#Production Company Minnesota

[gwyoi]

I really don’t want to be catastrophizing but I do feel like history is rhyming. migrants at the boarder are already being treated horribly - Biden asking trump for help is a political play and trump will decline, but it speaks to how similar their approach to the boarder will be. Texas AG asked for the names and health records of people being represented by PFLAG, abortion rights are gone federally and embryos are recognized as “people” . Idaho is already overrun with nazi homesteaders. The war machine doesn’t stop and Biden lied about a ceasefire in Palestine.

[newworldproductions]

Had a great time last week in rural Iowa video production shoot capturing footage for an agricultural industry client. Lots of fresh air, perfect weather, and great people to collaborate with! Getting out on video production location shoots can be challenging, but also sometimes work out better than one could hope for. In this case everything aligned just right. The talent was great, the client was an a blast to collaborate, and production went ahead in schedule.

[reasonsforhope]

Article Link

"Minnetonka first started selling its “Thunderbird” moccasins in 1965. Now, for the first time, they’ve been redesigned by a Native American designer.

It’s one step in the company’s larger work to deal with its history of cultural appropriation. The Minneapolis-based company launched in the 1940s as a small business making souvenirs for roadside gift shops in the region—including Native American-inspired moccasins, though the business wasn’t started or run by Native Americans. The moccasins soon became its biggest seller.

[Photo: Minnetonka]

Adrienne Benjamin, an Anishanaabe artist and community activist who became the company’s “reconciliation advisor,” was initially reluctant when a tribal elder approached her about meeting with the company. Other activists had dismissed the idea that the company would do the work to truly transform. But Benjamin agreed to the meeting, and the conversation convinced her to move forward.

“I sensed a genuine commitment to positive change,” she says. “They had really done their homework as far as understanding and acknowledging the wrong and the appropriation. I think they knew for a long time that things needed to get better, and they just weren’t sure what a first step was.”

Pictured: Lucie Skjefte and son Animikii [Photo: Minnetonka]

In 2020, Minnetonka publicly apologized “for having benefited from selling Native-inspired designs without directly honoring Native culture or communities.” It also said that it was actively recruiting Native Americans to work at the company, reexamining its branding, looking for Native-owned businesses to partner with, continuing to support Native American nonprofits, and that it planned to collaborate with Native American artists and designers.

Benjamin partnered with the company on the first collaboration, a collection of hand-beaded hats, and then recruited the Minneapolis-based designer Lucie Skjefte, a citizen of the Red Lake Nation, who designed the beadwork for another moccasin style and a pair of slippers for the brand. Skjefte says that she felt comfortable working with the company knowing that it had already done work with Benjamin on reconciliation. And she wasn’t a stranger to the brand. “Our grandmothers and our mothers would always look for moccasins in a clutch kind of situation where they didn’t have a pair ready and available to make on their own—then they would buy Minnetonka mocs and walk into a traditional pow wow and wear them,” she says. Her mother, she says, who passed away in 2019, would have been “immensely proud” that Skjefte’s design work was part of the moccasins—and on the new version of the Thunderbird moccasin, one of the company’s top-selling styles.

[Photo: Minnetonka]

“I started thinking about all of those stories, and what resonated with me visually,” Skjefte says. The redesign, she says, is much more detailed and authentic than the previous version. “Through the redesign and beading process, we are actively reclaiming and reconnecting our Animikii or Thunderbird motif with its Indigenous roots,” she says. Skjefte will earn royalties for the design, and Minnetonka will also separately donate a portion of the sale of each shoe to Mni Sota Fund, a nonprofit that helps Native Americans in Minnesota get training and capital for home ownership and entrepreneurship.

Some companies go a step farther—Manitobah Mukluks, based in Canada, has an Indigenous founder and more than half Indigenous staff. (While Minnetonka is actively recruiting more Native American workers, the company says that employees self-report race and it can’t share any data about its current number of Indigenous employees.) Beyond its own line of products, Manitobah also has an online Indigenous Market that features artists who earn 100% of the profit for their work.

White Bear Moccasins, a Native-owned-and-made brand in Montana, makes moccasins from bison hide. Each custom pair can take six to eight hours to make; the shoes cost hundreds of dollars, though they can also be repaired and last as long as a lifetime, says owner Shauna White Bear. In interviews, White Bear has said that she wants “to take our craft back,” from companies like Minnetonka. But she also told Fast Company that she doesn’t think that Minnetonka, as a family-owned business, should have to lose its livelihood now and stop making moccasins.

The situation is arguably different for other fashion brands that might use a Native American symbol—or rip off a Native American design completely—on a single product that could easily be taken off the market. Benjamin says that she has also worked with other companies that have discontinued products.

She sees five steps in the process of reconciliation. First, the person or company who did wrong has to acknowledge the wrong. Then they need to publicly apologize, begin to change behavior, start to rebuild trust, and then, eventually, the wronged party might take the step of forgiveness. Right now, she says, Minnetonka is in the third phase of behavior change. The brand plans to continue to collaborate with Native American designers.

The company can be an example to others on how to listen and build true relationships, Benjamin says. “I think that’s the only way that these relationships are going to get any better—people have to sit down and talk about it,” she says. “People have to be real. People have to apologize. They have to want to reconcile with people.”

The leadership at Minnetonka can also be allies in pushing other companies to do better. “My voice is important at the table as an Indigenous woman,” Benjamin says. “Lucie’s voice is important. But at tables where there’s a majority of people that aren’t Indigenous, sometimes those allies’ voices are more powerful in those spaces, because that means that they’ve signed on to what we’re saying. The power has signed on to moving forward and we agree with ‘Yes, this was wrong.’ That’s the stuff that’s going to change [things] right there.”"

-via FastCompany, February 7, 2024

[feminist-space]

Article by Fortesa Latifi:

"Being the child of an influencer, Vanessa tells me, was the equivalent of having a full-time job—and then some. She remembers late nights in which the family recorded and rerecorded videos until her mother considered them perfect and days when creating content for the blog stretched into her homeschooling time. If she expressed her unease, she was told the family needed her. “It was like after this next campaign, maybe we could have more time to relax. And then it would never happen,” she says. She was around 10 years old when she realized her life was different from that of other children. When she went to other kids’ houses, she was surprised by how they lived. “I felt strange that they didn’t have to work on social media or blog posts, or constantly pose for pictures or videos,” she says. “I realized they didn’t have to worry about their family's financial situation or contribute to it.”

Vanessa, who requested anonymity to speak freely about her family dynamics, says she helped create content for huge companies like Huggies and Hasbro when her mom landed endorsement deals. When she reached puberty and began menstruating, her mother had her do sponsored posts for sanitary pads. “It was so mortifying,” she says. “I just felt like I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.”

Being part of an influencer family changed everything about her life, Vanessa says. “Sometimes I didn’t know where the separation was between what was real and what was curated for social media.” And her mother’s online presence indelibly warped their relationship. “Being an influencer kid turned my relationship with my mom into more of an employer-employee relationship than a parent-child one,” she says. “Once you cross the line from being family to being coworkers, you can’t really go back.”

...

Khanbalinov has had zero new offers since he took his kids offline. “When we were showing our kids, brands were rolling in left and right—clothing companies, apps, paper towel companies, food brands. They all wanted us to work with them,” he says. “Once we stopped, we reached out to the brands we had lined up and 99 percent of them dropped out because they wanted kids to showcase their products. And I fought back, like, you guys are a paper towel company—why do you need a kid selling your stuff?”

The law has woefully lagged behind the culture here, but there’s signs that policymakers might finally be catching up. In 2023, in addition to Illinois, three other states—New York, Washington State, and New Jersey—proposed bills to protect influencer kids. Contrast that with the flurry of legislative activity in just the first two months of 2024. Seven more states—Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, California, Arizona, Minnesota—have introduced similar legislation. Some of the bills are going one step further to protect the privacy of the kids featured in this content. In some states, proposed legislation would include a clause that borrows from a European legal doctrine known as the “right to be forgotten”—it would allow someone who was featured in content when they were a child to request that platforms permanently delete those posts. None of the current legislation introduced, however, would outright bar the practice of featuring minors in monetized content.

...

The movement on this issue was glacial for years, but it finally feels like the ice has thawed. Much of that progress is thanks to activists like Cam Barrett (she/they), a 25-year-old creator (@softscorpio) who uses TikTok to talk about her experience of being overshared in their childhood and adolescence. Barrett doesn’t go by her legal name anymore because of the online history it’s tied to. “I love my legal name,” Barrett tells me. “I just don’t love the digital footprint attached to it.” Last year, Barrett testified in front of the Washington State legislature as a proponent of a bill to protect influencer kids. This year, they testified again—this time, in front of the Maryland legislature.

“As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” Barrett told the Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee in February. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.” And yet, Cam says her activism has been healing.

For Cam and other influencer children, getting a paycheck won’t give them back what they lost—a normal childhood unobstructed by the cameras pushed into their faces. But it could be the beginning of some version of restitution. “My friends say I’m fighting for little Cam,” she tells me. “It feels very healing because I didn’t have anyone to fight for me as a kid.”"

Read the full article here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a60125272/sharenting-parenting-influencer-cost-children/

[kamehamehamlet]

The Tumblr reblog sensation is returning. But like the Sayians or Shakespeare’s folios, it has the potential to develop in many forms.

Visit kamehamehamlet.com to be notified when we have more details.

Follow this blog for a peak behind the curtain.

And read on to learn more about the show, how we got here, and where we’re going.

Thank you for waiting just a little bit longer.

Revival Project FAQ

Who are you?

Hi! I’m Daniel Cole Mauleón (@writepictures), the writer of Kamehamehamlet. In 2015 I co-founded the theatre company Play-Dot Productions with KHH’s director Shalee Mae Cole Mauleón.

What is Kamehamehamlet?

Kamehamehamlet: Good Night Saiyan Prince, was an hour-long one act play, performed during the 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival. It’s a staged retelling of Vegeta and Freeza’s battle on the planet Namek. Marketed as a Dragon Ball Z and Hamlet mash-up, the parody quickly shuffled off its weighted gi, revealing it was actually a Waiting for Godot spoof. After five performances, Vegeta hung up his helmet of spiky hair. Seven years later, K (@amokslime) wrote this incredibly gracious post on Tumblr, which inspired two people to reach out to me via Reddit to ask if I had a script or a recording of the performance.

I want to pause the semi-marketing voice and say a heartfelt thanks to K. Kamehamehamlet was brought to life by an incredible team of artists during a summer I’ll never forget. We got laughs at jokes, gasps at fight choreography, and we broke even on the budget (a Fringe miracle TBH). K’s post gave me the chance to revisit that show through someone else’s eyes. The mix of pride and humility it stirs up is truly indescribable.

If there is art which has changed you, and especially if the artist is still alive I encourage you to non-intrusively share that with the artist.

Is there a copy of the script?

Yes, I’ll speak more about that at below.

Is there a recording of the performance?

There was, but I genuinely lost the files. And that’s for the best, honestly. It was a last-second attempt, filmed from two cheap cameras (with different qualities and resolutions!), both at bad angles and with truly awful audio. Trust me. It’s better this way.

That said, I do have other archival footage from rehearsal's, tech, etc. that I look forward to sharing for those curious.

What’s next?

This is the question I’ve been asking myself over the past year and the reason it took so long to post anything. Especially since one thing I want to do differently this time is make sure that any artists involved are meaningfully compensated for their time and skill. However, I can’t plan without a better estimate of what kind of support we would have, and I didn’t want to share our intentions without concrete details. Right now, the best way you can support this project is by signing up for the announcement on kamehamehamlet.com and following us on Tumblr and YouTube!

The second best thing you can do is to share with others about this project, if I’ve learned anything reading through the comments on K’s post, it is that there’s a much bigger audience for KHH than I could have ever imagined, and you likely know at least one more person who would be interested.

And while I don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver on, I will share that I’m planning on making the script available this year and I’ll be writing a separate post about that in near future.

Update 5/21/24: We've announced a staged reading for later this year! (Click to learn more) Update 6/11/24: We're going live on YouTube every Saturday through June to rally fans and talk about the project. This link will always take you to the upcoming stream. And this link will take you past recordings.

If you’ve read this far thank you so much.

Photography by Ann B. Erickson. Vegeta is played by McKenzie Shappell. Freeza is played by Cayla Marie Wolpers. Costumes by Sarah Noel Simon.

[mariacallous]

Oregon governor Tina Kotek yesterday signed the state's Right to Repair Act, which will push manufacturers to provide more repair options for their products than any other state so far.

The law, like those passed in New York, California, and Minnesota, will require many manufacturers to provide the same parts, tools, and documentation to individuals and repair shops that they provide to their own repair teams.

But Oregon's bill goes further, preventing companies from implementing schemes that require parts to be verified through encrypted software checks before they will function, known as parts pairing or serialization. Oregon’s bill, SB 1596, is the first in the nation to target that practice. Oregon state senator Janeen Sollman and representative Courtney Neron, both Democrats, sponsored and pushed the bill in the state senate and legislature.

“By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the Right to Repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running,” said Charlie Fisher, director of Oregon's chapter of the Public Interest Research Group, in a statement. “That will conserve precious natural resources and prevent waste. It’s a refreshing alternative to a ‘throwaway’ system that treats everything as disposable.”

Oregon's law isn't stronger in every regard. For one, there is no set number of years for a manufacturer to support a device with repair support. Parts pairing is prohibited only on devices sold in 2025 and later. And there are carve-outs for certain kinds of electronics and devices, including video game consoles, medical devices, HVAC systems, motor vehicles, and—as with other states—“electric toothbrushes.”

Apple opposed the Oregon repair bill for its parts-pairing ban. John Perry, a senior manager for secure design at Apple, testified at a February hearing in Oregon that the pairing restriction would “undermine the security, safety, and privacy of Oregonians by forcing device manufacturers to allow the use of parts of unknown origin in consumer devices.”

Apple surprised many observers with its support for California's repair bill in 2023, though it did so after pressing for repair providers to mention when they use “non-genuine or used” components and to bar repair providers from disabling security features.

According to Consumer Reports, which lobbied and testified in support of Oregon's bill, the repair laws passed in four states now cover nearly 70 million people.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - March 20, 2023

🌱 - Okra to the Rescue and Other News You Can't 'Lettuce' Miss This Week

1. 4 day work week being pushed in Congress

Progressive Democrats, led by Rep. Mark Takano of California, are pushing for a four-day workweek to give Americans more time for leisure outside of work. The proposed Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require overtime pay for any employee working more than 32 hours in a week at a rate of time and a half.

More than 70 British companies have started to test a four-day workweek, and halfway through the six-month trial, most respondents reported there has been no loss in productivity.

2. Governor Walz signs universal school meals bill into Minnesota law

Minnesota just became the fourth state in the US to provide breakfasts and lunches at no charge to students at participating schools! The bill was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz on Friday, and it's set to ease the burden on parents who struggle to provide meals for their children.

The new legislation will cover the cost of meals for all students, regardless of household income. This means that families who don't qualify for free and reduced meals but who struggle to pay for food will also be covered. The bill is also meant to prevent "lunch shaming" practices, where children are denied food or given substitutes that indicate their family is struggling financially.

3. Texas Researchers Use Okra to Remove Microplastics from Wastewater

Researchers from Tarleton State University in Fort Worth, Texas discovered that food-grade plant extracts from okra have the power to remove microplastics from wastewater. Polysaccharide extracts from plants like fenugreek, cactus, aloe vera, tamarind, and okra were found to be effective non-toxic flocculant alternatives to remove microplastics from water.

Polysaccharides from okra and fenugreek were best for removing microplastics from ocean water, while a combination of okra and tamarind worked best for freshwater. Furthermore, plant-based flocculants can be easily implemented in existing water treatment facilities.

4. In the northern California snow, stranded cows are getting emergency hay drops

The recent wave of unprecedented snowfall in California has left cattle stranded and starving. When rancher Robert Puga ran out of hay, neighboring Humboldt County officials put together an emergency rescue operation called "Operation Hay Drop." State, federal, and local officials airdropped stranded cattle bales of hay to feed them.

Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal went to the Coast Guard with the idea of a helicopter rescue, and by midday Sunday, March 5, Operation Hay Drop was underway. So far, Operation Hay Drop has been a success, said rancher Puga. The mission covers about 2,500 head of cattle over several miles.

5. Make-A-Wish Foundation no longer considers Cystic Fibrosis to be automatically qualifying due to improvements in life outcomes for patients

Given the ongoing life-changing advances in cystic fibrosis, beginning in January 2024, cystic fibrosis will no longer automatically qualify for a wish.

6. 1st woman given stem cell transplant to cure HIV is still virus-free 5 years later

In 2017, a woman known as the "New York patient" underwent a stem cell transplant to treat both her cancer and HIV. Now, about 30 months later, she has been virus-free and off her HIV medication, leading some researchers to suggest that she may have been cured of HIV.

The New York patient, received stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood that also had the HIV-resistance genes. However, it's important to note that there is no official distinction between being cured and being in long-term remission, and the medical team is waiting for longer-term follow-up before making any definitive statements.

7. Cheetahs Back in Wild in India After Seven Decades

Namibian cheetahs have been successfully reintroduced to India after the world's fastest land animal was declared extinct in the South Asian country more than 70 years ago. Two cheetahs, Obaan and Asha, were released into the wild of Kuno National Park after being brought to India last September.

The species is being reintroduced on an experimental basis as part of a major prestige project for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India aims to bring in about 100 of the big cats over the next decade. The African cheetah is a different subspecies from the extinct Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed the sub-continent in great numbers.

Lastly, I recently opened a Youtube channel. Subscribe for a weekly compilation of feel good videos.

- - -

That's it for this week :) If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Let's carry the positivity into next week and keep spreading the good news!

[ac3may]

“ the wag diaries ”

How You Met

~ Alessia Russo ~

~~~~~~~~~~

Alessia would never make any claim to know anything about ice hockey before she met you

but if interrogated she couldn't deny that Y/N L/N was a prominent face in her mind since she was a teen

most people had only recently began to recognise you with your increasing sponsorships

Alessia however had known of you from your college days

she had been dragged to a UNC friends hometown in Minnesota where she attended her first ever ice hockey game

it was an unfamiliar sport to the Brit, the violence definitely shocked her

she thought football was physical enough

number 23 immediately drew her attention though

the way she managed to dominate the rink while still gliding so gracefully was addicting

it wasn't until four years later when your face was plastered across all the sporting outlets that Alessia was reminded just how attractive she found the sport

or maybe it really was just you

the next time you crossed Alessia’s path you were a lot more physical, a lot more real, and a lot more directly in front of her

both being sponsored by Beats by Dre you had been invited to their rooftop event in LA, launching a new product

laying eyes on the blonde from across the dance floor you knew immediately you had to meet her

approaching her at the bar it was evident that she was shocked to see you

although that did nothing but spur your ego

the cocky glint appearing in your eye only attracted Alessia more

"hey, pretty lady. any chance I can interest you in drink? some company perhaps?”

"well I'm pretty sure it's an open bar, so drinks are free" 

*eyes widen in rejection*

*she touches your arm*

she TOUCHES your arm!!

"but I could do with some company"

you then spend the following many drinks sat a little too close to be friendly

talking, giggling, and flirting around the fire pit

within an hour the pair of you had abandoned the groups you arrived with and tumbled into whoever's hotel room was closest

the following morning of room service in bed and further extra-circicular activities had Alessia thinking maybe something more would come

but after watching your broad shoulders walk away from her, freshly showered back buried in her duvet, there was no contact to follow

after several months of teasing from Ella about her new interest in hockey you appeared again

you had been visiting England to complete several press and media requirements, one of which being a photoshoot campaign with Beats

grumbling to your best friend and manager after a long train ride and cramped Uber to the studio in Manchester the last person you expected to be faced with was Alessia

not learning her lesson, again Alessia ended up in the same bed as you by the end of the night

as well as a supply closet, restaurant bathroom and hotel pool before that

this time though she was the one to walk away, and not without the promise of a regular arrangement

you were by no means in a relationship

but every time you were in the same country you sought each other out

neither of you had time for that anyway

a year later when Alessia joined her team in the Euros final you made the decision to fly out and surprise her in the stands

As soon as she made eye contact with you Alessia lost all interest in the impending afterparty

staying only as long as was polite before dragging you off to yet another hotel room

You were more than happy to accommodate her wishes though

the entire trip being made to celebrate her achievements in the first place

Alessia is demanding in physically wrapping your arms around her naked body when you try to stand and leave

on the high of the win she is extra confident

and the exhaustion catching up to her reigns her filterless

"why do you always leave me, am I just a warm body to you?"

*you gape, too stunned to speak*

*her pout is dramatically adorable*

"Alessia you are SO much more than a warm body to me! how could you even think that?!"

holding her tighter in your arms you listen as she explains her insecurity

all the while she played with your tangled fingers, resting on her stomach

hearing her out you admitted your intimidation of her being too good for you

the simple solution, that pleased both of you, came when she finally asked you to be her girlfriend

of course you agreed immediately

sealing it with a kiss

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, question for anyone enjoying/invested in the wag diaries. Does anyone have suggestions for different nicknames we could maybe call the “characters”? I feel like mixing all the Y/N’s is already getting pretty confusing….

[beardedmrbean]

California became just the third state in the nation to pass a "right to repair" consumer protection law on Tuesday, following Minnesota and New York, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 244. The California Right to Repair bill had originally been introduced in 2019. It passed, nearly unanimously, through the state legislature in September.

“This is a victory for consumers and the planet, and it just makes sense,” Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG, told iFixit(which was also one of SB244's co-sponsors). “Right now, we mine the planet’s precious minerals, use them to make amazing phones and other electronics, ship these products across the world, and then toss them away after just a few years’ use ... We should make stuff that lasts and be able to fix our stuff when it breaks, and now thanks to years of advocacy, Californians will finally be able to, with the Right to Repair.”

Turns out Google isn't offering seven years of replacement parts and software updates to the Pixel 8 out of the goodness of its un-beating corporate heart. The new law directly stipulates that all electronics and appliances costing $50 or more, and sold within the state after July 1, 2021 (yup, two years ago), will be covered under the legislation once it goes into effect next year, on July 1, 2024. For gear and gadgets that cost between $50 and $99, device makers will have to stock replacement parts and tools, and maintain documentation for three years. Anything over $100 in value gets covered for the full seven-year term. Companies that fail to do so will be fined $1,000 per day on the first violation, $2,000 a day for the second and $5,000 per day per violation thereafter.

There are, of course, carve outs and exceptions to the rules. No, your PS5 is not covered. Not even that new skinny one. None of the game consoles are, neither are alarm systems or heavy industrial equipment that "vitally affects the general economy of the state, the public interest, and the public welfare."

“I’m thrilled that the Governor has signed the Right to Repair Act into law," State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said. "As I’ve said all along, I’m so grateful to the advocates fueling this movement with us for the past six years, and the manufacturers that have come along to support Californians’ Right to Repair. This is a common sense bill that will help small repair shops, give choice to consumers, and protect the environment.”

The bill even received support from Apple, of all companies. The tech giant famous for its "walled garden" product ecosystem had railed against the idea when it was previously proposed in Nebraska, claiming the state would become "a mecca for hackers." However, the company changed its tune when SB 244 was being debated, writing a letter of support reportedly stating, "We support 'SB 244' because it includes requirements that protect individual users' safety and security as well as product manufacturers' intellectual property."

[starblaster]

hey please go check your freezers if you've bought any bags of frozen strawberries, frozen mixed fruit, or fruit smoothie blends from Walmart, HEB, or Costco; the brands Great Value and Rader Farms (plus Rader Farms: Fresh Start) had products recalled for hepatitis A contamination (source):

Willamette Valley Fruit Co. in Salem, OR is voluntarily recalling select packages of frozen fruit containing strawberries grown in Mexico due to the potential for Hepatitis A contamination. To date (June 13th, 2023), there have been no illnesses associated with this voluntary recall.

Company name: Willamette Valley Fruit Co Brand name: Great Value and Rader Farms Product recalled: Frozen strawberries and frozen fruit blends containing frozen strawberries Reason of the recall: Potential for Hepatitis A contamination FDA Recall date: June 13, 2023

Products were distributed via the following retailers:

Walmart: Great Value Sliced Strawberries, Great Value Mixed Fruit, and Great Value Antioxidant Blend distributed to select Walmart stores in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York state, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming from January 24th, 2023 to June 8th, 2023

Costco Wholesale Stores: Rader Farms Organic Fresh Start Smoothie Blend distributed to Costco Wholesale stores in Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona from October 3rd, 2022 and June 8th, 2023.

HEB: Rader Farms Organic Berry Trio distributed to HEB stores in Texas from July 18th, 2022 to June 8th, 2023.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that results from exposure to the Hepatitis A virus, including from food. It can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious illness lasting several months. Illness generally occurs within 15 to 50 days of exposure and includes fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool. In rare cases, particularly consumers who have a pre-existing severe illness or are immune compromised, Hepatitis A infection can progress to liver failure. Persons who may have consumed affected product should consult with their health care professional or local health department to determine if a vaccination is appropriate, and consumers with symptoms of Hepatitis A should contact their health care professionals or the local health department immediately.

Recalled products include the following:

Walmart: Great Value Sliced Strawberries are packaged in a 64oz (4lb) 1.81kg plastic bag with the following codes: Lot: 4018305; Best By: 7/19/2024 Lot: 4019305; Best By: 7/20/2024

Great Value Mixed Fruit, packaged in a 64oz (4lb) 1.81kg plastic bag, with the following codes: Lot: 4024205; Best By: 7/25/2024 Lot: 4025305; Best By: 7/26/2024 Lot: 4032305; Best By: 8/3/2024 Lot: 4033305; Best By: 8/4/2024 Lot: 4034305; Best By: 8/5/2024 Lot: 4035305; Best By: 8/6/2024

Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend, is packaged in a 40oz (2lb 8oz) 1.13kg plastic bag, with the following codes: Lot: 4018305; Best By: 7/19/2024 Lot: 4019305; Best By: 7/20/2024

Great Value Mixed Fruit, packaged in a 64oz (4lb) 1.81kg plastic bag, with the following codes: Lot: 4024205; Best By: 7/25/2024 Lot: 4025305; Best By: 7/26/2024 Lot: 4032305; Best By: 8/2/2024 Lot: 4033305; Best By: 8/3/2024 Lot: 4034305; Best By: 8/4/2024 Lot: 4035305; Best By: 8/5/2024

Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend, is packaged in a 40oz (2lb 8oz) 1.13kg plastic bag, with the following codes: Lot: 4032305; Best By: 8/2/2024

Costco Wholesale: Rader Farms Fresh Start Smoothie Blend, packaged in 48oz (1.36kg) plastic bag containing six 8oz plastic pouches. With the following codes: Lot: 4224202; Best By: 2/11/2024 Lot: 4313202; Best By: 5/10/2024 Lot: 4314202; Best By: 5/11/2024 Lot: 4363202; Best By: 6/29/2024 Lot: 4364202; Best By: 6/30/2024 Lot: 4017302; Best By: 7/18/2024 Lot: 4018302; Best By: 7/19/2024 Lot: 4042306; Best By: 8/12/2024 Lot: 4043306; Best By: 8/13/2024 Lot: 4060306; Best By: 8/30/2024

HEB: Rader Farms Organic Berry Trio distributed to HEB packaged in a 3lb (1.36kg) plastic bag. With the following codes: Lot: 4153205; Best By: 12/2/2023 Lot: 4283202; Best By: 4/10/2024 Lot: 4284202; Best By: 4/11/2024 Lot: 4058302; Best By: 8/28/2024 Lot: 4059302; Best By: 8/29/2024

Consumers are urged to check their freezers for the recalled product, not to consume it and either discard the product or return it to the store for a refund. Products that have different lot code or purchase dates are not subject to this recall.

In case you experienced Hepatitis A symptoms, it is important to report it. It can help to detect [and] resolve issues and prevent others from being harmed, and it enables better surveillance [of food contamination-related illnesses].

[iww-gnv]

Monogram Meat Snacks was slapped with a $140,164 fine after a Chandler, Minnesota factory run by the company was found in violation of child labor laws. The manufacturer is a subsidiary of Monogram Food Solutions LLC, which operates 13 factories across seven states and produces items like Wild Bill's Jerky, Bull's Snack Sticks, and Butterball Smoked Turkey Sticks. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the company had 11 or more children between the ages of 15 and 17 years old working at its Minnesota factory. Underage employees were even tasked with operating dangerous machinery. During an investigation that began in March 2023, the Labor Department temporarily banned the company from shipping its meat and cheese products from the facility. In July 2023, the DoL initially fined the company $30,276, after it was revealed that the facility employed two minors, aged 16 and 17. The additional civil penalty, which the company agreed to pay on October 5, comes following the discovery of nine more underage workers.

[newworldproductions]

At New World Productions, nestled in the heart of NE Arts District in Minneapolis, Minnesota, we're more than just a video production company—we're your partners in crafting captivating marketing videos that help to elevate your brand and grow your business's bottom line.

Our process is simple yet highly effective. We start by diving deep into understanding your brand, your goals, and your target audience. This foundational step allows us to tailor our approach to suit your unique needs, ensuring that every frame we capture aligns perfectly with your vision and objectives.

Next, we collaborate closely with you every step of the way. From conceptualization to scripting, filming, and post-production, we value your input and insights. After all, nobody knows your brand better than you do. Together, we'll brainstorm ideas, fine-tune concepts, and bring your vision to life with creativity and precision.

But our commitment to excellence doesn't end there. We leverage the latest technology and industry best practices to deliver high-quality, professional-grade videos that leave a lasting impression. Whether you need a promotional video, a product demo, or a customer testimonial, we have the expertise and resources to make it happen seamlessly.

What truly sets us apart, however, is our dedication to customer satisfaction. We understand that your success is our success, which is why we go above and beyond to exceed your expectations at every turn. Our team of experienced videographers, editors, and storytellers are passionate about their craft, and it shows in the final product.

So, if you're ready to elevate your marketing game and make a lasting impact on your audience, look no further than New World Productions. Let's collaborate, innovate, and create something extraordinary together. Your brand deserves nothing less. Contact us today to get started on your next video project. https://www.newworldproductions.net

[woolandcoffee]

I haven't seen anything about this in non-legal media yet, but it might interest you all to know that 19 Republican-led states are currently attempting to get the Supreme Court to prohibit Democrat-led states (currently California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) from bringing climate-related tort litigation against fossil fuel companies for concealing the risks of fossil fuel production and use. The Republicans claim that such lawsuits brought by Democrats are unconstitutional attempts by states to dictate U.S. energy policy. Now, this is obviously a ridiculous argument that should, on its face, be thrown out for being bugfuck stupid. But since SCOTUS is filled with bugfuck stupid people there's a good chance they'll agree to hear the case.

There's a lot about this that's concerning. Obviously and maybe most concerning is the clear attempt by Republican-led states to restrict the sovereignty of Democrat-led states. This isn't about energy policy, this is about powerful Republicans attempting to prevent certain states from filing lawsuits against fossil fuel companies full stop. But if they're successful here, who knows what will be next. In that regard, this is a massive crisis.

But, just as concerning, this would have a massive impact on the use of courts as tool for holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their many misdeeds. I've spoken on this blog before about how courts are, in general, not the best tool for combating the climate crisis and crimes committed by fossil fuel companies. These companies are intertwined with the U.S. government to such a degree that courts are not super willing to go as far as they need to. However, that may be starting to change - not fast enough, and not enough to make courts the best tool for combating these crimes, direct action is still our best bet - as evidenced by some Democrat-led states initiating tort actions against some fossil fuel companies. But, if this attempt by Republican-led states is successful, that would likely mean that the courts will be even more useless than ever.

The case is called State of Alabama v. State of California and was filed with the Supreme Court on May 22, 2024. It's definitely possible that SCOTUS will decide not to hear this, but let's not put anything past them.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: 2A

Donna Murphy (1959) “DONNA MURPHY (Anna) received the 1996 Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her performance in The King and I. She also received the 1994 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her portrayal of Fosca in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Passion. Last summer she was featured as Dorothy Trowbridge in Mr. Lapine’s Twelve Dreams at Lincoln Center (Drama Desk nomination). Other Broadway Credits include: Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Human Comedy, and They’re Playing Our Song. Off-B’way: The Whore in Michael John LaChuisa’s Hello Again (Drama Desk nom.), Rose in Song of Singapore (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle noms.), Hey Love; The Songs of Mary Rodgers, Privates on Parade, Showing Off, Birds of Paradise, A…My Name is Alice, Little Shop of Horrors. Regional work includes Miss Julie (McCarter), Pal Joey (Huntington), Williamstown, Portland Shage Co. and Goodspeed. She made her feature film debut in Jade, and co-stared (sp) in “Someone Had to Be Benny” for HBO. Other TV includes: Francesa Cross on Stephen Bocho’s “Murder One,” “Law & Order,” “A Table at Ciro’s” (PBS Great Performances), “Another World” and the American Playhouse Production of Passion. Ms. Murphy can be heard on the original cast recordings of Passion (Grammy Award), and Hello Again, and is featured on Leonard Bernstein’s New York on Electra/Noneshuch.” – Playbill bio from The King and I, December 1996.

Mary Beth Peil (1940) "MARY BETH PEIL (Anna Leonowens), before joining the 1982 Los Angeles production of The King and I, received national acclaim for her television portrayal of Alma Winemiller in Lee Hoiby's opera Summer and Smoke (based on the Tennessee Williams play), produced by PBS and the Chicago Opera Theatre. As a member of New York's Theatre for a New Audience she has apperaed in many productions of Shakespeare. A Graduate of Northwestern University and a First Prize winner of the Metropolitian Opera Auditions, Mary Beth has been featured in opera and musical theatre with such companies as The Metropolitan Opera National Company, the New York City Opera, the Lake George Opera and the Minnesota Opera. She has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Honolulu Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, the New York Young Concert Artists and the Cincinnati Area Artists Series. Favorite musical theatre roles that she has performed include Rosabella in Most Happy Fella, Magnolia in Show Boat and Kate in Kiss Me, Kate." - Playbill bio from The King and I, March, 1985.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"We have Donna Murphy as Dolly. We have Donna Murphy as Aurelia. What are we doing to get Donna Murphy in a Mame revival so she can hit the Jerry Herman trifecta? I need this woman back on a stage immediately and genuinely, I cannot tell you how much money I'd be realistically willing to shell out. And on a more personal note? What do I have to do to get Donna Murphy to look at me like she wants to devour me whole? The things I want to do to this woman... She has chemistry with every single person she crosses paths with. I need her carnally."

"Mary Beth Peil's hair deserves a Tony Award of its own. She started going grey almost twenty years ago and never looked back. A grey-haired octogenarian who's actively out here being hot and sexy and showing skin is quite possible one of the hottest things in the world. Let me reiterate: I want to fuck this old woman."

[hungwy]

3M announced Tuesday that it will stop manufacturing a group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) and work to stop using the chemicals in its products by the end of 2025.  The company nets about $1.3 billion annually from the chemical sales — a fraction of its overall revenue, at 3.7%. The Maplewood company has made the so-called “forever chemicals” — called that because they accumulate in the human body and environment — in Minnesota since the 1950s.  They’ve been used to make coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water such as Scotchgard stain repellent, Teflon cookware, fast food wrapping and fire retardants.

[…]

Making the chemicals produced millions of gallons of wet industrial waste in Minnesota, which 3M dumped in unlined landfills, polluting groundwater in the East Metro. The company’s chemical history was the subject of a two-part Reformer special report last week.  3M said in a press release that its decision was based on careful consideration of “the evolving external landscape, including multiple factors such as accelerating regulatory trends focused on reducing or eliminating the presence of PFAS in the environment and changing stakeholder expectations.”

[…]

And, [attorney Robert Bilott] said, it “has come only after the truth of what 3M has long known about the harm that these toxins pose was revealed to the world through litigation by the innocent victims of this massive cover-up.”

[…]

Internal 3M documents obtained through lawsuits show the company has known about the chemicals’ dangers for decades, but ignored, delayed, minimized and obscured research that raised red flags about the chemicals, stifling scientific research.  In the 1950s, 3M scientists discovered the chemicals were accumulating in the bodies of humans and animals. By the early 1960s, 3M knew the chemicals didn’t degrade in the environment. And by the 1970s, the company knew its chemicals were widely present in the blood of most Americans. Now the chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly all people on the planet, and in animals from polar bears to eaglets.

[…]

What remains to be seen, Bilott said, is whether the company will ever accept responsibility and pay to clean up the “unprecedented global contamination” including contamination of drinking water supplies, soil, wildlife and people.

(emphasis mine)

[mayakern]

hello!! if you don't mind me asking, what was your professional art journey like? (esp the earlier years) was MonsterPop! your first big project online? were you still taking client work when you opened up your shop? you're a very inspiring artist and I hope to be in a similar position as you one day! thank you so much for your time!

oh boy this is a doozy! and also a lot of this involves devin bc our success is completely intertwined

i went to art school (MCAD) from 2009-2013. i majored in comic art but had a secondary unofficial focus in illustration, specifically product design, and i interned at paper bicycle (the company of my product design teacher) my senior year, the same year they opened up light grey art lab. i mailed out a LOT of tarot decks. they didn't have a label printer so this took forever.

during that time i took some freelance illustration and comic gigs and also created some comics that got an amount of traction online (mostly on tumblr but i also got an io9 article written about me iirc). i also started making monsterpop (in 2012 i think?).

in 2012 i ran my first kickstarter to crowdfund an anthology of some of my short comics (how to be a mermaid, the little robot girl, fairyfail) and got my first taste of proper self publishing. sadly this was before i created redden (which was my senior thesis comic) so it wasn't included. i didn't have label printer so mailing out the books (i think i sold around 200) took forever and i ended up throwing a pizza party with my friends and having them help me.

after graduating i moved to the LA area in search of work. it honestly sucked ass and most things didn't pan out but eventually (2014) i got a remote job contracting for gaiaonline and i moved right back to minnesota bc i absolutely hated LA.

i met devin (my wife) 20 days after moving back to minneapolis. in 2015 i ran a kickstarter to fund printing the first volume of monsterpop and people bought almost 400 books. it was insane. i was dying under the stress of trying to mail it all out those packages and didn't own a label printer yet. between having to hand write the addresses, being both dyslexic AND slow, and getting headaches from the fumes, i could send out a max of like 10 packages a day. once again i was planning to throw another pizza party to have my friends help me out, but devin swooped in and got 100 packages done in just a couple hours and when i tell you that no one has ever done anything sexier for me in my life, i truly mean it.

at the time devin and i were both broke living paycheck to paycheck. gaia didn't pay well and the patreon money i got helped, but wasn't that much. i took some freelance/commissions and got some store and convention sales, but i was making around 22-26k and was constantly overworked. devin was in significant credit card debt and was barely scraping by between managing a gas station and school. i started making my very first skirts and then at the end of 2015 my arm, the thing that made me what little money i did make, gave out.

i couldn't draw anymore. this could have literally ended my art career, but instead devin stepped up. they took a look at all the things i was already selling in my store and figured out a way to repackage/bundle the items together in a way that was fun and appealing. and people actually bought the bundles! at that point the vast majority of my sales were at conventions and i wasn't very good at selling online, but that was the beginning of a new era. devin started working with me part time to manage the online store and go with me to conventions and things started getting better. at some point during this saga we finally bought a goddamn label printer.

by 2017 devin started working with me full time. we also got married and moved across the country to upstate NY. in 2018 we got a CPA and became an SCORP and monsterpop became a finalist for the prism comics award, which scored me an invite as a guest at SDCC. i really wish i had enjoyed that experience, but unfortunately i was dealing with some Bad Medication Issues and was extremely sick the whole weekend. otherwise it was great tho and devin had enough fun for the both of us. this is also around when i officially stopped taking freelance work. prior to that i'd only been taking a couple jobs a year, but the store was finally making enough that i could stop.

in 2019 i made the difficult decision to end monsterpop. this came with a lot of heartache but it was the right thing to do. i am much better now for it. i think 2019 is also when we became an SCORP.

we hired our first employee (lindsy) in, i think 2021. it might have been the end of 2020. and in 2022 we hired our second employee (ariel), who had been modeling for us already for a couple years bc she is our very close friend and actually the reason we moved out to NY in the first place. in late 2022 we started working with ash, who now manages our product supply chain and also is patterning new garments for us.

there's probably a bunch of stuff i've missed but this is roughly it! neither devin nor i were able to succeed until we started working together. our strengths and weaknesses complimented each other well and somehow things just worked out.

and if you take away nothing else from this, please leave with this info: if you sell and ship any amount of product online buy a goddamn label printer