i can only read childrens/middle grade/ya during the school semester, anyone have any recs(current or from your childhood) for me? i like fantasy & politics. not a big fan of romance or mystery. under the cut will be what ive (re)read and whats on my list

read: the sisters grimm series by michael buckley, beyonders trilogy by brandon mull, avalon high by meg cabot, a natural history of dragons by marie brennan

to (re)read: the books of abarat by clive barker, princess academy & goose girl by shannon hale, mortal engines by phillip reeve

Media References and Puns of ExU: Calamity 01 Excelsior

Thanks to @Cersonality for this art piece!

The day is always brightest just before the dusk…

Media References

(0:34:24) Sam: It’s long and has something at the end of it, like Bob Barker’s old microphone.

(0:55:16) Brennan: …and a long mustache, that Sam Elliott at the longest it got…

(2:31:22) Marisha: … It's like Hearst Castle in that way.

(2:40:42) Travis: You've got fucking Black Widow in this f***ing-- She'll kill everybody. You're gonna kill us all.

(2:52:08) Sam *singing* Makin’ my way. (“A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton)

Read more at critrolestats.com

2022 Books Review

5 stars

FNAF Ultimate Guide (Cawthon, 2021): A great summary of everything in the sprawling FNAF universe, even has a section devoted to popular fan theories.

A Natural History of Dragons (Brennan, 2013): a fictional biography about a dragon researcher. An interesting character and interesting worldbuilding.

4 stars

The Silence of the Girls (Barker, 2018): an emotionally difficult look at the Trojan War from the perspective of Briseis and other women captured as war prizes by the Greek army. It’s strongest in the first half but the second half switches to other perspectives and feels more like every other Illiad retelling. Could have done without the modern lingo and Achilles' mommy kink. 

Nightmares and Dreamscapes (King, 2013): A collection of interesting and spooky short stories. 'Popsy' was probably my favorite, like Taken but with vampires (which sounds like a fantastic action horror movie).

Breakdown (Kellerman, 2016): typical procedural mystery novel but from the perspective of a clinical psychologist.

Compulsion (Kellerman, 2008): same series as above. It's portrayal of queer characters is a bit of a mixed bag. A trans woman sex worker is portrayed with sympathy even if the language used clearly dates it, but there's also a murderous crossdresser. YMMV

Skin Game (Butcher, 2014): a good heist story, even if I took issue with some of the writing choices.

3 stars

Tulip Fever (Moggach, 1999): The first 1/3 was a frustrating read. A woman is unhappily married, falls into lust with a pretentious womanizing painter, and decide to run away together, uncaring to the harm they cause. They claim to be in love after two meetings even though the only apparent thing they see in the other is hotness. The prose and ending (with consequences) manage to save it for me.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

By Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack are not the only team looking to make a few late signings and moves. A few stray signings this week as Labor Day approaches. Tanner Fritz has resolved his contract situation. On Thursday morning, his situation was unresolved, but by that afternoon, it had concluded. Fritz signed a one-year AHL deal to return to the Bridgeport Islanders, where he spent his first six years. He spent the last two in Hartford. Fritz (the second player named Fritz to play in Hart City and Park City) often played out of position to help when the Wolf Pack were shorthanded at forward. He had talks with Hartford and Springfield, all to tend to his son's special needs. MISCELLANEOUS HARTFORD RELATED NEWS Ex-Pack Alex Bourret was named head coach for the CCL Dynamiques M (minor)15 team (QBAAA). The Islanders named ex-Pack/Ranger Pascal Rheaume as one of the two new assistant coaches to work with their new head coach, Rick Kowalsky. It's his first AHL stint. He was initially an assistant with Iowa in 2015-16. The last two years he spent with the Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL). Bryce McConnell-Barker might be in Wolf Pack training camp, but his ticket back to Sault Ste. Greyhounds Marie (OHL) is already stamped. He spent three weeks here last spring without playing a game before being released. Like Will Cullye and Brennan Othmann before him, he is still 19 and can't play in the AHL until his junior season. He will likely captain the Greyhounds and be on the 2024 Canadian WJC Team. McConnell-Barker hopes to be like Othmann, go deep in the OHL playoffs, and maybe get a shot at the Memorial Cup. An ex-Pack/Ranger, Libor Hájek, has signed as a PTO training camp invite with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Next year, he will go to the Penguins and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). He joins another ex-Pack, Ryan Graves, who starts his first season of a six-year deal in the Keystone State. Howlings learned that Adam Samuelsson, the youngest son of Hartford Whaler great Ulf Samuelsson, an ex-New York Ranger whose Whalers #5 is "retired" in the XL rafters. Ulf is also a former Wolf Pack and Avon Old Farms assistant coach. Adam will attend the training camp on an invite basis of the independent Chicago Wolves this fall. He signed a deal with Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL) earlier this summer. Sam Gagner, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk/Ranger Dave Gagner, has gone from the Winnipeg Jets to the  Edmonton Oilers on a PTO deal. Gagner was a first-round pick of the Oilers in 2007 and had 519 career points in 1,015 games played with seven different teams. HAGELIN CALLS IT A CAREER Carl Hagelin, who played 17 games for the CT Whale en route to 713 NHL games and who won two Stanley Cups, two silver medals for Sweden in the Olympics and the WJC, and two NCAA national titles in four full years at Michigan, had a career of 152 points in 171 games - a sure-fire entrant in the Wolverine HOF. After a year off, Hagelin retires from active playing, resulting from an eye injury suffered in practice two years ago in Washington. Hagelin exceeded expectations as a sixth-round draft choice, as it was considered a stretch that he would ever play in the NHL. He was supposed to be too small and slight. However, nobody could catch him with his outstanding speed. Hagelin was traded early Saturday morning for the Anaheim Ducks' Emerson Etem in late June 2015. MORE MOVES Madison Bowey goes from the Laval Rocket to Dynamo Minsk (Belarus-KHL). Turner Ottenbreit of Iowa heads to Kunlun (China-KHL), making 78 AHL'ers signed in Europe. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Milwaukee Admirals are the only two teams not to have lost a player. A story on the website Detroit Hockey Now reprised a story from an Inside AHL Hockey interview with long-time Chicago Wolves GM Wendell Young. The story was that former coach Ryan Warsofsky (Sacred Heart University) was threatened with dismissal by Carolina two years ago before his Wolves team went on to win the Calder Cup final against the Springfield Thunderbirds in seven games. Warsofsky was and is now an assistant with the NHL San Jose Sharks. Warsofky is an old friend of ex-Pack/Sound Tigers, the now-retired Bourque brothers, Chris and Ryan. He chose to play the former Yale goalie, Alex Lyon, over Carolina's objections instead of their Russian prospect Pytor (Peter) Kochetov two springs ago. Carolina had gone through hoops to get him to North America via Austria first because of the war in Ukraine. Now Lyon, who then made a very public obscene gesture in the championship team picture at center ice, with a two-middle-fingered salute. It was not meant or directed at the Springfield fans but rather the Carolina management, despite having just won the Calder Cup. Lyon was given a one-game AHL suspension for his stunt. Chicago has gone the independent route this season and has gone through four affiliates in the last seven years. Winning a championship is very important in Chicago. Instrumental in Florida making the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, Lyon was a backup to Spencer Knight (Darien/AOF). The previous spring, they had to enter a substance abuse clinic as they made it to the finals before bowing out to the eventual champion, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Lyon is expected to be in Grand Rapids this year to teach and tutor the highly regarded prospect Sebastian Cossa, who battled Pack goalie Dylan Garand two years ago in juniors, as they were the two best netminders in the WHL. Lyon was helped at Yale when he played by another ex-Yale goalie, Jeff Malcolm, the current Wolf Pack goalie coach. The Red Wings have four goalie prospects: Cossa, Carter Gylander, a junior at Colgate University (ECACHL) under the guidance of new head coach ex-Pack Mike Harder, John Lethmon, a Grand Rapids returnee, and Yale-bound next year, just drafted (sixth-round) Rudy Guimond (Taft School) in Cedar Rapids (USHL) this year. Ex-Pack Tysen Helgesen, re-signs with the Rapid City Rush (ECHL). Chase Zieky (Avon/AOF) signs with the Maine Mariners (ECHL) for next year. Matt Tugnutt (Sacred Heart University) leaves HC Chamonix (France-Magnus League FREL) and signs with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) for next season. Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Anthony Greco is at an unknown Frölunda HC (Sweden-SHL) destination. Ex-Sound Tiger Brandon DeFazio announced his retirement from hockey. DeFazio played last year with ERC Schwenniger (Germany-DEL). His father, Dean DeFazio, was a former New Haven Nighthawk with four sons involved in hockey. Jeremy and Cameron have already retired. His youngest, Cole, is entering his sophomore year at Division III, Neumann (Aston, PA) College (UCHC). Brandon has taken an amateur scouting position (Ontario region) with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mark Osiecki, a former New Haven Senator, also becomes a Midwest region Penguins Pro Scout as he leaves the University Wisconsin-Madison (Big 10) campus. Ex-Wolf Pack/Sound Tiger Matt Lorito, a Greenwich resident, also announced his retirement from hockey. Lorito played with EHC Wolfsburg (Germany-DEL) last year and took a pro scouting position (Midwest) with Pittsburgh. DeFazio and Lorito join another ex-Sound Tiger, Matt Mangene, who has been a Penguins amateur scout for the last three years. After his grad year at Michigan Tech (CCHA) after playing at Ohio State (Big 10), Ryan O'Connell becomes the 63rd college player to sign in Europe with Toulouse-Blagnac (France-FFHG-Division-3). He is also the nephew of ex-New Haven Senator Brian Downey. Jack Badini (Old Greenwich/CT Oilers-EHL) departed Newfoundland (St. John's) (ECHL), had a few call-ups to Toronto (AHL), and signed overseas with Stjernen (Norway-NEL). HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

An Intro to the Souls

Patience: Elijah Cole

“Oh, hi... I’m Elijah. I’m 8 years old, I think, and I’m just missing my brother. I dunno if he fell with me, but I don’t- I don’t think he’d just leave me there... He always takes care of me.” 

Bravery: Brennan Strickland

“The name’s Brennan. I’m, uh, 12 years old. Did any of you see my camera around here? I need to get back to my sister. She’s waiting for me.”

Integrity: Wren Meyer

“Wren. Do I really have to talk to all of you? I’m 15. What else do you need to know?“ 

Perseverance: Florence Barker

“This is really fantastic, isn’t it? How we can talk to each other from different timelines? I wonder how that works scientifically. We should really do some more research! Oh, I’m Florence, by the way. I’m 14, but my birthday should be coming up sometime soon, right?” 

Kindness: Atlas Hart

“Hello, my name is Atlas! I’m really glad I could find this way to meet new people. I’m kind of looking for someone... Not sure if our paths will cross again, but we’ll see... I’m 15 years old, I love cooking, dogs, and my friends though!” 

Justice: Annie Smyth

“I’m Annie. I don’t really get how this all works, but are there questions you have? I’m 10. Where’d my hat go? I think I dropped it when I fell tripped. If you see it, tell me. Carla’s gonna be sad if I lose it.”

favourite/most interesting things i've found out about the top prospects boys via the game program – team white edition

owen beck:

- named ohl academic player of the month twice

- honor student throughout high school

- aspires for a career in medicine

- secretly listens to bruno mars

jagger firkus:

- wants to become a skills coach and run a hockey company

- competited at nationals in fastball

- likes to play cards

nathan gaucher:

- his nickname is "lefty" (gaucher is the french word for left-handed)

- likes playing cards

- learning the guitar

- named student-athlete of the year in midget

- aspires for a career in finance and buisness

ruslan gazizov:

- enjoys sleeping

- aspires to a career in cybersports

- doesnt have a favourite away rink

conor geekie:

- aspires to work on the family farm (bestie you're going to be in the nhl and you're dream job is to work on a farm in literally the middle of nowhere. it is his family farm tho so i respect it)

- always has to be the last one off the ice after warm up

- wears 28 after his brother (and yes said brother is morgan geekie)

- high school provincial champion in volleyball, badminton & curling

- named manitoba u15 baseball player of the year

jake karabela:

- an academic honors student

- aspires to be a firefighter

- ambassador for the mcfadden mouvement

- plays the guitar

- aspires to be a doctor

- can solve a rubiks cube in under a minute

- his favourite movie is miracle despite the fact that he's canadian???

bryce mcconnell-barker:

- aspires to be a chiropractor

- favourite movie is tasm (he's the 2nd person so far to have said this which we stan)

- describes himself as a good basketball player

vinzenz rohrer:

- his dad, brother and grandmother have all played pro-tennis

- his grandfather play pro-golf

- won a junior tennis national title (are we even surprised)

- likes reading and meditating

- nickname is winny

- plays the piano

reid schaefer:

- cousin's with colin fraser, 3x stanley cup winner

- his uncle, greg, played with the calgary stampeders

- aspires to be a buisness owner

- has 2 dogs

antonin verreault:

- eats the same meal before every game

- favourite actor is tom holland (once again we stan a boy with taste)

- favourite movie is miracle despite the fact that he's canadian???

mats lindgren:

- moved to canada from sweden in 2015

- his dad played 7 seasons in the nhl

- aspires to be a buisness owner

tristen luneau:

- mother is a figure skating coach

- brother is a performer with cirque du soleil

- favourite school subject is biochem and he aspires for a career in science

denton mateuchuck:

- aspires for a career in carpentry

- played provincial baseball when he was younger

pavel mintyuokuv:

- wants to earn a management degree

- loves listening to different genres of music

owen pickering:

- plays the violin

- earned honours with distinction every year of high school

- wants a career in either engineering or buisness

- nickname is pickle

noah warren:

- likes cooking

- likes reading

- wants a career in buisness

mason beaupit:

- has a 9 year old golden retriever names bailey

- wants to be a firefighter

- favourite school subject is law

tyler brennan:

- honour roll in gr.9, 10 & 11

- aspires to be an air traffic controller like his dad

- enjoys woodworking

Dimension 20 Circus/Carnival Season PC Ideas

Sword Swallower- Fighter/Bard (Swords)

Trapeze Artist/Acrobat- Monk/Rogue

Ring Leader/Carnival Barker- Bard (Eloquence/Lore)

Animal Handler- Ranger (Beast Master)

Fire Breather- Sorcerer (Pyromancer/Pheonix)

Magician- Wizard (Illusion)/Rogue (Arcane Trickster)

Strongman- Barbarian/Fighter

Knife Thrower- Rogue/Fighter

Medic- Cleric

Tech Crew- Rogue

Fortune Teller- Wizard (Divination)

Snack Vendor- Artificer (Alchemist)

Carnival Mechanic- Artificer (Battle Smith)

Security- Paladin/Fighter

Clown- DM (Brennan)

Number 14, 15, 16 and 20 :)

#14 - Sleepwalk by Forrest Day

This song is so good. I haven't listened to it in a couple months but it still makes sense to me how high it is on the list. Idk what else to say about this song, it's such a vibe and I love it sm.

You know actually, the "aura" thing Spotify gave me was "spooky" and I was confused why but y'know what with this song it makes sense.

Memory I have associated with this song:

- Being in the backyard. A lot of the grass dry and yellow.

#15 - Free by Mother Mother

Ughhh Mother Mother so good. I am BLASTING this song through my headphones as I type. That guitar that beat those lyrics... so good so good god damn it.

Memory I have associated with this song:

- I don't think I have a memory associated with this one; I listen to it too much in different places and contexts that I don't have one that stands out in particular.

#16 - t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l by WILLOW feat. Travis Barker

Willow never misses. I don't actively seek out her music but whenever it finds me I tend to play it constantly for weeks at a time.

Memory I have associated with this song:

- Most of Willow's songs remind me of driving late at night from my school to get some fast food, Cane's usually. My friend in the passenger seat as we sing along and alternate between her music and mine.

- I discovered the song through this edit of Brennan getting whomped btw

#20 - Dead Inside by Younger Hunger

Maybe this is another reason why "spooky" was listed as my "aura" lol. I don't know if this song is particularly "spooky" but it is rad as hell.

Memory I have associated with this song:

- Oddly enough I don't have any memory associated with this?? Which is very weird because I know it warrants the #20 spot with how much I listened to it, but can not conjure a single memory of listening to this song ever. wtf.

October Book Reviews Overview

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (Alexis Hall)

Phoenix Extravagant (Yoon Ha Lee)

Driftwood (Marie Brennan)

How To Talk To A Goddess (Emily Croy Barker)

What Makes This Book So Great (Jo Walton)

Bryony and Roses (T. Kingfisher)

Out of Character (Annabeth Albert)

Looking for Group (Alexis Hall)

Minor Mage (T. Kingfisher)

Daughter of Time (Josephine Tey)

The Return of Fitzroy Angursell (Victoria Goddard)

The Raven and the Reindeer (T. Kingfisher)

Vespertine (Margaret Rogerson)

My Last Duchess (Eloisa James)

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower (Tamsyn Muir)

Wilde Child (Eloisa James)

Fence: Disarmed (Sarah Rees Brennan)

Gods of Jade and Shadow (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)

Bee Sting Cake (Victoria Goddard)

Whiskeyjack (Victoria Goddard)

Blackcurrant Fool (Victoria Goddard)

When the King Took Flight (Timothy Tackett)

Love-in-a-Mist (Victoria Goddard)

Name: Up To Player Species: Fae (Leanan-Sidhe) Occupation: Up To Player Age: 25+ years old Played By: TAKEN (Caoihme Brennan) Suggested Face Claims: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Odette Annable, Sarah Yarkin, Nicola Coughlan, Ruby Barker, Mindy Kaling

“Quote up to player.”

It was a fact of life, that was what your mother always said. Your kind had to feed to live, it wasn’t your fault humans were the best source of food. But even so, something about it felt wrong. Your humans were sweet, they were kind. Even before you worked your magic on them, they were good people, you couldn’t just leave them trapped forever. So you set them free. Or you tried to. Catch and release, take them in for a bit and then let them go. But they kept coming back. Your magic must have been stronger than you thought, or maybe it was something else, something deeper. You don’t know, but you couldn’t let them wither away. So you ran, what else could you do? They kept coming, your poor humans, drawn to you, following you from place to place. You don’t want to hurt them, but if they don’t stop, you may be the one without a choice.

Character Facts:

Personality: Up to player

3-5 Facts, Up to player

Ten Books I Want to Read in 2020

Thanks for the tags @sharkmartini @the-clueless-philosopher @fight-surrender

I don’t put lists anywhere like Goodreads but I do have an Amazon wishlist so I’ll pull some from there. 

1. Six of Crows--Leigh Bardugo

2. The Starless Sea- Erin Morgenstern

3. Hold Back the Tide-Melinda Salisbury

4. The Great Believers-Rebecca Makkai

5. A Brightness Long Ago-Guy Gavriel Kay

6. Fence-Sarah Rees Brennan

7. Spinning Silver-Naomi Navik

8. Metamorphica-Zachary Mason

9. The Silence of the Girls-Pat Barker

10. The Overstory-RIchard Powers

tagging @penpanoply @warriorbeeofthesea @bazypitchandsimonsnow @carryonmylovelies @carryonvisinata @sourcherrymagiks @unenthusiastic-mermaid @basic-banshee

TOP 5 FAVE MALE CHARACTERS I LOVE!

Tagged by: @whyamistillwatchingtheseshows​ THANKS SO MUCH! I LOVE DOING SHIT LIKE THIS! OKAY! In no particular order!

Magnus Bane from Shadowhunters

I love EVERYTHING about this man. He’s literally the most badass character on the show. Anyone who needed help went to see Magnus first. He’s smart, kind, and selfless. He’s easily the best dressed on the show (next to Isabelle) and did I mention he’s a warlock? And also he bi? Ok I’m done.

Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning from Black Lightning 

RN TV’s best dad. This show is epic on so many levels. Jefferson is a well-respected pillar in his family as well as his community. Even when shit hits the fan he’s always ready with a plan. I love this character so much because he helps represent a stable, educated, and likeable nuclear family. I love that he’s all for the Cause, the People, and most importantly his family.

Spartacus from the Spartacus Series

I was a diehard fan of Spartacus and though I was hella sad about Andy’s passing, I think Liam did an epic job taking over. Spartacus was an amazing leader and motivational speaker. He was forever 5 steps ahead of the game and the double entendre this man delivered on a regular basis had me fucking THRIVING. This character also holds a special place because he helped me bond with my older brother. 

Mickey Milkovich from Shameless US

My favorite little gay gangster. If you google ‘Character Development’ a cute little pic of Mickey will pop up. He’ll be smiling and flipping you off. I’ve always loved Mickey since s1 and to watch him grow as a person has been wild. He’s been through so much and learned to move on and incorporate what he’s learned. Also his journey to accepting his sexuality was damn near inspirational. Also I loved how my mans moved up the ranks from special guest to one of the main characters. BRAVO Noel.

Booth from Bones

Special Agent Seeley Booth is my fave FBI guy. I loved how dedicated he was to the job and to Brennan. He built a family around them and he would do ANY and EVERY thing to protect them. He’s the top in his field and it shows. He’s a vet and it shows. I think David Boreanaz played him so well and I fell in love with him. Also I love watching Booth shoot people, he’s a former sniper and he never misses his shot.

Honorable Mentions:

Angel from Angel the Series

Dean Winchester from Supernatural

Kyle Barker from Living Single

Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk US

Philip Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

I’m tagging: @gelreads​ @who-meeee​ @daysinjuly​ @whatisadecentusername​ @averagemissc​ and @smolbabu02​

PREVIEW: HARTFORD WOLF PACK GO HUNTING FOR HERSHEY BEARS

By Gerry  Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack are among the final eight AHL teams still playing in May. What seemed improbable seven weeks ago has become reality. Trade deadline moves and an incredible streak of winning 15 of their last 18 games have brought them to this place in the season. They knocked off the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first round. They followed that up by eliminating the Providence Bruins in four games in the second round, despite finishing 17 points behind them in the regular season. That puts the Pack on a collision course in the Division Finals with the Hershey Bears, who finished the regular season 16 points ahead of them. Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch knows the tall order that lies in front of them. “(They’re) a big strong team. Outstanding defensively; don’t give you much room,. That’s in part because of their defense. They have some players who can score goals. Their team specialties (powerplay and penalty kill) are very good. We're just gonna have to find a way to the net,“ He said. Hershey's physical height is plentiful. The Bears are led by their captain, the 6'5 defenseman and ex-Pack, Dylan McIlrath. McIlrath was much maligned when he was a member of the Wolf Pack. He played on the last Pack playoff team eight years ago. Ironically, that year, they eliminated Hershey. Joining McIlrath is Aliaksei Protas at 6’6, Gabriel Carlsson at 6’5, Vincent Iorio at 6’3, and Benton Maass, who's 6’2. Their two in-house goalies include the 6’4 Clay Stevenson and the 6'3 Garin Bjorklund. Bjorklund was recalled when the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) were eliminated from the Kelly Cup playoffs. It's possible that the 6’2 Zach Furcale will need to be dealt with all over the ice as well. The Bears have eight players who are 6’2 and taller. Casey Shepard will likely start in the net for the Bears. In terms of height, the Pack can counter with the 6’8 Matt Rempe and the 6’6 Adam Edström. PRODUCTION While during the regular season, no Wolf Pack player was anywhere near the top in player production categories. Now, in the postseason, the Pack finds themselves all over the stat sheet as the Atlantic Division final begins. Leading the way for the New York Rangers AHL affiliates is goaltender Dylan Garand who has a 5-1 with a 1.17 GAA, tops in the AHL. He also is at the top of the production sheet for netminders with two shutouts. He will likely start. In the plus/minus department, Ty Emberson is atop the AHL charts at plus-13. In second place in that category is Anton Blidh at plus-11. In assists, Lauri Pajuniemi is fifth-best in the league with eight. Tim Gettinger and Tanner Fritz find themselves in the Top Ten in scoring with seven points each. The Pack also has two of the top three leaders in PIMs. Adam Clendening and Will Lockwood. The top shot producer is Zac Jones. He's tied at 21. A team with a championship mindset expects to be playing its best and most productive hockey in the playoffs. The Wolf Pack are undoubtedly not only the best they've been all season, but you could also argue they're the best they've been in eight years. NOTES: The Rangers did some organizational housekeeping before leaving Tuesday to head to Hershey for Thursday’s series opener. They released from ATO and PTO deals 18-year-olds Bryce McConnell-Barker, who didn’t play, and Adam Sýkora, who played two regular season games and two playoff games. Sýkora might be added to the Slovakia World Championship team when the IIHF tourney starts May 12th running through May 29th. It's a 16-country tournament and will be played this year in Tampere, Finland, Pajuniemi's hometown. They will also play in Riga, Latvia. The team also sent home Maxim Barbashev and Ryder Korczak. When the Peterborough Petes earned a 3-2 victory in Game 7 on Monday night over the North Bay Battalion, it guaranteed that Brennan Othmann will not be coming to Hart City this spring. Othmann had the game-tying goal in the game, and in Game 6 had the tying goal and an assist on the game-winner. The Petes will also play for the John Ross Robertson OHL championship against the London Knights, coached by Dale Hunter, starting on Thursday. The Petes also feature Chase Stillman, grandson of former New Haven Knights and Springfield Indians' alum Bud Stefanski. A Memorial Cup berth for the tournament will be played in Kamloops, BC, at the Sandman Centre from Friday, May 26th, until Sunday, June 4th. That's where Garand spent his junior career. The Cup will be awarded to the winner. The Winnipeg Ice (WHL), coached by former Ranger/Whaler James Patrick, along with Easton Armstrong, the son of former Wolf Pack, Derek Armstrong, will be playing for the WHL Championship. They will have their home games (the first two) starting Friday at the Life Canada Centre, home of the NHL Winnipeg Jets against the Seattle Thunderbirds, Rempe's former junior team, that won 4-2 on Monday over the Kamloops Blazers, who still make the tournament as the host team. Lane Sim, the son of ex-Sound Tiger Jon Sim, was drafted by the OHL Sarnia Sting in the OHL Priority Draft a few weeks ago. He played for Weeks U-18 (NSMHL) in Nova Scotia. The WHL Bantam Draft is on Thursday. May 11th. Players from the two Western Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta and the three Western territories - the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon - are eligible. The US states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible to be selected. The QMJHL Draft is on June 10th at the Palais des Sports in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The draft is divided into two separate drafts. In the first portion, the selections are primarily for kids from the Province of Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island-PEI, and Newfoundland. Occasionally, a small number of New England players get taken. A separate US Draft will be held afterward, comprising Northeastern US states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are taken. Any US-born player who plays a second of major junior hockey is NCAA ineligible. Players from European countries, excluding Russia and Belarus, are taken in the CHL Import Draft in which all Canadian major junior teams participate. It will be held a week after the NHL Draft on July 5th. Usually, the top slots are taken by NHL draftees. Now former Wolf Pack’s Adam Sýkora was taken first overall by Medicine Hat (WHL) last year but elected to stay in Slovakia instead. The USHL Phase I Futures Draft and Phase II General Draft were completed a week ago. In Phase I, Mason Kraft, the son of ex-Sound Tiger Ryan Kraft, was selected in the fourth round (48th overall) by the Sioux Falls (SD) Stampede out of Moorhead HS (MN). In Phase II, Sioux Falls also chose Anthony Bongo (Ridgefield) from the Mid-Fairfield U-15 squad in the second round (18th overall). In the third round (33rd overall), Matej Teply (Stamford) was chosen. He played for the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep. He was selected by the Chicago (Ill.) Steel. In the fifth round (63rd overall), Ronan Buckberger, the youngest son of former Beast of New Haven Ashley Buckberger, was selected by the Madison (WI) Capitols out of the Saskatoon U-18 (SMHL) program. Two years ago, he was selected by Swift Current (WHL). Taft’s (Watertown) top-flight goalie Rudy Guimond (Yale -ECACHL commit), from Pointe-Claire, Quebec, was selected by the Cedar Rapids (IA) Roughriders. He was taken in the fifth round (69th overall). Tate Pecknold (Southport), the son of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) head coach of the defending national champion Bobcats, Rand Pecknold, was taken in the 13th round (185th overall) by the Omaha (NE) Lancers. This season, he transferred from Avon Old Farms (CT) to St. George’s (RI). Lastly, Jackson Potulny, the nephew of ex-Pack Ryan Potulny, was taken in the 13th round (197th overall) by the Chicago Steel. He was selected from the U-18 team from the successful Minnesota program at Shattuck’s St. Mary’s (NAPHL). Back in the AHL, the North Division final pits the Toronto Marlies against the Rochester Americans. The Marlies feature Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) goalie Keith Petruzzelli, who won against the Wolf Pack in April. They may get some players from around the corner if Florida eliminates the parent Toronto Maple Leafs. Rochester features Michael Mersch, the son of late New Haven Nighthawk Mike Mersch and ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger Mason Jobst. The Hartford-Hershey tilt winner will play the North Division series winner for the Eastern Conference crown. Out west, two of the newest AHL teams, the Calgary Wranglers and Coachella Valley Firebirds, will square off. Player-wise, Calgary has former Rangers Kevin Rooney and Dryden Hunt. They also have Nick DeSimone (CT Oilers-EHL) and ex-UCONN (HE) defenseman Yan Kuznetsov. Behind the bench as one of the assistant coaches is former Whaler, New Haven Nighthawk, and Springfield Indian Don Nachbaur. The goalie coach is ex-Pack Mackenzie Skapski and AHL coach of the Year for two years in a row, Mitch Love. The Firebirds have former Quinnipiac University defenseman Brogan Rafferty. The Texas (Austin) Stars in the Central Division have just one Connecticut connection in GM Scott White, a one-time New Haven Senator. The Stars will tangle with the Milwaukee Admirals, who received nine players from the parent Nashville Predators. They feature recently acquired at the trade deadline from Hartford, Austin Rueschhoff, and ex-Pack captain and former UCONN (AHA years) player Cole Schneider. Also on the roster is Luke Evangelista, a second cousin to former Whaler Brendan Shanahan. The winners of those two series will battle for the Western Conference championship. The Charlotte Checkers released Mackie Samoskevitch (Sandy Hook) and Skylar Brind’Amour (Quinnipiac University) from their PTO and ATO deals. Charlie Risk of the NCAA Division III Independent, Albertus Magnus College (New Haven), signs with Mont Blanc (France-FFHG Division-2). HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

Oh I have a question for you guys- what are we to you? Look/sound wise? Are we voices in your head, or?

Florence perks up.

"I've never seen anything like it, but apparently it's a mobile phone!"

Annie rolls her eyes, mumbling, "Okay, grandma."

Florence continues anyway, not acknowledging Annie, "This technology is more advanced and complex than I've ever seen. Sometimes, we can hear your voices repeating through those flower things? I forget what they're called, let me check..."

She ruffles through the pages of her notebook, "Well, unless you're from here and talking to us, but I'm not sure that's happened yet. Brennan and Wren look a little on edge though."

KNOW WHO IS WITH OR AGAINST YOUR HUMANRIGHTS

Info from: https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/

NOMINEES

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights opposed the following Trump nominees:

Confirmed:

Alex Acosta, Secretary of Labor (no longer serving)

Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services

J. Campbell Barker, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

William Barr, U.S. Attorney General

Joseph Bianco, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Andrew Brasher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Michael Brennan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Daniel Bress, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Jeffrey Brown, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Brian Buescher, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska

Patrick Bumatay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

John Bush, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Daniel Collins, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education

Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Department of Justice

Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Allison Eid, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Charles Goodwin, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Neil Gorsuch, U.S. Supreme Court

Britt Grant, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Leonard Steven Grasz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Ryan Holte, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Matthew Kacsmaryk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Marvin Kaplan, National Labor Relations Board

Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court

Jonathan Kobes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Kathy Kraninger, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Joan Larsen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Kenneth Lee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Ken Marcus, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

Paul Matey, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Steven Menashi, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Eric Miller, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury

Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Eric Murphy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

John Nalbandian, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Ryan Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Howard Nielson, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

Mark Norris, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

Andrew Oldham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Michael Park, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary of Labor

Michael Pompeo, Secretary of State

David Porter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services (no longer serving)

Neomi Rao, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Chad Readler, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Lee Rudofsky, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas

Allison Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Labor

Jeff Sessions, Attorney General (no longer serving)

Brantley Starr, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

David Stras, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Holly Teeter, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Michael Truncale, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Wendy Vitter, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Justin Walker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Don Willett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Allen Winsor, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Patrick Wyrick, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Withdrawn:

Ryan Bounds, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Mark Green, Secretary of the Army

Jeff Mateer, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Matthew Petersen, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor

Brett Talley, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

Pending:

Stephen Schwartz, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Stephen Vaden, U.S. Court of International Trade

Cory Wilson, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Returned to the president, not re-nominated:

Thomas Farr, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Gordon Giampietro, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Halil Ozerden, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Damien Schiff, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

On May 13, 2019, The Leadership Conference announced opposition to judicial nominees who have refused to state unequivocally that the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision was correctly decided. Read our letter.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights expressed serious concerns about the following nominations/appointments:

Stephanos Bibas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Janet Dhillon, Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Kurt Engelhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Daniel Gade, Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Candice Jackson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education

Roger Severino, Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services

Amul Thapar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

A handful of American businesses have their fingers in almost every aspect of prison life, raking in billions of dollars every year for products and services — often with little oversight.

The big picture: Taxpayers, incarcerated people and their families spend around $85 billion a year on public and private correction facilities, bail and prison services, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

For-profit prison companies arose in response to the government's incapacity to handle the skyrocketing incarcerated population.

Now entrenched, they've become "one more hurdle" to changing the American system of mass incarceration, Lauren-Brooke Eisen of the Brennan Center for Justice told Axios.

These companies also have been known to cut corners — sometimes endangering people — in order to profit off of a system that disproportionately impacts the impoverished and marginalized.

Here's how they make money:

📞 Phone calls

About 80% of inmate calls go through Secarus or GTL, both owned by private equity and known for sometimes charging outrageous fees ($8.20 for the first minute, in one case cited in a lawsuit).

People in prison also can be charged extra to open and close phone accounts, plus a surcharge to fund them in the first place.

🚑 Medical services

The largest private provider of medical services to prisons is believed to be Corizon Health, operating in 220 facilities in 17 states and owned by a New York City hedge fund.

Pricing: Corizon was paid $15.16 per incarcerated person per day for medical staffing in Arizona's prisons, before being accused of cheating state monitors and losing the account to another private company.

🍔 Food services

Two companies — Aramark and Trinity Services — provide meals in around 800 state and local facilities.

The Michigan Department of Corrections awarded a $145 million contract to Aramark, then fired the company for everything from "meal shortages to maggots in the kitchen," and replaced the company with Trinity at an annual cost of $158 million.

Problems persisted under Trinity, causing Michigan to abandon privatized food services in its kitchens.

🚗 Transportation services

Tennessee-based Prisoner Transportation Services is the largest provider of transportation for jails and prisons.

In 2016, PTS priced its services to Nevada at $1.05 per adult per mile, with higher rates for minors or those with mental disabilities. The minimum trip fee was $350.

In the past several years, 14 women claimed to have been sexually assaulted by transportation guards and at least 4 people have died while being transported in PTS vehicles, per the Marshall Project.

👕 Clothes, toiletries, etc.

Incarcerated people and their families spend an estimated $1.6 billion every year on commissary items such as toiletries, clothes and games.

While these items aren't generally marked-up, people in prison make very little money to afford what they need.

Keefe Group and Bob Barker Company are two companies that specialize in producing secure items as well as supplying cell furniture, guard equipment and supplies.

What’s next: With bipartisan attention focused on fighting high recidivism rates, for-profit prison companies are expanding their businesses beyond prison walls.

They’re running re-entry programs intended to prepare people in prison for life after prison, providing ankle bracelets and other monitoring devices for parole and probation, and operating immigrant detention spaces.

A spokesperson for CoreCivic — one of the largest for-profit prison companies — told Axios one of the few areas they lobby for is re-entry programs at the state and federal level.

Go deeper:

By the numbers: U.S. incarceration and spending

The states where private prisons are thriving

Ending cash bail

Prisons thrive on poverty

The war on drugs anchors prison profits

How companies profit from immigrant detention

The prison labor you benefit from