Tony Lo Bianco: Actor | Director | Writer | Producer has starred in the Academy Award-winning film The French Connection. He is a Tony-nominated and winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award in A View from the Bridge on Broadway. Obie Award for Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the 7th and Emmy Award for his portrayal of Fiorello La Guardia in Hizzoner! In film, he has starred in The Juror, Blood Brothers, City Heat, Nixon, The Seven Ups, Honeymoon Killers and Kill the Irishman; totaling 102 films. Has directed one feature and 5 television shows.  He is proud of his involvement with The USO, Building Homes for Heroes, The Wounded Warrior Project, NIAF, Sons of Italy in America, Police and Fire Department and many other charitable organizations. Recently, Tony Lo Bianco won an Emmy award for Just A Common Soldier.

BRUCE GARNITZ

Originally from Chicago, Bruce Garnitz honed his talents in San Francisco’s eclectic music scene and polished them at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating, he joined the faculty. Arriving in Los Angeles, Bruce built a reputation for musical excellence. Bruce is an outstanding entertainer, a dynamic guitarist and vocalist and has toured worldwide with his band.

An accomplished composer, arranger, songwriter and musical director, his musical talents have been heard in several popular television shows. His song “Telephone Blues” was in the Sony Pictures release “Are We There Yet?”, his song “Circles” was in the Warner Bros. current release “Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster” and his song “Wishing Well” as well as an on camera performance by Bruce was featured in an episode of the TV Show: “Children’s Hospital”. Most recently, he had four songs in the made for TV movie: “Game of Love” starring Heather Locklear in which she sings the song “We’ll Be Together One Day” which he wrote for the film and which she sings in one of the scenes.

His latest CD is called “I Must Be Dreamin'” and is available through iTunes, Amazon

A few words about Bruce Garnitz’s music:

Bruce Garnitz’s music has been described as “Jazz-Clectic”. There is a strong Blues influence from early Chicago roots. With a voice that channels the character in each song, ranging from the lighter to darker sides of life, usually with a twist, his songs take the audience on a musical, maiden voyage through the joys, sorrows and absurdities of the world around us.

KERI BOWERS

As an international speaker, filmmaker, writer, artist and autism advocate – but always an autism mom first – Keri is the owner of Normal Films, and co-founder of The Art of Autism. Keri has made 4 films, including:

Normal People Scare Me Too; a film about autism (2016), created and co-produced with her 27 year old autistic son, Taylor Cross, and produced by Joey Travolta.

ARTS (2008), a documentary highlighting the importance of music, dance, fine arts, and drama as vital tools to help develop a wide variety of skill sets, including educational, vocational, social, and life skills for people with disabilities.

The Sandwich Kid (2007), featuring her son, Jace (Taylor’s brother,) who interviews siblings to explore the intrinsic issues experienced by siblings of people with disabilities.

Normal People Scare Me; a film about autism (2006), which explores interviews (conducted by Taylor) of 65 individuals about living with autsm.

Keri is the author of three books, including Autism Movement Therapy: Waking up the Brain! (Jessica Kingsley, 2015); Mapping Transitions to Your Child’s Future, a workbook supporting transitions and life planning (Self-published; on demand), and Single Pregnancy, Single Parenting (Park Alexander Press, 1994). She was the editor of The Art of Autism: Shifting Perceptions (D. Hosseini). A featured columnist for Autism Asperger’s Digest Magazine, and occasional blogger, Keri focuses on the arts and autism as “power tools” to grow skills in autism.

In addition to operating Normal Films, her small indie production company, Keri is the founder of PAUSE4kids (1999) a non-profit supporting families of kids with special needs. She co-founded The Art of Autism in 2005, a social-entrepreneurship project that connects artists, bloggers, poes and other creatives with opportunities and venues to showcase their varied talents. She has been the creative art director for The Friendship Circle of the Conejo for 7 years, and has worked extensively with The Miracle Project, Los Angeles.

Keri’s numerous awards and recognitions for her work in program development over nearly 3 decades includes the prestigious Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award for Excellence in Education (best program at both the state and national levels, 2002). She has created numerous sustainable programs in the arts and awareness over the years.

Dutch Music Legends Focus Release New Album

“Focus 8.5 / Beyond The Horizon”

Dutch music legends Focus are known around the world for their iconic albums, including the hits HOCUS POCUS, SYLVIA and HOUSE OF THE KING. After the reunion of Focus and the release of the Focus 8 album, the band toured the world and was introduced to new musical styles and influences. The line-up on this album features THIJS VAN LEER, PIERRE VAN DER LINDEN, BOBBY JACOBS and JAN DUMÉE.

The sessions for the album were all recorded in between South American tour commitments during 2005, and every track is a previously unreleased composition by the members of Focus or producer MARVIO CIRIBELLI.

Thijs van Leer said of the album: “For Focus it was a thrill to first jam with Marvio and Marcio in a club in Niteroi and then end up in Rio de Janeiro in order to compose and record these beauties. Having one of the best drummers in Europe with Pierre van der Linden and one of South America’s best drummers with Marcio Bahia on the same album makes the world a better and happier place! Here they are!”

The album features all-star Brazilian musicians including ARTHUR MAIA and MARIO SEVE joining Focus on new recordings, and vice versa, plus a drum duet with MARCIO BAHIA…as musicianship once again goes Beyond the Horizon…

Thijs van Leer, holds the distinction of being the first ever knighted musician in Holland.

To purchase the New Album “Focus 8.5 / Beyond The Horizon” visit

Amazon .com, iTunes, Cherry Red Records

Track listing

1. FOCUS ZERO

2. HOLA, CÓMO ESTÁS?

3. ROCK 5

4. MILLENNIUM

5. INALTA

6. TALKING RHYTHMS

a) CONVERSATION OF DRUMS

b) CONVERSATION OF DRUMMERS

7. SURREXIT CHRISTUS

Visit FOCUS on Facebook  … https://www.facebook.com/Focus-the-band-197272485986/?ref=ts

Visit FOCUS on Twitter … https://twitter.com/Focustheband

Joyce Ekworomadu is a Nigerian-American born August 6, 1986 in Edmond, Oklahoma and raised in Dallas, TX. She attended Texas State University where she averaged 18.9pts/gm, was Southland Conference Player of the Year, led the team to the school’s first ever Conference championship​, became the 5th player in Texas state history to record over 1500 points and 600 rebounds, voted on the all-Decade team, ESPN CoSIDA All-academic team, 3rd Place – ESPN 3PT Shootout (2008), was Nominated for Female athlete of the year and graduated with a BBA in Marketing.

Post college, she played in the WNBA, Poland, Italy and is a current member of the National Nigerian Basketball Team. She has traveled to over 40 countries playing the game of basketball.

Rachi Wortham, the former director of player personnel at Oregon State, has been selected to join the Montana men’s basketball staff as an assistant under Grizzly head coach Travis DeCuire.

 

Rachi (pronounced Rah-shee) comes to Montana after spending two seasons at Oregon State working under former Griz head coach Wayne Tinkle.

 

No stranger to the Big Sky Conference, Wortham served as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington from 2007-2011 under Kirk Earlywine. Wortham is also an EWU alumnus, where he was a standout guard from 2003-05, and was part of the Eagles’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2004.

 

“I know Montana. I was at Eastern Washington for a long time, and I’ve seen the way they hold themselves, the way they prepare, the way they compete. They compete like winners, so I’m excited to be part of that mentality,” says Wortham.

 

Wortham and DeCuire’s prior relationship dates back to the mid 90’s when he played AAU basketball under DeCuire at the age of 15 in his hometown of Tacoma, Wash.

 

“We go back a long way,” says Coach DeCuire. “I’ve watched him grow, I’ve watched him kick in doors for opportunities. We’re talking about a young man that has always had leadership qualities, but has developed into a strong leader and a strong mentor of young men, and we need more of that.”

 

In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Wortham has used basketball as a means of outreach and leadership development for organizations such as TEAM ACCESS, the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, the Boys & Girls Club, the Isaiah Thomas Basketball Camp and Lids Team Sports-Nike Team.

 

Wortham’s duties for the Grizzlies under Coach DeCuire will include academic advising, player mentoring, recruiting and community outreach.

Growing up on South Whidbey Island, Washington, Mark K. Sargent started his career playing computer games professionally in Boulder Colorado. From there he spent the next 20 years training people in proprietary software. In 2014, he looked into what is no doubt the most ridiculous conspiracy ever, called "Flat Earth Theory", and through extensive research, discovered that it wasn't so laughable after all.

Early in 2015, he released a series of YouTube videos titled "Flat Earth Clues", which delves into the possibility of our human civilization actually being inside a "Truman show"-like enclosed system, and how it's been hidden from the public since 1956.

Born in Seattle, grew up on South Whidbey Island, founded the Brimstone fireworks company in college, shut down by the ATF my junior year in 1990.

Spent 3 years as a sous chef at a Greek restaurant, won the first computer pinball world tournament in 1994, hired by a PC game publisher in Boulder Colorado the same year, played computer games for a living until 1997. Stayed in the Boulder technology sector ever since.

Never married, never had kids. Most of my extensive free time is spent trying to unravel the hidden truths of our civilization, and the never ending search for the meaning of life itself. If I had to pick a single motto, it would be, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst". A close second is, "Don't regret what you've done, regret what you haven't".

John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. His admirers acclaim him as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary layperson — he’s considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. In one of his recent books,The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love(San Francisco: HarperOne, 2005), this visionary thinker seeks to introduce readers to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible bashing. “I come to this interpretive task not as an enemy of Christianity,” he says. “I am not even a disillusioned former Christian, as some of my scholar-friends identify themselves. I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence.”

A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room-only crowds. His bestselling books include Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, A New Christianity for a New World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, and Here I Stand.

Bishop Spong’s extensive media appearances include a profile segment on 60 Minutesas well as appearances on Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Politically Incorrect, Larry King Live, The O’Reilly Factor, William F. Buckley’s Firing Line, and Extra. Bishop Spong and his wife, Christine Mary Spong, have five children and six grandchildren. They live in New Jersey.

Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy: A Journey into a New Christianity Through the Doorway of Matthew's Gospel by Bishop John Shelby Spong

A global and pioneering leader of progressive Christianity and the bestselling author of Why Christianity Must Change or Die and Eternal Life explains why a literal reading of the Gospels is actually heretical, and how this mistaken notion only entered the church once Gentiles had pushed out all the Jewish followers of Jesus.

A man who has consciously and deliberately walked the path of Christ, John Shelby Spong has lived his entire life inside the Christian Church. In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship. Pulling back the layers of a long-standing Gentile ignorance, he reveals how the church’s literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from these original Jewish authors’ intent that it is an act of heresy.

Using the Gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the Bible’s literary and liturgical roots—its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition—to explain how the events of Jesus’ life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the Gospels took these stories to be factual, distorting their original meaning.

In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a better blueprint for the future than where the church’s leaden and heretical reading of the story of Jesus has led us—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story in the modern world.