Business Person of the Month: Ashley Torrence

Ashley Torrence,
Owner/Instructor, The Perfect Poleforma
“Poleforming – A new you while working out”
Monterey Plaza
9269 Florida Blvd
Suite 101
Baton Rouge, LA 70815
225-588-5494
www.theperfectpoleforma.com
theperfectpoleforma@yahoo.com

The Perfect Poleforma was the first pole fitness studio in Baton Rouge to introduce a new type of workout for women. Owner Ashley Torrence was not sure if the pole industry would be accepted in Baton Rouge due to the stigma that people have when they hear the word “POLE”. Despite her apprehension she opened The Perfect Poleforma in March 2011. Ashley hoped that people would open their minds and think outside the box and realize times have changed and that it is no different from gymnastics, the pole is just vertical and not horizontal.

Ashley was born and raised in New Orleans. She along with her family evacuated to Baton Rouge due to Hurricane Katrina. She is a graduate of Dillard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a minor in Business Management. At the age of 22 after completing her education, Ashley made the transition back to Baton Rouge and worked in her brother’s Allstate Agency. In 2008 she put her business management skills to use and opened her own independent insurance agency, Superior Insurance Services in St. Francisville, La where she now provides service to over 300 customers.

While growing up in the Catholic school system, Ashley was a frequent user of the library. She reads educational books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Who Stole My Cheese? and 48 Laws of Power that helped inspire her to become self-employed. Her parents have always been her biggest supporters in life. No matter what Ashley wanted to do, her parents were always there to cheer her on. Her parents taught her to “Never Say Can’t” in life and because of that she has two successful businesses at the age of 28 she can be proud of.

Ashley uses that same motto of “Never Say Can’t” towards reaching her goal of encouraging women of all ages and sizes that you can do anything, but first you have to try. She offers women a friendly, relaxing, stress-free and fun environment where women can be women, and not care about appearance. For some women going to the gym can be boring or for some they may be self-conscious of their bodies to work out in front of men.

When doing pole fitness, you can burn up to 500 calories while strengthening your arms, legs and core. Aside from pole classes, The Perfect Poleforma offers Birthday, Bachelorette and Girls Night Out parties.

So if you are not sure you have what it takes to become a POLEFORMA contact Ashley at 225-588-5494 for more information and pricing. Pole fitness may not be for everyone, but one thing is for sure, “Once A Poleforma…Always A Poleforma.”

Muzzy Online: Languages for Kids

Muzzy Online is a vibrant, award-winning language learning program for kids ages 3 and up! It is an entertaining way to introduce children to a new language. It features fun interactive games, animations and cartoons. They will have a blast! You can access Muzzy Online through the EBRPL Kids page or through the Online Databases page.

There are 8 languages available on Muzzy Online:
English,
French,
Italian,
German,
Spanish,
Mandarin Chinese,
Portuguese,
Russian.

All you need to access this great resource is your library card!

ReferenceUSA iPad App

Our go-to resource for finding business and residential phone numbers nationwide is our ReferenceUSA database, but it offers so much more than just that.

It provides powerful research tools and in-depth information on businesses. These include sales figures, number of employees and management directories. With ReferenceUSA you can tailor very specific searches on businesses and consumers. You can access the database here: ReferenceUSA

Now with the ReferenceUSA app for iPad, you can also access these resources on the go. All you need is your library card.

Photographing Nature

There are some fantastic resources at the library to help you take excellent nature photographs. We have a number of eBooks and videos available through our Safari Tech Books Online database. Titles include Nature Photography Photo Workshop and Wildlife Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots. In fact, in Safari you will find hundreds of photography related books, from general techniques to advanced.

You can also take photography courses through our online education database Ed2Go. There are currently 8 different courses you can enroll in. Course titles include Discover Digital Photography and Photographing Nature With Your Digital Camera. Courses start each month. Find out more about Ed2Go.

Of course, we still have actual books on photography and nature photography. Here are a selection of titles and you can always find more by checking the library catalog.

Google Maps: Street View Collections

If you’re a user of Google Maps, you’ll be familiar with the ‘street view’ feature, which allows you to see 360º street-level images. You may have even seen the Google cars driving around town taking pictures.

There is a section of Google Maps called the Street View Collection. This collection shows street-level tours of exotic and interesting locations all over the world. Currently these include Scott’s hut in the Antarctic, the Swiss Alps, the Amazon , and the Kennedy Space Center. If the collection is a building, then you are taken inside it. My favorite of the collections is the World Landmarks where you can visit the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the Colosseum. Visit the Street View Collection and take a world tour from the comfort of home.

Baton Rouge Trick-or-Treat Times 2012

The official hours for trick-or-treating in East Baton Rouge Parish on Wednesday, October 31st, are from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Young ghouls will be roaming the streets collecting treats, so be sure to watch out if you’re driving around town.

The Baton Rouge Police Department have offered the following safety tips:

  • Never allow children to trick-or-treat without adult supervision.
  • Always stay in groups.
  • Use sidewalks and stay out of the street whenever possible.
  • Wear reflective clothing or bright costumes.
  • Trick-or-treat only in familiar neighborhoods.
  • Do not allow children to eat candy or treats until thoroughly checked by an adult.
  • Call police if any suspicious activity occurs, or if candy is suspected to be tainted.
  • Residents are urged to hand out only manufactured, sealed candy.

Oh, The Horror!

Looking for a good scare this Halloween? Check out one of these frightful flicks on DVD or Blu-ray. For more ghastly treats, check the library catalog.

Army of Darkness

Child’s Play

Cronos

Day of the Dead

Drag Me to Hell

Eden Lake

Friday the 13th

The House of the Devil

The Last Exorcism

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Paranormal Activity 3

Pontypool

Re-Animator

Scream 4

Tales From The Crypt

Vampire Circus

The Walking Dead

2012 Louisiana Book Festival

The Louisiana Book Festival is back is on Saturday, October 27! If you haven’t been before, then make this year your first year. It’s a fun day out. The event will feature over 225 authors, poets and panelists. There are workshops, panel discussions, book signings, storytelling and entertainment for all ages.

The book festival takes place around the grounds of the Louisiana State Capitol. This is Louisiana, so you can be assured there will be wonderful music and delicious food. Admission is FREE! For more information visit the Louisiana Book Festival website.

EBRPL will of course be down there, and we’d love for you to come and visit us and say hello!

Book Review: Ancient Images

Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell. Reviewed by Andrew Tadman

The set up for this book is excellent – a long-lost horror movie starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff surfaces only to be censored by people and forces desperate for it to remain forgotten. Why? And to what lengths will they go to keep it quiet? A mysterious death befalls the finder of the movie reel, and it’s left to his close friend to continue the crusade in his memory. Throughout the book there is a tremendous sense of foreboding, of shadows watching just out of sight. The tension is palpable as the plot moves along. It’s a slow burn but an enjoyable one. The atmosphere is really the highlight of the book.

Our intrepid crusader, Sandy, travels around England following different leads, interviewing people involved in the film, piecing together where the stolen movie could be. The people she meets are interesting. Conversations with these characters about the movie and their usually hostile reactions to it are the most fascinating  interactions in the book. I really liked the idea of the missing movie reel. While tracking the movie our heroine travels to the town of Redfield, where much of the second half of the book takes place. It has more than its fair share of Wicker Man-esque, ‘we don’t like strangers ’round here‘ pagan villager types.

The main characters are likeable enough, but the relationship between Sandy and her new-found writer boyfriend doesn’t really come off. He is the one character who comes across as bland. The forces opposing the surfacing of the film reel are a mixture of powerful old aristocracy, corporate wealth and a supernatural agent.

The tension of the plot builds as Sandy gets closer to finding out what’s on the film reel that everyone is so desperate to repress. Unfortunately, the almighty climax that I was expecting didn’t really materialize. The final conflict was minor. The main antagonist died rather boringly and not at the hand of the heroine. The supernatural never really had the impact I felt it should have and questions were left unanswered. The book ended too soon, failing to provide a satisfying resolution. For a horror book, it is pretty low on scares and low on gore, but high on tension and atmosphere.

Overall, it’s not a bad book. I just have the sense that after such a gripping build-up it could have been so much more.

For more horror book reviews, visit Books of Blood.