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DUFFY'S CULTURAL COUTURE
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Be an Archaeologist at the Trent House Museum
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST
 

 

 
Be an Archaeologist at the Trent House Museum
 
 Public “dig days” are Saturdays June 6, 13 and 20 from 9:00 to 3:00.

 

The 1719 William Trent House Museum in Trenton announces opportunities to work with professional archaeologists from Trenton’s Hunter Research to try to locate the distinctive 1742 kitchen addition referenced in 18th century maps and documents. Public “dig days” are Saturdays June 6, 13 and 20 from 9:00 to 3:00.

 

Hands-on participation may include digging, soil screening, artifact processing and documentation. As well as building remnants, artifacts from the various notable families who occupied the Trent House over the centuries may be found. Instruction and supervision will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

 

The new archaeology at the Trent House will further the scholarly documentation of this important historic landmark. The house was built for William Trent, who immigrated to Philadelphia from Scotland and became a very successful and wealthy merchant trading with Great Britain and the colonies. About 1719, William Trent built his country estate at the Falls of the Delaware River in the settlement that would come to be known as Trenton. The house is a large, imposing brick structure, built in the Georgian style.

 

After Trent died in 1724, "300 acres plus the brick dwelling house" were sold, and from 1742 to 1746, the house was leased to the first British Governor of New Jersey, Lewis Morris. Upon taking residence, he required that a separate kitchen be built, connected to the main house by a “gangway”, which would also be large enough to “lodge servants.” Subsequent 19th and early 20th century modernizing additions to the Trent House altered its early appearance, and Governor Morris’s distinctive kitchen was lost.

 

In addition to seeking evidence of the actual location of Governor Morris’s kitchen, another goal is to pinpoint the original well location. Artifacts from pre-contact Native Americans may be found, and of particular interest

would be artifacts indicating the use and occupation of the Trent House by enslaved people of African heritage during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

 

 

For more information about becoming involved, please contact the Trent House office at: trenthouseassociation@verizon.net or 609-989-0087. 


Posted by tammyduffy at 11:45 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 2 June 2015 11:53 AM EDT
Monday, 1 June 2015
Call Me Caitlyn. Bruce Jenner Reveals
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

Bruce Jenner Reveals Caitlyn on Vanity Fair Cover

WriterJune 1, 2015
Bruce Jenner Reveals Caitlyn on Vanity Fair Cover

Caitlyn Jenner, photographed by Annie Leibovitz on the cover of June’s Vanity Fair. 

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that Bruce Jenner would debut his female identity on the next cover of Vanity Fair, photographed by Annie Leibovitz—of course. We didn’t know what to expect from the images,but as soon as we clicked on the link from Vanity Fair, we were blown away.

“OH MY GOD!” reverberated throughout the office. 

Caitlyn Jenner is a beautiful woman. 

In an interview with Buzz Bissinger, who wrote Friday Night Lights, Jenner says, “If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life.’ ”

With the glamour of Marilyn Monroe and the sass of Jessica Lange, Caitlyn is stunning in a champagne satin corseted leotard, styled by Vanity Fair’s Fashion Director Jessica Diehl. Legendary hairstylist Oribe was responsible for her retro waves, while makeup artist Mark Carrasquillo gave Caitlyn a feminine flush. A behind-the-scenes video reveals equally glam outfits, including an off-the-shoulder dress and long sequined gown, while Jenner says over voiceover: 

“I was probably at the Games because I was running away from a lot of things. I’m very, very proud of the accomplishment, I don’t want to diminish that accomplishment. The last few days in doing this shoot, was about my life and who I am as a person. It’s not about the fanfare. It’s not about people cheering in the stadium. It’s not about going down the street and everybody giving you ‘Thatta boy, Bruce!’ pat on the back. This is about your life. Bruce, always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie. Everyday he always had a secret. From morning until night. Caitlyn doesn’t have any secrets. As soon as the Vanity Faircover comes out, I’m free.” 

The editorial has yet to be released — the July 2015 issue will hit newsstands on June 9th — buy a sneak peek of the editorial, shared on Twitter by @DKNY, shows Jenner pictured in the front seat of her Porsche wearing a red Donna Karan dress. 

image

Jenner also posed in a red carpet-worthy Zac Posen gown. 

“Be who you are and feel beautiful,” Zac Posen wrote. Photo: @zacposen/Instagram


Posted by tammyduffy at 6:20 PM EDT
DUCKY is COMING!!!
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

61-Foot, 11-Ton Duck Coming to Philadelphia Waterfront

We talk with the man responsible for bringing it to the Tall Ships festival next month.

BY   |  MAY 28, 2015 AT 12:12 PM

SHARE22.1K TWEET130 14 8 EMAIL106
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image: http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/large-duck1.jpg

World's Largest Rubber Duck

Photo courtesy of Craig Samborski

A 61-foot tall, 11-ton duck is coming to Philadelphia next month.

As part of the 2015 Tall Ships Philadelphia/Camden festival, being held from June 25th to the 28th, Draw Events is bringing the World’s Largest Rubber Duck to the Delaware River.

Based on a the plans for an installation called Rubber Duck originally made by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this version of the giant rubber duck — actually made of an inflatable vinyl covering — also appeared at last year’s Tall Ships Festival Los Angeles. Hofman unveiled the first version of the rubber duck in his native Amsterdam in 2007; the first North American appearance was in Pittsburgh in 2013.

"In my estimation, you need to go big or go home," says Draw Events president Craig Samborski. "Then someone floated the idea of the duck past us." Yes, a six-story high duck floating by is big enough. Samborski's company bought the plans from Hofman, modified the specs — the version coming to Philadelphia is larger than what was indicated in the plans provided — and set out on building an 11-ton vinyl duck that sits on a 10-ton steel pontoon.

image: http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/large-duck2.jpg

World's Largest Rubber Duck

Photo courtesy of Craig Samborski

Here's how it'll end up at the festival: The duck has been pre-assembled and tested in Los Angeles. It was shipped to a "very safe place" in New Jersey in November per Samborski. In the next few weeks, the duck will undergo a test inflation with the local crew working the Philadelphia/Camden Tall Ships show. (Samborski will be living in Philadelphia for about a month to coordinate everything for the Tall Ships.)

When it's time for the show, the giant duck will be loaded into the Delaware with a 15-ton crane, then tugged to a spot in front of the Nipper Building in Camden. Each night, the duck will be towed back to a location at the port of New Jersey. It will be deflated for the night and re-inflated each morning.

Other giant ducks have captivated tourists; a 2013 installation in Hong Kong was so popular it led to a huge number of knockoffs in China. Pittsburgh's duck was similarly popular. But there have been down times, too. That one in Hong Kong deflated while on display (organizers later said it was planned), while a duck burst on New Year's Day while on display Taiwan in 2014.

In 2009, vandals stabbed huge holes in the rubber duck when it was in the city of Hasselt, Belgium. "The duck had just been repaired having been badly damaged in a storm and had only been back in the water for four days," Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

Samborski says this duck will not be able to be popped by a nefarious waterfowl-hater while on the Camden waterfront. "It's pretty hard to pop this thing," he says. "It's made out of a very heavy gauge vinyl. I suppose if you took a shot at it with a gun or a harpoon you could damage it. You really need to hit it with a bazooka — or maybe one of the guns from the Battleship New Jersey." Samborski has a "MacGuyver-like guy" on who travels with the duck and an emergency maintenance kit, but hasn't had any problems yet.

The duck has more enemies than just the Hasselt vandals. "Cities that cash in with Rubber Duck are outsourcing their public art, meaning they aren't doing their artists or themselves any favors in the long run," CityLab's Kriston Capps wrote last year. "When I see images of it floating in a new harbor, I can almost hear Rubber Duck whispering, in a raspy duck voice: The place you love is no more."

The duck does get results, though. Samborski says the Tall Ships Los Angeles festival drew just under 300,000 visitors over five days last year, even though the police forced it to close early on Saturday and Sunday due to overcrowding. "The LAPD wasn't really happy with me those days," he says. He says there was a $10 million economic impact to the area from Tall Ships LA last year. Though the giant rubber duck is not a particular or obvious fit for a tall ships festival, he says the attention it attracts is good for the ship owners, captains and crews.

"Several people warned me on the way [to the show-ending crew BBQ], 'Craig, there's some unhappy people there who want to talk to you,'" Samborski says. "I'm like, 'Oh man, this is just going to suck.' I walked in and, literally, every one of the tall ships captains was patting me on the back. They said, 'Wednesday we would have killed you, but we literally never had so many people on our ships.'"

Samborski gushed over the lineup for this year's Tall Ships Philadelphia/Camden festival. "This lineup of ships in Philadelphia/Camden is a spectacular one that I've never had at a festival before," he says. "And I'm not sure I will be able to have ever again." That lineup includes L’Hermione (a replica of the French ship that brought Lafayette to the U.S. in 1780), Barque Eagle (a 1930s German ship given to the U.S. as part of war reparations, and owned by the Coast Guard), El Galeon (a replica of a 16th century merchant vessel) and Gazela (Philadelphia's tall ship).

Tall Ships Philadelphia/Camden runs from June 25th to the 28th and will have ships on both sides of the river. It's being organized by four groups: The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and the Independence Seaport Museum on the Philly side, and the Adventure Aquarium and Coopers Ferry Partnership on the Camden side. The festival will shuttle attendees across the river on the ferry. Tickets are as cheap as $7 for admission to both sides of the festival, or $16 for admission and tours of the ships. Sailing on one of the tall ships costs $85.

"A family can come and enjoy this event for many hours and not spend a lot of money," Samborski says. "And they can really have a quality experience — not just with attractions, but also get some education and history out of the deal."


Posted by tammyduffy at 6:16 PM EDT
Your Body Is a Race Car. McLaren Wants to Optimize Its Performance
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

Your Body Is a Race Car. McLaren Wants to Optimize Its Performance

By Eliza Strickland
Posted 14 Mar 2015 | 15:38 GMT
Photo: McLaren Applied Technologies
human os icon

It’s probably not good for the soul to think of life as a race to be won. But if you do accept that metaphor, you’d likely be happy to have McLaren managing your pit stops as you make your way along the course.

The engineering company is famous for building Formula One race cars featuring computerized engine control systems and dozens of sensors that transmit data to remote analytics teams. Over the last few years, McLaren first began applying lessons learned from managing race cars to managing elite athletes, and now it’s bringing its tools to health and medicine. 

Today at SXSW Interactive, Geoff McGrath described the origin and evolution of McLaren Applied Technologies, the business unit he founded within the company. McGrath also articulated three conditions that must be met in order to turn our bodies into high performance machines, with instruments and analytics helping us operate at our peak capacity. 

McLaren got drawn into human performance by helping British teams prepare for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. “We understand data, remote analytics, and monitoring,” McGrath said, “but the real value is in the actionable intelligence you extract from that data.” His engineers embedded sensors in racing gear like skeleton racing sleds and bicycles, then fed the data into sophisticated models that examined the interplay between equipment, environment, and human behavior and physiology. Such models produced “prescriptive intelligence,” McGrath says, and could determine which design changes to a sled or bike would produce the best outcomes. 

After gaining this experience with Olympic athletes and their gear, McLaren next struck up a relationship with the UK rugby team, which is preparing for the Rugby World Cup this September. The coaches wanted to know whether training sessions, which include regular tackles, increase the athletes’ risks of injury.

“Let’s transmit the insights, not the data” —Geoff McGrath, McLaren Applied Technologies

McGrath said his team originally pulled out all the technological stops: They outfitted the rugby players with accelerometers, vital sign sensors, and body area networks, and used satellite tracking to precisely map their movements on the field. “But we were gathering so much data, it took hours to process,” McGrath says. “By the time we’d processed it the training session was over, and maybe they’d over-trained, but it was too late to do anything about it.” 

That experience led McGrath to his first principle of wearables: Instead of what he calls the “ham-fisted approach” of measuring things just because they can, McLaren tries to measure as little as possible, and ignores the bulk of relatively unvarying data to focus on the meaningful anomalies. “Let’s transmit the insights, not the data,” McGrath said. Using simple accelerometer data from the rugby players, the McLaren team built models showing each individual player’s typical playing patterns, and could then watch for changes that might signal the precursor of a serious injury. 

McLaren’s experiments in sports involved highly motivated participants, since these elite athletes were eager to improve their performance. But getting the broader public to embrace wearables and the quantified-self movement is a much bigger challenge, McGrath said. That brought him to his second principle: Wearable biometric gadgets must offer meaningful insights that typical people are willing to pay for, he says, and they just don’t do that yet.

In cooperation with the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, the McLaren team is looking for those valuable insights in the medical sector. The companies are collaborating on clinical trials for drugs that treat disorders like stroke, lung disease, arthritis, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. They’re starting simple: Patients in these trials wear accelerometers and vital sign monitors to determine how their medications affect their mobility and general wellbeing.

GSK’s head of digital clinical trial research Julian Jenkins, who was also on the panel at SXSW, said such data not only provides a better understanding of how patients fare between clinic visits, it also reduces the burden on patients. “It seems incredible that we still ask people to come in to the clinic to measure something like blood pressure or pulse,” Jenkins said. It remains to be seen, however, if this data will give GSK new insights into its products and ultimately result in better treatments for patients. 

Even if such wearables do ultimately prove themselves in pharmaceutical trials, McGrath argues that biometric monitoring won’t go mass-market unless designers satisfy his third principle of wearables: “I think these will take off when they fit into things [like clothes and accessories] that we’re already used to wearing,” he says. He believes the technology in today’s sensors is more than adequate for our needs, but says their awkward forms prevent wide-scale adoption. Devices that require users to change their behaviors (even in small ways) typically get put aside after a couple of months, once the initial burst of motivation wears off.

McGrath said his company’s designers are experimenting with sensors that vanish into collars, earrings, earbuds, and other existing trappings of daily life. As those designers work for a company that makes some of the sexiest race cars in the world, it will be interesting to see what they come up with. 


Posted by tammyduffy at 5:31 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 1 June 2015 5:33 PM EDT
Saturday, 30 May 2015
Painting on Paper: American Watercolors at Princeton on View June 27 - Aug. 30, 2015
Topic: ART NEWS

 

 

Painting on Paper: American Watercolors at Princeton on View June 27 - Aug. 30, 2015

Rarely seen masterworks from the Princeton University Art Museum offer a sweeping survey of two centuries of American watercolors

Rarely on view due to their sensitivity to light, the Princeton University Art Museum’s extensive holdings of American watercolors are distinguished by their quality and breadth as well as by the institution’s sustained commitment to the collection’s growth over time. Painting on Paper: American Watercolors at Princeton presents 90 selections from this remarkable collection, supplemented by select loans, providing a potent overview of American art as well as a survey of the importance and evolution of watercolor painting in the U.S. since the early 19th century.

Among the noted artists included in the exhibition are John James Audubon, Milton Avery, Charles Burchfield, Alexander Calder, Dorothy Dehner, Charles Demuth, Richard Diebenkorn, Arthur Dove, Thomas Eakins, Sam Francis, William Glackens, Adolph Gottlieb, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, Claes Oldenburg, Maurice Prendergast, John Singer Sargent, Ben Shahn, James McNeill Whistler, and Andrew Wyeth.

The exhibition will be on view at the Princeton University Art Museum from June 27 through Aug. 30, 2015.

Cocurated by Laura Giles, Heather and Paul G. Haaga Jr., Class of 1970, Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Karl Kusserow, John Wilmerding Curator of American Art,  at the Princeton University Art Museum, Painting on Paper features standout works from the Museum’s collection supplemented by loans from the Graphic Arts, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and Western Americana collections housed at Princeton University’s Firestone Library as well as loans from alumni and other private collections.  

“Initially assembled under the museum’s pioneering director Frank Jewett Mather Jr. (dir. 1922–46), Princeton’s watercolors are first and foremost extraordinary works of art that offer unusually personal insights into the artists who made them, and taken together they also provide a compelling survey of some of the most profound works of American art,” said Princeton University Art Museum Director James Steward. “The selections in this remarkable overview afford special ways of understanding the nuanced output of many of the nation’s greatest artists.”

Edward Hopper, Universalist Church, 1926. Watercolor over graphite on cream wove paper. Laura P. Hall Memorial CollectionThe works in the exhibition address broad artistic and historical trends while revealing the medium’s distinctive technical properties as an amalgam of painting and drawing. They also represent a wide range of subject matter and styles. Highlights include Winslow Homer’s Eastern Point Light (1880), an evocative portrayal of two ships, one brilliantly silhouetted by moonlight;Universalist Church (1926) by Edward Hopper, a dramatically cropped study of New England light on a historic church steeple and the structures that surround it; and Jacob Lawrence’s The Workshop (1978), whose signature flattened colors embody the artist’s modernist sensibility. Landscape plays a major role in the medium, as seen in such images as the dramatic mountain scene (ca. 1908) by John Singer Sargent, Arthur Dove’s interlocking Two Trees (1937), and the swirling forms and life-affirming spirit of Charles Burchfield’s Summer Benediction (1948). While Adolph Gottlieb’s Untitled (1946) and Alexander Calder’s The Two Arrows (1966) explore abstract shapes and formal relationships, portraiture in watercolor ranges from the traditional—Thomas Eakins’s profile of an elderly woman seated in historicized surroundings in Seventy Years Ago (1877)—to the irreverent—Claes Oldenburg’s Blueberry Pie à la Mode, Tipped Up, and Spilling (1996).

Painting on Paper: American Watercolors at Princeton has been made possible by generous support from the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Program Fund for American Art.  Further support has been made possible by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Curtis W. McGraw Foundation; and the Partners and Friends of the Princeton University Art Museum.


Posted by tammyduffy at 8:48 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 30 May 2015 8:50 AM EDT
Tips for Parents on Keeping Children Drug Free
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST


 

 
 Tips for Parents on Keeping Children Drug Free
 

Tips for Your Preschool Child 
 
 

It may seem premature to talk about drugs with preschoolers, but the attitudes and habits that they form at this age have an important bearing on the decisions they will make when they are older. At this early age, they are eager to know and memorize rules, and they want your opinion on what's "bad" and what's "good." Although they are old enough to understand that smoking is bad for them, generally they are not ready to take in complex facts about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Nevertheless, this is a good time to practice the decision-making and problem-solving skills that they will need later on.

Here are some ways to help your preschool children make good decisions about what should and should not go into their bodies:

  • Discuss why children need healthy food. Have your child name several favorite good foods and explain how these foods contribute to health and strength.

  • Set aside regular times when you can give your son or daughter your full attention. Get on the floor and play with your child; learn about his or her likes and dislikes; let your child know that you love him; say that he or she is too wonderful and unique to take drugs. You'll build strong bonds of trust and affection that will make turning away from drugs easier in the years to come.

  • Provide guidelines like playing fair, sharing toys and telling the truth so children know what kind of behavior you expect from them.

  • Encourage your child to follow instructions and to ask questions if he does not understand the instructions.

  • When your child becomes frustrated at play, use the opportunity to strengthen problem-solving skills. For example, if a tower of blocks keeps collapsing, work together to find possible solutions. Turning a bad situation into a success reinforces a child's self-confidence.

  • Whenever possible, let your child choose what to wear. Even if the clothes don't quite match, you are reinforcing your child's ability to make decisions.

  • Point out poisonous and harmful substances commonly found in homes, such as bleach, kitchen cleanser and furniture polish, and read the products' warning labels out loud. Explain to your children that not all "bad" drugs have warnings on them, so they should only eat or smell food or a prescribed medicine that you, a grandparent or a caregiver provides them.

  • Explain that prescription medications are drugs that can help the person for whom they are meant but that can harm anyone else, especially children, who must stay away from them unless they are prescribed properly for them.

Source: http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/drugfree/tips_pg3.html#preschool
 

Posted by tammyduffy at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 30 May 2015 8:25 AM EDT
Friday, 29 May 2015
A Town of Disrespect
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST


 

 
 
A Town of Disrespect
 
 
By Tammy Duffy
 
 

 


 

This week brought some behaviors that clearly were shocking, or were they? 

 

Since the earliest ceremonies in small American towns following the Civil War, we have gathered on Memorial Day to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. This national day of remembrance is often felt most deeply among the families and communities who have personally lost friends and loved ones.

 

This national holiday allows all Americans to take a moment to remember the sacrifice of our valiant military service members, first responders and their families. Memorial Day is a day of both celebration and grief, accounting for the honor of our heroes and reflecting on their tragic loss.

 

During the annual Memorial Day parade in Hamilton Twp, Mercer County, the Mayor and her political followers decided to trump the Commander Benjamin Kaufman, the police escort and lead off the parade. All the while having the American flag to her back.This is a level of disrespect that boggles the mind of any normal individual. 

 

The American flag stands for freedom. Any level of disrespect to the flag, like that demonstrated at the parade in Hamilton is seen as intolerable by many Americans.

 

 At one time, all American’s took pride in the American flag and treated it with the respect it deserved.  They were taught flag etiquette and they practiced it.



If individuals no longer have any pride, respect or honor, I don’t believe anything else they do will ever amount to anything good. In order to lift our town from its current state, we need someone who respects America. We need somone who respects the freedoms our wonderful veterans and recruits have so unselfishly given to us. Perhaps one of the things we need to help lift America or towns back to its former glory, is to have public officials who actually respect the American flag and what it stands for. To ever disrespect the flag and put ones campaign ahead of those who sacrificed their lives to give us our freedoms, is just down right disgraceful.  To demand that one lead a parade and ignore the fact that a Memorial Day parade is to remember those who died for our country and not a political venue to fulfill a politicians egotistical requirements for the day.

 

At the end of the parade a very brave man, Charles Othold explained to the Mayor the real importance of Memorial Day. The day is not about her. She was less than happy. She should have been embarrassed and apologized, or better yet, never did it. She did none of that.

The level of disrespect and poor judgment does not end there for the town this week. A woman was at a TD bank in the town cashing in her buckets of coins two days ago. She accidentally left many coins at the terminal and dropped them on the floor as well. There was a Hamilton police officer behind her in line. He was in uniform. After the woman redeemed her ticket to collect her money the cop did a very interesting thing. He saw all the littered coins on the floor and around the terminal and did something he should not have.  He gathered up the woman's coins. He even bent down to pick up all the coins off the floor. He then put them with his coins to tally up the total. He did not tell the woman who was still in the bank collecting her cash, that she had left all these coins on the floor and at the terminal. He just kept them. This may seem like a small issue, but it is not. Do you think this demonstrates character? What would this officer do on a police report? What would he do during an average workday when it turned into a not so average workday? Would you trust this officer to protect and serve you properly?

 

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 8:55 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 30 May 2015 8:35 AM EDT
Sunday, 24 May 2015
HIV/AIDS and Heroin: Where Is NJ's Leadership?
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST
 
 
 
HIV/AIDS and Heroin: Where Is NJ's Leadership?

 

 

By Tammy Duffy

 

 

 

There are 565 municipalities in the State of New Jersey.  The township of Hamilton, Mercer County, ranks 75th in the state of NJ for the highest number of new HIV/AIDS cases.

 

 

  


 


Source: 

http://www.state.nj.us/health/aids/repa/topcity/documents/topcity.pdf

 

  

This should come to no surprise for as reported in March 2015, it was presented by Duffy's Cultural Couture, 

(http://www.tammyduffy.com/ARTFASHION/index.blog?entry_id=2352388)

that Hamilton Township, Mercer county, ranks 26th in the state  for residents admitted to drug treatment during for heroin and other opiates.  (Source: NJ Dept of Human Services, 121 Hamilton residents were admitted in 2013). There is a correlation. What is the leadership of Hamilton doing about these two glaring public health issues? 

 

Let's look away from Hamilton and look at what is happening in Indiana. The leadership in Scott County, Indiana learned the hard way that there is a correlation between AIDS and heroin use.

 

So far, the Indiana State Department of Health has confirmed more than 150 people have been diagnosed with new cases of HIV. There are 125 cases in Hamilton township. NJ, not far behind. The vast majority of cases are in Scott County, Indiana – most linked to Austin – where the disease has spread rapidly among intravenous drug users who share dirty needles. This was happening and the town had no idea.

 

Through a series of interviews and public information requests, the local Indiana Channel 13 investigated and assembled a detailed timeline of the epidemic. It reveals a breakdown in communication between officials at the state and local level which, some healthcare experts say, prevented a more timely warning to residents and healthcare workers who were unaware of a developing crisis in their own backyard. This can happen in Hamilton, Mercer County. It is happening and the towns leadership has chosen to ignore it. 

 

The residents have seen this exact behavior on more than one occasion by the leadership and health department in Hamilton NJ. Confusion, unclear direction and a blatant disregard for public safety and health. Several months ago in the township of Hamilton there was the first death from EV D68.  Several months prior to this death, there was a nation wide epidemic occurring. While this was occurring there was zero communication until the death of a resident. There was zero proactive measures taken (like seen in surrounding towns like Princeton) to safeguard the community and stop a tragedy like the death of a small boy, from happening.  In this same town there have been 12 narcon deployments, the last of which resulted in the death of a resident, and the leadership in Hamilton is quiet as a church mouse. Let's not forget to mention the rejection of the changes to the restaurant inspections fines.   Why is that?  Why did the leadership of Hamilton repeatedly say in the press conferences after the EVD68 death of the resident," When I went to the schools and said does anyone know what EV D 68 is?"  The mayor said," No one knew."  Who's fault is it that no one knew? I would say it is 100% her fault that no one knew. It is the fault of her leadership and the Health Department.  A child died. A parent should never have to bury their child. The leadership in towns need to be held accountable for these deaths and blatant disregard to the public health of the residents.

 

One of the greatest ironies of the Scott County HIV outbreak is the location of the county's health department. The health department shares a parking lot with the county hospital, where the outbreak's earliest HIV cases were diagnosed back in December. In fact, the front door of the Scott County Health Department is just 45 steps from the front door of the hospital. Why did it take two months for critical information to make its way across a parking? Probably the same reason that residents in Hamilton are not getting educated on HIV/AID and Heroin. The same reason no one was educated on EVD68 until there was a death, etc. There is no other explanation other than abysmal leadership.

 

The state of NJ ranks 5th in the nation as it pertains to newly diagnosed cases of HIV/AID. There were 54,557 new cases in 2014, (801 Diagnosed under the age of 13).  Even though New Jersey is one of the smaller states in the United States it has a higher HIV/AIDS rate. This makes Jersey’s ratio higher than any other state in the country. One can only question why any political leadership in NJ would continue to ignore these very important public health issues. 

 

What are the Numbers on HIV/AIDS in NJ

 

NEW JERSEY: 75,200 cumulative HIV/AIDS cases; 35,688 current cases living with HIV/AIDS

MERCER COUNTY: 2,519 cumulative HIV/AIDS cases; 1,356 current cases living with HIV/AIDS

  

• Minorities account for 76 percent of the cumulative adult/adolescent HIV/AIDS cases.

• Thirty-five percent of those living with HIV/ AIDS are females.

• Seventy-nine percent of those living with HIV or AIDS are 40 years of age or older.

• Recently reported cases of adult/adolescent HIV and AIDS are older at diagnosis than previously reported cases.

 

Statewide Summary:
Prevalence of Persons Currently Living with HIV/AIDS in NJ

Persons Living with HIV/AIDS

38,075

Total Population, Estimate 7/1/2013

8,899,339

Prevalence Rate per 100,000 population

427.82

 

Prevalence Rate: Persons Living with HIV/AIDS per 100,000 population

 

 

 0.0 - 199.9

 

 

 200.0 - 399.9

 

 

 400.0 - 1299.9

 

Cases not on map

#

County Unknown

13

Incarcerated at
Diagnosis

1,805

 

 

Prevalence Rate by County of 
Persons Living with HIV/AIDS

Reported as of December 31, 2014
 


 


 

Mercer County Adult/Adolescent HIV/AIDS Cases

 

 

Age Group Data - Mercer County

    

Known Age at Diagnosis

Males

Females

Totals

 

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<13

20

#

20

#

40

#

13-24

120

7%

74

9%

194

8%

25-34

479

29%

277

35%

756

31%

35-44

611

37%

255

33%

866

36%

45-54

289

18%

104

13%

393

16%

>=55

122

7%

51

7%

173

7%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

1,641

 

781

 

2,422

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Race/Ethnicity - Mercer County

 

Adults/ Adolescents (2)

Males

Females

Totals

 

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hispanic, All races

210

13%

70

9%

280

12%

Not Hispanic, Black or African America

1,030

63%

604

77%

1,634

67%

Not Hispanic, White

389

24%

103

13%

492

20%

Other/Unknown

12

#

#

#

16

#

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

1,641

 

781

 

2,422

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2015, it's estimated that the reported cases of HIV could be 621.75% higher than the reported number of cases of syphilis in the greater Jersey City area.

 

More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 7 (14%) are unaware of their infection. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.

 

By race, blacks/African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV.  The CDC estimates that 1,201,100 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 168,300 (14%) who are unaware of their infection. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.

 

HIV Incidence (new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year. Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. MSM continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.

 

HIV Diagnoses (new diagnoses, regardless of when infection occurred or stage of disease at diagnosis): In 2013, an estimated 47,352 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. In that same year, an estimated 26,688 people were diagnosed with AIDS. Overall, an estimated 1,194,039 people in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS.

 

Deaths: An estimated 13,712 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2012, and approximately 658,507 people in the United States with an AIDS diagnosis have died overall. The deaths of persons with an AIDS diagnosis can be due to any cause—that is, the death may or may not be related to AIDS.

 

Since the epidemic began, almost 92,613 persons with AIDS that were infected through heterosexual sex, have died, including an estimated 4,550 in 2012.

 

New HIV infections among women are primarily attributed to heterosexual contact (84% in 2010) or injection drug use (16% in 2010). Women accounted for 20% of estimated new HIV infections in 2010 and 23% of those living with HIV infection in 2011. The 9,500 new infections among women in 2010 reflect a significant 21% decrease from the 12,000 new infections that occurred among this group in 2008.

 

Injection drug users represented 8% of new HIV infections in 2010 and 15% of those living with HIV in 2011. Since the epidemic began, nearly 186,728 people with (AIDS) who inject drugs have died, including an estimated 3,514 in 2012.

 

In FY 2014, U.S. federal funding to combat HIV totaled $29.5 billion.  Of this, 55% was for care, 10% for cash and housing assistance, 9% for research, 3% for prevention, and 22% for the global epidemic.

 

Key programs that provide health insurance coverage, care, and support to people with HIV in the U.S. include Medicaid, Medicare, the Ryan White Program, and HOPWA, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS Program.  Social Security’s income programs for those who are disabled (SSI and SSDI) are also important sources of support.

 

A variety of federally and state-supported prevention services are provided by state and local health departments and community organizations.

 

The passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010 provides new opportunities for expanding health care access, prevention, and treatment services for millions of people in the U.S., including many people with or at risk for HIV.

 

In July 2010, the U.S. government released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the first comprehensive plan for addressing the epidemic in the U.S. The strategy has three primary goals: reduce new HIV infections; increase access to care and improve health outcomes; and reduce HIV-related health disparities.  To further address these, President Obama issued an Executive Order to establish an HIV Care Continuum Initiative in July 2013, and the Administration has begun to outline recommendations, develop action steps, and mark progress toward the goals set forth in the Initiative.

 

The money and programs are there to help people.  The federal budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2015 included a total of $30.4 billion for domestic HIV and AIDS, a 2.3 percent increase from the FY 2014 funding, which totaled $29.7 billion. Of this, 57 percent is for care and treatment, 9 percent for research, 10 percent for cash and housing assistance, and 3 percent for prevention.

 

AIDS in the United States

 

New AIDS diagnoses: At the end of 2010, the South accounted for 45% of the estimated 33,015 new AIDS diagnoses in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, followed by the Northeast (24%), the West (19%), and the Midwest (13%).

 

Since 2010, the Northeast reported the highest rate of new AIDS diagnoses (14.2/100,000), followed by the South (13.0/100,000), the West (8.8/100,000), and the Midwest (6.3/100,000).

Living with an AIDS diagnosis: In 2009, the South accounted for 40% of the estimated 476,732 persons living with an AIDS diagnosis in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, followed by the Northeast (29%), the West (20%), and the Midwest (11%).

In 2009, the Northeast reported the highest rate of persons per 100,000 population living with an AIDS diagnosis (248.7/100,000), followed by the South (169.5/100,000), the West (133.6/100,000), and the Midwest (77.2/100,000).

 

AIDS deaths: In 2009, the South accounted for 48% of the 17,774 persons with a diagnosis of AIDS who died in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, followed by the Northeast (24%), the West (17%), and the Midwest (11%).

That same year, the Northeast reported the highest rate of deaths of persons with AIDS (7.7/100,000), followed by the South (7.6/100,000), the West (4.2/100,000), and the Midwest (2.8/100,000).

 

Deaths of persons with an AIDS diagnosis may be due to any cause.  The HIV epidemic in Indiana is real. But the real epidemic is the opiate addiction among the citizens of Scott County. The HIV outbreak is a direct result of the addiction epidemic.  You can make available all the new needles with needle program but unless you do something about the main issue of the addiction epidemic, this is only a temporary solution. Treat the addict, make adequate addiction help affordable and available, make suboxone treatment available, get addiction counselors into the area, set up mental health programs and outreach programs to the addict and their families. Towns need to quit treating opiate addiction as if it is a big fat secret that no one wants to admit is happening. The idea that a junkie is some homeless uneducated worthless person is the farthest from the truth. The political leadership in towns need to wake up. The towns leadership had an employee ( http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/09/hamilton_township_employee_arrested_on_drug_charges.html)  under their own noses who was charged with intent to distribute drugs.  Do you think taxpayers of Hamilton are still paying this employees salary?

 

The addicts are every day people, your neighbor, your soccer mom, your teenager, your professionals, it's non discriminatory. Leaders and people need to stop the judgments and start the treatments. Get to the source of the epidemic and treat the cause. Way too many lives are lost or forever changed due to the effects of opiate addiction and this needs to change. I believe most addicts want help but have no resources readily available to them or are afraid of being judged or socially scorned. The residents are afraid that their confidentiality will be ignored. During a recent hepatitis clinic, Hamilton township officials allowed camera crews to enter, ignoring the confidentiality of all those who attended. The patients who attended the clinic found themselves on the national news that evening. A massive HIPAA violation.

This being said, we as a society need to quit looking the other way and address this issue head on. The leaderships in towns that chose to ignore these issues should be charged with crimes. They are in a position of power to make a difference. When they choose not to and ignore it, they represent a very stupid part of society.  

 

 

Sources

CDC. Monitoring selected national HIV prevention and care objectives by using HIV surveillance data—United States and 6 dependent areas—2012. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report 2014;19(No.3). Published November 2014.
2CDC. Estimated HIV incidence in the United States, 2007–2010. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report 2012;17(No. 4). Published December 2012.
3CDC. HIV Surveillance Report,2013; vol. 25. Published February 2015.
4Purcell D, Johnson CH, Lansky A, et al. Estimating the population size of men who have sex with men in the United States to obtain HIV and syphilis rates. Open AIDS Journal 2012;6 (Suppl 1: M6): 98-107.
5CDC. Estimated lifetime risk for diagnosis of HIV infection among Hispanics/Latinos— 37 states and Puerto Rico, 2007. MMWR 2010:59 (40);1297-1301.

Additional Resources


Posted by tammyduffy at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 24 May 2015 4:59 PM EDT
Saturday, 23 May 2015
Parents Learn About Heroin, Save Your Kids Lives
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 

By Tammy Duffy

 


 

 

Heroin is a highly addictive narcotic.  This year alone, it has been reported that there are 810,000 Americans addicted to heroin.

What is the cost of that figure to society?  The price is in the billions.

Let’s divide where this money goes.  Heroin abuse gives an individual health problem like heart infections, miscarriages and overdoses, just to name a few.  The main way of getting heroin into the body is by injection, and this act alone increases susceptibility to infectious disease such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

Heroin suppliers make the drug from opium.  Its chemical name is diacetylmorphine.  Users will smoke it, snort it or inject it.  It causes euphoria and acts on the central nervous system.  When the euphoria is gone the user gets dry mouth, skin flushing, and heaviness.  Along with these withdrawal symptoms, he or she experiences nausea, vomiting and itching.  Then he or she may sleep for a long period of time.  He can’t reason very well.  His heartbeat and breathing slow down.

At this point, most people are hooked.  Within hours after heroin abuse, withdrawal symptoms start.  The heroin user experiences pain in the bones and muscles, restlessness, diarrhea, insomnia, chills, convulsions and vomiting.  These withdrawal symptoms may last for months.

First time heroin users inevitably become long-time heroin addicts.  Heroin abusers suffer artery damage and develop problems with their lungs, liver, kidneys and veins.

Heroin Use

Just one decade ago, the average heroin user consumed more drug than he does today.  That is because the purity of the drug is higher.

Studies have shown that there were 149,000 new heroin users in 1998.  80% of them were under the age of 26.  They looked at those who had used heroin in the past month and found that in 1993, 68,000 people used heroin, and in 1999, 208,000 people used heroin.  That is a big increase.  It is being snorted and smoked more because of the fear of injecting it and being susceptible to HIV/AIDS.  It was also found in this study that heroin use was increasing among the teenagers in 8th, 10th and 12th grades during the 1990s.

With its use being on the increase it is a good idea we all get more educated and pass this information on to your families.

 

If your public officials are ignoring this epidemic, you need to train yourself to save your community. We hope these weekly posts are a source of education for you.

 

Those public officials who ignore this should be voted out of office. In Mercer County, NJ we have an election coming up, we can only hope someone who cares about this matter is elected. The current mayor in one of the towns demonstrates zero interest in addressing the community on this matter. Do you want a mayor who could care less about this issue?  Who cares less about the residents and their own personal gain?

 

When this issue was ignored in Indiana....they now have a new AIDS epidemic on their hands due to the addicts sharing needles. Will towns become the new epicenters for AIDS epidemics due to public officials ignorance to these critical issues? It already has happened in Indiana. It can happen in Mercer County as well. The officials who allow this to go on are murdering their own residents by ignoring these types of epidemics. Should these public officials be charged with a crime when this happens? 

 

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 10:55 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 23 May 2015 11:50 AM EDT
Wednesday, 20 May 2015

 
 
 
 Six Flags Great Adventure Announces June Events
\
 
 


 

 
 
 

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day – June 6

Six Flags Great Adventure will host Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day June 6. All guests are invited to learn about hearing loss and celebrate sign language at this annual event. A portion of the proceeds for this event supports a variety of NJ organizations for the deaf.

 

Walk with Ronald McDonald® featuring special guest Nick Tangorra Band – June 7

Six Flags Great Adventure hosts the 16th annual Walk with Ronald McDonald® at Six Flags Great Adventure June 7. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The event kicks off at 9:15 a.m. with a ceremony featuring special guest and internet sensation Nick Tangorra Band. Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald® Houses of Central and Northern New Jersey. Walk registration includes theme park ticket to enjoy the day. Nick Tangorra Band will perform a special charity concert in the Showcase Theater that afternoon. Tickets will be available for purchase in advance online at www.sixflags.com

 

Magician Collins Key – June 7

Six Flags presents reality talent show star Collins Key in Showcase Theater June 7 at 4 p.m. with a second show at 7 p.m. This magical performance is included with theme park admission or Season Pass. Fifty meet-and-greet tickets will be sold for each performance for $49.99+tax each at Sweet Treats on Main Street the day of the concert. After a day full of coasters and fun, guests can settle down for a magic performance beyond their wildest dreams.

 

Jersey Championship Pro-Wrestling – June 13

Six Flags Great Adventure will host pro-wrestling at the park’s Movietown Arena. Bell time for the show will be 7:45 p.m., with a pre-show starting at 4 p.m. Featured names include: Mick Foley, Ted DiBiase, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Tommy Dreamer and more. Pre-show will include a meet-and-greet autograph session with the stars. Tickets will range from $99.99 to $49.99 and will be available at a discounted rate for Season Pass holders. Event ticket and theme park admission, Season Pass or Membership is required.

 

Israel & New Breed Concert – June 20

Six Flags presents Israel & New Breed in concert with opener Karen Clarke Sheard beginning at 5 p.m. in the Plymouth Rock Assurance® Arena. This concert is free with admission, Season Pass or Membership.

 

Komen Kolor 5K – June 20

This unique event offered at Six Flags Great Adventure will feature a 3.1 mile walk/run or 2 mile walking course throughout the theme park, exciting musical entertainment at each of the kolor staging areas and a pre-party with music, dancing, warm-up stretching, giveaways and more. Participants can register as an individual or as a team, or sign up to be a volunteer. After the run, guests enjoy a day with filled with Six Flags thrills. The event benefits Susan G. Komen Central and South Jersey.

 

Jack & Jack Concert – June 27

Join internet sensations Jack and Jack live in concert at 6 p.m. at the park’s Movietown Arena. Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson are known for their combined 14 million social media followers as Jack & Jack from their viral Vines. Tickets start, with additional VIP space, at $49.99 and range to $149.99. Discounted ticket rates will be available for Season Pass holders. Event ticket and theme park admission, Season Pass or Membership is required.


Posted by tammyduffy at 7:22 PM EDT

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