Book Promo ~ The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat It

Legendary Actress Writes Uplifting New Book
to Help Kids Cope During Pandemic

When actress Lisa Carroll heard her NYC neighbor’s daughter cry from the fears of COVID-19, she thought there had to be a way to use her well-versed communication and survival skills from her movie, TV and Broadway career in a way to offer comfort in the eyes of her little neighbor—and beyond. That’s why Lisa teamed up with award-winning illustrator G.F. Newland to create The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat It (Pixel Mouse House, ISBN: 978-1-939322-36-4; November 25, 2020), written by Lisa Carroll; illustrations by G.F. Newland.

The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat It tells the story of a child named Lisa as she struggles to face the realities of COVID-19. Little Lisa can’t comprehend why she has to wear a facemask, why she has barriers around her school desk or why she’s confined to virtual learning from home. It all doesn’t add up. Because little Lisa longs for the life she once had, she imagines the virus as a giant, scary dragon—fortunately, her mother comes to her side and comforts her—teaching her everything she needs to know to deal with this pandemic from a kid’s perspective. Lisa becomes a stronger and braver girl who inspires her classmates to live without fear.

Author Lisa Carroll’s journey to writing this book is extraordinary. Having appeared early in her film career with stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Rock Hudson—Lisa is no stranger to hitting tremendous highs and overcoming incomprehensible lows to survive. En route from Hollywood to New York City for a Metropolitan Opera audition, Lisa survived a deadly car crash, which killed six. Lisa was told she would never walk or talk again. After six years in rehabilitation, although singing opera was no longer an option, Lisa turned to Broadway instead.

Lisa Carroll is best known from her role starring in “Hello Dolly!” as Dolly Levi, first as Carol Channing’s stand-by and then starring in the National Tour. She later starred in the National Company of “Applause” among others. She was also in numerous episodic TV roles, including “General Hospital.” In addition, Lisa hosted the BBC’s “Night Ride,” had a UK recording contract with CBS Records and starred as a cabaret artist in her own one-woman show at the Savoy in London, the Hilton in Hong Kong, plus stints in California and Las Vegas.

More recently, Lisa learned the art of rapping—paving the way for her mega-hit children’s hip-hop album for Capitol Records, “Rappin’ Up Christmas: Homeys 4 the Holidays.” This inspired her to make her first huggable toy, Hip Hop Randy Bear for Gund, part of a group of 10 plush toys, including Hip Hop Hamilton, inspired by the outstanding statesman Alexander Hamilton. She also appeared on the ABC TV national children’s show “Toybox” where she featured 10 of her toys called “Furry Friends.”

Author Lisa Carroll captures the perspective of this moment that will resonate with children having a difficult time, while emotionally processing the coronavirus. Drawing from Lisa Carroll’s real-life experiences, parents and educators alike can use the book to help children cope with COVID-19.

The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat It
Publisher: Pixel Mouse House
Written by: Lisa Carroll
Illustrations by: G.F. Newland
ISBN: 978-1-939322-36-4

Available from Amazon.com

Heroes 2020: Hospitalman Tito Mann, Jr. is Fighting the Pandemic

Newburgh Native training
for the front lines of Navy’s
fight against Coronavirus

Hospitalman Tito Mann, Jr., a native of Newburgh, New York, is learning skills that will be vital in the ongoing fight against a worldwide pandemic.

“The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic brought an invisible enemy to our shores and changed the way we operate as a Navy,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. “The fight against this virus is a tough one, but our sailors are tougher. We must harden our Navy by continuing to focus on the health and safety of our forces and our families. The health and safety of our sailors and their families is, and must continue to be, our number one priority.”

Mann is preparing to protect sailors and their families by learning the latest in health care and training at the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), a state-of-the-art DoD healthcare education campus that trains military medics, corpsmen and technicians.

“We are learning the preventative measures to take while also how to better educate others on how to react in the current situation,” Mann said. “We also learn the care and treatment for those who are sick, wounded or injured.”

Mann is a 2015 Douglas Byrd High School graduate. According to Mann, the values required to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Newburgh.

“I learned to always be on the lookout and pay attention to small details,” Mann said.

The U.S. Navy Hospital Corps is the most decorated career field in the Navy. Corpsmen have earned 22 Medals of Honor, 179 Navy Crosses, 959 Silver Stars and more than 1,600 Bronze Stars. 20 ships have been named in honor of corpsmen.

HEROES 2020: Petty Officer 2nd Class Ralph Bellamour

Newburgh Native on front lines of
U.S. Navy Coronavirus fight

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Petty Officer 2nd Class Ralph Bellamour, a native of Newburgh, New York, with hometown ties to Haiti, is playing a critical role in the U.S. Navy’s efforts to maintain a healthy and ready fighting force in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.

As a hospital corpsman working at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Bellamour’s skills are vital to maintaining the health of the sailors in the Jacksonville area, and by extension, the readiness of the Navy’s operational ships and submarines on which they serve.

“The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic brought an invisible enemy to our shores and changed the way we operate as a Navy,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. “The fight against this virus is a tough one, but our sailors are tougher. We must harden our Navy by continuing to focus on the health and safety of our forces and our families. The health and safety of our sailors and their families is, and must continue to be, our number one priority.”

read more

https://navyoutreach.blogspot.com/2020/07/newburgh-native-on-front-lines-of-us.html

HBO DOC “THE BATTLE OF AMFAR”

THE BATTLE OF AMFAR

THE STORY OF THE RESEARCH SCIENTIST AND

HOLLYWOOD ICON WHO JOINED FORCES TO CREATE

AMERICA’S FIRST AIDS RESEARCH FOUNDATION,

MAKES ITS PRIME-TIME DEBUT DEC. 2, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

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Film Has Sneak Peak Dec. 1 On HBO2
To Commemorate World AIDS Day

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             In the darkest days of the AIDS pandemic, two very different women – Hollywood superstar Elizabeth Taylor and research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim – joined forces to create amfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research), America’s first AIDS research foundation. The fight against HIV/AIDS would never be the same again.

             Directed by Rob Epstein (HBO’s Oscar^®-winning “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt”) and Jeffrey Friedman (HBO’s Emmy^®-winning “The Celluloid Closet”), and executive produced by iconic New York fashion designer and amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole, THE BATTLE OF AMFAR tells the story of the unlikely pairing of these extraordinary women, who came together to fight the disease. To mark World AIDS Day, the thought-provoking documentary has a sneak peak SUNDAY, DEC. 1 (3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO2, followed by its prime-time debut MONDAY, DEC. 2 (9:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 2 (5:15 a.m.), 5 (2:45 p.m.), 7 (5:10 a.m.), 8 (5:00 p.m.), 10 (10:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m.), 14 (11:45 a.m.) and 25 (5:20 a.m.)

Other HBO2 playdates: Dec. 4 (8:00 p.m.), 12 (1:45 p.m.), 16 (3:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 21 (10:50 a.m.) and 31 (5:15 p.m.)

HBO Documentary Films presents a weekly series this fall, debuting provocative new specials every Monday through Dec. 9. Other upcoming films include: “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” (Nov. 11); “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley” (Nov. 18); “Toxic Hot Seat” (Nov. 25); and “Six by Sondheim” (Dec. 9).

In 1981, research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim learned of unusual cancer cases, all of which involved gay men, that were showing up in the medical practice of a friend. A politically and socially active New Yorker, she was eager to learn all she could about the disease, and when people began to die, the potential magnitude of the problem became a concern. In response, Dr. Krim and a few colleagues committed their own money to gaining a better understanding of the disease.

AIDS research found an unlikely ally in Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, who was devastated by the loss of her good friend, actor Rock Hudson, to the disease. When Dr. Krim called Taylor to see if she would be interested in getting involved with the cause, the actress agreed immediately, and amfAR, the first national organization to mobilize the scientific community in the fight against AIDS, was born. As they started speaking out about the disease and the need for research, Krim recalled that Taylor “was terrific. She was moving. The public responded to her.”

While Dr. Krim focused on energizing the scientific community through her professional, political and social connections, Elizabeth Taylor worked alongside activist groups and supported groundbreaking legislation such as The Ryan White CARE Act, leveraging her celebrity to bring media attention to HIV/AIDS.

Taylor delivered emotional testimony before Congress, declaring, “No one is safe…It is not just a minority disease. It belongs to all of us. I ask here and now for the national leadership that is necessary to fully appropriate this bill. Because I will continue to come and ask for it again, and again…And I will not be silenced, and I will not give up, and I will not be ignored.” She pressured President Reagan to acknowledge the existence of HIV/AIDS as a worldwide pandemic and convinced him to speak at an amfAR fundraiser.

Both women were leaders, sharing an activist spirit. “Dr. Krim was very impatient about what she saw as red tape, and Elizabeth was too, and I think that’s what they had in common, that activist spirit,” notes Taylor’s former publicist, Sally Morrison, who was an early amfAR employee.

By the mid-’90s, AIDS was the leading cause of death for Americans age 25 to 44. In 1996, research partially funded by amfAR led to lifesaving new drugs that made HIV/AIDS treatable, a diagnosis that no longer guaranteed a death sentence. Facing the prospect of patients requiring lifelong therapy to survive, however, amfAR continued its diligent search for a cure.

In addition to recent and archival interviews with Krim and archival footage of Taylor, THE BATTLE OF AMFAR features interviews with amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole, AIDS activist Richard Berkowitz, philanthropist Aileen Getty (Elizabeth Taylor’s daughter-in-law), journalist Regan Hofmann, New York University microbiologist Dr. Nathanial Landau, AIDS researcher Dr. Jeffrey Laurence, researcher Dr. Mario Stevenson and Black AIDS Institute founder Phill Wilson, among others.

Since its inception in 1985, amfAR has invested more than $366 million in HIV/AIDS-related research programs and awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. Elizabeth Taylor passed away in 2011, but Dr. Krim and amfAR continue their quest for a cure. Someone is infected with HIV in the U.S. every ten minutes, and an estimated 30 million people have died from AIDS since the epidemic began. Although the war against AIDS is not over, the great victories in the history of research could not have been won without these two women, who stood up for the good of truth and human dignity in the face of illness and fear.

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s previous HBO credits include the Oscar^®-winning “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,” the Emmy^®-winning “The Celluloid Closet” and “Paragraph 175.” Epstein also directed the Oscar^®-winning film “The Times of Harvey Milk.”

For more information, visit: http://www.thebattleofamfar.com; Facebook: facebook.com/hbodocs; Twitter: @HBODocs #BattleofamfAR

THE BATTLE OF AMFAR was directed and produced by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman; executive produced by Kenneth Cole; produced and written by Sharon Wood; edited by Michael Palmieri; music by Jeff Beal.

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