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Ray Palla

Ray Palla

About

Ray Palla worked twenty-seven years, from the age of fifteen as a broadcast news reporter for several top-rated Texas radio stations including KVET/KASE in Austin and KIKK AM/FM in Houston. In 2016 Ray was nominated for inclusion in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. 

Palla began programming computer software applications in 1988. In 2001 he founded INSONA Corporation, a consulting firm for the information technology industry. In 2015 INSONA began hosting Palla's creation, INSONA Author Alliance Network, a collaborative platform for authors, editors, cover artists, illustrators, video producers, and publishing professionals in the field of literature self-publishing. 

During his journalism career Ray interviewed astronauts who walked on the moon like Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and the late Neil A. Armstrong; U.S. Senators, Governors, Lieutenant Governors, and a host of other influential notables including: musicians, actors, comedians, sports legends, and every day people. He also boasts awards for several national advertising campaign jingles for customers that include: Ford, Purina, and Exxon. 

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

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Description

<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that  cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>

Story Behind The Book

I had to write this novel if for nothing more than to clear my conscience about something that happened when I was 18 years old working as a news reporter in Austin, Texas. When I was young and impressionable I saw some things that permanently changed me, changed my mind, and altered life even as I live it today. Things that are defined by standards are often that impactful. The world would surely be a terrible place without them though—standards I mean; you've got to have them. Too much of a good thing on the other hand is also impacting. Relative to where you stand, the impact can be deadly.

Media Links

Taylor Press

🔗 http://author-ray-palla.tumblr.com/post/130840384369/author-ray-palla-lost-in-a-jungle-of-books

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KOKE-FM

🔗 http://kokefm.com/new-book-ray-pallas-simple-triple-standard/

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Reviews

<p><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">&quot;Writer to watch.&quot; --Marsha Wright, BBC</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">&quot;Personalities rise up from the page.&quot; --Derrill Holly, Texas Radio Hall of Fame Inductee and Washington, D.C. Journalist</span></p> <div style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;"> <div>Ray Palla's SIMPLE TRIPLE STANDARD is about radio, Texas, the music scene, and a city called Austin that's as famous for bringing out the craziness of all three as it is for being a stomping ground for colorful politicians. SIMPLE TRIPLE STANDARD is more than just another &quot;See what happened was&quot; story about rednecks, long necks and college interns. It's a tale spun from the heart that brings it all together and makes the <i>personalities rise up from the page</i>.</div> <div><br /> &quot;A brimming time capsule of '70s Austin, TX nostalgia.&quot; --Jay Levine (Former KOKE-FM DJ - &quot;Country Jay&quot;), Emmy Winning Hollywood Sound Editor</div> <div>Austin is a liberal jewel in a conservative state, and great place to live, then and now. Ray has captured the essence, sounds, and personalities of radio wars, music, &amp; people of the '70s that put Austin on the path to become a world-class hub of culture. I was lucky enough to be a deejay on KOKE-FM, 'Super Roper Radio,' from 1973-76. Palla tells it like it was when Austin's unique culture first began to bloom.</div> </div> <div style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;"> <div><br /> &quot;A fascinating, humble player on a huge stage.&quot; --Wes Chick, Playwright</div> <div>Following Bryant L Herman through the world of radio so many years ago grabbed my attention and was truly <i>fascinating</i>. I highly recommend SIMPLE TRIPLE STANDARD.</div> </div>