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Lillian Wright, Reyna de Courcy, Michael Tisdale, Brian Reilly, and Christian Navarro will star in the Off-Broadway production of Colin McKenna’s new play, The Secret Agenda of Trees, to play The Wild Project, March 15-April 11, with an opening set for March 19. Michael Kimmel will direct.
The play is set in a rural community in the backwoods of America, where a tattered bond holds together Veronica, a 13-year-old who survives on a dream-life filled with Rosemary Clooney and Veronica Lake, and her mother, who dulls the pain of work at a slaughterhouse with booze and meth.
The production features scenic and lighting design by Ben Kato, and costume design by Jessica Gaffney.
For more information, visit www.thewildproject.com.


A group of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday asked the Biden administration to impose financial sanctions on controversial Israel spyware firm NSO Group and a number of other surveillance companies, citing reports that they helped authoritarian regimes commit human rights abuses.
A letter sent by 18 Senate and House members, including Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, asks the Treasury Department and State Department to sanction NSO, along with the United Arab Emirates cybersecurity company DarkMatter and European online bulk surveillance companies Nexa Technologies and Trovicor, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The letter says the companies facilitated the “disappearance, torture and murder of human rights activists and journalists” and asks for the application of “Global Magnitsky” sanctions, which would freeze bank accounts of company executives and ban travel to the United States.
“To meaningfully punish them and send a clear signal to the surveillance technology industry, the US government should deploy financial sanctions,” the group of Democrats wrote.
NSO Group has come under intense global scrutiny for its Pegasus software, considered one of the most powerful cyber-surveillance tools available on the market. The technology was used to target journalists, activists and politicians in dozens of countries, as revealed in a major in-depth investigation by major media outlets and nonprofits around the world.
According to the reporting, more than 1,000 people across over 50 countries were traced to numbers on the list, including several heads of state and prime ministers, Arab royal family members, business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials.
While the company maintained that the software was only meant to assist countries in fighting crime and terrorism, and despite the Israeli government lobbying on its behalf, the US Department of Commerce nevertheless blacklisted NSO, apparently because its software was used to target US diplomats working in Uganda.
The Pegasus technology allows operators to effectively take full control of a target’s phone, download all data from the device, and activate its camera or microphone without the user knowing.
Speaking to Reuters, Wyden said, “These surveillance mercenaries sold their services to authoritarian regimes with long records of human rights abuses, giving vast spying powers to tyrants.”
He charged that “those nations used surveillance tools to lock up, torture and murder reporters and human rights advocates. The Biden administration has the chance to turn off the spigot of American dollars and help put them out of business for good.”
In December, Israel’s Defense Ministry imposed new restrictions on the export of cyber-warfare tools following the major international backlash over the use of Israeli-made surveillance software such as Pegasus.
The Defense Ministry also dramatically scaled back the number of countries to which Israeli companies are allowed to sell cyber technologies, a list that consisted of 37 countries, which was down from 102 originally.


text: I treated myself to a couple skeins of hand spun yarn last weekend. Yummy! That night I sat down to wrap them into tidy balls and do you know what happen... I ended up with a tangled mess! Oh my goodness... I became so frustrated with this beautiful ball that I threw it back in the bag and went on with my day. So help me out here people. What am I doing wrong???

domain: artistic


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Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge users in the UK started receiving Android 8.0 Oreo a few weeks ago, but the rollout has been halted after some users started reporting random reboots following the upgrade. The UK was a test market and even though we expect the rollout to resume soon, we don’t know when exactly.
On the brighter side, it seems when the Galaxy S7 Oreo update finally resumes in the UK, it will be about time for a wider rollout in other markets. This is, at least, according to Canada’s Rogers carrier, which has updated its software page with details of when to expect the Oreo update not only for the S7 pair but also for the LG G6 and the budget LG Q6.
To avoid any possible clashes with consumers, Rogers Canada was smart enough to only give us a “Coming soon” release date, which should mean anything between now and several weeks to come.

domain: news


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Go: Returning Discipleship to the Front Lines of Faith, by Preston Sprinkle is a powerful book seeking to help followers of Christ to engage in discipleship. Sprinkle refers to a study by the Barna Group focusing on Discipleship which indicated too many Christians are biblically illiterate and not engaged in growing and serving Christ. He quotes a number of statistics, such as, 52% of church attenders believe the leaders are doing a good job to help them grow, while leaders have a much lower belief in their effectiveness.
Sprinkle spends a great deal of time discussing issues which are wrong, leading to ineffective methods of discipleship. He also gives some ideas about how to overcome some of the barriers.
Go is an easy to read 177 pages. The book flows well, and would be a good book to read.
I received a review copy from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an open and honest review.

domain: library


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What: College Rugby 7s Invitational
Where: PPL Park, Philadelphia, PA
When: Saturday, June 4 and Sunday June 5
Cal vs. Ohio State, 7:20 am PT - Per the Rugby 7s Twitter, Cal has beaten OSU 38-0
Cal vs. LSU, 11:10 am PT (Versus) - Cal has beaten LSU 24-0
Cal vs. Penn State, 1:00 pm PT (NBC) - Cal has beaten PSU
Live TV Coverage:
Sat. June 4: Universal Sports 9-11 a.m. PT, VERSUS 11 a.m.-1 p.m. PT, NBC 1-3 p.m. PT, VERSUS 3-5 p.m. PT
Sun. June 5: Universal Sports 9-11 a.m. PT, VERSUS 11 a.m.-1 p.m. PT, NBC 1-3 p.m. PT
Your 2011 national collegiate champion California Golden Bears rugby team is back in action this weekend. It's not the same game as the one Cal has dominated these last two undefeated seasons. This is the second annual Rugby 7s Invitational, which Utah won last year in a thrilling championship game against Cal. The Bears will try to avenge last year's defeat and become the kings of Rugby 7s game. We spoke with OSU's assistant coach, Wes Campbell, earlier this week to prepare us for the Cal-OSU game.
For more info see the calbears.com skinny on this event.
Should the Rugby Bears advance to the championship semifinals on Sunday, June 5, Cal would kick off at 11:47 a.m. PT on VERSUS. The final is slated for a 2:19 p.m. PT start on NBC.
The event offers the Bears their second foray into the same format that will be employed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where, should the U.S. qualify, today's players could be competing for their country. The USA was the gold medalist at the last two Olympics that included rugby, 1920 in Antwerp and 1924 in Paris, with six Golden Bears between those two teams.
Use this as your open thread for today's games. If you wish to discuss today's softball action, click here. GO BEARS!


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(HealthDay)â€”When willpower doesnâ€™t work, smokers who want to quit may have a new tool someday: magnetic brain stimulation.
A study of 115 smokers found that 13 sessions of the treatment over three weeks helped some heavy smokers quit for as long as six months.
This noninvasive technique, called repeated high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation, sends electric impulses to the brain. It is sometimes used to treat depression.
â€œUsing noninvasive stimulation can reduce nicotine craving and smoking,â€ said lead researcher Abraham Zangen, an associate professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva.
â€œIf you stimulate regions in the brain that are associated with craving for drugs, you can change the circuitry in the brain that mediates this dependence and eventually reduce smoking,â€ he said. â€œAnd many of those treated stop smoking.â€
The study participants smoked at least a pack a day and had failed at least two previous attempts to quit, said Zangen, who has a financial interest in the equipment used in the study.
The researchers divided the participants into three groups. One group received high-frequency brain stimulation, another low-frequency stimulation, and the third received a phony treatment. The groups were further divided into those who saw a visual cueâ€”a picture of a lit cigaretteâ€”just before stimulation and those who didnâ€™t.
The idea of the cue is to make sure attention is directed at smoking and not some other craving, Zangen said.
After 13 treatments, those who received the highest level of stimulation plus the visual cue had the best resultsâ€”44 percent of them had quit. After six months, one-third of this group were still not smoking compared to 28 percent of those who werenâ€™t shown the visual cue before treatment.
The results of the study were scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.
Although magnetic brain stimulation is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating depression, it is not yet approved for helping people quit smoking, Zangen said.
Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said, â€œItâ€™s a very effective treatment for depression and anxiety.â€
Manevitz thinks using it to help people stop smoking makes sense. Other studies, he noted, have found that stimulating an area of the brain called the insula can reduce the desire to smoke.
â€œAdding brain stimulation to other smoking cessation methods like nicotine substitution might make it even more effective,â€ he said.
When used for depression, magnetic brain stimulation costs from $300 to $350 a session, and the treatment may not be covered by insurance, Manevitz said.
For the treatments, participants wear a helmet fitted with coils that deliver magnetic stimulation to the areas of the brainâ€”the prefrontal cortex and the insulaâ€”associated with nicotine addiction.
Dan Jacobsen, from the Center for Tobacco Control at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., thinks the idea is interesting but he doesnâ€™t see this becoming a viable treatment option anytime soon.
â€œThis treatment is not a simple procedure,â€ he noted. And the six-month results werenâ€™t as good as the success rates for other treatments, including medication and nicotine replacement, combined with behavioral components, he said.
Side effects from the treatment were mild and included headaches or muscle twitching. These symptoms went away with continued treatment, Zangen said. One potentially serious but rare side effect is that brain stimulation can induce a seizure, especially in those prone to epilepsy, he noted.
Data and conclusions presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Explore further: Stimulating the brain blunts cigarette craving
More information: To find out more about quitting smoking, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Copyright Â© 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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RUMOR: NBA executives believe Trevor Ariza to the Lakers is ‘going to happen’
ESPN reported over the weekend that the Lakers are trying to acquire Trevor Ariza from the Suns in a potential three-way trade. Ariza played for the Lakers for two seasons and won a championship in 2009 with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
“In regard to Trevor Ariza going to the Lakers I’ve had a handful of NBA executives tell me that they’ve heard that’s going to happen, it’s done, it’s just a matter of everything else. Like figuring out what the rest of that deal is.”
Trevor Ariza signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Suns in the offseason after spending the previous four seasons with the Houston Rockets. The 15-year veteran is averaging 9.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this year while shooting 37.3 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from beyond the arc and 82.9 percent from the free-throw line.
The Suns currently have the worst record in the NBA at 4-23. Suns general manager James Jones already did a favor for LeBron James earlier this season when he waived veteran center Tyson Chandler, allowing Chandler to sign with the Lakers a few days later. It wouldn’t shock anyone if Ariza ends up on the Lakers shortly.

domain: sports


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Washing machines and dryers up humming a running. Someone has a problem with this washing machine funny. That moment when you wonder what s the worst could. Hungry washing machine the meta picture. A child with down syndrome in washing machine not funny. Short people understand the meta picture. Funny pictures may viral feels. Laundry basket cartoons and comics funny pictures from. Funny portrait of man inside washing machine stock photo. For sale simpson front loader washing machine cash. Funny weird luggage weirdomatic. Funny laundry machine pictures to pin on pinterest daddy. Washing machine on funnyand. Washing machine pictures and jokes funny best. R pimp the meta picture. Really funny cats in the washing machine youtube. Baby in a washing machine picture caption. Cat in the washing machine funny cats dump a day. Sick washing machine really funny pictures collection on. Demotivational memes for the real world pics.
New electrolux washing machine making funny noise youtube. Evil dryer. Unusual washing machine…. Funny face laundry. Machinist funny quotes quotesgram. Funny electric washing machine using bottle easy way. The evolution of harlem shake. You are doing it right dad the meta picture. This will do just fine the meta picture. Funny techno washer dance breaks apart with style youtube. Funny pictures of the day pics. People who are having a really bad day pleated jeans. Washing cliparts. Funny picture dump of the day pics. Quot a washing machine hilarious photo humour birthday card. Funny picture clip best of cool cat pictures. Funny baby in waschmaschine washer washing machine. Stuck in a washing machine funny clip classic mr bean. Lol tuesday s pleasures flipping open pandora box.

domain: entertainment


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2nd Block for Lotto
I was corrected about making all different blocks. I will donate one of the two I posted— I made another Block this month. I was on a week-end out of town. I took my sewing machine to sew in the hotel. I made two alike but will keep one for myself. I need to trim it to size too.


The much awaited Black Star song from popular act Kofi Mante is finally here. Many of the acts have done a lot of songs for the National team but to my judgement so far this is the best i have listened.(I stand to be corrected) No wonder he was confident
9,318,924 tracks. 2,424 new tracks TODAY!
2,966,232 music lovers. 972 new music lovers TODAY!
433,765 Artists, bands & DJs. 177 new artists TODAY!


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‘See, puppies are good luck’
San Diego Chargers’ running back Darren Sproles cuddles Hudson, one of the more than
1 million pets that found homes over the course of the 13-week Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption campaign, which ended Jan. 5.
Sproles participated in the campaign kick-off at Qualcomm Stadium in October. “See, puppies are good luck,” Trisha St. George, spokesperson for the Helen Woodward Animal Center said, referring to Sproles’ leading role in the Chargers’ win over the Indianapolis Colts in the Jan. 3 wild-card NFL playoff game.
This year, nearly 3,563 shelters and rescue groups worldwide participated in the adoption drive, which began in 1999 at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe.


text: Friday night when I got home from work was a package waiting for me, my husband had picked up. A beautiful vintage blush mink coat. I instantly wanted to create a bear with this soft dense fur and my little clown collection I have been creating to take to Melbourne with me in a few weeks was put on hold. I traced out my pattern and started cutting and sewing. The body has been created from the striped arms as this fur is far to beautiful to not use the arms too. It wont belong now till the little face peers back at me!

domain: hobby


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Rachel Garber Cole
“The Warmest Years on Record” (2018-ongoing) is an oral history project that collects audio recorded interviews about people’s emotional, psychological and sensorial experiences of living in the climate crisis. In the summer and fall of 2021, I spoke with members of thirteen Brooklyn community gardens and farms. I learned not only about how the crisis impacts them personally, but also listened to their observations on how the changing weather and shifting seasons has effected what and how things grow in New York City. This summer I’ll be sharing these conversations with the public through a series of sign-based audio installations outside the fences of participating gardens across the borough. Listen in at community gardens and farms throughout Brooklyn and learn how your neighbors are processing this profound moment of change.
Photo by Jordan Levie, March 2021.


On the other hand, 26% said that instead of partying they would prefer to request a salary increase.
MEXICO, (December 14, 2021).- Although it seems that we are in the new normal, leaving work from home behind, the reality is that we still have not been able to return to 100% what we did before.
According to a survey carried out by the OCCMundial, the companies have decided not to hold end-of-year events to take care of the health of their employees.
41% of respondents said that this year there will be a New Year’s Eve party in their jobs, based on the survey “Labor thermometer” of OCCMundial, career center globally.
On the other hand, 59% of Mexican workers will have a year-end celebration:
35% said it will face the respective sanitary measures.
24% confirmed they will have a virtual event.
Only 72% of those surveyed consider it important that companies hold events that strengthen the integration of employees when asking them about the relevance of having this type of celebration.
On the contrary, 26% said that instead of having a New Year’s Eve party, they would like to request a salary increase, improved benefits, training, new equipment, and work tools.
In its 85th week, the “Labor Thermometer”, which runs from December 03 to 09, revealed that the total number of active vacancies in OCCMundial is 78,789, a deficit of -14% of vacancies published over those reported before the pandemic.
The good news is that the recovery of job offers follows an upward trend at the national level in almost all the categories of the page, hoping that with the beginning of the holiday season, hiring will increase.
What categories increased vacancies at the OCCMunidal?
Among the categories that reported the highest growth in vacancies were:
– Marketing (+ 42%)
– Communication and creativity (+ 20%)
– Insurance (+ 25%)
Temporary vacancies vs permanent vacancies
Temporary vacancies increased, taking 6% of the total registered vacancies, while the home office modality registers 4%.
The video calls or online meetings that users attend per week are maintained with the same intensity:
– 91% attend 1 to 10 meetings.
– 7% from 11 to 20 meetings.
– 2% attend more than 20 face-to-face meetings or video calls.
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For their December manga episode, Shea and Derek discuss two very different works. They start off with Makoto Yukimura's Planetes Ominbus, Vol. 1, just released from Dark Horse Books. This is the first of two large editions of the Japanese series that originally ran from 1999 to 2004. It's the story of a space debris removal crew -- orbital garbage collectors -- whose job is to clear out all of the man-made trash floating around the earth so as to make space travel safer. Taking place in the 2070s, this is a futuristic narrative that feels closely connected to our own world. The guys describe it as a kind of hard science fiction (with its emphasis on technical detail and scientific accuracy), but one that is heavily character-driven. Derek highlights both the drama and the comedy that take place among the crew members -- especially with Hachimaki, who is arguably the central figure in this first volume -- and Shea points out that while anchored in the science, Planetes is more of an "everyday" series that is focused on the mundane facets of space exploration. Next, the guys turn to a completely different kind of manga, one that challenges our ways of reading comics. Ding Dong Circus and Other Stories, 1967 to 1974 (Breakdown Press) collects fifteen of Sasaki Maki's short works, all but one originally published in the legendary manga magazine, Garo, between 1967 and 1971. The majority of these pieces are not what you would call "stories" in the strictest sense, in that there is no temporal or causal connection between panels suggesting sequence. Even the comics that do betray narrative elements, such as "The Town Horse" or "The Ballad of Henri and Anne," are constructed in fragmented ways that suggest an unsteady dreamscape more than anything. The best way to read Maki's work, as Shea and Derek point out, is by understanding it as visual poetry -- with an emphasis on image and association -- or as "musical" compositions reliant on graphical leitmotifs. If you approach Ding Dong Circus in this way, then you can better enjoy Sasaki Maki's pop art-like, collage form of manga that embodies much of the tone and significations of the 1960s. For more on this book, check out Shea's recent review on the A.V. Club.
It's the last regular review episode of the year, so that means that the Two Guys with PhDs are here to share what they consider to be the best comics of 2015! In this extra-long episode, Andy and Derek discuss their 10 favorite titles of the year. Neither knows what the other has chosen before the recording, giving the episode a sense of freshness, spontaneousness, and surprise. And there are indeed several surprises in this year's picks, including the fact that there is only one title that appears on both guys' lists. Also, noticeably absent from their selections are the titles that have been populating many of the mainstream press' "Best of" lists (e.g., Killing and Dying, The Sculptor, Lumberjanes, and The Sandman: Overture: Deluxe Edition). And each of the guys notes some trends that appear in his list this year. For Andy, it's the prominence of autobiographical comics, and for Derek, it's a an emphasis on realistic novel-like narratives. Before they get to their favorites, though, they go over some year-end statistics regarding the podcast. For example, over the past year the guys have published 139 episodes (as of last week), which is roughly 42% of all of the episodes they've put out since the podcast began in 2012. They have also conducted 39 interviews in 2015, published 8 publisher spotlight episodes, and began two new monthly series (one for manga and another for young adult/children's comics). Needless to say, it's been a productive year for the guys.
But the heart of this week's episode is the Two Guys' discussion of their ten favorite titles of 2015:
As has become an annual event, Andy and Derek use their penultimate show of the year to discuss the current volume of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's The Best American Comics. The series is overseen by Bill Kartalopoulos -- whom the guys interviewed on the show last year -- and this year's collection is edited by novelist Jonathan Lethem. The entries collected in The Best American Comics 2015 represent what both Lethem and Kartalopoulos consider to be the most outstanding comics published between September 1, 2013, and August 31, 2014. The guys begin by highlighting the organization of this year's volume, pointing out that Lethem has retained the topic- or theme-based approach used by Scott McCloud in last year's collection. The editor breaks down his entries into ten different chapter topics, ranging from the self-evident "Storytellers" and "Biopics and Historical Fictions" to more obscurely intriguing groupings such as "Brainworms" and "Raging Her-Moans." The guys are familiar with most of the contributions included this year -- to paraphrase Andy, The Best American Comics volumes just seem to reinforce their tastes in comics-- and many of them have been the subject of previous Comics Alternative reviews and interviews. They comment on the sheer number of entries that are excerpts from longer works, including Roz Chast's Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, Jules Feiffer's Kill My Mother, Farel Dalrymple's The Wrenchies, Gabrielle Bell's The Colombia Diaries, Sept 14-16, Cole Closser's Little Tommy Lost, Matthew Thurber Infomaniacs, Anya Ulinich's Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel, Jim Woodring's Fran, Anya Davidson's School Spirits, and Josh Bayer's Theth. Most of these selections easily stand on their own, but some could have benefited from more content or additional editorial context (examples being the excerpts from Anders Nilsen’s Rage of Poseidon and Joe Sacco’s The Great War.) Some of the highlights in this year's volume include works by creators that either Derek or Andy have never read before, such as Mat Brinkman and his darkly surreal Cretin Keep on Creep’n Creek, or Gina Wynbrandt and her hilariously self-deprecating Someone Please Have Sex with Me. This is another must-read book for the Two Guys, but their discussion isn’t without its disagreements. In good Siskel and Ebert fashion, the guys spar over the nature of the Best American Comics volumes and, specifically, over the curious “Notable Comics” list in the very back of the book. (This is a list of other significant comics published between September 1, 2013, and August 31, 2014, but not making it into the volume proper.) Derek mentions the almost complete absence in this list of any titles reflecting mainstream (in a broad sense) sensibilities -- the one exception to this is Geoff Darrow’s Shaolin Cowboy from Dark Horse Comics -- and scratches his head over these choices that come with no permission or copyright obstacles. And he argues that discussing a text by what it is not can actually give a firmer grasp of what it actually is. Andy, on the other hand, is completely OK with the totally subjective approach to anthologies such as this, and he questions Derek's assumptions of the book's readership. The guys also discuss the notion that, in many ways, these selections are also political choices, especially when published by a major trade house such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. But these are the kinds of debates that should sound familiar to Comics Alternative listeners, especially when it comes to matters of awards, essential readings, and “Best of” collections. The bottom line, though, is that both Andy and Derek agree that The Best American Comics 2015 is yet another important contribution to our ever-expanding understanding of the medium. “Best” or not, these comics are definitely well worth reading.
On this episode in The Comics Alternative Interviews series, Derek is pleased to have as his guest Alex Robinson. His latest book, Our Expanding Universe, was released earlier this month from Top Shelf. It's the story of three middle-aged friends going through life changes -- kids, careers, and relationships -- and how their friendships, and their marriages, weather those experiences. Readers already familiar with the author's earlier works, specifically Box Office Poison and Tricked, will recognize the tone and subject matter. Robinson is a master of character-driven narratives, especially when his protagonists bump up against the social realities that reflect his readers' own lives. He objective assessments aren't distancing, but instead bear an empathic stamp. You may not particularly like the characters you encounter, but you certainly understand their motivations and their unique perspectives. Much of the conversation revolves around the new book, but Derek also talks with Alex about his early years as a comics artist and how his approach, along with his career, has evolved over time. And much of that evolution has involved podcasting. In fact, Alex Robinson may just be the most dedicated fellow podcaster that has ever appeared on The Comics Alternative. He's currently involved in three different shows: Ink Panthers (a cartoonist's "lifestyle" podcast that he cohosts with Mike Dawson), AlphaBeatical (an alphabetical look at the entire Beatles catalog, from 12 to Y), and the popular Star Wars Minute. The latter -- a hot commodity right now, given all of the Force Awakens hoopla -- is a daily podcast where each episode is devoted to one individual minute of the Star Wars movies, in order, beginning to end. Andy Kunka has often called his buddy-cohost, Derek, the hardest working man in comics podcasting, but it's clear that Robinson has him beat. Between the comics and the podcasting, it's a wonder that Alex even had time to be on The Comics Alternative.
For this week's review show, Gene and Derek are back with an extra long episode jam-packed with nougaty comics goodness. They begin with Adrian Tomine's Killing and Dying (Drawn and Quarterly), his new book collecting issues twelve through fourteen of Optic Nerve. (Be sure to check out the guys' previous reviews of Optic Nerve #13 and Optic Nerve #14.) The text contains six separate short stories, and the guys start by trying to find any connective tissue binding the pieces together. Derek observes that every other story in the collection -- "Amber Sweet," "Translated, from the Japanese," and "Intruders" -- are first-person narratives functioning as confessionals of some sort. Also, the three longer stories that precede each of these "confessions" become progressively darker in tone. The overt humor embedded in "A Brief History of the Art Form Known as 'Hortisculpture'" gives way to the ambivalence of "Go Owls," which leads to the more ambiguously somber "Killing and Dying." Yet this is not a story cycle, by any means, with each narrative standing distinctively on its own, both in subject matter and art style. Next, the guys focus on a recent discovery, the semiannual Canadian magazine, Taddle Creek. It's latest issue, #36, is a special comics edition featuring many artists the guys admire, such as Noah Van Sciver, Dakota McFadzean, Meags Fitzgerald, Michael DeForge, David Collier, Nina Bunjevac, Joe Ollmann, and Maurice Vellekoop. And part of the joy of this collection is being introduced to creators Gene and Derek weren't familiar with, such as David Lapp, Philip Street, Eleri Mai Harris, Jason Kieffer, and Nick Maandag. It's difficult to pinpoint their favorites in this anthology, since everything in it is good...although Gene is quite taken by Fitzgerald's "The Village under the Clouds," and Derek spends a lot of time talking about the comedic sophistication of Ollmann's "A Road Trip with the Notorious M.I.L." After that, they discuss the newest digital comic out Panel Syndicate, Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin's Barrier #1. This is the first of a five-part tale of violence, division, and illegal immigration. (And just in time for the angry chaos currently known as the Republican primary!) Although Gene isn't yet familiar with the duo's previous collaborative efforts, Derek wonders if Barrier will have a similar impact as did The Private Eye. Finally, the guys wrap up with what has to be one of the oddest comics ever discussed on The Comics Alternative. R. Sikoryak's The Unabridged Graphic Adaptation of iTunes Terms and Conditions -- published in two mini-comic volumes (and also on Sikoryak's Tumblr site) -- is just as the title describes: an unabridged adaptation of the oft-encountered, but never read, iTunes Terms and Conditions. What makes this comic so notable, and what makes it distinctively Sikoryakian, is the manner in which the artist adapts the text. Each page of the comic is not only a rendering of the iTunes legal mumbo jumbo, but also an exercise in representing comics' most distinctive creator styles. From Jim Steranko to Will Eisner, from Julie Doucet to Akira Toriyama, from Mort Walker to R. Crumb, from Bil Keane to Moebius...Sikoryak's art spans the history of comics, and with everything converging on the stubbled, bespectacled, and black turtlenecked figure of Steve Jobs. This is a fun read, perfect for those long nights of software installation.
For the month of December, Sean and Derek are back to discuss three very different, very distinct, webcomics. They begin with Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Otertag's Strong Female Protagonist, a title that has been going strong since 2012. As described by its creators, the story concerns "the adventures of a young middle-class American with super-strength, invincibility, and a crippling sense of social injustice." Although that may roughly encapsulate the premise, the webcomic is much more sophisticated than that. In fact, the guys spend a great deal of time discussing the creators' ambitions with the story, both in terms of the art and regarding its subject matter. Derek wonders if Mulligan, especially in the fifth chapter, may be trying to juggle too much at one time, making his narrative almost top-heavy with its intended messages. Sean disagrees, but he does see the philosophical ambitions embedded in the text. And it is on the topic of philosophy that the guys segue into their next title, Corey Mohler's Existential Comics. This webcomic is notable for two reasons: it's the first gag-based, done-in-one kind of comic that the guys have ever discussed on the webcomics series, and it's as funny as hell! It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the funniest titles ever discussed on The Comics Alternative, webcomics or otherwise. Mohler uses actual philosophers themselves, and the entire history of philosophical thought, as the grist for his absurd mill. In Existential Comics you'll find the ancient Greeks playing Texas hold'em, Franz Kafka at the DMV, Diogenes encountering a commie-killing Abraham Lincoln, Albert Camus thwarting Rudolf Carnap's barfly pick-up efforts, Søren Kierkegaard at a rave, a zombie God (animated by Arthur Schopenhauer) attacking Friedrich Nietzsche, Simone de Beauvoir hosting her own cooking show, and a wide variety of philosophers trying to play Dungeons and Dragons. Finally, Derek and Sean wrap up with a look at Bucko, a short webcomic by Jeff Parker and Erika Moen that ran from 2011 to 2012. As the guys discuss, part of the fun of reading this title is seeing how Parker and Moen kept trying to outdo themselves with unlikely plot twists and characterization that built do an almost chaotic crescendo. Sean, however, isn't a fan of the story's ending, which he sees as too convenient and too predictably Scooby-Doo-like. Still, you could read Bucko -- along with Existential Comics -- as a freewheeling antidote to those holiday blues.
One of the things that has defined 2015 for The Comics Alternative has been the number of Publisher Spotlights it's presented -- seven, up until today. This week, the Two Guys are back with their eighth and final spotlight of the year, one on the fall releases out of Locust Moon Press. They begin their critical focus with a brief interview Derek conducted with Josh O'Neill, the publisher of Locust Moon Press. In that conversation, Josh shares the background and history of Locust Moon, first as a bookstore (which will be closing its doors early next year) and then as a publisher with an impressive catalog. They also discuss the press' success with Kickstarter, including last year's campaign with Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream and the current efforts with The Lost Work of Will Eisner. After that, Andy and Derek get into the nitty gritty of the show, a discussion of Locust Moon's fall releases. They begin with Prometheus Eternal, a short collection of stories inspired by Rubens's famous painting, Prometheus Bound. This work was created in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and including work by such creators as Grant Morrison, Paul Pope, Dave McKean, Bill Sienkiewicz, Farel Dalrymple, Yuko Shimizu, and David Mack. Next, the guys turn to another collection, this one the sixth issue of Quarter Moon. The theme to this issue is "Impractical Cats," and with cat-related contributions from a variety of creators including Farel Dalrymple, Tia McClelland, Mike Sgier, Lisk Feng, Jim Comey, Gregory Benton, J.G. Jones, Dean Haspiel, Jeremy Baum, and a host of others. After that, they look at Ben Kahn and Bruno Hidalgo's Shaman, a satiric and inventive mashup of superheroes, the supernatural, and humor. Neither Andy nor Derek were aware of Shaman before this spotlight episode -- they completely missed Kahn's Kickstarter from earlier this year -- but now they're totally on board and look forward to more of this series, because it's funny as hell. Finally, the guys wrap up with a long discussion of Little Nemo's Big New Dreams, a joint effort with Françoise Mouly's TOON Graphics. This is a smaller, more affordable, and more holdable, version of the broadsheet-sized Dream Another Dream, including more than thirty strips from the Eisner Award-winning collection. And like the aforementioned Prometheus Eternal and Quarter Moon collections, this TOON book is chock-full of impressive contributors, including Art Spiegelman, Craig Thompson, Carla Speed McNeil, Mark Buckingham, Roger Langridge, Box Brown, R. Sikoryak, Jim Rugg, Yuko Shimizu, Gerhard...and the list goes on. In fact, you could even see today's show as the most creator-packed episode that the Two Guys have ever recorded.
In yet another of the Two Guys' interview series, Derek is back to talk with one of the hardest working people in comics today, Ed Brisson. The first issue of his and Adam Gorham's new series, The Violent, will be released tomorrow, and Ed shares with Derek the story behind this new ongoing title from Image Comics. In fact, Ed reveals that the genesis of the narrative actually springs from his earlier webcomic (and later Dark Horse title), Murder Book. The protagonists, Mason and Becky, are a young working class couple with a checkered past trying to escape the drugs and crime that helped to get them where they are today. As Ed describes, their dilemma has very much a "Murder Book feel," making The Violent an ongoing extension of that story collection. The two also talk about his and Lisandro Estherren's upcoming four-issue miniseries from BOOM! Studios, The Last Contract, the story of a retired hitman who reluctantly finds himself forced back into the business. Along the way, they also bring in discussions of Ed's previous series such as Comeback, The Field, The Mantle, Cluster, and Sheltered. In fact, it's all that Derek can do to contain a conversation that includes such prodigious output. Ed's definitely a hard-working writer, but as he makes clear in the interview, he knows how to let loose, have a good time, and then let those experiences inform his art.
Tomorrow the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics will release a Publisher Spotlight episode devoted to the fall releases from Locust Moon Press. As part of that show, Derek talks briefly with the Locust Moon publisher, Josh O'Neill, about the history of the press, it's recent output, and its success with Kickstarter campaigns. In fact, Josh shares in detail Locust Moon's latest Kickstarter, The Lost Work of Will Eisner, which will wrap up on December 10th. As a way of teasing tomorrow's episode, and in order to give listeners more time to learn about and back this Kickstarter campaign, we are making Derek's conversation with Josh available today.
On this interview episode, Derek is pleased to have as his guest Jon Morris, the author behind The League of Regrettable Superheroes (Quirk Books). This is a book devoted to the heroes throughout comic-book history who just never made it to the big time...and for good reason. As Jon discusses on the show, his work chronicles some of comics' weirdest and wackiest superheroes, complete with backstories, publication history, and colorful vintage art. In the pages of The League of Regrettable Superheroes you'll find strange figures from the Golden and Silver Ages, as well as plenty of head-scratching curiosities from more contemporary times. Throughout much of their conversation, Derek and Jon discuss some of their favorite regrettables, including The Red Bee (a district attorney donning striped leggings and carrying bees hidden inside his belt, his favorite being named "Michael"), The Clown (a police commissioner turned crimefighting circus clown), The Eye (a giant, disembodied eye...that's it, just a floating eye), Nightmare and Sleepy (pro wrestlers dressed in white and with an apparent skeleton fetish), Captain Marvel (not who you think, but someone whose disturbing superpowers includes disengaging his body parts), Fatman the Human Flying Saucer (a green-wearing version of the Fawcett Captain Marvel, but one with a weight problem who turns into a flying saucer), Gunmaster (a pacifist who relies on an inventive arsenal of guns to fight crime), Adam-X The X-Treme (a hero embodying the X-treme worst of '90s culture), the New Guardians (DC Comics' attempt at multiculturalism gone horribly wrong), and Killjoy (Steve Ditko's silent Ayn Randian "mouthpiece"). Jon even discusses some of the earlier manifestations of very current heroes, such the Outsiders, Prez, and Squirrel Girl. What comes through in the guys' conversation -- and what is central to the success of the book -- is Jon Morris's sense of humor. Then again, you have to have one to write about this unlikely collection of crimefighters. A candy-inspired strongman named Captain Tootsie? A robot with an iron propeller beanie named Bozo?
Be sure to check out Jon's web presence:
As the end of 2015 draws near and the holiday shopping season is in full swing, Andy and Gwen have drawn up their lists of their favorite comics for young readers released during the last year. Although their choices run the gamut from texts for early readers up through to texts for teens, every text mentioned creates a fine balance between serious subject matter and engaging artwork and writing. Many of these comics would be great choices for parents and kids to read together.
Books that both Gwen and Andy Selected:
Andy and Gwen alternate leading discussion for each book and finish up by discussing two books that made both of their lists.
As Andy and Derek do at the beginning of every month, they use this first week of December to flip through the latest Previews catalog, highlighting upcoming series and notable new releases that capture their attention. Among the many soon-to-be-released titles they discuss on this week's show are comics from
Also in this episode: the guys enthusiastically welcome new Patreon supporters; complain about reading from PDF files; discuss the increasing weirdness of Neal Adams; speculate on the pronunciation of "Amontillado"; anticipate next year's new SyFy series, Wynonna Earp; pat themselves on the back for getting an endorsement blurb for a major upcoming book; and, of course, give a lot of love to Fantagraphics.


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About Slow Cal BBQ Truck
Slow Cal BBQ brings the South to your Mouth with Sloppy, Juicy, In Yo Face BBQ! Slow Cal BBQ Slow Smoked, All Attitude OINK!
Slow Cal BBQ is a creation from Chef Melvin Johnson, aka "Boots". A name givin to him by his mother when he was three days old.
Boots has worked in restaurants for the past 20 years. He's worked with famous chefs like Bobby Flay in New Yorks Mesa Grill and Cheryl Smith from the Melting Pot on Food Network. He's owned two restaurants in San Diego. The Juke Joint Cafe and Batter Up! Slow Cal BBQ Truck is his newest creation to hit the streets of Southern California.
Slow Cal BBQ Truck takes the traditional Southern smoking techniques and mixes it with Boots' edgy culinary perspective. He loves to layer flavors and texture into one rememberable meal. Come out and see him on the road.
Slow Cal BBQ caters it all! Our customers consider us to be the Best Barbecue in San Diego.
We provide you with the best quality of meats (free range), barbecue sauce, locally grown vegetables and homemade dessert at a reasonable price.
We cater family, private, military, corporate events or even just for a group lunch or meeting; on-sight, pick-up or delivery is available. Preparing for your next event has never been easier.
You can choose from smoked ribs, chicken, beef brisket, tri-tip, salmon or any other combination of foods. The Barbecue Barons has everything to make your event something you’ll be talking about for years to come.
Whether it’s a company picnic, birthday, family reunion, military retirement or change of command, we’ll deliver great food, customer service and always on time. We offer a 10% and tax-free event for our civil service and military members.

domain: food


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These Japanese salmon rice bowls take inspiration from salmon onigiri, but expand the flavors into a full, well-rounded dinner featuring fresh salmon, rice, nori, edamame, and seasoning. You’ll learn how to make authentic sushi rice, too!
Japanese onigiri — small, stuffed rice balls wrapped in nori — are a ubiquitous snack in Japan. These hand-held snacks come with several fillings. One of the best though, is salty, flaky salmon onigiri, encased in seasoned rice. These Japanese salmon rice bowls take inspiration from salmon onigiri, but expand the flavors into a full, well-rounded dinner.
Japanese food is far more diverse than bento boxes, sushi, and teriyaki, as master chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Japanese Home Cooking cookbook teaches us. Despite being a successful celebrity chef and restaurateur, Chef Morimoto’s home cooking book stands out for its trustworthy recipes and smart explanations and pro tips. I recommend the book highly.
Recipe Notes: Japanese Salmon Rice Bowls
Grain bowls are always a good idea for lunch or dinner. But these Japanese salmon grain bowls are among the best of the best for several reasons.
First, the salmon. Here, fresh salmon gets brined with a generous amount of salt for about an hour. This keeps the traditional Japanese salt-grilled salmon (sake shioyaki) spirit in tact, and provides a boldly-seasoned counterpoint to the mild edamame and rice.
The rice also makes a big difference here. As with onigiri, use short-grain rice. The sticky, dense texture makes it easy to make your own hand rolls with the nori as you go, and just tastes good in general. You can use white rice, but this recipe uses brown rice, which is more nutritious than white and has a satisfying, nutty quality.
There’s more to this rice than the grain choice. The the rice also gets seasoned like sushi rice, with a sprinkle of rice vinegar mixed with kombu (dried kelp), sugar, and salt. Of course, plain brown rice would also be fine.
Fresh shelled edamame packs both an extra protein punch and a fresh texture. Sheets of dried seaweed, the nori, add tons of nutrition — and fun, should you decide to wrap your salmon and rice into a hand roll.
What is Furikake, and Why You Should Add It
Furikake is a common Japanese seasoning you’ll want to add to the rice. Think salt, but kicked way up thanks to a shakeable blend of umami from toasted sesame seeds, crumbled nori, and other seasonings. Available online or at specialty stores, this adds great flavor and a bit of crunch.
More Japanese dishes you’ll love:
Japanese Salmon Rice Bowls
For the Sushi Rice Seasoned Vinegar
- 1-inch square of kombu
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
For the Salmon Grain Bowls
- 2 cups brown short-grain sushi rice, agitated in cold water and and rinsed multiple times to release extra starch
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh salmon fillets, cut into four portions
- kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup cooked, shelled edamame
- 4 sheets nori, cut into wide squares or triangles
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
- Furikake seasoning, optional (but use it)
- 2 scallions, chopped on a thin diagonal
For the Sushi Rice Seasoning
- Warm the kombu, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small pot. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring just until the sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.TIP: This recipe makes double the amount you will need for the recipe. Store the rest, with the kombu, in the fridge in an airtight container. Chef Morimoto says this will keep for several months.
For the Salmon Grain Bowls
- Salt the salmon fillets on both sides with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Refrigerate, uncovered, for one hour.
- While the salmon brines, rinse the rice multiple times under cold water and cook according to the directions.
- Remove the salmon from the refrigerator. Rinse off the salt and pat very dry. Preheat the broiler and place the rack 4 inches from the heating element. Brush the salmon on both sides with oil and arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet, leaving space between each fillet. PRO TIP: Do not use parchment when broiling. The paper will burn.
- Cook the salmon skin side up or down (depending on your preference) for about 5 minutes, rotating once, or until cooked to your desired doneness.PRO TIP: If you like well-done salmon and broiling is making the top too dark, change the oven to 350°F and place on the center rack until cooked through.
- Season the cooked rice by sprinkling with half the seasoned vinegar. Stir gently to combine.
- Scoop a heap of rice into each serving bowl. Top with a salmon filet, some edamame, nori strips, and a wedge of lemon.