#john hutchison electrical

[the-cat-chat]

April 29, 2023

The Green Mile (1999)

The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

JayBell: I’ve seen this movie only maybe twice before, but it remains on my list of favorite Stephen King adaptations. It’s a looooong movie, but it’s pretty engaging throughout with only a moment or two that felt slow.

The story is sad, even more sad than the plot of Shawshank. And the ending is bittersweet. While I personally think Shawshank is my favorite, the acting in The Green Mile is superior. Everyone does a great job, especially Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. Even the most annoying, sadistic guard (played by Doug Hutchison) has a great performance. He’s so easy to hate, and karma definitely came for his character in the end. And of course all the mice that play Mr. Jingles deserve little tiny Oscars.

It has slight supernatural elements, but not so much that it overtakes the plot. The “magic” is treated more of an aspect of John’s character. It’s not as in-your-face like Carrie or It, and I like how different it is. I also appreciate that we focus on a small group of prisoners and guards, so it feels like you get a real close look at who these people are and what’s going on. That way, the ending is a real emotional punch. All-in-all, it’s not my favorite Stephen King adaptation, but it’s definitely up there.

Rating: 8/10 cats 🐈  

Anzie: Nothing I ever picked up about this movie could’ve prepared me for the reality of this movie or its actual plot. It’s possible my brain mixed it together with Shawshank’s plot or something?? But my general consensus growing up was how is it on two VHS tapes???

That being said- as ick as the actual storyline is bc of the death row element and the electric chairs scenes that are absolutely HORRIFIC, (and that it’s 3 hours long), the movie is very good and original. Oh another big ick- I have no clue how Sam Rockwell was soo disgusting and the epitome of awful. I’ll never think of him the same. So bravo.

But anywayyys back to the good stuff. All the actors did a great job with their parts and with the exception of Percy whooooo I detest, the guards (and actors) show so much empathy towards the men in their care. And all the prisoners had very unique personalities. And for such a depressing topic- it had some funny parts. Not that the ending won’t leave you totally depressed bc it will.

The story was insane and I was just expecting a regular prison movie- not magic or angel powers or whatever- and definitely not expecting the whole UTI plot point. At all. And not to spoil it but I knew John Coffey was innnocent but I was not expecting who was the real killer but I should’ve known. I feel like the ending with Tom Hanks’ character was a little unnecessary/ like there was enough magic and all that and it was just like okaaaay. Like if it wasn’t in there- I wouldn’t have been upset bc the rest of the story felt like enough.

But pretty solid movie - and a biggggg special shout out to Mr. Jingles!!!! The true star of the show.

Rating: 7/10 Mr. Jingles 🐭

#movie #movie review #stephen king #tom hanks #michael clarke duncan

[celtic-cd-releases]

#folk music #celtic folk #scottish music

[jhelectrical]

Port Macquarie Electrician Servicing all your Electrical, Telephone & Data needs.

Electrical Services

Domestic Electrical Services

Commercial Electrical Services

Real Estate & Strata Services

Essential Energy Services

#Electrician #Telephone & Data #Electrical #Electrician servicing #Local Ectrician Services #Domestic Electrical Services #Commercial Electrical Services #Real Estate & Strata Services #John Hutchison Electrical #John Hutchison #Electrical Services #electrical solutions

[domestic-electrical-services]

Repairing your home’s electrical problems is a very delicate process and according to the Australian state regulations, you should not attempt any electrical repairs in your home without a licensed electrician.

If you’ve noticed any electrical issues like the ones mentioned above, get in touch with your local electricians for help.

#John Hutchison Electrical #electrical emergency #Local Electrician Services #Domestic Electrical Services #Commercial Electrical Services #Real Estate & Strata Services #Electrician Services #electrical solutions

[electrician-port-macquarie]

Electricity has become such a vital resource that we can’t quite imagine how life would have been without it. Incredibly, electricity has only been around for a little under two centuries.

Despite its essentiality, it can be expensive to generate, a feature reflected in our electricity bills.

#John Hutchison Electrical #Electrician #Electrical #Local Electrician Services #Domestic Electrical Services #Commercial Electrical Services #Real Estate & Strata Services

[endangered-justice-seeker]

'I Work 3 Jobs And Donate Blood Plasma to Pay the Bills.' This Is What It’s Like to Be a Teacher in America

Hope Brown can make $60 donating plasma from her blood cells twice in one week, and a little more if she sells some of her clothes at a consignment store. It’s usually just enough to cover an electric bill or a car payment. This financial juggling is now a part of her everyday life—something she never expected almost two decades ago when she earned a master’s degree in secondary education and became a high school history teacher. Brown often works from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her school in Versailles, Ky., then goes to a second job manning the metal detectors and wrangling rowdy guests at Lexington’s Rupp Arena. With her husband, she also runs a historical tour company for extra money.

“I truly love teaching,” says the 52-year-old. “But we are not paid for the work that we do.”

That has become the rallying cry of many of America’s public-school teachers, who have staged walkouts and marches on six state capitols this year. From Arizona to Oklahoma, in states blue, red and purple, teachers have risen up to demand increases in salaries, benefits and funding for public education. Their outrage has struck a chord, reviving a national debate over the role and value of teachers and the future of public education.

For many teachers, this year’s uprising is decades in the making. The country’s roughly 3.2 million full-time public-school teachers (kindergarten through high school) are experiencing some of the worst wage stagnation of any profession, earning less on average, in inflation-­adjusted dollars, than they did in 1990, according to Department of Education (DOE) data.

Meanwhile, the pay gap between teachers and other comparably educated professionals is now the largest on record. In 1994, public-school teachers in the U.S. earned 1.8% less per week than comparable workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a left-leaning think tank. By last year, they made 18.7% less. The situation is particularly grim in states such as Oklahoma, where teachers’ inflation-adjusted salaries actually decreased by about $8,000 in the last decade, to an average of $45,245 in 2016, according to DOE data. In Arizona, teachers’ average inflation-adjusted annual wages are down $5,000.

The decline in education funding is not limited to salaries. Twenty-nine states were still spending less per student in 2015, adjusted for inflation, than they did before the Great Recession, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, leaving many public schools dilapidated, overcrowded and reliant on outdated textbooks and threadbare supplies.

To many teachers, these trends are a result of a decades-long and bipartisan war on public education, born of frustration with teachers’ unions, a desire to standardize curricula and a professed commitment to fiscal austerity. This has led to a widespread expansion of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately operated, and actions such as a move in the Wisconsin legislature in 2011 to strip teachers’ pensions and roll back collective bargaining rights. This year, Colorado lawmakers voted to raise teachers’ retirement age and cut benefits.

As states tightened the reins on teacher benefits, many also enacted new benchmarks for student achievement, with corresponding standardized tests, curricula changes and evaluations of teacher performance. The loss of control over their classrooms combined with the direct hit to their pocketbooks was too much for many teachers to bear.

The wave began in West Virginia, where in February and March some 20,000 teachers walked out across the state. Educators there—who made an average of $45,701 in 2016, according to the DOE­—refused to enter their classrooms until the state met their demands to fully fund insurance benefits and increase salaries. Instead, they marched on the capitol, passed out bag lunches for low-income students who normally rely on free school meals and watched as public support flooded their way. After nine school days, lawmakers caved and approved a 5% wage increase. Weeks later, the specter of a similar strike led Oklahoma lawmakers to pass the state’s first major tax increase in nearly 30 years to fund raises for teachers who still walked out for more funding. Teachers in Kentucky and Arizona—both GOP-leaning states—followed their lead.

But teachers faced opposition at times from state and federal leaders. In April, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos criticized striking teachers, suggesting they were failing to serve their students and urging them to “keep adult disagreements” out of the classroom.

And when school was out for the summer, the teachers’ momentum was blunted. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that public­-sector unions can’t mandate fees from nonmembers—a decision that experts estimate could cost influential teachers’ unions money and clout. And in August, the Arizona supreme court blocked a ballot initiative that would have added $690 million annually to state education funding.

Teachers are out to regain the upper hand. Some have already gone on strike in Washington State, and others are threatening to do so in Los Angeles and Virginia. And they promise to turn out in force for November’s midterm elections, where hundreds of teachers are running for office on platforms that promise more support for public schools. They have also sought to remind the public that they are on the front lines of America’s frayed social safety net, dealing with children affected by the opioid crisis, living in poverty and fearful of the next school shooting.

Read more about what it’s like to survive on a teacher’s salary

Recent polling suggests teachers have the public on their side. Nearly 60% of people in a Ipsos/USA Today survey released Sept. 12 think teachers are underpaid, while a majority of both Republicans and Democrats believe they have the right to strike.

“We have to organize even harder and even broader,” says Los Angeles teacher Rosa Jimenez. “People are fired up.”

When Elaine Hutchison’s mother started teaching in Oklahoma in 1970, she made about $7,000 a year. In 2018 dollars, that’s roughly $45,000—nearly the same salary Hutchison, Oklahoma’s 2013 Teacher of the Year, now makes after a quarter-century on the job. Hutchison, 48, is a fourth-generation educator whose daughter also plans to become a teacher. She says she never got into teaching for the money, but, “I do want to be paid what I’m worth.”

Since the first U.S. public-school system was established in Massachusetts in 1647, many localities have struggled to pay teachers and searched for people willing to do the job for less. In the mid-1800s, California superintendent of public instruction John Swett lamented that the work of teachers was not “as well-paid as the brain labor of the lawyer, the physician, the clergyman, the editor.”

“They ought not to be expected to break mental bread to the children of others and feed their own with stones,” Swett wrote in 1865, foreshadowing arguments still made by teachers today.

Teaching has long been dominated by women, and experts say the roots of its relatively low pay lie in sexism. “The ‘hidden subsidy of public education’ is the fact that teachers for many years were necessarily working at suppressed wage levels because they really had no options other than teaching,” says Susan Moore Johnson, a professor of education at Harvard and an expert in teacher policy.

In 1960, teaching was more lucrative than other comparable careers for women, according to the EPI, but that was because of limited opportunity, not high pay. As women were admitted to other professions in wider numbers, choosing teaching carried a cost. For example registered nurses—another career historically dominated by women—make far more than teachers today, earning an average annual wage of $73,550 in 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nursing shortages in some parts of the U.S. have led to signing bonuses, free housing, tuition reimbursement and other perks, while teacher shortages have contributed to some states increasing class sizes, shortening school weeks and enacting emergency certification for people who aren’t trained as educators.

Nationwide, the estimated average public-school teacher’s salary is now $58,950, according to the National Center for Education Statistics—a respectable income in many locales, but actual wages vary widely by state, and often do not track with costs of living. When compared to professions with similar education levels, teacher pay tends to pale. In 2016, for instance, the average teacher’s starting salary was $38,617—20% lower than that of other professions requiring a college degree.

The public response to the teachers’ protests shows signs of a shift in the perception of the profession. Even in conservative states, many voters backed tax increases to support public education, and called on lawmakers to stop cutting school budgets. State funding for public schools fell off a cliff 10 years ago, when recession-­wracked states slashed education budgets and cut taxes. The uprising in West Virginia seemed to mark a turning point in public support for refilling the coffers.

But like most stories, the fight over teacher pay has many shades of gray. Generous retirement and health-benefits packages negotiated by teachers’ unions in flusher times are a drain on many states. Those who believe most teachers are fairly paid point to those benefits, along with their summer break, to make their case.

Teachers, however, say those apparent perks often disappear upon inspection. Many regularly work over the summer, planning curricula, taking continuing education and professional development courses, and running summer programs at their schools, making it a year-round job. Indeed, teachers—about 40% of whom are not covered by Social Security because of states’ reliance on pension plans—must stay in the same state to collect their pensions. Studies have shown that the majority of new teachers don’t stay in the same district long enough to qualify for pensions. Even for those who do stand to gain, it can be hard to find reassurance in distant retirement benefits when salaries haven’t kept pace with the cost of living.

“Utility companies do not care that you had a great day with one of your students. They don’t care that you’re coaching the soccer team. They want you to pay for the services that they provide you,” says NaShonda Cooke, a teacher and single mother of two in Raleigh, N.C. “I can’t tell you how many letters I got this summer that said final notice.” Cooke, who makes about $69,000, often skips doctor’s appointments to save the co-pay and worries about paying for her eldest daughter’s college education. “It’s not about wanting a pay raise or extra income,” she says. “It’s just about wanting a livable wage.”

Stagnant wages are one reason teachers believe school districts across the country are facing hiring crises. This year in Oklahoma, a record number of teachers were given emergency teaching certifications, despite no traditional training. In Arizona, school districts began recruiting overseas to fill their shortfall. Last year, U.S. public schools hired 2,800 foreign teachers on special visas, up from 1,500 in 2012, according to federal data.

The pipeline, meanwhile, is drying up. Between 2008 and 2016, the number of new educators completing preparatory programs fell by 23%, according to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. And once ­teachers make it to the classroom, attrition is high: at least 17% leave the profession within the first five years, a 2015 study found.

Hutchison says her daughter has plans to continue the family teaching tradition, but it’s becoming a harder path for a middle-­class kid. Hutchison’s sibling—an attorney, engineer and physical therapist—all earned graduate degrees, but now she makes half of what they do. “My younger brother who’s an engineer—his bonus is more than my salary,” she says.

As the new school year gets under way, many are picking up where the spring protests left off. In L.A., teachers voted in August to authorize a strike if negotiations continue to stall over issues including teacher pay and class sizes. In Washington, teachers in several districts are already on strike, calling for pay raises to come out of newly allocated education funding. In Virginia, teachers are floating the possibility of a statewide walkout.

Brown, the Kentucky teacher, says the fight needs to happen now or never. If budget cuts and school privatization efforts continue, she warns, teaching will cease to be a viable career for educated, engaged and ambitious people. She talks about what she does not as a job but as a calling. “I’m not necessarily a religious person, but I do believe I was put here to be a teacher,” she says. “I just want to be able to financially do that.”

But to Brown, it’s not only about what she and her fellow teachers are worth, because they’re not in the classroom alone. If the public is on their side, they say, it’s ultimately because of the kids.

—With reporting by Haley Sweetland Edwards/New York

EVERY CANDIDATE running for office should be forced to address this issue. And we need to stop have these sorry ass folks moderating candidate debates who refuse to ask about this and other education issues. Why don’t they? Their kids are in private school with well paid teachers.

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Thursday 26th July 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. Hot, Hot, Hot night, winds blowing in from Africa, bringing with it yellow Sahara sand, that crunches under your feet when you walk and covers the cars parked in the street, Bella is impervious to all this as she sniff’s her way through the streets, treating them like the daily newspaper, some to stay and read again, some to discard and look for more interesting topics… paper finished we turn for the comfort of home…

BANANARAMA EXCEL IN FIRST EVER OUTDOOR GIG AT EDINBURGH CASTLE…. For their first ever outdoor gig, Bananarama could scarcely have chosen a more glorious setting. Edinburgh Castle does take some beating as a backdrop and as the threatened rain stayed away, there was no need to reach for Cruel Summer references. Ably supported tonight by the pixie of pop ©, Clare Grogan and her all-female Altered Images and a mostly male Bluebells, the trio of Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward are on what looks to be a last live tour for their unashamedly dance round a handbag pop oeuvre. Clare and co are great fun and the main wee lassie barely stops moving, despite sporting six inch heels, maybe to keep warm to be fair. The Bluebells run through their set at fiddle arm speed, finishing on Young at Heart, perhaps appropriately given the demographic out front. In celebration of the main act, there’s a decent smattering of pink leg-warmers and head scarves as well as many inflatable bananas in the mostly female crowd. Given their vintage, there’s a slew of age references, brown hair being the new grey being one throwaway comment but quite frankly, there’s no shortage of energy on stage, on or off for that matter. Love, Truth and Honesty gets a rare outing “sorry if this is a bit rusty” (it wasn’t) and then into full-on retro-jukebox mode with Really Saying Something and then Venus, the girls walking, the crowd through the arm moves. Another two pop classics to close with Love in the 1 st Degree and Na Na Na, Kiss Him Goodbye and then off they went, for some much deserved gin and wine. An excellent night all round, plenty of mum-dancing and smuggled in wine in evidence (shock, horror) but Altered Images may have stolen the show early on.

NEW ELECTRIC TRAINS TO START RUNNING NEXT WEEK…. The first of a new batch of electric trains will start running between Glasgow and Edinburgh next week, ScotRail has announced. The new class 385 trains were expected to enter service in March, but drivers raised concerns about the windscreen design. ScotRail is now satisfied the trains are safe and the first trains will run from Tuesday. Hitachi is building a total of 70 class 385 trains for ScotRail. The remainder of the new trains for that route (Queen Street to Waverley via Falkirk High) will be phased in over the coming months, before the rollout is extended to other central belt routes. ScotRail said the trains are part of its £475m investment in rolling stock, following the £858m electrification of the line between the two cities by Network Rail Scotland. Karen Boswell, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, said: "When passengers step on board this first train they'll find it light, spacious and modern with loads more seats - up to 130 extra compared to the existing diesel trains. "And there is more to come. Our UK factory is working tirelessly to deliver the rest of the fleet, which will allow the current 51-minute journey time from Edinburgh and Glasgow to be cut by up to a fifth.

BARCLAYS PLANS 2,500 NEW JOBS IN GLASGOW…. Barclays has unveiled plans to create up to 2,500 jobs at a new hub in Glasgow, in a major boost to Scotland's financial services sector. The bank will house its technology, functions and operations teams at a campus at the planned Buchanan Wharf development on the banks of the Clyde. Barclays said it would "play a pivotal role" in its "long-term strategic priorities". The move would double Barclays' current workforce in Scotland. Barclays has agreed to purchase the campus development from Drum Property Group and is currently finalising the design of the new facility as part of the wider Buchanan Wharf development. The bank's existing Scottish operations are expected to start transferring to the new campus from 2021.

MASS BRAWL AFTER CARS RAM INTO EACH OTHER IN FIFE…. About 20 men were involved in a mass brawl after two cars deliberately rammed into each other in Fife. The large-scale fight was reported to have broken out in Balbeggie Avenue, Thornton, shortly after a silver Audi A4 and a silver Honda Civic collided at Redhouse Roundabout on Friday at 20:00. A few minutes later a silver BMW was involved in a collision with a silver Hyundai car on Main Street in Thornton. A number of men then fled from the BMW on foot across fields towards the A92. Police believe they had weapons, and are urging witnesses to come forward. Det Ch Insp John Anderson, from Glenrothes Police Station, said: ""This was a large-scale disturbance involving a number of individuals who we believe to be known to each other. "A number of specialist Police Scotland resources were deployed to the Thornton area on Friday night and we are asking for the public's help to identify and trace those involved. "Officers recovered the silver Audi A4 vehicle burnt out a short time later, along with the damaged Honda and BMW vehicles. "We are now keen to establish their movements before these incidents were reported." He added: "We suspect that a number of additional vehicles will have been in the area containing others involved in these incidents at the time that these took place, and we are eager to trace them as soon as possible."

STREET PERFORMERS TO TAKE CONTACTLESS TIPS AT EDINBURGH FRINGE….  The Edinburgh Fringe is to become the first festival to allow people to use contactless technology to tip street performers. Artists entertaining at specific spaces along the Royal Mile will be equipped with special readers to take fixed-amount payments. It comes after feedback which noted a drop in the number of people carrying cash. The 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe will run from 3-27 August. Street performer Scott Hutchison said: "Until now, I've relied on cash contributions from audiences and I have definitely noticed a dip as the number of people carrying cash has decreased. "The introduction of iZettle Readers at the Fringe is really exciting, future-proofing street performance and offering audiences an additional method of payment when showing their appreciation."

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of Broomhill Drive in Glasgow, caught by Rob Cartwright...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Thursday 26th July 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

#robertmcangus #robert mcangus #scotland #spain #crime #news #blog #love

[gyrrakavian]

Hypothetical Pokemon region based on the Midwest

Unova is based on the East Coast, and the channel Mr. Buddy already did a video on a hypothetical region based on the Western United States, so I figured I’d write up one for a region based on the Midwest. If someone else wants to take a stab at this, be my guest. [IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, & WI]

It gets a bit rambly and isn’t entirely complete as I had trouble placing some of the gym types and there’s just so many choices for who to base the gym leaders and Elite Four on. But, I do throw out some suggestions here and there.

Terrain: There's shortgrass and tallgrass plains, mountains, semi-arid areas, lakes and rivers.

Starters: Region starters would be based on a tiger salamander, American badger, and the Eastern red bat (water, grass & fire respectively).

As to what the starters would end up as type wise; flying-fire for the bat is pretty obvious, but what about either a grass-ground or a grass-fight typing for the badger? I figured the water starter would more resemble a Hellbender in its final form and would have either the counter-intuitive typing of rock-water or dark-water from the Hellbender’s preferred habitat.

Other new Pokemon: New animal pokemon would likely be based around the alligator snapping turtle, American bison, copperhead or cottonmouth, coyote, either golden or bald eagle (we've got both), an egret or a heron, a hawk, mastodon (fossil), mudskipper, red and grey wolves, river otter or beaver, porcupine, prairie dog, pronghorn, sandpiper, stinkpot (a type of turtle), a toad, and warbler. There's so many possible bug types I made a separate list: arrowhead orbweaver, arrow-shaped micrathena, at least 2 beetles (probably a borer, water beetle, or tortoise beetle), a centipede, katydid, luna moth, a rodent or two (several to choose from), a jumping spider (probably Sassacus papenhoei or Phidippus audax) prairie walkingstick,  sweat bee, tolype or other woolly moth, a tortoise beetle, a weevil, and the white-lined sphinx moth.

If we were to get a new deer pokemon, a grass-ghost or ground-ghost typing would be interesting to see.

New plant-based pokemon would be based on boneset (Eupatorium), corn, soy, cottonwood tree, snakeroot (Asarum canadense), snakeroot (Polygala senega), wheat, and some of the various wildflowers.

New object-based pokemon would be based on scarecrow (ghost-grass), and American Civil War era cannons and mortars (ghost-steel), and a microphone.

Legendaries: Legendaries would probably be based on the Thunderbird (flying-electric), the The Water Panther (water-dragon) and a giant horned serpent (dark-dragon or dark-water).

Places and Cities: Major cities would be based on Branson, Chicago, Clevand, Detroit, Indianopolis, Kansas City, Milwauke, St. Louis, and Wichita. The notable sites would likely be be based on both Native American and Civil War sites in the region. With both the Mississipian culture (with emphasis on Cahokia) and the various Civil War battle sites and forts throughout the region. It would be interesting to see the St. Louis as something of a reconstruction of Cahokia in its heyday. Mount Rushmore would also likely be referenced in some way (both the presidents and Crazy Horse monuments). Being that Kansas has one of the world's largest salt deposits under it, the salt mine in Hutchison would also make a good spot to visit. Areas based on Nebraska and Iowa would likely get mashed together, same for the Dakotas. Kansas would be spared getting mashed in with Iowa and Nebraska due to the sheer number of ghosttowns the state has.

There'd be no getting around the regions history with both the Wild West and Prohibition. So, activities could include something based around either. Maybe a cattle drive sidequest, or a quickdraw event. Though, both would work as basis for the plot as well.

Routes: Special routes would include extreme hot-cold shifts, tornadoes, and prairie fires.

Gyms and Gym leaders: Considering the vast amount of history in the region, there's all manner of historical figures to draw from for the basis of gym leaders. Several writers, musicians, actors and artists, as well as notable inventors, atheletes and outlaws. Thirteen presidents were elected from the region, as well 11 US presidents having been born in the region. Plus, Eisenhower was raised in and retired in Kansas.

Just listing writers alone: Ray Bradbury, Gordon Parks, Truman Capote, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, William Allen White, Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Betty Friedan, Charles Schulz, Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Philips), David Mamet, Carl Sandburg, Ann Landers (Esther Lederer), (James) Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Garrison Keller, Standing Bear, Erma Bombeck, Zane Grey, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Michigan would have the water and steel gyms, Wisconsin the poison and ice gyms (Milwaukee breweries), Kansas the flying and ghost gyms (Air Capital of the World), Nebraska-Iowa would have the grass and normal gyms, the Dakotas would have the ground and fighting gyms. Missouri would have the rock gym for certain (the Ozarks) and something else. I wasn't really too sure about what all the other states would have. Maybe fairy and normal type gyms for Ohio? Anybody have any other suggestions for the rest?

The only gym leader I could really peg down would be for the Wichita gym. She'd be based on Amelia Earhart and two of the other trainers in the gym should be based on Clyde Cessna and Bill Lear. Though, I was thinking maybe John Brown (the dude was f---ing nuts) as basis for the ghost gym leader.

Elite Four: Again, tons of historical figures and artisans to choose from. If we went with entertainers, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and the Ringling Brothers. If singers, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Bob Dylan. If inventors; The Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, John Deere, and John Atanasoff (inventor of the digital computer).

You get the idea.

#pokemon #hypotheticals #just for fun #the midwest #hypothetical pokemon region

[eyeofhorus237]

The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy crime drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from Stephen King’s 1996 novel of the same name.

The film stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey, with supporting roles by David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, and James Cromwell. The film also features Dabbs Greer in his final film, as the older Paul Edgecomb. The film, told in a flashback format, tells the story of Paul's life as a death row corrections officer during the U.S. Great Depression, and the supernatural events he witnessed there.

The film received positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan, Best Sound, and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

Plot

In a Louisiana assisted-living home in 1999, Paul Edgecomb begins to cry while watching the 1930s film Top Hat. His companion Elaine becomes concerned, and Paul explains to her that the film reminded him of the events of 1935, which took place during the Great Depression when he was a prison officer, in charge of death row, what they refer to as the "Green Mile".

In 1935, Paul supervises officers Brutus Howell, Dean Stanton, Harry Terwilliger, and Percy Wetmore at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Paul is suffering from a severe bladder infection and receives John Coffey, a physically imposing but mentally challenged and gentle black man, into his custody. John had been sentenced to death after being convicted of raping and murdering two white girls. One of the other inmates is a Native-American named Arlen Bitterbuck, who is charged with murder and is the first to be executed. Percy demonstrates a severe sadistic streak, but gets away with it because he is the governor's nephew. He is particularly abusive with inmate Eduard Delacroix (Del); he breaks Del's fingers with his baton, steps on a pet mouse named Mr. Jingles, which Del had adopted, repeatedly calls him by a gay slur, and ultimately sabotages his execution by deliberately not soaking the sponge used to conduct electricity to Del's head. As a result, Del suffers a longer and more painfully graphic death by catching fire and burning alive.

John begins to demonstrate supernatural powers; he cures Paul's bladder infection, resurrects Mr. Jingles, and heals a dying Melinda Moores, wife of the prison's chief warden, of a brain tumor. He later releases her affliction into Percy, who under its influence shoots dead another prisoner, mass murderer William "Wild Bill" Wharton. Wharton had been a troublemaker ever since his arrival. He assaulted the guards while being escorted into the block, made mischief on two occasions that later caused Paul to order him restrained in the block's padded cell, groped Percy, made a racist remark in John's presence, and revealed psychically to John that he in fact raped and murdered the two white girls. John was arrested for Wharton's crime as he had been at the scene unsuccessfully trying to resurrect the two white children with his powers. John then reveals the story psychically to Paul, who is also given a snippet of his supernatural energy. Meanwhile, Percy is committed to an insane asylum after entering a vegetative state.

Paul discusses with John the possibility of an unlikely long term escape, as he does not wish to execute what he perceives is a miracle of God. Although distraught over the notion of being executed while innocent, John tells Paul that he has been through enough psychical experience with humanity’s cruelty. Mentioning that he had never seen a movie before, John watches Top Hat with the other guards as a last request. John is executed that night; he asks that the customary hood not be placed over his head, as he is afraid of the dark. Paul concludes his story by telling Elaine that John's was the last execution that he and Brutus supervised. Following Coffey's execution, they both took jobs in the juvenile system.

Elaine realizes that, since he had a grown son in 1935, Paul must be much older than he looks. Paul reveals that he is, in fact, 108 years of age; he was 44 when John walked the Green Mile. Not only is he still alive, but so is Del's mouse, Mr. Jingles. Paul continues to explain that although John never intended for it to happen, his curing of Paul has given him an extraordinary lifespan, causing him to outlive his family and friends, which he perceives is a punishment from God for executing John, and will also outlive Elaine. Paul later attends her funeral and muses that if John's power could make a normally short-lived mouse live for six decades as Mr. Jingles has, how much longer does he himself have left.

Cast

Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb

David Morse as Brutus "Brutal" Howell

Bonnie Hunt as Jan Edgecomb

Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey

James Cromwell as Warden Hal Moores

Michael Jeter as Eduard Delacroix

Graham Greene as Arlen Bitterbuck

Doug Hutchison as Percy Wetmore

Sam Rockwell as William "Wild Bill" Wharton

Barry Pepper as Dean Stanton

Jeffrey DeMunn as Harry Terwilliger

Patricia Clarkson as Melinda Moores

Harry Dean Stanton as Toot-Toot

Bill McKinney as Jack Van Hay

Brent Briscoe as Bill Dodge

Eve Brent as Elaine Connelly

William Sadler as Klaus Detterick

Paula Malcomson as Marjorie Detterick

Evanne and Bailey Drucker as Kathy and Cora Detterick

Gary Sinise as Burt Hammersmith

Dabbs Greer as Old Paul

The Detterick family, which John Coffey was wrongly convicted of victimizing, is played by William Sadler and Paula Malcomson as the parents, with young sisters Evanne and Bailey Drucker playing their murdered daughters.

#crime film #drama film

[jhelectrical]

Electrical problems can be more than just a small inconvenience, they can be dangerous and cause bodily harm to a home’s occupants. It’s estimated that about 40% of house fires in Australia are caused by faulty electrical appliances and electrical problems.

#John Hutchison Electrical #Electrician #Electrical #Local Electrician Services #Domestic Electrical Services #Commercial Electrical Services #Real Estate & Strata Services

[domestic-electrical-services]

John Hutchison Electrical  offer customers quality electrical materials, time management skills, professional electrical advice for future problems, along with no hidden charges and honest upfront prices catering for every household. The same professional approach afforded to businesses is also given to private homeowners.

#John Hutchison Electrical #Electrical Installation #Electrician servicing #Electrical #Local Electrician Services

[electrician-port-macquarie]

When you find out which parts of your workplace require more power and where electricity is wasted, you can optimise your company’s electricity usage for greater efficiency. For this, you’ll need a power management system.

A power management system is a network of electrical sensors and devices, like smart meters, installed in various locations in a commercial building. These devices give you real-time information about your electricity consumption.

#power saving #John Hutchison Electrical #Electrician servicing #Electrical #Local Electrician Services #Domestic Electrical Services #Commercial Electrical Services #Real Estate & Strata Services

[davidisen]

NYC Music I Like Jan 11-17

...trad jazz, Gypsy, swing, bluegrass, choro etc. w/ folk roots & virtuoso ensemble playing... Explanation/disclaimer.

[Caution! Please verify with musician, venue, etc. before going. Send updata here.]

Allied music listings with overlapping tastes: Jim's Roots and Blues Calendar.  Eileen's Lindy Blog - This Week in Swing.

Note: In these listings the common three-valved brass instrument will be called a cornet for the next four years (or as long as necessary).

This Week

Wednesday, Jan 11, 5:30 PM: David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Birdland (most Wednesdays) 7 PM: Jeanne Gies (vocals) w/ Saul Rubin (guitar). Andanada.    7 PM: Oran Etkin (clarinet), Elias Bailey (bass). Shanghai Jazz., Madison NJ. 7:30 PM: Sweet Megg & the Wayfarers. Esperanto. 8:30 PM: Marcos Sacramento (vocals) w/ Vitor Gonçalves (piano). Bar LunAtico. 9 PM: Eden & John's East River String Band w/ R. Crumb. Jalopy. 11 PM: Avalon Jazz Band hosts Hot Jazz & Gypsy Jam. The Keep. (most Wednesdays)

Thursday, Jan 12, 7 PM: Warren Vache Trio. Shanghai Jazz., Madison NJ. 8 PM: Terry Waldo Quartet w/ Terry (piano), unknown others. Black Tail. 9 PM: Emily Asher's Garden Party w/ Emily (trombone, vocals), Evan Arntzen (reeds), James Chirillo (guitar), Rob Adkins (bass), Jay Lepley (drums). Radegast. 9 PM: Gypsy jazz jam, Fada. (Most Thursdays.) 10 PM: Megg Farrell Band. Manderly Bar.

Friday, Jan 13, 5 PM: The Glenn Crytzer Quartette. Broadway Lounge in the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. 7 & 9:30 PM: Jon-Erik Kellso and the EarRegulars w/ Jon-Erik (cornet), John Allred (trombone), Matt Munisteri (guitar), Neal Miner (bass). Pangaea. (Note: Save $5 with on-line tix!) 8 PM: Joanna Sternberg (bass, vocals, songwriting, etc.) and Joe Cohn (guitar). Jalopy Tavern. 9 PM: Abbie Gardner and Carolann Solebello (a Red Molly reunion, kinda). Jalopy. 10:30 PM: Sweet Megg & The Wayfarers. St. Mazie. 10:30 PM: Fridays at Mona’s, 14th & B.

Saturday, Jan 14, 11:30 AM: Molly Ryan Quartet. Tanner Smiths Tipsy Tea Jazz Brunch. (Most Saturdays.) Noon: Glenn Crytzer Trio. Rowhouse Harlem. 1 PM: Garden Party Quartet frequently with Emily Asher (trombone). (Most Saturdays.) Fraunces Tavern. 2 PM: Lisa Liu (guitar), Thor Jensen (guitar). Rosamunde Sausage Grill (285 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn). 4 PM: Roy Williams & Friends. The Shanty. (Most Saturdays, personnel varies). 6 PM: Vilray. Rockwood One 7 PM: David McKay (vocals). SuperNova at Novotel, Times Square. (Most Saturdays.)  9 PM: Megg Ryan Jass Band. Bar Velo. 11 PM: Ehud Asherie (piano), Jon-Erik Kellso (cornet). Mezzrow.

Sunday, Jan 15, Noon: Megg Ryan Jass Band. Brunch at House of Yes. 12:30 PM: David McKay (vocals). Jazz brunch at The Royal Munkey. (Most Sundays.) 1 PM: Glenn Crytzer Trio w/ Glenn (guitar, banjo, vocals), Ian Hutchison (bass), Mike Davis (cornet). Bocca Di Bacco, 9th Ave in Chelsea (not the one on 9th Ave in Midtown!). (Most Sundays) 1:30 PM: Koran Agan (guitar), Eduardo Belo (bass), others. Radegast.  (Most Sundays.) 4 PM: The Stride Piano Jam w/ Terry Waldo & Ehud Asherie. Fat Cat. 6:30 PM: Glenn Crytzer (guitar, banjo, vocals), Mike Davis (cornet), others. Delilah, 155 Rivington. (Think Pegu in a new place!) (Most Sundays.) 8 PM: The EarRegulars w/ Jon-Erik Kellso (cornet) is joined this week by Matt Munisteri (guitar), Evan Arntzen (clarinet), Sean Cronin (bass). The Ear. (Most Sundays.) 10 PM: Baby Soda Jazz Band w/ Jared Engel (banjo), others. St. Mazie. (Most Sundays.) 10 PM: Sweet Megg & The Wayfarers. The Wayland.

Monday, Jan 16, 7 PM: The Brain Cloud, this week with Dennis Lichtman (clarinet, mandolin), Grant Gordy (guitar), Raphael McGregor (lap steel guitar), Sean Cronin (bass), and Kevin Dorn (drums). Barbes. (Most Mondays.)  7:30 PM: Tara O'Grady & the Black Velvet Band w/ Tara (vocals), Michael Howell (guitar), David Shaich (bass), Dan Lipsitz (reeds). Artisanal Bistro. (Most Mondays). 8 PM: Vince Giordano & his Nighthawks, with an array of the best traditional jazz musicians in New York, Iguana. (Most Mondays). 8 PM: Sweet Megg and the Wayfarers. The Belfry. 10 PM: Mona’s Bluegrass Jam, Mona’s, 14th & Avenue B (Most Mondays).  10 PM: Terry Waldo & The Rum House Jass Band w/ Terry (piano), Jon-Erik Kellso (cornet), Jim Fryer (trombone), Eddy Davis (tenor banjo) and frequently Dan Levinson (clarinet) & Molly Ryan (vocals). The Rum House. (Most Mondays). 10 PM: Jim Campilongo Trio w/ Jim (electric guitar), Tony Scherr (bass) & Josh Dion (drums). Rockwood Two.

Tuesday, Jan 17, 8 PM: Vince Giordano & his Nighthawks, with an array of the very best traditional jazz musicians in New York, Iguana. (Most Tuesdays).  8 PM: Tara O'Grady & the Black Velvet Band w/ Tara (vocals), Michael Howell (guitar), David Shaich (bass). Winnie’s Jazz Bar. (Most Tuesdays.) 9:30 PM: The Brass Tacks Trio w/ Danny Lipsitz (clarinet, sax). The Rum House. 10 PM: Michael Daves. Rockwood One. (Most Tuesdays). 10 PM: Svetlana & The Delancy Band, w/ Dalton Ridenhour (piano), others. Brooklyn Speakeasy at Bedford Hall, 1177 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn. (Tuesdays until further notice.)  11 PM: Roy Williams & The Human Hands. Rockwood One. 11 PM: Mona’s Hot Jazz Jam, hosted by Mona’s Hot Four. House band this week: Dennis Lichtman (clarinet, etc.), Jon Weber (piano), Nick Russo (guitar, banjo) & Sean Cronin (bass). Mona’s, 14th & Avenue B.

Future

Jan 18, 7 PM: Bucky Pizzarelli's 91st Birthday w/ Bucky (7-string guitar), Ed Laub (guitar), Martin Pizzarelli (bass). Shanghai Jazz, Madison NJ. 7 PM: Jeanne Gies (vocals) w/ Jack Wilkins (guitar). Andanada.  8 PM: Rebecca Kilgore (vocals), Ehud Asherie (piano). Mezzrow. 8:30 PM: Andy Statman Trio. Rockwood Three.

Jan 19, 8 PM: Terry Waldo Quartet w/ Terry (piano), unknown others. Black Tail. 9 PM: Bjorn Ingelstam's Hot 5. Radegast.

Jan 20, 8 PM: Joanna Sternberg (bass, vocals, songwriting, etc.) and Joe Cohn (guitar). Jalopy Tavern.

Jan 21, 11 AM: Timbalooloo Duo Concert Series w/ Oran Etkin (clarinet) and mystery guest. National Sawdust. 9:00 & 10:30 PM: Tim Clement (guitar), Ryan Weisheit (clarinet), Julian Smith (bass), Dani Danor (drums). Cornelia Street Cafe.

Jan 22, 8 PM: Terry Waldo's Gotham City Band w/ Terry (piano), unknown others. Fat Cat. 8:30 & 10 PM: Koran Agan (guitar), Eduardo Belo (bass), Raj Jayaveera (drums). Cornelia Street Cafe.

Jan 23, 8:30 & 10 PM: Anouman w/ Koran Agan (guitar), Peter Sparacino (saxophone), Josh Kaye (rhythm guitar), Eduardo Belo (bass). Cornelia Street Cafe.

Jan 24, 8 PM: Glenn Crytzer Trio. Radegast.

Jan 25, 8 PM: An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt. Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield CT. Tix on sale Nov 18. 9 PM: Danny Lipsitz & His Brass Tacks. Radegast.

Jan 26, 8 PM: Terry Waldo Quartet w/ Terry (piano), unknown others. Black Tail.

Jan 27, 8 PM: The Brother Brothers w/ David Moss (guitar) and Adam Moss (fiddle) plus the Rad Trads w/ John & Michael Fatum. Rockwood Two. 8 PM: Joanna Sternberg (bass, vocals, songwriting, etc.) and Joe Cohn (guitar). Jalopy Tavern.

Jan 29, 7 PM: Eddie Barbash & His Orchestra. An upscale evening of music & food prepared by chef Andrew Carmellini. The Lafayette. Tix/info. 8 PM: Terry Waldo's Gotham City Band w/ Terry (piano), unknown others. Fat Cat.

Jan 30, 10 PM: Jim Campilongo Trio w/ Jim (electric guitar), Tony Scherr (bass) & Josh Dion (drums). Rockwood Two.

Jan 31, 9:30 PM: The Brass Tacks Trio w/ Danny Lipsitz (clarinet, sax). The Rum House.

Feb 18, 11 AM: Timbalooloo Duo Concert Series w/ Oran Etkin (clarinet) and mystery guest. National Sawdust.

Feb 26, 1 PM: The Anat Cohen Quartet. Cole Auditorium, Greenwich Library, Greenwich CT. 6:30 PM: Frank Vignola (guitar), Olli Soikkeli (guitar), Jason Anick (violin). Sarah’s Wine Bar. Ridgefield CT. Call for reservations: 203-438-8282 7 PM: Al Dimeola, 40th Anniversary of Elegant Gypsy. Paramount. Peekskill NY.

March 18, 2017 Rhonda Vincent. Ramapo College, Mahwah NJ. Info/tix.

March 22, 2017 Chris Eldridge & Julian Lage plus Aoife O'Donovan. Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfiend CT.

-------

[wikitopx]

A well-rounded city growing out of the stark North Texas prairie, Dallas has a jumble of ultramodern skyscrapers, the largest arts district in the United States, museums of the highest quality and pulsating nightlife.

Whole swathes of the city have been reinvented in recent times, like the Design District breathing new life into an austere neighborhood of warehouses, or Klyde Warren Park, on the former route of a freeway. But if you’re hunting for old-time Texas trademarks like big steaks, BBQ and honkytonks among the upscale restaurants and high-culture, you’ll find them with little trouble. Dallas will also forever be tied to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and at Dealey Plaza, you’ll discover how the city has come to terms with this tragedy. Let’s explore the best things to do in Dallas.

[toc]

1. John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Building was opened in June 1970, next to the red sandstone towers of the Dallas County Courthouse. The monument at its core was designed by architect Philip Johnson, a friend of the Kennedy family, and was personally approved by Jacqueline Kennedy.

Formed to represent the freedom of John F. Kennedy, the memorial consists of a square room without a roof, with concrete walls of 15 x 15 meters long and 9 meters high. These walls are composed of 72 concrete columns, supported by two legs at each corner and so appearing to hover over the ground when illuminated at night.

Inside the room is a square of granite carved with the name JFK, painted in gold to catch light from the walls.

2. Meadows Museum

The oil baron Algur Meadows (1899–1978) made repeated trips to Madrid in the 1950s, and in that time he fell in love with Spanish art at the Museo del Prado, determined to create his own Prado on his prairie in Dallas.

This became the Meadows Museum at the Southern Methodist University campus, home to one of the largest assemblages of Spanish art outside of Spain.

The art here dates from the 900s to the present, comprising Renaissance altarpieces, massive Baroque canvases, liturgical polychrome images, graphic art, Impressionist landscapes, abstract painting, sketches, and sculpture.

Among the many great artists featured are Velázquez, El Greco, Murillo, Ribera, Zurbarán, Goya (six works), Sorolla, Rodin, Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Henry Moore and Giacometti. In 2019-20 there were great short-term exhibitions for Sorolla and the great Spanish Renaissance sculptor Alonso Berruguete.

3. Deep Ellum

If you’re out for live music, great food, awesome bars or one-off shops then Deep Ellum is the place to go, just on the other side of the I-345 from Downtown Dallas. This has been an entertainment district since the 1880s, and blues legends like Leadbelly, Bessie Smith and Blind Lemon Jefferson all entertained the crowds in the 1910s and 1920s.

The name comes from the neighborhood’s main artery, Elm Street and crops up in the old blues song Take a Whiff on Me, and the song “Deep Elm Blues”, made famous by the Grateful Dead. The lineup of clubs and live venues is too long to list here but features Trees Dallas, played by Radiohead, Nirvana, Arcade Fire, and Pearl Jam.

For concept bars, you’ve got a slew of craft breweries/distilleries, and the trailer park themed Double Wide. By day you can check out the street art and pick from ramen (Oni), tacos (Tiki Loco), sushi (Nori) or southern comfort food (Brick & Bones, Get Fried) for lunch.

4. Dallas Zoo

Across the Trinity River from Downtown Dallas, the Dallas Zoo will be a valuable family outing even without its greatest appeal. But the Giants of the Savanna habitat is not something you’ll come across very often.

This $32.5-million habitat, unveiled in 2011 has reticulated giraffes, zebras, impala, ostriches and guinea fowl sharing the same large space. In the same zone is the zoo’s herd of African elephants, as well as African lions, South African cheetahs, warthogs, and African wild dogs.

The Gorilla Research Center, opened in 1990, is another feather in the Dallas Zoo’s cap, a lush recreation of the Congo Rainforest, with enough space for two troops of gorillas, each separated by a wall.

The Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari takes you on a 20-minute, mile-long narrated monorail ride past hippos, okapis, Grévy’s zebra, Thomson’s gazelle’s and some giant birds, from great white pelicans to Goliath herons.

5. Dallas World Aquarium

In the West End Historical Area, this aquarium in a warehouse remake from 1924 is not just fish. Mundo Maya keeps ocelots, American flamingos and a variety of colorful passerine birds and owls to go with its vibrant angelfish and axolotls.

The upper floor is taken over by a reproduction of the Orinoco Rainforest, inhabited by sloths, giant river otters and primates like pygmy marmosets and red howler monkeys, as well as dwarf caimans, poison dart frogs, toucans, matamata turtles, and electric eels.

The ten main tanks are on the lower level, where you’ll come within inches of aquatic life from all over the world from giant Japanese spider crabs to brilliant Percula clownfish, tangs, angelfish, butterflyfish and moon jellyfish.

Outside the South African exhibition holds a flock of mischievous black-footed penguins, only 50,000 in the wild.

6. Pioneer Plaza

The city’s rugged early days are remembered at this park laid out in 1994 in front of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, just south of downtown.

Rendered in bronze by artist Robert Summers is a marvelous sculpted ensemble – the largest bronze monument in the world – depicting an everyday scene on the old Shawnee Trail.

Crossing the plaza are 49 longhorn steers and three trail riders on horseback, all in an environment of ridges and cliffs, planted with trees and plants native to North Texas, a flowing stream and waterfall. Each steering wheel is slightly larger than life, just under two meters tall.

7. Fair Park

This 277-acre outdoor complex located on the right shoulder of Downtown Dallas has a history like a fairground dating back to 1886. Space was transformed to lift the spirits during the Great Depression when Dallas hosted Trade.

Fair of Texas in 1936. Architects George Dahl and Paul Cret turned Fair Park into a wonderful exhibition of Art Deco design. Plenty of the attractions on this list can be found right here, and the park holds more than 1,200 events a year, from concerts to sporting events.

For 24 days from the last Friday of September, this is the venue for the Texas State Fair, attended by over two million people each year and presided over by iconic Big Tex. One of the main events is the annual college football game between Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns, at the 92,100-capacity Cotton Bowl.

A centerpiece during the fair is the Texas Star, a Ferris wheel 65.8 meters tall, with 44 gondolas.

8. Hall of State

Fair Park's headquarters, the State Hall of the Arts, is a formidable venue, even when the exterior is showing its age. There are few better examples of Art Deco architecture in Texas, and it’s bewildering to think that this regal edifice got built in the depths of the Great Depression.

What draws your eye outside is the semicircular recess at the entrance, with limestone pillars rising 23 meters dividing bands of blue tiles evoking the state flower, the bluebonnet. On the frieze are the names of 60 historical figures with an important role in Texas history.

The monument has belonged to the Dallas Historical Society since 1938 and its radiant interior holds the Hero Hall, with six bronze statues symbolizing Stephen F. Austin, Thomas Jefferson Rusk, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Sam Houston, James Fannin, and William B Travis. At the Texas State Fair 2019, there was a great exhibition of the state's history in cinema.

9. Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park

This compact yet never-popular aquarium opened with the hundredth Texas Exhibition in 1936 but got a modern makeover in 2009.

There are six main exhibits at the Children’s Aquarium: Freshwater Zone, with red-bellied piranhas and Australian rainbows; Intertidal Zone, for sea stars and sea urchins; Shore Zone, inhabited by seahorses, batfish and home to a Caribbean reef; Near Shore Zone, which has Moray eels, clownfish and porcupinefish, and the Offshore Zone, where you’ll see the ominous-looking Queensland groupers and zebra sharks.

Lastly, the outdoor Stingray Bay is everyone's favorite part, where you can touch and show rays and watch black reef sharks in a large outdoor tank.

10. Frontiers of Flight Museum

Head to Dallas Love Field Airport to be awed by this Smithsonian Affiliate museum in the airport’s south-east corner. The Frontiers of Flight Museum has more than 30 aircraft and space vehicles on show, a portion of which were built in the North Texas area.

There are also 13 galleries and exhibits to ponder, including artifacts from the Hindenburg, lots of detail about aviators like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, and a full-size model of the Wright Brothers’ 1903 Wright Flyer.

As for preserved aircraft, make sure to see Apollo VII, used for the first manned flight of the Apollo Space Program in 1968.

Also indispensable is the last surviving Texas-Temple Sportsman monoplane (1928), a de Havilland Tiger Moth (1940), a Bell 47 (of M*A*S*H fame) and jet fighters and bombers including an F-16b (1977), and LTV A-7 Corsair II (1967), a Republic F-105D (1958) and a Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star (1950).

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Phuket – top 10 bars

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-dallas-704428.html

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[murfreesboronews]

Nashville teenager John Cullen has been playing electric guitar for two years. He takes lessons, and even has learned some licks to “Dust in the Wind” and Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven.”

So it was in the Saint Henry School eighth-grader’s lane to design and build a wooden mini guitar as part of the sixth annual Middle Tennessee STEM Expo Tuesday (April 9) on the track level in Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.

The expo drew 50 Midstate public and private schools and 800 students combining for 400 research poster projects.

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“It was hard,” Cullen, 14, said of his well-thought-out idea and whose poster included a brief history on the experiments of sound, how sound works, key components of sound and more. His display featured a foam and Slinky-type gizmo to help explain longitudinal waves and how sound waves travel.

Robots, solar, school security and the effects of essential oils on E. coli growth were among the differing and fascinating ideas provided by the fifth- through 12th-graders.

“What was really nice was to see how much enthusiasm there is for STEM education in Middle Tennessee, to see how early the students are starting in school caring about STEM research and projects that impact our world,” said Greg Rushton, first-year director of the MTSU Tennessee STEM Education Center.

“Kids as early as fourth and fifth grade all the way up through high school … (created) really sophisticated projects, group projects, practical projects and engineering projects across the gambit of STEM,” Rushton added. “To see the impact that these students are going to have on this area because of the care they have for this work was really exciting.”

The excitement and energy permeating around the track caught the eye of Dean Hayes, longtime MTSU track and field and cross-country coach, who said he always wanted the upper level area to be open and available for multi-use events for people of all ages and not just for indoor track.

Nashville’s Harpeth Hall School and Rutherford County’s Stewarts Creek Middle School were among the top award winners announced during the closing ceremony.

Awards will be posted soon to the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub website: https://www.mtsu.edu/midtnstem/. Organizers plan to hold the 2020 expo in early April in Murphy Center.

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STEM Expo attracts 800 students to MTSU Nashville teenager John Cullen has been playing electric guitar for two years. He takes lessons, and even has learned some licks to “Dust in the Wind” and Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven.”

#mtsu