Da_BossMain

(Mannie on Le Pont Neuf - on Seine - looking toward La passerelle des Arts and the Louvre. From visit to Paris for the 2006 International Plant Photobiology Meeting; photo taken by M. Liscum)

[See some pictures from a trip to Germany and France that Mannie and Taylor took in conjunction with Plant Photobiology 2003 - can be seen as a QuickTime movie, or downloaded as a PowerPoint presentation]

Brief Biography

A native of Copenhagen, NY (pop. ~600), situated in the Town of Denmark (The King of Denmark once visited the little village of Copenhagen in NY) on the Tug Hill Plateau which borders Canada, the 1000 Islands region and the Adirondack Mountains, Mannie received his B.S. (In Vitro Cell Biology and Biotechnology) from SUNY-Plattsburgh in 1988 and Ph.D. (Plant Biology) from The Ohio State University in 1992. At the end of 1992, Mannie and Janet (his better half!) packed up their stuff and moved to Northern California. From then until early 1996, Mannie was a postdoc with Winslow Briggs at the Carnegie Institution - Department of Plant Biology, and Janet was a Research Associate in Stanford University's Department of Medicine/Hematology. Although they now call Columbia, Missouri home, they will forever consider the Bay Area (where their first child, Taylor, was born) as their second home.

Typical winter day in upstate NY - shot Jan. 2000 just outside Copenhagen village limits (photo by E. Liscum, Jr.)

Not upstate NY, but rather McClure's Beach at Pt. Reyes Natl. Seashore north of San Francisco, CA (photo by M. Liscum)

In May of 1996 Mannie joined the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia as an Assistant Professor. In 2000 the Liscum family welcomed the arrival of Taylor's little sister Kasey. Taylor was not the only one to start school (kindergarten in her case) around the turn of the new millennium, Janet also got to begin living out her academic dreams, starting Medical School at MU in 2001 - not an easy task given a hectic family life. Also in 2001, t hanks in large part to all the hard work of members of his laboratory, Mannie was promoted to Associate Professor.

Liscum family enjoying the 2001 Pumpkin Festival in Hartsburg, MO in October (photo by C.A. Esmon)

[More pictures of the Pumpkin Festival and other fall events at the Halloween Page]

If starting Med School were not enough, things got even more hectic for the family with the arrival Emmanuel Liscum IV, on April 16, 2002. As can be seen in the Life in Columbia section below, the Liscum kids are growing up fast!

In the fall of 2003 Taylor moved from Morningside Community School (a small mixed-grade private elementary school) to Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School (Columbia's sole public elementary school catering to "artsy" kids!). Given Tay's love and passion (not to mention talent - not an unbiased statement!) for dance this seemed like the appropriate move. Janet got some GREAT news in of Spring of 2004 - she was accepted into MU's Pediatric Integrative Residency Program. Phewwww...no crazy lottery and likely time apart for the family.

While going to Med-school, taking care of three kids and big Mannie, Janet still found time and energy to remodel little Mannie's room. Check it out - if Medicine gets dull maybe she has a future in interior decorating and remodeling? (Janet's multi-talented nature is one the many reasons Mannie married her!)

2006 has also brought some changes. First, Taylor has moved from Lee Elementary to Gentry Middle School - it's a much bigger school (both physically and in number of kids - ~800 total, grades 6 & 7), Kasey moved into 1st grade at Lee, and Mannie IV is just one year from Kidergarten. Second, Janet started her second year of Pediatrics residency and is now on the job hunt. Third, thanks again to the hard work of his laboratory, Mannie was promoted to Professor 1 Sept 2006.

April 2006 - (l to r) Tay back from a bike ride; Bubba giving Kasey a ride on his "monster truck" (Actually Kaseys Barbi 4 wheeler! Bubba learned how to do skids with this beast - such a boy!)

Spring 2006 school pictures - Kasey (l) & Taylor (r) - still need to get some recent pictures of Mannie IV

The little buggers Memorial Day weekend, 2004 - l to r: Mannie, Kasey & Taylor

L to R, Taylor doing her best Diva pose as she takes time to "smell the flowers"; Kasey with her bouquet of clover; Mannie giving a classic face - not sure what he was smirking at but glad I caught it on film. For the whole set of pictures click here

Tay's love of dance keeps the family moving all the time (no pun intended). She has been dancing at Dancearts of Columbia since 1998 (Kasey started classes in 2004) and since 2003 Tay has danced on the Dancearts Competition Team. It's amazing to see how much she can do at her age, but that's what comes from motivation, practice and awesome training!!! She's so comfortable dancing that she has performed a solo in front of a packed Missouri Theatre two years running (2003 and 2004; in 2005 she conned the entire Competition Team into performing) at the Cultural Heritage Festival of Lee Elementary - amazing!!!

The 2006 competition season was a good one with many connections to the Liscum Lab - in addition to Taylor being part of the Junior/Teen group, two (then) members of the Liscum lab undergrads, Beth (now practicing as a nurse in sunny S Ca) and Jessica, were members of the Senior group. A big CONGRATS to Jessica Ehlert (currently an undergrad in the Dance program at U Minn and Liscum Lab member duing vacation breaks!) and Morgan Patterson (another former lab member) for being selected as Dancer of the Year Semi-Finalists at the 24th Mar Dance America/Dance Olympus competition.

It's a big competition team for 2007 - 23 dancers! WOW! Taylor was chosen for 6 of the 7 competition pieces, not too shabby for an 11 year old!

The kids worked really hard this season - Mannie and Janet are particularly proud and impressed of/with Tay's dedication, work ethic, maturity and leadership this year. It's interesting to see how much the 'new' kids have grown and how the 'vets' have bonded with the newbies. This years team had a totally different dynamic as there were NO senior dancers as in all previous years Taylor has done competition.

Although this years team is best described as a 'rookie' team (most of the team is new to competition) they certainly brought their 'game' to the first competition of the season, LA Dance Magic Convention & Competition in St. Louis 27/28 Jan 2007. With lots of parent and teacher anticipation and a bit of ensureness about how the new team would do, the kids blew us all away. They didn't win everthing they competed in but they certainly showed their abilities and love for dance. Three of the seven dances (Russian, Jr. Ballet and Tap) took Platinum (highest points catagory) 1st places and Teen Ballet took High-Gold/Gold 1st place! Awesome job. The weekend of 'surprises' continued when 11 of the kids braved the 7:45 am start time Sun morning (after a 1 am bedtime the night before) and the cold weather to audition for scholarships. Two of our dancers, Emily S. and Taylor, got past the ever so dreaded ballet portion of the auditions - Taylor then made the Jazz cut as well, getting a lunchtime call-back for a second audition. All word (neither Mannie nor Janet saw her) is that Taylor performed like a true little professional in the call-back - this paid its dividends when at the teachers finale she was awarded an LA Dance Magic National Convention Scholarship!!! WOW!!! Taylor couldn't have prouder parents - just goes to show what hard work, dedication, love of sport and great training will do.

The second competition of the year: NYCDA (New York City Dance Alliance) - what a class act!!! The convention was great and the competition rewarding as well. The team kicked some serious butt again - the tap piece doing particularly well with a Platnum medal, a Best Costume, Best Showmanship, Nomination for Judges Choice and a High Points award!! The musical theatre also got a Platnum this time (up from last) and the Teen Jazz (certainly in the hardest catagory always) made improvements. On the audition front Taylor didn't make the cut for National Scholarships this time but did get a Regional Scholarship (meaning if Dancearts goes to NYCDA next year Taylor's mom and dad don't have to pay!!!) for Tap, awarded to her based on her work and performance in Tap class over the weekend in the Junior age bracket. Way cool. One of the new kids, Kendyl B., was also awarded a Regional Tap Scholarship in the Mini age bracket (younger than Junior). Taylor's hard work is certainly paying dividends. Taylor was also chosen as a Studio Spotlight Dancer and got to perform at the Finale - she danced a hip-hop routine with Ivan and Travis from So You Think You Can Dance - certainly a big deal for her having watched the TV show and seen the National Tour when it stopped in StL!

On Fri 16 Feb Taylor again danced on Pepper & Friends, a local TV variety show. If you want to see her here's a link to the KOMU Pepper & Friends page (just go to video and use drop down menu called "Select Your Video", go to the Dancearts link).

The third and final competition of the 2007 season was 17-18 Mar in StL: Tremaine - always a D-Arts favorite! All comments by dancers and parent alike were - "this was the best convention of ALL!" Mannie and Janet would agree fully from their five years on the cicuit. Tremaine offeres a great convention and their competition is always solid; moreover, they do 1st, 2nd and 3rd place with High Point and Showmanship awards and nothing else. So to walk away empty handed is not uncommon at Tremaine. Having said all that - Dancearts kicked major booty - ALL the dances placed (again, re: here that this is an accomplishment in itself). Nothing placed below 2nd and the tap piece was again the show stopper taking a 1st and Teen Division High Points!!! The ballet "Coppelia" also won the Best Showmanship in the Junior Division. Awesome job!!! On another note, nearly ALL of the Junior and Teen dancers from Dancearts did the auditions Sunday morning - this is a major deal as in the past few did (they have to be there at 8 am after being up until midnight or past). Moreover, unlike previous years 6 of the 8 Teens (Taylor being one) who auditioned got by the dreaded Ballet cut!!! Again this is a BIG deal as in previous years few if any got by the Ballet cut. None of them made it past the jazz cut but all were happy anyhow which says something about their maturity. BIG kudo's to Kari H-S. the ballet teacher at D-Arts for making the kids into solid ballet dancers! One last note for the official 2007 competition season - Taylor's season-long solid work-ethic was significantly recognized at the teachers finale when it was announced that she had been chosen "Studio Dancer of the Year 2006/2007"!!! WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Her parents surely hope she continues to strive so hard for the things she loves and wants out of life. They also hope this is a good lesson for all the other kids who want something - GO FOR IT!!! Lastly, Mannie and Janet wish to thank all of the members of the Dancearts family (teachers, parents and dancers) who share this honor with Taylor as she is not a soloist but a member of a team!! THANKS!

Well the 2006-2007 'regular' dance season is now in the history books. The Dancearts recital was 18 & 19 May and as always it was fabulous!!! ALL the kids did a great job and the Competition Team showed the fruits of their hard work in spades! In a very proud aside for Taylor's family she was awarded the Peggy Dawson Scholarship (the first time this memorial scholarship has been given) for her hard work, dedication, and growth over the past year. This is a humbling recognition. Two other Competition Team members also got scholarship awards at the Sat night recital - Emily S got the Ballet Scholarship (well deserved indeed) and Jamie A. got the Modern Scholarship (also well deserved).

Well the 2007-2008 team has been chosen (from auditions held 4 June 2007) and thankfully Taylor once again is a team member. It's a BIG team again this year in total but most pieces are smaller in size than last year. Taylor made (everything) ballet, hip-hop, group jazz,Teen tap, Jr. Tap, musical theatre, Russian character, and the jazz trio (with Emily S and Hannah S). Her parents are very proud of her - although certainly to go broke.

Check out some recent press about the Dancearts Competition Team (Taylor was interviewed for this piece) - HERE

Well so far the competition season has went extremely well. The most recent competition (last weekend of March) was the Tremaine Competition/Convention - Dancearts took 7 dances to the competition, got six first places awards, a Critics Choice (Hot Chocolate, teen tap) and a third place (which actually tied for second and was only 0.7 pts behind the first place dance) - see winners here, including a pic of Hot Chocolate. If this weren't awesome enough five girls got by the dreaded ballet cuts for scholarship auditions, four of those (Kendyl B., Hannah S., Em S. and Taylor) made the final cut and three: Kendyl, Em and Taylor won scholarships (the first two a single convention scholarship, Taylor got a year long scholarhsip - meaning mom and dad can take her to ANY Tremaine convention for free - granted they sill have o pay travel, hotel, food, etc....). We rock!

From the 2006 Competition season - these are from the Tremain convention. l to r, two from Teen Tap "Mellow Saxophone"; one from Teen Ballet "Poor Little Rich Girl".

Some of Tay from the 2005 Dancearts recital. l to r, Jr Musical Theatre Comp piece "Looney Tunes"; three from Jr Tap Comp piece "5 Guys Named Mo" (Tay was "Lil' Mo").

Taylor is also working on her own web site dedicated to Dance - go here to see how it's going. With her hectic school and dane schedule she has had little time to work on the site - maybe this summer?

When Mannie's not functioning as a small-time administrator (aka, lab PI) and teacher, he most enjoys being a husband and father (is the latter surprising given the sections above?). Camping trips with the kids are being expanded in scope all the time. Having done the car-camping thing a few times now in MO and NY, "real" camping trips like Mannie and Janet did in their DINK (Double Income No Kids) days (example here) should be just around the corner.

The Liscum Lab now has two camping adventures under it's belt, one in Spring of 2002 and one in April 2004. While a 2006 adventure never came to fruition, hopefully something will happen in 2008!

Camping trip in 2000 to Finger Lakes State Park north of Columbia (photo taken by T. Liscum at age 5)

Aside from spending time with his family Mannie enjoys solitary time with a good non-science book, especially books on WWII history.

The first book is being read as research for Mannie's book project, while the second is being read for a review Mannie is writing for World War II Quarterly.

More academically, Mannie also writes book reviews for the Journal of Military History and World War II Quarterly

Click HERE to see the 'card catalog' of Mannie's personal library of WWII books

In consultation with Lt. Col. (US Army, ret) Keith Bonn, Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief at Aberjona Press Mannie developed a working idea for a historical book project. Basically Mannie would like to tackle the on-going historical debate surrounding the so-called "broad front versus narrow thrust" strategies of the Western Allies in Northwest Europe in 1944-45. Ultimately the broad front vision of Eisenhower won out and was the strategy of choice. Although the Allies were victorious the arguments over which was the "right" strategy to employ in order to end the war quickly with the least loss of life continues sixty years after the facts! Many authors/researchers have tackled pieces of this debate but Keith and Mannie felt that it has not been done thoroughly and rigorously enough. Both felt that Mannie's scientific training and historical leanings might make this a perfect project for him. At present Mannie is trying to define the players, places, time-lines and various views so that he can develop a solid thesis which to test. Updates on progress will be given occasionally - It should go without saying that this is a side project which will take some time to come to fruition as Mannie has a job and family that place heavy demands on his time!

Note added 16 Dec 2005: Sadly Keith (Kit, as friends called him) Bonn passed away 8 Dec 2005. He will be sorely missed. Mannie considered Kit a friend and mentor. With Kit's untimely passing the book project is a bit less certain. Finding a mentor to replace the void left by Kit's passing will not be easy.

Update 24 Mar 2006: Much to Mannie's pleasure he has just heard from Kit's widow and current CEO at Aberjona Press, Patti Bonn, that interest in Mannie's book project is still high at Aberjona and that Patti will continue to provide contacts and mentoring as this project grows. Patti's support is greatly appreciated - Aberjona Press has and continues to be a class act dedicated to producing the BEST historical works. As Mannie's (passive) search for a historical mentor continues he hopes that his continued relationship with the Bonn family and contacts via Kit and Patti aid that search.

If you like the WWII genre here are some books Mannie has read that he can recommend - organized by "topic" (determined by the webmeister of course and woefully in need of an update!).

Nazi Elite - Without Them None of the Rest of These Books Would be Necessary!

Click here to read all the reviews Mannie has written for Amazon.com on WWII

Also see Mannie's "Listmania" lists of favorite WWI books at Amazon.com (three categories: ETO, Desert, Nazi Leadership)

Click HERE to see the 'card catalog' of Mannie's personal library of WWII books

[Check out Mannie's Halloween, Space, Music/Movies/Books, and Camping pages for more fun stuff! ]