying linebackers in 2017.

2018 season
Alexander started the first six games of the season before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 7. He was placed on injured reserve on October 22, 2018.

Alexander finished the season with 45 tackles, two sacks, two pass deflections, and a sack in six games and starts.

San Francisco 49ers
On March 13, 2019, the San Francisco 49ers signed Alexander to a four-year, $54 million contract that includes $27 million guaranteed.

During Week 1 against his former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Alexander made a helmet-to-helmet hit against former teammate Jameis Winston, and was disqualified as a result. Prior to being ejected, Alexander made three tackles in the season-opening 31–17 road victory. In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Alexander recorded his first interception of the season off of Andy Dalton in the 41–17 road victory. During Week 7 against the Washington Redskins, Alexander forced a fumble on running back Adrian Peterson that was recovered by teammate Jullian Taylor in the 9–0 road victory. Two weeks later against the Arizona Cardinals, he left the eventual 28–25 road victory with an apparent chest injury. The next day, Alexander was diagnosed with a torn pectoral and was placed on injured reserve.

Alexander was designated for return from injured reserve on January 2, 2020, and began practicing with the team again. On January 10, 2020, the 49ers activated Alexander off injured reserve the day before the NFC Divisional Game against the Minnesota Vikings. He helped the 49ers defeat both the Vikings and Green Bay Packers to advance to Super Bowl LIV, where he recorded a tackle and pass deflection in the 31–20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

New Orleans Saints
On November 2, 2020, the San Francisco 49ers traded Alexander to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a fifth-round conditional pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and linebacker Kiko Alonso. He was named a starter in Week 10, and started the next seven games before suffering a torn achilles in Week 16. He was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2020.

On March 16, 2021, the Saints released Alexander. However, the team brought him back on August 3, 2021 after signing a one-year deal worth up to $3 million. He was placed on injured reserve on September 17, 2021 with an elbow injury. He was activated on October 25.

New York Jets
On August 2, 2022, Alexander signed with the New York Jets.

NFL career statistics

References

External links
Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
San Francisco 49ers bio
LSU Tigers bio

1994 births
Living people
People from Oxford, Alabama
Players of American football from Alabama
American football linebackers
LSU Tigers football players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
San Francisco 49ers players
New Orleans Saints players
New York Jets players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Ed Block Courage Award recipients


text:
Preparing the Way
Looking Beyond America's Current Crisis of Faith
Register for this eCourse Classroom for $9
This eCourse includes a recording of a conversation with Phyllis Tickle in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Academy for Spiritual Formation.*
"I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" —Isaiah 43:19
The world is changing. In the midst of that change, religion in North America is experiencing significant upheaval. At the same time, there are numerous places where seeds of vitality and faithfulness have been germinating for the last few decades; places like the Academy for Spiritual Formation where God's Spirit is actively preparing the way for the next incarnation of the body of Christ.
Watch and listen in as Johnny Sears, Director of The Upper Room's Academy for Spiritual Formation engages in conversation with Phyllis Tickle, a leading authority on religion in America. Be encouraged by this conversation about the changing religious landscape; envision a future in which both Christianity's rich past and contemporary evolution are dynamically integrated; enter in as the spirit moves us closer to embodying the reign of God in the world.
This eCourse includes eight five to fifteen minute video segments with space to add comments and reflections. The eCourse is designed for individual or small group use.
*Video was recorded during a May 2013 event hosted by The Upper Room in Nashville, TN.
Phyllis Tickle
Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the Religion Department of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, the international journal of the book industry, is frequently quoted in print sources, electronic media, and innumerable blogs and web sites. Tickle is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on the subject.
Segment 4-Question & Answer
Segment 5- Question & Answer
Segment 8-Question & Answer and Farewell
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I've decided to clean up and release my PHP Web Console which replaces strings from the MC server log for nicer display on a auto-refresh web page.
Maybe someone else finds it useful. Let your mods and admins see what happens on the server (display only).
I wanted an simple solution which is easy to understand and to adapt as many other consoles available.
The script contains examples and replaces already a lot but will not work out best for everyone. So this might need to be adapted a bit for other plugins/mods to work correctly or for individual preference.
While monitoring the web console one recognizes what needs to be added or changed. Then take the examples as templates and add your own words.
The console shows server log lines with a little bit of delay depending when tail 'extracts' new data from the server log (5s) and additionally when the page refreshs (5s). It's not intended for studying large error messages as per default only 40 lines are displayed. For that purpose better show the whole server log.
This version is optimized for Spigot. Others might follow (Tekkit Lite/Cauldron). These have slightly different color codes.
Installation instructions can be found in README.TXT and in the video.
Shows what it does and how to install.
Feedback or Questions are always welcome.
nice, if it do a real time show will be better!