Latest news with #Geary
The Onion
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Onion
Civil War Reenactor Reminded This Not His Personal Fife Recital
GETTYSBURG, PA—Following a fourth chorus of 'Kingdom Coming,' fellow participants sternly reminded local Civil War reenactor Christopher Geary that this was not his personal fife recital, frustrated sources confirmed Friday. 'This is the Battle of Gettysburg, not the Christopher Geary Music Hour!' said Frank Mercer, 54, who portrayed Gen. George Meade and had already told Geary six times to stop playing while officers were addressing the soldiers. 'Everyone's impressed that you can do all those little trills, but it's becoming a huge distraction. Today is about recreating a pivotal moment in American history, and one lone fife player shouldn't be stealing the spotlight by playing as loudly as possible. Also, it's pretty obvious you're sneaking in folksy renditions of Weezer songs, so knock it off.' At press time, Geary was insisting that despite his character dying on the battlefield, he should still be allowed to play the fife as a ghost.
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Former winner claims racism rife at NZ Gold Guitar Awards
A former New Zealand Gold Guitar Award winner has called out racist overtones at the event, surprising organisers, who have vowed to fix the issues. The 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards held in Gore recently had the town packed with country music fans. But last year's winner Amy Maynard was left singing the blues, after what she called the worst festival experience of her life. The Māori musician said she noticed multiple incidents of being treated differently than her partner, who is white, and between her sons who have different complexions, as well as reactions to te reo Māori. "It's the eye rolls you see when people start using Māori on stage, people looking and projecting their anger and frustration just at me, not my partner. "Security would go to my middle kid, who is of a darker complexion, and not my eldest, just the discrepancy between the two," she said. Ms Maynard said she was not alone in these thoughts and said many people shared similar sentiments about their experiences in Southland. "I have had multiple people reaching out to me [various sound engineers, musicians, wonderful people], who have all in some way been affected, either micro or macro, aggressively from people down South," she said. "Being in Gore this year and out of my stage attire, I must have presented a very different picture to the general public. "As a result, they treated me as such," she said. Ms Maynard said she was warned to avoid speaking te reo Māori or face an immediate disqualification, which she disregarded when winning last year. She said although there was positive movement with more te reo spoken and sung in the event, inclusivity had not been wholeheartedly embraced. MLT Gold Guitar Awards convener Phillip Geary said the event had a zero tolerance policy for racism of any kind. "We always aim to create a safe and inclusive space at our event and we were deeply disheartened and disappointed to hear of Amy's experience," he said. Mr Geary denied there were any disqualifications for speaking te reo, as the language has always been encouraged and welcome on their stage. "Māori have always had a home in country music in New Zealand, and te reo has always featured in the Gold Guitar finals, right through the 50 years," he said. Advice would be sought from Soundcheck Aotearoa, a music industry group dedicated to safety and inclusivity, to help address potential issues, he said. Mr Geary said they were taking Ms Maynard's grievances and the issues raised very seriously. "We'll be making sure our committee members, contestants, and volunteers are aware of these claims, and will make sure it doesn't happen again in the future," he said.
Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Shaking off an illness, Ben Geary returns to get St. Laurence past Troy Triad. One hit at a time. ‘Pass the torch.'
Aside from the usual excitement of playing in a state semifinal game, senior infielder Ben Geary had another reason to be extra grateful to be taking the field Friday for St. Laurence. The South Suburban College recruit missed Monday's 2-1 supersectional win over Simeon with an illness. Knowing there was a chance his high school career could end with him at home sick, Geary was thankful his teammates came through and gave him another chance to play. 'I was sweating and biting my nails following the game on Monday night,' Geary said. 'I wasn't expecting it to be as close as it was. I didn't want that to be my final high school game and not even be there for my teammates, but I knew it wouldn't be. I had confidence in my teammates. 'It meant the world to be out there. This is my home. I need to be there with my teammates.' Geary returned and delivered an RBI single Friday morning, helping the Vikings roll to an 11-6 win over Troy Triad in a Class 3A semifinal at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet. Wisconsin-Stout recruit Connor Marino went 2-for-5 with four RBIs to lead St. Laurence (36-5). Danny Donovan finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Adrian Perez added two hits, two runs and an RBI and Mickey Lotus went 3-for-4 with a run. The Vikings will try to win their first state title in program history at 1 p.m. Saturday against the semifinal winner between Benet (26-12) and Cary-Grove (25-12). It's their second appearance in the state championship game. In 2019, St. Laurence lost 6-3 to Montini in the Class 3A final. Sophomore left-hander Jimmy Benson threw 5 2/3 strong innings Friday against a lefty-heavy lineup for Triad (34-7). He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and struck out six for the win. 'It was fun,' Benson said. 'I was waiting for this moment. I want to pitch in the biggest game possible for us. I like the feeling of pitching in big games with the adrenaline and all that. 'I feel like it helps me do better.' Geary, meanwhile, started feeling ill Sunday and it only got worse as Monday rolled around. 'I couldn't sleep the whole night on Sunday,' Geary said. 'I was just as sick as can be. I just didn't feel like I could play. I could barely stand up. 'I just got a lot of fluids in my body and tried to be ready for state.' Geary said he still wasn't feeling close to 100% Friday, but there was no way he was missing this. He came through with an RBI single during a four-run fourth inning and also drew a walk. 'I wasn't feeling as good as I had hoped, but I just wanted to stay simple,' Geary said. 'Try not to do too much at the plate. Just do my job, play my role and pass the torch on to the next guy.' That is essentially the motto for St. Laurence's entire lineup. The Vikings, who led 8-0 after five innings, put together three long rallies — scoring four times in the second inning, four times in the fourth and three in the seventh. St. Laurence finished with 12 hits, including 10 singles, plus doubles from Lotus and Donovan. 'I feel like we've always been kind of scrappy hitters,' Lotus said. 'We have Cory Les, but other than that, we don't really have anyone that can hit the ball crazy far or anything. 'We made that first pitcher work, and I don't think he's worked like that before. I feel like we really got to him.' And now, the Vikings are one win away from history. 'This is what we work for,' Geary said. 'I think our team deserves it, and I'm glad we get the opportunity. We're going to play our hearts out.'
Otago Daily Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Country star claims racism rife at festival
A former Gore Gold Guitar winner has called out racist overtones at the festival, surprising organisers, who have vowed to fix the issues. The 50th anniversary of the MLT Gold Guitar Awards held in Gore two weeks ago had the town packed with country music fans. But last year's winner Amy Maynard was left singing the blues, after what she called the worst festival experience of her life. The Māori musician told the Otago Daily Times she noticed multiple incidents of being treated differently than her partner, who is white, and between her sons who have different complexions, as well as reactions to te reo Māori. "It's the eye rolls you see when people start using Māori on stage, people looking and projecting their anger and frustration just at me, not my partner. "Security would go to my middle kid, who is of a darker complexion, and not my eldest, just the discrepancy between the two," she said. Ms Maynard said she was not alone in these thoughts and said many people shared similar sentiments about their experiences in Southland. "I have had multiple people reaching out to me [various sound engineers, musicians, wonderful people], who have all in some way been affected, either micro or macro, aggressively from people down south," she said. "Being in Gore this year and out of my stage attire, I must have presented a very different picture to the general public. "As a result, they treated me as such," she said. Ms Maynard said she was warned to avoid speaking te reo Māori or face an immediate disqualification, which she disregarded when winning last year. She said although there was positive movement with more te reo spoken and sung in the event, inclusivity had not been wholeheartedly embraced. MLT Gold Guitar Awards convener Phillip Geary said the event had a zero tolerance policy for racism of any kind. "We always aim to create a safe and inclusive space at our event and we were deeply disheartened and disappointed to hear of Amy's experience," he said. Mr Geary denied there were any disqualifications for speaking te reo, as the language has always been encouraged and welcome on their stage. "Māori have always had a home in country music in New Zealand, and te reo has always featured in the Gold Guitar finals, right through the 50 years," he said. Advice would be sought from Soundcheck Aotearoa, a music industry group dedicated to safety and inclusivity, to help address potential issues, he said. Mr Geary said they were taking Ms Maynard's grievances and the issues raised very seriously.
Business Wire
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Ionis announces Dr. Richard Geary, chief development officer, to retire; Dr. Holly Kordasiewicz to assume role in January 2026
CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IONS) today announced that Richard Geary, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief development officer, will retire effective January 2026 and that Holly Kordasiewicz, Ph.D., currently senior vice president, neurology, will succeed him in the role. 'Richard has made tremendous contributions to Ionis over his 30-year tenure during which he spearheaded dozens of development programs and brought six innovative medicines through regulatory approvals, including TRYNGOLZA, our first independent commercial medicine. We thank him for his leadership and unwavering dedication to patients in need,' said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Ionis. 'Holly is a deeply respected and innovative leader who will champion our vision to bring a steady cadence of transformational medicines to people in need and support Ionis' continued growth as a fully integrated biotechnology company. Her broad experience across research and development, strong operational and management skills, and deep neurology expertise, position Holly to successfully guide our portfolio, which includes eight wholly owned neurology medicines in clinical development.' Dr. Kordasiewicz has 20 years of experience in research and development and joined Ionis in 2011. An expert in neurology drug development, she currently oversees Ionis' industry-leading neurology program, including medicines for Alexander disease, Angelman syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, prion disease and multiple system atrophy. Dr. Kordasiewicz also played an integral role in the discovery and development of our Biogen-partnered programs QALSODY ® (tofersen) for a genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and IONIS-MAPT Rx (BIIB080), a promising Alzheimer's disease medicine in Phase 2 development. Dr. Kordasiewicz holds a B.A. from SUNY-Geneseo and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. She completed postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota and the University of California San Diego. Dr. Geary joined Ionis in 1995 and has been involved in nearly every aspect of discovery and development. Under Dr. Geary's leadership, Ionis submitted more than 50 investigational new drug applications to regulatory agencies and achieved six FDA and EU approvals, including TRYNGOLZA ® (olezarsen). Dr. Geary will serve as a strategic consultant to Ionis throughout 2026 to support a seamless transition. About Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. For three decades, Ionis has invented medicines that bring better futures to people with serious diseases. Ionis currently has six marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient need. As the pioneer in RNA-targeted medicines, Ionis continues to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing. A deep understanding of disease biology and industry-leading technology propels our work, coupled with a passion and urgency to deliver life-changing advances for patients. To learn more about Ionis, visit and follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn and Instagram. Ionis Forward-looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Ionis' business and the therapeutic and commercial potential of our commercial medicines, additional medicines in development and technologies. Any statement describing Ionis' goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing medicines that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such medicines. Ionis' forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Ionis' forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Ionis. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Ionis' programs are described in additional detail in Ionis' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and most recent Form 10-Q, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these and other documents are available from the Company. In this press release, unless the context requires otherwise, "Ionis," "Company," "we," "our" and "us" all refer to Ionis Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries. Ionis Pharmaceuticals ® and TRYNGOLZA ® are trademarks of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. QALSODY ® is a registered trademark of Biogen.
