Wednesday, September 19, 2007

AsSalt Tour & Stephen Baldwin




AsSalt Tour & Stephen Baldwin
Stevie B brings his Breakthough Ministry to Arizona

By LeeAnn Sharpe

If a child hasn’t had an introduction to the spiritual experience by the time they graduate high school, it’s unlikely he will ever have the opportunity as an adult. Stephen Baldwin and the Breakthrough Ministry are working to give hundreds of thousands of young people the opportunity to be “born again” in a fun and exciting way. They use extreme sports as the draw and rock music and youthful speakers to deliver the message. The idea is that a youngster who has made a commitment to Christ will turn away from violence, drugs and sex and lead a righteous life.

Stephen Baldwin, born May 12, 1966 in Massapequa, New York, is an actor, best known by adults for his roles in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects or his TV Series the Young Riders (1989-1992). But the kids know him as Barney Rubble from The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000), team captain Sean Linden in Slap Shot 2 (2002) and Doyle in Bio-Dome (1996). Baldwin credits his role in Bio-Dome with his popularity among the kids he seeks to reach today. They flock to him as if he’s one of them. He’s the narley skateboarding, hockey playing, kid on the street out having fun.

The youngest of the acting Baldwin brothers, with brothers Daniel, William, and Alec, Stephen had a religious conversion after Sept 11, 2001. He gave up smoking, stopped drinking. His wife, Kennya, had been a devoutly practicing Christian for several years when he had an epiphany. Their nanny from Brazil had made a prediction back in 1993, that Stephen and his wife would have a ministry, and her prediction has come to pass.

Baldwin directed and produced Livin' It and Livin' It LA films that focus on Christian athletes involved in Extreme sports evangelism after his 2003 experience in Ft Lauderdale with the Luis Palau Ministry and Kevin Palau. The goal was to distribute 20,000 videos but in the first 6 months they sold 50,000 and to date over 200,000. They also did a 100 city skateboarding tour. Through small parking lot skateboarding gatherings they have already brought the message to over 100,000 young people.

His Breakthrough Ministry, begun in January 2007 in San Diego, features skateboarding and extreme sports, Christian_rock concerts, laser light shows and fireworks. The hope is to use culturally relevant tools to reach the youth of America. They are calling it the AsSalt Tour with a December 15th event in Phoenix’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The mainstream Christian rock group P.O.D. (Payable on Death) will perform. Their song Alive was the theme for the Winter Olympics and their music has been included in many popular movies and tv shows. Stars of Skateboarding, including Christian Hosoi, Brian Sumner, Andre Genovesi and Josh Kasper will perform. BMX Freestyle, X Games Gold Medalist Bruce Crisman and Dew Tour Vert Finalist Mike Mancuso will be there too. Showing off his God given talent in Extreme Freestyle Motocross will be 3007 X Games Gold Medalist for “Best New Trick” Kyle Loza , plus many more performances, choreographed laser lights and pyrotechnics are all promised with jumbo-trons broadcasting the action up close. And admission is free, first come first served basis. They will also have a car Show and Hip-Hop Show live in the parking lot.

Baldwin will play host to the action. He says, “For me. Being born again was the most awesome thing that has ever happened in my life, and I had a pretty awesome life already.” His book “The Unusual Suspect” details his life and conversion to faith made it onto the New York Times bestseller list.

The AsSalt Tour’s purpose is to “Pierce the darkened hearts of today’s youth with the light of Christ.” It has become obvious that the youth of today are not being reached in an effective or truly relevant way. The Breakthrough believes this is unacceptable and will now take the necessary action to reach a lost generation.

The passion of the Breakthrough Ministry is to see the youth of the world become empowered and set free, so they can make better choices and become the world-changers that God intended them to be. Baldwin says, “We believe the greatest way to ensure the future of America is the rest of the world is to evangelize the youth today.”

When he first became involved in ministering to the youth of America, he asked that they not call it a “ministry” because that would be the kiss of death for his career in Hollywood. But there was no other way to describe what he was doing. It was a ministry. When he realized the prophesy his Brazilian nanny foretold had come to fruition he experienced the most powerful moment in his life. And so far it seems to have had a positive impact on his life. The phone rings off the hook offering him more work than ever.

With over 60 movies in his career Baldwin has made a pretty good living as an actor. In 2002, he participated in “Celebrity Mole Hawaii”, the first celebrity edition of “The Mole”. ABC broadcast the reality show in early 2003. Later that year he returned for “Celebrity Mole Yucatan”, which ABC aired in early 2004. In 2004, he became the host of another reality show “Scare Tactics”, which was broadcast on The Sci Fi Channel.
In 2006, Baldwin starred in “The Genius Club” for writer/director Tim Chey. The film is about seven geniuses who try to solve the world's problems in a single night. In August 2007, he was back on television when CMT cast Baldwin in Ty Murray’s “Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge”. He was among nine celebrities cast on the show. In the first episode, Baldwin was injured after taking a bad fall from a bull, breaking his shoulder blade and cracking a rib.

In contrast to his brothers Alec and William, who are noted Democrats and avid Bush opponents, Stephen is a Bush supporter. Calling himself an Independent, Baldwin makes occasional appearances with Republican political figures and, in April 2007, was a special White House guest for the annual White House Egg Roll.

“People constantly ask me for details of my "Damascus Road" experience (see Acts 9) that made me give my life to Jesus Christ. Most assume I hit bottom and had nowhere else to turn. They're wrong.” For more of the story read his book “The Unusual Suspect”.

Breakthrough Radio airs Sundays 12pm-1pm on 1360AM KPXQ. They advertise “This ain’t your grandma’s radio show” gearing the message to the young people, taking calls and sharing their message of faith.

A website with incredible music and graphics attracts young people looking for a connection at http://www.stephenbaldwin.com/break4.htm. The AsSalt Tour is just a part of his ministry. The Tour will hit Phoenix, Chicago, Dallas and Nashville. http://www.assalttour.com/. The 330 Youth Movement gives kids a direction.

Stephen Baldwin’s first and final words at a recent luncheon here in Phoenix at North Christian Baptist Church were, “I’m on a very powerful journey that’s extremely fun for me and I’m inviting you to join me, but I’m going with or without you.”

Author: LeeAnn Sharpe is a freelance writer and can be reached at http://www.leeannsharpe.com/


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Friday, September 07, 2007

Pioneer Restaurant and Saloon

Pioneer Restaurant and Saloon
Dining Review
By Cowgirl Connoisseur


The old time cowboy restaurant is almost a thing of the past with all of the modern development taking over much of Arizona’s cowboy country.

Pioneer Restaurant and Saloon located at I-17 Exit #225 west on Pioneer Road can still hold claim to good old-fashioned cowboy food and entertainment. They claim to be “Where Arizona’s Old West is re-discovered and the taste of Arizona’s new west is found”

Pioneer Restaurant and Saloon sits on the Pioneer Living History Museum old west town property, although you can enter the restaurant without going into the museum proper. Many events combine the restaurants food with everything from weddings, corporate parties to the September Wild Western Festival. www.wildwesternfestival.com

Open Wednesday through Sunday, 6am to 9pm, Pioneer serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner in a comfortable old west style dining room and bar. Sunday they have an All-U-Can-Eat Buffet Breakfast sure to satisfy any appetite from Hoss to Little Joe. Thursday night is All-U-Can-Eat Spaghetti & Meatballs, darn near featured in every Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western. Friday night is the “Famous” All-U-Can-Eat Fish Fry. Gather up your posse of family and friends for this one! Saturday night is Prime Rib and All the Fixin’s. The food has always been of generous portions and cooked to your request.

Friday through Sunday you can enjoy entertainment from honkey-tonk piano to cowboy singers. Pioneer can also host your parties for weddings, corporate events or team building. Bring your out-of-town guests in for a taste of the old west. Their website at www.westerndestinations.com tells you all about a variety of activities available.
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Midlife Madness Review

Midlife Madness Review
By Lee Sharpe

You may have missed the last chance for “Midlife Madness” a play by Jennifer Kirkeby that closed Sunday, May 20th at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. And if you did, it’s too bad. It’s a delightful little company in an intimate new venue. It delivers just what’s expected and more on the topic of midlife madness. The “more” is the relationships with good friends and the hilarity they can bring to life.

When invited by Director, Diedre Kaye, who selected the play to co-produce with her husband and Darknight Productions partner, Alexx Stuart, to see the production on Friday night, the first thought on my mind was where to park. Having never been to the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, but I drive by there frequently on my way to the 101 I didn’t remember seeing any parking. When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of parking around the city park area to the south, adjacent to the theatre. As I parked, a courtesy shuttle arrived to deliver me to the theatre curb. What a nice treat.

Peoria Center for the Performing Arts brand new multi-theater performing arts building is a delightful design by Westlake Reed Leskosky with a “craggy copper clad roof hovering above a base of masonry which evokes the color and forms of the desert basin and distant mountains” or so says their website. The complex features 250 seat and 80 seat theaters with support spaces as well as exhibition and educational spaces. The design and experience was very pleasant.

Inside the brand new facility was a crisp clean cool functional design. It’s a blank pallet for artist to create their art. I stood on line at will call to learn there were actually four productions going on in the same facility that evening. Darknight Productions performance of “Midlife Madness” was in a small theatre on the south side of the larger theatre where another company, Theatre Works, was performing “The Miracle Worker”. The snack bar, although limited in selections, was very economically priced.

“Midlife Madness” author Jennifer Kirkeby of Minnesota attended the production opening, but was not at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts as the production finished it’s run. Diedre Kaye says, “Jennifer and I have been friends for years and used to perform together in Minneapolis. When I read the script, I knew I wanted to be the first to produce and direct it. The relationships in this play are so special and so reminiscent of the times we had together in theater in Minneapolis. I was thrilled when Jen gave us permission to do the world premiere.”

The playwright admits the play is somewhat autobiographical when she responded to audience questions following the opening night performance. “Yes, many of the stories are true – except I never had an affair with a Mime.” And now, according to Kaye, she can claim another piece of the story is true. The lead character and playwright in the story, Susan, (played by Jenny Mulcahy) gets a review of her new play “Midlife” that says, “The audience loved it. They laughed, they cried, they bought the t-shirt.” Except for buying the t-shirt (there were none), the same was true for the audiences of Kirkeby’s newest play which premiered May 11th.

At the center of this production is Susan, played by Jenny Mulcahy, the midlife single woman always on the prowl for men. Her apartment is the primary set where the stories unfold. Susan has the beautiful sun tanned glow, and low cut breast accentuating wardrobe of the looking for love, but not so much commitment women you can find in any bar or gym in town. Mulcahy plays the role well in a happy, almost giddy light hearted style that makes us warm to her even in her most obviously self-centered moments. Like the wine Susan drinks constantly, her dry wit flows through the script arousing everything from snickers and mild chuckles to belly laughs, and “oh my god I’m gonna pee my pants!” from the audience. The only criticism I can lay on Mulcahy’s feet, or actually on her breasts, is the makeup line fell far short in the final scene gown, creating a very distracting glow under the bright lights. The secret is out, you’re not really that tan! Not to worry, the performance was wonderfully entertaining.

Trish, played by Alaina Beauloye, and Susan are best friends who find their way through new and old relationships as they reconfirm their unconditional love for each other. Trish is the straight man to Susan’s delivery of hilarious lines. It’s hard being the straight man and getting the timing and tone just right and Beaulove has a great sense and connection for delivery with Mulcahy. As the married and unappreciated wife and mother, she hits midlife looking for more and finds it in a fling with a mime from her daughter’s birthday party who showers her with passion and admiration. A gorgeous blonde, Beaulove plays Trish as vulnerable and easy prey for a conman. Betrayed when her best friend writes about her secret extramarital affair, she quickly overcomes the hurt to engage in the infectious laughter they generate as they retell their stories of performing together blended with the trials of growing older that keeps the audience laughing with them.

Especially enjoyable was Rick played by Tom Koelbel. Rick’s recent breakup with his lover Mark caused him to search for emotional support through Performance Art (his warm ups are precious!) and his friends Susan and Trish. It’s as much fun watching the girls watch Rick perform as it is to watch him. Koelbel’s stage presence is so strong from the first moment he appeared it seemed he might overwhelm the rest of the cast, but he tones his character to “play well with others”. An amusing unsolicited review came in the restroom during intermission when a woman told me, “You know he’s not really gay!” I responded, “Oh really?” And she said, “He just plays it so well!” There you have it! Koelbel has talent and I’m sure he could play most any role well. He is exceptionally entertaining and enjoyable in this production.

The fine troupe of actors is rounded out by Rolando Zee’s ability to create two distinctly different characters as Ross, the personal trainer at the girl’s gym, and Milton, who has the steamy affair with Trish. Zee’s stage, film and modeling credits are impressive as is his incredible physique. For much of the production his character is little more than eye candy. But the few lines and two characters he portrays demonstrate he has acting talent as well. The gym scene was great. How to be a crazed hold up man while two women are doing a hysterical comedy act is tough. But Zee pulled it off and took the fall as well as any professional stunt man. He will certainly have a long and successful career in acting.

Music was from Lisa Koch CD’s “Tall Cool Drink and Both of Me” available online at www.heylisa.com. Director Deidre Kaye says, “Her music fit perfectly into the storyline.” Menopausal women will love her lyrics.

So if you missed this delightful production you will want to mark you calendar for the next show by Darknight Productions to be held in old town Scottsdale beginning next October. You can see a preview on June 14th - Murder at Savings & Loan Ballpark (s.lo.b.)by Alexx Stuart. It’s a parody of the Diamondbacks and baseball in general. The location is Grimaldi's Pizzeria at 4000 Scottsdale Road (southwest corner of First Avenue and Scottsdale Rd.) It promises to be great food and a very funny show! Tickets are $40 and include play, dinner (4 courses) tax and gratuity. Grimaldi's was just voted "Best pizza in the valley that isn't Bianco"

For more information or tickets see http://darknightproductions.tripod.com/ or call 480-595-7346.

Buffalo Chip Saloon And Steakhouse

Buffalo Chip Saloon And Steakhouse
by Cowgirl Connoisseur

The Buffalo Chip is a cowboy's standard hang out in downtown Cave Creek. It has a real western, kinda rough and tumble feel and it comes by it naturally. All those cowboy boots kicking up their heels dancing and hootin' and hollarin' can leave a mark! "Live in the now, but play in the 1800's" is their motto. Aside from the televisions, you could be walking into an 1880's style bar.

The restaurant is open 10am to 10pm with standard cowboy fare. Big Buckin' Burger and Fries at $6.95, 3/4 lb 100% beef chuck, hand ground and pattied, on a toasted bun with cheddar cheese. You can add Bacon, Green Chiles or Red Chili for $1.00 each. On Fridays, it's "All-You-Can-Eat" Cod, Walleye, Lake Perch and Catfish with fries and slaw $9.95 from 5 to 10pm. The fish is hot and delicious and they keep it coming. What a deal! Be sure to get your fill by 10pm, because the tables get pushed back and the dance floor appears and lookout, it gets crazy. They hand cut their own choice steaks and cook the steaks and burgers are on a Mesquite grilled to your likes. Of the hundreds of steaks I've had at the Chip, every single one has been good, tender, juicy and tasty. They are served with cowboy beans, salad, and a honey butter biscuit. It's nothing fancy, just simple straight forward cowboy dinner and uumm ummm good.

Not in the burger mood? How about a Mesquite Grilled Chicken Sandwich, for $7.95, it is a large grilled chicken breast, hot melted cheese, green chilies, tomatoes, and lettuce on a toasted bun, served with fries. Or a Pit Smoked Pork Sandwich and Fries, $7.95, 3/4 pound of smoked sliced pork topped with melted cheese, coleslaw and served on a toasted bun with a side of BBQ sauce. Or the Smoked Brisket Sandwich and Fries, $7.95, 3/4 pound beef brisket with melted cheese on a toasted bun with a side of BBQ sauce. For the salad lover try the Grilled Chicken Salad, $7.95, Platter of iceberg lettuce, slivered purple cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes with a grilled chicken breast, toasted croutons and side of ranch dressing.

The Chet "ATKINS" Platter, is $11.95, it has smoked pork, beef brisket, and grilled chicken breast with dry BBQ rub and a side of low-carb home-style coleslaw. Pit-Smoked Beef Brisket, for $10.95, is one pound of pit-smoked beef brisket with cowboy beans, coleslaw and honey butter biscuit. Or try the Chicken Saloon, for $10.95, chicken breast, tossed green salad, and a honey butter biscuit.

But the most popular item is the 12 oz. choice handcut Ribeye Steak, for $16.95, served with cowboy beans, tossed green salad, and a honey butter biscuit. Cooked to your order with these guidelines, Rare = Cool Red Center, Medium Rare = Warm Pink Center, Medium = Thin Pink Line in Center, Medium Well = No Pink, Well = May Still Be on Fire!

As a center attraction for cowboys in a western town for so many years, the Chip is nothing fancy. But that patina of so many wild nights has a certain attraction. This is where life really happens. It can get wild. Pretty young cowgirls come in their best western ware and dancing boots to two-step with cowboys in Wranglers and fresh Panhandle Slim snap button shirt and of course Stetson hat. They meet on the dance floor and share a few long necks and the next thing you know there are two kids and dog in the back of his Ford F250. Yep, many a romance has begun under that roof.

The atmosphere is just what city folk and tourists want to absorb. The Buffalo Chip even caters to tour groups and parties with a little western town out back. You can listen to the live music, shoot pool, or throw horseshoes, sit next to a fire pit and enjoy beautiful Black Mountain with a cold one!

There's plenty of music and dancing going on with Wednesday Karaoke 8pm to Midnight using one of the best sound system around. Thursday and Sunday you can enjoy free dance lessons (that's cowboy dancing ya'll) from 7 to 8pm, and Live music and dancing with The Pat James Band 8pm till Midnight, every Thursday through Sunday. And check out Mel's Auction out back where you can bring anything in from 7to 9pm to get sold, and of course you're welcome to buy!

The first Sunday of every month during the Fall and Winter from 7 to 9pm the Chip goes theatre with "Murder at the High Noon Saloon", a Comedy/Interactive Theater and Dinner Show. They serve a Prime Rib, Cowboy Beans, Tossed Salad, Sourdough Biscuit and Dessert for $35.00.

So the next time your gang of cowboys and cowgirls gets real hungry and has some energy to burn, do what we do. Say,"Meet ya'll at the Chip!" Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse, is located at 6811 East Cave Creek Road, in Cave Creek.

Black Bear Diner

The Black Bear Diner
By Cowgirl Connoisseur Dining Review

There once was a time when you went to a diner for a meal and found good solid nutritious food in hearty portions and as delicious as Mom’s cooking. Not many of those places survive in the modern fast paced world.

If you yearn for a diner of yesteryear, mosey into The Black Bear Diner. They have two locations in north Glendale at 6039 W. Bell Rd., Glendale, AZ 85306, (602) 843-1921 and in Phoenix, at 2410 W. Bell Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85023, (602) 298-2671. The franchise, out of Mt. Shasta, California, says they have 35 Diners and are still growing! Other Arizona locations include Bullhead City, Goodyear, and Lake Havasu City.

Their menu is an old-time newspaper with stories about local events in the past. On my last visit I enjoyed the California Scramble $7.69 for breakfast. It’s scrambled eggs with avocado, spinach, tomato, onion, and jack cheese. It came with potatoes (your choice of hash browns or diced) and bread (your choice of toast or biscuit). The waitress asked about how you liked everything cooked – regular or crispy. The biscuit was the biggest fluffiest most delicious I’ve ever eaten. And the eggs were fabulous!

Others in my party had the Ham and Eggs $7.69 with pancakes, Hungry Man Steak and Eggs $9.99 and another had the Pancakes Mama Bear stack $4.69. Everyone had too much to eat and couldn’t finish their plates. Servings are extra generous and delicious.
The menus for lunch and dinner are both so extensive and economically priced, you are sure to find what you like. Lunch menu sandwiches are generally about $7.99 and dinner averages about $11.99. A large Senior Menu is mostly about $7.99 for dinners.
Their menu notes they have been trans fat free at all locations fo the last 3 years. Their menu says good old fashioned comfort food. And everything on the menu looks very comforting to me!

The décor includes extra large deep booths and tables where you won’t feel cramped even if your hubby is a double X. And there are stuffed bears everywhere to compliment the pine and rough wood trim. Two giant sleeping bears in the reception area are said to wake up and hug patrons on occasion. It’s a family friendly very comfortable place. Jason and his staff did a good job to make us all feel welcome and happy to return.

They have a website at www.blackbeardiner.com with a gift shop.

Alchesay National Fish Hatchery & William Hart Alchesay

Alchesay National Fish Hatchery & William Hart Alchesay
A forgotten part of Arizona history
by Lee Sharpe

One day we took the turnoff for Alchesay National Fish Hatchery, four miles north of Whiteriver between Mileposts 342 and 343 of AZ 73. A signed paved road heads northeast along Whiteriver a little over 4 miles to the site. Dad wanted to show the kids where all of the fish we had been catching and eating all summer came from. The Hatchery was magical with millions of trout from tadpoles are raised to 6 to 8 inch fish ready to be distributed in the local lakes and rivers.

We were camping along Whiteriver for the summer. Dad went back to Phoenix to work during the week while Mom and the kids stayed in a small trailer in a campground. It was heaven on earth for kids. Dad would return with supplies each Friday and take us on adventures. His knowledge of history meant long talks about the various historical markers, camps and sites.

Alchesay Hatchery specializes in raising small native, rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout of 6–8 inches. Visitors are welcome to view exhibits and stroll along a self-guided tour on 7 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Alchesay was the name of a famous Sierra Blanc Apache Indian Scout. Chief (Sgt.) William Hart Alchesay, b. 1853 d. August 6, 1928, served as a Sergeant in Company A, United States Army Indian Scouts in the Wars with the Plains Indians. He was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his bravery during the Winter of 1872-1873, in the Tonto Basin Campaigns. His citation reads “Gallant conduct during campaigns and engagements with Apaches”. One of 14 Native Americans who were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars, Alchesay’s Medal was awarded on April 12, 1875, the result of a personal recommendation from General George Crook.

Later he became a respected Chief of the White Mountain Apache Indians, and participated in the 1886 Campaign that ultimately ended in the capture of Geronimo. A respected counselor to Indian Agents, Alchesay even met with President Grover Cleveland to discuss Indian issues. General Crook’s aide, Captain John G. Bourke (also a Medal of Honor recipient), described Chief Alchesay as “a perfect Adonis in figure, a mass of muscle and sinew of wonderful courage, great sagacity, and as faithful as an Irish hound”.

Alchesay is buried at the Fort Apache Indian Reservation Cemetery in Whiteriver Arizona.
Jim, Blanquet, Elsatsoosh, Kelsay, Kosoha, Machol , Nannasaddie and Nantaje also received the Medal of Honor during the Indian Campaigns. Alchesay is honored in the Arizona Veteran’s Hall of Fame. To this day the Alchesay name is common among the Whiteriver Apache tribes. In fact, the Whiteriver High School is names Alchesay. There’s an Alchesay Canyon and Bridge along Hwy 88 mile post 241.

Sources:
http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1865_ind/alchesay.html
http://www.arizonahandbook.com/white.htm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6404098
http://www.homeofheroes.com/hometownheroes/az.html
William Alchesay: JAN 06 Arizona Highways
http://www.arizonahighways.com/page.cfm?name=Disc_MagRef_People&page=2
http://nativenews.net/nnn_history2003.shtml
http://www.azdvs.gov/Files/Hall%20of%20Fame/HoF%20Nomination%20Packet%2007.pdf
http://www.mccoy.army.mil/vtriad_online/11121999/red%20cloud.htm
http://www.buffalosoldier.net/IndianWarAfricanAmericanIndianScoutMedalofHonorRecipients.htm
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/search?q=su%3AAlchesay.&qt=hot_subject
A visit to the Arizona Capitol Museum revealed several more facts about William Hart Baha Alchesay.
The Arizona Legionnaire Newspaper had an article on July 24, 1978 that displayed a picture of Alchesay with a rifle. It mentioned, “he made frequent trips to Washington DC on behalf of the Indians. Through his actions Indians were paid a fair price for their land. Senator Carl Hayden was a great friend and made sure they got fair treatment
A book Alchesay, written by Col HB Wharfield brought forth many details of Alchesay’s life.
A copy of the Medal of Honor citation is on display at Alchesay High School in White River, AZ.
The Mesa Tribune 8/13/73 page 11 article by Frank Tyndall, of Mesa, and State Director of the Medal of Honor History Roundtable discussed erecting a marker on Alchesay’s grave in White River Arizona. He comments he has the support of two of Alchesay’s grandsons and great grandson and great granddaughter. The White River Apache tribe agreed to pay the expenses for materials. He commented about the honor that should be given to Alchesay for his efforts in securing the surrender of Geronimo. Alchesay was always a peacemaker and a friend to the white man. He told his people, “Learn the ways of the white man but stay true to the beliefs of the Indians.”
Tyndall also wrote to the US Postmaster to urge the creation of a postage stamp honoring Alchesay.
According to a letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Department of the Interior dated Dec 6, 1957, Chief Baha Alchesay as he was known by his own people, was the last hereditary chief of the Apache. When he died on Oct. 11, 1952 at 67 years of age, he was widely recognized as the last in a long line of great chiefs. His funeral was attended by Arizona Governor Pyle.
No chief replaced Alchesay in his family line. He believed the time in history had passed for passing on the title in the hereditary line. Now the democratic process better fit the demands of the modern world. Since the Reorganization Act of 1934, an elected chairman had officially managed the tribes affairs. But they had never gone against Alchesay’s wishes. Unable to speak English Alchesay had to work through interpreters.
Born in approximately 1853, of the Red Rock Strata Clan, named for the red cliffs on the east side upper slopes of Carrizo Creek near the mouth of Mud Creek, Alchesay’s birthplace was near Limestone Creek. His Uncle Pedro was the chief at the time. Pedros cousins Molly and Cora were both married to white scouts, one names Corydon Eliphalet Cooley.
Pedro had recently negotiated a deal with Chief Diablo for more land for the tribe. They had moved in early 1850 from their haven in the Turnbull Mountains area to the Upper Carrizo in the general region of Forestdale. The land Diablo allotted them was 8 miles north of the present day White River agency office.
When Alchesay was a scout for General Cook, he was armed with a .50-70 Springfield rifle and a .50 caliber Spencer Model 1865 carbine. He was under the command of Capt. (Bur Major) George M. Randall in charge Company I, 23rd Infantry. They left Camp Apache in late November 1872 moving out along the Crook Trial south into Tonto Junction with the Salt River on to Camp McDowell.
In March 27, 1873, under Capt Randall along with Scout Cooley took over a large Rancheria on top of Turret Mountain (Peak) south of Camp Verde capturing renegades. Three days prior the group of renegades had killed three white men, including George Taylor, in Wickenburg.
The summer of 1873, Alchesay deserted the Army on June 10th but surrendered on September 1st. It was common for Indian scouts to go home or wander off during the summer when hunting was poor. The time off didn’t seem to bother their superiors and a simple apology mended their record.
Family was a big part of life in the Apache communities. Alchesay’s first wife was tah-jon-nay. He had two children with her, a son Wheeler and a daughter Nellie Benito. His second wife was Dora who gave him six children. Herbert, Sidney, Otto, Eva, Nancy and MaryAnn.
Wheeler’s daughter Genevieve Baha was employed by the Phoenix Bureau of Indian Affairs for many years and provided much of the information for Wharfield’s book on her grandfather.
Most of the children took the Baha name with only MaryAnn taking the Baha-Alchesay name. Eva married Isaac Kessay. The Alchesay name is widely known in Apache country today.

Bloody Basin and Native American History
Bloody Basin and the Tonto National Forest have a rich heritage reaching thousands of years into the past. Originally home to several prehistoric Indian groups who hunted and gathered wild plants in the Mazatzal Mountains and Sierra Ancha and along the Salt and Verde Rivers and their tributaries, it was colonized more than a thousand years ago by a related group of people known today as the Hohokam. The Hohokam were accomplished farmers, craftsmen, traders, and warriors who built large towns and villages and dug hundreds of miles of irrigation canals along the Salt and Gila Rivers around Phoenix. Centuries of trade and conflict then gave rise to several distinctive new cultures, the best known of which is the Salado people of Tonto Basin. About 600 years ago, the effects of several hundred years of droughts, floods, and warfare took their toll on the Salado, the Hohokam, and their neighbors, and most of these people left the Tonto area, never to return.
Later, the Apache, members of the southern branch of the Athapaskan linguistic family, arrived in the area, emigrating from the Mackenzie River Valley of western Canada. The Apache fought with their neighbors, the Maricopa, Yavapai, Havasupai, and Hualapai, descendants of the Hohokam, and later with the Anglo trappers, miners, cattlemen and settlers who followed in the mid-1800's. Of all the tribes in the area, the Tonto Apaches were perhaps the most feared. They showed little mercy to the interloping people, they were highly mobile, unpredictable, and difficult to capture. Further south, their cousin Geronimo eluded capture for years using similar tactics in similar terrain.
Along with the Yavapai, the Tonto Apaches were the dominant band in the area, and feared for their ferocity and endurance. As Anglo settlers moved into the area in the 1860's, they were constantly on guard against attacks from the Yavapai and Apaches, who lived primarily by hunting, gathering and raiding. In 1863, the Arizona Territory was created from the New Mexico Territory, and in 1865 the Army sent a small force of 300 volunteers from California and established Fort McDowell 18 miles east of Cave Creek in an effort to bring the Indians under control. Following Indian trails, the Army built roads linking Fort McDowell with Phoenix and Fort Whipple (present-day Prescott), which provided the access to this rugged country. The 4X4 trail we enjoy today are the result of the trails built by the Cavalry and early pioneers.
-The Army skirmished with the Indians for a decade, with mixed results. As a result of the public outcry, the military organized the Tonto Basin Campaign. The commandant of the operation was General George Crook, recently assigned [June 1871] to the Southwest after establishing his reputation as an Indian-fighter in the Snake War in Idaho and Oregon.
"During the winter of 1872-73, nine small, mobile detachments, using Apache scouts recruited from the reservations, crisscrossed the basin and the surrounding tablelands in constant pursuit of the militants. They wore down their quarry, forcing as many as 20 clashes, during which they killed about 200. One outfit, under captains William Brown and James Burns, won a decisive battle at Salt River Canyon on December 28, the Battle of Skull Cave, against a band of Yavapai hostiles who had fled their reservation at Camp Verde and hid out with the Apaches.
Patrols and skirmishes continued throughout January and February 1873, with Maj. Brown, Lieut. Frank Michler, Lieut. Albert E. Woodson, Capt. Thomas McGregor, among others, involved in clearing the Superstition Mountains. Bourke told of one engagement.
All through the Superstition Mountains, we worked as carefully as we had worked in the more northern portion on our trip to MacDowell, but we met with less success than we had anticipated; on the morning of the 15th of January, after a toilsome night-climb over rough mesas and mountains, we succeeded in crawling upon a small rancheria where the first rays of the sun had surmounted the eastern horizon; but the occupants were too smart for us and escaped, leaving three dead in our hands and thirteen captives-women and children; we also captured the old chief of the band, who, like his people, seemed to be extremely poor.
On 11 March a band of Tonto-Apache Indians attacked a party of three men, killing them all. One of the men was taken alive and tortured. According to Maj. Azor H. Nickerson, "They...took him up to a sheltered spot among the rocks, stripped him of his clothing, tied his hands behind him, fastened his feet together and commenced to torture him by shooting arrows into his naked body, taking care not to hit a vital spot."
The atrocity spurred a punitive expedition which tracked the hostiles to Turret Mountain. Here the Indians suffered another crushing defeat on 27 March 1873 when Capt. George M. Randall, 23d Infantry, led a charge into a unsuspecting rancheria on Turret Peak, killing twenty-six Indians.
According to Bourke:
Randall made his men crawl up the face of the mountain on hands and feet, to avoid all danger of making noise by the rattling of stones, and shortly after midnight had the satisfaction of seeing the glimmer of fires amid the rocks scattered about on the summit. He waited patiently until dawn, and then led the charge, the Apaches being so panic-stricken that numbers of the warriors jumped down the precipice and were dashed to death. This and the action in the cave in the Salt River Canon were the two affairs which broke the spirit of the Apache nation; they resembled each other in catching raiders just in from attacks upon the white settlements or those of friendly tribes, in surprising bands in strongholds which for generations had been invested with the attribute of impregnability, and in inflicting great loss with
comparatively small waste of blood to ourselves.
One further item needed to be cleared up for the operation to be a complete success. That was the defeat of the Tonto chief Delshay and his band. Delshay was variously known as Wahpoo-eta or Big Rump. Crook called him "The Liar" and Bourke knew him as the "Red Ant." The chief was described as being "An exceptionally large Indian with broad shoulders set high, which gave the impression that he stooped. In spite of his weight he was very agile and swift of foot. He seldom walked but "lumbered" along at a slow trot and was reputed to tire out even his swiftest runners. While many of the Indians wore ornaments, I do not recall any but Del-che who wore only a single pearl button in the lobe of the left ear. Asked why he wore only one in the left ear, he replied that one in the right ear would interfere with his bow or gun while
shooting." The heavy-shouldered Delshay was one of the most feared leaders in the Tonto Basin, so much hated by the whites that he was once shot by the post surgeon at Old Camp Reno for no apparent reason other than his presence presented the opportunity. His favored tactic, to avoid casualties, was to surrender to any American forces that threatened him, and then to return to the Mogollon Basin when he had the chance.
Capt. George M. Randall, thanks to his Indian Scouts, surrounded Delshay's camp on upper Canyon Creek on 25 April. As his command fired their first volley, Delshay waved a white truce flag, and with some misgiving, Randall accepted his surrender and took him into the White Mountain reservation. Delshay would flee that place, citing abuses by other Indians, and eventually wind up living at Camp Verde. General Crook, in his Autobiography, conveyed Delshay's reasons for surrendering this last time.
Delshay commenced crying and said he would do anything he would be ordered to do. He wanted to save his people, as they were starving. Every rock had turned into a soldier, and his people were hunted down as they never had been before. He had nothing to ask for but his life. He would accept any terms. He said he had had one hundred and twenty-five warriors last fall, and if anybody had told him he couldn't whip the world, he would have laughed at them, but now he had only twenty left. He said they used to have no difficulty in eluding the troops, but now the very rocks had gotten soft, they couldn't put their foot anywhere without leaving an impression by which we could follow, that they could get no sleep at nights, for should a coyote or a fox start a rock rolling during the night, they would get up and dig out, thinking it was we who were after them." 2
It was Crook's Tonto Campaign, and more specifically the Battle at Turret Peak, that resulted in the name "Bloody Basin" being given to this locale. The Battle of Turret Peak also resulted in the award of four Medal of Honor's being bestowed upon the troops of the 5th Cavalry.

Gordon Biersch Dining Review




Dining Review
Gordon Biersch

by Cowgirl Connoisseur
I generally give a restaurant three tries before writing a review to get a good feel for the average experience and taste more of the menu. In this case, I only have two personal experiences, but my dining companion has been there a total of five times.

Gordon Biersch is a brewery/restaurant located adjacent to the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale south of Glendale and East of the 101. Their website at http://www.gordonbiersch.com/ says it all started with the dream of two passionate guys named Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Their dream of exceptional beer and delicious food became a reality on July 6, 1988 when the first Gordon Biersch opened in Palo Alto, California. Acquired by Big River Brewing Company in 1999, Gordon Biersch now has 17 locations in 13 states and Washington D.C.

The Glendale location is brand new, a part of the exciting WestGate project tied into the Arena and Stadium and Hotel/Convention Center complex driving mass crowds of sports and entertainment seekers to the west valley. It has a distinct advantage of benefiting from the intense traffic pre and post events. And the local business trade has found it an enjoyable lunch spot as well. It’s close enough to park in the Arena west parking lot and walk to the restaurant before or after games.

Each Gordon Biersch restaurant features a unique décor and atmosphere that provides an inviting space for social gatherings, casually sophisticated dining occasions, and private dining events for groups from 15 to 500. This location has a warm modern southwest feel. It’s a large open dining room with views of the kitchen and curtained side rooms for private groups. The booths are comfortable and the noise level was low and comfortable for normal conversation. Our server was attentive and the food arrived in a reasonable time, even in the pre-event dinner rush.

I enjoyed the Cedar Plank Pecan Crusted Salmon Topped with a Honey Pecan Crust and seared on a Cedar Plank, with a Dill Cream Sauce, served with Jasmine Rice and Seasonal Vegetables $18.50. I was a little disappointed that the Honey Pecan Crust seemed to be more an afterthought spooned on topping rather than an actual crust, but it was still flavorful and cooked to perfection.

My companion ordered the Gorgonzola Pear Salad with Pecan Crusted Chicken in Marzen Vinaigrette $12.50. It was a bit on the bland side and required another dose of the dressing to give it a boost.

Okay so it was a so-so dining experience. Maybe a solid 3 stars. But I was willing to give it another try.

Let’s go for the Appetizers. Quick Fried Calamari with Spicy Marinara $9.25. We had Calamari the last visit and it was delicious! A good sized portion hot, fresh and crispy. The marinara sauce was just right and we could have used about half again as much for dipping! My companion loved the Lump Crab Cake with Asian Slaw and
Cajun Remoulade $10.95 We could have selected Gordon Biersch Garlic Fries $5.75, Shrimp and Chicken Potstickers with Asian Barbecue Sauce and Hot Mustard $8.95, Bruschetta with Garlic Parmesan Crostini $8.25, Crispy Artichoke Hearts Topped with Parmesan, served with Lemon Aioli $8.95, Blackened Ahi Tuna Served rare with Cajun Remoulade $10.75, Crab and Artichoke Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl $9.95.
Or Glazed Chicken Wings with Sweet Chili and Ginger $8.95 or a Chef’s Sampler $14.95, Brewer’s Feast Sampler $16.95, Tapas Roasted Garlic, Bruschetta, Olive, Relish and Hummus served with Herb Flatbread $8.25, or Southwest Egg Rolls Pulled Chicken, Black Beans, Corn, Roasted Red Peppers and Pepperjack Cheese served with a Roasted Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce $8.50.

Their menu says “Traditional pastas with big flavors to complement our Lager Beers.” Looking at the pasta menu of Fire Roasted Chicken & Fettuccine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes in a Pesto Cream Sauce $15.25, or Pasta Jambalaya Chicken, Shrimp, Ham and Andouille Sausage tossed with Orzo Pasta $15.25, or Linguine Marinara Fresh Mozzarella, Marinara Sauce and Parmesan Cheese $11.50, or Goat Cheese Ravioli Sauteed Mushrooms, Spinach, Pine Nuts with Fresh Rosemary in a Brown Butter
Sauce $14.95. I tried the Ravioli and really enjoyed the combination with a good beer.

Entrees offered include Barbecued Salmon with Asian Barbecue Sauce, Balsamic Grilled Red Onion, Spinach and Sweet Ginger Rice $18.95, Gorgonzola Bone-In Ribeye 18 oz., topped with a Signature Gorgonzola Butter. All steaks are served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables $25.50, Flame Grilled New York Strip A hearty 14 oz.char-grilled Strip Steak $22.95. The Bistro Steak Medallions Char-grilled Aged Beef Medallions marinated in Ginger Soy Sauce $19.75 were a good light steak choice. They also offer Bistro Steak Medallions & Crab Stuffed Shrimp $22.50, Teriyaki Flat Iron Steak Grilled to perfection and topped with a rich Teriyaki Sauce, served alongside Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Asparagus $17.95, Meatloaf Made with Ground Beef and Italian Sausage served with Brown Gravy and Garlic Mashed Potatoes $14.95, Chicken Marsala Sauteed with Shallots and Mushrooms in a Marsala Wine Sauce over Linguine $14.95,(my companion ordered the Chicken Marsala and I tried a bite or two as it’s one of my favorite meals and I must say their chef pleased me with his version of this classic dish.) Pecan Crusted Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables $14.95, Chicken Piccata Lightly dusted in Seasoned Flour and sauteed with a White Wine Butter, Lemon Juice and Caper Sauce, served with Jasmine Rice and Fresh Vegetables $14.95, Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna served rare with Red Peppers, Baby Bok Choy and Sweet Ginger Rice $20.95, Cajun Pasta Andouille Sausage, Grilled Chicken and Shrimp and Louisiana Spices with Fettuccine in a Tomato Cream Sauce $15.95.
Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry with Asian Vegetables and Jasmine Rice $14.75. (Another dining companion tried the Chicken Stir Fry and was very pleased. It wasn’t too sweet or spicy for her tastes and the vegetables were crisp and not overcooked like some she had experienced.) Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry with Asian Vegetables and Jasmine Rice $16.75, Chicken Parmesan Breaded Chicken Breast topped with Marinara and melted Mozzarella Cheese served with Pesto Cream Linguine $14.50
They offer a selection of Pizzas including, Classic Pepperoni $11.75, Pepperoni & Mushroom Pizza with Mozzarella Cheese $11.95, Chicken & Artichoke with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil $11.95, Roasted Garlic & Chicken Pizza with a White Sauce, Roasted Garlic and Pulled Chicken $11.95, Hawaiian Pizza with Mozzarella Cheese, Diced Ham and Pineapple $11.95, Pepperoni & Sausage with Mozzarella Cheese $11.95,
Veggie Pizza Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Artichoke, Mushrooms, Spinach and Roma Tomatoes $11.50, Fresh Mozzarella with Roma Tomatoes and Basil $10.95, Barbecue Chicken Pulled Chicken, Onion, Cilantro and Mozzarella over our Märzen Barbecue Sauce $11.95, or a Create Your Own Start with Tomato Basil Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese $10.75 Each topping: $1.00, Meats: Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Chicken, Andouille Sausage, Ham, Vegetables: Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers, Artichoke Hearts, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Red Onions, Spinach, Roasted Garlic, Pineapple.

I must comment on the beer. After all Gordon Biersch is a brewery. Their website educated me saying, “The first thing to know about brewing is that basically, it's cooking. The brewer is a chef, the brewery is his kitchen and the brew kettle no more than a pot. Granted, at 1,500 liters, it is a very, very large pot. The recipe for Gordon Biersch beer contains only four ingredients as dictated by the 500-year-old German purity law called Reinheitsgebot. (Rine-HEIGHT-ski-bot') The German Purity Law that dates back to 1516 which says beer can only be made with 3 ingredients, Barley. Hops and water. Interestingly, at the time no one knew that yeast was involved in the process. (It was in the air.) So yeast has since been added as the fourth ingredient. Many people use color to classify beer, but an even more basic distinction is between lagers and ales. Most microbrews are ales. They are made from top fermenting yeasts and are typically stored for about two weeks. Most ales are fruity and complex in flavor. Gordon Biersch brews mostly lagers. Lagers use bottom fermenting yeasts and are stored for about five weeks after brewing, which results in a crisper, smoother flavor. Gordon Biersch brews beers that range in color from gold to auburn to brown and to black, but most of our flagship beers are lager style resulting in what we think are wonderfully drinkable brews. The bottom line? Judge a beer based on taste not color.”

We tried GOLDEN EXPORT a smooth, refreshing lager, lightly hopped with a dry finish. The demand was so high when it was first brewed in the 1870s, that it was “exported ” to other regions in Germany. I don’t claim to be an aficionado of beer, but I know what I like and this is a fine beer. And we tried MÄRZEN (Maert-zen) a dry, auburn-colored, Bavarian lager with a mildly sweet finish. It was originally brewed in March (“Marz ” in German) an store in caves to be drunk during warmer weather. I can see why the Germans like their beer. This one is especially nice with a steak.

So after a couple of visits I have moved it up to a 4 star dining experience. Gordon Biersch, 6915 North 95th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85305, phone: 623-877-4300 fax: 623-877-4305, Hours Sunday – Monday: 11am – 11pm, Tuesday - Thursday: 11am - 12am, Friday – Saturday: 11am – 1am. They offer specials on appetizers $4.95 from 4-6:30pm and 10pm to close if you arrive after the games. Tell them the Cowgirl Connoisseur sent you!
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Glendale Arizona Internet Broadcaster Receives 5 Emmy® Nominations.


Glendale Arizona Internet Broadcaster Receives 5 Emmy® Nominations.

Photo: Jennifer Jones KPHO and President of the Rocky Mountain NATAS Chapter Presents Ed Sharpe of CouryGraph Productions/ Glendale Daily Planet/KKAT-IPTV With 5 Emmy® Nominations! (Photo by Bette Sharpe)
Glendale Arizona Internet Broadcaster Receives 5 Emmy® Nominations.
Ed Sharpe of CouryGraph Productions, www.GlendaleDailyPlanet.com, KKAT-IPTV, Glendale, AZ, was honored to receive five 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy® Nominations August 28th at the award nomination ceremony in Phoenix.

Four separate 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy® Nomination Parties were held simultaneously in Phoenix, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque. The Phoenix Emmy® nomination party was held at the Friday's Front Row Sports Grill at 401 E. Jefferson Street, Tuesday, August 28th from 6pm - 8pm.

About Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV And CouryGraph Productions
Glendale Daily Planet, the parent organization of KKAT-IPTV was started in 2004, as the first community journalism news site in Glendale and perhaps all of Arizona. Serving The Metro West Side of the Valley of the Sun, Glendale Daily Planet has witnessed, participated in and recorded the further rejuvenation of the downtown core, the meteoric rise of the 'Glendale Sports Empire' and the restoration of historic sections of the town.

“We here at KKAT-IPTV are most proud of the ability to have a continuous 24/7 stream of archived footage online.” Sharpe comments. “But when a special event arises, we have the ability to go live interrupting the pre-programmed content to cover the event. With the advent of higher speed EVDO radio cards and compact portable satellite terminals, the options are limitless.”

“Residents can now catch stories of interest on their schedule, taking advantage of the on-demand character of Internet media. No more waiting for 5 or 10pm news and no need to program the TiVo. Important stories remain available, a mouse click away, and for years to come in the online archives.”
In addition to his work with KKAT-IPTV, CouryGraph Productions and the Glendale Daily Planet, Ed Sharpe is the webmaster for MCA-I Chapter 44 in Phoenix Arizona and a member of the National Media Communications Association-International Association.
A Glendale resident since 1974, Sharpe also is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), Society of Broadcast Engineers(SBE), Investigative Reporters and Editors(IRE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Society of Professional Journalists(SPJ), National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation (SMECC) and other associations. He has been actively filming important events in the history of Glendale for several years. He has been a vocal supporter of Glendale and helps to maintain her history as well as guide the area into new technologies.

“I’ve always been a pioneer using technology to push the envelope in communication, as well as respecting and preserving it’s history,” says Sharpe.

The work of Sharpe’s CouryGraph Productions and other participative community journalists and engineering staff may be viewed, 24-hours a day, seven days a week at http://www.glendaledailyplanet.com/ .
CouryGraph Emmy® Nominations In Category 72, Advanced Media – Arts / Entertainment, Sharpe’s film “Sphere Factor!” competes with only one other nomination. The story of an imaginary crime fighter, portrayed by Sharpe himself as writer, producer, director, actor, videographer, and editor, truly exposes the mind of an interesting character.
Remarkably Sharpe has taken all four nominations in Category 73, Advanced Media – Breaking News-Continuing Coverage. “Glendale High School Alumni Event” includes detailed coverage of the Sheriff’s Department helicopter as well as a collector car show.

Also nominated is “Heroism—First to Respond” , “The Laura Graff Hit and Run Accident - Search For The Driver”, and “Rose Lane Aquatics Center” which shows off the refurbished Rose Lane Pool, originally built in 1966. Sharpe’s video shows off the family-friendly facility including a beach-entry pool with play structures, spray pad, in-pool misting systems, water slide, six-lane competitive pool and diving tank.
The 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy® Awards will be held at the brand new Renaissance Hotel and Resort in Glendale on Saturday, October 6th - more details to come. Be sure to keep an eye on http://www.rockymountainemmy.org .
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Submitted by LeeAnn Sharpe




Michael Crawford
Peoria KIA
By LeeAnn Sharpe

“I wanta see ya in a KIA,” is the catch phrase you hear from Peoria KIA General Manager and 20% owner Michael Crawford. He dramatically inflects his voice to extremes so it catches your attention and stays with you. It’s an effective marketing tool because kids are out there mimicking him and adults are saying “who is that guy?” Families come to his showroom on Saturday enthusiastically coaxing him to say his slogan.

Born in South Chicago, raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Crawford moved to the Valley in 1979 and has been in the car business ever since. Mel Clayton Chevrolet was where he started. He’s been at Peoria Kia for the last 4 years.

Michael Crawford is everywhere these days; TV commercials, infomercials, magazines, newspapers and radio. He’s even in negotiations with Bravo producers to make a reality tv show about his life. As the pitch man for Peoria Kia you wonder if this smiling, fast talking, car salesman is really as upbeat all the time as he seems, or is it his stage persona. He says, “I’m like this 24/7.”

And he really does seem to be the real deal. His employees and customers all seem to love the guy. He gets hugs every time he walks the showroom floor with incredible energy and a charismatic personality.

A family man, Crawford is married to Gloria and they have fraternal twin daughters Giovanna and Makalya. He lights up when he talks about his girls. He works 80-85 hours a week these days, so his family time is private and special.

The first thing Michael Crawford will tell you is he’s out to break the mold when it comes to the stereotypical perception of “car salesman”. He wants his salesman to be respected and loved and happy. So that’s how he trains them to treat the customers, with respect. My bottom line is 100% customer satisfaction.

“I really want to hit home about how some auto dealers use deceptive advertising promises. What they say or put down in print, they really need to back it up. We need to change the perception of automotive dealers,” His goal is to get the industry to accept truth in advertising. Double rebates and other false advertising claims are bad for the industry. Crawford fires off, “When they say they will double the rebate, you can’t do that! Please, you are smarter than that! People know the truth. That’s misleading.”

“What I guarantee is there isn’t a soul on this earth who will work harder to get you behind the wheel of a brand new or pre-owned Kia at a price you can afford. Is that a guarantee I can get you approved. No. But what that’s doing is that it doesn’t matter if you have been surrounded by unfortunate circumstances. I’m gonna look at you as we are all equal. A lot of people are looked down on because of their situation. Other dealers run their credit and walk away from them and won’t even listen to their stories. They don’t care.” He trains his sales staff to treat the customer with respect, listen to their story and work hard to get them what they need to achieve customer satisfaction.

Crawford tells his employees in motivational sales meetings “Do you understand that it’s already in the books. Let me go deep with you. A lot of people can’t get this in their mind. God knew you before you were in your mother’s womb. It’s all there in the cards. You just gotta want it. You can have a higher IQ than I do, the difference is I want it more, so I will succeed. I get up every morning working for the best corporation in the world. It’s me incorporated. I’m the CEO, President, Vice-President. So what’s my stock worth? I have a game plan. I come to work everyday and whatever I do is better than I did yesterday. I know I have the God given talent. All I need is the application. The difference is I just want it more. Are you willing to sacrifice to get there? I was always willing to sacrifice to get to the top, as long as no one else got hurt.”

“My number one goal in life is to be wealthy enough to not have to work and spend all the time I possibly can with my children and truly be the best father that I am capable of being. And I can help all those people in need, truly in need. I have given away thousands of dollars and cars and other things to people truly in need.”

Crawford broadcasts a program direct from his “The Hello Arizona Studio” right in the Peoria Kia showroom every Saturday 1-3pm on KPXQ the Christian Radio station. He says, “They decided I was perfect for their programming. The radio station, they also own a sports radio station, sales rep was trying to get me to advertise and I didn’t want it. He kept talking to me and he called one Sunday morning and had seen my infomercial and I had been working with this black woman who had a low credit score. She had been disrespected at other dealerships. They looked down on her like a triple minority because she was black, and a woman, and had low credit score. Then she heard I was a Christian and decided she should go see me. I worked hard to get her approved. And she jumped up and cried and cried so happy when we got her a deal. And she says Michael, Jesus sent me to you!” So this sales rep went to his people and said this guy would be great on the Christian radio show and they had a time slot open. Michael felt he had a sign that God wanted him to reach out to more people. So now he’s on the radio.

“This woman was disrespected by several other dealerships. It’s not her fault she had been in an bad situation. She has six kids and her husband ran off with the car because he’s a crack head. She can’t get to work. I worked really hard to get her a car. Love thy neighbor. That’s what it’s all about. If everyone would just love their neighbor think of how the world would be,” Crawford continues. “If you have the ability to help them, if more people truly “loved thy neighbor” we wouldn’t be sending these young men to Iraq before they have an opportunity to father a child. It’s so sad that they lose their life before they have the blessing of a child.”

His face reflects a real concern for the people in need. He talks about what he feels is right from his experience for his audience. This past week the topic was “I am who I am because of Him.” A recent customer experience had impacted him. A man of wealth had the impression he was all that. Crawford wanted to remind us all where our true wealth resides and from Whom it comes.

Crawford’s ministry is without any divinity training. He worries about ministry training, that it’s about raising money. “I’m getting the word out there because He wants me to. He propels me into action. Sometime I say something and I think, I didn’t mean to say that. I had stuff prepared to talk about and I got totally off that. It just came out. And it came out great. That’s the Holy Spirit baby!”

“When you are in the corporate world and I try to make everyone believe as I do, I can’t do that. Will I let you know I’m a Christian? Yeah! You can see in my show room the sign on the broadcasting studio. But I don’t try to sell you my beliefs. The reality of it is, just be real. That works for me. I’m just me. The moves I make reflect my beliefs and my faith. When I talk, I talk with all of the happiness from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, and people see how my faith is real and how my faith is reflect in how I treat people. My door is always open. I give my cell phone number out for anyone to call me directly. I talk the talk and walk the walk.” When have you ever heard of a GM handing out his personal phone number?

Being a Christian prevents Crawford from doing anything deceptive in advertising. It prevents him from worrying about the money. “It’s not just about the money. It helps me stay with my mission statement that it’s about total customer satisfaction. Now no matter how hard you work, you won’t be able to satisfy everybody. You just won’t. You as a businessman can’t always do it. But I’ll tell you one thing. As long as you tried every single morning you will build a name people respect. First phase, you build a name, and second phase, you work to keep it. You don’t ever sway from those values, that faith. Never compromise yourself. Have those principles and values. Customer satisfaction has to be worth more to you than anything else.”

So what does the future bring for Michael Crawford and Peoria Kia? “In another year or two we would like to open another store or two here in the Valley.” (We includes majority owner Dana Moore.) And whatever He (the big boss upstairs) wants me to do. Right now I am doing what He wants me to do.”

The 2.9 acre Peoria Kia dealership is at 91st Avenue just North of Bell Road It’s the #1 Kia dealership in Arizona and #3 in the world. Michael Crawford works hard to keep it that way!

One last question he asked, “If you were guaranteed Heaven would you go right now?” Think about it.
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Wildflower Bread Company Review


Wildflower Bread Company Review
by Cowgirl Connoisseur


Wildflower Bread Company is a Scottsdale based chain with Arizona locations including Tempe Square (SW Corner of McClintock & Guadalupe), Sonora Village (SW Corner of Loop 101 & Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.), Deer Valley Towne Center ( SW Intersection of Loop 101 & I-17), Chandler Fashion Center (SW Intersection of Loop 101 & Chandler Blvd.), Wildflower Village (SW Corner of Baseline & Val Vista), Palm Valley Pavilions West (SW Corner of Litchfield & McDowell), Arcadia Commons (Indian School & 44th Street), Prescott Gateway Mall (Intersection of Highway 69 & Gateway Blvd.), and The Shops at Piñon Pointe (Intersection of Highways 179 & 89A).

It’s a simple order at the counter and the server brings you your food. You get your own drinks and refills. Sandwiches, pasta, soups and salads, muffins and breads make up most of their menu. Bread is their passion and all of it is baked fresh daily. What a huge difference fresh bread makes in a delicious sandwich!

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with a wide variety of selections beyond your usual breakfast sandwich. Breakfast is served until 10:30am on weekdays and until 2pm on weekends. How about the Honey-Cured Ham & Brie Frittata with eggs, ham, brie, sautéed apples, sage and leeks, served with Wildflower Home Fries and buttered toast for only $5.99. Or Lemon Ricotta Pancakes which are Wildflower’s signature pancakes, with ricotta cheese and lemon, served with blueberry compote, sweet creamy butter and hot maple syrup at $5.69. The lemon contrasted with blueberry is a wonderful combination. The Roasted Tomato Feta & Egg Sandwich with scrambled eggs, roma tomato, feta and basil on a buttered Ciabatta Roll at $4.19 is a huge improvement over a McMuffin! This is a much nicer way to start your morning.

Lunch is prices from $6.49 to $6.99 for sandwiches like the Roast Beef & Gorgonzola with rare roast beef (94% fat-free), gorgonzola, roasted red pepper, red onion, romaine, tomato and herb mayo on Sourdough for $6.79. I really enjoyed their Wildflower Chicken Salad with chicken breast, red and green peppers, green onion, lemon, garlic and mayo with tomato, cucumber, romaine and clover sprouts on Nine-Grain at $6.79. My gentleman friend enjoyed the hot Spicy Meatball sandwich with swiss, giardinera hot peppers and Wildflower marinara on a grilled Ciabatta Roll for $6.99 The Harvest Apple Pork with slow-roasted pork with apple, leek, sage, arugula and swiss on grilled Pasilla Chili Rye at $6.79 looked tempting and I will try when the weather is cooler.

The salads are wonderful! Oriental Chicken with field greens, grilled chicken breast, red and white cabbage, cucumber, carrot, celery, green onion, jicama, cilantro, sesame seeds, crispy noodles and almonds with Oriental dressing at $6.99. They use a lot of jicama which you don’t find often but adds a nice crunch!

They serve up to six varieties of fresh homemade wholesome soup daily that are a wonderful meal in themselves. Made with natural ingredients and they always offer at least one vegetarian selection. You can try soup in their award-winning Sourdough bread boule or with your favorite sandwich or salad. By the cup $3.29, bowl $4.29, or soup in a Bread Boule is $5.29. You can even buy Soup by the Quart at $8.99 and feed the whole family. Their website gives the ingredients and complete nutritional breakdown of each soup for those counting calories or carbs.

Pasta is served from 3pm on and includes a Butternut Squash Ravioli topped with roasted walnut cream sauce and nutmeg sublime for $7.29. My favorite is Smoked Salmon Alfredo with sundried tomato, capers and linguini, topped with parsley and grated parmesan for only $7.29! Or how about the Three Cheese Ravioli topped with Wildflower marinara, parsley and grated parmesan for only $6.99. Pesto Chicken with Linguini grilled chicken breast, feta, roasted red pepper, spinach and pesto, topped with parsley and grated parmesan $7.29, Linguini with White Clam Sauce tender clams in an herb broth, topped with parsley and grated parmesan $6.99, and many more.

I go to Wildflower Bakery for meetings often because the atmosphere is usually subdued and quiet enough for comfortable conversation. They also have free wifi and it was relatively fast compared to many places in the valley.

It always seems to have a steady crowd. But the service is pretty quick and I’ve never had a problem finding a good table. When the weather is good I like sitting out on the front patio.

I also like to snag a cranberry muffin ($1.89) from the bakery case with a display so tempting you may have to close your eyes! They also have freshly made breads, cheesecakes, cupcakes and brownies, and cakes. Recently they had a baguette for a dollar you could drop into a box and grab your bread as you left.

Their hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays
Prices: $5-$7 sandwiches; $4-$7 salads; $7 pastas (after 3 p.m.) Info: (480) 838-9773 or wildflowerbread.com Locations include:
6428 S. McClintock Road Tempe phone 480-838-9773 fax 480-838-9469
15640 N. Pima Road Scottsdale phone 480-991-5180 fax 480-991-6279
2805 W. Agua Fria Freeway Deer Valley phone 623-879-6819 fax 623-879-6829
3111 W. Chandler Boulevard Chandler phone 480-821-8200 fax 480-821-8211
3425 E. Baseline Road Gilbert phone 480-507-9565 fax 480-507-9566
1360 N. Litchfield Road Goodyear phone 623-935-1131 fax 623-935-5557
4290 East Indian School Road Arcadia phone (602) 850-8585 fax (602) 850-8586
3250 Gateway Boulevard Prescott phone 928-717-1700 fax 928-717-1707
101 N. Highway 89A Sedona phone 928-204-2223 fax 928-204-9449
16059 N. 82nd Street Scottsdale Corporate phone 480-951-9453 fax 480-951-9464


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The Simpsons Movie Review

The Simpsons
By LeeAnn Sharpe

After 18 seasons, 400 episodes, 23 Emmys, and a Time Magazine’s award for “Best Television Series of the 20thCentury” The Simpsons is now an animated full length feature comedy movie based on the animated television series. Once again Homer must save the world from a catastrophe he created.

For 18-years we have followed the wacky exploits of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie in the town of Springfield. But until now Springfield was located in the minds of the creators, not actually in a state on the US Map. But a contest won the state of Vermont the “right” to premiere the movie and become the official home state of the “The Simpsons Springfield”.

The trailer and commercials give you a good idea of a general feel for the movie, much like the television series. Homer’s new pet pig not only leaves hoof prints on the ceiling with Homer’s help, he insures Homer can create the usual number of monumental blunders to put the world in peril and Marge angry. It’s a wonder Marge has stayed with Homer all of these 18 years. She has been on the verge of leaving and actually left once or twice only to be lured back into his zany web. Maybe Marge is there to teach us the deeper meaning of love in marriage and true forgiveness. Nah.
Directed by David Silverman the film was produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, and Richard Sakai and written by eleven of the television series' most prolific writers: Scully, Jean, Brooks, Groening, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, Ian Maxtone-Graham, and Matt Selman. It stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, and Tress MacNeille and features Albert Brooks in a prominent guest role, as well as Tom Hanks and Green Day in smaller ones.
There had been previous attempts to create a film version of The Simpsons, but they failed because of script length and lack of staff. This movie’s production began in back in 2001 when plot ideas were conceived, re-written about a hundred times, resulting in "two films' worth” of finished material cut, including cameos from Isla Fisher, Minnie Driver, Erin Brockovich and Kelsey Grammer. Promotions with 7-Eleven, who transformed select stores into Kwik-E-Marts, MySpace, and Burger King the flick has to be a winner before it even premiered in Springfield, Vermont.
Basically, if you enjoy The Simpsons, you will enjoy the movie. If you’re not already a fan it’s unlikely the movie will convert you to the fold.
The plot includes the band Green Day performing on Lake Springfield ending up killed because of the polluted lake, Grampa has a vision, Lisa holds a seminar entitled "An Irritating Truth", Homer adopts a pig, dumps pig's waste into the lake. Russ Cargill, head of the EPA, tells President Schwarzenegger that Springfield is extremely polluted and the government must take drastic action and the EPA places Springfield in a giant glass dome. It gets even crazier from there when the Simpson's flee to Alaska, see a television advertisement with Tom Hanks promoting a new Grand Canyon, to be located where Springfield is and Marge and the kids decide that they must save the town from government destruction, but Homer refuses to help the town that tried to kill him. Not to give away any big secrets, (SPOILER) the film ends with everyone restoring Springfield, including the Simpson's house, back to the way things were. They had to, of course, or their world would come to an end. And who would want to have a world without The Simpsons.

“Shadows of the Silk Road” Review by LeeAnn Sharpe


“Shadows of the Silk Road” by Colin Thubron, 2007 HarperCollins Publishers
Review by LeeAnn Sharpe
“Shadow of the Silk Road” records 68-year-old Englishman Colin Thubron's journey along the greatest land route on earth, The Silk Road. In his 9th travel book Colin takes us along, without a camera, only his elegant prose to describe the land and people. From the heart of China, Xian, into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran and into Kurdish Turkey, Colin Thubron travels for some seven thousand miles in eight months along routes he had been before many years ago.
“Making his way by local bus, truck, car, donkey cart and camel, he travels from the tomb of the Yellow Emperor, the mythic progenitor of the Chinese people, to the ancient port of Antioch in perhaps the most difficult and ambitious journey he has undertaken in forty years of travel,” reads the dust jacket. The contrast of then (his previous experiences) and now, examination of the ancient and current conditions, provide a glimpse of how history has treated this most ancient of lands and people.
Without a camera, Thubron must paint a picture for us to see what he sees and that is the beauty of his prose. You can see, hear, smell and taste all he experiences in explicit detail. And you hear the voices in his head as he senses danger and fear in this insanely dangerous part of the world. Language is seldom a barrier as his gift for talking to people and getting them to talk to him is intriguing. Speaking Mandarin, Russian or the mélange of the many tongues along the way, he always finds a translator and or driver willing to take the time with him to explore.
We learn through his discussions with the common people there has been good and bad in the changes they have seen. China, transformed since the Cultural Revolution, has cities with all of the trappings of Paris or Rome and other towns untouched by the modern world. It has people making it rich and others in extreme poverty. Religion all but extinguished in the past is resurging in unusual ways. It’s a society without a conscious as we know it in the west. All of the stereotypes of China are just that and totally out of step with the reality of China today. The internet has opened the world to China. A generation ready to abandon their own world for what they view as a better world are quick to jump aboard the consumer train. Change in China is at an extremely fast pace with markets opened to her commodities worldwide.
The former Soviet held countries are faced with false nationalisms and an identity crisis on so many fronts. Ethnically Chinese intermixed with races of multiple invasions though the centuries from Alexander’s armies to Tamerlane and Genghis Kahn. Since the Soviet withdraw, factories have closed and workers are unemployed. On some level people felt better off under Soviet occupation. They have found the cost of freedom leaves them hungry.
True boundaries are not political borders, but the frontiers of tribe, ethnicity, language and religion. “It is a magnificent and important account of an ancient world in modern ferment,” reads the book jacket. So true, as the people of this ancient world survive upheaval after upheaval and still manage to get up each morning and go about their lives. Few places are untouched by the prejudice of where their people came from, their religion, or their class.
“Shadow of the Silk Road “encounters Islamic countries in many forms. Some are seemingly hard line totally devout in public, yet speaking another line in private. The young are playing a waiting game until the old mullahs die off and they can effect real change. The extremists we hear about are a small minority in most Islamic countries. The majority of their “faithful” go through the motions, and follow the traditions not even knowing the words they pray.
The only shortcoming of Thubron’s book is the fate of women and children. They are absent for most part as is the case in most of the Islamic world. A strange man would not have access to women. We briefly encounter a few women of great strength and courage. But most are elusive.
Still this story was intriguing and insightful about a part of the world most of us will never experience. And as Thubron often found, is quickly fading, being erased by war, development, weather and time. It made me think how sad the world will be when we lose the uniqueness of all of the wonderful cultures of the past all being homonogized into a dull sameness. At least we will always have stories like these to remind us of the rich culture that once was the “Shadow of the Silk Road”.
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3:10 to Yuma Movie Review


Movie Review
3:10 to Yuma
By LeeAnn Sharpe

A 20 something friend told me he had been to the movie theatre the night before and there were these really long lines waiting to get in to see “3:10 to Yuma”. He noticed the average age of those standing in line was mostly 40 and over. He asked, “Why is that generation so into westerns?” I thought about it and the answer seemed simple. We all go back to our comfort zone to feel good. The baby boomer generation grew up with westerns and continues to hold them dear.

They say the western movie market is making a resurgence evidenced by HBO’s “Deadwood” TV series, setting the bar for the modern western with over the edge, in your face, muddy smutty reality attracting the younger generation. But thinking about what my friend said, I think it’s mainly the tail end of the baby boomer generation holding on to their Saturday morning love affair with Gene and Roy, albeit grown up and doing all those naughty adult things we never even imagined back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. Movies like “Brokeback Mountain” pushed the envelope even further. But maybe there is more to it. Maybe the western is just a good vehicle to tell a compelling story about life.

There are a few new westerns coming out this year with big name stars. "3:10 to Yuma, "with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Brad Pitt as Jesse James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford coming out Sept. 21st, and "No Country For Old Men" with Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson coming out Nov. 21st.

“Experts” say the western reappears in a cycle resurfacing every 7 to 10 years. But I think westerns have always been with us in some shape or form. They may go hi-tech like “Wild Wild West” or dive into comedy like “Shanghai Knights”. But they are always with us. Just look at the Tombstone movies. There has been a retelling of that story at least twice a decade since the teens.

“One of the reasons I started the Wild West Gazette newspaper is recent interest in the old west. Every western state in the union is in the process of celebrating their 100th anniversary. They see the need to preserve their history and tell the stories,” says Sid Hagel, Publisher of Wild West Gazette (www.wildwestgazette.com) “People love hearing the story of how their ancestors survived tremendous hardship to settle the west.”

The reviews were saying that "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of a 1957 film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, based on an Elmore Leonard story first published in Dime Western Magazine in 1953, was the best western since “Unforgiven”. Leonard is a prolific writer of gritty realism and strong dialogue with a long list of westerns to his credit including “Last Stand at Saber River” and “Hombre” both made into hit movies. “3:10 to Yuma” is an excellent good versus evil story.

Director James Mangold of "Walk the Line" fame, says he wanted to make "a film that didn't look like a video game." He incorporated more dirt and violence along with new characters including the psycho to kick it up a notch. "Most great Westerns are more psychological than action-oriented," Mangold says. "When you're talking about “Unforgiven” or “Shane” or “High Noon” I never feel like it's about the gunfights between those guys." Mangold was really thinking about the “Unforgiven” when he made this film giving it a similar dark palette and frequent close-ups.

Peter Fonda portrays a Pinkerton agent, another new character in the movie, who has been hunting Wade (Crowe) and gets shot during a stagecoach robbery. In a recent interview Fonda said, “You cannot take your eyes off the screen with this film, because it has such compelling characters and the violence is unbelievable.” Fonda seemed to homage Eastwood in this role with superior results.

All of the actors were superb. Either Mangold solicited excellent performances or the New Mexico air kicked them up a notch. They can all be proud of their part in this film. Mangold says the actors he picked are some of the best horsemen in Hollywood, “They are comfortable, alive on a horse and carry a sort of timeless masculinity”. And he figures they are among only a few in Hollywood who could carry it off.

Bale’s character Dan Evans is the good man who is attracted to the villan. He doesn’t want to be corrupted by a corrupt society. His conscious struggles with his decisions. There’s a battle of wills and clash of philosophies that makes their relationship tension into movie magic.

Crowe says he especially enjoyed playing Ben Wade, the bad man who is confident and cheerful. Crowe took the attitude Ben doesn’t believe in a benevolent God, got stuck in the Old Testament. One line he’s told “You’re not all bad” and he responds “Yes I am” kind of sums him up.

And about the ages viewing the movie that I started this article discussing, well maybe it was just an off night, because on Friday there were plenty of younger 20-30 something folks there. And everyone really liked this film. Rated R for language and violence. Lionsgate 120 minutes. I give it 5 stars! * * * * *


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