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Here's some timely advice on working across difference. Sometimes the hardest cuts to bear are from the very people we view as being 'on the same side'; non-profit blogger Vu Le offers some powerful medicine for prevention and healing. Source: 7 agreements for productive conversations during difficult times
Tag Archives: teambuilding
7 agreements for productive conversations during difficult times
Filed under Ideas, Organizational Effectiveness, Racial Justice, transformational leadership
Tagged as Dialogue, Leadership, racial equity, Social Change, teambuilding
"Hire Slow, Fire Fast…"
"Hire slow, fire fast" may be a well-used management cliche, but it deserves repetition. Vu Le's excellent post today lays out why many managers avoid or delay firing under-performing staff – and why it's almost never worth it.
Filed under Leadership, Organizational Effectiveness
Tagged as Leadership, Organizational Development, teambuilding
Trust, partnership and movement-building
I've been working with a few organizational clients recently who are struggling to perform at their individual and collective best, due to deeper issues with trust. When people don't trust one another, collaboration, quite simply, simply takes longer. Or doesn't occur at all. Without trust, people are less likely to assume good intentions, to the point where they might even approach each interaction 'pre-loaded' to assume the worst in others – and it can take extensive time and energy to unpack and adjust those assumptions. High levels of trust, on the other hand, allow individuals and groups to move quickly during periods of stress or rapid change, without wasting energy on speculation, translation or missed signals. As the Center for Social Transformation's Director Jodie Tonita explains, the same dynamics play out at the movement level. Read her excellent article on the role of trust in movements for social change. She explains why trust is key for effective collaboration, and how to intentionally cultivate trust among individuals and organizations. http://bit.ly/yes-trust
Filed under Ideas, Organizational Development, transformational leadership, Uncategorized
Tagged as Dialogue, Ideas, Organizational Development, Social Change, teambuilding
Facilitating an organizational vision: Guided Visualizations
Many visioning processes begin with a guided visualization, where participants close their eyes and listen as they are guided by a facilitator through a series of images and questions. The key is to imagine we have arrived at a specified, fabulous point in the future – where all of our dreams have been realized. It is exactly the way we want it. It is about what we are for – not what we are against. And for most of us, our experience of being in this desired future reality is vivid and visceral. (Note: a few of us experience "visualizations" slightly differently – some of us don't see pictures in our minds at all. Instead, we see words, or experience a set of sensations.) The experience of imagining that we have arrived at a point in the future – that we are there, right now – can unleash a whole new set of innovative, creative ideas. Click here for a list of 14 questions or elements to weave into your visualization script.
Filed under Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, Marketing, Message Development, Organizational Development, Strategic Planning, Tips & Tools, transformational leadership
Tagged as Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, marketing, Organizational Development, Social Change, Strategic Planning, teambuilding, vision
Facilitating an organizational vision: Collage
Sometimes words are not enough. Creative approaches such as collage can be incredibly powerful for developing compelling visions – starting with images. The words can follow. Leadership coach and facilitator Olive Dempsey offers a beautiful workshop on visioning using collage, or what she calls "visioning boards". Sharon Livingstone, a brilliant focus group moderator based in New Hampshire, first taught me to use collage as a creative-association technique when I briefly studied with her several years ago.
The basic idea is this: provide stacks of different kinds of magazines, glue stick, scissors, and some sort of cardboard backing. Invite participants to thumb through and pick out any images that speak to them about an aspirational, fabulous future life – personal or professional or both. They may pick out words, or letters to make up words. You might add coloured pencils, watercolours, anything else to facilitate capturing a collection of images that convey a feeling AND specific outcomes or states of being. For organizational visions, this is fantastic to do in small groups or teams.
The trick to making this really work lies in the debrief afterward. Have each group present their completed collage. Ask: Why did those specific images speak to you? What's surprising and new? What are the key themes or threads that may draw it all together? What do others see, outside of the group? What's most resonant here for all of us?
Here's a lovely example of several simple vision boards; these are focused on personal visions, but of course could equally apply to organizational visions.
Filed under Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, Marketing, Message Development, Organizational Development, Strategic Planning, Tips & Tools
Tagged as Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, marketing, message development, Organizational Development, Social Change, Strategic Planning, teambuilding, vision
Countering the "Culture of Critique": The "Yes, and…." exercise
"I can't believe how hard this is!" exclaimed Vince. "It took all my self-control to not to say "yes, BUT!" The group of civil rights activists, many of them trained attorneys, laughed knowingly. Several had just the same experience. We were sitting in a sunny boardroom in Los Angeles yesterday, debriefing a short exercise we'd just run called "Yes, And…". If you're familiar with improvisational theatre or comedy, you'll know that it's a powerful training tool, while being highly entertaining in its own right. "Yes! And…" is also one of the most effective, simple exercises I know to help leaders and groups disrupt long-held habits of negative collective thinking in order to generate a more creative, innovative flow of ideas.
The Culture of Critique
Most of us working on social change are experts at criticism. This is particularly true for those of us with academic training, or whose work is focused on advocacy or legal strategies. Through our work as change agents, we learn to finely hone our abilities to rebutt, refuke, counter, critique, denounce and generally point out the shortcomings of other peoples' ideas. We become so skilled, in fact, that many of our critical tendencies become habits – unconscious, almost knee-jerk reactions to the world around us. And those habits get expressed internally, interpersonally, within organizations and across entire movements. Together, they form what I call a "culture of critique".
Is criticism necessarily a bad thing? Of course not. The critical, free-thinking minds and imaginations of human beings are among our greatest gifts. Those gifts make it possible to talk about risks, to fight oppression, to influence human systems and behaviours so that we are more just, equitable, collectively intelligent and compassionate.
Criticism has its place. The problem is when it becomes an unconscious habit. It becomes even more of a problem when that habit starts getting routinely expressed across entire cultures.
When critique gets in the way of social change
In fact, the more we aspire to working collaboratively across difference as leaders and movements, the more the "culture of critique" becomes a liability. And it can impede collaborative leadership in several ways:
- Debate vs. dialogue: Instead of dialogue, we automatically veer toward debate. In conversation, we stop listening, often too soon. The energy becomes more focused on 'who's right' than 'how can we best move forward'.
- Missing the full picture": As Steven Covey says in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the best leaders "seek first to understand, then to be understood". If we're immersed in a "culture of critique", our unconscious habit will be to counter before hearing, or understanding, the full story of another person's perspective, missing out on important pieces of the whole truth. That means we also miss out on the full spectrum of potential opportunities to move past sticking points into new solutions.
- Weaker relationships: In the contracted mental and emotional state of "critique", our focus stayed narrowly confined to our own perspectives, and fails to account for the truths of others. We become less compassionate, less empathetic. The result? Weaker, less trusting partnerships with others.
- Shutting down good ideas: When others experience critique, they more likely to shut down before their own ideas can fully blossom. Worse, people can become habituated to 'playing it safe'. They become more likely to avoid sharing risky, innovative ideas that might get shot down as being 'inappropriate', 'stupid', or befall the idea-purgatory of 'we already tried that.'
What's more, all of these effects are compounded when those modeling a habit of criticism hold more institutional, positional, cultural or personal power.
Practicing the "Yes! And…" exercise
As facilitators and leaders, we know that both a desire to do things differently, and a commitment to practice, can help replace less helpful habits with new ones. One of the simplest, easiest exercises I know of as a facilitator is "Yes, And…". It's also a terrific energizer, as the results are often hilarious. At its heart, "Yes, And" is about fully accepting whatever someone else shares with you – and then building upon it. Here's one approach to leading it:
- Form pairs. One person is the A, the other the B
- A starts by stating something about themselves or the other person… it can be anything at all. If it's provocative, all the better.
- B responds with "Yes! And….", adding to the statement
- A responds with "Yes! And…" and continues building on what B just said
- Run the exercise for 3-5 minutes, depending on the energy in the room
- Debrief as a large group
Watch out for any urge to counter your partner's statement, either overtly or through sarcasm. Just keep building. Really, genuinely work with what you're given!
Here's an example my colleague Michael practiced with me this week. He was wicked, and we ended up laughing so hard we could barely breath. Here's how it started:
Michael: So… I hear you've become a corporate weapons manufacturer! [I gasp inwardly]
Me: [gulping] Yes, and…. I'm really excited about the opportunity to become an internal agent for positive change in the industry!!
Michael: Yes, and… since I know it's going to be challenging, I have some relaxation techniques I can recommend!
Me: Yes, and… I'm definitely looking forward to us using them together, since I know you've just been hired into the same weapons research division as me!"
Michael: [eyes widening] Yes! And….
And so on. Of course, it can be a lot more serious and "real" than that. The point is to practice disrupting the habit of critical thinking, and building up the habit of embracing and adding to others' ideas, no matter how weird those ideas may feel.
Want to see a real-time example? Check out this improv theatre training video by Avish Parashar and Fred Gleek.
Applying "Yes! And…" over time
There are two keys to this being really effective in the long-run.
Debrief well: at least for the first time working with a group, make sure there's enough time to really debrief what it's like. Where was it hard? In what ways? Did it get easier? How did it feel? What did people notice?
Practice it often. "Yes! And.." is a short, useful energizer in it's own right, especially during meetings after lunch or when group energy is low. It's also extremely useful as a "drill" to use before, say, a strategy session, or any kind of collective brainstorm involving at least two people.
Facilitating an organizational vision: The Hot Pen Technique
Successful organizations have long known about the power unleashed across a team when people are galvanized around an effective vision. There are dozens of approaches to facilitating an organizational vision process. The essential process is all about marrying imagination and strategy – taking intuitive, creative and informed leaps into a possible aspirational future. The next few posts will lay out just a few that I've found really effective as a facilitator, starting with the "hot pen technique."
Books like The Artist's Way describe the benefits of using stream-of-consciousness approach to creative writing for a prescribed length of pages or amount of time. The idea is to let your creative juices flow, without editing or judging anything that wants to emerge. Feeling creatively constipated, so to speak? Not to fear. Just write 'blah blah blah', or cuss like a sailor – anything goes. Just write.
Business leader and visioner extraordinaire Ari Weinsweig teaches a similar approach to visioning specifically, and it's incredibly powerful (and fun). He calls it the "Hot Pen Technique". Check out page 144 of Ari Weinsweig's "A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Building a Great Business" for specifics. The basic idea is this: write for at least 15 minutes without stopping. Turn off your 'internal editor' and just write – whatever comes to mind – about your aspirational future. It should be a stretch – that is, bold enough to get your heart racing just a little – but also achievable. It should also be personal. Put yourself in the picture. You're the star of this movie!
And ideally, include the elements of a great story. That is, engage your senses of light, touch, smell, taste, as you describe the setting and characters co-starring in this fabulous new future. Hell, add a soundtrack! Make it as vivid, detailed and visceral as your imagination allows.
I recently attended a workshop of Ari's while facilitating a retreat in beautiful Molokai, Hawaii, and found this technique to be remarkably useful. While I went into the exercise feeling pretty clear about my vision, the method crystallized and fleshed out startling new details of what I hope to achieve in both my personal and professional trajectory.
Filed under Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, Message Development, Organizational Development, Strategic Planning, Tips & Tools
Tagged as Communications, Facilitation, Leadership, Organizational Development, Social Change, storytelling, Strategic Planning, teambuilding, vision


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O Emperor prepare to go deeper underground...
With the return of Cork Opera House's subterranean shenanigans this weekend, again pitting an eclectic blend of local and national artists together 88 steps beneath the ground for three days of homegrown music, Brendan Fennessey of Waterford-bred-but-Cork-adopted prog/folk/rock fivesome O Emperor took time out to talk funky new sounds, septic tank sessions and whatever else was on the talented stick-man's mind earlier in the week.
The G-Man: A headline Opera House show, another Choice Music Prize nomination and a whole host of high profile festival spots: it's been quite a year for O Emperor. Besides the impressive CV additions, in what ways do you feel you have progressed as a band since the release of Vitreous?
O Emperor (Brendan): I think we've progressed in that we seem to be confident in doing pretty much whatever we want musically at the moment. We're very happy with Vitreous but it took quite a while to get the right material together for it and figure out what the overall aesthetic should be. In contrast, the new stuff we've been working on recently has come together really fast. We haven't gotten many opportunities to meet up and jam so we've also been sending each other ideas over e-mail and developing them individually. That's been pretty fun as the results can be fairly unpredictable!
Although invited to play, in the end O Emperor didn't make it out to famous Texan media event/festival South X Southwest this year unfortunately. The event's integrity has been questioned in recent years simply as everyone is there to try and make contacts and raise the profile of their respective bands. Although this causes the cynical head of the industry to be raised like some sort of musical medusa, it can still be fun to simply meet new bands and talk to new people.
At what point do you feel genuine enthusiasm and interest devolves into schmoozing and what do you make of this part of the music business in general?
Ha that's a good question! I've always been wary of consciously setting out to "network" with people as opposed to just meeting new people with no ulterior music industry motives in mind. But I guess for a lot of people working in the industry, schmoozing is naturally just a part of what they do and that's okay. I don't think anyone's under any illusions as to the nature of the music industry at this point. If you can take that stuff with a pinch of salt its healthier in the long run.
Being at the height of it right now, how has festival season treated O Emperor so far?
It's been pretty cool so far. The ones we're looking forward to most are Longitude, Castlepalooza and Knockanstockan. It's our first time doing Knockanstockan and I've heard some great things about it. The people who run it are really sound too. We're hoping to try out some new tunes as well.
If O Emperor curated a festival, who would be your headliners and what would set this festival apart from all others?
Right now we're digging Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti a lot so they'd certainly be a consideration for headliners. I'd be hopeful that he wouldn't go apeshit and refuse to sing though (there's some fairly funny videos of that on youtube from Coachella). To set the festival apart......I dunno maybe make it a nudist festival? Has that been done?!
Although slightly overshadowed by a certain cowboy in the news this Summer, a final decision is to be made soon on a 6,000 capacity events centre. Some folks are excited, some are extremely worried about its possible affect on the city. What is your take on this Summer side-story?
I guess it would all depend on what kind of acts end up being put on in there. There's been some cool acts in the marquee over the years (Al Green and Brian Wilson were both particularly awesome) so to have that kind of stuff more regularly would be cool if it went that way. I think the positives probably outweigh the potential negatives.
So to The Cave: ever seen The Descent? If not you should watch it. That should keep you all nicely on edge throughout the show.
Ha, maybe we could suggest they have a screening of it down there next year!
Did you have any worries or trepidations about agreeing to play a gig below the ground?
Not really, aside from carrying gear up and down the 80 or so steps! I think it'll be worth it though, it looks pretty amazing from the videos I've seen. Plus, it gives us a chance to try put together some weird acoustic versions of our tunes.
It's commonplace for bands to adjust their sets depending on the size of the room. What do you do to prepare for playing in a cave?
The acoustics down there are really cool so I guess we'll try use that to our advantage. For lots of vocal harmonies it'll be really nice I think. It'll be hard to get an impression of that in our shitty rehearsal room though.
What other strange locations has O Emperor played in the past? (Or would like to play in the future)
We've played in a lighthouse before. Oh and many, many moons ago some of us played a gig atop a septic tank at some party in a garden. That was where we were told to set up and we didn't really think to question it. We hope to play on the moon eventually á la Parliament's Mothership Connection but probably way less cool 'cos we're white boys from Waterford.
One Ireland's true gems Ger Wolfe is also set to warm ears with his wonderful words and melodies. Your music being so different, it's not often you will see O Emperor and Ger Wolfe on the bill. How do you see the mix working on the night?
I think it'll be a nice mix. It's cool that the organisers aren't afraid to mix things up a bit in this way. I think what he does in a live setting will be particularly suited to the venue. I saw him play a few years back and really enjoyed it.
I live right by your practice space so every now and then I get to hear some interesting sounds emanating from across the street. What new sounds are O Emperor cooking up at the moment?
There's a pretty crazy bunch of stuff going on, alot of it is surprisingly really groove-based stuff that we've been working on making as unstoppably funky as possible. I know it seems like a pretty unexpected direction but most of that stuff just came really naturally from us jamming in the room and recording everything. Richie's got some seriously sexy basslines that I'm quite excited about. We're digging the approach of getting an awesome groove going, repeating it and then putting different melodies or weird shit over it at different times. We're really excited about where its going and with how easily its been coming together.
You share that room with The Altered Hours. Although ye seem good pals, does this sharing of a creative space with another top band help push you, introducing an amicable but competitive edge.
It's a real treat hearing them jamming and coming up with new stuff all the time. There's definitely been times when I've been eavesdropping on some of these jams outside the door (sorry guys I hope that's not too creepy). I remember stopping by at one point when they were working on 'Dig Early' and just being blown away by it. They're a great band and great people to share a creative space with.
The full Cave line-up:
- Friday 18th July - Ger Wolfe & O Emperor
- Saturday 19th July - Delorentos & Sam Brookes
- Sunday 20th July - Mick Flannery & The Young Folk
For more on O Emperor visit:
Official Website -- Facebook -- Bandcamp
- O Emperor and Ger Wolfe play The Cave, Mitchelstown Friday, 18th July 2014
- Capacity is limited with tickets priced at €35
Follow The G-Man on:
Facebook -- Twitter -- Pinterest -- Mixcloud -- This Is My Jam -- exfm -- Soundcloud -- Bloglovin'
Facebook -- Twitter -- Pinterest -- Mixcloud -- This Is My Jam -- exfm -- Soundcloud -- Bloglovin'

subset: commoncrawl


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Mrs. Michele Cone
Mrs. Cone has been involved in education for over 30 years. She holds a Bachelor's of Arts in education from Trenton State University and a Master's of Educational Leadership from Centenary University. Currently, Mrs. Cone is a doctoral candidate for Educational Leadership at Centenary University where she is researching school climate and its effects on student performance.
In January 2015, Mrs. Cone came from nearby Tewksbury Township Schools where she taught for 27 years. While in Tewksbury Township School District , Mrs. Cone served on a variety of school committees and undertook leadership roles. She was a member of the district's Council of Instruction, and the middle school schedule redesign committee. She developed curriculum and mentored staff in Understanding by Design model and the Teachscape Pilot program. Mrs. Cone, also, served as NJASK Testing Coordinator for the district. In 2010, she was recognized as Educator of the Year.
Mrs. Cone first joined the Clinton Township School DIstrict administrative team as the Supervisor of Staff Evaluations & Students Programs and, in 2016, became the vice principal of CTMS. As the vice principal of CTMS, Mrs. Cone was involved in the daily operations of the school as well as coordination of PARCC and NJASK testing, and initiatives such as the 1:1 Chromebook initiative at CTMS. Mrs. Cone served on several committees including I&RS, SCiP, and DCC while at CTMS. Mrs. Cone has also served as the administrative liaison to the Clinton Township Foundation for Educational Excellence since 2015.
In November 2017, Mrs. Cone was promoted to Director of Special Projects for the district where she collaborated with the district superintendent, and administration in the development of curriculum and professional development, budgeting, hiring and staffing of personnel, development of policy, coordinating technology resources, oversaw district testing and evaluation of teachers and district staff. She was an instrumental part of the planning and preparation of the district reorganization.
In July of 2018, Mrs. Cone was appointed as the Acting SUperintendent of the Clinton Township School District where she worked with a team of staff and administration to successfully implement the reorganization plan. During the summer months, Mrs. Cone provided oversight while communicating with staff, parents and community members regarding the progress of the district reorganization.
Mrs. Cone believes it is important to recognize and celebrate the essence of childhood while educating our students and preparing them for their future. She looks forward to her continued contributions to the students, families and staff of the Clinton Township School District while continuing to move the district ahead.


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Assistant Professor
Iccha Basnyat is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Iccha Basnyat received her PhD in Communication from Purdue University, USA. Her primary research examines the cultural context of health, structural limitations to health, health inequalities, and health experiences among the marginalized and vulnerable population. She has been teaching courses such as research methods, health communication, strategic communication, campaigns, principles of public relations for the last 7 years at NUS.


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Platform: Coin-Op
Release Date: February 1991
Genre: Fighting
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Capcom have made some classic games in their five decades as developers, but for me they will always be synonymous with the Street Fighter series. Back in 1991, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior took arcade arenas by storm. After lukewarm reviews for the original Street Fighter coin-op, Capcom upped the stakes by completely revolutionising the competitive fighting game. Of course, the transition from pedestrian punch-out to fluid, fast-paced milestone did not come easy.
Although the original Street Fighter proved a financial failure, Capcom wanted a sequel, but it was thought that major changes had to be made if it was to escape the stigma of the original. Those changes came in the form of a side-scrolling beat 'em up which was originally set to be titled Street Fighter '89, but which became what we now all know as Final Fight.
That wasn't the only accident that happened along the way. One of the reasons why Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was considered a milestone in the Fighting Game genre was the fluidity of its one-on-one combat and the ability to deliver a quick series of moves to your opponent, a fact that the SNES port's hyper fighting variation would improve upon even further.
Incredibly, this was initially viewed as a glitch by developers. The idea had been to allow the player more time to execute special moves, but they found that if a player was quick enough they were able to execute a series of moves, which infuriated the designer no end as the game was on the verge of release and suddenly promised to be a bigger flop than the original. I suppose some things are just meant to be.
Another of the game's strengths lay in its colourful delineations of both character and setting. Here we had a variety of varied and quite frankly racist stereotypes, but these were simpler times, and nobody, race nor religion, escaped the primitive typecasting on offer, which made it an even playing field. After all, this was only a game.
Even so, for those flocking to the arcades to see what all the fuss was about, this felt like more than just a game. Compared with the often laborious and plodding style of genre predecessors, this felt real, and as a miniature plane traversed a pixelated map Indiana Jones style, you felt like you were hotfooting it across the globe, particularly when you arrived at your destination to be greeted by the sights and sounds of your opponent's country of origin. Whether it's E-Honda's Neon bathhouse, Guile's pro-America airbase or wrestler Zangief's vodka-swilling Communist battleground, you know you're in enemy territory, and you know you came to fight.
Perhaps the biggest novelty of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was the vast array of special moves available for a plethora of different characters. Although special moves had been established four years earlier in the game's clunky predecessor, players had never experienced such variety, and it wasn't long before the most seminal fighter in history became a cultural phenomenon. For the first time, gamers required a strategy to win instead of merely trading blows in a race to see who could bash their buttons the fastest. This game required skill.
Crucially, each character stayed loyal to their heritage in terms of both imagery and fighting style. Where else in the games world would you find a fire-breathing, yoga practising Indian like Dhalsim? Which other game offered the equivalent of the Spinning Bird Kick, Hundred Hand Slap or Ryu's legendary Hadouken fireball. Well, you could find the latter in the original Street Fighter too, but it was hardly the same spectacle.
What truly made Street Fighter II stand out were the cute little touches. It was just so polished and creative and ahead of its time. The animation was sharp and realistic, while moments such as opponents seeing stars inspired players to go in for the kill. The narrator's commanding, battle-urging voice was also something fresh, setting the scene for each battle and making your victory all that more rewarding by finally declaring the immortal 'You Win!' after fifty battles with nigh-on impossible final boss, M. Bison. Losing could really get to you, but hitting continue and seeing the twinkle in the eye of your bloodied character was almost worth the despair, and the fact that each character had their own unique ending was all the incentive one needed to stay the course.
If all of that wasn't enough, Capcom introduced a series of badass bonus rounds, stages in which players had to complete various tasks of high-kickery in an allotted time. The first two were simple smash-mouth affairs in which players were challenged to smash a car and bricks respectively, the site of bricks cracking and bumpers flying never becoming tedious, while kicking barrels mid-fall was just a tad trickier and more rewarding.
It is almost thirty years since the game's release, and the Street Fighter franchise is still going strong. There have been other great fighting games during that time, real classics of the genre, and although those games have gone on to spawn money-spinning franchises of their own, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was the template, and for pure battle prowess and technical ingenuity it has never been bettered, and in all likelihood never will.
Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Soul Calibur: they have all upped the bar at one time or another, knocking the genre's great innovator down for an 8 count, but there has been one constant throughout that period, and just when the stars are beginning to form, a twinkle appears in your eye. When Ryu and co. come knocking, all the giant bears and demon ninjas in the world don't stand a chance.
Best Character
This is like asking a parent who their favourite child is, but for all the electric mutants and bendy-limbed Yoga gurus on offer, I have to go with the game's marquee character, Ryu. He's fast, ruthless, and simply has the coolest arsenal of moves, while some of his combos are just brutal.
Best Move
E. Honda's Hundred Hand Slap. It's simple, devastatingly unavoidable, and the animation is just a joy to watch. He also makes the best sounds of all the characters. Dosukoi!
Best Level
I've always had a soft spot for Vega's level. The Hispanic band and colourful dancers are pleasing to the eye, while the fast and frantic music just seems to make matters all the more difficult. Plus, you have the added novelty of the fence jump, while knocking off the character's claw makes victory all the more satisfying.


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For those of us with professional careers, there's no need to forego mod stylings at work. Save the loud patterns and colors for the weekend and instead opt for clean lines and HR-approved skirt lengths. Here's a look I find stylish as well as office-appropriate.
Foxtail Fern Dress in Leaf from ModCloth
Found My Way Heel in Tan from ModCloth – $89.99
from: ModCloth
Method to Your Gladness Ring from ModCloth – $14.99
from: ModCloth


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Struggling to stand out in your market?
We help companies position themselves as a market leader and attract ideal clients who are ready to buy.
Not sure what you need?
Which best describes you?
Facing any of these challenges?
Our blog posts aren't ranking on Google
We don't know how to measure results
Our content production process is disorganised
We need a content manager but can't afford it yet
We want to scale up our content strategy


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"Deaf Reel" is celebrating its one year anniversary!! It is the perfect time to launch my new "Deaf Reel" website www.deafreel.com. I am hoping this website will make your love of movies more enjoyable than rear view caption machines and limited caption viewing. No need for 3D glasses your 2D glasses will do just fine! Happy viewing.
If you are wondering what will happen to this blog. It will live on to entertain my often useless ramblings and the art that follows. This blog has served me well and I will not abandon it for greener pastures. Most of my current followers wouldn't even know my work without this site. So please, continue to drop by and say hello and hopefully laugh a little.
'Til next time —Matt


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Insulated Wide bottles now come with new leak-proof Café Cap 2.0 to keep hot and cold drinks safely contained—and completely spill free. Like all the Wide bottles (and unlike most to-go mugs out there) this simple, elegant bottle is very easy to clean.
- Cap creates leak-proof to-go mug with one twist
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- Extra wide opening fits ice, easy filling and pouring
- Compatible with most backcountry water filters
- Electropolished interior doesn't retain or impart flavors
- Double-wall vacuum-insulated construction keeps contents hot 14 hours, or iced 40 hours
|592 ml
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|243.6 mm H x 75.3 mm W
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Write your choice of colour in the order notes or e-mail us email@example.com


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After the review, the committee urged the town officials to keep moving forward.
"We need this tomorrow," fisherman and Aunt Lydia's Cove Committee member Jim Nash told the waterways advisory committee last week, according to a recent Cape Cod Chronicle article. With uncertainty about future access to Chatham Harbor due to the quickly evolving barrier beach, upgrading the trap dock has become a priority.
To accomplish this, the Town of Chatham has hired Coastal Engineering to provide initial site engineering and conceptual design services for rehabilitation of the Town-owned commercial timber pier, along with the adjacent privately-owned pier located in Stage Harbor. In order to have a full understanding of the best option for reconstruction, Coastal Engineering has performed an assessment of the existing condition of the two interconnected timber piers and underlying concrete sea wall. Both were found in poor condition and have reached the end of their useful life.
Coastal Engineering developed recommendations to replace the deteriorated structures and improve facility operations, as well as evaluated the use of alternative construction materials to improve infrastructure durability and reduce future maintenance requirements. The proposed plan would basically renovate the entire site. The current building on the trap dock property would be removed and a new elevated concrete platform built, where trucks could back up to take on fish. It would stretch the width of the narrow parcel and out to a new bulkhead. The existing docks would be replaced by a concrete deck supported by steel or fiberglass pilings. All would be at the same elevation. An area between the yacht club and town decks could be filled in with an additional deck. The plans also show several possible configurations for a floating dock off the concrete decks. Several hoists are also included to assist fishermen with offloading their catch.
Nash said fishermen would prefer keeping plans relatively simple. "If we can have a platform that you can just unload, that's durable, that can take one truck at a time, with a ramp at the end, that would suffice," he said. "It would be a thousand percent better than what we have now." The five-year waterfront facility capital plan estimated the trap dock project at $2 million. It would be funded by the $11.3 million waterfront infrastructure borrowing authority approved by voters last year. Ted Keon, Town of Chatham Coastal Resources Director, said the town also plans to seek a state Seaport Economic Council grant for the work.
Coastal Engineering will now bring the plans to the permitting stage. The piers are located in a wetland/waterways resource area that is subject to extensive regulatory review, including the Chatham Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, Waterways Division, DEP Water Quality, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Chatham Planning Board. Approval from these agencies will be required prior to construction.


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The Minnesota Restaurant Association encourages its members to use the MRA logo on their websites, social media, advertising materials and other places to showcase their involvement in the MRA. Allied members are invited to use the "Proud Allied Member" version.
Download a version of the logo using the links at the bottom of the page.
Download a version of the logo using the links at the bottom of the page.
For digital usage/electronic media:
Black & white version:
For Allied Members:
For use in print materials:
Illustrator version for enlarging:
For Allied Members:
Other versions of the Minnesota Restaurant Association logo are available upon request. Contact Mary Smith at (651) 925-4017 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Know how teams really feel
Make it fun and engaging for employees to share their thoughts and real-time feedback with weekly Pulse Surveys.
Honest employee feedback is a manager's greatest asset. Our safe space helps managers discover team members' thoughts and feelings, empowering them to start real discussions that wouldn't otherwise take place.
One open, text-based answer per survey provides managers with direct insights from employees that wouldn't be drawn from survey results alone.
Employees can choose to submit feedback anonymously or not – providing managers with authentic responses that carry more weight.
Managers responding to feedback can start a conversation with individual team members, allowing them to dig deeper and find meaningful solutions together.
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"Officevibe has changed the way we communicate with colleagues for the better. Employees have become more proactive in light of how we respond to their comments because they see an openness from management."
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Keeping up with esports isn't easy. Counter-Strike matches are made up of multiple multi-round games. Tournaments quickly turn into time investments. Naturally, you're gonna miss a few here and there. Or a lot.
YouWrong has come up with an elegant solution to that problem. Their videos straddle the line between full matches and highlight reels. Basically, you get an abridged version of each major match, with all the most important moments cut together so that the broader narrative is still clear.
For the past few days, YouWrong has been focusing on the ELEAGUE Major 2017. Here, for instance, is a recent match between GODSENT and EnVyUs condensed into five minutes:
That one was fairly one-sided, though, which makes it easier to cut down. So here's that crazy triple-overtime Liquid vs EnVyUs match from over the weekend weighing in at a slim, trim 14 minutes:
Handy, right? I admit that I've fallen off of consistently tuning into Counter-Strike esports over the past few months (brief explanation: life, man), but I'm excited to dive back in.
You're reading Steamed, Kotaku's page dedicated to all things in and around Valve's wildly popular PC gaming service. Games, culture, community creations, criticism, guides, videos—everything. If you've found anything cool/awful on Steam, send us a message to let us know.


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|Total population
|Regions with significant populations
|Maa (ɔl Maa)
|Related ethnic groups
The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well-known African ethnic groups internationally. They speak Maa a Nilo-Saharan language related to Dinka, Nuer, Turkana, and Songhai. The Maasai population has been estimated as 841,622 in Kenya with a total population of over 1 million. Estimates of the respective Maasai populations in both countries are complicated by the remote locations of many villages, their semi-nomadic nature and their being the only ethnic group allowed free travel over the Kenyan-Tanzanian border.
Maasai are pastoralist and have resisted the urging of the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. They have demanded grazing rights to many of the national parks in both countries and routinely ignore international boundaries as they move their great cattle herds across the open savanna with the changing of the seasons. This resistance has led to a romanticizing of the Maasai way of life that paints them as living at peace with nature. For the Maasai to find their place in the larger human world, there needs to be a balance between their traditional lifestyle and beliefs, and more universally acceptable cultural norms.
According to Maasai oral history, they originated from the lower Nile valley north of Lake Turkana (southern Sudan) and began migrating south around the fifteenth century, arriving between the seventeenth and late eighteenth century. Other ethnic groups were forcibly displaced as they settled in a long trunk of land stretching from northern Kenya to central Tanzania.[3]
The Maasai territory reached its largest size in the mid-nineteenth century, and covered almost all of the Rift Valley and adjacent lands from Mount Marsabit in the north to Dodoma in the south.[4] At this time the Maasai, as well as the larger group they were part of, raided cattle as far east as the Tanga coast in Tanzania. Raiders used spears and shields, but were most feared for throwing clubs which could thrown accurately up to 70 paces. In 1852 there was a report of a concentration of 800 Maasai warriors on the move in Kenya. In 1857, after having depopulated the "Wakuafi wilderness" in southeastern Kenya, Maasai warriors threatened Mombasa on the coast of Kenya. Because of this migration, the Maasai are the southernmost Nilotic speakers.[5]
The period of expansion was followed by the Maasai "Emutai" of 1883-1902. This period was marked by epidemics of Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, rinderpest, and small pox. The estimate first put forward by a German lieutenant in what was then northwest Tanganyika, was that 90 percent of cattle and half of wild animals perished from rinderpest. German doctors in the same area claimed that "every second" African had a pock-marked face as the result of smallpox. This period coincided with drought. Rains failed completely in 1897 and 1898.[6]
The Austrian explorer Oscar Baumann traveled in Maasailand in 1891-1893, and described the old Maasai settlement in the Ngorongoro Crater in the 1894 book "Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle" (By Massailand to the Source of Nile):
There were women wasted to skeletons from whose eyes the madness of starvation glared … warriors scarcely able to crawl on all fours, and apathetic, languishing elders. Swarms of vultures followed them from high, awaiting their certain victims.
By one estimate, two-thirds of the Maasai died during this period.[7] The Maasai stood against slavery and lived alongside most wild animals with an aversion to eating game and birds. Maasiland now has East Africa's finest game areas. Maasai society never condoned traffic of human beings, and outsiders looking for people to enslave avoided the Maasai.[8]
Starting with a 1904 treaty,[9] and followed by another in 1911, Maasai lands in Kenya were reduced by 60 percent when the British evicted them to make room for settler ranches, subsequently confining them to present-day Kajiado and Narok districts.[10] More land was taken to create wildlife reserves and national parks (Amboseli, Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara, Samburu, Nakuru, Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, and Tsavo).
The Maasai speak Maa, an Eastern Nilotic language. It is closely related to the other Maa varieties Samburu (or Sampur), the language of the Samburu people of central Kenya, Chamus, spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo (sometimes regarded as a dialect of Samburu); and Parakuyu of Tanzania. The Maasai, Samburu, il-Chamus and Parakuyu peoples are historically related and all refer to their language as ɔl Maa.
Maasai society is patriarchal in nature with the elders deciding most matters for each Maasai group. The laibon or spiritual leader acts as the liaison between the Maasai and God, named Enkai or Engai, as well as the source of Maasai herblore. The Masaai are mostly monotheistic in outlook, but many have become Christian under the influence of missionaries. Traditional Maasai lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes the primary source of food. They also believe that God gave them his cattle to watch over. Women can only marry once in a lifetime, although men may have more than one wife (if enough cows are owned, they may have more than one at a time).
Traditionally, the Maasai measure a man's wealth in terms of cattle and children rather than money - a herd of 50 cattle is respectable, and the more children the better. The main staple to Maasai life and culture is cattle.[11] For hundreds of years the Maasai have lived sustainably through grazing their herds. Cattle are the traditional staple of Maasai diet, which used to consist of meat, milk and blood, and also are tightly intertwined in Maasai economy, social structure, religion, and relationships. Herd size has always been a way to distinguish the rich from the poor and have long been the bond between many social and personal bonds. Upon marriage tradition constitutes the bride price of cattle and upon social disputes cattle have been used for trading or reconciliation. Of equal importance is the use of cattle slaughtering in religious transitional ceremonies for boys. As boys move up to the status of men a cow is slaughtered as an offering, marking their completion into the next chapter of their lives. For the Maasai, cattle have always been an integral part of culture and survival.[11][4]
The Maasai are indigenous to North Central Tanzania and Southern Kenya. In old traditional Maasai stories it is said that the Maasai journeyed from Northern Africa in search of fertile grasses to feed their cattle. Their cattle were dying and consequently they did not have enough food to feed their children. The elders knew that they must move their people to a more prosperous place, but they had no idea where to go. Upon turning to nature to provide them with answers, they saw a bird land in a bare tree with green grass in its beak and work on building a nest. They watched the bird as it flew over the horizon and up into the cliffs. The elders sent a few boys to go climb that cliff and see what was beyond it. The boys did so and they came back with the news that they had seen a green and lush land with rivers, green trees, and rich grasses. The Maasai then decided that they would move to the other side of the cliffs. A giant ladder was built and the entire village, people and cattle alike, began to climb their way up in hopes of a better life. Half the population had reached high ground when the ladder collapsed. The people up on the cliff's edge knew there was nothing they could do for those left behind. They began a new life and prospered in the new land; they were the Maasai and that is how they came to be separate from other peoples.[12] This is an important story in Maasai oral culture, reflecting how they feel they became a people.
As a historically nomadic and then semi-nomadic people, the Maasai have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their housing. The traditional Maasai house was in the first instance designed for people on the move and was thus very impermanent in nature. The Inkajijik (Maasai word for a house) are either loaf-shaped or circular, and are constructed by women. The structural framework is formed of timber poles fixed directly into the ground and interwoven with a lattice of smaller branches, which is then plastered with a mix of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and urine, and ash. The enkaji is small, measuring about 3m x 5m and standing only 1.5m high. Within this space the family cooks, eats, sleeps, socializes, and stores food, fuel, and other household possessions. Small livestock are also often accommodated within the enkaji.[13] Villages are enclosed in a circular fence (Enkang) built by the men, usually of thorned Acacia. At night all cows and goats are placed in an enclosure in the center, safe from wild animals.
The Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle and adopt an agrarian lifestyle instead.
The piercing and stretching of earlobes has been common among the Maasai.
The removal of deciduous canine tooth buds in early childhood is a practice that has been documented in the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania. There exists a strong belief among the Maasai that diarrhoea, vomiting, and other febrile illnesses of early childhood are caused by the gingival swelling over the canine region, and which is thought to contain 'worms' or 'nylon' teeth. This belief and practice is not unique to the Maasai. In rural Kenya a group of 95 children aged between six months and two years were examined in 1991/1992; 87 percent were found to have undergone the removal of one or more deciduous canine tooth buds. In an older age group (3-7 years of age), 72 percent of the 111 children examined exhibited missing mandibular or maxillary deciduous canines.[14] [15]
Young men cover their bodies in ochre to enhance their appearance. Also warriors spend ample time completing ornate hairstyles. Young men can also be seen scarring their bodies with heated spears in order to show bravery.
Beadwork is also important in Maasai body ornamentation. Complex bead patterns cover discs that hang around their necks. The patterns may be used to determine an age set or hierarchy in the tribe. Typically woman and young girls partake in the beadwork.
Young girls undergo Female genital cutting (FGC) in an elaborate rite of passage ritual in which they are given instructions and advice pertaining to their new role, as they are then said to have come of age and become women, ready for marriage. These circumcisions are usually performed by a hired local expert without anaesthetic using crude knives, glass or other sharp implements available for as much as US $6.00 per girl. Girls are married off early, sometimes as young as seven years old. The practice of FGC draws a great deal of criticism from both abroad and many women who have undergone it, and in some cases has recently been replaced by a "Cutting with words" ceremony involving singing and dancing in place of the mutilation. However, the practice remains deeply ingrained and valued by the culture, as well as being held as necessary, since Maasai men typically reject any woman who has not undergone it as either not marriageable or worthy of a much-reduced bride price.[16] FGC is illegal in both Kenya and Tanzania.[17][18]
Traditionally, the Maasai diet consisted of meat, milk, and blood from cattle. However, the inclusion of blood in the traditional diet is waning due to the reduction of livestock numbers. More recently, the Maasai have grown dependent on food produced in other areas such as maize meal, rice, potatoes, cabbage (known to the Maasai as goat leaves), and such like. The Maasai who live near crop farmers have engaged in cultivation as their primary mode of subsistence. In these areas, plot sizes are generally not large enough to accommodate herds of animals; thus the Maasai are forced to farm.[13]
Many Maasai in Tanzania wear simple sandals, sometimes soled with pieces of motorcycle tires. Both men and women wear wooden bracelets. The Maasai women regularly weave and bead jewelery. This bead work plays an essential part in the ornamentation of their body. A main article of Maasai clothing is a wrap, the women's wraps are called kanga and the men's are called kikoi. The tribe usually incorporates some form of red in to their attire. Some believe that red is a special color to them because the tribe traditionally created the color for their shields by mixing the clay with the red sap of the solanum campylae fruit or cattle blood. The Maasai's red clothing is also believed to stand for power. The men color their hair red with clay and red ocher which is a pigment found in natural form in volcanic regions.
The Morani are the great protectors of the Maasai community. These warriors are known for being brave and pround. When the Maasai are young men, around the age of 15, they learn to become Morani. They are not allowed to travel or eat alone in hope to teach them to work as a group. The young Morani hunt lions as a way of proving themselves brave warriors. These warriors are recognized by their painted faces as well as their headdresses which are made out of feathers and wood. In order to increase their bravery the warriors drink a special narcotic made from the bark of the thorny olkiloriti tree.
Within the Morani are two groups, seniors and juniors. Junior warriors are called Ilkiliyani. They are recognized by the handles on their wooden handled spears and by their short hair. Their hair is short because warriors will have their heads ceremoniously shaved following the circumcision ceremony into manhood. Following the ceremony the warriors let their hair grow long. Many hours are spent by warriors braiding each others' hair. The long hair style is designated only for warriors in the tribe. Senior warriors are called Ilingeetiani. They are recognized by their ebony handled spears and long braided hair. Warriors that spear a lion early in their training are the most respected. They then wear the lion's mane as a head piece in some ceremonies to exhibit their bravery.
Music of the Maasai is purely instrumental with the exception of the Eunoto ceremony where a kudu horn is incorporated. The music is based on a call and response format involving the guttural polyrhythms of the warriors and the participation of the community. Most ceremonies are around the season of the rains in which rite of passage such as circumcision and marriage take place. The performances are in public where women can join off to the side. Rarely are women allowed in to the Morani dance. If it is allowed it can be a way for the Morani to flirt.
The format of the ceremonies include the Morani standing in a circle or a line performing the adumu or aigis, meaning "to jump." The Morani dance includes warriors jumping solo as high as possible in front of the tribe. Simultaneously others are swaying their bodies back and forth. As soon as a warrior tires, typically after one or two leaps, another warrior takes his place. Another common movement in Morani dance involves the neck. Neck movements differ during the ceremony while jumping, dancing, sitting or standing. The head position relies on the whether the singer is breathing in or out. When breathing out the head is leaned forward and when breathing in the head is tilted back. The music incorporated consists of a deep rhythm created by grunts. Everyone involved has a part that has allowance for ornamentation. Members of the group may raise the pitch of their voices based on the height of the jump.
An olaranyani is a song leader that starts each song with a namba. Nambas form the beginning of the song through the means of an olaranyani singing a line or the title of the song. The other members of the ceremony then respond in recognition to the olaranyani. Several singers may lead a song; each singer will start his or her verse with a namba. The songs lyrics usually follow a theme and commonly are repeated throughout the song. Women ceremonial song is normally sung in a call-and-response pattern. Women are not likely to include throat singing in their music. Most of the females' songs are homophonic melodies that are used as lullabies and milking songs. Typically the singer responds to their own verses and repetition of phrases is common.
The supreme being and creator is known as Enkai (also called Engai), and serves as the guardian over rain, fertility, love and the sun. It was Enkai who gave cattle to the Maasai people. Neiterkob is a minor deity, known as the mediator between God and man. Olapa is the Goddess of the Moon, married to Enkai. The myth is that they were fighting one day when Olapa, being a short-tempered woman, inflicted Enkai with a grievous wound. To cover up his wound, he cast a spell which enabled him to shine so brightly, that no one could look straight at him and see his shame. Enkai then took his revenge by hitting Olapa back and striking out one of her eyes. This can be seen today, when the moon is full.
The current Maasai population is roughly one million people and they live in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa; North central Tanzania and Southern Kenya. Essentially there are twelve geographic sectors of the tribe, each one having its own customs, appearance, leadership, and even dialects. These subdivisions are known as the: Keekonyokie, Damat, Purko, Wuasinkishu, Siria, Laitayiok, Loitai, Kisonko, Matapato, Dalalekutuk, Loodokolani and Kaputiei.[19]
The picture of Maasai culture and lifestyle is very quickly being distorted. Tradition is challenged and many times overthrown by a lack of customary resources. Time-honored practices have little chance for survival within the context of rapid western influence. Everything is threatened. No longer are the times where the Maasai can maintain a cattle centered lifestyle. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, along with some conservationist groups, have come close to eradicating the Maasai way of life. Traditional means of sustenance, medicine, water, and education have been labeled as inefficient by western influences and newly empowered Kenyan and Tanzanian governments. Due to changes in political structure the Maasai are facing devastating issues, the most pertinent being Maasai land allocation, wildlife preservation, disease, poverty, lack of education, no healthcare, and lack of clean and safe drinking water. These issues are all tightly intertwined and endlessly complex; altering cultural practices, shifting traditional power dynamics, redefining survival essentials and threatening lives.
The most unexpected threat to the Maasai is the lack of clean drinking water. Maasailand is located in an ideal position to benefit from the largest water resources in Kenya, the Kilimanjaro Water Development, whose pipelines actually cut right through Maasai territory itself. Water is diverted out into to Machakos, Makueni district, and Athi-River Town, leaving the Maasai people unnerved. Only the wealthiest of the Maasai can afford to divert any water, leaving almost all Maasai to fight disease, hunger, and poverty without this precious, and ironically very local, resource that can be of fundamental use to exponentially improve the quality of life for all Maasai.
Conservation projects, such as the Waterhole Conservation Project in the Merrueshi Group Ranch, are working to improve the situation by restoring waterholes that have historically been the primary source of water in the semi-arid land of the Maasai. To date, watering holes continue to play an important role for wildlife and livestock in East Africa. According to Maasai pastoralists, the waterholes were originally formed and maintained by elephants and warthogs. However they became damaged by the effects of prolonged drought. Restoration benefits both the pastoralists and the wildlife, by retaining seasonal rainwater.[20]
Many groups of indigenous people from around the world are dealing with issues of sustainability. Traditional lifestyles often clash, to some degree, with an attempt to stay active and participatory in the growing global economy. For the Maasai, small scale practices are being pushed aside to make way for western expansion. The Maasai are caught between a desire to maintain their cultural traditions and their need to adapt to a changing social, political and economic background. Due to influence from other cultures (mostly western), the traditional Maasai way of life is increasingly threatened. Over the years, many projects have begun to help Maasai tribal leaders find ways to preserve their traditions while also balancing the education needs of their children for the modern world. The emerging forms of employment among the Maasai people include farming, business (selling of traditional medicine,running of restaurants/shops, buying and selling of minerals, selling milk and milk products by women, embroideries), and wage employment (as security guards/ watchmen, waiters, tourist guides), and others who are engaged in the public and private sectors.
In villages of southern Kenya, the nearest clinic is over 60 miles away. Most of the sick can not afford to make this journey and many that try do not survive. Maasai have traditionally been able to take care of themselves through the use of traditional herbal medicine, but their modern sedentary lifestyle often prohibits them from being able to have access to traditional medicines. Furthermore Maasai people and cattle have fallen ill due to diseases brought upon by western colonization. It used to be standard practice of the Maasai to graze their cattle at night, as to avoid the dangerous disease-laden tsetse flies, but with grazing land being converted into game reserve areas, areas that had been free of flies in the past had become unsuitable for grazing. What were once safe lands to travel across now turned into dangerous hosting grounds for these disease carrying insects. Cholera is another disease prevalent within Maasailand, completely preventable, if the Maasai had access to the Kilimanjaro Water Development, hundreds are dying from drinking unsafe contaminated water. Also prevalent in Kenya are tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and trachoma.[21] Many Maasai members are unaware that all of these diseases should be preventable or treatable to some extent.
The Maasai are not rigid and opposed to learning about the western ways that have been imposed upon them. To the contrary, most Maasai feel that some change in inevitable and welcome the education as a means to better understand and act within the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments that rule so many aspects of their lives and culture. Maasai leaders are eager to see a progress is made, but they have strong obstacles to overcome. There are very few schools in Maasai region and no colleges. There is no investment into the children of Maasai; government leaders live a lavish lifestyle while their privileged children are sent to get a proper education overseas. The Maasai have become the underprivileged and often overlooked minority group. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments have done little in the way of supporting Maasai culture. As more land is being taken away, and more conditions are being placed on government aid, the Maasai are faced with the difficulty of having to navigate an entirety new sociopolitical system with very little education to understand it.
The Maasai currently inhabit just a fraction of the land in which they once had free reign.[22] Their land has been confiscated for mass agricultural purposes and wildlife conservation. Conservationists have depicted them as incompatible with nature and consequently much of their land has been taken way from them in order to make way for animal reserves.[23] Although seemingly well-intentioned, Game Parks and reserves are a cause of great stress and injustice for the Maasai. Upon implementation of these reserves and promotion of ecotourism the Maasai were completely left out of the equation. The Maasai have been living with the land, as opposed to off the land, for hundreds of years. They have a profound knowledge of wildlife, trees herbs, roots, grasses and other plants in their country. They have long been utilizing all of their natural resources for medicinal purposes, both for themselves and their livestock. Despite evidence that Maasai pastoralism has no negative effects on nature their traditional ways of life have been challenged by limited access to traditional lands uses, they are losing some of their best land and being pushed into drier areas.[24] Due to increased emphasis on wildlife preservation many Maasai have been forced to convert to a more western way of live. Maasai herd sizes have shrunk significantly and many Maasai are now involved in agriculture. This western imposed sedentary lifestyle has proven to yield insufficient food for the Maasai and has left the land overused and eroded. The seasonal climatic shifts and poor soil quality of most of Maasailand have proven to be far more favorable for traditional Maasai sustenance methods of pastoralism. Western impositions have put the Maasai in a position of poverty, famine and economic duress.[22]
Although the prognosis seems grim for the Maasai, the fact still remains that they have proven to be a strong and vibrant culture that can and have tackled many adversities. There are programs implemented to empower the Maasai to force a change in their best interest. A culture known as warriors, the Maasai will continue to work hard towards the survival of not only their people, but their culture as well.
As a result of the many twenty-first century issues that are plaguing the Maasai many support groups have been founded. Organizations work in collaboration with rural non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to implement sustainable solutions for community survival, education, and growth. They aim to "empower local people, rely on indigenous resources, and build upon their existing cultural and economic context."[25]
All links retrieved August 4, 2018.
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Reducing Gasoline Consumption Key to Stopping Arctic Oil Production
Seattle activists' spirited campaign to stop Shell from exploratory drilling in the Arctic is grabbing world headlines and focusing attention on the climate impacts of exploiting the Arctic's enormous petroleum resources. Opponents of Arctic drilling cite sound science projecting that the exploitation of Arctic oil will push global temperatures well over the 2o C threshold for a livable planet.
Shell defends its drilling in the Arctic as necessary to meet growing demand for gasoline. And demand for gasoline is growing. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, Americans used, on average, 375 million gallons of gasoline every day in 2014, and are projected to use even more in 2015, despite a more fuel efficient fleet of cars and a much better selection of electric cars. In 2013, Americans used more petroleum than China, India, France, and Germany combined.
The consumption of gasoline is ultimately financing the exploration and drilling for oil. Without the steady cash flow provided by growing consumption of gasoline, enormously capital-intensive projects such as Arctic oil exploration would become financially untenable and grind to a halt.
The reduction of oil consumption scarcely registers for climate activists. Other than supporting politically unfeasible carbon taxes, the environmental community has essentially no program to reduce gasoline consumption, the real driver behind the quest for more oil production.
What would a program to reduce gasoline consumption look like, especially if carbon taxes are, for now, off the table?
First, a broad-based campaign to educate consumers about the enormous amount of carbon pollution that they generate when they use their cars, and to encourage them to take responsibility for substantial reduction of their emissions. Few consumers know, for example, that they emit about 20 pounds of CO2 with every gallon of gasoline they consume. Few feel they have any responsibility to reduce their emissions beyond purchasing a car attaining "reasonable" (20+ MPG) gas mileage.
In fact, U.S. consumers of gasoline have barely scratched the surface of possible actions to reduce emissions. For example, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles now offer excellent alternatives to gas vehicles, but still garner less than 0.5% of total vehicle sales in the U.S. The 5-passenger 2016 Chevy Volt, for example, offers 50 mile electric range, backed up by a gasoline-powered engine offering essentially unlimited range, at prices comparable with similar gas-powered vehicles, especially after fuel savings are considered. A small 3kW solar panel setup on a homeowner's roof more than sufficient to power an electric car for 30 years costs less than $10,000. Other underexploited means of radically reducing emissions include using mass transit, carpooling, and bicycling.
By taking actions such as shifting to electric cars, and using more mass transit, the U.S. can reduce its demand for gasoline, and consequent CO2 emissions, by more than 50% over the next 10 years. If we achieve major reductions in gasoline consumption, oil drilling in the Arctic, tar sands drilling, and other expensive and environmentally hazardous areas will stop. If we continue heedlessly consuming gasoline, we can be sure that drilling in the Arctic, and everyplace else, will continue unabated, despite the best efforts of kayaktivists and others to block them.


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Want to invest in traditional Ikat but confused about what to look for? Here is a small guide about Ikat that may help you familiarise with the fabric!
Ikat is a popular and traditional process of dying a fabric, mostly silk or cotton. The end result is a piece of cloth in beautiful patterns. Ikat is known to have originated from Orissa and is popular for Ikat sarees however there are some manufacturers selling beautiful and contemporary Ikkat dress material online. An Ikat patterns are dyed and blended into threads before weaving, this is what differs it from tie and dye process.
.Varieties of Ikat
There are mainly three commonly found varieties of Ikat:
- Single Ikat
- Combined Ikat
- Double Ikat
Faces Behind the Fabric
While Ikat is a very old craft, it is known to be dominated by Meher community in Orissa. One of the largest producers of Ikat, Ikat Exports Pvt Ltd. Is based in Bhubaneswar.
Present Day Scenario
Besides other countries who have started producing Ikat fabrics, in India it is prevalent in 3 major states –Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. With the craft reaching its pinnacle, the work is popularly carried out in regions like Sonepur, Sambalpur, Bargarh etc. these days, Orissa Ikat is not just popularly used in sarees but also footwear, suits and dress material. Ikkat pattu sarees available online are quite a rage among youngsters and the fabric seems to be winning the hearts of all generations.
Wearing Ikat dresses
Ikat fabric has appealedto the tastes of various Bollywood celebrities like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and many more. While the reasonable variety is commonly used as a casual wear for a lot of middle class women, the premium fabrics have a special place in Indian weddings, festivals as well as social gatherings.
For Ikat silk fabrics, a gentle hand wash or dry cleaning is suggested at the ironing should be done at a moderate heat. For cotton Ikat fabrics, one can easily wash it in machines although dry cleaning is suggested.
With the emergence of online market, there has been a lot of innovations as well as comparisons among the fabrics. Ikat from Orissa is mostly compared to PatanPatoli Ikat fabric from Gujarat. You can also purchase pochampally ikkat lehengas online which is another like of Orissa Ikat. There are various comparisons made to Ikat but the Orissa Ikat seems to have a place of its own when it comes to traditional fabrics.


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- Tim Horton's
- Matt's paternal grandmother, aunt, cousin, and baby cousins (including a six-week-old--squeal!)
- the Found store in Ann Arbor
- Sydney's NICU reunion
And it's been a festive weekend so far. The girls got cherry-tongue at the Ann Arbor farmer's market while Matt and I gorged on an entire loaf each of olive bread and white chedder/jalepeno bread: While we were walking through the covered farmer's market, I spied an awning across the way that read "SuchPrettyColors." Hmm, I thought to myself, that name sounds familiar, and I dragged the family away from the twelve different kinds of tomatoes they were mooning over and went to investigate. When we'd pushed our way through, what did I see but the self-same breastfeeding pendant necklaces that I bought two of on etsy (this one and this one) last year? And there are like four more of them in my wists! The lovely proprietor, Ann Sheppard, comes over, and I immediately screech into her face, "I know you online!" Ann quilts and makes jewelry, among other things, and she has this web site and this etsy shop. I bought yet another breastfeeding pendant, and almost bought this Utamaro one, but seriously, I have to let some other people participate in breastfeeding activism, too. Right? Cause she also does the Sunday artisan's market, so I could go back...
Small world, huh?
The theme for Sydney's NICU reunion at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor was "Under the Sea." Just like prom, right? There were games and fun stuff for the kiddos--
--although of course we spent the most time at the buffet and the craft table. Totally on-topic for my currently ocean-crazed girlies:
By the way, I have never seen so many multiples in one place in my life. Sydney got to wear a special nametag--
--and Matt remained true to his promise to smack me on the head whenever I got weepy.
It's kind of ridiculous how lucky we are:
Tomorrow--home! I've got lesson plans to prep and two etsy orders to ship and a craft fair to get ready for and Willow's tuition to pay and the yard to lasagna garden and DVDs to return to the library and...


text: Dr. Hal Schramm - September 21, 2017 Spring Catfish Spawn Connection In many waters, the spring catfish spawning period appears to be a dividing line in catfishing. Prespawn spring catfish fishing can be spectacular, followed by a downturn during and shortly after the spawn, with good fishing again when the fish settle into their summer patterns. What do we know about the catfish spawn behavior that can help explain this seasonal progression? More importantly, what does the biology tell us that will help your catfish pursuits be successful?The Biological BasicsAs so commonly happens when I go to the biological literature to answer "how to catch 'em" or "why" questions, I come up with a few aces and a lot of spaces. The reason: Biologists seek information essential to effectively manage the fish or, in the case of catfish, to spawn and rear them in captivity on fish farms. Thus, from the anglers' perspective, biologists have some answers, but not all. This is certainly the case with the "big three," channels, blues, and flatheads. Indeed, much of what we know about the big three is tied to the important aquaculture industry for channel catfish, so this is where we start. Feeding Temperatures — Catfish farmers say that catfish feed a little when the water temperature is in the 50°F range, but active feeding doesn't begin until the water hits the mid-60°F range. The success of early spring trotliners suggests wild catfish begin actively feeding at 55°F to 60°F. In northern rivers, where the fish are adapted to a cooler thermal regime, active feeding begins at even cooler temperatures. Spawning Temperatures — In the wild, channel catfish have been observed spawning at water temperatures of 70°F to 85°F. Some fish culturists consider 80°F to be optimum, but others favor a slightly lower temperature. Based on observations from natural populations, the spawning temperature range appears slightly lower for blues — 70°F to 75°F, and 68°F to 75°F for flatheads. Some anglers disagree with the biologists' observations. Mississippi River guide James "Big Cat" Patterson agrees that the spawning ritual for channels and blues begins at about 70°F. While channels may start spawning at the lower end of the range, Patterson believes the blues don't really begin until the water reaches 80°F. Tennessee River guide Phil King agrees that spawning starts at about 70°F, but King looks for spawning peaks during the full moon in April, May, and June in a warm year, May through July or even August, if water warms slowly during a cool spring. Collectively, the information indicates spawning for blues, channels, and flatheads can be a drawn-out process, but 70°F is a very consistent start of the spawn.Spawning Behavior — Channels, flatheads, and blues are "cavity spawners." Caverns in banks, hollow logs, washouts under logs or boulders, or deep crevices in riprap banks or logjams are used for their fiercely guarded nests. Aquaculturists sink milk cans, drainpipe, or wooden spawning boxes in the spawning ponds. "Noodlers" (hand-grabbers) are known to add spawning habitat, too.The spawning ritual involves the male selecting a spawning cavity, then attracting and inducing a female to spawn. The female is then chased from the cavity, and the male tenaciously guards the developing eggs. The eggs hatch in 5 to 10 days, depending on water temperature. Do the males feed while guarding the clutch? They probably don't leave the nest when guarding eggs but, as any noodler can attest, they wrap their jaws around anything that intrudes the nest cavity. Catfish MovementChannel and blue catfish are nomadic. In large systems like the Mississippi or Missouri river, channel catfish migrate out of the tributaries (even when they're as large as the Wisconsin River) to overwinter in deep holes away from current. Springtime finds these fish migrating back upstream, some to the same area they occupied the previous summer. Observations on other rivers — the Buffalo River in Arkansas, the lower Colorado River in California, the Savannah River in Georgia, the Platte River in Nebraska, the Powder River in Wyoming, and the Red River in Manitoba — provide evidence for an upstream spawning migration. The fish move upstream, spawn, and then spend summer back downstream. There is also evidence that channel catfish leave reservoirs in the spring to spawn at upstream sites. However, not all blue and channel catfish populations are migratory. Researchers found that in Kentucky Lake, the farthest downstream impoundment of the Tennessee River, blues and channels increased movement prior to the spawning season, but recapture provided no evidence for any long-distance migrations to spawning or wintering sites. In lakes, where there is no opportunity for an upstream spawning migration, sexually mature channel catfish have greater daily movement during the spawning season.No studies have documented whether blue or channel catfish, like salmon, return to the specific site where they hatched (what biologists call the "natal" habitat) or, like walleye, return to spawning sites they used in previous years. The distance and direction blue and channel catfish move is variable among populations in different systems, but increased movement prior to the catfish spawn appears to be a common theme. Possibly, as suggested by the Kentucky researchers, blue and channel catfish move to find suitable spawning habitat. In Kentucky Lake, spawning habitat is abundant throughout the reservoir, so long-distance uni-directional movement may not be necessary. It may also be important to factor in wintering-site migrations. Catfish in warmer climates where water temperature stays in the 40°F range or above may not need deep, slackwater refuges to survive winter.Do flatheads exhibit similar spawning movements? Several studies of flathead movement in large streams, rivers, and reservoirs indicate these fish are homebodies. They apparently select habitats that provide everything they need for spawning, feeding, and shelter. However, a recent radiotracking study indicates some individuals may be migratory.Timing the Best BiteWhat does the biological information tell us about when the prespawn-postspawn transition occurs? In general, consider 70°F to signal the beginning of spawning, 75°F to 78°F to signal the end. For anglers targeting prespawn cats, it looks like 60°F to 70°F is prime for blues, channels, and flatheads in southern and central U.S. waters. Anglers fishing for channel cats at the northern edge of their range can expect to enjoy good prespawn action when the water is 55°F to 70°F.When the water temperature reaches 70°F varies across North America. Expect spawning to start in late March to April in the southwestern states and along the Gulf Coast, April to May in southern states, May to June in central states, and as late as July or August at northern latitudes.These, of course, are generalizations. Nothing beats personal familiarity with seasonal temperature cycles where you fish, but a few general rules may help you forecast the spawn.If you fish rivers, consider the source of the water. Rivers with flows dominated by snow and ice-melt are slow to warm. In my home state of Mississippi, the Mississippi River water temperatures in March through May are much colder than those in our local streams. In March, the water flowing under the Mississippi River bridge at Memphis may have come from melting snow or ice in Minnesota or West Virginia 10 to 15 days earlier.On the other hand, rivers with broad floodplains or where flow is detained by dams may warm more quickly. Expect shallow waters to warm faster than deep waters. Temperature cycles, and thus the timing of the spawn, may be stable in natural lakes, with slight year-to-year variation related to air temperature, rainfall, and the number of sunny days. Expect seasonal temperature cycles to be much more variable in reservoirs. Since reservoirs are really impounded rivers, the source of the water and retention time (how fast the water flows through the reservoir) affects warming. Expect water to warm more slowly in reservoirs with short retention time and during rainy spring seasons.Does the spawn mean the cats won't bite? The biologists' knowledge of spawning doesn't account for a major shut-down in feeding. It appears that not all catfish in any river or lake spawn at the same time; even if they did, only the male is holed up and out of circulation.Movement patterns may tell you where to look for cats during the prespawn through postspawn part of their annual cycle. Before the spawn, look for upstream movement by blues and channels, especially in cold climates, where the fish may have overwintered in deep slackwater holes in the deeper parent river. A good summer fishing location may be just that — a good place to catch cats in the summer. The fish may not be there during the prespawn or the spawn.By the same reasoning, a spot where you caught fish in the prespawn may not be where they spawn or where they settle into their summer patterns, if your catfish population tends to make substantial seasonal migrations. The biological information suggests that areas that provide good spawning habitat will concentrate fish when the water is 70°F to 80°F.Flatheads may be a different story. Although new information suggests that some flatheads move into tributaries during the spawning season, many flatheads appear to remain in a relatively small area.An Emerging PatternIt's clear from both the biological information and the collective wisdom of experienced cat anglers that prespawn is a period of greatly increased movement, whether a uni-directional trek away from a wintering area, or a directional or random search for spawning habitat. Couple that with fish restoring energy reserves depleted over the winter and building up energy stores for the ensuing spawn, and that means a lot of active hunters with big appetites.I have been amazed repeatedly at how effective trotlines are on the lower Mississippi River floodplain during the spring rise. Although common sense suggests fish are hard to catch when they spread out over tens of thousands of acres of water, trotlines fished on the floodplain catch fish; and those fished in chutes, cuts, and ditches can be impressively heavy. While far from a proven fact, the high movement activity during prespawn may have a lot to do with good fishing.Either way, water temperature determines the start of feeding, the time of increased movement, and the onset of spawning. Temperature is the key to predicting catfish behavior and better catches.Flatheads on The MoveStudies of flatheads, whether the fish are in streams or large rivers, consistently agree that most individuals confine their activity to reaches less than several miles long. However, a recent study provides evidence that some flathead populations may, like blues and channels, be highly mobile.University of Missouri researchers radio-tracked adult flatheads in tributaries of the Mississippi (Cuivre River) and Missouri (Grand River) rivers. At 50°F, the fish left overwintering sites for spawning locations; average distance moved during the April to July prespawn period was 12 and 33 miles in the two tributaries. After spawning, some fish remained in the tributaries; others returned to the Mississippi or Missouri. Weekly movement averaged less than a quarter mile per week during August and September. Movement increased again in October when the fish headed for wintering sites.The flatheads fell into three groups. One group entered the tributaries to spawn and then returned to the big rivers. A second group entered the tributaries to spawn, remained in the tributary during the summer-fall period, then returned to the big rivers to overwinter. The third group moved between wintering, spawning, and summer-fall areas, remaining in the tributary year round.The Missouri study strongly refutes numerous observations from tag-recapture and radio-tracking studies that indicate adult flatheads move little. Possibly the drastically different movement behaviors of the Grand and Cuivre river fish may be related to the fact that the fish were initially collected in the lower reaches of these tributaries during the prespawn. In other words, the researchers may have unintentionally selected for migratory individuals. Even so, the Missouri study provides powerful evidence for migratory flathead catfish. Get Your Fish On. Plan your next fishing and boating adventure here. GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing. Sign Me Up


text: It's about time that the number one netbook manufacturer officially release details on its Pine Trail packing netbooks. The 10-inch Acer Aspire One A0535h seems to look slightly different than its predecessors, but its brand new Intel Atom N450 CPU, GMA 1350 graphics and promised 10 hours of battery life should give it bragging rights at the family dinner table. The rest of the specs are standard fare – Windows 7 Starter, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and a 4,400 mAh six-cell battery. We're impressed that Acer has seemed to finagle a $299 price tag, undercutting most of the competition -- including the $380 Pine Trail Eee PC 1005PE -- by at least $50. It should be available in the coming weeks, but in the meantime you can check the full PR after the break or start searching for that Amazon pre-order page.


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In the fashion world, it has become harder to be successful when Amazon reigns 20% of the fashion industry of the e-commerce market. For Kate Hudson, she was not going to let that rain on her parade. The Fabletics business is ever growing and this has not caused her $250 million dollar business to be halted. For more than 3 years, there has been a popular movement of active wear. For consumers, this market is popular among all age groups.
If you are not familiar with Fabletics, you might not know that this popular movement has allowed consumers to receive new active wear through a monthly subscription to the Fabletics monthly subscription. You will receive new active wear at the beginning of each month and these will continue on until you either decide to cancel your membership or if you choose to skip a month or two of your membership.
Fabletics is much like the rest of your monthly subscriptions. You either will opt to purchase or not purchase before the deadline of your monthly subscription is due. If you decide to purchase something, you will receive your monthly allowance and you can either continue to receive them or you may cancel your membership.
Kate Hudson worked very hard to make a name for herself and this is no different. Kate is a active workout and yoga participant and therefore she knows what it takes to be comfortable in your workout gear. She knows what it feels like to be constricted and how uncomfortable you might be in certain types of active gear and therefore knew what needed to be done in order to feel comfortable and confident in her active wear. The yoga pants are ideal for someone who wants to bend freely and be comfortable while doing downward dog or other yoga positions. If you want to have beautiful and comfortable active wear, Fabletics is one way for you to do so.
Fabletics offers a great deal to get you started and when you signup, you will receive your first set of yoga pants for $25 dollars. This will get you started and from then on out, you will either need to accept the next shipment or opt out of the next shipment. You can either make a phone call to tell a representative what you would like or you may visit their webpage to opt out. Either way, you wont be displeased with your new active wear.