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The bride’s father is the president of the Tzell Travel Group, a travel agency in New York.
RAYMOND, MS (WLBT) - WLBT news got a call from a viewer about abandoned property next to hers that is causing major problems, including health hazards.
It’s a Raymond address out in rural Hinds County.
The woman said she has called supervisors, but not getting any help so that’s why she called 3 On Your Side.
“I have to wash and scald everything before I can even cook,” said Ann Ketcham.
She blames her new routine on some unwelcome visitors to her home.
“I’m getting invaded by rats and snakes from that tall grass.” Ketcham explained.
The tall grass is what has replaced her neighbor’s home after it burned and Ketcham claims the overgrowth from neglect has turned her retirement dream into a nightmare.
From the air it looks like many rural settings, but on the ground, you can see how this property could be a nuisance -- burned out remnants, weeds and tall grass make the perfect conditions for pests.
Ketcham has reached out for help.
“All I know is I called Mike Morgan, the board of supervisors about it and I done called the supervisors about three or four times,” said Ketcham.
“She was quite upset.” said Hinds County Supervisor Mike Morgan.
Morgan, Hinds County District-4 Supervisor, shared a voicemail he received from Miss Ketcham.
You can also go to the Hinds County website. There’s a link that says “How do I?”. Just click on it for links to various departments in the county, such as public works or zoning, even what to do if your trash hasn’t been picked up.
Morgan said a notice has gone out to Cynthia Young, the person listed as the owner of 104 Fox Run. It gives her until September 26 to clean up her property.
This means no immediate relief for Ketcham.
While that process winds its way through the system, Ann Ketcham must adjust to a new way of life.
“So, if anybody can do anything, please. I need some help.” said Ketcham.
September 26, the deadline day for the owner to clean up 104 Fox Run, has come and we will check back with Supervisor Mike Morgan to see if anything has been done.
If the property is in foreclosure, that could complicate things and push resolution back even more.
Let us help you take back your streets. Send Howard an email at hballou@wlbt.com or contact him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Overview: In the late 1980s, Andrew Looney was writing a sci-fi story that included an ancient Martian game called Icehouse. The game in the story became more and more detailed, and eventually Icehouse — and the little plastic pyramids to play it — became a reality. The pyramids can be used to play a long list of different games. The packaging has evolved over the years, and the latest incarnation (marketed as Looney Pyramids) is a great way to jump into the genre.
Rating: 5 points! (Plus 8 edges, 4 solid faces, and one open face.) But seriously: Looney Pyramids are great.
Who Will Like It? Think of Looney Pyramids like a deck of cards: it's not so much a game as it is a game system. If you like versatility with a small set of pieces, you'll love these. They're also great for game designers as extra pieces for prototypes, plus they make great stacking toys ... with supervision.
This isn't a typical board game review, because Looney Pyramids are an entire collection of games. Icehouse is one of the first games I'd seen with simultaneous play, where everyone is taking actions at the same time instead of taking turns. There are several games (e.g., Martian Chess) that can be played using the pyramids and a chessboard. There's a programming game similar to RoboRally, a logic/puzzle game called Zendo, and even an abstract space exploration/battle game called Homeworlds. The Icehouse Games Wiki has over 400 game listings.
Looney Pyramids are sold in various combinations, but in all cases you'll get three sizes of pyramids — one set of three is called a "trio," and a set of five trios is called a "stash." The pyramids are made of plastic and have an open base so they nest into each other. There are small pips near the base (1, 2, and 3). Most of them are translucent but there are some opaque black and white pyramids as well.
One note is that the tips of the pyramids are pretty sharp. The old packaging used to have a warning note to use them irresponsibly, but more recent safety testing doesn't allow them to be sold in Europe, and in the U.S. they now come with an "Ages 14+" label, even though many of the games can be enjoyed by much younger kids. You can read the full story here. My older daughter has been playing with pyramids as young as four, though I always made sure that she wasn't attempting to swallow them and that they were all accounted for and put away so nobody stepped on them. Use your common sense to decide whether your kids can handle them or not.
If you want to splurge, you can even get these stone pyramids from Crystal Caste ... but I don't know if you'll feel comfortable actually playing with those.
For examples of the various sets available, the IceDice set ($20 retail) comes with 2 rainbow stashes (black, red, yellow, blue, green), two custom dice, and a blue pyramid-shaped zippered pouch. The Treehouse set above ($16 retail) has one rainbow stash, a standard six-sided die and a custom Treehouse die, plus a little fabric board for playing Pharaoh. The whole thing comes in a (slightly smaller) green pouch. Treehouse is a sort of logic game: each player gets one trio and tries to make it match the "house" trio by using actions on the die. And then there's the newest addition to the Looney Pyramids family, Pink Hijinks ($12 retail), which I first saw at PAX Prime in the fall. It has three pink trios (not a full stash) with a little 3x3 grid and a custom die, in a small pink pouch.
Pink Hijinks is a pretty simple game: you start with all of the pyramids in the center row, stacked with the small sizes on top so they make three trees. On each turn you roll the die, which shows one or two sizes of pyramids, and then you can move one of those pyramids (along with any stacked on top of it). Your goal is to get all three pyramids of one size (and no others) into the three spaces of your home row, or get all of the pyramids into your opponent's home row. It's a clever little game that has some luck in the roll of the die, but still requires some strategy and maneuvering to get the right combination of pyramids where you want them to go.
The Looney Pyramids also come in "Stash Boxes" ($10 retail) each containing one stash (15 pyramids). You can get Rainbow (red, yellow, blue, green, opaque black) or Xeno (orange, clear, cyan, purple, opaque white).
Finally, although you can find a lot of rules for games online for free, it can be handy having a rulebook at game night. I own a copy of the old Playing With Pyramids; it's no longer in print but you can still find used copies. There's also a newer book out now called Pyramid Primer #1 ($6) which includes rules for 13 games.
When you buy one of the themed sets, they include rules for one or two games each. The IceDice and TreeHouse sets have enough pyramids to play a couple types of games, but the Pink Hijinks is more of a one-game set because you don't get a full stash and they're all the same color.
It used to be that you could buy monochrome stashes, which came in clear rectangular tubes. I managed to buy a bunch of these several years ago when a site was discontinuing them. They're particularly handy for some of the games in which each player needs one full stash of a color. Shortly after, they switched to the sets where you get a mix of colors. In order to get a full stash of a single color now, you'll need to buy five of the Stash Boxes (or some combination of the other sets).
My kids love playing with them, and although I haven't gotten them out as often recently as I did when I first started collecting them, there are some terrific games that use the pyramids and they're a good attention-grabber. If you break out a bunch of these pyramids at a game night (or a restaurant), you're sure to get people stopping to ask what you're doing. Add to that the variety of games you can play, and it's a pretty good deal. My recommendation is to start with something like the IceDice or Treehouse sets, which give you more versatility in the number of games you can play.
You can check out the entire line-up of Looney Pyramids products on the Looney Labs website. A selection of them is also available on Amazon.
Wired: Colorful, stackable pyramids used in a variety of games. Great for game designers.
Tired: Sharp and pointy; didn't pass toy safety testing in Europe.
Disclosure: GeekDad received a review copy of IceDice, Treehouse, and Pink Hijinks.
Looks like somebody tried to be slick with a comment about GFK and an interview goes left.
(AllHipHop Rumors) I am not sure what to make of this. Action Bronson sits down with some dudes that suddenly offend him with a Ghostface Killah comment. I am sure these gentlemen are cool and they are likely fans of the culture, BUT they are not AllHipHop! It would be cool if A.B. came to the offices and conducted a dope Hip-Hop interview with us. Anyway, these dudes at Barstool did a very cool interview with Action Bronson, but when somebody tosses GFK's name in there, things go left. I think that they could have been beaten up if cameras weren't rolling.
Now, people are raving over this like Action Bronson was truly going to kill somebody or something, but he wasn't. He was probably tight, because it was a sneak attack. Anyway, we'd never do that, but we'd also never get an interview with AC. Facts.
I am hearing that after this incident, the rest of the day in interviews was cancelled. Man, God Bless. Now, people of a certain age remember when it all started. Action Bronson came in the game sounding a lot like Ghostface. I took it as a compliment, but his star continued to rise. Eventually, from a mainstream point of view, Action became more popular than Ghost. He published book and had cooking shows on VICE tv. AC isn't a bad dude.
AB voice and flow sound alot like GF - if it was purposely i dont know but it was like Shyne and big, or Gorilla Black and Big all had same voice too, but why else would they specifically bring up GF if they didnt want an a rise out of him?
There was a time when you would get beat up for biting someone’s style. Now it’s perfectly fine. Boy this generation I tell ya.
AUSTIN, Texas, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFM) today announced all fresh beef, pork and chicken sold in its U.S. stores is now certified under the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system, providing shoppers with a new depth of information about how farm animals are raised.
Aimed to address growing concerns about farm animal welfare, the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system is the signature program of the nonprofit Global Animal Partnership. The rating system identifies incrementally higher welfare practices and conditions within farm animal production systems. Independent third-party certifiers audit and rate farms' animal welfare practices and conditions using a tiered system that ranges from Step 1 (no crates, cages, or crowding) to Step 5+ (animals spend their entire lives on one farm).
Whole Foods Market is the first retailer to adopt the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system. With the goal of improving the lives of farm animals, the company began rolling out the system in February 2011. Now, all fresh beef, pork and chicken sold in its U.S. stores meat departments carry a Step certification. To date, more than 1,300 farms and ranches have been certified, which means that approximately 140 million farm animals are raised in welfare-focused environments. Signs and stickers throughout Whole Foods Market meat departments identify these Step ratings.
"Whole Foods Market has worked hand-in-hand with our producers for many years to encourage a humane approach to raising animals. Now, the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system provides a way to engage and reward these producers by promoting continuous improvement in farm animal welfare," said Anne Malleau, global animal production and welfare coordinator for Whole Foods Market. "This rating system also informs our customers about how the animals are raised for the meat they are buying."
All meat sold at Whole Foods Market must meet the company's strict quality standards, which require that animals be raised on a vegetarian diet without being administered antibiotics or added growth hormones*. The company is working to certify further processed meats like bacon and ham to the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system. Additional species will be rated as Global Animal Partnership standards are completed.
*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pork and poultry.
Siemon discusses why some of his most valuable innovations come from redesigning relationships, not products. Plus: why bosses sometimes get in the way, why the best leaders exert an almost invisible influence, and why everybody is smarter than anybody.
George Siemon isn’t just in the business of organic milk. As the CEO of Organic Valley, he has shepherded the company to its own organic brand of leadership and corporate culture. In 1988, Siemon was a dairy farmer who started a cooperative with a few neighbors in the Kickapoo Valley of Wisconsin. That venture grew into Organic Valley, a 550-employee company with $530 million in sales last year. The company has gotten big, but not exactly corporate. Siemon is more likely to cite homespun wisdom about driving draft horses more than management theories on driving growth.
Kermit Pattison: How would you describe leadership in the Organic Valley corporate culture?
If you operate on consensus, how do you encourage individual initiative and entrepreneurship?
We need to run a business. If you have to make a decision, go ahead and make it. Don’t feel limited. But come back and let’s talk about it. You always support the decisions people made. They don’t have to feel scared about getting their head bitten off. You have to stand behind your employees.
What do you look for in a team leader?
How does your company approach innovation?
There are two parts. One is product innovation, and the other, the really big one, is the human innovation.
On the innovation of products, since we’re in white milk business and trying to sell food as close to nature as possible, a lot of our innovations have just been trying to reduce ingredients. We’re trying to go the opposite direction as the food scientists, which is loading up ingredients.
But after that, I think the success of our business, and all businesses, comes from relationships. What is innovative about the way you manage people? One of the big things I’ve been working on lately in my mind is team management. Individual managers are necessary but sometimes they get in way. One example is my meat team. I lost my general manager so I put the whole team in charge. Rather than have chaos or confusion, I got a bunch of young people who are hungry to prove themselves. It’s exciting to see their entrepreneurial spirit coming alive in their ownership of the business. They’re all engaged. You ask a question and they all know the answer. There’s no finger pointing. They’re all in it together.
Who’s your favorite management theorist?
I’m not too keen on all that. I certainly try to read books, but I just can’t come away with one right now. I’m an intuitive person and a relationship person. Honestly, I read these books and I go, ‘wow, we’re already doing that.’ Common sense has been my driving force. When I started in business, one of the dairy companies had the golden rule in the back of their cards and it always struck me how the golden rule is a very positive axiom, a proverb, to live by. It’s certainly motivated me in my life: what is fair? What is the right thing? What would I want some one else to do to me?
A lot of today’s management theories will be passé 10 years from now but the golden rule and common sense won’t be.
I study words. I’m a dictionary person–I’ve got eight books on words on my desk. I looked up “change” recently and it surprised me that it comes from the word for kind of crooked. Kind of crooked really got me fascinated. Change happens in a crooked way: because you make one decision, this other big change happened. You don’t know you’re making change when you make that first decision, which therefore means you’ve got to be pretty aware of the decisions you’re making because they might take you places you don’t expect to go. I’ve been thinking: What decisions are we making today that we don’t realize where they’re going to take us? I find the dictionary to be great guide in life. If you get confused, look up a word.
Is leadership the art of managing change?
The Eastern philosophy of Lao Tzu has been a great influence to me. It says the best leader is the one who gets people to say, “We did this ourselves.” There’s a school of thought: How do you do something over here that gets you a result over there? Change is not straightforward. If you want to more productive employees, maybe you give them a benefit that helps them be inspired or build community. If your objective is a higher productive workforce, it may not come from the whip. It may come from something else.
What’s an example how you’ve put that into practice at Organic Valley?
We have quite a wellness program here. It’s something we did because its part of our DNA, but we definitely got our health insurance lowered because we have such a strong wellness program. There’s a real sense of friendship that develops in all the people who walk together. They’re out in my parking lot walking circles all the time and they’re smiling and laughing. It’s a double gain: it’s not just making the employees healthier but somehow it helps in the bigger picture.
How have you gotten along with the MBAs you’ve hired?
Not too well. You hit the bullseye on that one. It’s amazing how many of them get too frustrated. Sometimes people came in and felt we’re just too chaotic, not enough planning, not enough of this or that. It was too theoretical and just too much in some box. We have a joke around here–what box? We’ve always not been bound by some of the traditional perspectives. I’ve gone through MBAs and I try real hard every time I have them. I got a couple of them in here now and some of them are my most frustrating employees. I don’t think I have an ego about they have an MBA and I don’t. It’s just my reality.
You’ve been the only CEO in the history of Organic Valley. Why do they keep you around?
Mostly because I’m verbal and I’m able to facilitate discussions. That’s my biggest skill set. I’m still involved in the business, but I’ve been very fortunate to have great people who have been with the company for a long time, do a great job and give me the luxury to look out for the bigger picture. I’m now becoming more of a vision keeper or a culture keeper.
What’s your role as vision keeper?
It’s primarily the issue of how you build entrepreneurship into a big business. How do you take care of the human side of the equation, the relationships? What’s unique about my job is I have 1,600 farmers on one side, 550 employees on the other side, 700 shareholders, and many customers and consumers. It all boils down to how do you maintain this culture and take care of people? It’s easy to count beans, but managing people, managing relationships and designing systems so they encourage and reward entrepreneurship–I don’t think you could write a formula up about those things. You could read all the books you want and they’re all good input, but sooner or later you have to look at your organic situation and say, what can we do here?
So what can Organic Valley teach the business world about leadership?
Oh, we’re not very much of a braggart so I’d probably just as well say “not much.” But let me think about it … well, the value of partnership, a win-win attitude and the value of taking the word organic to a broader construct. To me, organics is bigger than the food world. It’s about a philosophy, making the parts work as a whole and holistic thinking. You can’t have anybody losing in a deal without it sooner or later coming back to bite you. It kind of goes back to our golden rule.
The kernel of the fourth episode of the high flying TV drama series, Professor Johnbull, which will run tonight on national television, is on the shenanigans and brazen bravados displayed by illegal fuel attendants during any of the incessant fuel crises the nation has had to endure.
The remarkably entertaining TV drama series, powered by telecoms giant, Globacom, will be aired tonight on NTA Network, NTA International on DStv, channel 251 and NTA on Startimes as it focuses on the love-hate relationship between the generality of the public and fuel attendants the people regard as economic saboteurs and black fuel marketers, but might have to patronise in the heat of a severe fuel shortage.
Millions of TV viewers across the country who have come to see the comedy series as a must-watch will see in the episode, tagged Foreign Petrol, how a few individuals, consumed by their avarice, attempted to capitalise on the severe economic situation in the country, accentuated by fuel scarcity, to enrich themselves to the detriment of the generality of the people.
The economic challenge affects everybody, including the shylock hotelier, Etuk, acted by Ime Bishop, who in his desperation, sits in front of his hotel to make a “public service announcement” hoping that by continuously ringing a bell, he can draw customers to the hotel.
Flash (Stephen Odimgba), who in a bid to get-rich-quickly, becomes an emergency “back marker”. He is scolded by Churchill, the moralistic son of Professor Johnbull. Soon, the long arms of the law catches Flash. Who squealed on Flash? What role did Churchill play in all these? What is car pooling and why is Professor Johnbull recommending it to his “proximate people?” Viewers will find the answers to all these and more in the episode.
Viewers will also be amused to find out that Professor Johnbull’s bombastic expressions is rubbing off on some of his proximate neighbours like Mai Doya (Funky Mallam).
The repeat broadcast of the episode will be shown on Friday at 8.30pm on NTA Network, pan Nigeria, NTA International on DSTV and on StarTimes.
One of the very best movies of last year, or any year, really, If Beale Street Could Talk is Barry Jenkins‘ powerful, heartbreaking follow-up to Moonlight. Adapted from the book by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk follows pregnant young woman Tish (KiKi Layne) as she grapples with being an expecting mother at the worst possible time. Her boyfriend Fonny (Stephan James), the father of her child-to-be, has recently been incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. Tish and her family (including an Oscar-winning Regina King) are desperate to prove Fonny’s innocence, but going up against institutionalized racism is no easy feat. Despite it’s tragic nature, Beale Street is often swooningly romantic, and Jenkins captures the raw emotions to perfection – aided by the lush cinematography of James Laxton and the gorgeous score courtesy of Nicholas Britell.
For fans of: Moonlight, In the Mood For Love, crying.
The new adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary hits theaters next week, and it’s great. But before you venture out to let the 2019 film scare the crap out of you, you should go back and check out the 1989 adaptation. Featuring a script written by King himself, Pet Sematary hasn’t quite aged as well as it could have. Parts of it look and feel a bit like a TV movie, primarily due to the meager budget. But director Mary Lambert is still able to create some genuinely scary moments here using strange angles and an overwhelming sense of dread and menace. Dale Midkiff and Denise Crosby are a couple who move to Maine with their two kids (Blaze Berdahl and Miko Hughes) and the family cat. Before they can settle in, they meet their friendly new neighbor Jud (Fred Gwynne), who proceeds to clue them in to a burial ground for pets in the woods beyond their house. And beyond that is another burial ground. A cursed patch of earth that can raise the dead. Terror ensues. Pet Sematary ’89 may not be the best King adaptation, but it has enough spooky charm to keep you entertained.
For fans of: The Shining, Salem’s Lot, the Ramones.
When people talk about Paul Thomas Anderson‘s movies, they seem to overlook Inherent Vice. That’s a mistake. This is a hilarious, beautiful, weird film that gets better every time you watch it. Adapted from the novel by Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice stars Joaquin Phoenix as stoner private eye Doc Sportello, who gets drawn into a weird, confusing case spurned on by his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth, played by Katherine Waterston in a star-making performance. Anderson loads the film with wonderful actors playing colorful characters, the best of the bunch being Josh Brolin as a detective with serious animosity towards Doc. Don’t get too hung up on the mystery of all – the mystery doesn’t really matter. All that matters is going along for the ride.
For fans of: The Big Lebowski, The Long Goodbye, Joanna Newsom’s enchanted fairy voice.
Legendary B-movie auteur Larry Cohen died earlier this week, and the film world lost a true original. Cohen made schlocky but incredible genre pictures, and he made them his way. Unwilling to let his paltry budgets hinder him, Cohen swung for the fences every time. One of his best is Q – The Winged Serpent, a big, silly monster movie in which the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl – a giant, dragon-like creature – sets up shop in the Chrysler Building, and proceeds to terrorize Manhattan. The creature is created via stop-motion, and while it never looks real, that doesn’t matter. If you’re unfamiliar with Cohen and his work, start here, and then work your way through the rest of his filmography. You’ll never be bored.
For fans of: God Told Me To, pretty much every Godzilla movie, Michael Moriarty chewing scenery.
In 2007, three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished while on holiday with her family in Portugal. What happened to the young girl? There are many theories, but very few answers. The new Netflix docu-series The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann re-examines the case from nearly every angle, presenting on theory and then immediately shooting it down. It makes for a frustrating but absorbing viewing experience, one that will ultimately leave you haunted. While this series can’t solve the case, it does do an excellent job of pointing out what went wrong – a lazy local police force who failed to do their job properly, a scrupulous tabloid-driven media that ran lie after lie, and more maddening revelations.
For fans of: The Keepers, Making a Murderer.
Macon Blair, who was recently announced as director of the Toxic Avenger reboot, made his directorial debut with this oddball comedy-thriller from 2017. The always welcomed, always wonderful Melanie Lynskey plays a woman in the midst of a kind of existential crisis. After someone breaks into her house and steals her computer, Lynskey teams up with neighbor Elijah Wood to try to track the thief down. Their attempt to solve this mystery draws them into a much more dangerous situation – one that boils over into shockingly graphic violence. I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore never quite settles on a tone, but Blair’s assured direction coupled with Lynskey’s winning performance keep things grounded.
For fans of: Blue Ruin, Observer and Report, You Were Never Really Here, Melanie Lynskey doing literally anything.
After The Ring was a huge hit, Hollywood latched onto the J-horror craze, remaking more and more Japanese horror movies for American audiences. Most of the remakes turned out to be duds. But one of the few successes is The Grudge, Takashi Shimizu‘s remake of his own film. Compared to most of the remakes after this, The Grudge is often surprisingly scary, full of big, loud, dread-inducing moments perfectly designed for maximum fear effect. What I love most about The Grudge is that it’s a secret anthology film. Rather than one story, we get several, all centered around a haunted house in Japan. While other J-horror remakes tended to Americanize everything, The Grudge is unique in that it stays in Japan, and drops a handful of American characters into the mix. This development makes the story all the more interesting, because here, the Americans are the outsiders, and the foreigners. They’re out of place, far from home, and that makes their fear all the more palpable.
For fans of: The Ring, Ju-on: The Grudge, an abundance of long black hair.
Before she was Captain Marvel, Brie Larson starred in this shoot-em-up from Kill List director Ben Wheatley. A blend of comedy and bloodshed, Free Fire follows several characters from wildly different backgrounds who gather in a warehouse in Boston to partake in an arms deal. Things go incredibly wrong, and our characters spend the bulk of the movie hiding behind rubble and cars and shooting guns at each other. That may sound tedious, but Wheatley and the cast both manage to make it both funny and watchable.
For fans of: Reservoir Dogs, Assault on Precinct 13, The Killing, whatever the hell it is Sharlto Copley is doing here.