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d9942cadc54a6b0aa4b66c39619057bd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/01/26/beat-the-chill-with-a-hot-springs-getaway/ | Beat The Chill With 3 Top Hot Springs Getaways | Beat The Chill With 3 Top Hot Springs Getaways
A vintage postcard depicts the classic Calistoga scene
The colder it gets, the more appealing it sounds to escape to warmth. This time of year, Hawaii calls. So does Mexico. But for the perfect warm-up weekend escape, there's nothing like lounging neck deep in a steaming hot springs. Here three hot springs getaways that are steeped in history yet up to date with modern luxury.
1. Calistoga, California
At the northern end of the Napa Valley, just twenty minutes from trendy St. Helena and the gourmet paradise of Yountville, Calistoga has a completely different history from the rest of this wine-growing region, set apart by mineral-infused springs that seep and spurt from deep underground. (Ever wonder where bottled Calistoga Water gets its name? Now you know.) "Taking the waters" has been a time-honored tradition in Calistoga ever since Sam Brannon opened the first hot springs hotel, reachable first via stagecoach and later by train, in 1872. There's even an actual geyser, known less than originally as Old Faithful, operated as a private attraction where you can go watch a natural fountain erupt high into the air, although you have to wait 40 minutes for it to do so.
The 1920s-era elegance of The Mount View Hotel
Hydrotherapy, or balneotherapy as it's sometimes called, has been considered to have significant health benefits since the Romans first began building public baths. Europeans today flock to historic bath resorts in Greece, Spain, England, France, and Croatia, but Americans have had an on-and-off relationship with mineral springs resorts, embracing them from the late 1800s through the 1920s, then neglecting them until many were restored starting in the 1980s, when a focus on natural health became popular again. These days, not only do we know that soaking in mineral water is one of the best ways to combat stress, it's also considered to lower blood pressure, ease the pain of arthritis, soothe aching muscles, and even boost immunity.
Calistoga has more hot springs resorts in one town than anywhere else in the country, spread up and down the picturesque main street and dotted around the nearby countryside. Many offer Calistoga's signature treatment, volcanic mud baths, in addition to hot mineral pools and modern spa treatments such as massage, facials, body wraps, and other health- and beauty-boosting treatments. But of the few original historic resorts remaining, the standout is the Mount View Hotel, which has been brought back to all its former elegance - and then some. Owners Michael and Stephanie Woods have painstakingly updated the interior, while enhancing each room with gleaming, art deco-inspired furnishings and the warmth of burnished wood. It's easy to picture Carole Lombard or Ingrid Bergman gliding through the high-ceilinged lobby and lounging artfully in one of the airy suites.
But it's the hushed, luxurious spa that really sets the Mount View apart. Hydrotherapy treatments take place in individual deep soaking tubs, each in a private room also equipped with an aromatic steam room, so it's possible to hop back and forth between soaking and steaming without bothering with a robe. Facials and other treatments use the bio-energetic AnaKiri product line, produced according to the same über-organic principles that govern biodynamic farming. From the San Francisco Bay Area, Calistoga can be done as a day trip as well. For a memorable visit, taste the valley's famous wines from south to north, stopping to picnic at crazy Castello di Amorosa, which really is an (almost) authentic Italian castle complete with moat and towers. Finish with a visit to Lavender Hill Spa, a romantic day spa surrounded by colorful gardens where the massage therapists are known as some of the best in the region. The Calistoga Visitors Bureau has free wine tasting maps and endless information about all there is to see and do in the area. They also sell a "passport" that's an excellent value, covering free admission and tasting flights at the region's many standout wineries as well as discounts and special offers for many restaurants and shops.
Santa Fe's Asian-Inspired Ten Thousand Waves (photo: Melanie Haiken)
2. Santa Fe, New Mexico
Better known for its Spanish Colonial history, Native American Indian arts, artsy shopping, and former role as a rowdy cattle driving railroad town, Santa Fe has also earned recognition more recently as a place to go for healing, both physical and spiritual. Central to Santa Fe's stature as a wellness capital is Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese-style spa retreat in the mountains just outside town featuring numerous outdoor soaking baths. There are private baths, a waterfall bath, separate women's and men's baths, and a gorgeous communal bath high on a deck with a view of the valley below.
Treatments at Ten Thousand Waves include Yasuragi, a head, scalp, and neck massage featuring warm camellia oil that will ease stress you didn't even know you had. Herbal wraps, Thai massage, cryopeels, and a traditional Asian foot massage known as Ashi Anma, are just some of the esoteric offerings that set this famous destination day spa apart. (The day I was there, the low-key crowd was trying not to stare as a not-to-be-named Hollywood celebrity soaked right alongside the rest of us.) Many people come for the whole day, walking meditatively through the statue- and shrine-dotted garden from one bath to another, with treatments in between. While most popular as a day spa, Ten Thousand Waves also has rooms that are available by the night and by the week. With bamboo floors, rice paper screens, low beds, and tatami mats, the accommodations have a Zen feel, as if you just stepped through the door and found yourself in Kyoto.
If you're visiting Santa Fe for other reasons and want a day of relaxation and restoration to balance out your shopping, museum-going, hiking, and other more energetic pursuits, spend a day hiding out at Body of Santa Fe. This wildly groovy day spa, wellness and yoga center has a full-service gym and also features a restaurant with some of the best raw food I've ever tasted. If nothing else, treat yourself to one of their energy tonics, such as the Sparkling Cleanse, or follow up your treatment with a cup of raw Thai vegan soup.
3. Hot Springs, North Carolina
This aptly named resort town in western North Carolina was -- surprise -- named for the mineral springs that bubble up from the ground, heated to approximately 102 degrees by the earth itself. Most of the town's hotels and resorts hail from the late 1800s, when travelers began arriving to visit the mountains and heal their aches and pains in the curative waters. Like many old resort towns, Hot Springs has been revitalized with chic shops and citified restaurants catering to the weekend visitor. Hot Springs Resort and Spa, with 100 acres of leafy green forest and meadows along the winding French Broad river, is the primary destination for spa-goers, but it's also fun to stay at Broadwing Farm Cabins, which have that classic rustic mountain feel and private decks with valley views. Each cabin has a private hot tub served by naturally hot mineral water.
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1f893ceaf1b139be315811461ba9cf92 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/03/01/davy-jones-death-alerts-boomers-to-heart-attack-risk/ | Davy Jones' Death Alerts Boomers To Heart Attack Risk | Davy Jones' Death Alerts Boomers To Heart Attack Risk
The Monkees in their heyday (via Wikipedia)
Yesterday, news of Davy Jones' death lit up Facebook, Twitter and online news sites with frantic reports. Baby Boomers shared nostalgic remembrances of their childhood worship of the Monkees and circulated YouTube clips of Jones' songs. Less talked about was how he died: a massive heart attack, according to today's autopsy results.
If you're in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, the news of how Jones died might also have given you pause. A heart attack at 66? How likely is that? Could it happen to me?
Here are some statistics to start with:
Every year about 785,000 Americans have a first heart attack. Another 470,000 who have already had one or more heart attacks have another attack. In the U.S., heart disease causes almost 25 percent -- or one in every four -- of all deaths. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
And here's the answer to the question on everyone's mind:
Isn't 66 young to have a heart attack? The answer is (drum roll, please): No. Davy Jones was actually right on target. The average age of first heart attack, according to the American Heart Association, is 66 for men, 70 for women.
Where Mr. Jones differs from the norm, sadly enough, is that a heart attack doesn't have to kill. Approximately 75 percent of men and 60 percent of women live at least one year -- and often much longer -- after a heart attack. The key, of course, is rapid response and quick treatment. And that means being familiar with the risk factors for heart attack, so you can protect yourself and, hopefully, make changes to reduce your likelihood of having one. If you're wondering how much you need to worry, use the American Heart Association's handy risk assessment tool to check your heart health.
It's also important to be familiar with the early signs and symptoms of a heart attack, so you can recognize a heart attack as quickly as possible once it starts. Pain in the chest, of course, is the most common and typical sign of a heart attack. But there are many other signs of heart attack, too, that are often missed.
1. A clenching sensation in the chest. Blockages of fatty deposits in an artery can reduce or cut off the blood supply to the heart, causing what feels like tightness, squeezing, or pain -- most typically in the chest but sometimes lower down.
2. Neck, shoulder or jaw pain. During a heart attack, nerves from damaged heart tissue send pain signals up and down the spinal cord to junctures with nerves that extend out into the neck and shoulder, down the arm, or even up into the jaw. Numbness or tingling may radiate up or down as well.
3. Nausea, stomachache or indigestion. A bout of severe indigestion and nausea can be an early sign of heart attack, particularly in women. In one study, women were more than twice as likely as men to experience vomiting, nausea, and indigestion, even months before a heart attack.
4. The inability to catch your breath. When too little blood is getting through the arteries to carry sufficient oxygen to the heart, the result is breathlessness. It's often described by heart attack patients as the same feeling you'd have at high altitude; like you can't draw enough oxygen into your lungs. Some people also experience a sharp pain when they try to draw in a breath.
5. Dizziness and light-headedness. Lack of oxygen can make you feel like you're going to fall or pass out. Sometimes this feeling makes people think they're having a panic attack rather than a heart attack.
There hasn't been a lot of information released about Davy Jones' health prior to his heart attack. But protecting your heart health is something everyone should be pro-active about. Here are the basics:
Maintain blood pressure below 120/80 Maintain cholesterol below 200 Lose weight until you're within the normal BMI range (18.5-24.9) Don't smoke or quit if you do
If these changes sound daunting, consider the alternative. Davy Jones' death can serve as good motivation to keep making your own music as long as you can.
Follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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bea0f55500eb0c923510a0ecd25b9545 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/06/04/bath-salts-a-deadly-new-drug-with-a-deceptively-innocent-name/ | 'Bath Salts' A Deadly New Drug With A Deceptively Innocent Name | 'Bath Salts' A Deadly New Drug With A Deceptively Innocent Name
Bath Salts, sold in small packets with names like "Blue Wave," "Cloud Nine," and "White Lady," are... [+] the newest -- and scariest -- designer drug. (Image of legitimate bath salts via Wikipedia)
Can the headlines really have it right? Is there really a new drug that makes people so violent they bite each others' faces off? I wish this was a News of the World headline that we could all dismiss, along with the stories of alien babies and women giving birth at 95. But in this case, the headlines do have it right -- sort of.
Yes, unfortunately, there's a new drug making its way into communities across the country and it's really, really scary.
How scary? Well, in the incident described in the current headlines, a 31-year-old man, Rudy Eugene of Miami, attacked a 65-year-old homeless man, stripped off all his clothes, dived on top of him, and started chewing off his face. Eugene had a history of run-ins with the police, and had been accused of domestic violence, but his history hadn't suggested a risk of public violence. The explanation -- if there is one -- seems to be that bath salts can trigger a full-blown psychotic episode with extreme delusions.
Who knows what type of hallucination would lead someone to eat another person's face, but you can imagine it would have to be a pretty extreme and vivid one. Reports from onlookers characterized Eugene as a "zombie," behaving as if he were under the control of some evil spectre.
So what are "Bath Salts" - and how did the drug get this ridiculously misleading name?
Like Ecstasy and methamphetamine, the drug known as "bath salts" is a designer drug, which means it's synthetic, concocted in a lab. (On the street, it's also sometimes called "bath powder," "herbal incense," or "plant food.") What makes the term "bath salts" more confusing, though, is that name is used for a surprisingly large number of different chemical combinations.
To understand what the drug does, think of "bath salts" as a cross between meth and acid. Well, sort of. Like cocaine, meth, and speed, bath salts work by stimulating the central nervous system, kicking it into overdrive, if you will. But the drug also apparently causes paranoid delusions and/or hallucinations. Experts are saying it's psychoactive, rather than hallucinogenic like acid, but the end result appears to be similar: delusional beliefs acted upon in violent ways.
The key ingredients that go into bath salts are the synthetic compounds MDPV (3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone), mephedrone, pyrovalerone, and methylone. But there are many other ingredients used in addition to these, or in place of them. For example, many of the "bath salts" seized have been found to contain extremely high levels of caffeine.
MDPV and mephedrone, the most common bath salts, originated as synthetic versions of a natural ingredient found in Khat (Catha edulis), a hallucinogenic plant found in eastern Africa. Cathinone, the active ingredient in khat, is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning illegal. However, MDPV and mephedrone were legal until Fall 2011 when the FDA banned them, but underground chemists keep skirting the law by slightly altering the chemical compounds to come up with new versions that are technically legal. The FDA now refers to bath salts as a "designer drug of the phenethylamine class." Slang names for mephedrone include "meph," "drone", and MCAT.
Yikes! Where did bath salts come from?
Currently, the chemicals we call "bath salts" are most frequently manufactured and imported from China and Europe, but drug officials say it's only a matter of time before American drug-cookers begin making them. The history of bath salts is both fascinating and frightening. The drug was actually first formulated in France in the 1920s, but disappeared until it was rediscovered from the obscurity of academia by an underground chemist. He published the recipe on a website known as called the Hive, which was shut down in 2004 for sharing waaayyyy too much info about illegal substances. But the word was out, and the drug became extremely popular all over Europe.
It might be interesting to those in the pharmaceutical and chemical fields to note that bath salts were legal in Israel starting around 2004, sold under the name hagigat. Once declared illegal, the cathinone was modified and another Israeli company, Neorganics, sold the drug as pills and liquids under several names, including Neodoves, until the Israeli government specifically made mephedrone illegal in 2008.
In the UK, various drugs in the bath salts category have become a serious problem, passed out like candy at music festivals and easily available at head shops and on the street. They're now listed just behind marijuana, Ecstasy, and cocaine as the fourth most popular street drug.
Bath salts are cheap, innocent looking, easy to obtain, and many people think they're legal, or at least know they're unlikely to be caught and prosecuted for using them. Bath salts come in little packets with soothing names like "Blue Silk", "Bliss," "Vanilla Sky," and "Ivory Wave," and cost just $25-60 a packet. (Actually, according to one website, some have much scarier sounding names like "Crazy Train," "White Slut," and"Eight Ballz".)
Bath salts can be smoked, snorted, or injected. The initial symptoms are positive, including relaxation, euphoria, and a sense of warmth and wellbeing similar to Ecstasy. But pretty quickly a darker side of the drug kicks in.
The symptoms of being dangerously high on bath salts include (but aren't limited to):
extreme paranoia The FDA has banned the active ingredients in "Bath Salts" but drug designers keep a step ahead. elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse extremely high body temperature sleep deprivation vivid hallucinations hostility or aggression strange eye movements extreme sweating panic attacks suicidal thoughts
Oddly, given the list of symptoms above, another reported side effect of bath salts is "an intense desire to use the drug again." In other words, it's highly addictive. Overdoses of bath salts can quickly turn into emergencies because of the lack of knowledge about the drug. Because "bath salts" is a collective term for a bunch of different ingredients, there's no test to determine if someone took the drug. The only way to know for sure is if the user admits that's what they took.
Bath Salts and Crime
Bath salts are absurdly easy to get hold of. They're sold in "head shops" all over the country and even behind the counters in many convenience stores. Reports of violence associated with "bath salts" have been confused by the use of different names for the drug compounds. But those who've taken them report feeling that they experienced "pure evil." Here are just a few of the episodes reported around the country:
California: Two 15-year-old boys fell violently ill and developed small holes in their lungs after consuming mephedrone, which they thought was MDMA. The drug was sold to them by a student at a nearby college. Colorado: A drug called Alpha-PVP, a type of bath salt, led to a young man's death by strangulation when friends tried to restrain him during a violent fit. Washington: Investigators believe that a double murder-suicide in which a man killed his wife and five-year-old son, then shot himself. Louisiana: A 21-year-old Louisiana man slit his throat in front of his family after he snorted bath salts, because he believed police were after him. Pennsylvania: Police arrested a couple high on bath salts who had nearly cut their 5-year-old daughter with a knife, which they were using to stab the “90 people" they believed were "living in the walls” of their apartment. Kentucky: A prison guard off duty reportedly high on bath salts was cited for 10 different acts of violence in two different towns, and ultimately had to be tasered. West Virginia: A man high on bath salts was found wandering the woods in lingerie after he allegedly stabbed a goat. Indiana: A man committed suicide after telling his family for weeks that the FBI were following him and watching him eat. Ohio: A young man was fatally shot after he held a knife to his girlfriend’s neck. California: Two recent suicides have been attributed to bath salts. Police around the country say they're seeing a spike in domestic violence and assault cases connected with bath salts.
Is Bath Salts an Epidemic?
No, nowhere close. The real drug epidemic is oxycodone, which is now the second highest cause of accidental death in the U.S., behind car accidents.
But what's scary about bath salts is how the drug seems to have appeared out of nowhere, and how fast it's taking hold. In the past year, the number of calls to poison control centers about bath salts increased more than 20 times, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, from 304 reports in 2010 to 6,138 in 2011. According to the FDA, no reports of the drug surfaced until 2009, during which the FDA reported two cases. By the following year there were more than 300 cases, and by last year the number had tripled to over 900 cases.
That's a tiny number, to be sure. But those most often using the drugs are kids and teens, whose brains and central nervous systems are still developing. In fact, experts say the drugs are marketed directly to kids, with cartoon characters on the colorful packages.
So we have a drug that's easily available, inexpensive, innocent sounding, and profoundly addictive. Doesn't that sound to you like we're going to have a serious new drug problem on our hands in a few years?
Follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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f5f3b2a45d0a5c67c63702c5c366bb44 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/11/06/high-blood-pressure-may-age-your-brain-even-if-youre-under-40/ | Memory Alert: Even Slightly High Blood Pressure May Age Your Brain - And Even If You're Under 40 | Memory Alert: Even Slightly High Blood Pressure May Age Your Brain - And Even If You're Under 40
The white and gray matter of the brain are important in memory and thought (image from University of... [+] Maryland)
Researchers at the University of California at Davis released a study today that should give anyone with even mildly elevated blood pressure pause. It seems that having blood pressure higher than the optimal 120/80 may be aging your brain, putting you at risk for memory problems and eventually for dementia and Alzheimer's. And this appears to be true even for people in their thirties and even for people with pre-hypertension.
(This might include cutting back on salt today, says the American Heart Association (AHA) in a new advisory describing recent studies linking salt and heart disease risk.)
Using data from the highly regarded Framingham Heart Study, the UC Davis team led by professor of neurology Charles DeCarli compared detailed brain scans of 575 people who joined the study in 2009, most in their thirties. DeCarli and his team divided the participants into three groups: hypertensive, pre-hypertensive, and normal blood pressure. They then analyzed the gray and white matter of their brains using high-tech MRIs.
Previous studies have linked high blood pressure with memory loss, Alzheimer's, and dementia but this study, published online today in the November online version of The Lancet Neurology, appears to be the first one showing that the decline may begin as early as the 30s and 40s. Experts believe that stiffening or hardening of the arteries caused by high blood pressure gradually limits blood flow to the brain, depriving the brain of oxygen over time.
The scans used were both MRIs and diffusion tensor imaging, which obtains a micro view of the brain's white matter and the axons within it that carry electrical signals between different parts of the brain. According to the researchers, the brains of 30-year-olds with high blood pressure looked similar to the brains of people in their 40s who had normal blood pressure.
DeCarli wants the public to get the message that high blood pressure should be controlled to prevent brain aging, and this is true no matter what age you are. What this would mean is that people in their thirties should regularly get their blood pressure tested, something that most people don't do until they're older.
If your blood pressure is elevated, make lifestyle changes (lose weight, exercise, lower your salt intake) or take medication or both to lower it to below 120/80.
Back to Salt: Yes, you should cut out salt if you're pre-hypertensive or hypertensive. But actually, this applies to you no matter how healthy your numbers, the AHA announced this week. In fact, cutting out salt might be one of the fastest and easiest fixes all of us can make to save our brains.
According to the AHA, eating more than the recommended 1500 milligrams a day puts you at direct risk of high blood pressure. (This is in direct contradiction of a couple of much-touted studies saying salt isn't so bad.) Yet in America we consume an average of 3400 milligrams a day; more than twice what we should. While people with hypertension and heart disease are always advised by doctors to eat less salt, the AHA wants all of us to do this, whether or not our blood pressure is currently in the normal range. "The entire U.S. population, not just at risk groups" should restrict salt to 1500 milligrams, says Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the AHA.
Follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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212a82575b127c02070f93c3a727e626 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/12/03/pregnant-princess-kate-hospitalized-for-hyperemesis-gravidarum-which-is-what/ | Pregnant Kate Middleton Hospitalized for Hyperemesis Gravidarum - Which Is What? | Pregnant Kate Middleton Hospitalized for Hyperemesis Gravidarum - Which Is What?
Prince William's wildly popular bride, Kate Middleton, is pregnant and ill with hyperemesis... [+] gravidarum
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting the heir to the British royal throne came the news that Kate has been hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum.
In fact, the announcement of the royal pregnancy and Kate's hospital admission were made together, suggesting that possibly the palace would have waited longer to make the official announcement if Kate's hospitalization hadn't made that impossible.
So what is this illness so suddenly in the headlines? Attempting a rough translation from the Latin provides a basic description - it means serious vomiting, or acute morning sickness.
Of course, this begs the answer, how can morning sickness be so serious? After all, 50 percent of all pregnant women experience queasiness, nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite. And while extremely unpleasant, morning sickness isn't deadly.
Well, actually, it can be, if a woman can't get it under control on her own. As with any kind of extreme gastrointestinal illness, vomiting to the point that it leads to extreme dehydration can be quite dangerous. Left untreated, hyperemesis gravidarum can result in premature birth or low birth weight, and extreme continual vomiting can tear the esophagus. If electrolytes become unbalanced, the result can be dizziness and eventually, heart damage.
But primarily it's the dehydration and malnutrition resulting from hyperemesis gravidarum that most urgently require treatment. This is the same reason people die of heat illness - beyond a certain point, dehydration puts organs like the kidneys and liver under dangerous strain. Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte died of severe dehydration resulting from hyperemesis gravidarum in the fourth month of her first and only pregnancy; today, with IV fluids available, the condition is treatable.
Prince William and Kate Middleton showing off her engagement ring, originally worn by Princess Diana
Hyperemesis gravidarum is quite rare; only two percent of all pregnant women experience symptoms this severe, according to the Honor Society of Nursing. Kate Middleton is 30, like her husband, which, while in the middle range for pregnancy age, makes morning sickness more likely. Studies show that older moms typically have more problems with morning sickness and other pregnancy-related health issues than younger women.
According to news reports, the Duchess will be hospitalized for several more days, then will be put on bed rest for an additional period. (I've been asked by readers to give Kate's full married name and title. It's Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus.)
The good news is that hyperemesis gravidarum primarily affects women in the first trimester of pregnancy, when morning sickness is typically the worst. In some cases it can last through the 21st week, however, and in very rare cases right up through birth. Also, studies show that morning sickness lessens the chances of miscarriage, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Also, it was noted in British press reports that Kate appeared fine in a public appearance on Friday and was photographed eating a meal, so it seems she has not been suffering the severe symptoms for long. She arrived at the hospital in a car, not an ambulance, another good sign.
Gallery: Prince William and Kate Middleton 25 images View gallery
Follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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e8d3f6e7d22f03d2e84e78d78c56f58b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/12/20/7-last-minute-gifts-for-health-nuts-and-fitness-buffs/ | 7 Last-Minute Gifts for Health Nuts and Fitness Buffs | 7 Last-Minute Gifts for Health Nuts and Fitness Buffs
)You don't want to stuff a stocking full of chocolates for someone who's off sugar. Giving a robe and slippers to a guy whose New Year's resolution is to put away the remote? A bit counterproductive. Fuzzy sweaters and clanky jewelry are going to stay in the drawer of the gal who spends her day in yoga clothes. And where's the fun in baking cookies if your friends have all given up wheat or cut out carbs? Here, then, are a a few quick last-minute gift ideas for the friends who'd rather be out running or cycling than sitting down to a gourmet meal. (With a few things thrown in for the slightly obsessed.)
1. Waterproof iPhone Sports Case
If you leave your smartphone behind when you hit the slopes, how do you take a picture of yourself at the top? Enough said - at this point, any skiier, runner, cyclist, sailor, or outdoors enthusiast needs a waterproof, sweatproof case. Favorites are Amphibx for those who prefer to wear an armband, Lifeproof for those who'd rather zip their phone into a pocket.
2. Garmin GPS Watch
There's no better way for runners, cyclists, and others in training to track their progress. A GPS device logs distance, pace, and elevation changes and sends the info to your computer via wifi or USB. I'm not going to recommend a particular model; they're all good. (Unless you live in the desert, though, choose one that's waterproof.) Select the features based on your athlete's needs and your price range. One caveat: If you're buying for a woman, be aware that some makes and models don't fit smaller wrists well and choose accordingly.
An Icebreaker merino wool jacket will be the one that stays by the door.
3. The Go-Everywhere Do-Everything and Never-Be-Cold Jacket
Maybe it really is the New Zealand wool they're made of, I don't know, but Icebreaker's clothes just never say never. I have a pair of Icebreaker leggings that's going on three winters now carrying me everywhere from the Scottish Highlands to Jasper National Park (both in January) with nary a shivery morning or need to de-pill. This year my pick is their Arctic jacket, but me, I'd be happy with any of them. (Note the chest pocket loop for your MP3 player or smartphone, and see above.)
4. An Anti-Wrinkle Copper Pillowcase
Do they work? Who knows - I use one, and I sure hope so, but who's to say I have fewer wrinkles than I would have if I didn't? Anyway, the promise is there: Two small studies published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology and the International Journal of Cosmetic Science seem to suggest that nano-particles of copper oxide, infused into fabric, could be absorbed into skin, improving firmness and reducing aging over time. And copper is indeed a wrinkle-fighter, if that's the case. No matter what, the Cupron Cosmetic Pillowcase feels great - the fabric is micro-smooth without being slippery, making it easy to turn your head without just sliding off your pillow. And rich night creams or masks don't stain the fabric like cotton.
This intensive exfoliating lip treatment banishes chapped lips overnight
5. H2O+ Aqualibrium Lip Mender
Chapped lips are a constant companion for people who spend a lot of time outdoors. This new product does a lot more than your standard Carmex or Chapstick; it plumps lips up enough to erase fine lines.
6. Bedbug-Proof Seat Protector
This oddball gift may get more use than anything else under the tree, especially by the business traveler who's already stashing his suitcase in the hotel bathtub. Bedbugs are a serious issue for anyone who travels regularly, and yes, they have turned up on planes, and in offices and movie theaters. These inexpensive seat protectors, made by Bug Off and Seat Defenders, are available online and at some drugstores and airport shops. They weigh almost nothing and roll up as small as a pair of socks, so no need for explanations when going through security. If nothing else, they'll get a laugh.
7. Omega Juicer and Extractor
Nothing makes it as easy to get eight servings of vegetables and fruit a day as a juicer. Especially if your recipient has a crazy schedule and tends to eat on the go. (And who doesn't?) Omega juicers are the Porsches of the juicing crowd, with features designed to get the ultimate nutritional lift from everything you poke into them. The new VRT350 model adds the convenience of a smaller counter footprint to the high-tech "masticating-style" product line. If size is no object, then you want the top-of-the-line Nutrition Center juicer.
Follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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d4643082c7680b3eb5f86a4c3feac11f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/22/3-new-fat-busting-supplements-for-speedy-weight-loss/ | 3 New Weight Loss Supplements Getting Buzz | 3 New Weight Loss Supplements Getting Buzz
Resveratrol, an extract from grape skins and red wine, is being studied for numerous age-retarding... [+] benefits, including weight loss. (Photo: photobucket public domain)
How much more news about weight loss supplements can there be to share? More every year, it turns out, as researchers synthesize new plant-derived compounds and test methods to optimize them for effectiveness. Based on studies released in the past two years, here are three new supplements to add to the previous list of 7 Supplements for Weight Loss I shared last fall.
Keep in mind that taking supplements at all is controversial, and some experts disdain even taking a vitamin.
1. Resveratrol: Metabolism Booster
Hailed as a potential anti-aging wonder since Harvard's David Sinclair published research in 2003 and 2006 showing it extended the lifespan of mice, resveratrol has since shown extremely mixed results. The extract from the skins of grapes and red wine has demonstrated potential to reduce some problems, such as cardiovascular disease, and shown a disappointing ineffectiveness for others.
But in the past few years, a number of research teams around the country have begun studying resveratrol for its effects on metabolism and glucose tolerance and its resulting potential to trigger weight loss. In a very small but high-quality (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled) study published in the journal Cell Metabolism in November, 2011, Dutch researchers led by Sylvie Timmers found that obese men who took 150 mg of resveratrol daily had lower blood sugar, decreased liver fat, and lower blood pressure after just 30 days. While the men did not shed actual body mass in the short amount of time they were followed, these kinds of metabolic changes are associated with weight loss over time.
The year before, a French study published in BMC Physiology found that resveratrol had a significant effect on the body-mass of primates (mouse lemurs, to be specific). The researchers found that lemurs, which typically gain a great deal of weight as winter approaches, ate significantly less and gained less weight during a four-week period when their food was supplemented with resveratrol. The researchers noted that the lemurs' body temperature and resting metabolic rate was affected by the resveratrol, suggesting that it functioned as a metabolism-booster.
Here's the problem, though: most of the studies showing significant metabolism-boosting effects from resveratrol have been animal studies like the lemur study above, and resveratrol has a dismal track record when it comes to positive results from animal studies translating to humans, says Jill Crandall, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the Diabetes Research Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "The animal data on resveratrol's benefits are very convincing," says Crandall. "But what actually happens when you give resveratrol to humans has turned out to be very different."
Crandall herself is currently studying resveratrol for its effects on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity and is optimistic about its potential, but "we're not there yet," she says. "The field is really in controversy right now because there have been so many conflicting studies." For example, when another group of researchers conducted a similar study to Timmers' in normal weight people, resveratrol showed no effects on metabolism whatsoever. Crandall's conclusion? "There's no evidence from human studies to date that would lead me to advise people to take resveratrol," she says. "It's an exciting area of research but it would be premature to say it's beneficial - the jury's still out."
That said, there was other important news about resveratrol three months ago, when resveratrol pioneer David Sinclair published a new study in Science that finally appeared to validate the mechanism behind resveratrol's anti-aging effects. Sinclair's team identified the molecular pathway by which resveratrol activates sirtuins, a type of cellular protein that enhances energy production and prolongs lifespan.
It might seem that Sirtris, the company founded by Sinclair to study, test, and market resveratrol, would be riding high on all this good news, but just days after Science released the new research, GlaxoSmithKline , which purchased Sirtris in 2008, shut the company down. The Boston Globe reported that GlaxoSmithKline plans to pursue Sirtris' research on sirtuins, but will discontinue work on resveratrol. Future research or no, resveratrol is already being used in a number of weight loss supplements and I'm sure we'll be hearing more about its potential to treat diabetes, insulin resistance, and obesity in the near future.
White kidney beans are great in soups - and an extract blocks starch absorption, too (photo:... [+] Wikipedia)
2. White Kidney Bean Extract: Starch Blocker
Having zoomed to popularity on the broad shoulders of Dr. Oz, white kidney bean extract, scientific name Phaseolus vulgaris, has been hailed as a "fat-blocker" that prevents or slows the absorption of starches.
Most of the excitement over white kidney bean extract has come from studies by anti-aging guru Nicholas Perricone. One small but randomized/double-blinded/placebo-controlled study, published in 2007 in the International Journal of Medical Science, found that 445 mg a day of the supplement caused weight loss in people who were just moderately overweight, even as they ate a high-carb diet.
Another randomized/double-blinded/placebo-controlled study, also involving Perricone and published in the Journal of Applied Research showed that 92 percent of subjects taking white kidney bean extract for two months lost weight in two months vs. 62 percent in a control group.
Extract of white kidney beans (or cannellini, for you cooks) appears to work by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called alpha-amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates. "What's happening is that a carb present in beans occupies the enzymes that normally break down carbohydrates so they have to travel further down the intestine," says noted obesity expert Louis Aronne, MD, Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at Weill-Cornell Medical College. "They're not really being blocked, but that their digestion is slowed."
Aronne notes that the benefits of taking white kidney bean extract are really just the benefits of eating a low-carb, low-glycemic diet. "While it's at least theoretically possible that the supplement blocks carbs, what you're really doing is lowering the glycemia of the diet," Aronne says. In other words, you could get exactly the same results by simply not eating those carbs in the first place.
Caveat: Blocking starch absorption interferes with a natural bodily function and can cause several notable side effects including gas, cramping, and other digestive symptoms.
3. DHEA: Hormone Regulator
DHEA, short for dehydroepiandrosterone, is a natural steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Its many functions include increasing and maintaining muscle mass and boosting energy levels. DHEA levels decrease with age, which is why researchers have investigated whether supplementing DHEA levels might have anti-aging effects.
The main benefits of DHEA center around its role as a precursor to the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone, and supplemental DHEA has been shown to boost hormone levels. (Which is why, in addition to loss of muscle mass, declining levels of of DHEA are associated with erectile dysfunction in men, and with low libido in women.)
So where does weight loss come in? A number of animal studies or small human studies have found DHEA to have positive effects on lipid levels and body fat content. In 2004, researchers at Washington University published a small 3-year randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showing that participants given 50 mg of DHEA daily had a significant decrease in abdominal fat compared to the control group, and also raised their insulin sensitivity, protective against diabetes. However, an older study using a very similar dose (40 mg twice daily) found DHEA to have no effect on obese adolescents. The NIH addresses this discrepancy by noting that DHEA appears to help older adults lose weight, but doesn't have the same effectiveness in younger people.
The lowdown, "We don't use DHEA as a primary weight loss tool, but we do measure DHEA levels in our patients and if DHEA is low, we give it," says Louis Aronne, MD.
The Mayo Clinic website cites a research monograph by Natural Standard that gives DHEA a grade of B ("positive scientific evidence") for obesity, summarizing the evidence supporting effectiveness this way: "The majority of clinical trials investigating the effect of DHEA on weight or fat loss support its use for this purpose. Further research is needed to confirm these results." Other research has recommended DHEA's energy-boosting potential as a remedy for lupus and adrenal fatigue.
For a deeper understanding of DHEA's pros and cons, check out the University of Maryland's comprehensive analysis. Their recommended dosages: 50 mg men, 25 mg in women. Supplemental DHEA is synthesized from soy or wild yam, but note that that doesn't mean you can get DHEA by eating yam or soy or taking soy supplements; it has to be synthesized DHEA itself.
DHEA does have potential side effects, primarily at higher than recommended dosages. For women in particular, DHEA can lead to facial hair growth, oily skin, and acne. There are also many possible negative interactions between DHEA and medications, so do not take DHEA without talking to your doctor about whether it might interact with any of your prescriptions.And note that DHEA isn't recommended for those younger than 40, who presumably should still be producing plenty of DHEA of their own.
Is there a supplement or herbal remedy that's worked for you in your quest to lose weight? Add it to the list by including it in a comment and it'll make the next round-up.
For more research-based weight loss info, follow me on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken or find me on Facebook
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bafd7f703587479eb02c2f786e507440 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/09/12/buying-viagra-online-its-very-likely-fake-and-possibly-dangerous-new-data-say/ | Up To 77 Percent Of Viagra Bought Online May Be Fake, And Possibly Dangerous, Research Shows | Up To 77 Percent Of Viagra Bought Online May Be Fake, And Possibly Dangerous, Research Shows
Seizures of counterfeit drugs, of which Viagra is the most popular, are up 200 percent. (photo:... [+] Wikipedia)
In the past year, evidence has mounted that a large percentage of the Viagra and other erectile dysfunction (ED) medication sold online is fake. And that the majority of the sites selling Viagra online can't be trusted.
It started with data presented at the World Meeting on Sexual Medicine late last year showing that 77 percent of all Viagra (generic name sildenafil) purchased online from 22 different sites was counterfeit. (Note: The study was published only as an abstract for presentation at the conference and therefore has to be considered preliminary. And the author, Irwin Goldstein, M.D., conducted the study in cooperation with the global security arm of Pfizer, maker of Viagra.)
But since then, one revelation after another has added to the momentum, suggesting that the majority of sites selling Viagra and other drugs online are untrustworthy and likely trafficking in counterfeit meds, and that fake Viagra is being smuggled into the country in alarming quantities.
The Majority of Online Pharmacies Untrustworthy, Officials Say
Last month, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which accredits online pharmacies, announced the results of an analysis showing that 97 percent of the more 10,000 online sites selling prescription medications were operating illegally or not following pharmacy laws and standards. (Note: This is prescription medications; the report did not even touch the websites selling drugs without a prescription.)
Somewhat cumbersomely titled Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program Progress Report for State and Federal Regulators, July 2013, the report revealed that only 257 of 10,275 online pharmacy sites it examined could be considered legitimate.
And in June the FDA announced results of a sting titled Operation Pangea IV that busted 1677 online pharmacies for selling counterfeit medications. The agency seized website domain names and posted messages on the sites to alert potential consumers that buying and selling counterfeit drug is illegal and can result in severe penalties.
Large Quantities of Fake Viagra Seized This Summer
This summer also saw the FDA and customs officials cracking down on smugglers and distributors of fake ED drugs. Last week a man caught bringing fake Viagra into Los Angeles International Airport was convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. In August, two men were indicted in Texas for smuggling counterfeit Viagra, coming on the heels of a similar indictment of a Pensacola, Florida man for trafficking and sales of Viagra and other ED drugs.
In January, 2013 customs officials intercepted 180,000 counterfeit Viagra pills at Miami International Airport. And these are just a handful of the cases currently in courts. The most recent Federal data show that seizures of counterfeit drugs are up by 200 percent and fake medications are now number six on the list of most-seized items.
In February of this year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a scary report on the worldwide counterfeit drug trade and called on the U.S. to institute a "track and trace" system to keep track of drugs from manufacture to purchase.
Data on Fake Viagra May Be Exaggerated
The belief that most online pharmacies are suspect and that most Viagra sold online is fake is not universal, however. In fact, says Roger Bate, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Phake: The Deadly World of Falsified and Substandard Medicines, his own tests of drugs sold online found the vast majority to be authentic and those sold by online pharmacies credentialed by Pharmacychecker.com to be 100 percent authentic. Bate published a paper in 2010 finding that just 7.3 percent of Viagra samples purchased online failed spectrometry testing and proved to be fake, and those were from non-credentialed online pharmacies.
Taking Fake Viagra Can Have Life-Threatening Consequences
Experts may argue about how much of the Viagra sold online is counterfeit, but there's little disagreement about the significant dangers posed by taking fake Viagra and the fact that those purchasing it seem blissfully unaware of the risks they're taking.
Ticking off a list of known dangers, Bates cites potential toxicity from heavy metals and other unknown ingredients, and the risk of fungal and bacterial infection from drugs manufactured in unsanitary conditions. "No one would go licking the garage floor, but that's basically what you're doing when you buy counterfeit drugs," Bate says.
Here are a few of the ingredients found in confiscated counterfeit Viagra:
Blue printer ink Speed or amphetamine The antibiotic Metronidazole (Flagyl) Drywall and plaster Other ingredients and dyesused to mimic the texture and color of real Viagra
Then there's the even more serious risks raised by the unregulated dosages in counterfeit Viagra. Most men, Bate says, assume that the worst that could happen with fake Viagra is that it simply won't work. But the opposite may be just as true, and much more dangerous - the drug can be super potent, with the potential to trigger a heart attack. Given that men with erectile dysfunction are already at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (which can cause ED), this is a very real danger.
Pfizer Fights Back
In a dramatic counter-maneuver, this summer Pfizer itself began selling Viagra online through the company's own website. As reported by the New York Times, experts say Pfizer could be losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in potential sales of Viagra, a blockbuster drug with sales of more than $2 billion in 2012.
The Problem is Only Going to Grow
There are numerous reasons why counterfeit ED drugs have become such a huge industry, says Roger Bate, but the the primary one is obvious. "Men will pay almost anything if they suffer from erectile dysfunction, and many are too embarrassed to tell a doctor and get a prescription."
Then there's the fact that counterfeit Viagra is a smuggler's dream product, Bate says. "The market is huge, the chance of being caught is low and the penalties are very trivial." Which is exactly what makes it so scary. "Viagra can function like a gateway drug for smugglers," Bate says. "They realize they can make a lot of money, then next they start faking antibiotics and cancer drugs and other medications where it makes a life or death difference if they work or not."
So You Want to Buy Viagra Safely Online. What to Do?
There are a number of resources specifically created to enable consumers to shop safely online. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) offers its own website to find an accredited online pharmacy, AwareRX, which lists pharmacies vetted by the NABP through their VIPPS program (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites). The FDA also has its own consumer protection website campaign launched in late 2012, BeSafeRX.
Bate offers the advice to use only credentialed online pharmacies, acknowledging that these pharmacies require valid prescriptions.
Have you had experience with counterfeit drugs? Please share in the comment section below. And if you think a drug you've purchased is fake, report it to the FDA's Medwatch program (800-332-1088) or your state pharmacy board.
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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a4c2ae65d18f7dfb620d18be83ad267f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/10/18/10-top-foods-to-boost-brainpower/ | 10 Top Foods To Boost Brainpower | 10 Top Foods To Boost Brainpower
Chana Masala, a traditional South Asian chickpea curry, packs a triple punch for brain health... [+] (photo: public domain library)
Would you add chickpeas to your soup and celery to your salad if you knew they might sharpen your thinking and prevent age-related memory loss? That's the premise behind this list of foods rich in compounds that nourish neurons, boost neurotransmitter production, reduce inflammation, and protect against neural degeneration.
1. Curry
Turmeric, the spice that gives curry and mustard their yellow color, contains a chemical called curcumin that's the subject of numerous neurologic studies right now. Research has shown curcumin's ability to boost memory, slow the progression of Alzheimer's and stimulate neurogenesis, which is the process of creating new brain cells. Studies suggest curcumin may also clear out amyloid plaques, the brain gunk thought to be a cause of Alzheimer's, and calm inflammation of brain and nerve cells.
2. Celery
In 2010, an intriguing study came out linking the plant compound luteolin with lower rates of age-related memory loss. The reason: Luteolin appears to calm inflammation in the brain, which experts now believe to be primary cause of neurodegeneration. By inhibiting the action of inflammatory cytokines, luteolin seems to prevent a cycle of degenerative changes in the brain. Celery is one of the richest sources of luteolin; other good sources include peppers and carrots.
3. Broccoli and Cauliflower
For some time, researchers have been investigating the role of choline in brain development, looking at whether choline has the potential to spur the growth of new brain cells and neural connections. Studies have shown that prenatal choline supplementation appears to boost later intelligence while choline deficiency has been linked with neural tube defects. In adults, choline keeps neurotransmitters healthy, keeping you sharp and your memory strong. Remember wheat germ? One cup has 202 mg of choline; beef liver is the best dietary source of choline with 473 mg in a five-ounce serving. Much easier to incorporate brocoli and cauliflower, with 182 and 177 mg, respectively. Added value: Broccoli is also high in vitamin K, studied for its effect in boosting cognition.
4. Walnuts
Scientists don't know exactly how omega-3 fatty acids exert such a protective effect on the brain, but research suggests they boost the function of neurotransmitters. One study found that seniors whose blood contained high levels of omega-3 fatty acds, particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) had the greatest brain volume and also tested highest on a set of memory and cognitive skills. Omega-3s are heart-healthy too, helping keep arteries clear and blood flow strong, and good circulation benefits the brain as well. While salmon is one of the best known and richest source of omega 3s, it's also not a food you want to eat every day due to the mercury content. But you can make walnuts a daily habit, sprinkling a handful on a salad or eating them as an afternoon snack. Walnuts also contain memory-protective vitamin B6 (see below).
5. Crab
You don't see crab on many power food lists, do you? But you should. One serving of crab has 1840 mg (more than your entire daily requirement) of phenylalanine, an amino acid needed to make the important neurotransmitter dopamine, as well as brain-stimulating adrenaline and noradrenaline and thyroid hormone. Many types of fish and seafood are rich in phenylalanine, but I'm singling crab out because it's easy to find and it's less likely to be high in mercury, an issue with tuna and other popular fish. Research also suggests phenylalanine may be helpful in combating Parkinson's disease. Added value: Crab is also one of the best dietary sources of vitamin B12 (see below) with one serving providing 192 percent of your daily requirement.
Buckwheat (here in pancakes) and bananas both have neuroprotective effects.
6. Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans
It's not easy to find good food sources of magnesium, a mineral that plays a key role in energy metabolism. But it's important - magnesium is highly beneficial for brain cell receptors, speeding message transmission. Magnesium also relaxes blood vessels, letting more blood through to feed the brain. But studies show that our American diet is magnesium poor, and most adults average only 66 percent of the recommended requirement of magnesium. Meanwhile, stress has been shown to leach magnesium from the body. So where to find this scarce mineral? Answer: in strange places. For example, the most potent magnesium source is kelp, with 780 mg of magnesium in a serving. But since kelp probably isn't on your dinner menu, build a meal around chickpeas instead, which contain 220 mg of magnesium in a one-cup serving.
7. Buckwheat
A natural mood-calmer, buckwheat is high in relaxing tryptophan, providing 25 percent of your recommended allowance in a one-cup serving. Buckwheat is also a good source of magnesium, with 229 mg per serving. (Though some forms of cooking drop the magnesium content.) Technically a fruit seed, buckwheat is gluten-free and high in fiber, so it's a great grain substitute. Throw it in soups or stews, or cook it and add it to salads. You can even boil it up as a hot breakfast cereal, much like grits or cream of wheat.
8. Brewer's Yeast or Marmite
Turns out there was at least one good reason to sprinkle brewer's yeast on your granola: it's one of the best food source of thiamine, also called vitamin B1, and pyridoxine, also called vitamin B6, both of which are linked with brain function in numerous ways. (Spreading marmite on your toast also works.) Thiamine deficiency is known to cause a form of dementia, which is why researchers are studying the possibility that thiamine supplementation may help prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer's and dementia. Meanwhile, pyridoxine plays a role in neurotransmitter production, and thus in strengthening memory and cognition. Large amounts of thiamine and pyridoxine aren't easy to find in any one food, and one of the best dietary sources is actually fortified cereals. But many, many foods, including bananas, black beans, lentils, eggs, pork, and sunflower seeds all have have good quantities of these B vitamins so eating a varied diet helps.
9. Red Meat
There are a lot of reasons not to overdo red meat, but when it comes to brain health, the high vitamin B12 content in beef, lamb and pork tips the scales. An overall energy-booster, vitamin B12 is vital to healthy brain function, to the point that B12 deficiency causes nerve and brain damage. One of the trendiest supplements around, vitamin B12 - also known as cobalamin - can be found in office cupboards and backstage in rock stars' green rooms. Beef liver has the highest B12 content of all, but liver tends not to be a dinnertime staple.
10. Blueberries
If you're tired of hearing about the health benefits of blueberries, apologies, but here's another one. Research (primarily animal studies, but still) has linked a diet high in blueberries with faster learning, sharper thinking, and improved memory retention. Other studies have documented the antioxidant power of blueberries to clear free radicals and reduce neurodegenerative oxidative stress.
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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c5376e67a8305fc31758a2e9c03ef2a0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/11/21/easiest-weight-loss-tip-ever-change-your-sleep-schedule/ | Change Your Sleep Schedule To Lose Weight, Study Shows | Change Your Sleep Schedule To Lose Weight, Study Shows
Could changing your sleep habits be the key to finally budging the scale? (photo: wiki media)
If you're looking for a fairly painless way to lose weight (or at least not gain) researchers at Brigham Young University have a new solution for you: Put yourself on a regular sleep schedule.
People who maintain an unvarying sleep routine have a lower percentage of body fat than those who keep irregular sleep hours, says a new study, published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Led by Bruce Bailey, professor of exercise science at Brigham Young, researchers followed 300 female college students, ages 19 to 26, who were given activity trackers to monitor their movements and activities, including waking and sleeping times. The study participants were assessed for body composition before and after the one-week study period.
What the researchers found:
Getting less than 6.5 hours of sleep and more than 8.5 hours of sleep was linked to higher body fat High quality sleep was associated with lower body fat while poor sleep correlated with higher body fat Waking and going to sleep at the same time every day (particularly a consistent wake time) was most strongly linked with lower body fat
The difference in body weight was greater with more variation in sleep pattern. Women whose sleep patterns varied by 90 minutes a night had higher body fat than those whose sleep varied by 60 minutes or less on average. Body fat also varied with sleep quantity; women who slept between 8 and 8.5 hours a night had the lowest body fat. The greatest effect at all was seen in women who woke up at the same time every morning seven days a week.
Now, major caveats here: This was a small study, of very short duration, with study participants selected from a limited and fairly homogeneous pool (only young, only college educated, etc.) Also, of course, it was not blinded or controlled. Of course, sleep alone isn't enough to peel off the pounds; you'll also want to try these 5 additional strategies to speed weight loss.
That said, the study followed up on a body of research conducted over the last few years that ties quality and quantity of sleep to weight loss and better weight control. For example, a randomized trial published in the journal Obesity last year found that among overweight and obese women ages 35 to 55 who were engaged in a weight loss program, getting an adequate amount of good quality sleep increased the chance of weight loss success by 33 percent.
While researchers don't know exactly how sleep schedules affect body mass and fat, other studies have shown that sleep has an effect on physical activity, appetite, and the hormones that control appetite, metabolism, and the cues that tell us we're full. According to studies skimping on sleep boosts production of ghrelin, the hormone that controls food cravings, and decreases production of leptin, the hormone that signals satiety and helps prevent over-eating.
If you need more incentive, weight is just one of many aspects of your health that sleep benefits. Recent research shows that sleep detoxes the brain, helping rid it of protein build-up that can lead to Alzheimer's and dementia. And research last year found that sleep loss lowers immunity and raises stroke risk.
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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a64252b20e945cadf667ecaf2deeb456 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/04/23/sleep-disorder-now-linked-to-degenerative-brain-disease/ | Restless Sleep Disorder Linked To Alzheimer's, Parkinson's | Restless Sleep Disorder Linked To Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
A little-known sleep disorder that causes you to act out your dreams can predict the future onset of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or another brain disease, new research shows.
In fact, 80 to 90 percent of people who develop Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder will develop degenerative brain disease within the near future, says researcher John Peever, MD, associate professor at the University of Toronto.
"Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead to brain disease," says Peever, adding that the sleep disorders should now be considered the "best method of predicting the onset of brain disease."
Peever’s research, published this week in Trends in Neurosciences, suggests the link occurs because brain degeneration attacks the brain circuits controlling REM sleep before it attacks those areas involved in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative conditions.
A little-known sleep disorder is linked to degenerative brain diseases. (photo: wiki media)
Which makes sense, as research hones in on the connection between sleep and brain health. Recent studies have found that lack of sleep kills brain cells and that healthy sleep detoxes the brain.
How do you know if you have REM sleep behavior disorder? Oh, you’ll know. People with REM sleep behavior disorder act out their dreams, often hitting, kicking, yelling, screaming, or leaping out of bed during the REM phase of sleep.
If you have REMBD, you might find yourself grabbing or punching your sleeping companion (to the point of hurting them), or falling completely out of bed.
And while REMBD (also called REM behavior disorder, and alternatively abbreviated RBD, REMSBD, and REMBD) is often confused with sleepwalking, it’s not the same thing.
The easiest way to tell the difference: sleepwalkers have a hard time waking up, and are groggy and confused when you wake them up. Those with REMBD, on the other hand, pop awake completely alert and conscious of what they were doing. Also, when you sleepwalk you typically don’t remember your dream clearly, while if you have REMBD you usually remember exactly what you were doing and why.
Sleep occurs in five distinct phases, the the fifth of which is REM, the sleep stage in which you’re most likely to dream. REM sleep is also the most active sleep phase, when you may find yourself twitching or tossing. However normally during REM sleep your brain sends a signal temporarily paralyzing your muscles. So even when you dream you’re running away from a criminal, for example, your legs don’t move. However, in people with REM sleep behavior disorder, this paralysis ceases to occur.
REMBD is most common in older men - 90 percent of people who develop it are male, and most are over the age of 50. Scientists already knew REMBD was associated with certain brain disorders, such as Parkinson’s; research has shown that approximately 30 percent of people diagnosed with REMBD will develop Parkinson’s within three years.
However previous studies have not found such an extreme correlation as Peever’s research; 80 to 90 percent is a large percentage.
Once you’re diagnosed with REMBD, the usual treatment is a muscle relaxant such as clonazepam (Clomid or Klonopin). However this new research suggests it’s a good idea for anyone diagnosed with REMBD to have a complete workup for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other brain disorders.
Medications are available for many of these conditions that can delay or slow progression of the disease when taken early enough, so REMBD could serve as an alert to do so.
Explains Peever: "It's important for clinicians to recognize RBD as a potential indication of brain disease in order to diagnose patients at an earlier stage. This is important because drugs that reduce neurodegeneration could be used in RBD patients to prevent (or protect) them from developing more severe degenerative disorders."
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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f50a76b48762eff0d61255004cf6081f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/05/17/latest-anti-aging-skin-breakthrough-an-ancient-herb/ | Latest Anti-Aging Skin Breakthrough: An Ancient Herb | Latest Anti-Aging Skin Breakthrough: An Ancient Herb
Call it gotu kola, centella asiatica, Indian pennywort, brahmi, or spade leaf - an ancient healing plant is making a comeback in the modern science of preventing skin aging.
Centella asiatica (often just called centella) is rich in amino acids, beta carotene, fatty acids, and numerous potent phytochemicals. Extracts have been found to calm inflammation, speed wound healing, stimulate new cell growth, build collagen, and improve circulation.
Lately, thanks to a new round of research into gotu kola's wound-healing and skin rejuvenation properties, this herb has been turning up in a host of new skin treatments.
Here's what history and science tells us about why you might want to read ingredient lists to find anti-aging skin serums and creams containing gotu kola. (And here are 3 more anti-aging skin treatments to try.)
A Long History of Skin Healing
Few medicinal plants have as long a history as centella asiatica; there's evidence it was used even by prehistoric man. Known in Chinese medicine as gotu kola, it's listed among the "miracle elixirs of life" and mentioned in legends as the herb that helped a famous sage live past 200.
Gotu kola, or centella asiatica, considered a potent skin healer for thousands of years, is turning... [+] up in new anti-aging skin care lines. (photo: Wiki media)
In India, centella has a host of names including mandukparni, jalbrahmi, and just plain brahmi (not to be confused with bacopa monnieri, another ayurvedic plant also called brahmi). A centerpiece of Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, it's used to treat infected wounds, syphilis, eczema, psoriasis, lupus, and female disorders.
In England, where it's known by the lowly name pennywort for it's coin-shaped leaves, it was one of the earliest treatments for leprosy. In France, centella was first identified and accepted as a pharmaceutical agent in the 1800s for its use treating diarrhea, dysintery, and female issues including infertility.
Taken internally, usually as a tea or other beverage, it's considered an effective treatment for fever, dysentery, hepatitis, and recent research shows it boosts memory and relieves depression and anxiety. In Thailand, centella is drunk as a cold beverage and considered a turn-back-the-clock health tonic.
What the Science Shows
An overview in the Indian Journal of Medicine calls gotu kola a "potential herbal cure-all" while a research summary published in Phytomedicine, says: "Centella asiatica has been subjected to quite extensive experimental and clinical investigations."
Recently, researchers delving into how gotu kola heals wounds have identified specific plant chemicals called triterpenoid saponins (more specifically asiaticoside, brahmoside, brahminoside, madecassoside and madecassic or madasiatic acid) that have been shown to help heal wounds by boosting antioxidants, increasing the blood supply to the area and strengthening the skin.
In a 2o12 study, researchers applied concentrate of centella asiatica to the skin of rats with open wounds and found that the formulation inhibited bacterial growth, fueled the growth of new skin cells and increased skin "tensile strength" and resilience.
There's also good evidence that gotu kola helps repair veins. Recent research shows that centella, unlike some herbal extracts, is able to penetrate the skin well enough to be utilized effectively.
Scientists are experimenting with applying gotu kola to treat burns, prevent scars, treat psoriasis, and decrease stretch marks.
In fact, centella's circulation-boosting abilities are so powerful that it's been used as an effective treatment for varicose veins and broken capillaries and to break down cellulite by shrinking the connective tissues that bind fat cells under the skin.
How Can Gotu Kola Help Me?
Skin care formulations use gotu kola for its ability to boost collagen and decrease inflammation. As with many plant-based compounds, you're most likely to find a bioactive level of gotu kola (which may be listed as centella asiatica) in organic or all-natural product lines. Three I've tried:
1. Annmarie Gianni Anti-Aging Products: Choose Annemarie's anti-aging facial oil or anti-aging eye cream, both of which contain gotu kola extract as well as numerous other beneficial herbs and oils. Annemarie provides an excellent explanation of the role of gotu kola in skin rejuvenation.
2. Sundari Gotu Kola Products: Try Sundari's gotu kola and yucca facial serum, in which gotu kola oil and sea algae extracts enhance skin renewal while yucca oil boosts skin hydration. Then there's Sundari gotu kola and Indian asparagus mask, formulated for intensive firming action.
3. Bellanina Skin Care: Gotu kola takes center stage in Bellanina's gotu kola + coconut serum, which binds the extracts in a exfoliating base of alpha-lipid acid.
Or you can follow these instructions and grow centella asiatica (often called spade leaf in the U.S.) in your home garden this summer.
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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fa612fe20a8bc850186db06a2f00d206 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/06/22/its-peak-tick-season-7-tips-for-preventing-tick-borne-disease/ | It's Peak Tick Season: 7 Ways To Prevent Tick-Borne Disease | It's Peak Tick Season: 7 Ways To Prevent Tick-Borne Disease
Every year, between 20,000 and 30,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme Disease, says the CDC. That's a lot of people - and many experts believe the CDC's numbers are way low, since Lyme disease can go unrecognized for many years.
But Lyme is just one of a growing list of serious diseases transmitted by ticks. Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, erlichiosis and the latest threat, the Heartland Virus, are all on the rise.
And now's the time to be vigilant - it's the height of tick season and tick-borne diseases pose a major risk in many places. In recent weeks, health commissioners in states including Indiana, Missouri, and New York have issued alerts for a high-risk season of tick-borne disease.
The blacklegged tick is one of the prime transmitters of Lyme disease in the central and eastern... [+] U.S. Deer ticks are another prime culprit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So how do you protect yourself, your family, and your pets?
How to Keep Ticks from Biting:
Wear long sleeves and long pants outdoors, even when it's hot. Light-colored, breathable cotton will be most comfortable, but be aware that ticks can easily crawl inside - and hide under - loose pant and sleeve cuffs. Use a strong insect repellent. Yes, there are health concerns about DEET, no point in pretending there aren't. But if it's the only thing that works against ticks in your area, use it, as the threat from the ticks themselves is greater. (Remember, you can wash the repellent off later.) Research shows most people overestimate the risk from DEET, often confusing it with DDT. It is toxic only in very large quantities and is not a known carcinogen. If you won't use DEET, use Picaridin. Repellents containing picaridin, an ingredient derived from pepper, may be safer, but it hasn't been in use as long so we don't really know. Do a tick check. Strip off your clothes and look for ticks as soon as you get indoors. If someone else is available to check areas such as the back of your neck and head, enlist their help. Look for teensy tiny ticks. Remember, many tick-borne diseases are carried by ticks while in the nymph stage, at which point they are smaller than the head of a pin. Be suspicious of any speck that doesn't brush off. Wash ticks away. Take a shower as soon as possible, preferably within two hours. Tick-proof your pets. The systemic flea and tick repellents available from your vet and from pet stores can help prevent ticks from attaching themselves to your dog or cat. They work via neurotoxins (most commonly imidacloprid, fipronil, and permethrin that attack ticks' central nervous systems.)
If you must go au-natural, here's a recipe for a natural tick-repellent.
For Pets:
In a spray bottle, mix 1 cup water and 2 cups distilled white vinegar. (Ticks loathe the smell and taste of vinegar, supposedly.) Add 2 teaspoons vegetable or almond oil, both of which contain sulfur, which ticks also dislike.
For Humans:
Follow the recipe above, but add eucalyptus oil, an additional repellent that at least partially masks the vinegar smell.
Please share your tick-prevention tips in the comments below. More tips are available from the FDA on how to protect yourself against tick-borne illnesses.
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter and Instagram @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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c69546b6c580a9073097ea3d24cc2ef4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/09/11/scientists-find-gene-that-may-delay-aging-of-whole-body/ | Scientists Find Fruit Fly Gene That May Delay Aging | Scientists Find Fruit Fly Gene That May Delay Aging
A team of biologists from UCLA announced they've discovered a gene that could be used to slow aging and lead to longer life. In lab studies conducted in fruit flies, the scientists identified a cellular mechanism for boosting the body's ability to flush out the cellular debris linked to many age-related diseases.
Activating the gene, called AMPK, increased the fruit flies' lifespans by almost a third and kept them healthier right up to the end. This would be like a 75-year-old getting another 24 years, not just of life, but of good health.
"This research brings us closer to understanding aging at a cellular level and has implications for delaying the onset and slowing the progression of many of the major diseases of aging," says David Walker, associate professor at UCLA and senior author of the study, published in Cell Reports.
UCLA study suggests anti-aging gene could be activated by "remote control." (photo: Matthew... [+] Ulgherait/UCLA)
Led by grad student Mathew Ulgherait, the team focused on the gene AMPK and its role in boosting autophagy, the cellular housecleaning process that rids the body of damaging waste products.
Finding ways to boost autophagy has been a key target of anti-aging research because buildup of protein plaques and other kinds of cellular detritus can lead to age-related diseases, most specifically Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
By activating autophagy, which literally means to "self-eat," AMPK helps flush out this cellular garbage and prevents it from gumming up the neurological works. (Related research has shown that the common diabetes drug Metformin may slow aging by activating AMPK.)
Scientists in the aging field have long known that calorie restriction can extend life span, and past studies have shown that AMPK and another gene, Sirtuin 1, have important functions in this process. "Both spring into action when calories are restricted," says Leonard Guarente, Director of the Glenn Laboratory for the Science of Aging at MIT.
The UCLA study is consistent with that body of knowledge, Guarente says. "I think the link between AMPK, SIRT1, calorie restriction, and longevity has been established in mammalian systems," Guarente says. "It's nice, but not totally surprising that AMPK would extend life in fruit flies."
There's another important finding in the study as well: The scientists switched off a second gene, called Atg1, to conclusively demonstrate causation, rather than correlation, between increased autophagy and longevity. "When we genetically impaired autophagy, the anti-aging effects disappeared," Walker explains.
What's notable about AMPK as a potential anti-aging treatment is that when the gene is activated in one area, such as the intestine or nervous system, it appears to slow aging throughout the body, not just in that system.
To help humans live longer, scientists have to find treatments that protect all the different organ systems affected by aging, since it's not practical to try to treat them one by one. Delivering treatments to the brain, for example, poses particular challenges. Ulgherait and Walker's research suggests the possibility of future treatments administered via the intestines, say, but targeting other - or all - areas of the body.
"We tend to think about treating the diseases of aging one by one, looking for cures for cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions," says Walker. "But a major risk factor for all of these is simply getting older. If we could better understand and treat the underlying cellular mechanisms that affect aging, we could be very optimistic that we can delay the onset and slow the progression of these diseases."
For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter and Instagram @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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f66500152653f50ca75c262aaa02aa5a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniewindridge/2019/02/13/how-the-outdoor-clothing-industry-mimics-and-modifies-nature-to-keep-us-warm/?sh=38ccc190453f | How The Outdoor Clothing Industry Mimics - And Modifies - Nature To Keep Us Warm | How The Outdoor Clothing Industry Mimics - And Modifies - Nature To Keep Us Warm
A huge, research-intensive industry has developed to serve the human desire to discover our world.... [+] Materials scientists often look to animals for inspiration. Dr. Melanie Windridge
When temperatures drop in winter, you might spare a thought for the many animals that spend their time outside, but can’t layer up with warm winter clothing like we can.
But you needn’t worry too much. Most animals have lived under the same conditions for millennia and have evolved to deal with their environment. Birds have evolved soft downy feathers for warmth beneath their tougher outer feathers; Merino sheep have wool which helps them survive scorching summers and freezing winters.
Humans, however, like to move around and explore. We leave our cosy homes for a few days to hike in the Scottish mountains, or for a few months to summit Everest. We need different clothing materials for different environments. A huge, research-intensive industry has developed to serve this human desire to discover our world. Materials scientists in this outdoor clothing industry often look to the animals for inspiration.
Learning from our feathered friends
By far the best material for warmth-to-weight ratio is ‘down’, the layer of fine feathers closest to the body of many birds, including ducks and geese. These are springy and create clusters which form air pockets within and between the feathers. As anyone with double glazing knows, air is a great thermal insulator. Heat energy is transferred by molecules colliding with each other. In air, molecules are spread out and don’t collide frequently, so heat is transferred slowly. In a down coat, the warmth generated by the body stays trapped inside.
‘Down’, the layer of fine feathers closest to the body of many birds, including ducks and geese, is... [+] the best material for warmth-to-weight ratio. Scott van Daalen
But down has a major disadvantage. If it gets wet, it clumps together and loses its thermal properties. It’s still pretty useful if you are summiting Everest, where any precipitation falls as snow which is big enough that it does not penetrate the jacket’s outer layer. But on a drizzly day in the Peak District, down is almost useless.
Some climbers also dislike down for ethical reasons. Some is indeed produced without adequate care for animals, though the Ethical Down Standard guarantees humane treatment and most major manufacturers subscribe. However, vegans still prefer to avoid animal products altogether. Furthermore, the price of down changes regularly as supply fluctuates, representing a business risk for manufacturers which they must price into the products they sell.
Materials innovators have long searched for ‘synthetic down’, which mimics down’s insulating properties, whilst also being waterproof.
PrimaLoft® goes a long way to replicating down. Dr. Alice Coles-Aldridge of the Royal Society of Chemistry explains, “PrimaLoft® combines two types of water-resistant fibre: one down-like fine fibre which is good for trapping air, and one larger fibre which is strong and holds material in shape when it gets wet. It is a great example of how properties of natural materials can be replicated and modified by synthetic materials.”
PrimaLoft® was originally produced as a thick pad of material, which was great for insulation but limited for comfortable clothing. A recent innovation - a collaboration between PrimaLoft® and Montane - is Thermoplume®, synthetic fibres that look and feel like down.
PrimaLoft Black Insulation ThermoPlume Image courtesy of PrimaLoft®
I recently met Lottie Watkinson, Product Director at Montane, who told me about the innovation. “Thermoplume® is a polyester that is naturally hydrophobic, i.e. it repels water, and has insulative properties even when it’s wet. It is made from loose fibres, as opposed to traditional wadded PrimaLoft®, creating unique structures which work together to trap more air. When it comes to the warmth to weight, ThermoPlume® is more thermally efficient than regular PrimaLoft®. It is also lighter and more packable, because there’s more space in between the fibres that can be compressed.”
“Whilst down is still the gold standard when you are certain of dry conditions, if you’re not sure what’s going to happen with the weather ThermoPlume® is the technology to use.”
Not-so-woolly thinking
This approach of mixing natural and synthetic fibres is behind many of the clothing innovations designed for explorers of the world’s extreme environments.
Merino wool, from Merino sheep, is commonly used in base layers. The fibres are finer than the width of a human hair and their structure allows them to pack together densely. This gives them great heat management properties, keeping heat in during winter and out in summer, and also means they feel comfortable against the skin. However, the material does not last very long, and doesn’t allow moisture (e.g. sweat) to easily escape.
Merino wool is also combined with synthetic materials to benefit from the valuable properties of both nature and science. “Primino® is a combination of merino wool and PrimaLoft®,” says Dr Coles-Aldridge. “The wool retains heat, and the synthetic fibres add durability and create a wicking effect, whereby moisture from sweat is transported away from the body through the fibres – which act like lots of little tubes – to the outside of the garment. This mixture gives a comfortable, fast-drying, moisture-wicking baselayer.”
Watkinson adds: “PrimaLoft® is a particularly exciting company and one of our main partners. They are scientists who are constantly coming up with progressive innovation. One of the latest is an insulation designed so certain microbes want to eat it. It will be fine in your wardrobe, but once it finds itself in landfill, it will biodegrade within a year. A lot of the PrimaLoft® materials already on the market are made from recycled post-consumer polyester”. This plays into a major issue right across the clothing industry, around 300,000 tonnes of clothing goes into landfill each year according to WRAP, a sustainability charity.
Nature and man-made fibres are not in competition, they complement each other. We can get the benefits of both by combining fibres most relevant to our needs. Modern science, combined with thousands of years of evolution, allow us to get the benefit of both worlds, and have led to a range of outdoor clothing materials that keep us safe and warm in even the world’s most extreme environments.
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1f5f4e0d125d399a2378f400339fe395 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniewindridge/2019/03/06/where-should-you-see-the-aurora-this-year-norway-canada-rome/ | Where Should You See The Aurora This Year? Norway? Canada? ...Rome? | Where Should You See The Aurora This Year? Norway? Canada? ...Rome?
Northern lights in Iceland shot with a Sony A7SII camera using the F1.4 24mm edge to edge lens,... [+] which cuts out flaring associated with filming bright lights. Live Aurora Network
Ok, so Rome doesn’t quite offer the spectacle of camping under the Scandinavian skies. But thanks to advances in camera technology in recent years, the Aurora Borealis is currently being streamed live from Lapland at Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica each evening in February and March.
The idea of a live display of the mystical aurora dancing in the northern skies, accompanied by classical music and dance may seem like an obvious one to capitalise on, but it is only recently that it has become possible – thanks to advances in camera technology.
Let the light in – the challenges of filming the aurora
Steve Collins is a man who knows a thing or two about streaming the aurora. After a rainy weekend in Iceland, waking up every hour in the hope of a break in the clouds, he started the Live Aurora Network to capture the lights on camera and stream them in real time. The streams allow scientists to better study space weather, and help guides find optimum viewing spots.
In its infancy, the Network went through a series of recording options, before hitting on the recently developed Sony A7SII camera, which is designed for low light.
“This is a particularly important innovation in the history of filming the aurora,” Steve explains. “In the past we had to rely on long exposures to let enough light in, but that meant that fast moving aurorae, such as G1/G2 storms, blurred into amorphous blobs.”
“The A7SII allows an ISO of over 400,000. If you imagine a normal DSLR, you’d usually shoot daylight photos at ISO 100-800, and things get pretty grainy above ISO 8,000.”
The ISO setting is a way of scaling up the camera’s sensitivity to light. If you shoot in low light, fewer photons (light particles) arrive at the camera. By making a manual multiplication, you get a brighter photo, but lose detail, leading to ‘grainy’ pictures. The A7S series’ breakthrough was in processing power, allowing light captured to be scaled up with minimal loss of detail. So you get a well-lit photo but can still take rapid enough images to capture fluid movement.
Northern lights in Iceland shot with a Sony A7SII camera, which allows an ISO of over 400,000. Live Aurora Network
The Live Aurora Network has cameras across Iceland set to ISO 26,500 and 1/30 exposure, with colour detection and algorithms to classify types of aurora. The cameras use the F1.4 24mm edge to edge lens, which cuts out flaring associated with filming bright lights. “These combined innovations in lens and processing technology mean you get an absolutely incredible shot”, says Steve.
Steve is currently installing cameras across Scandinavia and Canada. Meanwhile others are also benefitting from filming advances too; the live stream in Rome comes direct from the geophysics observatory at the University of Oulu, Finland.
Experiencing the aurora from the comfort of the Mediterranean
The aurora has always held a certain mystical charm, so the interest in capturing it, studying it and marvelling in it – even from afar – is no surprise.
Many aurora stories, from different groups of people around the Arctic Circle have roots in spirits and spirituality. And this feeling is not limited to those who live in the aurora zone. Polar explorers have long felt the spirituality of the lights.
Captain Robert Falcon Scott writing in his diary in Cape Evans hut on 7th October 1911. On his... [+] fateful expedition to the South Pole, he wrote of the southern lights, ‘it is the language of mystic signs and portents – the inspiration of the gods – wholly spiritual – divine signalling.’ Herbert Ponting
The Norwegian scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen seemed spellbound by the aurora; ‘These wonderful night effects are ever new, and never fail to captivate the soul,’ he wrote in March 1894. Scott, on his fateful expedition to the South Pole, wrote of the southern lights, ‘it is the language of mystic signs and portents – the inspiration of the gods – wholly spiritual – divine signalling.’ Even modern-day explorers like Felicity Aston MBE, say that being aware of the origins of the aurora cannot diminish their effect: ‘It feels so otherworldly, even when you know the science,’ she told me.
And the idea of seeing it this far south – in the skies rather than on a screen - is not as crazy as you might think. Aurorae are caused by solar storms interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field to catapult charged particles along field lines to the poles, where they collide with atmospheric particles and produce coloured flashes of light. These lights occur in wide rings around the poles, stretched over five to ten degrees of latitude.
During particularly powerful solar storms the rings around the poles expand, so the northern lights can be seen at lower latitudes, sometimes even as low as central Europe. When they reach this far, viewers tend to see particle collisions much higher in the upper atmosphere, which appear red. These ‘blood auroras’ were often viewed as bad omens. One was even said to have foretold the death of Julius Caesar.
These days, light pollution means we’re unlikely to see anything so ominous much further south than Scotland, so streaming may be a good second best for those who can’t make the trip north.
Of course, watching a film of the aurora is not the same as seeing it live, no matter how good the technology. But something of the mysticism is always captured. And the more real, the more magical. Whilst purists may say it should only be seen by those who make the trip, creating new ways to experience its majesty and bringing that spiritual feeling to more people – even in a diluted form – can only be a good thing.
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49b2d76be24617032d27a7971c7a496f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2010/10/22/the-multi-culti-nation-and-its-perils/ | The Multi-Culti Nation And Its Perils | The Multi-Culti Nation And Its Perils
Image via Wikipedia
Juan Williams got fired from NPR for making remarks about Muslims on Fox News where he acknowledged that boarding a flight and seeing people “who are in Muslim garb” makes him nervous. Meanwhile, last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that in Germany the multicultural “approach has failed, utterly failed”. She was ostensibly reacting to a continuing public outcry caused by a video which had captured two immigrant youths, a Greek and a Turk, beating up a German pensioner on the Munich subway.
Let us begin with Merkel. No doubt there's a strong sentiment at play that if you turn your back on them for five minutes those kooky Germans will be marching in jackboots and stiff uniforms on a banner-festooned Brandenburg Gate to launch the glorious Fourth Reich. Therefore, many might feel, the Germans themselves should have no opinions at all on the conduct of immigrants, assimilation, preservation of German values and the like. And since anyplace, anytime, can turn into Weimar in the 1930's, multiculturalism is a good thing everywhere as a ready antidote. In this scenario, cynical politicians are forever 'courting' and 'exploiting' and 'playing to' and 'placating' eternally immutable and globally indigenous – the oxymoron is intentional - neo-fascist elements in order to scare up a few extra votes when they're in trouble for incompetence in other matters such as the economy. In The Guardian's report on Merkel's speech, the first sentence reads “The German Chancellor has courted anti-immigrant opinion,,,” and goes on to talk about a “lurch to the right to placate that element in her party”.
Victor Hanson Davis once said that we should beware of automatically portraying diversity as an absolute virtue (a kind of categorical imperative in the Kantian phrase). He pointed out that the Nazi forces invading Russia featured plenty of diversity – Ukrainians, Poles, Circassians, Chechens, Muslims and others. One might add that the Soviet occupation of anywhere was always ethnically diverse. I drove around various Russian checkpoints during Moscow's invasion of Georgia in 2008 and was astonished to see ethnic Chechens, Koreans, Central Asians in Russian uniform. Empires are usually diverse and they're forever invading others. A Greek and a Turk beating up a geriatric German – how's that for diversity? There is even a kind of Darwinian tinge to the lazy peddling of diversity as the new gospel: it's a healthy phenomenon in nature and therefore must be good for society. Consider that notion for a moment. Survival of the fittest anyone? The closer you scrutinize the diversity mantra, the more contradictory and muddled it looks. I always wonder: why are we anxious to preserve the culture of Amazonian Indians from enforced diversity and integration and not, say, the culture of France?
I do not say these things in the spirit of anything more sinister than a stubborn skepticism toward ill-considered new pieties, in particular when one hears them everywhere invoked to stifle debate. We have taken a faulty syllogism and turned it into the central tenet of our civilization. Bad people exterminate minorities, always have, ergo the entire world must become a nation of immigrants, ergo anyone with a preference for integration over run-away diversity is evil. What happens to site-specific cultures in such a world, or to identities that have evolved in place over centuries or millenia? New Guinea? Tibet? Sooner or later, the lands doing the exporting of immigrants will themselves be patchwork societies with endangered traditions. Global diversity will simply mean global homogenization. We have already forged a new transnational nation, a kind of Comintern, that acts as a mobile pressure group with shared goals and ideologies sans frontieres most notably in the West – the immigrant lobby. As this overwhelming force prevails against localized experience everywhere, cultures will choose, as we do now, to glorify the identity of becoming (over being), a perpetual heroic narrative in which the minority or immigrant experience is always more authentic and more virtuous than the mainstream, indeed displaces the mainstream identity. One might liken this to MaoZedong's permanent cultural revolution, only in the US we call it something else. Meritocracy.
Let us consider this notion of meritocracy. In Germany, as in wider Europe, native citizens resent immigrants for exploiting welfare laws to live off the state – and for refusing to assimilate. In the US, immigrants and their supporters stress their contribution to the economy, their relentless hard work and wealth-creation. To begin with, I am always astonished that no one ever notes the brutishness at the heart of this argument. The essential value of the immigrant apparently resides in his or her economic stats. Come one, come all, turn the society into a lean mean machine of productivity, competition and consumption. Never mind that there can be no true meritocracy or indeed competition when groups inevitably help their own kind with a leg-up and it follows logically that the more subgroups you have the greater the amount of favoritism. As for the very concept of being American, more deeply American than a mere workhorse, that is, of having an American consciousness – we cannot expect that for we cannot define the notion anymore.
One might argue that Wall Street offers the ultimate paradigm of meritocracy. No color, or ethnic or religious bars can fudge the incontrovertible yardstick of profit and loss. Wall Street is definitely a transnational territory, the ultimate post-nation-state enterprise zone founded on pure talent. There meritocracy no longer applies to American merit - if they work like slaves in Guangdong, they get our investment. We've beheld the Wall Street ethos: win at any cost, largely to others, and fudge the yardstick because you can. The bailouts are national, the profits international. One might add that if a competitive multi-ethnic meritocracy offers the surest guarantee of a successful society how come China is doing so well? We keep being told (on NPR and elsewhere) that America is in a longterm decline. Really? It was not so before multiculturalism took hold. Perhaps, after all, a unified national identity offers the best guarantee of success as a country, provides the most enduring reason for people to work hard, to do so selflessly for the broader good, to invest and spend at home rather than abroad, and finally to have a deeper sense of shared consciousness than that of political or minority affiliation.
In the imaginary wonderland of perfect diversity the problem comes, as Juan Williams has found out, when a culture with antagonistic values to our own, which it considers more humane, arrives at our shores. By which I do not mean Islam, or Islam only, but any cultures which intend to assimilate minimally if at all. They do not have to anymore: the world has shrunk radically since the advent of Jews and Italians to a largely Protestant America. These days recent settlers can virtually teleport to the old country as easily as meet citizens on the next street. They do not have to assimilate also because the pro-immigrant lobby will not brook criticism of their cultural separatism. William Saletan writing in Slate has shown how NPR fired Williams on the basis of a doctored video of his appearance on O'Reilly, one put out by left wing bloggers. Here we have Americans punishing Americans for a manufactured, wholly perceptual slight on immigrants, in short a kind of warning to others not to go there. To state the obvious, this fearful Brave New World is unAmerican, does a disservice to Americans and even more to outsiders wishing to become American – if they can understand what that means anymore.
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7ba8f45d83cc274e104c7f10188ff414 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2014/04/16/why-cia-director-brennan-visited-kiev-in-ukraine-the-covert-war-has-begun/ | Why CIA Director Brennan Visited Kiev: In Ukraine The Covert War Has Begun | Why CIA Director Brennan Visited Kiev: In Ukraine The Covert War Has Begun
Ukraine is on the brink of civil war, Vladimir Putin has said, and he should know because the country is already in the midst of a covert intelligence war. Over the weekend, CIA director John Brennan travelled to Kiev, nobody knows exactly why, but some speculate that he intends to open US intelligence resources to Ukrainian leaders about real-time Russian military maneuvers. The US has, thus far, refrained from sharing such knowledge because Moscow is believed to have penetrated much of Ukraine’s communications systems – and Washington isn’t about to hand over its surveillance secrets to the Russians.
If you have any doubts that the battle is raging on the ‘covert ops’ front just consider today’s events in Pcholkino where Ukrainian soldiers from the 25th Airborn Division handed over their weapons and APC’s to pro-Russian militiamen and pretty much surrendered. The Ukrainian commander was quoted as saying “they’ve captured us and are using dirty tricks”. This is the kind of morale-busting incident that can spread quickly. It doesn’t happen spontaneously and it often begins with mixed messages, literally - messages purporting to come from the chain of command but actually originate from the enemy’s dirty tricks department.
So what kind of conversations did Brennan have during his visit? There’s no way of knowing for sure of course. But, according to my sources, and based on my experience of reporting on the Russian invasion of Georgia, the US-Ukraine information exchange would go a lot further than simply tracking numbers and motions of Russian tanks and soldiers. The operative term here is ‘non-lethal’ help – that remains Washington’s official position. But in today’s digital and virtual battlefield, the game can be over before the first shot gets fired. And if Moscow’s mastery over the digital domain can be countered, Putin might think twice about risking the expensive hardware that he has invested billions in upgrading since the Georgian war.
In that conflict, the US refused to sell air-cover missiles (Manpads) to Tbilisi while the Israelis deactivated the ones they’d sold after Putin threatened them with retaliation by selling Hezbollah comparable weapons. So Georgia was left with the Ukraine-made missiles it had purchased, which proved effective but not numerous enough. The Russians have undoubtedly rectified that vulnerability, especially as they and Ukraine share the same weapons systems. In effect, Russian warplanes have likely found ways to jam targeting vectors or to create illusory electronic clusters to decoy the manpads.
So Brennan might have shared data on how to get past the jamming. The same kind of forensic struggle applies to aerial combat, a rare thing these days but one that may become decisive if ground-based missiles prove ineffectual. Since the Russians can hack into any kind of long-distance chatter about such details between the US and Kiev, Brennan probably had to physically hand them over to his Ukrainian interlocutors. That is, to fully vetted individuals, because as we’ve seen repeatedly during the current crisis, not least in the Maidan, Russian spies masquerading as Ukrainian patriots are not uncommon. Ukraine’s politicians and military personnel (though not nearly as much) have a long history of divided loyalties.
Digital conflict, by its very nature, is a shadow conflict and therefore fundamentally psychological. If you lose touch with central command or you suspect the enemy is messing with your communications, you become isolated. You fire at your own side, shoot down your warplanes. In fact, you’re likely to stop shooting altogether, out of confusion and paralysis, as happened in some military bases in Georgia. And now is happening in Ukraine. You don’t know if the coded messages telling you to refrain from firing are a feint or genuine. In a modern war between two sides with hardware i.e. not a guerilla war, line-of-sight engagements occur less often than you’d think. Tanks and planes and artillery get knocked out from afar. Digital certainty is everything. The absence of it spells disaster.
So Brennan needed to reassure his hosts above all on that matter. Or perhaps vice-versa. They might need to reassure the US that Ukraine’s military position is not hopeless. If the US assessed the Ukrainian armed forces as too electronically compromised to use heavy weapons systems, then Washington might discourage a confrontation, might refuse to help in crucial ways, as happened in Georgia. Or Washington might suggest alternate methodologies, low-tech or asymmetrical alternatives, to create enough confusion or humiliation as to tarnish Putin’s popularity. The Russian side has clearly initiated such tactics already. Brennan will try to shore up the security of Ukraine’s military signals systems. He will suggest ways to retaliate in kind by hacking into the pro-Moscow militia’s comms.
To get an idea of how crucial is this stage of the confrontation, just witness how images of Ukrainian armored vehicles now driven by militias have gone global. Moscow will trumpet the news, claiming that even Ukrainian soldiers don’t want to fight, that the US is stoking artificial hatred. The government in Kiev will find itself snookered - either to admit that its signals channels are hopelessly compromised and therefore cannot mount a convincing military operation or that such incidents are spontaneous but limited. A tough position either way. One thing is certain, the war has begun.
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40092476000de2096a76504aca0a183b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2014/05/21/oligarchs-russia-and-ukraine-what-magnitsky-akhmetov-and-kievs-elections-bode/ | Oligarchs, Russia and Ukraine: What Magnitsky, Akhmetov And Kiev's Elections Bode | Oligarchs, Russia and Ukraine: What Magnitsky, Akhmetov And Kiev's Elections Bode
It’s a very risky time for post-Soviet oligarchs. On May 19, Ukraine’s biggest oligarch Rinat Akhmetov came out against separatists and placed himself squarely in the firing line between Moscow and Kiev. On the same day, in Washington, as part of the Magnitsky Act provisions, twelve Russian names were publicly put under US sanctions including that of Dmitry Kluev, said to be chief of a particularly sleazy Russian organized crime group. We all talk breezily about oligarchs in the post-Soviet zone as if it’s a perfectly natural phenomenon like trees or childbirth. In fact, neither oligarchs nor the systems they serve are in a particularly stable, or happy, mutual symbiosis.
During the 1990’s oligarchs forcibly took power over business sectors in the greater Russian geosphere. Then, in some countries, the central government took power back from them. In others, they held sway over the state. In Russia, once elected, Putin unleashed his own St.Petersburg KGB network on the mafia-businessman hierarchy nationwide and took control. In Ukraine, a number of oligarchs entered the political arena, chief among them being Yulia Tymoshenko, in order to defend their leverage. They ended up bigger than the government. You could, in some ways, view it through a historical prism as a repeat of the Czar vs Boyars dramas in Russian history. In Ukraine the boyars won. In Moscow, the Czar. In both places, democracy has been the loser and whereas in Ukraine the public (and some decent oligarchs) wanted democratic change, in Russia this is what they’re used to.
Perhaps the nearest historical comparison to Ukrainian politics to date is the old 18th-19th century British arrangement of “Rotten Boroughs”. Wealthy landowners simply bribed and ordered their constituents to support them for parliament. In Ukraine, in our time, most oligarchs don’t run for parliament but they’ve ‘owned’ entire blocks of votes, meaning MP’s, usually based in regional power bases. This system is precisely what the Maidan crowds came out en masse to protest. They identified Yanukovych with its perpetuation, and with his own added layer of kleptocracy.
Most western commentators don’t mention that the new government in Kiev has essentially appointed the oligarchs as governors of the provinces they control. We will see what Sunday’s election brings but in the interim Kiev has done this as a temporary act of consolidation, hoping that oligarchs will defend Ukrainian unity because they have so much invested in it. Hence the sudden outburst of Rinat Akhmetov against pro-Russian separatism, though he didn’t call it that. He talked about instability and criticized the actions of the Donetsk People’s Republic gang, the separatists. Eastern Ukraine now has to contend with an additional fissure – between those loyal to industrial oligarchs who give them jobs, versus essentially Putin, who would like to take over that function. Kiev is saying to the oligarchs, you can keep your power if you keep your employees loyal to Ukraine. Not much democracy either way. Not a scenario that the maidan crowds fought for at all.
Another consideration: none of these power bases or even these jobs would exist if the national economy got integrated into Europe – or for that matter into the global system. The industrial region of Donetsk still operates largely outdated machinery based on equally outdated principles of overemployment. It would all fall apart if exposed to real market conditions. And if those jobs disappear, what happens to stability? You can understand why Europe was deeply reluctant to take on Ukraine’s problems.
You can also understand why Vladimir Putin was, indeed is, relatively relaxed about the prospect. This is how he runs his own national economy. Outside of the fuel and natural resources sector, very little of the Russian industrial system could compete internationally. Ok throw in military materiel, research and defense exports. Outside of that, you’ve got a kind of massive oil (and gas) sheikdom in disguise. Revenues from raw material sales abroad subsidize the rest of the economy. Adding Crimea and Donetsk don’t change the game for Putin. Crimea’s shale gas reserves in Moscow’s hands make it doubly useful – they add to his portfolio and subtracted they deprive Ukraine of future fuel independence. Donetsk anyway was built by the Soviets in order to integrate into the greater Russian mass employment, mass complaisance, system.
Which brings us back to oligarchs. The Russian version, controlled by the Kremlin, adds up to a pyramidical structure of social control. Perhaps we should call it order. A very Darwinian form of governance. Russian oligarchs know that if they slip up their end looks a lot like Berezovsky’s in England. They knuckle under. Those beneath them do the same. In return, everyone gets paid (ultimately) by Kremlin oil sales. Oligarchs manage their fiefdoms like semi-respectable crime families. But the whole also comprises a huge scary prison where you have to watch your back every minute and nothing you own absolutely belongs to you. That’s why they all educate kids abroad where they also keep their money stashed. (What parent would willingly inculcate innocent children in the principles of such a life?) That’s why even the Kluev gang will feel the pinch of personalized western sanctions.
Torture, murder, kidnapping, intimidation, with lawyers and MP’s not just complicit but actively involved – the Dimitry Kluev mafia bought itself state protection by stealing from the state. Magnitsky’s great crime was that he wanted to expose them for funneling $800 million of Russian money abroad, much of it stolen taxes. They killed him for it. He apparently didn’t realize that Moscow allows mafias to operate. They also killed random employees and blamed them for their own crimes. Putin likely didn’t know about the Kluev gang at first, but he now does and will ask them for payment in kind soon enough. Or he will wait for them to justify their existence to him. They might have to assassinate a journalist or a dissident abroad.
It’s astonishing that ethnic Russians in Ukraine and elsewhere should voluntarily opt to join such a system, when others around them are trying to leave it behind. It’s not surprising that Ukrainian oligarchs want desperately to avoid it.
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db903a4acacc193f0cb6dda93a6758c2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2014/07/02/how-to-help-ukraine-survive-putins-onslaught/ | How To Help Ukraine Survive Putin's Onslaught | How To Help Ukraine Survive Putin's Onslaught
In Ukraine, President Poroshenko has moved on quashing the separatists in the East with heavy armor and fresh troops. As full-scale conflict unfolds, crucial to the outcome of the whole enterprise will be the readiness of Ukraine’s armed forces. It’s no small question. Training, logistical support, equipment, communications – all these things come together to comprise the morale of the front line soldier. Ukrainians have already proved their willingness to fight and die for their democratic revolution, and a fortiori for independence from Moscow. The question is, how ready is their military to manage the task. By now Putin’s zigzag shenanigans indicate that he has a longterm strategy in mind, namely to keep the East of Ukraine unstable for several years as he has done in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Trans-Dnistra, wearing out the will and resources of the central government in each place. As has happened before, Putin calculates that the EU and Western powers will fall asleep on the issue over time, and the strategy will succeed again.
President Poroshenko, in turn, understands that he must deal with the problem quickly and decisively or fall prey to the Putin doctrine. All eyes are on Ukraine’s military. What’s their status? Answer: they need help, badly. The first thing to note is that ousted President Yanukovych stole from the army as much as anywhere else. The figures are blurry as yet, but they’re in the billions. In order to do so, he had to run the institution as a corrupt enterprise. To become a general you had to pay his people $50,000 dollars up front and then make it up by stealing from supplies. His military was top heavy with generals, as one can imagine. According to American expatriate Andy Bain, Kiev resident and colonel in the US Marine Corps Reserve who acted as liaison to allied Ukrainian troops in Iraq, it’s not clear if Yanukovych sabotaged the military on purpose in order to weaken it. Nobody knows. But there are lots of rumors about pro-Russian top brass running things during Yanukovych’s time.
Either way, Bain understands that Ukraine’s armed forces need help fast. To that end he has helped launch a fund which now has official non-profit status in the US (with auditing by a top international accounting firm) to provide non-lethal aid to the effort to maintain Ukraine’s independence. It’s called Ukrainian Freedom Fund and here’s the website http://ukrfreedomfund.org/ . As Bain tells it, when he asked his old Ukrainian soldier pals from Iraq how they were faring they gave him disturbing news. They didn’t have enough new batteries even to start up their trucks. He was able the needed funds to meet that exigency and has now turned the endeavor into an official NGO. The units who first got aid from him are now in the front line. Says Bain, “the need exists at all levels: they’re shortstaffed and undersupplied on body armor, medicine, helmets, first aid kits – it’s a long list.”
While Ukraine’s military management is on a far firmer footing than ever in the post-Soviet period – the general in charge of operations served in Iraq – Bain cannot understand US policy toward Ukraine. Washington has pledged a mere $5million in non-lethal aid, way too little by any measure. Bain knows whereof he speaks, with several family members being military veterans and he himself having graduated from Yale and served in the Marines since 1986. He lived in Ukraine during the 1990’s and was called up again for both Desert Storm and the Iraq War. In the latter, when the ground campaign ended, he became liaison to the Ukrainian battalion in 2003. As a result, his undertaking has full support from top official channels such as Ukraine’s National Security Council and National Guard.
I have met Andy Bain and he embodies the integrity suggested by his CV, conscientious, honest, hardworking and brave. In the current world climate, the voluntarism of the bad guys grabs all the headlines. The civilized world understandably balks at further involvement in confrontation after a decade of war and three trillion in expenditure. The future may lie in the hands of voluntarism by good guys like Andy Bain. It may indeed be our only option for now if, during the West’s phase of well-earned caution, we are to counter the advance of barbarism everywhere. Caution is one thing but total retreat from world affairs is only going to cost more in the long run. Where Washington may feel that it has no business hijacking the popular will into further adventures, the initiative is left to the people themselves to make the choice individually.
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c40141234d3e972fdd9de0254975d322 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2015/10/12/in-turkey-the-ankara-suicide-bombing-shows-that-erdogans-party-must-go/ | In Turkey, The Ankara Suicide-Bombings Show That Erdogan's Party Must Go | In Turkey, The Ankara Suicide-Bombings Show That Erdogan's Party Must Go
People carry the coffin of a victim of the twin bombings in Ankara, during the funeral in Istanbul... [+] today. Turkey woke in mourning on October 11 after at least 95 people were killed by suspected suicide bombers at a peace rally of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists in Ankara, the deadliest such attack in the country's recent history. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
According to Turkey's venerable Ataturkist secular newspaper Cumhuriyet, something like 694 people have died from political violence since the June 7 national election produced a hung parlaiment. That includes the 100 or more deaths on Saturday from the twin suicide bombings in Ankara at the pre-peace march gathering (more about that below). Soon after the June election, with some sobriety amid the euphoria I had predicted just such polarization in this column. “A fundamental player in the equation” I wrote, “has no interest but to let things get very bad indeed,” meaning Erdogan and his party. I predicted political deadlock. I wasn't too popular for doing so. Many Turks were overjoyed that democracy had spoken; Erdogan's AKP had failed to win the outright majority he needed to move power from Parliament to himself at the Presidency. The Kurdish minority party had passed the 10% mark and pro-democracy Turks celebrated their nation's political maturity.
Then on July 20 a suicide-bombing by ISIS in the Kurdish town of Suruc killed 30 and re-ignited a full-blown Kurdish insurgency. The Kurdish PKK terror army blamed the state for being complicit in the anti-Kurd bombings. Since then almost every week, the PKK has killed soldiers, police, cadets and officials. In the biggest Kurdish area city of Diyarbakir and elsewhere neighborhoods have declared themselves "liberated zones." In response, the military has virtually besieged some towns. I had also warned in a June 27 column, “For Erdogan it’s even better that there’s no government. He rules by diktat. To do so, he needs crises. He’s busy creating them. Stoking the Kurdish conflict simply polarizes the country further, catalyzes civil war Assad-style. He will call a sudden election when things are bad enough.”
All of that has come to pass. The June election led nowhere: parlaiment failed to form a new government. AKP continued in power by default. The country teeters on the brink of civil war. The police confront every protest violently. Dissenting journalists, even media owners, are being named publicly and attacked by clandestine mobs. A new election was called for November. Erdogan bombed Kurds in Syria and Iraq and mostly ignored ISIS. The PKK has helped him out with relentless counter-violence. He is cannily letting his lame-duck Prime Minister Davutoglu take the heat much of the time. No doubt, Erdogan hopes to ride in eventually as the unsoiled white knight. Meanwhile, the campaign against legitimate Kurdish politics continues with arrests and violence although ISIS is allowed to hold actual semi-public meetings in Ankara and Istanbul and elsewhere unmolested. I made the comparison to Assad advisedly. Erdogan, like Assad (and Putin) attacks the moderate and legitimate opposition first while letting extremism grow--then hopes to keep power as a populist strongman imposing order and security.
Democracy may yet unseat him. The Kurdish party's leader, Selahattin Demirtas, keeps calling for calm. He knows that the only way to foil the government's strategy is to hold back extremism. He is said to be under strong pressure from the hard men of the PKK. One can only pray that he survives the threat from both sides. His extraordinarily eloquent and restrained speeches after the carnage on Saturday shows how he has matured in tragedy. Especially his second speech: He spoke of taking the funerals across the country, promised to stem the tide of panic and fear. He deplored Prime Minister Davutoglu's speech for accusing him (Demirtas) of causing trouble and said:
I didn't threaten anyone and wouldn't. As Selahattin Demirtas, I speak only as someone who in a few months has lost over 150 friends in this and similar attacks. You (the Prime Minister) haven't caught a single culprit, not in Suruc, not in Diyarbakir, and you won't in Ankara. And you wont uncover the forces behind the attacks. Shamelessly, you claimed as Prime Minister, as interim Prime Minister, you said just an hour ago that you had successfully caught the perpetrator of the Suruc attack and delivered him to justice. He who was blown to pieces in his own suicide bombing. You arrested who and delivered him where? You won't arrest anyone or uncover anything because there's no mystery. These aren't shadowy incidents. In the most blatant way they are intended to send a message that in the middle of Ankara they will blow us to pieces. And it's not just an attack against us only by the way. Anyone who defies or stands up to this AKP mentality will also be torn to pieces and it will be covered up – that's the message. And I don't say any of this to arbitrarily accuse or smear anyone or even even for political campaigning or to gain political advantage or power. Your palaces and thrones may (take time to) crumble but we wouldn't exchange a fingernail of one of our dead loved ones for the trillions that you have embezzled.
Demirtas went onto point out that the Prime Minister had spoken for a half hour and had devoted 20 minutes of it to insulting and threatening him (Demirtas) who had just lost 100 friends. Without criticizing ISIL once. The Kurdish party leader, in Turkish any orator might envy, went on to say “who are you to threaten and insult us? You're not our (elected) Prime Minister that's true,, nor will we let you kill us. We are not the ones to be held to account, you are. Insulting and besmirching us while our dead are still in the morgue, while we still haven't cleared the limbs from the square. You're not even a real Prime Minister. Every day we're the ones dying. We're the soldiers. We're the police. We're Kurds. We're Turks. We're the children of impoverished folk who are the ones dying. You're not dying. We are witness to where your children are living.” (In recent months, the papers revealed that Erdogan's son had moved in luxury permanently to Italy, with the implication that Erdogan had sent him to safety knowing that Turkey would get dangerous.)
In all of this, by Demirtas and around the country generally, the talk is that the government was in some way complicit with the atrocities, at the very least through omission. He and various commentators pointed out that in an atmosphere where no one, certainly in the Kurdish areas, can move without being watched, but particularly in Ankara which teems with public cameras and spies, somehow two suicide bombers got through unchecked. Videos confirm his points that there was almost no security except after the blasts when police cordons appeared and prevented ambulances from getting through which triggered riots which then led to the tear gassing of victims and their helpers. There are reports also that an unauthorized figure with a megaphone called people to a meeting place where the suicide bombers struck.
That leaves us with the larger question: whither Turkey now? Among anti-AKP Turks there's a gloomy feeling that the situation will be brought to boiling-point so AKP can declare a state of emergency and postpone elections indefinitely. Or large areas of Kurdish towns will not be allowed to vote under daylong curfews. If any of that happens, the country will most likely slide into total conflict. If the military doesn't intervene with a coup--highly unlikely these days--then it will probably fragment the way Assad's did between loyalists and democrats. Keep in mind that Turkey is still supposed to function as the eastern bulwark of Nato at a time when the strategic threat from Moscow has resurfaced in spades. And as a bulwark against Iran and not least ISIS. Chaos in Turkey will certainly spill over into Europe. The elections in November, clean elections, offer a last chance.
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325f2503df467291eda56ec3eda25794 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2018/04/13/the-gathering-storm-what-the-us-will-and-wont-do-in-syria/ | The Gathering Storm: What The US Will And Won't Do In Syria | The Gathering Storm: What The US Will And Won't Do In Syria
We are at a moment familiar to so many generations, one that has spawned any number of stock phrases and book titles: winds of war, gathering storm, let slip the dogs of war. The central question that haunts General Mattis is also familiar to past ages. In the current iteration it's about avoiding a strategic all-out conflict with Russia and its allies while punishing Assad. The enemy, for its part, keeps making noises about just that danger as a disincentivizing threat to the US and allies. France and Britain have joined the cause by sending warships. This time around though, a sharp display of pyrotechnics won't suffice because it didn't work last time. Assad did it again – like Putin, he seems drawn to brinkmanship. He calculates that the West will prefer to make noise, declare a victory and go home. Past experience tells him he has no reason to think otherwise.
The White House has three possible levels of objective in the impending action 1) Satisfying domestic opinion 2)Satisfying domestic opinion and genuinely punishing Assad so he learns his lesson 3)Changing things so radically that the entire scene looks different and better. All without getting slowly sucked in for the long term. The entire process is under minute scrutiny worldwide and any whiff of putting on a mere show will quickly backfire – the US media would love to accuse President Trump of conspiring with Moscow to go easy on Assad. Numbers 2 and 3 are awfully close together in real terms: you can't conclusively expunge Assad's impunity without, to some degree, affecting the power equations on the ground.
Since the Iraq debacle, so publicly deplored by President Trump in his campaign, the US has fought shy of total immersion in Mideast conflicts. Lots of people in the area believe this to be an elaborate dissimulation with the true aim being to gradually reduce to rubble all countries hostile to the US and Israel. The logic dictates that Iran is next. We may, indeed, see a fulsome obliteration of Iranian assets in Syria and environs. Now that ISIS is ostensibly disbanded, Tehran's proxies serve no counter-balancing purpose and Washington may feel it's time to weaken them comprehensively, the IRGC, Hezbollah et al. Which would involve parts of Lebanon and Iraq, perhaps even Iran itself.
On the plus side of such a strategy for the Trump White House: you largely avoid Russian elements; you put paid to the Iran nuclear deal unilaterally; you reorient Lebanon away from Hezbollah's sway; you don't topple Assad completely which would create a vacuum you'd need to fill with US troops; you empower US allies Israel and the Saudis and you halt Tehran's growing regional hegemony. That's if you plan on doing something genuinely efficacious. Even if you don't have big plans, even if you intend merely to put on a massive fireworks display, Israel won't miss a chance to reverse Iranian leverage and you'll likely find yourself drawn into a wider picture willy-nilly. So you may as well go for it upfront. Oh and incidentally, or not, you offer Turkey the chance to fill any holes left by Iran in Syria, nicely putting Erdogan and Putin at odds.
Which brings us to the minus side. Moscow may not sit on its hands even if you attack only Assad and Tehran assets. Hezbollah will likely launch a diversionary attack on Israel as Saddam did in the first Gulf War. Turkey may choose to gain territory from the Kurds rather than Assad-Tehran. France may peel off if things get out of hand. The mullahs might declare total war and move to close the Straits of Hormuz. Any counter-attack by Tehran or its proxies on US or Saudi or Israeli targets anywhere in the world will trigger attacks on Iran itself. Which will lead to all-out regional conflict. Which is, undoubtedly, what the Western allies are gaming out so meticulously as additional US aircraft carriers take a couple of weeks to arrive in the region. How to avoid all out war, or how to win all-out war.
If you think it through in detail, there really is no way to do anything substantive and avoid a full face-off with Assad and the Mullahs. The Russians will likely stay out of a total conflict – simply because Moscow doesn't have the means to prosecute one for very long. But nobody wants to see how it would pan out in the real world. Hence, the scurrying of Assad's military on to Russian bases in Syria calculating the US won't attack those. Still, the Kremlin can't protect Iran's widespread instruments in the region and they would be the logical choice for depletion. Unless the allies are girding up mightily just to destroy a string of abandoned strongholds, my guess is they will destroy those anyway AND various collateral objectives associated with Iranian power. If so, it won't be long before the US has to deal with a resurgence of radical jihadism in the area.
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0bd2b26f3548ba57351a8c39442ffa11 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melindanewman/2016/04/23/bruce-springsteen-plays-princes-purple-rain-watch-entire-song/ | Bruce Springsteen Plays Prince's 'Purple Rain': Watch Entire Performance | Bruce Springsteen Plays Prince's 'Purple Rain': Watch Entire Performance
Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to Prince, who died Thursday, in concert tonight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Springsteen, who closes out the sold out U.S. leg of his "The River" tour Monday night at Barclays, opened the show bathed in purple light with a sad, sweet version of Prince classic "Purple Rain." Nils Lofgren, one of the few guitarists who could hold his own against Prince, provided a searing guitar solo.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 28: Bruce Springsteen performs onstage at Madison Square Garden on March 28,... [+] 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Springsteen, who told the audience "Whenever I saw Prince, I left the show humbled," concluded the performance saying "Prince Forever. God bless." Sadly, it's not the first time even this year that The Boss has paid tribute to fallen rockers. "The River" tour opened on Jan. 16, less than a week after David Bowie died. Springsteen played "Rebel Rebel" that night in homage. Then, following Glenn Frey's Jan. 19 death, Springsteen and the E Street Band played Eagles classic "Take It Easy" at his Jan. 20 show.
"Purple Rain," of course, is the title track to Prince's 1984 movie of the same name. The movie, which reopened in theaters this weekend as a homage to Prince, originally grossed $68 million with a budget of $7.2 million, according to Box Office Mojo. With his music not available for streaming other than via Tidal, Prince's album sales have gone crazy since his death. His albums occupy the top six spaces on iTunes' Top Albums chart, while he occupies the top seven slots on iTunes' Top Songs chart.
After a few weeks off, Springsteen and The E Street Band head to Europe for a stadium tour. Those shows, which start May 14 in Barcelona, will be regular Springsteen shows and will not include performances of his 1980 double album The River from start to finish as the U.S. dates have.
Between the U.S. leg and the European shows, Springsteen should gross enough to regain the top spot as the No. 1 grossing solo artist. Madonna bumped The Boss out of the top spot earlier this year with her Rebel Heart tour. When that tour's grosses were added in to her revenue since 1990--the year Billboard Boxscore started tallying-- she reached $1.31 billion, high enough to bump Springsteen's $1.25 billion back to second place for a solo act. The highest overall earner is The Rolling Stones at $1.84 billion.
Below is Springsteen's full performance of "Purple Rain."
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cca14910f953d7201eb9cc6a8b5884c0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melindanewman/2016/12/27/dispatch-from-cuba-whats-to-come-in-a-post-fidel-trump-world/ | Dispatch From Cuba: What's To Come In A Post-Fidel, Trump World? | Dispatch From Cuba: What's To Come In A Post-Fidel, Trump World?
Cubans await for the passage of the urn with the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro on its way to... [+] the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago, Cuba on December 4, 2016.(Photo credit: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s too soon to know what President-elect Donald Trump’s policies toward Cuba will be and if he’ll repeal President Obama’s executive orders that have helped lead to a friendlier relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, but one thing is clear— private entrepreneurship in Cuba is rolling ahead at a rapid rate and likely nothing that will stop it. Plus, as U.S.-owned cruise ship-and-airlines are investing by increasing ports-of-call and flights to Cuba (not to mention companies like AirBnB moving in), they are betting that pent-up demand will fill planes and boats.
During a recent two-week trip across the island nation, there was tremendous evidence— especially in the tourism industry, where individuals are running businesses such as restaurants and Casa Particulares (think bed and breakfasts),—that Cuba is bursting at the seams with opportunities. But it was also clear that the growth hasn’t come without some economic pains (This New York Times story perfectly details the double-edged sword that that increase in tourism brings and we witnessed during our visit). Plus, the state continues to control all major businesses, such as banking and manufacturing, and farmers producing the biggest crops—sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco—must sell 90% of their yield to the government— so the smaller industries are where private enterprise thrives.
First, a little background: In 1990, 120,000 Cubans were employed by the non-state sector, now that number is 1.48 million, or roughly 15 % of the population (we also heard numbers as high as 25%). Of the 60 % of Cubans still working state jobs, many are making money via a side hustle or under the table. They call such earnings “La Lucha" (the struggle) because without “La Lucha,” it is difficult to live on state wages, which average $20/month (it was eye-opening to realize the very reasonable tip our 25-person group gave our tour guide for two weeks of work amounted to several years’ salary). With tourism increasing from 300,000 in 1990 to 3.5 million people in 2016, the tourist sector is the easiest way to make “La Lucha,” whether through working as a musician (there’s live music everywhere you turn in Cuba) or driving a taxi or selling items on the black market.
In 2011, the Cuban government lessened restrictions for the private sector. For towns like the historic colonial city of Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage site, it has meant an increase of 8,000 hotel rooms in four years created by private entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs’ ability to pay much higher wages than the state has siphoned off workers who normally would help keep Trinidad’s infrastructure running. The sidewalks are badly in need of repair, but all the masons are working on Casa Particulares. With the state now allowing B&B owners to increase the number of rooms they can rent to tourists, they are pouring money back into their investments.
Over and over we heard from Cubans that they hoped that in 10 years Cuba could be like Vietnam or China— communist countries that have thriving capitalist business models. Without continued growth, they fear there is no way to stop the brain drain of the 30-and-younger set who are thinking more about how to leave Cuba instead of staying. Without accelerated changes, they have no incentive to stay given the low wages and lack of possibilities. Also, they are growing up with more ability to travel than the previous generation. Since 2012, Cubans can travel where they want if the country they are traveling to will issue them a visa—that’s a big if— and if they have money, which the majority do not.
Also holding back progress is the lack of available internet. Most Cubans have little internet access and where there are hot spots that connect to ETECSA, the state-run wifi, the cost (roughly $2/hour) is too expensive for most Cubans. Earlier this month, Google and ETECSA signed a deal to speed up the internet service for Cubans who already use Google entities, like YouTube, but that is not expected to increase the access for most Cubans. As internet access spreads, expect the whole dynamic of the country to change.
Another big issue, of course, is the U.S. embargo, which could only be lifted by congressional vote. With Fidel Castro’s death and his brother Raul stepping aside in 2018, there’s hope that the U.S. will finally see fit to end the 54-year boycott and take advantage of the tremendous opportunity as well. Trump has explored business possibilities in Cuba before and his own interest in developing there could ultimately lead to convincing Congress to remove one of the biggest shackles on Cuban development. As one urban planner told us, “The day after lifting the embargo, there will be a tsunami of investors and developers.”
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97e2290fa4a0537f6fcc112a4edb6eb9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissaagnes/2016/11/30/do-you-trust-your-team-in-a-crisis-and-more-importantly-do-they-trust-themselves/ | Do You Trust Your Team In A Crisis, And, More Importantly, Do They Trust Themselves? | Do You Trust Your Team In A Crisis, And, More Importantly, Do They Trust Themselves?
You may empower your team, but if they don't trust in their own capabilities, your crisis management... [+] risks being a flop - with dire consequences. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
I recently published a #CrisisReady video to address one simple question I get asked often: what is the first step in successful crisis management? While I go more in-depth in the video, to summarize, the first step is to get the right people in the room to assess the extent of the incident and its (potential) impact on both the business and stakeholders. The second step is to determine whether it is, in fact, a crisis, and then to identify the immediate next steps for effective crisis management and response.
Who Are The Right People?
The C-Suite or senior management team is the core of your crisis management team. They’re the ones responsible and accountable for the organization’s response to the crisis, so they of course need to be present. But you also need to include key people who can give the executives the right information, in order to make informed and effective crisis management decisions.
Depending on your organization and the incident at hand, these "key people" can include representatives from impacted stakeholder groups, as well as heads of any business sectors, departments, regions, products, and or services that may be affected. You also need to include people from Legal, Compliance, Risk Management and any others, depending on your organization and the incident, to make sure you have all of your bases covered. This team will have a variety of perspectives as they each have different touch points within the organization, and it's each of these perspectives that will help senior management understand the full breadth and depth of the crisis, and determine the organization's appropriate response and next steps.
The Difference Between Being #CrisisReady And Crisis Management
I received a lot of feedback on Twitter from this video, the most I've ever received in fact. But there was one reaction that stuck out to me the most. This person's reaction was to basically say "Yeah, sure, get the right people in the room, but you can do that at any time. Actually, the first step is to be able to empower the team to enable a dynamic and flexible response capability."
While this may seem like a reasonable response, I want to take a moment to make something very clear: this is not the first step in crisis management. Instead, it is one of the most important steps when implementing a crisis-ready corporate culture. There’s a big difference between the two— one has a clock ticking down, while the other is an ongoing process that needs to begin now, before crisis strikes.
The Role Of Empowerment And Trust In Crisis Management
Empowerment is a word that’s thrown around a lot, often as a verb: “we need to empower X to Y.” The thing to realize is that it’s intricately intertwined with trust: yes, you need to empower your employees, but to empower them, you first need to trust in their capabilities and understanding of their role within a given situation. Alternatively, for empowerment to be effective, your employees also need to trust in themselves. This empowerment and trust will have a direct and powerful impact on your organization's crisis management.
For example, I recently conducted a crisis simulation with one of my clients where one of the biggest takeaways was that management realized that, while they were ready and willing to empower and trust their team to execute on the crisis management strategy they developed, their team did not trust themselves to do this. As a result, the team would not execute or implement any part of the strategy, without first sending every little detail to management for approval on a micro-management level, which frustrated management and delayed much of the organization’s response to the simulated crisis.
Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. And yet empowerment and trust is a necessity when implementing a crisis-ready corporate culture.
How To Cultivate Empowerment And Trust To Truly Be Crisis-Ready
Implementing a crisis-ready corporate culture requires, amongst other things, effective and regular training. I often say that you never want to experience a crisis, but in a crisis, you hope to have experience. The proper training gains you that experience. It also builds skilled and efficient teams, confidence and that coveted trust we keep talking about.
In my experience, crisis simulations are the best way to go about doing this, as they don’t just provoke reflection and dialogue, but also develop muscle memory and confidence as they actually require the team to do, not just discuss.
In the moments of a breaking crisis, you don’t want your team to have to fall back on the plan, reading it verbatim. The plan is there for guidance and as a training tool. You also don't want your team seeking guidance from senior management at every turn. This will inhibit the organization's effective response to the incident. Instead, your objective needs to be to get to a place where your team intuitively knows what external stakeholders need and expect, as well as what is expected of them from leadership.
On the other hand, leadership also needs to build trust in their team and feel comfortable letting go of the reins. The goal is to get leadership to a place where they can confidently say: "You're ready, I trust you. Here’s the strategy and directives, now go implement them."
Empowerment Is A Two-Way Street
What's key to understand about empowerment is that it’s a two-way street. Leaders can direct all the positive, supportive, trusting energy in the world towards their team. They can do everything they can think of to empower them, but at the end of the day, all will be for nothing if their team doesn’t trust themselves first. And without that trust and empowerment from both ends, your organization’s crisis management risks being ineffective.
Are You Ready?
Does your leadership feel comfortable and confident in the crisis management capabilities of their team? And on the other hand, does the team feel empowered? Do they feel as though they are qualified to make difficult decisions when time is of the essence?
This deep level of preparation doesn’t happen overnight, but it needs to happen in order to have a team that can successfully navigate anything that gets thrown at them.
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2796ae5308a13dfb99883c35d82feae9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissabrinks/2018/08/28/experimental-games-invigorate-the-industry-so-why-dont-they-see-more-coverage/ | Experimental Games Invigorate The Industry, So Why Don't They See More Coverage? | Experimental Games Invigorate The Industry, So Why Don't They See More Coverage?
Game development is more accessible than ever—engines and platforms like Unity, Renpy and Cryengine have free or low-cost versions, and itch.io allows developers to upload and charge money for games at no cost, unlike Steam. Smartphones are ubiquitous, and according to the ESA, an incredible two-thirds of households play games.
In theory, the time is right for experimental games to enjoy more mainstream attention and sales, but few do. It’s tempting to blame an oversaturated market or a lack of interest on the consumer’s part, but that isn’t the whole picture. Experimental games—those games that push the envelope, whether mechanically, visually, narratively or in any other fashion—exist and can be enjoyed by anyone. So why aren’t they getting attention?
ceMelusine's 'Temple' is an experimental game in which players worship at a mysterious temple. ceMelusine
According to experimental developer ceMelusine, it hasn't always been this way.
A few years ago, "It felt like people could get excited about new and challenging ideas coming to them from the odd corners of the internet," he said in an email. "Currently, games culture feels very homogenized to me . . . AAA games are 'bigger and better' than ever, but 90% of them are a regurgitation of what sold last year."
The source of homogenization ranges from the fact that developers more or less have to be on Steam to attract enough of an audience to make a living to the lack of press coverage for experimental work. More widely available tools and publishing options, such as itch.io, don't do much if nobody is seeking out or playing the games in question. When we only look at them as fleeting oddities rather than as interesting, inspirational facets of the industry, we miss out on a thriving scene of creative work.
Especially because even if they’re not getting the mainstream attention of AAA titles, experimental games have an impact on the industry. It’s thanks to Tale of Tales’ The Graveyard, a slow-paced, introspective game, that we have Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’ Tibetan village scene—one of the few quiet moments of the game. Creators like Porpentine, known for her surrealist Twine games, make gloriously weird narrative art that would put Death Stranding to shame, but rarely do they get the same big-budget success or even authorial clout of Hideo Kojima, Fumito Ueda, or Neil Druckmann. Experimental game devs take risks, AAA devs profit.
For ceMelusine, who is currently working on a collection of experimental games called East Van EP, profit isn't necessarily the endgame. There are a lot of reasons to make games, not all of them monetary.
"I always hope that the reception to a given game will be some kind of forward momentum for its creator, regardless of whether that's press, players, money, or whatever," he says. "I'm interested in people being able to build up towards being able to produce larger works." Without people playing and talking about them outside of the experimental developer community, those things aren't really possible.
Even if designers of experimental games aren’t in it for profit, it’s both disheartening and frustrating to know that games will likely be looked over in favor of praising the AAA game that paid homage to experimental work and raked in money for doing it. While some indie games do hit it big, it’s rare, and experimental games have an even harder time of it. It falls to press and players to seek these games out, but small, avant-garde work is constantly being drowned out by the bombast of the AAA space.
What’s particularly frustrating about this is that we need experimental games, but we don’t pay enough attention to them except when they inspire the franchises we’re already familiar with. While it’s great that The Graveyard inspired Uncharted 2—it’s one of the best moments of the game—Tale of Tales probably never reaped the benefits of being inspiring.
But these are games that push the industry in new directions, and they deserve a wider audience than just other game developers and the rare player who stumbles upon them.
As ceMelusine puts it, "Games culture needs a healthy experimental scene to keep the medium relevant." Though AAA games may be innovative on occasion, there is fascinating, wonderful work being done in experimental games—work that can be missed if you don't know where to look.
But that's where change is possible. "I think it's the responsibility of the entire games community to find ways to encourage the experimental work they find and enjoy," says ceMelusine. "No one person can make this happen, but a concerted effort from a group of people who care can make a big difference."
Experimental work is everywhere, if you know where to look. Following one experimental developer—ceMelusine recommends people like Nathalie Lawhead, Robert Yang, Eric-June Hornby, Kitty Horrorshow and Audrey Moon—can lead you down the path to even more creators. The experimental game community also works under other genre names, including scratchware, notgames, queer games and so on. The #altgames and #artgames hashtags on Twitter can also be excellent places to find these kinds of projects, which are often free or cheap and comparatively quick to play through.
Even if no singular game is owed an audience, to ignore an entire scene is to do one of the most exciting areas of game development an enormous disservice. And finding and celebrating these games is something anybody can do; you don't need a huge audience or a mainstream publication to tell a friend about an experimental game you played that interested you. If we only look at what's being covered in the mainstream, we'll miss all of the exciting stuff that's being done elsewhere.
Despite the lack of coverage, experimental game developers keep doing the work, sharing one anothers' projects and supporting each other to help keep the genre going. As ceMelusine says, "The energy has taken on a lot of masks over the years. It mutates, shifts and sometimes diminishes, but it never dies."
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186fa30f4309a6039a1fa93caf88b017 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissabrinks/2019/07/01/explore-comfort-and-self-reflection-in-cozy-games/?sh=21e8709f4127 | Explore Comfort And Self-Reflection In Cozy Games | Explore Comfort And Self-Reflection In Cozy Games
As the world of AAA games trends toward high-resolution, realistic graphics and fast-paced gameplay, the indie world is exploring something else entirely: coziness.
Coziness is not a new principle in game design; Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing are two oft-cited examples of the design philosophy, as both games shift away from the immediate threats of life and death that typically define player actions in games toward moments of growth, self-reflection and creativity.
Participants in 2018's Project Horseshoe, a think tank comprised of game developers, developed some working principles for understanding what coziness in game design is and isn't. At its most basic, cozy game design assumes that the four most prominent needs from Maslow's hierarchy—shelter, thirst, hunger and safety—are satisfied. What you're left with is connectedness, self-reflection and mastery, which afford designers new avenues of gameplay exploration. When you're not threatened with starvation or death, what do you do?
Chook and Sosig Walk the Plank TookiPalooki
That's what game designers like Sarah Asquith, also known as TookiPalooki, are interested in. Asquith is the designer behind the Chook and Sosig series of point-and-click adventures, which follow the titular cat and spectral fowl on a series of bizarre adventures. The most recent game in the series, Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank has the two characters playing a tabletop RPG together, exploring the world as fictional pirates.
For Asquith, cozy game design considers mechanics outside of combat. "[It's] design which rewards and encourages aspects like talking to characters and strengthening relationships and exploring those relationships…. encouraging a player to create and build something rather than destroying it," she said in an email.
That doesn't mean that cozy games are devoid of conflict or stressors. In fact, the Chook and Sosig series is rife with surrealist, sometimes downright creepy humor—though not necessarily threatening, these moments of surprise and fear can actually serve to enhance the cozier aspects. Think of Breath of the Wild's cooking mechanic, or the scene early in Uncharted 4 where Elena and Nathan play Crash Bandicoot together. Because both games contain a great deal of life-or-death struggle, these moments stand out in comparison.
"I tend to enjoy games, movies and books which also focus on the effects a situation and how they cope with stress, rather than the focus being the event itself," Asquith said, "so I started to explore and play with how characters might respond to outlandish scenarios."
That outlandishness, whether it's ghosts, pirates, money-hungry megalomaniacs or Lynels, can counterbalance the potential for saccharine sweetness in cozy game design. As the designers of Project Horseshoe discussed, cuteness and child-friendly visuals are not necessary for cozy design, though they may be included.
Ooblets Glumberland
Take Ooblets, for example. The visuals are bright, cheery and almost childlike in appearance; the game could easily appeal to children as well as adults. But Ooblets lacks the almost dizzying stimuli of many children's games, which tend to be loud and focused on basic mechanics like gathering items or avoiding obstacles rather than reflection or meditation. Instead, Ooblets—at least from the demo I played at PAX West 2018—is cheery and charming, but also overwhelmingly chill. It doesn't have the frenetic pace of many games aimed at children, instead encouraging you to collect and dance your way to happiness at your own pace.
As conversations about crunch and chronic overwork in the games industry become more prominent, coziness grows in relevance. The game designers of Project Horseshoe devoted a section of their report to cozy-inspired game design, including methods of avoiding crunch.
For Asquith, who works primarily as a solo developer, it's also a concern. "I like to give out a positive outlook for the most part, as I think it affects those around you," she said. "And also, working solo it can be very easy to let a bad mood really swallow you up! So looking after my state of mind and my environment is very important to me, and trying to manage stressors is an ever-present thing."
Elements of coziness have existed through game design's history, but there is a recent trend toward even the most intense AAA games having moments of peace, as well. According to Asquith, "coziness and self-care have become very important conversations recently—the more open discussion around taking care of mental health and spotting signs of burnout have been refreshing."
This isn't just true of designers; players need moments of reprieve as well. Even something as intense and relentless as Dark Souls benefits from the moments of peace at bonfires, which allow the player to relax and reflect. It's good for pacing, and also for the player's stress levels—too much stress and they're likely to quit. The opportunity for quietness and strategy as players level up their characters shifts the tone to one of melancholy and thoughtfulness, appropriate for a world in decay.
As the real world grows increasingly stressful and virtual worlds become more realistic, the desire for these moments of peace increases.
Asquith cites Red Dead Redemption 2's horse mechanics as a particularly strong example of coziness in an otherwise hectic game. "Taming, grooming and feeding the horse are all actions rewarded by the game," she says. "Poor care and disregarding your horse's safety is punished by the mechanics…. Players get very attached to their virtual horses, and online you can see players sharing stories, proudly showing off in-game pictures and what they chose to name them."
Mechanics like this add a sense of creativity and peace to AAA games, but many indie games are wholly embracing a sense of coziness and making that their primary appeal. Escaping to a comfortable, quiet world where the moments of stress and anxiety are buffered with reflection and contemplation is increasingly appealing, and, with the niche growing every day, it's becoming easier than ever.
Asquith recommends the Wholesome Games twitter account as an excellent curator of cozy games. The cozy tag on itch.io is another great source, as are the games developed and recommended by the Project Horseshoe team.
Though we likely won't see the tranquility and silliness of Ooblets replacing the frenetic pace of AAA games anytime soon, developers like Asquith, Glumberlands and Monomi Park, to name a few, are creating wonderful alternative spaces for players to take a breather without sacrificing fun.
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3f3ce881c4c154260e17a1e20ac1089c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissabrinks/2019/09/09/the-7-best-indie-games-i-played-at-pax-west-2019/ | The 7 Best Indie Games I Played At PAX West 2019 | The 7 Best Indie Games I Played At PAX West 2019
This year’s PAX West was an odd one; Twitch was conspicuously absent, Death Stranding was there but I never saw anybody waiting in line (they had a reservation system, but even so!), and the numerous reports of abuse and assault in the games industry had everyone feeling both on-edge and intensely supportive of one another.
As always, I spent most of my time wandering the expo halls in search of hidden indie treasure. I had booked a few appointments in advance, but left most of my long weekend free so I didn’t feel roped in by games that had sent me a press release. I’m glad I did—while many of my favorites were those that drew my eye thanks to their marketing, I would have missed a lot if I hadn’t taken the time to explore, too.
Without further ado, here’s a few of my favorite indie games from this year’s convention!
Frog Detective 2
I had heard of Frog Detective 2 before sitting down to play it first thing Saturday morning, but I didn’t expect to be immediately blasted with pure delight. The demo began with a cameo from creator Grace Bruxner, and only got more delightful from there. As the titular amphibious gumshoe, you interview a series of suspects about their whereabouts, seeking out the culprit in a serious case of parade destruction. It’s lighthearted, silly, and absolutely charming, and I can’t wait to play the final version when it’s released.
Annapurna Interactive
Wattam
I’ve been wanting to demo Wattam, a new game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, since I first saw it at PAX a year or so ago. Unfortunately, the crowd of people constantly gathered around the demo station made it difficult, and this year was the first time I actually got to sit down and play it. And folks—it’s an experience. Trying to explain what Wattam is or what it’s about is nearly impossible; you play as a bunch of... objects? shapes?—some of which are familiar (nose, toilet, tree, apple) and some of which are more abstract. You get those things to perform actions, trying to satisfy an objective. That description could apply to almost any video game, which is kind of the beauty of Wattam; it’s like a video game abstracted, meaningless shapes and objects performing nonsense actions to complete objectives that don’t do anything except add more tasks to perform. I loved every minute of its bizarro, inscrutable fun.
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Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer was absolutely the stand-out game from PAX for me. This “cozy management game about dying” combines a few of my favorite things—cooking, gardening, building—with a truly beautiful art style, wonderful music, and a earnest, beautiful story about helping spirits pass on to the next phase of their afterlife. Even the brief demo I played at PAX was bittersweet; I hadn’t spent much time with these characters, but having to say goodbye to one of them was nonetheless moving. I wouldn’t see them again, but helping them find happiness and move on was so narratively and even mechanically rewarding that it would be difficult to not get invested, even in the sheer auditory and visual assault that is PAX West. Keep an eye on this one—it’s gorgeous, moving, and intensely creative.
Nina Freeman, Jake Jefferies, Ryan Yoshikami
We Met in May
I am an absolute sucker for games that celebrate the tenderness and reality of human connection, and We Met in May is precisely that. Designed by Nina Freeman, Jake Jefferies, and with music by Ryan Yoshikami, this collection of short vignettes explores the development of Nina and Jake’s relationship, from their first meeting in Nina’s apartment (in which she tries to hide her various anime posters, manga collection, and so on), to a thrilling dinner in which Nina tries to tweak Jake’s nipples. It’s silly and sweet, and the game’s pastel coloring and adorable art lend it a sense of dreamy nostalgia. We Met in May is a wonderful look into the joys of a new romance and a demonstration of how powerful small games can be.
Best Friend Forever
Best Friend Forever is the millennial dream. Having quit your “adult” job at a marketing agency, you move to a new town, adopt a dog, flirt with some cuties, and embark on a new creative career. Described as a dating and dog-management sim (you date the aforementioned cuties, not the dogs), Best Friend Forever is a beautifully illustrated and hilarious visual novel that combines the charm of Dream Daddy with inventive management mechanics. You’re not just selecting dialog options to find your one true love—you also have to get your brand-new adopted dog through training by balancing your activities and caring for it. Even the short demo was genuinely funny, and I can’t wait to sink many hours into training every dog and dating every cutie.
Neon Noodles
I wanted to play Neon Noodles at PAX, but the idea of playing a game in which I’m expected to program a robot to cook with a potential audience sounds like my nightmare. Thankfully, Neon Noodles was also selected for the Seattle Indies Expo, a one-day event showcasing up-and-coming indie games at an offsite venue with significantly fewer people. As it turns out, I needn’t have worried—the controls and design are intuitive, and also immensely satisfying. You’re given a task, such as to cut an avocado, and asked to teach a robot to perform that task on a loop. Though it can be complex (at some points my series of directions were nigh-incomprehensible to look at), the game was simple to pick up and a blast to play. Programming a robot to cook might not sound like thrilling gameplay, but trust me—get that little guy making sushi for you and you’ll be singing its praises, too.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
It feels almost unfair to include Sayonara Wild Hearts among my favorite PAX games, considering it’s also one of my most anticipated games of the year and it combines two of my great loves: pop music and magical girls. But listen—it’s also really, really cool. In the demo, I rode a motorcycle through a gorgeous pink and purple city, hitting buttons to execute cool moves and fight stylish enemies in time with music that sounds a bit like CHVRCHES with a hint of Anamanaguchi. It’s visually and audibly overstimulating in the best way; I can’t wait to sink hours into this game as a cure for a bad day.
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809ec0a5ca5e96f0923a6ef7c05e8c8a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/03/04/spilling-the-secret-to-a-mako-sharks-speed/ | Spilling The Secret To A Mako Shark's Speed | Spilling The Secret To A Mako Shark's Speed
Two big eyes lock onto the animal it hopes to have in its jaws soon. There is an explosion of movement as the predator pursues their prey, with both performing acrobatic feats that would be graceful were it not for this being a life-or-death battle. With a well-timed CHOMP! the animal claims their prize and slows down to enjoy the meal.
A shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) off Cape Point, South Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Getty
Did you think this was a cheetah? Sure sounds like it. But there is another fast animal that most people forget about: shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus). Found worldwide in tropical to temperate waters, they are known as the peregrine falcons of the seas and seem to effortlessly swimming through the water at estimated speeds of at least 45 miles per hour (74 kilometers per hour). Shortfin mako sharks can reach lengths of up to 12 feet (3.8 m) and weigh at least 1200 pounds (545 kg), making them a large predatory shark. This species’ athleticism allows them to hunt fast-moving prey such as bony fishes (such as large tunas), squid, other sharks, small marine mammals, and sea turtles. Being at the top of the pelagic food web means they can give chase to animals both in and out of the water, leaping to extreme heights out of the water if need be.
But how do they pull off this feat? While the shortfin mako shark has a specialized blood vessel structure – known as the rete mirable – that allows them to maintain a warmer body temperature to the surrounding water and gives them an advantage when hunting the colder waters… this isn’t the ‘secret sauce’ to their speed. Aeronautical engineer Amy Lang of the University of Alabama and her team were interested in seeing just how these sharks pull off being so fast and began looking at their skin.
“Sharks, skates and rays (of the subclass Elasmobranchii) possess small, tooth-like scales known as denticles. Evidence from the fossil record indicates these ‘skin-teeth’ arose roughly 450 million years ago. Denticles have evolved to fulfill a diverse range of roles, meaning their shape varies both within and between different species.” Scientist Rory Cooper, from the University of Sheffield, told The Fins United Initiative. Also known as dermal denticles, they cover the bodies of these animals and are unusual in that they are similar to the teeth of other vertebrates! Like other teeth, they consist of a pulp cavity that is surrounded by layers of dentine and enamel-like tissue. The denticles have a variety of functions, including making the shark more hydrodynamic against the back-flow of water from their fast swimming. This reduces drag and helps make swimming more efficient, meaning they use less energy.
The dermal denticle scales of a shortfin mako shark which each measure about 0.2 millimeters in... [+] length. Phil Motta at the University of South Florida
Keeping all of this in mind, the researchers wanted to look at the effect of these dermal denticles in specific locations on their body; these regions were specifically the flank (side) and the fins. If you have ever touched a shark, you may have realized that they feel a bit smoother if you run your hand from their head to their tail instead of the other way around. This is because the denticles are angled back from the front of the fish. Lang and her team discovered that some of those translucent 0.2-mm-long dermal denticle scales are actually capable of flexing up to an angle of 40 degrees out from the body in the opposite direction of flow. “It turns out that the mako has very flexible denticles. These sit like little loose teeth. If water flow begins to reverse, the scales pop up.” Lang told New Scientist. This phenomenon, known as flow separation, causes resistance and is controlled by a “passive bristling” made possible by the surface geometry on their scales. The most flexible of the dermal denticle scales are seen on the flank behind the gills and the trailing edges of their pectoral (side) fins.
“We set up an experiment in the tunnel with a measured amount of flow separation induced on a smooth surface. Then we replaced the smooth surface with shark skin and re-quantified the flow separation. In all cases with the flank skin, we saw the size of the separated flow region reduced significantly by the presence of the skin,” explained Lang to Earth.
Swimming with Mako sharks in Rhode Island, USA. Getty
But why was an aeronautical engineer interested in shark skin in the first place? Understanding dermal denticles could actually help improve human technology. Commented Cooper: “The drag reductive properties of shark denticles are attractive to industries aiming to improve the efficiency of locomotion. For example, shark skin inspired materials have been manufactured by Speedo for use in swimming competitions. Scientists and engineers are also examining whether denticle inspired design could improve the efficiency of airplanes and boats, by reducing fuel costs and increasing speed.” The researchers have already produced 3-D printed models of the flexible scales and have demonstrated that they work in both the air and water!
Shortfin mako sharks have a high quality meat and are important to many fisheries around the world, but are also taken as bycatch from tuna and swordfish longline fisheries globally. Currently they are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List… seems extinction may be something they can’t outswim.
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3256bec844b820899bdded183f1cc99a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/03/26/why-sharks-matter/ | Why Sharks Matter | Why Sharks Matter
We've all heard the phrase, "we need sharks," "sharks matter," or "sharks are important," but what do the people who say that actually mean? How are sharks important and why do they matter in regards to our oceans?
Oceanic white tip shark with pilot fish. Getty
Upper-trophic-level predators like sharks are ecologically, economically, and culturally significant. But despite these predators being vital to these key areas, many are declining in both marine and freshwater ecosystems, sparking efforts to manage them to properly conserve them. “Arguments for the need to conserve aquatic predator (AP) populations often focus on the ecological and socioeconomic roles they play. We summarized the diverse ecosystem functions and services connected to APs, including regulating food webs, cycling nutrients, engineering habitats, transmitting diseases/parasites, mediating ecological invasions, affecting climate, supporting fisheries, generating tourism, and providing bioinspiration. In some cases, human-driven declines and increases in AP populations have altered these ecosystem functions and services,” the authors state in their new paper.
The researchers sought to understand the ecological, evolutionary, and socioeconomic roles played by APs and the consequences of their population declines and increases on social and ecological systems. Here are some of the role sharks play.
Controlling food webs
It has been showcased by numerous publications worldwide that sharks alter the food webs they are a part of, often keeping prey numbers balanced (e.g. not too few for predators and not too many that overwhelm the ecosystem). With that said it should come to no surprise that large bodied sharks alter the abundance, diversity, behavior, diet, and even the shape of their prey (e.g. coral reef fishes). When sharks feed on the dominant prey in an area, they promote biodiversity among those species they eat. Sharks aren’t the cleanest eaters either, and often leave scraps or carcasses behind which allows other animals to scavenge on the remains. This helps create a whole other food source for the community! The predation on an animal can also lead to changes in that prey’s behavior, morphology, life history, and even physiology! For example, in Fijian coral reef systems there are herbivorous fish that will avoid areas patrolled by reef sharks. This allows for seaweeds to have a spatial refuge since they are not being eaten by any fish since there aren’t any! You may be thinking, “So what?” but if you think about it, this small behavioral change by fish means they have completely altered vegetation abundance and diversity in their respective ecosystem.
What happens when you remove these predators completely out of the equation? The food web dynamics can change as the predator population declines as we have seen off Northwest Australia. Here, the removal of sharks has altered the abundance, diversity, diet, body condition, and morphology of reef fishes.
Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezii) in Honduras. They are another species of shark that not... [+] only is a top-level predator in the coral reefs they patrol but also fertilize the reef with their excrement. Getty
Nutrient cycling
Sharks are not always in one location for their entire lives. In fact, many species of sharks take long migrations, such as whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) who are famous for popping up in various spots around the world when zooplankton blooms are occurring. The migration of sharks also helps transfer nutrients from different parts of the oceans largely via nutrient excretion. Yup, poop. And if you think about it, it makes sense that their poop acts like a fertiliser of sort for their respective habitats. Many sharks are highly mobile and so if they eat in one location and then go and poop in another, that introduces nutrients from that original location to a new location that may not have those nutrients present. One great example of this is the grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and how it forages offshore at night and then returns to rest during the day within the Palmyra Atoll in the Central Pacific. Researchers estimate this constant migration to-and-from the offshore waters brings in 95 kg of nitrogen daily onto the nutrient-limited reef, which greatly helps keep this ecosystem healthy!
Ecosystem engineers
They may not have an engineering degree, but sharks do help shape their surrounding environments. One of the ways they do that is by creating habitats! Now, that doesn’t mean they are in the business of constructing of buildings underwater reminiscent of “Shark Tale.” Sharks instead can create a habitat through something as simple as leaving the remains of an animal behind. The carcass of the prey, or even of the predator itself, creates a nutrient-rich habitat that the surrounding environment can thrive from for a little while.
Disease transmission
We’ve all heard that predators like sharks weed out the sick, the dying, and the old. But you may not know that this benefits prey populations, as it reduces infectious diseases and the spread of them. In the long run, the surviving population will be overall healthier— that’s a win-win!
Blacktip reef sharks beaching themselves as they fight one another for food. One has a remora fish... [+] on its back. Competition means the "best of the best" wins, meaning healthier fish populations of both prey and predator. Getty
Climate Change Mediation and Habitat Preservation
Yup, the presence of predators in certain environments can actually influence climate change! This is seen in Western Australia where the presence of patrolling tiger sharks appears to cause dugongs and sea turtles to limit how much seagrass they eat. You may be wondering what the diet of dugongs and sea turtles has to do with climate change, but these animals not being able to eat seagrass increases primary production, CO2 uptake, and maintains sediment carbon stocks. Another study has actually seen that the overfishing of large sharks can lead to detrimental ecosystem impacts, such as a complete habitat collapse. Take for example if you overfish several species of large sharks, which are the primary green turtle predators. No sharks to keep the turtle population in check means turtle populations could grow beyond historical sizes and can negatively impact the seagrasses they depend on, including triggering a virtual ecosystem collapse.
Tourism
The pictures you see of people in shark cages, diving with great whites or any other sharks are worth more than just a cool instagram photo. Large predators are among some of the most popular and socioeconomically valuable species for nature-based tourism. Shark tourism in the USA is estimated to be worth a total value of $315 million USD per year with over 500,000 tourists and directly supports 10,000 jobs. In Australia, shark diving tourism is a growing industry estimated to be worth more than $25.5 million annually to the country's regional economy. Since it began in 2011, Oslob’s whale shark-watching operation has allowed the city to lift itself out of poverty. With the tour guides (who were former fishermen) making money this way, the popular tourism site in the Philippines has seen a reduction in fishing pressure giving the increasingly depleted reefs a much-needed break.
Shark tourism also helps the surrounding area. The people who come to dive or snorkel with the sharks need places to stay and eat, and therefore the local economy also sees a boost. In Oslob, surrounding coast boasts more than 50 hostels, resorts and guesthouses, and local homes that all benefit from the tourists wanting to see the whale sharks.
A whale shark swimming peacefully in blue waters. Many come to Oslob in the Philippines to swim with... [+] these large predators. Getty
Bioinspiration
Predators like sharks are seen as inspiration in bio-technology, helping create bio-inspired materials everyday. For example, 3D-printed shark skin has not only reduced energy consumption ($5.9%), and increased swimming speed ($6.6%) compared to similar structures lacking this 3D structure. APs can also provide novel biomedical applications for human health. For example, small antibodies found in some sharks may offer new molecular tools for battling human diseases. Even when bioinspiration is not commercialized, it can lead to rethinking of designs and approaches for innovation. Accordingly, the loss of APs could reduce bioinspiration opportunities.
These are just a few of the many ways sharks benefit our oceans, economies, and even our future. This study comes just as 17 of 58 shark species evaluated by the Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation (IUCN) were classified as facing extinction, an update of the Red List of threatened animals and plants. The IUCN's shark group is conducting a two-year review of more than 400 species of sharks.
More than half of shark species and their relatives are categorized as threatened or near-threatened with extinction. Sharks do matter... we just need to see past the incorrect "man-eaters" and "monsters" label we've given them to make sure they continue to stick around.
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b8f4e651c77ac96133ec1d1c04bcfe3a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/04/05/the-secret-life-of-great-white-sharks-in-kelp/ | The Secret Life Of Great White Sharks In Kelp | The Secret Life Of Great White Sharks In Kelp
If you're a seal, you thought you were safe from great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the kelp. New research shows you are dead wrong.
A tagged great white shark tagged by the team led by Oliver Jewell. Photo provided by Oliver Jewell
A new study led by Murdoch University PhD student Oliver Jewell was recently published in the journal Royal Society Biology Letters; Jewell and his team used camera tags to film white sharks foraging in kelp forests in South Africa, showing agility not usually associated with these large predators. The team collected 28 hours of footage from the eight sharks they tagged, and used accelerometers and magnetometers to build pseudo tracks and confirm that the sharks were actually in kelp forests hunting... and even caught some of the chase on video!
"The study came up as a result of some other work we were doing on sharks in South Africa," said Taylor Chapple, research scientist at Hopkins Marine Station and one of the co-authors. "We were there initially to look at the kinematics of white shark predatory behavior. But when we reviewed the footage of the camera tags, we realized that the sharks were doing something surprising- they were swimming through the kelp rather than around it."
Chapple commented that we don't know great white shark predatory behavior in the open ocean, just what we see around seal colonies which is usually an ambush-approach since the majority of their prey are highly mobile. What astonished the team was to see that the sharks were spending a lot of time in the kelp and almost corralling their food. While the scientists didn't see any predations on camera, they did capture video of cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) displaying predator evasion behavior. The footage clearly shows that kelp isn’t the barrier to white sharks that it was previously thought to be!
In fact, this study illustrates that our attempts to describe these incredible predators from limited baited or surface interactions are more likely than not missing a huge part of their biology and behavior. "This study shows that white sharks are not the one-dimensional hunters that just ambush seals at the surface. These animals and their behaviors are much more complex and dynamic than most people give them credit for and only through adaptations of new technology can we really start to understand them fully," said Chapple.
Still frames taken from a 10-minute recording show a great white shark swimming through a kelp... [+] forest, previously thought to be a barrier to the predators. Here we see a shark chasing cape fur seals, visible in Figures A through F (red arrows). The seal responded by lying on the seafloor and blowing bubbles (Figure C). The figures below showcase the shark's path through the kelp (Figure G) and the shark's turning angle and depth (Figure H). Biology Letters; Murdoch University
This isn't the only secret great white sharks have been hiding! New research led by senior lecturer Liza Merly from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science found high concentrations of mercury, arsenic, and led in blood samples from great white sharks in South Africa. These levels, toxic to other animals, seem to have no negative consequences to the sharks health or their immune system. “The results suggest that sharks may have an inherent physiological protective mechanism that mitigates the harmful effects of heavy metal exposure,” commented Merly in a press release.
But how did these sharks get such toxic levels of these heavy metals? “As top predators, sharks bio-accumulate toxins in their tissues via the food web from the prey they eat," said Neil Hammerschlag, study co-author and research associate professor at UM’s Rosenstiel School and Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy. "So by measuring concentrations of toxins, such as mercury and arsenic, in the blood of white sharks, they can act as 'ecosystem indicators' for the health of the ecosystem, with implications for humans. Basically, if the sharks have high levels of toxins in their tissues, it is likely that species they eat below them will also have toxins, including fishes that humans eat."
It isn't just sharks in the South African region that have this bio accumulation of toxins. In a study published in the journal Toxins, Hammerschlag's research team examined fins and muscle tissue samples from 10 shark species found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for concentrations of two toxins—mercury and β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Both were detected in the fins and muscles of all these sharks, and recent studies have linked BMAA to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The team, led by Oliver Jewell, tagging a great white shark in South Africa. Photo provided by Oliver Jewell
For this latest research, 43 great white sharks were sampled as part of OCEARCH's 2012 expedition. “To collect the samples, white sharks were carefully raised on a specialized platform, while blood samples and body measurements were taken by biologists before the sharks were tagged and released,” explained Chris Fischer, expedition leader and founding chairman of OCEARCH, in the press release. This study provides the first-ever published account of blood concentrations of heavy metals in wild sharks, and provides a baseline for levels of heavy metals present in the blood of white sharks in South Africa.
It seems we can really call great white sharks "fast bullets"... when they want to swim fast, that is.
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a9fe9ef2378db300e811222fd5ca3a85 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/05/23/scientists-didnt-know-baby-tiger-sharks-ate-this/ | Scientists Didn't Know Baby Tiger Sharks Ate This | Scientists Didn't Know Baby Tiger Sharks Ate This
Another day, another awesome tiger shark headline. (Here is the first if you missed it.)
Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are known as the 'garbage cans of the sea' because of their diverse diet that includes actual animals (like fish and sea turtles) to… well, garbage (like chicken wire and rubber tires). And while it isn’t new news that tiger sharks eat seabirds, scientists have discovered that baby tiger sharks are feeding on birds one normally finds in their backyard like sparrows, woodpeckers, and doves!
Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are known as the 'garbage cans of the sea' because of their diverse... [+] diet that includes actual animals to… well, garbage. Getty
Measuring up to 14 feet (4.2 m) in length and capable of weighing 1,400 pounds (635 kg), they are a migratory shark found throughout the world’s tropical and warm temperate oceans. Assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near Threatened, adult tiger sharks are known to feast on one of the bigger birds to take flight in our skies: the albatross. Off the coast of Hawaii, young Laysan albatrosses test their wings as they learn the art of flying, often landing in the water and the awaiting jaws of this predator. The French Frigate Shoals are famous for this display, but it was previously unknown that the young eat birds let along such a unusual type of avian.
Marcus Drymon of Mississippi State University is the lead author of the new paper in the journal Ecology; his team brought 105 tiger sharks aboard their boat in the Gulf of Mexico, pumped the stomachs of these young sharks, and then released them back into the wild. Kevin Feldheim, a researcher at Chicago's Field Museum and a co-author of the new study, was one of the scientists who helped analyze baby tiger shark stomach contents to see what birds the sharks were eating. Of the 105 sharks studied, 41 had bird remains in their stomachs. "Tiger sharks will see an easy meal and snatch it up, but I was surprised to learn that the sharks were eating songbirds – I assumed that they'd be seabirds," said Feldheim to Science Daily. Reiterated Drymon: “None of them were seagulls, pelicans, cormorants, or any kind of marine bird.”
Since the remains of the birds were often already a little bit digested, the scientists were not able to ID them right off the bat. So the scientists sent the samples the Field Museum's Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution for DNA analysis to see if anything could be identified. Breaking down the vomited remains to their basic molecular components, the scientists examined the DNA sequence results and then compared them to a bird DNA database to see just what was in the young shark stomachs.
But where did the songbirds come from? Surely they weren’t just flying in the middle of the ocean… right? Not necessarily. Drymon’s team was in the Gulf of Mexico, a unique semi-enclosed sea on the southeastern periphery of the North American continent. From the Yucatan to the Florida peninsulas, it borders five of the United States, Cuba, and the eastern part of Mexico. In fact, sometimes it is called “America’s Sea.” It covers more than 600,000 miles2 (almost 1.5 million km2), in some areas is as deep as 12,000 feet (3,660 m), and receives freshwater from over 30 major river systems, creeks, and streams. Above her water, the Gulf of Mexico allows millions of songbirds to use her skies to migrate between the USA and Mexico. "In every instance, the timing of the tiger shark eating the bird coincided with the peak sighting for that species of bird off our coast," explained Drymon.
Each year millions of land birds migrate across or near to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in a hemispheric-scale phenomenon known as the Nearctic-Neotropical bird migration system. A new study published in the journal Global Change Biology combined data from citizen scientists and weather radar stations and found that an average of 2.1 billion birds migrate over Gulf Coast. "The tiger sharks scavenge on songbirds that have trouble flying over the ocean. During migration, they're already worn out, and then they get tired or fall into the ocean during a storm," adds Feldheim. Yup, you read that right. The sharks are eating birds that fall out of the sky. Not only is their exhaustion already an advantage for the young tiger sharks, but so is their surroundings. The terrestrial songbirds probably aren’t as strong in the ocean compared to the seabirds who call it home. Scientifically speaking, ‘songbirds’ are part of the Passeriformes family, known for how they perch and their complex voice boxes. This includes about 4,000 species – about half of the world’s overall birds – up to 55 families.
Feldheim argues that the study shows the importance of having DNA databases available to scientists: "It shows us how much more we can still learn about sharks in general and what DNA can tell us that observation can't." This means businesses like Otlet are especially important moving forward. Founded in 2017, Otlet is a biological sharing database where scientists can submit a record of their shareable research samples, search ones available from other teams, and request samples from one another. And just how Otlet is a global collaboration, this study was also an effort of multiple scientists from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, Field Museum, Forbes Biological Station-Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service, and the University of South Alabama.
In short, the ‘Baby Shark’ song just got a new version—all about what they eat. Doo doo doo doo doo doo.
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f33c3e638966ec26c24e31c4ef3e9ea0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2019/08/31/have-you-seen-me-great-whites-are-missing-from-this-south-africa-region/ | Have You Seen Me? Great Whites Are Missing From This South Africa Region. | Have You Seen Me? Great Whites Are Missing From This South Africa Region.
Earlier this year Forbes covered how great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) had disappeared from False Bay, South Africa and made way for another shark in the area to become ‘top shark.’ The study found that the disappearance of great whites led to the emergence of sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) and now they rule this area of South Africa.
A great white shark swimming. Getty
Great white shark numbers began to drop in 2015, with numbers reaching an all-time low in 2017 to 2018. In fact, the great whites sometimes completely disappeared from ongoing surveys for weeks and months at a time. In 2018, the shark safety program Shark Spotters only recorded 50 sharks, a steep decline from the average 205 they saw from 2010 to 2016 in the same region according to Bloomberg. These numbers have not improved this year, even during the summer months where numbers can spike due to fish coming closer to shore.
In fact, the program has seen none this year. The waters around the famous Seal Island, known to be a popular feeding ground for these massive predators, have not seen any ‘Air Jaws’ acrobatics. And what about the many sharks tagged along the South African coast? None have “pinged” on the False Bay receivers.
"Further supporting evidence of the absence of these large apex predators is the lack of any feeding or bite marks on whale carcasses the city has removed from False Bay this year," Cape Town's municipality said in a statement on Wednesday. "We do not know how their absence from False Bay would affect the ecosystem. Neither do we know the causes for their disappearance."
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) was thrust into the spotlight by the movie Jaws, which starred a "killer" great white that is out for blood. These mackerel sharks (family Lamnidae) can reach total lengths of up to around 20 ft (6.1 m) and weigh up to 3,800 lbs (1.9 tons). These animals are characterized by a K-selected life history (slow-growing, late-maturing, and long-lived species with low fecundity) and have a worldwide range. They can eat different prey based on their age, size, and location but are known to gorge themselves on marine mammals and large fish like tuna. Although great white sharks have garnered the interest of both the scientific and public realms, large gaps still exist in our understanding of these sharks. Great white sharks are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Cage diving with great white sharks has brought local economies millions, sometimes billions, of... [+] dollars (USD). Another popular locale to see great whites outside of South Africa is off the island of Guadalupe in Mexican waters. Getty
While many find these animals to be fearsome, they bring a lot of money to the country. Documentary film crews, celebrities, and thousands of tourists have helped create a vibrant industry. In the last decade, shark cage diving has grown into one of South Africa's top wildlife tourism activities, with various operators in Gansbaai alone. One of them is Marine Dynamics Tours, who says it has had some white shark sightings this year and that there has been "much confusion for shark cage diving tourists to South Africa and the tourism industry at large."
Local media reports have suggested that orcas in the bay may be a reason for departure of the great whites, as they are known to predate on these animals. Both local and international shark and marine mammal scientists in South Africa are working together to understand this relationship between sharks and orcas. Since 2009 there has been an increase in the frequency of killer whale sightings in False Bay. Research from Monterey Bay Aquarium and their partners published in Nature's Scientific Reports provides proof that great white sharks flee their feeding areas when orcas are present and do not return until the following season. "When confronted by orcas, white sharks will immediately vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year, even though the orcas are only passing through," said Dr. Salvador Jorgensen, senior research scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium and lead author of the study in a press release.
Could this be why they have said ‘sayonara’ to False Bay? Not all researchers are convinced the orcas are solely to blame. Sara Andreotti, a marine biologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa told Science Magazine: “My worry is that the focus on the orcas is distracting the attention from problems that humans could solve.” Some scientists believe this could be a population-level decline due to overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, or maybe even a shift in environmental conditions or prey distribution.
“While the reasons for their decline and disappearance remains unknown, it provided a truly unique opportunity for us to see what happens to an ocean ecosystem following the loss of an apex predator,” said Neil Hammerschlag, a research associate professor at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School and Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy in a press statement earlier this year.
It's unclear why exactly the great white sharks left. But False Bay hopes they come back… or who knows what this ecosystem without their charismatic top-level predator will become.
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7b32a1b4546ac41f025b54f8087ec389 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/10/20/swordfish-vs-shark-what-the-heck/?sh=9b5e8cb13334 | Swordfish Vs Shark: What The Heck?! | Swordfish Vs Shark: What The Heck?!
Slash!
A swordfish (Xiphias gladius) uses its bill in a duel between another top predator: a shark. It sounds like an unlikely match, but this highly mobile, predatory fish has been recorded to attack sharks since the early 1960’s! And while sharks are covered in dermal denticles, which provide some degree of protection, it seems it is no match against the swordfish bill… or so suggests the thresher with one embedded in its body.
Aggressive behaviour towards thresher sharks was only suggested in a conference contribution, but ... [+] the stranded bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) was the first verified illustrated documentation of one being fatally wounded by a swordfish. Used with permission from Patrick Jambura from Nature article
In April 2020, a dead female thresher shark (family Alopiidae) was found washed ashore on the Libyan coast near the town of Brega. At first, the shark didn’t seem to have any external injuries, but after a quick examination the researchers found a single penetrating trauma with the tip of the swordfish bill stuck in it. Aggressive behaviour towards thresher sharks was only suggested in a conference contribution, but the stranded bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) was the first verified illustrated documentation of one being fatally wounded by a swordfish. “It was [shock]. We knew of juvenile swordfish who attacked blue sharks in order to defend themselves, however in this case a rather harmless (at least, harmless for the swordfish) thresher shark was attacked by an adult swordfish,” said lead author of the study Patrick L. Jambura of the Department of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna. “This left us quite puzzled for the first moment, but this feeling quickly turned into excitement when we realised that we got an unique opportunity to work on this unusual sight!”
Like other thresher sharks, the bigeye has the long tail that has made this family so easy to identify. Stunning small fish and squid with their tail, this species are known to spend most of their time in the deep where their big eyes help to see in the low light conditions. A cosmopolitan species, they are considered as pesky bycatch of the swordfish longline fishery off the United States of America. Afterall, swordfish are highly valued as a commercial species and recreational species. As adults, the swordfish can grow up to 14.75 feet (4.5 meters) long which can fetch a pretty penny depending the buyer. Like sharks, swordfish are endothermic and have the ability to maintain body temperatures above that of the surrounding water, allowing them to hunt pelagic fishes such as tuna, flying fish, barracudas, squid, cuttlefish, and more. Since adult swordfish lack teeth, they are thought to slash or stun their prey before swallowing it whole.
Swordfish are highly valued as a commercial species and recreational species. As adults, the ... [+] swordfish can grow up to 14.75 feet (4.5 meters) long which can fetch a pretty penny depending the buyer. Visual China Group via Getty Images
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Is this what happened with the dead female thresher shark? “The nature underlying these attacks, whether they are instances of accidents or were carried out by purpose, still is not fully understood,” say the authors. The scientists looked to the only evidence they had to see if they could piece together what happened. The fragmented bill measured about 11.9 in (30.1 cm), and the team used it estimate the size of the individual that attacked the thresher shark. “Swordfish are known to have the longest rostra among all billfish species, making up one-third and more of their total length. Under this assumption, the swordfish involved in the attack was estimated to have a total length of 110-122 in (280–310 cm) and a body length corresponding to an adult individual,” the paper revealed. Due to the similar size and ecology of both species and the direction of trauma infliction, researchers believe that competition could be a driving force for this attack.
So what does this new discovery mean for what scientists know about swordfish vs thresher shark interactions? “For one, it is another case that shows how aggressive swordfish are, but more importantly, we can exclude a defensive behavior as the trigger for this attack,” commented Jambura. “It either happened in the heat of the moment, when both species were hunting on the same prey resource (schooling fish or squid) or it might have been even a direct attack to get rid of a competitor.”
Jambura warns that if attacks like this increase, it “would be an alarming signal for the situation in the Mediterranean, since overfishing might force these two predators to compete for more and more limited resources.” Meaning showdown’s like this may become more common between shark and swordfish. And while they are also known to go against whales, sea turtles, and even humans, at least they don’t have to worry about too much competition from the boats and submarines they have also attacked.
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7b12561a94f6f290a4445aa5f082b955 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/11/25/does-bait-influence-white-shark-behavior/ | Does Bait Influence White Shark Behavior? | Does Bait Influence White Shark Behavior?
Have you ever thought about jumping into a cage and seeing great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in their own territory? You wouldn’t be alone! Ecotourism with these animals occurs in several countries around the world, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, and Mexico.
Ecotourism with great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) occurs in several countries around the ... [+] world, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, and Mexico. getty
Thousands yearly flock to these locations to catch a glimpse of Jaws in action. Known as the largest predatory fish in the world, these torpedo-shaped animals are famous for their looks and ability to breach out of the water. Yet relatively little is known about its biology. With an estimated maximum size of about 20 feet (6 meters), they can maintain a body temperature that is higher than the surrounding waters, allowing them to venture into cooler waters.
You won’t see this species in an aquarium! Due to national and international wildlife regulations, shark cage diving is currently the main legal activity to get a face-to-snout encounter with this vulnerable species. In Mexico, cage diving began in 2001 and took off in Guadalupe Island, a volcanic island located off the west coast of México's Baja California Peninsula. World renowned for its clear waters and numerous white sharks, ecotourism operators work during the “season” (between August and November) to provide both public education and scientific research opportunities. The local revenue of cage diving in Guadalupe has been estimated at more than $4.5 million dollars (USD) per season!
While the presence of the ecotourism operators provides ongoing surveillance against illegal fisheries, and the experience allows people to see white sharks as something other than a “mindless killer,” this industry is controversial. Why? Their methods. As the authors of a new cage diving study stated: “Provisioning of food has been linked with potential negative effects on habitat use, surface behaviour, bioenergetics, conditioning and a probable increase in the frequency of interactions with humans.” Since 2016, there have been at least six accidents related to cage diving at Guadalupe Island, where white sharks and divers have been injured. The most serious accident is when a shark died after being stuck in a cage for more than 25 minutes in late 2019, causing uproar worldwide about baiting practices. The limited vigilance in this remote region, along with a lack of evidence supporting some of the unfollowed regulations, have been said to be the cause for these accidents.
The local revenue of cage diving in Guadalupe has been estimated at more than $4.5 million dollars ... [+] (USD) per season. getty
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Online, many pointed to baiting as the sole problem. While only frozen fish (Thunnus albacares) bought in the departure port is allowed during ecoutourism ventures in this marine protected area, some use fresh bait believing it “could attract sharks more efficiently.” So, researchers, led by scientist Edgar E. Becerril-García of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas and Pelagios Kakunjá, decided to describe the effect that different baits have on the attraction, surface behaviour and conditioning of white sharks in order to prevent future accidents. During the study period (87 days), a total of 6,145 sightings from 121 identified white sharks were registered. The sharks were largely male (74%) with no statistical differences between maturity stages along the studied months.
“One of the most important points of the study consisted in evaluating the effect of baits (yellowfin tuna) on the surface behavior of the white sharks,” said lead author Edgar E. Becerril-García. “Our results made it possible to detect aggressive displays in certain baiting conditions, for which we made recommendations to improve diving activities and reduce the probability of incidents between sharks and cages.” The scientists found that success rate for the capture and consumption of bait was similar for all sharks, although it tended to be higher for male sharks and mature individuals (e.g. proportionally, a mature shark would get the bait 22 times for every 100 foraging attempts). The study also saw that the behavior of white sharks was significantly different depending on the type of bait.
The study found that the behavior of white sharks was significantly different depending on the type ... [+] of bait. getty
“This research allowed determining a low risk of conditioning of white sharks towards cage diving boats, so it was not all bad news,” said Becerril-García. “It is important to highlight that Guadalupe represents the most important site for cage diving in the Eastern Pacific, so constant monitoring of this top predator is extremely valuable and necessary.”
As a cosmopolitan species that is economically exploited in several countries, the presented results of this study could be useful in not only future comparisons with other populations but contributing to efficient protection and sustainable use of the sharks. Afterall, we want to keep these sharks safe for future generations to enjoy them as well!
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616fbbe8b904025c033f09b52f9c22f7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/11/29/what-baby-megalodon-sharks-and-you-probably-have-in-common/ | What Baby Megalodon Sharks And You Probably Have In Common | What Baby Megalodon Sharks And You Probably Have In Common
What’s one thing we have in common with a baby (Megalodon) shark? Growing up in a nursery!
Cartilage doesn't preserve as well as bones, so the most older shark fossil records are based on ... [+] isolated scales and teeth. In fact, shark teeth are among the most commonly found fossils around the world, since they are continually shed by sharks. getty
Otodus megalodon, one of the largest marine apex predators ever to exist, has certainly been making the news lately. Once scientifically known as Carcharocles megalodon, this extinct shark was considered to have been a cosmopolitan species that was a force to be reckoned with. But Megalodon doesn’t just pop out measuring over 50 feet (15 m) long! So where does “Mommy Shark” put her baby shark to grow? A shallow, warm-water nursery.
Nurseries are of particular research interest to shark scientists due to their assumed importance in the shark’s life history, with numerous studies defining a nursery and stressing their importance in conservation. Inshore habitats (like mudflats, bays, estuaries, marsh wetlands, mangroves, lagoons, bayous and shallow coral reefs) are frequently used as nurseries, providing a haven for juvenile sharks, with a lower predation risk and shallow, warmer waters that tend to be more productive than deeper regions. Here, juveniles have fast growth rates, and reduced predation risk, while they expand their range within the nursery and better their foraging capabilities. Some Megalodon mommas gave their pups a fighting chance in a newly described middle Miocene locality from Northeastern Spain, as well as in eight previously known formations (Temblor, Calvert, Pisco, Gatún, Chucunaque, Bahía Inglesa, Yorktown and Bone Valley). “Our results reveal, for the first time, that nursery areas were commonly used by the O. megalodon over large temporal and spatial scales,” said the authors of the new study.
Some Megalodon mommas gave their pups a fighting chance in a newly described middle Miocene locality ... [+] from Northeastern Spain, as well as in eight previously known formations (Temblor, Calvert, Pisco, Gatún, Chucunaque, Bahía Inglesa, Yorktown and Bone Valley). “Our results reveal, for the first time, that nursery areas were commonly used by the O. megalodon over large temporal and spatial scales,” said the authors. Getty
We can thank teeth for our knowledge on these sharks. Cartilage doesn't preserve as well as bones, so the most older shark fossil records are based on isolated scales and teeth. In fact, shark teeth are among the most commonly found fossils around the world, since they are continually shed by sharks. After a trip to a museum to look at Megalodon teeth, the authors noted that the teeth were quite small for such a famously large animal. The researchers inferred the body lengths of the individuals from dental parameters and found they belong to young pups. A nursery! This new Spanish nursery would have been a “shallow bay area of warm waters, connected to the sea and with extensive coral reefs and plenty of invertebrates, fish species, marine mammals and other sharks and rays.” A perfect place for a small shark to grow into the titan it would become.
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“I just find it fascinating that even what many call the ‘biggest and baddest shark of all time’ had to spend the first few years of its life growing up in a special location before it could dominate the oceans itself,” said scientist Phillip Sternes, a PhD Student at University of California, Riverside. “However, I am not completely surprised as other apex predatory shark species do the same thing as well, so it appears it has clearly been going on for a while in the life history patterns of sharks.”
Megalodon thrived in the warm and temperate waters of the Miocene period, but the Pliocene period brought on cooler times that seemed to spell out disaster for these sharks. As sea levels declined, it left Megalodon momma’s with fewer safe-haven coastal areas for their pups to reach adulthood. The reasons why a shark chooses a particular habitat to act as a nursery are unclear. So, what is a large, slow-growing animal with low fecundity and high age of maturity to do when it starts to run out of suitable nursery regions?
Megalodon thrived in the warm and temperate waters of the Miocene period, but the Pliocene period ... [+] brought on cooler times that seemed to spell out disaster for these sharks. Megalodon’s existence was already struggling when the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) came into the playing field. getty
Well… it seems “struggle and go extinct” is the answer. New research shows that these animals vanished some 3.6 million years ago, a million years earlier than any other previous estimates. With this updated timeline, it means that Megalodon’s existence was already struggling when the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) came into the playing field. And since adult great whites probably competed with juvenile Otodus megalodon, it probably didn’t help their species. Dwindling prey items, range fragmentation, and fewer options for babies to grow? It was just too much for them.
“Ultimately, the presumed reliance of O. megalodon on the presence of suitable nursery grounds might have also been determinant in the demise of this iconic top predatory shark,” said the authors. “More broadly, this work advances our understanding of the impact of reproductive strategies on the evolution of gigantic marine top predators and sheds light on the underlying factors of their evolutionary dynamics.”
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a67227dd262afbaa3d2b5366a123a376 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2021/01/06/two-shark-species-sighted-for-the-first-time-in-the-galapagos/?sh=43df2d406dfa | Two Shark Species Sighted For The First Time In The Galapagos | Two Shark Species Sighted For The First Time In The Galapagos
The camera slid from the crew’s hands and into the cold water, sinking towards the inky darkness and out of view after a few seconds. “Buena suerte,” someone said, wishing the camera luck and hoping the expensive piece of equipment would return after its voyage to the deeper waters of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The next best thing the team could hope for was that it worked and captured something cool.
This autonomous, free-falling deep-sea camera system, developed by the National Geographic Society’s Exploration Technology Lab, was designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the ocean floor as it captured high-quality video of the alien-like life that called this zone home. This was a pilot research study lead by Charles Darwin Foundation’s marine scientist Salome Buglass, aiming to develop long term deep-sea research methods using user-friendly, low-cost equipment that they would eventually train local scientists and students to deploy.
For the first time, scientists have observed a broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) ... [+] and bluntnose sixgill (Hexanchus griseus; pictured) in the deep waters of the Galápagos Marine Reserve! This particular sixgill was captured in Canada. getty
In collaboration with worldwide organizations (such as the Galapagos National Park Directorate, National Geographic Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Media Lab Open Ocean Initiative, and Lindblad Expeditions), the team dropped the camera system 33 times while aboard Lindblad Expedition’s National Geographic Endeavour II, covering most of the Galápagos Archipelago. Despite the iconic status of this region, the deeper ecosystems of the archipelago are practically unexplored in comparison to the shallow waters of this pristine location. It is not just here the deep-sea remains a mystery- it’s the largest and least explored biome on the planet!
The crew hoped for the camera to capture a surprise or two... it never expected to see what it did. Officially confirmed by elasmobranch taxonomist Dr. David Ebert at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the team happily announced that for the first time, broadnose sevengill (Notorynchus cepedianus) and bluntnose sixgill (Hexanchus griseus) sharks have been observed in the deep waters of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. “The occurrence of the broadnose sevengill shark, a coastal species, around the Galápagos is exciting and raises interesting questions about its migratory behavior,” Dr. Ebert told the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF). “Sixgill sharks are primarily deep-sea and are one of the most abundant large deep-sea sharks.” The broadnose sevengill sharks are categorized by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “data deficient” in the Red List of Threatened Species. The sixgills, on the other hand, are considered as a “near threatened species” on the IUCN Red List, with its current population trend is “unknown.”
“The occurrence of the broadnose sevengill shark, a coastal species, around the Galápagos is ... [+] exciting and raises interesting questions about its migratory behavior,” Dr. Ebert told the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF). getty
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Both of these sharks are in the Hexanchidae family, also referred to as the “cow sharks.” Thought to be one of the most primitive groups of sharks, they have a worldwide distribution in boreal and cold temperate to tropical waters. Most are found along the continental shelves and slopes down to submarine canyons that can get up to at least 6,151 feet (1,875 meters) deep; however, some are seen in shallow bays and close to shore. These two species are known for being quite sluggish, yet strong-swimming sharks that can burst into action when prey is nearby. Yet, their most distinctive features are that unlike most sharks that have only five gill slits, they can have six to seven.
Two broadnose sevengill sharks swam in front of the camera system at about 689 ft (210 m) deep, just entering what scientists call the “twilight zone.” Just beyond the reach of sunlight, this zone is the barrier between the well-studied marine life in the sunlit zone above and the mysterious ecosystems of the abyss below. It is poorly understood — physically, biogeochemically, and ecologically. “Every evening we reviewed the footage, patiently waiting to see if some big critter would swim by the camera – so we all gasped in excitement at the sight of these sharks and were thrilled when we realized that these are new to the region!” said CDF scientist Salome Buglass. These cameras provided a glimpse of what animals live here when the darkness gave way to these sharks, lured close by the bait case… and who eventually attacking the camera to try and get a taste of tuna. Meanwhile, the sixgill shark showed just how “sluggish” they could be, hanging around the camera for three hours at about 1,371 ft (418 m).
The new shark recordings were observed inside the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR), established in ... [+] 1998 to protect the Archipelago’s marine biodiversity by banning large-scale commercial fisheries. The GMR lies in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, approximately 1,000 km from mainland Ecuador, and covers approximately 138,000 km2. getty
These observations provide scientists with new information about their territorial range and habitat preferences. Some hope that these sightings will help inform the creation of fully protected deep-water areas in the Galápagos Marine Reserve, as well as guiding the management of fisheries and Marine Protected Areas that may be affecting the sharks. For now, it shows how little we know about life in the deep… and how important it is we continue to discover what is there before we lose it.
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06ef845e12edc01a608729737cf9e552 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2021/01/14/climate-change-spells-trouble-for-reef-sharks/ | Climate Change Spells Trouble For Reef Sharks | Climate Change Spells Trouble For Reef Sharks
It may be a new year, but that doesn’t mean we can wipe away our planet’s problems just because the calendar now says “2021.” Unfortunately, the new year did not bring a stop to climate change. As greenhouse gases continue to trap excess trapped heat that comes from anthropogenic emissions, our oceans are facing not only an increase in sea level but sea surface temperatures. Changes in ocean temperatures and currents brought about by climate change will not only impact worldwide climate patterns but bring unprecedented changes to our aquatic ecosystems and the critters who call them home.
The epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum), a small oviparous shark that is endemic only to the ... [+] Great Barrier Reef in Australia. “Epaulette sharks are not a perfect representation of all sharks. For one, they lay eggs; whereas, the majority of sharks and rays give birth,” says researcher Carolyn Wheeler. E. Moothart
Tropical ecosystems are thought to be the hardest impacted, as many species are adapted to narrow temperature ranges and most are ectotherms, with water temperatures regulating their biological and physiological processes that are crucial for survival. “Thermal performance curves allow scientists to identify the temperatures where a certain trait (e.g., growth, development, reproduction) starts to be negatively impacted. At some low temperature and at some high temperature, for any species, certain biological functions become non-ideal and eventually start failing,” said scientist Carolyn R. Wheeler, co-tutelle Ph.D. student between the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. “Identifying these critical temperatures allows us to predict how these species will fair with warming waters from climate change over the next century.”
One such species that will be severely affected by rising water temperatures are Chondrichthyan fishes (the sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras) which are mostly ectothermic. “Adaptation, in conjunction with relocation, represent the only (hopeful and positive) options for marine life at this point. Therefore, while making it a global mission to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the way we generate and dispose of waste, we also need to identify the most vulnerable species and populations and make sure they are not experiencing additional stressors in their habitats and lifetimes,” says Dr. Jodie Rummer, an Associate Professor at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. “That is why we (my team) focus – from an evolutionary and ecological perspective, but with conservation implications – on the physiological adaptations that marine fishes require to cope with future climate change conditions, thresholds, limits, and trigger points for various stressors, and in the cases where adaptation may not be possible, their capacity to move to and thrive in more favourable habitats.”
Dr. Jodie Rummer, an Associate Professor at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of ... [+] Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University holding a juvenile epaulette shark. R. Davis
The Chondrichthyans present a challenge in relation to ocean warming vulnerability, since many of the over 1,000 species are globally threatened, poorly characterized in terms of basic life history, and are slow to mature and reproduce. Not only is it hard to study them in controlled laboratory settings, but what is true for one species is not true for another. That is why a team of researchers, led by Wheeler, decided to focus on the epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum), a small oviparous shark that is endemic only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. “Epaulette sharks are not a perfect representation of all sharks. For one, they lay eggs; whereas, the majority of sharks and rays give birth,” said Wheeler. “Nonetheless epaulette sharks are a good start, and can perhaps help us build models for larger animals.” Not only have epaulette sharks been the focus of many climate change-related laboratory studies, but they also possess unique traits that allow them to hunt in isolated tidal pools and survive extreme conditions. In other words, if epaulette sharks cannot cope with, in this case, thermal stress, how will other, less tolerant species fare?
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“We sourced all of the epaulette shark eggs in this study from breeding epaulette sharks at The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston. This collaboration was a great example of using existing resources in a public aquarium to conduct timely research without having to collect animals from the wild,” explained Wheeler. “Eggs were exposed to three different temperatures throughout development. The highest temperature, 87.8°F (31°C) is expected to be a new summer water temperature for sections of the epaulette shark’s range on the Great Barrier Reef by 2100 if climate change proceeds at the current rate. We tracked the growth of the embryos and how quickly they consumed their yolk-sac by backlighting the eggs several times a week.” The scientists investigated how growth, development, and metabolic performance traits of embryonic and neonate H. ocellatum were affected by increased temperatures relevant to mid and end-of-century ocean warming scenarios.
Scientist Carolyn R. Wheeler, co-tutelle PhD student between the School for the Environment at the ... [+] University of Massachusetts Boston and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, holding an epaulette shark. E. Moothart
The results were pretty alarming. “We found that rearing eggs at 31°C resulted in negative effects on development. All sharks survived the conditions, which is a good sign, but another previous study from our group found 50% mortality at just one degree warmer, 32°C. In our study, sharks reared at 31°C hatched several weeks earlier than their cooler condition counterparts and were slightly smaller in weight having hatched at the warmest temperature too,” said Wheeler. These hatchlings also fed extremely quickly and had a lower metabolic rates, indicating sharks were perhaps overwhelmed by the warm temperatures and would perhaps struggle if chased by a predator in the wild. But it is not necessarily all bad news for these little sharks. “In our experiments, we exposed eggs and hatchlings to a constant high temperature throughout the study. In the wild, they would experience higher temperatures at midday and cool off at night. Perhaps these temperature cycles would improve their survival and fitness. So, we need to continue investigating these questions and comparing all life stages and different species to create a better picture as to how sharks and their relatives will fair under climate change.”
This information is timely—especially given that the home of these sharks has seen a rapid succession of mass coral bleaching events, heatwaves, and multiple severe tropical cyclones. This study is just something else to consider when doing vulnerability assessments for the Great Barrier Reef and future management actions. In fact, it’s something global coral reef ecosystems should take heed of! “Ultimately, our findings suggest that, under ocean warming scenarios for the middle and end of the twenty-first century, tropical oviparous chondrichthyan species will likely be exposed to their upper thermal limits for critical activities such as growth and development, which causes concern for the future health of the ecosystems they help to support,” the scientists state in their study. The team hopes that this latest study adds to the evidence that we need fast and effective possible actions to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions… and perhaps worldwide partnerships can help reduce cumulative impacts on this iconic reef!
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b0e2c8a48e371e43ba47801a3baffb5d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissadaimler/2020/11/24/the-three-leadership-skill-shifts-we-learned-in-2020/ | Three Leadership Skill Shifts For 2021 and Beyond | Three Leadership Skill Shifts For 2021 and Beyond
On the Cloudflare Rooftop (when we could still meet in person) with Dana Cohen © 2017 | Suzanne O'Brien Photography
2020 has brought us many crises but has also offered leaders numerous learning opportunities. It has demanded an evolution of how we work and what we learn. The shifts in these skills are subtle, but they will better equip leaders to lead, whether it’s remotely from the kitchen table in 2020 or in-person as we navigate toward a more hybrid office environment in 2021.
The three skill shifts are:
Communication to Empathy Emotional Intelligence to Emotional Agility Time Management to Context Management
1) Communication to Empathy
Effective communicators and productive leaders are intertwined. When I led learning and development functions at high tech companies, communication was the #1 skill leaders and managers wanted to learn and practice. This year has forced leaders to communicate constructively even without answers. They have had to push beyond their comfort zones; beyond sharing updates, asking questions, and even listening actively. Leaders have been asked to go deeper, and develop empathy. Brené Brown, a professor, and author, says empathy fuels connection: it’s feeling with people, and connecting with a person’s situation.
Humera Shahid, VP of Talent at Intuit said: “It’s showing you care, not just as a manager, but as a person.” She highlighted how managers have had to increasingly connect with their teams this year as they shared stories of family members being sick, the difficulties of homeschooling, and other kinds of loss. Shahid emphasized the importance of making space in 1:1s to not just talk about work updates, but also what’s happening in their personal lives.
As burnout continues to get worse, this skill has become even more important for leaders to practice on a regular basis. Eventbrite’s CHRO, David Hanrahan, said in a recent WSJ article they are encouraging managers to ask employees how they are really doing, and, more importantly, wait for the response. Empathy is being able to make space between your question and someone’s answer.
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2) Emotional Intelligence to Emotional Agility:
When Ben Horowitz, a former entrepreneur turned technology investor, was asked what the most challenging skill to learn as a CEO was, he said it was the ability to manage their own psychology, or, as I call it, manage our emotions. I have coached many executives on this skill. We have reviewed situations in which the conversation was charged, and what happens when one individual reacts emotionally vs. responds neutrally. This is emotional intelligence; the ability to be aware of and control your own emotions.
Emotional agility goes beyond awareness and control. Susan David, a renowned psychologist emphasizes that emotionally agile people are not only aware of their feelings, they know how to navigate through them. How do we do this? David emphasizes the need to detach from the situation and be aware of your thoughts. acknowledging that they are just thoughts and emotions. They do not define you. As leaders become more emotionally agile, they will quickly understand not just the intent of their actions, but the impact they want to have. When intent and impact are aligned, communication is clear and emotions are not triggered. And even when they are, leaders can swiftly recognize this and adjust accordingly.
3) Time Management to Context Management:
When it first dawned on us that working remotely would be here to stay for some time, we followed the same pattern the learning industry exhibited in the late ‘90s. We took our design framework from the classroom straight to the computer without attempting to adapt accordingly. Finally, we realized different mediums call for different designs and we needed a more integrated and contextual way of learning. -It was called the “flipped classroom”.
Now we are seeing the same with remote work. We cannot simply transfer how we worked in an office into the home space. Cramming meetings, presentations, and brainstorming sessions into zoom calls simply won’t suffice. The “flipped workplace”, as coined by Allison Baum, is about leveraging what we learned from the flipped classroom and applying those techniques to how we work.
Our context has changed, so we need to manage our time and design our days around how we work, based on what we’re working on and with whom we’re working.
Shahid explains it as “Rewiring people from the default”. When figuring out how to plan our time, we have to be more intentional about how we come together. We need to consider: what kind of work needs to be done synchronously vs. asynchronously; when do we come together for meetings, and who needs to be in the meeting; what is the agenda for those meetings, and what, if any, decisions are we making. Do all of the meetings need to be on video? When we can safely go to the office, what meetings would be better in person?
Designing our days and our cultures for our new hybrid workplace is a skill we all need to keep cultivating. One of the first things I do when working with clients is to review their calendars. A client of mine is the CEO of a start-up who averaged 12 zoom calls a day and wondered why she had no time to think about the strategy for 2021.
Our work is not burning us out, how we’re working is. A little more empathy, emotional agility, and context management will help us end 2020 successfully and set us up powerfully for 2021 and beyond.
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aa5991df291b9cebce190cd16f458066 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissahouston/2020/10/27/5-essential-tips-to-reach-any-financial-goal/?sh=6a539615b7f8 | 5 Essential Tips To Reach Any Financial Goal | 5 Essential Tips To Reach Any Financial Goal
We need to plan our financial future for women, and the earlier we can be actively planning and saving for our financial future, the better.
The Millennial Money Woman, also known as Fiona, writes about financial planning strategies to help millennials optimize specific areas of their financial picture and move one step closer to accomplishing their financial goals.
Here are Fiona’s top 5 personal finance strategies that anyone can implement with ease:
Don’t spend your money on things you don’t need
Before you spend your money, ask yourself if what you are purchasing will help you make more money or save you time. If you find that you are consistently spending money on something that doesn’t save you time and doesn’t help you make more money, you might want to rethink your purchase. Remember, we live in a consumer-driven society and marketing is geared toward enticing you to spend money. However, by taking the time to ask yourself these two questions, you will do yourself – and your bank accounts – a favor.
Young girl with purple hair and sunglasses on yellow background getty
Increase your financial literacy skills
If you feel like you’re not entirely (or at all) familiar with the basic concepts of financial literacy, then you are certainly not alone. Per an S&P 500 Global Financial Literacy Survey, only 33% of people are financially literate – worldwide. One direct trend revealed that financial literacy increased as income increased.
People tend to shy away from financial literacy because they are uncomfortable with the subject. However, it’s essential to understand the concepts of how money works. As you gain more knowledge in financial literacy, you’ll apply the concepts to how you treat your money, and consequently, increase your ability to reach your long-term financial goals.
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Reduce “bad” debt
Not all debt is equal, and some debt can be to be worse than other debt. An example of bad debt is debt, which comes with a high-interest rate, which is common with credit card debt. Most credit cards charge interest rates around 20% and compound that interest, so high-interest credit card debt is not the debt that you should be carrying.
Unfortunately, a credit card is an easy and convenient form of payment. One strategy to change your credit card habit is to give yourself a cash allowance and pay for items using cash. When you have to physically part with your money, it increases awareness of the spending and reduces the chance for you to overspend. However, it's easy to overspend with credit cards because you don’t see the money leave your hands.
Avoid lifestyle creep
Lifestyle creep is when you increase your spending on stuff as your income increases, rather than investing that extra income. To avoid lifestyle creep, you can invest that extra money in your savings portfolio rather than spend that extra money on stuff you don’t need. The earlier you invest your money, the more time you will have, which means more time for your money to compound and grow.
When you prioritize your savings and begin your investing journey now, you will have a better chance of taking care of your financial future. If you want to be a successful investor, you’ll have to do what the average person will not, and investing is no exception.
Find a great mentor
Great mentors are extremely rare and so valuable when you find one suitable for you. Having a mentor has many benefits. Mentors are likely to be accountability partners and can keep you on track with your goals.
The bottom line is by following these tips, you will be on track to achieving savings and investing goals. Creating investing goals is essential to secure your financial future. It is far more pleasant to build a nest egg that will allow you a comfortable financial future rather than struggling with your finances throughout your life.
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6d9396273e3da1c84c0b6cdee6375167 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissahouston/2021/12/31/why-you-need-to-follow-these-4-simple-business-money-management-steps-for-success/?sh=5d391f8e50a2 | Why You Need To Follow These 4 Simple Business Money Management Steps For Success | Why You Need To Follow These 4 Simple Business Money Management Steps For Success
You’ve started your own business, and that is fantastic! You’re busy getting the marketing, sales funnels, and all the other tasks in place to ensure you will start making some money. That’s smart. But have you considered how you should be managing your business money to ensure long term viability for your business?
Often the money management aspect of the business is overlooked when it shouldn’t be. Money management doesn’t need to be hard. But suppose you are not managing your business finances right from the beginning. In that case, you are setting your business up for problems down the road.
It is your responsibility as a business owner to ensure you keep those accounting records as back up in case of a government audit. These records are what your tax bill is based on as a business. Depending on where you live, if you are operating a business and earning income, that income must be reported to your government. Your business pays taxes.
The benefits of sound financial management within your business are that it will allow you to make more money and be a more profitable business. But good financial management starts with the basics.
business audits using a calculator financial data investment fund at a workplace, wealth concept getty
For proper financial management in your business, follow these essential four steps:
1. Keep separate bank accounts for personal and business finances
This is the first step in ensuring that you keep adequate accounting records. You should not be paying for personal items with business funds, so it makes good sense to keep your personal finances out of your business. Use your business bank account and credit cards solely for business purposes so that you can keep a clean audit trail. You'll be happy you did should the government ever decide to audit you.
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2. Good bookkeeping in your business is important
Bookkeeping is essentially the management and maintenance of the financial data that in your business. Your financial reports, which you should be basing a large portion of your business decisions on, are based on that data. Because of this, your books must be kept accurate and current. Investing in a competent bookkeeper is extremely important initially, as it will save you from costly mistakes down the road.
3. Track and keep a record of what the business owes you
If you do have to pay for a business expense using your personal funds, ensure that you are recording these transactions properly so that the business can reimburse you for your expenses. These transactions are tracked in the Shareholder Loan account, which appears on the balance sheet.
4. Do not spend beyond your means, yes, even in your business
It’s so easy to spend your money in business, especially in the start-up phase where every aspect of your business is screaming for attention. In an entrepreneur’s life, it can be tempting to spend more money than you are bringing in to keep up appearances of what people think of as a successful entrepreneur. Don't drive expensive cars, wear the latest trends, and look like a financially successful entrepreneur before you have reached that status. That is a fast track way to going broke. Do not let that happen to you and spend responsibly.
The bottom line is having reliable, accurate and meaningful financial data can help you make smarter decisions within your business. Every decision you make in your business impacts your bottom line (profit line), whether directly or indirectly. Good business financial management will make the difference between a viable business or a business that goes broke. Make your decisions wisely.
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0548f8582e80ff878adf38900b20dc40 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2017/01/15/marcus-samuelssons-red-rooster-cooks-up-martin-luther-king-jr-s-meal-that-never-was/ | Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster Cooks Up Martin Luther King Jr.'s Meal That Never Was | Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster Cooks Up Martin Luther King Jr.'s Meal That Never Was
On the night of April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. planned to dine at the Memphis home of Reverend Samuel "Billy" Kyles. Women at Kyle's church cooked up a feast of King's favorite dishes: Fried chicken, ham, sweet potatoes, sweet potato pie and more, and Kyles headed to King's room at the Lorraine Hotel to pick him up for the 6 p.m. meal. Kyles spent King's very last moments with him, said to have picked out a necktie for the civil rights leader to wear to dinner, before the pair stepped out on the hotel balcony and King was tragically assassinated by a sniper.
That dinner went on to be known as The Meal That Never Was. Red Rooster, Chef Marcus Samuelsson's ode to comfort food in Central Harlem, is cooking up a tasty memorial to Dr. King, with a menu inspired by The Meal That Never Was.
"Martin Luther King Jr. was all about equality and celebrating diversity, which is reflective of Red Rooster Harlem," Samuelsson said. "You come in and you see a mix of people from all different kinds of backgrounds who appreciate each other and celebrate their differences." The idea to cook up the meal arose when Samuelsson and Red Rooster Executive Chef Richard King were talking about how they wanted to make MLK Day special for 2017. "I'm from the South and grew up in an environment where civil rights and racial equality issues were all around me," Chef King said. "I have a personal connection to it." To prepare for a special meal, King conducted "a lot of research" on Dr. King and the more he read, the more he was inspired. "From what I read, Dr. King loved food and ate a lot on the road to restore his energy," King said. "Fortunately his favorite foods and dishes were documented and since we know that, it's exciting that we can recreate this menu and share it with guests." During his research, King discovered details of the Dinner That Never Was that was prepared Dr. King in 1968. "I thought creating a menu inspired by [that meal] would be a powerful and touching way to remember him and celebrate his life," King said. Chef King's meal will also be inspired by the themes of Dr. King's advocacy, starting with an On The Move selection of snacks for the table, inspired by how food was often eaten on the go as King and his supporters traveled across the South. Vienna sausage, baloney sandwiches and crackers were common and to honor the legacy, Chef King will serve confit pork shoulder with pepper jelly on soda crackers and a riff on baloney sandwiches made with shoebox ham, pickled hot peppers and dijonaise on white bread. An appetizer of low country pickled shrimp with crowder peas (another of Dr. King's favorite foods) will be served in memory of a meal Dr. King ate at The Gay Hawk restaurant in the late '60s. The menu for The Meal That Never Was will then be served featuring roasted sweet yams, lard biscuits and "All-Benny" fried chicken in memory of the Albany Movement. Warm chocolate pecan pie with bourbon ice cream will be served for dessert and wine pairings will also be available with each course. Though the meal may sound extravagant to some, especially to those who take part in the tradition of using the federal holiday to participate in community service, the dinner serves to educate those about lesser-known facets of Dr. King's life and celebrate his legacy, deliciously. "I know [Dr. King] would appreciate it and the flavors would be familiar to him," King said. "It would be incredible to show him how these dishes have been modernized and for him to see and taste our iteration of his favorites." Reservations for the $55 dinner on MLK Day, January 16, can be made at RedRoosterHarlem.com/Reservations.
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5c69ec18faa6c1c1a02acd013cac5582 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2017/10/17/chef-alex-stupak-empellon-ants-on-a-log/ | Ants On A Log Go Literal At New York's Empellón | Ants On A Log Go Literal At New York's Empellón
Empellón's "Ants On A Log" Empellón
A favorite childhood snack gets literal at one Midtown Manhattan restaurant. Empellón, known for its luxe uni nachos, pastrami tacos and avocado-shaped and flavored sorbet debuted an upscale take on ants on a log, featuring, you guessed it, actual ants. The protein-boosted ants on a log will be served as a complimentary amuse bouche throughout the season.
Chef Alex Stupak, A James Beard-award nominee whose Mexican restaurant empire also includes Empellón Al Pastor and Empellón Taqueria, is using chicatanas, that is, large flying ants known as a special treat in Oaxaxa (they're only harvested in the spring) for his adult take on a snack he used to make as a child.
"Growing up, spreading peanut butter on celery sticks was a typical snack I made for myself at home," Stupak said. "If I had any raisins in the pantry, I would arrange those on the peanut butter which gives the snack the official title of ants on a log."
For the Empellón version, celery branches are piped with savory peanut butter, topped with a few shakes of a hot sauce made from chicatanas, flown in from Mexico specifically for use in Stupak's kitchen. The bodies of the chicatanas, which have their legs, wings and other extremities removed, are cooked in lime juice, seasoned and are placed on top of the celery logs (instead of raisins).
Several other restaurants in New York serve edible insects, like The Black Ant (grasshopper tacos), Toloache (more grasshopper tacos) and Cosme (chicatanas are in the aguachile) though Stupack is the first to present actual ants on a not so literal log.
Empellón is located at 510 Madison Avenue (entrance on 53rd Street).
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1cd4b9df20b63565049c610498231b9b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2018/04/24/mothers-day-food-gifts/ | Mother's Day Gifts For Moms Who Love Food | Mother's Day Gifts For Moms Who Love Food
Give mom the gift of great food and drink Dean & Deluca / Knack / Murray's Cheese
Shopping for moms can be hard, but if your mom loves food almost as much as she loves you, a gift playing into her adoration for all things edible should give you a free pass for forgetting to call her that one time. Whether she loves staying in and cooking, entertaining or going out, the gift of food is the perfect way to celebrate Mother's Day. For the mom who loves to eat, cook or both, give these edible and food-centric gifts this Mother's Day.
Murray's Cheese Mother's Day Collection
Murray's Mother's Day Collection Murray's Cheese
Three types of cheese as well as accoutrements made by female cheesemakers and artisans across America make up this special Mother's Day spread, which comes with a special Murray's goat tote for mom to keep after the cheese is gone. $100, MurraysCheese.com
Made In Cookware
Made In's 10-inch fry pan Made In Cookware
Gift mom some cool cookware, designed with Millennials in mind, which moms, of course, love. Made In's stainless steel and aluminum pots and pans offer restaurant quality cooking but at home cook prices. Buy mom a whole new set of cookware to last a lifetime or go for a single piece. Starts at $59, MadeInCookware.com
Knack's Purist Pour
Knack's Purist's Pour Knack
Mom may or not be a coffee snob (yet) but this personalized kit by Knack is the perfect pick-me-up when you can't make mom breakfast in bed. Already packaged like a present, this set including a sleek matte black kettle, pourover dripper, glass carafe and more will be delivered straight to mom's door to help her caffeinate in style. $254, Knackshops.com
Rao's Homemade Best Collection
Rao's The Best Rao's
Pack mom's pantry with the best of the supermarket sauce aisle. Rao's collection of all their most popular sauces, pastas and condiments is definitely extra, and will be much appreciated for months to come -- especially when mom doesn't have to splurge for the expensive sauce because she already has a solid stock at home. $350, Raos.com
Wandering Bear Cold Brew Subscription
Wandering Bear cold brew Wandering Bear
Moms love subscriptions, and for the cool mom who's drinking cold brew, this coffee on tap, to be kept in an fridge, is the perfect replenishable gift. Each recyclable box contains 16 glasses of cold brew and new shipments can arrive weekly or on alternating weeks. Starts at $26.10, WanderingBearCoffee.com
Dean & Deluca Spice Tube Racks
Spice tube rack Dean & Deluca
Upgrade mom's spice cabinet in a big way, with forty different spices sourced from producers across the world, all organized in clear test tubes, which look elegant in any kitchen. A small spoon and stainless steel spice rack help keep the kit organized and functional while cooking. $175.00, DeanandDeluca.com
Tabasco 150th Anniversary Diamond Reserve Red Sauce
Tabasco Diamond Reserve Sauce Tabasco
For the mom who loves adding some heat to her food, this totally unique gift will probably make her laugh, until she hoards it all to herself. Tabasco's special anniversary hot sauce packs in the heat, and is packaged like a fine wine, making it highly gift-worthy. $35, Tabasco.com
Cake N Cream Bouquet
Cake N Cream bouquet The Bouqs
For the mom who prefers looking at kale to eating it, this gorgeous bouquet sourced from a farm in Ecuador features eco-friendly ranunculus and bursts of kale to add lush greenery to the arrangement. Starts at $52, TheBouqs.com
SodaStream Aqua Fizz Machine
The Sodastream® Aqua Fizz Sodastream
Mom can elevate any meal, homemade or leftover takeout with bubbles from this premium sparkling water machine. No electricity is required to fill the reusable glass carafes with carbonated water! $179.99, SodaStream.com
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45e8817104993ef8bcea150db86d9034 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/01/15/travel-destinations-for-each-zodiac-sign-italy/ | The Best 2019 Travel Destinations For Each Zodiac Sign | The Best 2019 Travel Destinations For Each Zodiac Sign
Panoramic view of beautiful coastal landscape at the Cilentan Coast, province of Salerno, Campania,... [+] southern Italy Getty
Ready to escape town this year but unsure where to book your next trip? Follow the stars! Seriously. Your horoscope may predict what's ahead, so why not look to the zodiac to figure out where to next? Your sign interprets your personality better than any airline mile calculator can, whether you're an adventure-seeking Aries or homebody-ish Cancer. Astrology experts Paula Pavlova and Katie Huang, founders of Moonbox (a monthly subscription box based on the lunar cycle), have shared their perfect vacation plans for each Zodiac sign in the coming year. Birthday trips for all!
Aries - Adventure!
"A true Aries thrives off of some sort of daring activity with an adrenaline junkie kind of element. Think anywhere where you can do something that brings out the excitement in life… cave diving, bungee jumping, skydiving, white water rafting, the list goes on! Aries is known for bravery and always loving a good challenge, so wherever they go as long as there is some sort of adventure, they are bound to find a way to have a heck of a good time! Aries is ruled by the element of fire so excitement is key to fanning the flames that make them feel most alive. Additionally, each Aries is independent and likes it their way or the highway, tending to act and travel on instinct rather than plans."
Taurus - Amalfi Coast, Italy
"Luxury loving Taurians will always bode well for a visit to the stunningly beautiful Amalfi Coast, Italy. Wine, dine, and take your sweet time as you tour through the cliffs, islands, and delicious food this land and sea has to offer. The Amalfi Coast is a gorgeous 50 km coastline stretches along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula. As a Venus ruled sign, Taurus loves to indulge in sensual pleasures like good food and drink, and there should be no shortage of this here. Additionally, Taurus is an Earth sign and is connected to nature -- so they’ll really enjoy the scenic views between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento as they wind past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves."
Spring in Central Park is perfect for Gemini season Getty
Gemini - New York, New York
"Gemini is the first to love this fast paced city that never sleeps! With a vast plethora of options, experiences, and opportunities for social interaction, New York is very lively with places, nooks, and crannies to explore. Geminis like variety and their dual nature will have them keen on adventuring through literally everything that the city has to offer. While many other cities might also do, there’s nothing quite like the hustle and bustle of New York City! Geminis are also air signs, meaning they are quite hard to lock down and love quickly bouncing from one place to the next. This is what makes New York the perfect destination, everything is right at their fingertips, at all times. The possibilities are truly endless!"
Cancer - Great Barrier Reef, Australia
"While they are known for being homebodies and certainly enjoy the comfort of their cozy nest, Cancer, when feeling secure, will come out of their shell for some fun in the sun. That being said, if you haven’t done much international travel, perhaps a vacay to another English speaking country would make you feel a little more at home and at ease. Connect to your Water element and fellow sea creatures by taking a dip in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia -- it’s a whole new world under there. From boat rides to snorkeling to scuba diving, and even helicopter tours, there are so many different ways to explore this amazing ecosystem,which is actually the largest living thing on Earth!"
Waterfall with blue water and rainbow in tropical island. Bali, Indonesia Getty
Leo - Bali, Indonesia
"Leos love a place where they can be their most royal, regal, and naturally fierce selves. Bali is a an artistic, exciting, inspiring place where they can connect to that inner animal spirit, let down their mane, and let their hearts roar! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that this beautiful island also offers some of the most luxurious and pampering spas, retreat centers, and wellness experiences available around the world! Fiery and a natural born leader, this is the perfect place for any leo to go and shout it from the rooftops. Leos love to spread awareness, kindness, and the benefits of self care, which is what Bali is all about."
Virgo - Machu Picchu, Peru
"Besides the magnificent view, health conscious and nature loving Virgos will love getting in a good workout as they hike through Machu Picchu and parks of the Inca trail in high altitudes. The attention to detail that the people who built this ancient city gave to the architecture, agriculture, and layout will inspire any Virgo with enthusiasm. They love a well planned, well executed project and their ideas will begin flowing with all the projects that they can create, too. Most notably, Virgos are the ultimate protectors of the Earth and as such will love the sustainable aspect of the Sacred Valley. With gardens, mountains, farms, and pastures that run through this stunning place, the people have such a bountiful love for the land and desire to protect it."
Libra - The banks of the Seine, Paris
"A trip to Paris? Oh la la! What could be more romantic than that? Whether single or committed, all Libras will surely have a amorous time in the City of Love. Ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty, this sign enjoys elegant evenings filled with art, music, culture, and the possibility of a whirlwind romance, of course. Walking down the banks of the Seine offers a picturesque view in itself, but will also have you passing the Pont des Arts, the Louvre, the majestic Notre-Dame cathedral and the Île Saint-Louis. Libras are also inclined to the intelligent, beautiful, two words that well describe the vibe of cultured and artistically designed Paris."
Scorpios can escape to the hills of Hollywood. Getty
Scorpio - Los Angeles, California
"Scorpio is a deep, sometimes brooding, but always beautiful sign, just like Los Angeles. LA has nearly everything anyone could ever what to do from the beach to the snowy mountains just a short road trip away through the gorgeous Southern California valleys, deserts, and mountains. Enjoy all the terrains and beautiful nature this earth has to offer in just one small radius of land. Palm trees, celebrities, yoga pants, matcha lattes, and the land of fame and sex, spells out S-C-O-R-P-I-O almost exactly. Water, the element of sensuality and creativity rules this sign, so it’s no wonder that they will align with everyone from the artistic, free spirited, actors of Hollywood to the grungy Downtown LA artists and hipsters. Intrigued by everything and always passionate, Scorpios will love the vibrant spider web of highways to your dreams that is Los Angeles."
Sagittarius - Angkor Wat, Cambodia
"Chances are that you’ve already been here Sag...but if you haven’t, add it to the top of your list! Fueled by an insatiable wanderlust, this sign is always on the move in their quest for higher learning. Drawn to philosophy, mysticism, and the studying of ancient cultures, Sagittarians will undoubtedly quench their thirst at Angkor Wat -- one of the largest religious monuments in the world. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. With so many sprawling temple complexes before you, there is plenty of space for a Sagittarius to roam, absorb, and do what you do best...be free."
Easter island, Chile. Getty
Capricorn - Easter Island, off the coast of Chile
"Capricorns are hard, hard workers so when they get away, a trip to truly unwind and relax is exactly what they need. This Earth based sign recharges best when they are alone or in small groups. Being that this is the most remote/uninhabited islands in all of the world, Easter Island just might be the perfect place where they can really get some alone time. Capricorns also tend to be into the why, the where, the how making this historically rich destination a perfect place to dive into learning while escaping from the busyness of the modern world. Not to mention, Capricorns have incredible stamina, so the distance is no problem and they’ll be ready to explore as soon as they get there. Not an inch of that island will go uncharted!"
Aquarius - Bullet train (Shinkansen) ride, Japan
"You’ve always been a fan of the unconventional, Aquarius, and technology usually piques your interest due to your future-forward thoughts. Immerse yourself in a completely different culture in Japan and ride a bullet train (Shinkansen) between major cities, experiencing speeds up to 198 miles per hour! If you’re interested in fashion, check out the Harajuku district in Tokyo, or if trekking through traditional, historical sites is more your jam, head to Kyoto to marvel at some beautiful temples."
Pisces - Iceland
"The scenery of Iceland's glaciers, lagoons, and medieval cliffs create some of the most dreamy and ethereal vibes, making it the perfect place for ultra spiritual Pisceans to completely submerge into mystery and find themselves. All pisces people love a place where they can go with the flow and get in tune with themselves. They tend to be very artistic, open minded, curious, and joyful no matter where they are, so they definitely won't mind the cold. And if they do, the hot springs are just the place to be to be able to fully enjoy everything this magical destination has to offer! From cleansing, purifying, detoxifying soaks to epic views, Iceland is a dream come true vacation for every Piscean."
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2c403c32e09e74e460cd6c2a87cbd336 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/02/25/best-spring-break-deals/ | The Best Spring Break Deals | The Best Spring Break Deals
Use coupon codes to save on a last minute Spring Break vacation Getty
The weather may not be cluing you in, but Spring Break is right around the corner (or, hopefully, geographically further) and if you haven't planned a getaway this season, it's time to get on it! Offers.com shared their best aggregated deals and discount codes for booking Spring Break trips, from the flights to vacation rentals to car rentals and more, so you can escape the last stretch of winter for some warm weather fun before spring officially arrives.
Spring Break Flight Deals
CheapOair: Use promo code Break18 to get up to $18 off vacation packages through April 15. Use promo code Spring27 to get up to $27 off flights through April 30.
Expedia: Book a last-minute flight within 14 days of travel, and save up to 30%.
Hotwire: Get up to 40% off when you book a Hot Rate flight. “Hot Rate” fares are fares Hotwire has negotiated with its suppliers and exact details of your flight (including the airline) won’t be revealed until after you book.
Spring Break Hotel and Vacation Rental Deals
Airbnb: Through March 14, new customers get $40 off bookings over $75.
Hotwire: Get up to 60% off when you book a Hot Rate hotel. The “Hot Rate” is rate Hotwire negotiated with its hotel suppliers and the hotel you book won’t be revealed until after you complete your booking.
Expedia: Book your last-minute hotel within 14 days of travel, and save as much as 30%.
Turnkey Vacation Rentals: Use promo code Midweek10 through March 31 for 10% off midweek stays in the Florida Keys.
Sunset in the Florida Keys Getty
Spring Break Vacation Package Deals
CheapCaribbean: Get up to 60% off Mexico vacations through May 30 and up to $600 off resorts in the Riu chain through April 29.
Contiki: Book by March 3 to get 20% off worldwide trips. Use promo code ICEISNICE to get 20% off select Iceland vacations.
Intrepid Travel: Book a last-minute deal and save up to 25%. Current last-minute options with departures through early April include Australia, Egypt, Thailand, Peru and more.
Southwest Vacations: Book your entire trip (flights, hotels, excursions) via Southwest vacations and save. Current deals for spring break season include: Up to $300 off when you book a Riu Hotels vacation package of three nights or more through March 11; up to 68% off when you book a Hard Rock vacation package of three nights or more through April 30; up to 25% off Disneyland Resort hotel vacation packages booked through March 16.
Travelocity: Through April 1, use discount code TRAVELOCITYSAVE100 to get $100 off select hotel and flight packages.
See yourself snorkeling this spring? Book a cruise with a deal. Getty
Spring Break Cruise Deals
CruiseDirect: Book by February 27 to get four-night Cuba cruises on Norwegian for as low as $469 and three-night Bahamas cruises on Carnival for as low as $199.
Princess Cruises: Book by March 1 to get a $200 air credit on select voyages, plus free specialty dining.
Spring Break Car Rental Deals
Dollar Rent A Car: Save 10% off weekend or weekly (five-day) car rentals.
Hertz: Get a free day when you reserve a three-day weekend rental or a five-day weekly rental through April 1. Plus, earn a $50 hotel gift card when booking a midsize car rental for three or more days through April 1.
Hotwire: Get up to 60% off when you book a Hot Rate car rental. “Hot Rate” refers to a rate Hotwire has negotiated with its suppliers. The rental car company you book with won’t be revealed until after completing your booking.
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06b8d8458446c1e3c8f4329d9b117283 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/05/06/mothers-day-gift-guide-gifts-for-moms-who-love-caffeine/ | Mother's Day Gift Guide: Gifts For Moms Who Love Caffeine | Mother's Day Gift Guide: Gifts For Moms Who Love Caffeine
This story was written in collaboration with Forbes Finds. Forbes Finds covers products we think you’ll love. Featured products are independently selected and linked to for your convenience. If you buy something using a link on this page, Forbes may receive a small share of that sale.
Before mom was a mom, she had caffeine. And probably still does. A love for coffee runs deep, especially when raising kids (or dealing with adult children, sorry). Being a mother can be as exhausting as it is rewarding sometimes, so this Mother's Day, celebrate the fuel that gets her through it all: Coffee. These high in caffeine gifts will perk mom right up!
Sugarfina x Alfred Coffee Gummies
Sugarfina x Alfred But First, Coffee Tumbler Neiman Marcus
Two iconic specialty food brands banded together to create a new line of caffeinated gummies. Each serving has 60mg of caffeine, about the same as a shot of espresso, and come in flavors like iced vanilla latte, cold brew and bourbon cold brew. An adorable tumbler stuffed with coffee bears may be the best wakeup on Mother's Day, plus, it can be refilled with cold coffee drinks for many mornings to come. $25, neimanmarcus.com
Shop Now
W&P Design Porter Mug
Porter Mug W&P Design
This portable ceramic and silicon wrapped mug doesn't feel like a travel mug, and that's the whole point! Give mom the joy of using a real mug on busy mornings when she has to sip her java on the go. The stylish design comes in five colors (one for each weekday?) and is dishwasher and microwave safe. $25, wandpdesign.com
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Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club's monthly package Atlas Coffee Club
Keep mom's coffee tasting palate ever-expanding with a monthly subscription to this coffee club that sources beans from all over the world. Choose from shipments of a half bag, full bag or two bags, all of which come with the single origin coffee of the month, a postcard from a new tasting notes and brewing tips. Roast preference as well as ground or whole beans can also be customized. Starts at $9/month, atlascoffeeclub.com
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Waka Coffee
Waka Coffee Waka Coffee
Drip coffee may be mom's beverage of choice, but away from home, on busy days or just when she's not feeling up to brewing, instant coffee may do the trick. Waka's freeze-dried Arabica coffee mimics brewed coffee almost identically, with rich aromas and a satisfying depth of flavor. Starts at $11.99, wakacoffee.com
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Boulangerie Jar
Boulangerie Jar Anthropologie
Add the smell of coffee to any moment in mom's day with this espresso-scented candle that comes in a luxe Parisian-inspired jar. Made from coconut wax and essential oils, this all-natural candle is so sweet you could almost eat it. $18, anthropologie.com
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Personalized Family Mugs
Personalized Family Mugs Uncommon Goods
Let mom sip with whatever family member she likes best that day with a set of personalized ceramic mugs that can be customized with each person's skin tone, hair, clothing color, name and birth year. Starts at $30, uncommongoods.com
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Infused Stumptown Hair Bender Salt
Infused Stumptown Hair Bender Salt Jacobsen Salt Co.
Salt, fat, acid, caffeine? Mom can sprinkle a little bit of coffee seasoning on everything she eats or drinks (sweet or savory!) with this unique blend. Jacobsen's Oregon Coast Sea Salt is infused with Stumptown Coffee Roaster's Hair Bender bean blend to ensure no bite has to be without a sprinkle of coffee. $14, Jacobsensalt.com
Shop Now
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1f73ea9e8f290d410c402856e0d1c279 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/05/17/katzs-delicatessen-will-celebrate-when-harry-met-sallys-thirty-year-anniversary/ | Katz's Delicatessen Will Celebrate 'When Harry Met Sally's' Thirty-Year Anniversary | Katz's Delicatessen Will Celebrate 'When Harry Met Sally's' Thirty-Year Anniversary
Katz Delicatessen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Getty
Would Harry Burns and Sally Albright be together in 2019? For fans of the classic Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan romantic comedy, that question will linger throughout July, when the film turns thirty years old, and one of its most iconic scenes comes to life. Katz's Delicatessen, the hundred-plus-year old Lower East Side deli in which the duo filmed an iconic scene back in 1989 is honoring the film's legacy with an entire month of When Harry Met Sally festivities.
On Friday, July 12, the restaurant will host a scene reenactment contest, in which Katz's guests can recreate the famed "I'll have what she's having" scene, sitting at the exact same table where Ryan and Crystal filmed three decades ago. Contestants of any gender can try and fake it better than the comedic actress and a panel of to be announced notable New Yorkers and special guests will judge who fakes it best.
On Wednesday, July 24 a special anniversary movie screening will unite Katz’s Deli with Downtown Brooklyn's Alamo Drafthouse for a special one-night-only screening of When Harry Met Sally. Each movie ticket will include an exclusive Katz’s Deli theater experience, including pastrami and corned beef carving stations on-site at the movie theatre known for its culinary and cocktail offerings.
Throughout the month, film buffs across America can also join in the celebration, with Katz’s Deli’s special edition “I’ll Have What She’s Having” package ($135). This food and merch package will include free nationwide delivery so fans across the country can recreate the famed scene while streaming the film in the comfort of their living rooms, or, wherever, on date night. The box will include Katz’s signature hand-carved pastrami and turkey (Sally and Harry's orders when they visit in the movie), all the sandwich fixings, a limited-edition black-and-white When Harry Met Sally t-shirt, Katz’s Deli collectible pins and a tote bag.
Those craving Katz's immediately can also dip into the restaurant's other shippable options, ranging from a pastrami or corned beef dinner for two ($70) or the displaced New Yorker packages ($145), an assortment of pastrami, corned beef, soft salami, seedless rye bread, full sour pickles, mustard, square knishes and bagels to lure the former city dweller back home.
More When Harry Met Sally celebratory details and events will be added to Katz's roster as the anniversary approaches. And before the anniversary, fans can always snag the table (or sit near it on busy days) at Katz's that made the restaurant iconic to 1980s and 1990s cinephiles.
Katz’s Delicatessen is located at 205 East Houston Street in Manhattan, with an offshoot in Downtown Brooklyn, A Taste Of Katz's, inside Dekalb Market Hall, at 1 Dekalb Avenue.
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0792c73453cf918cb3f6454da75860fe | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/06/24/the-most-popular-lgbtq-travel-memoirs/ | The Most Popular LGBTQ+ Travel Memoirs | The Most Popular LGBTQ+ Travel Memoirs
books Goodreads
Perhaps the best part of exploring the world is seeing how other people live and obtaining new points of view. And constantly seeking out new perspectives and new travel stories may be what inspires some to continue to travel, to unseen and repeat destinations. Whether you're currently on the road or planning your next big trip, dive into one of these travel memoirs by LGBTQ+ authors. Goodreads ranked the 10 most popular, below:
To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret by Jedidiah Jenkins
Travel writer Jedidiah Jenkins bicycles 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia, learning lessons about America, himself and and his childhood along the way.
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen
Queer trans author and reporter Samantha Allen makes readers, especially those prone to paying attention mostly to queerness on the liberal cosasts, reconsider stories from red states not often prominent in queer discussion.
Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law
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Australian Bajamin Law is a proud, married "gaysian" but he know his life would be totally different had be been raised in Asia, like his parents. He returns to the continent to make sense of life for fellow gayasians.
Trieste and The Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris
A multi-decade memoir told during a visit to this Adriatic city, this travelogue is an escape for anyone eager to spend some time on the Italian coast.
Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World by Robyn Ochs, Sarah E. Rowley
This collection of writing by bisexuals from across the globe unites over 200 essays from over 40 countries.
Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer by John Glynn
A beach read set out in the idyllic yet debaucherous Hamptons, this novel-like memoir tells the story of Glynn finding himself while staying in a shared summer home in this late 20s.
East of Croydon: Blunderings through India and South East Asia by Sue Perkins
Yep, that's the same Sue Perkins as the comedian-slash-host of Great British Baking Show. Only in this memoir, she's discussing her voyages across Southeast Asia.
The Light Years: A Memoir by Chris Rush
Expelled from art school in the 1960s (you know where this is going), Chris Rush relocates to Tucson, Arizona and assumes a counterculture life.
Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown by Michael Cunningham
The novelist of The Hours pens a different type of queer tale, this time a nonfiction look at Provincetown, the Cape Cod-adjacent beachtown that's lured in LGBTQ+ travelers for decades.
Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America by John Waters
Part performance art, part true comedy, entertainment legend John Waters details his trip hitchhiking across the nation, because really, why not?
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efe4b80faac77070c7e730fcbcf500ba | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/06/26/grubhub-report-shows-plant-based-diets-are-more-than-a-trend/ | A New Grubhub Report Shows Plant-Based Diets Are More Than A Trend | A New Grubhub Report Shows Plant-Based Diets Are More Than A Trend
Plant-based cuisine is on the rise The Washington Post/Getty Images
Plant-based food may be a buzzword on menus from takeout joints to upscale eateries across America, but veggie-forward eating is more than just a fleeting trend. A Grubhub found in its 2018 “Year in Food” report, plant-based options are on the rise across America, including in food ordered for takeout. And still, veggie food is rising in popularity. As compared to this same period last year, orders of vegan-friendly foods on the Grubhub platform increased by 25% in 2019, specifically with orders for the Impossible Burger rising overall by 82%. More meat-free options means more meat-free orders, which can be good for the planet and people's overall well-being.
Below, see exclusive results from Grubhub's most recent mid-year study, which shows how Americans are eating in 2019, as compared to last year.
Vegan Meccas
Grubhub also looked at the areas ordering the most vegan foods
1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Brooklyn, NY
3. Portland, OR
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. Rochester, NY
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6. Philadelphia, PA
7. Detroit, MI
8. San Diego, CA
Americans are embracing The Impossible Burger, a meat-free meat-like plant-based burger. AFP/Getty Images
Top Trends: Winter
1. Chicken shish kabob: 240% more popular
2. Chicken tinga: 131% more popular
3. Spicy potato taco: 111% more popular
4. Mushroom stroganoff: 90% more popular
5. Cuban picadillo empanadas: 85% more popular
Top Trends: Spring
1. Cauliflower bites: 536% more popular
2. Ahi tuna salad: 467% more popular
3. Mixed berry acai bowls: 411% more popular
4. Chicken poblano : 336% more popular
5. Quinoa taco: 285% more popular
Midwest favorites:
1. Impossible Burger: 326% more popular
2. Cheese quesadilla: 144% more popular
3. Waffle fries: 135% more popular
Northeast:
1. Harvest bowl : 340% more popular
2. Guay tiew pad see eiw: 319% more popular
3. Bagel and egg sandwich : 204% more popular
South:
1. Shrimp linguini alfredo: 273% more popular
2. Baked potato soup : 236% more popular
3. New England clam chowder: 185% more popular
West:
1. Glazed baby back rib: 412% more popular
2. Pork burrito: 208% more popular
3. Impossible Burger: 194% more popular
Breakfast: it’s all about the salty & sweet combo
1. Chicken and waffles: 219% more popular
2. Sausage egg and cheese biscuit: 179% more popular
3. Pancakes and bacon: 145% more popular
Dessert: Americans are going for ice cream delivery...
1. Brownie sundae: 273% more popular
2. Cake batter frozen yogurt : 232% more popular
3. Donut ice cream sandwich : 217% more popular
Late-night: A vegan burger leads the late-night trend!
1. Impossible Burger: 529% more popular
2. Steak quesadilla: 447% more popular
3. Mashed potatoes and gravy: 325% more popular
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7cf87fbb041724a768ba94a1019d903e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/08/16/athens-greece-where-to-eat-maria-loi/ | Chef Maria Loi's Guide To Dining In Athens | Chef Maria Loi's Guide To Dining In Athens
Greece, Athens. The Parthenon, Theater Of Herodes Atticus, The Odeon of Herodes Atticus and The ... [+] Erechtheum. Getty
If you want to eat well in Athens, look no further than chef and restaurateur Maria Loi's list of favorite eateries in her home country. Loi, who hails from the port city of Nafpaktos, a few hours from Athens, currently runs Loi Estiatorio in Manhattan, and splits her time between New York and her native Greece, where she traveled this summer to spend time with family, and of course, eat Greek. Below, a few of her top recommendations for dining in Athens, from traditional pies to late night, super fresh seafood.
For super fresh seafood: Ark
Prawns, cucumber and radish at Ark Maria Loi
"Can you imagine, in Athens on the Greek Riviera, there’s this jewel of a restaurant, Ark! Such a beautiful restaurant with the best views! The two chefs, Giannis Baxevanis and Filipos Dimopoulos, are both so talented! What I love about Ark is how fresh everything is, and how thoughtful all the dishes are – whether it’s a classic Greek plate, like Octopus with Fava Puree, or something more modern, everything on the plate has a purpose….and it’s all delicious! They also have curated a fantastic wine list, which makes it a fun dining experience for everyone. My favorite thing to eat when I’m there is whatever the chefs recommend. They usually suggest the fresh fish caught earlier in the day. Sardines are my favorite, cooked in a wood-burning oven right in front of you." 2 Labraki Grigoriou, Glyfada 166 74
For a classic taverna: Taverna Zorbas
Greek salad at Taverna Zorbas Maria Loi
"Not your quintessential tourist taverna in Plaka, Taverna Zorbas is the real deal! Chrysoula, the owner and talented cook inherited the Taverna from her father, continuing the family tradition of making great food and sharing their version of Greek hospitality at its finest! Ask Chrysoula how she makes the best cheese pies (tyropites) you’ll ever have. The dough is perfectly light and flaky, made with olive oil, just the way I do it, and the filling is perfectly proportionate to the doug. Though technically a savory dish, I like to drizzle mine with some honey from Crete, which pairs perfectly with a glass of crisp, dry white wine from Drama in Northern Greece"15 Lissiou, Erehtheos, Plaka, Athens 105 56
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For savory and sweet Greek pies: Pites Tis Sofias
Greek pie at Pites Tis Sofias Maria Loi
"One of the most famous Greek pies throughout the world is Spanakopita, but, what people don’t know is how many different kinds of pies we the Greeks make! Not just spinach and/or cheese, but any possible sweet or savory pie you could imagine! At Pites Tis Sofias, I love how creative they are with their menu offerings, especially the assortment of seasonal vegetable savory and sweet pies. My favorite is their zucchini pie, which is very light, aromatic, and herbaceous. Besides their incredible pie selection, nothing beats their early morning breakfast. A ‘sketo’ (plain) Greek coffee served with homemade peasant bread drizzled in olive oil and topped with a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg, so incredibly fresh, you can see how orange the yolk is, like the sun!" 30 Agiou Alexandrou srt., Paleo Faliro 175 61
For Greek booze: Brettos
Aging barrels at Brettos Maria Loi
"The oldest distillery in Greece, Brettos, is a trip through time – trying the different kinds of Ouzo, Tsipouro (Greek Grappa), Rakomelo (Honey infused grape must liqueur), and brandy they offer can overwhelm the senses in the best way. A feast for the eyes, this iconic bar has an incredibly diverse and expansive wine list from all over Greece, featuring familiar and ancient, unknown grape varietals. Set in a prime location in Plaka, this is the favorite after-work aperitif spot for my sister’s office. When I join them here, they usually enjoy the Ouzo selections, while I always have a Tsipouro!" Kidathineon 41, Athina 105 58
For incredible views: Garbi
Squid at Garbi Maria Loi
"Garbi has been cornering the market on unreal sunset views since 1924. Occupying a prime space on the Athenian Riviera in Vougliameni, this third generation female-owned restaurant serves wonderfully crafted dishes from the bounty of the sea prepared by the young talented chef, Michalis Pittas. Don’t miss the stuffed calamari, grilled octopus carpaccio, marinated sardines, or fresh gavros (European anchovies), while enjoying a glass of perfectly balanced rosé and watching the sun set over the crystal blue sea." 21 Iliou, Kavouri, Vouliagmeni 166 71
For the best fish in town: Panorama Restaurant
Langoustines at Panorama Restaurant Maria Loi
"My first stop upon arriving in Athens is almost always Panorama Restaurant – dining here feels like dining on a boat because it’s right on the water, full of friends and family, and delectable food! Everything you order is so delicious, it’s almost impossible to get a picture because it’s gone by the time you get your camera ready! The owner and proprietor, Dimitris, goes to the fish market at Keratsini every night, and the result is the absolute best fish in town! We were lucky enough to have the langoustines and Fagri (Pink snapper), which were served with perfectly cooked carrots, potatoes, and zucchini – very traditional accompaniments in Greece." 4 Iliou, Vouliagmeni 16671
For late night seafood: Keratsini Seafood Market
Chef Loi at Keratsini Seafood Market in July 2019 Maria Loi
"When hunger strikes in the middle of the night, and you can’t find anything open, go to the Port of Piraeus, and follow the signs to Keratsini Seafood Market. Tell the guard you’re going to see Aglaia at the small taverna just after the entrance on the right. Ask her to make you the octopus she just got, with caramelized onions over fava puree. Or any other fish! She’ll go straight to the fishmonger and cook it for you on the spot. And, if by some magical twist of fate Aglaia can get you into the actual market? Let her! It will be the most unforgettable experience of your life!" Ihtioskala Keratsini, Keratsini 187 57
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e05b58129917dc72c232030d58342814 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2019/11/21/holiday-gift-guide-2019-best-gifts-for-business-travelers/ | Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Best Gifts for Business Travelers | Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Best Gifts for Business Travelers
Gifts for business travelers
Business travel can be a fantastic treat, but needing to travel for work can also feel inconvenient, stressful or tiring. For the frequent flier who is always jetting off according to their company’s schedule, these gifts will brighten those early wake-up, long layover days and the ones in between. For coworkers, employees, or family members far away, gift the always-on-the-go employee a few treats to make their next business trip a little better.
M.M.LaFleur Packable Suit
M.M. LaFleur's packable suiting M.M. LaFleur
No one wants to show up to a meeting in a outfit freshly crumpled from travel. This new line of packable suits in mix-and-match pants, a skirt and two jackets is machine washable and wrinkle-resistant. Travelers can pack pieces in drawstring bags that come with the clothing and not waste any time searching for the hotel iron. Suiting pieces are made from a polyester-polyurethane blend, which offers a luxe, silk-like finish, and pieces are available in women’s sizes 0-16. $165 and up, mmlafleur.com
Stojo Packable Cup
Stojo Titan cup collection Stojo
For environmentally friendly travelers, or those who just constantly need a beverage in hand, this collapsible silicone cup is a must-pack item. The cups, available in multiple sizes, folds into a hockey puck sized package, easy to tuck in any travel bag or large pocket, and pops up for hot or cold beverages on-the-go. The cup is also dishwasher friendly, for a quick clean when travelers return home. Starts at $14.99 for 8 oz cup, Stojo.co
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Cashmere socks
Frances Austen cashmere socks Frances Austen
Sometimes it’s the little luxuries that make an exhausting day so much better. Gift Frances Austen’s new sustainable knit cashmere socks, which are upscale sweaters for feet! $75, FrancesAusten.com
A durable suitcase
MVST Select's Trek Suitcase MVST Select
MVST’ Selects direct-to-consumer luggage is sleek and functional for travelers who practically live out of a suitcase. Luggage is made with a full aluminum body, smooth 360° silent wheels, a multi-stage telescoping handle, zipperless closure, slow-release side and top handles and duo TSA locks. Inside compartments keep clothing and accessories organized. Starts at $395, MVSTselect.com
Laptop bag
Dagne Dover's Ryan laptop bag Dagne Dover
Keep laptops and tablets easily accessible with Dagne Dover’s Ryan neoprene laptop carrying case with a luggage handle sleeve for optimal travel convenience. The brand also has several more matching bags and organization sleeves if you want to gift an entire set of mix-and-match packing accessories. Starts at $135 for medium, DagneDover.com
Showerless Travel Kit
Busy Beauty's showerless travel kit Busy Beauty
Freshening up after travel can be nearly impossible when heading straight from the jetway to a conference room. This TSA-friendly iFly mini case contains the essentials for a five-minute boost in a bathroom sans shower – dry shampoo, conditioner, shave gel and wipes to reset between transit and work hours. $44.95, BusyBeauty.com
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bea52f35e625fea169a2b86dcb215c35 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2020/11/17/supermarket-swag-popular-food-brands-add-fashionable-merch/?sh=49dad6541015 | Supermarket Swag: Popular Food Brands Add Fashionable Merch | Supermarket Swag: Popular Food Brands Add Fashionable Merch
Nissin Foods vends branded items to fans eager to show off their love for instant noodles. Nissin Foods
Couch potatoes can add some carb-inspired comfort to their loungewear this season. Several popular American brands are breaking into the fashion business with the addition of merch — that is t-shirts, hats and more branded swag — for fans to wear their love for all things processed food. And it’s not just something corporate marketing experts have cooked up, it’s the American consumers eager to cozy up with branded clothing.
"Over the past year, our fans have been asking about branded merchandise, so we went to work creating items that really double down on comfort and taste – the heart of our brand," said Megan McLaughlin, brand marketing manager at Stouffer’s. "It was a no-brainer to deliver even more comfort and coziness at a time when people need it most."
Mac & Cheese merch from the Stouffer's shop Stouffer's
On November 17, Stouffer’s, the purveyor of popular frozen entrees like macaroni and cheese and French bread pizza, launched a merchandise store filled with cozy items: blankets made for "canoodling”, cozy adult onesies for wearing lasagna love from head to toe, warm sleeping bags perfect for catching some mac & z's and more to pair with the brand’s comfort food. Items will be added throughout the holiday season, and available at ShopStouffers.com.
Nissin Foods, creator of the iconic Cup Noodles and Top Ramen is another major food brand to up their merch game with a new Sanrio collaboration. The new Cup Noodles x Hello Kitty and Top Ramen x Gudetama collections match instant noodles with popular Japanese characters, with specialty designed sweatshirts and tees that combine the collectability with comfort.
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Sanrio x Nissin collaborative items from the Nissin Fan Store Nissin
The Nissin Fan Store launched in late 2018, with a Cup Noodles dog costume and full apparel line for fans to show off their devotion to instant ramen. “Nissin Foods is proud to collaborate with Sanrio, another iconic brand beloved by our fans. Our Cup Noodles with Hello Kitty and Top Ramen with Gudetama collaborations bring more delicious and adorable clothing items to the Nissin Fan Store, perfect for cozying up at home with some Nissin instant noodles,” said Jaclyn Park, Vice President of Marketing for Nissin.
Branded merch is far from new, through the phenomenon has seemingly grown with more people staying at home in cozy, nostalgic clothes, noshing on easy-to-make comfort foods. Frito-Lay has been vending Cheetos apparel since 2017, and recently launched an extensive holiday shop, with festive, branded sweaters and beanies available for a limited time only. Again, the merch was requested by customers, this time having seen it in a popular 2019 holiday commercial, in which Anna Kendrick sings a snack-inspired rendition of “My Favorite Things” and holiday guests in Tostitos branded holiday sweaters snack through the singing.
Holiday sweaters in Frito-Lay's holiday shop Frito-Lay
“We received such an overwhelming response to last year’s ‘Favorite Things’ campaign from our fans asking how they could purchase a number of items in the spot that in 2020 we knew holiday sweaters were an absolute must, especially at a time when we’re all looking for simple and fun ways to add some joy and cheer to our everyday lives while also creating new traditions with family and friends,” said Rachel Ferdinando, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America.Similar to an open bag of potato chips, this exclusive swag will likely be gone before you know it.
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d56d031303b288c66575f56c9530de99 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2020/11/24/make-these-spanish-style-turkey-croquetas-with-your-thanksgiving-leftovers/?sh=4cdbc98d6e67 | Make These Spanish-Style Turkey Croquetas With Your Thanksgiving Leftovers | Make These Spanish-Style Turkey Croquetas With Your Thanksgiving Leftovers
Croquetas de pavo add a new twist to Thanksgiving turkey leftovers Mercado Little Spain
Leftovers are typically the best part of Thanksgiving (no across-the-table nagging, sweatpants encouraged for lukewarm mashed potato binges...), and this year you’re likely to have more overstuffed tupperware than ever. And because there’s absolutely nothing traditional about 2020, it’s time you switch up your leftover game beyond sandwiches and try something new. Turkey croquetas, anyone?
"In Spain, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving or eat turkey, so this was a new tradition for me when I came to the US,” says Chef Nico Lopez of José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain in New York. Another unique aspect of the holiday? All the extra food. “The day after the holiday there are so many leftovers, that, to me, it was a no-brainer to make croquetas,” Lopez adds.
Traditionally, croquetas in Spain are made with jamón or chicken, but “the turkey works just as well and combines with the béchamel for a perfectly creamy bite,” Lopez says. “People say they get sick of eating leftovers after Thanksgiving, so when I introduce them to this Spanish twist it brings a whole new life to the dish they ate the night before."
Try mixing in leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, creamed spinach or even a dollop of cranberries in your croquetas for a personalized twist. “This croquetas recipe is the perfect way to use that leftover Thanksgiving turkey,” Lopez says, or really meat you cooked for the holiday, even pulled pork, or, Tofurkey, if you’ve got it. ¿Porque no?
Croquetas are always a good ideas. getty
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Croquetas de Pavo (Turkey Croquetas) by Chef Nico Lopez & Chef José Andrés
Ingredients:
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2½ cups all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of nutmeg
10 ounces turkey, cooked and shredded (leftover Thanksgiving turkey works well)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil (this blend is recommended for frying)
Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they're translucent, about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 ½ cups of the flour and continue stirring vigorously until well combined. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the mixture smells nutty and becomes beautifully golden in color. Pour the milk into the mixture, stirring continuously, and continue to cook for about 2 minutes, until you have a thick béchamel sauce. Season to taste with ½ teaspoon of salt and nutmeg.
Add the turkey and mix in until well combined. Cook for another 2 minutes, until you have a thick mixture you can mold in your hands. Carefully pick up a bit of the mixture and try to ball it with your hands. It shouldn’t be too sticky. If it does stick to your hands, allow the mixture to cook a little longer. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet to allow it to cool.
Once it’s cool enough to handle, take a spoonful and roll it in your hands to make a small cylinder, about the size of a wine cork. Roll the cylinder in the remaining 1 cup of flour, then in the eggs, and then in the breadcrumbs, and set aside on another cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture. You should end up with about 36 croquetas.
In a small deep-frying pan, heat the olive oil to 375 F. Working in batches, add the croquetas, making sure they are covered completely in oil. Fry until golden, about 1 minute, then transfer to a tray lined with paper towel to drain. Be sure to allow the oil to return to 375 F between batches.
Season with salt and serve hot.
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8c276f5bcdd11df69801bd82112ca3f2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2020/11/30/the-best-gifts-for-francophiles/ | Holiday Gift Guide 2020: The Best Gifts For Francophiles | Holiday Gift Guide 2020: The Best Gifts For Francophiles
Francophiles will love these France-related gifts. getty
For lovers of all things France, a gift honoring their Francophilia is always the right call. From imported goods, to high quality French foods, to artwork evoking everything that is so loveable about France, these gifts will tide your Francophile over until their next trip to the French Republic.
Louis Sel’s French Salt
Louis Sel's French salts Louis Sel
Working directly with independent farmers, Louis Sel brings small batch, unique French salts to American kitchens. Varieties include Fleur de Sel, Sel Marin with Aromatic Herbs, Sel Marin with Fennel and Citrus, and Sel Marin with Pink Peppercorn. $12.99 and up, louissel.com
Murray’s French Connection
Murray's French Connection Murray's Cheese
While the American francophile may not be smuggling soft cheese back from France anytime soon, Murray’s Cheese has imported the posh perishables (legally), and curated a selection to ship the tastes of France stateside. The collection includes four iconic cheeses, like Comte and Roquefort, plus rich cherry confit, silky Jambon, and a handful of bright olives. $130, murrayscheese.com
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Paris Page-A-Day 2021 Calendar
Paris 2021 Calendar Workman Publishing
For those lusting over their next trip to the City of Lights, this nostalgic page-a-day calendar will take them to a new point in Paris every day of 2021. Even if a flight into CDG isn’t on their agenda, each day will whisk them away on a short and spontaneous mental trip. $18.99, bookshop.org
Luxury French Beauty Supplies
Kadalys' Nutritive Precious Oil Kadalys
Leading French beauty brand Kadalys, started selling its sustainable upcycled banana products in this U.S. this past october. The eco-conscious products include a luxe lip balm, cleansing gel, day and night creams, and more. From $32, us.kadalys.com
French Artwork
NUEES by Robert Gheyssens, a painting for sale at Saatchi Art Robert Gheyssens / Saatchi Art
Add a new remnant of France to your Francophile’s collection with Saatchi’s Art curated selection of art from France. Pieces from living and working artists include paintings, photography, collage and more, portraying a variety of subjects. Prints from $40, saatchiart.com
French Cooking Classes
A step=by-step quiche from the French Cooking Academy The French Cooking Academy
The French Cooking Academy teaches cooks at all levels how to cook classic French dishes and employ French technique in any kitchen. Online lessons are in English, and review specific skills using French recipes any Francophile will love to add to their weeknight repertoire. $179, thefrenchcookingacademy.com
French Pet Toys
Bark's Voulez Chew Croissant Bark
For French wine lovers with a furry Francophile, Bark’s adorable vin-themed toys will give pet owners and their companions a chance to bond over some French inspired playtime. Perhaps a glass of Cabernet Slobberon from Chateau du Bark (a soft squeaky toy) will strike their dog’s fancy or a voulez chew croissant will be their new favorite toy. C’est bon! From $10, barkshop.com
Fresh Croissants
Angelina Bakery's croissants Goldbelly
New York’s Angelina Bakery ships freshly frozen croissants nationwide, to be quickly baked and served warm, just out of the oven! Flavors include a traditional buttery, flaky pastry, as well as chocolate, almond, Nutella and raspberry with white chocolate. $95 for 12, goldbelly.com
Air France White Vintage Suitcase
Air France's white vintage suitcase Air France
Originally designed in the 1950s for first-class Air France passengers, the vintage-style suitcase is now for sale as a decorative object and a fashion accessory. Francophiles can display the suitcase or pack up for weekend trips and dream of jetsetting off to France. $83, shopping.airfrance.com
Seek & Swoon’s Envie Throw
Seek and Swoon's Envie throw Seek and Swoon
For a more subtle nod to all the inspiration that Paris provides, gift a luxury throw blanket inspired by France! The sustainable blanket is designed in Portland, Oregon, completely from recycled cotton and polyester, and is perfect for snuggling up on the couch for an at-home French film fest. $170, seekandswoon.com
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c3b47ccfc96b00db1b1f911914d65486 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2020/11/30/travel-deal-tuesday-the-best-day-to-book-travel-for-2021/ | Travel Deal Tuesday: The Best Day To Book Travel For 2021 | Travel Deal Tuesday: The Best Day To Book Travel For 2021
Optimists can book their (refundable) 2021 bucket list travel on Travel Deal Tuesday getty
This year and travel did not get along, but for every postponed holiday and desperate staycation, there will be another bucket list trip sometime in the future. If you’re banking on 2021 to indulge your wanderlust, Travel Deal Tuesday may be your best day to book next year’s vacations. On Tuesday, December 1, travel providers will be offering major discounts and flexible policies, should 2021 not be as pandemic-free as hoped.
But for globetrotting optimists, travel booking app Hopper has outlined exactly what travelers can expect this Travel Deal Tuesday, to plan ahead for a promising vaccine and more normal year ahead.
"In recent years, Travel Deal Tuesday has become one of the best days to book travel. While this year has looked different in many ways, Americans are still excited about the promise of a good deal," said Liana Corwin, Consumer Travel Expert at Hopper. "If you’re thinking about future travel, December 1 will be a great day to take advantage of low rates and unprecedented flexibility, as travel providers are expected to offer discounts on spring-summer 2021 travel and flexible booking options.”
Before you book an itinerary, take a look at what to expect on Travel Deal Tuesday, and start packing. Well, almost. Here’s how to make the most of the day’s deals:
The best time to book next year's vacation is Tuesday, December 1
In honor of travel deal Tuesday, prices are expected to be 34% lower on December 1, compared to the same date last year, with great deals on spring and summer 2021 travel. Hopper’s data detects an average of 34 deals per second on this travel holiday, which is 30% more deals than the average day.
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Safely see the world again in 2021 getty
Take advantage of special discounted prices
Stay thrifty on Cyber Monday, because Tuesday will offer savings of up up to 40% off flights, 40% off hotels, and up to 30% off select Avis and Budget car rentals via the Hopper app.
Book 2021 travel with flexibility
If booking travel this early makes you nervous, and, rightfully so, 2020 has been a year of uncertainty, know that travelers who book through the Hopper app are eligible for 20% off the company's Refundable Booking Plan for flights and hotels, and Flexible Dates Plan for flights only). If you choose to cancel, you’ll get 100% back in travel credit, or 80% cash back, depending on your trip details. Hopper's Flexible Dates Plan also allows travelers to instantly change the date, time, and even airline for any reason up to 24 hours prior to departure.
Check airlines for Travel Deal Tuesday promotions
Airlines such as Hawaiian Airlines, Emirates, Air Canada and Icelandair have already confirmed they’ll be participating in Travel Deal Tuesday this year. Check with specific airlines to see what deals and offers they will promote on Tuesday.
Take your time planning
Still hung up on whether you want to spend nex August abroad? Using Hopper’s Price Freeze feature, you can freeze a flight deal to hold that price for a short window, up to 14 days, so that you can come back to book it at a more convenient time.
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4c70683ac8132a19d18e9150dc4f0db6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissamdaniels/2019/07/10/for-independent-musicians-goingyour-own-way-is-finally-starting-to-pay-off/ | Why Independent Musicians Are Becoming The Future Of The Music Industry | Why Independent Musicians Are Becoming The Future Of The Music Industry
MIDiA
Stereotypes of professional musicians tend to stick to one pole or another — they're either a world-famous, arena-touring troubadour with a luxurious lifestyle, or they're down on their luck playing in a dive while forgoing a "normal job."
Take a look at reality and you'll find plenty who are something in between: the independent artist who aims to make their living off of their music and finds a variety of ways to do so.
Not only are more musicians making their way in the business without the aid of a label, but independent musicians are actually the fastest-growing segment of the global recorded music business. A new report from MIDiA Research fielded in partnership with digital music distributor Amuse says independent artists generated more than $643 million in 2018, a 35% jump from the year before.
Diego Farias, the co-founder and CEO at Amuse, said this growing crop of independent musicians signals seismic changes to come in the music industry. With less of an adherence to labels, there will be new key players and new ways of doing business — think fewer managers and more short-term contracts.
"The majors are growing at a sustainable growth rate, but this part of the industry is just exploding," he said. "There's something happening that's going to impact the industry profoundly."
MIDiA
For artists, technological advancements that allow them to share their work with the world fuels their ability to make music and build their career at their own pace, and with their own style. Eighty-three percent of independent artists said it's important for them to retain creative control over their music, compared to 74% of label artists. Artists in both categories say they think artists have more control of their careers than ever before — and that kind of empowerment means that artists no longer see signing to a label as the road to success.
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Despite the creative control that artists are retaining, earnings still remain a big obstacle for those who wish to make their living in music — the survey found about eight in 10 musicians do not earn enough from their music careers to not worry about their financial situation. About half of independent and label artists alike say they often have cash flow problems because their income isn't predictable.
The report also speaks to the reality that having a major label deal doesn't guarantee success — 59% of independent artists said they were frequently worried about their financial position, compared to 48% of label artists.
Average income paints a similar picture: independent artists earned an average of $12,860 a year off music, and label artists earned an average of $23,913. About three-quarters of independent artists earned less than $10,000 a year from music, compared to 61% of label artists.
That finding underscores a truth that working musicians already knew: being signed to a label, while it can be beneficial for sales and distribution, doesn't guarantee financial success.
"No matter what your status is, a lot of the artists in the report need additional income to be able to sustain their lives," Farias said.
MIDIA
To that end, Farias' company is trying to find new ways to get money to musicians for their work. Amuse, founded by music and technology experts, functions as a new kind of record label built on top of a free music distribution service. It allows its artists to retain 100% of their royalties and rates. The Amuse team is also working to find new ways to support this growing crop of independent artists: the Fast Forward program sends musicians up to six months of their future royalties based off of projections from the platform's data.
Overall, the industry is thinking about new ways to work with artists, Farias said. Younger musicians are not familiar with the concept of managers who help them skyrocket to success — but they have seen YouTubers or influencers who made millions off distributing their own product. And short-term contracts, as opposed to locking artists in for lengthy deals, are becoming a way to empower artists to be more in charge of their own work.
The MIDiA survey also examined the motivations and mentalities behind what musicians consider success in their chosen field — and there was some variation between independent or label artists. Both groups ranked achieving respect and recognition in their scenes as the top sign of success, but the response was greater among label musicians (87%) compared to independent artists (53%).
Half of independent artists said success looks like building up a fan base of any size, which only 35% of label artists said. Those numbers were almost reversed when musicians were asked if success looks like building a large global fan base —37% of independent artists agreed, compared to 52% of label artists.
Still, fewer than one in five artists said they think signing to a label is a measure of success — as the report puts it, "artists now see labels as simply one more possible means to an end."
These findings indicate that the vision of what it means to be a professional musician is changing. While the dream of a worldwide tour and magazine cover may still reside in the minds of teenagers plugging in an amp for the first time or hopeful singers posting video after video of pop song cover, the artists who choose to make their living in music are not necessarily seeking a traditional path — or even a very luxurious one.
"A lot of people are doing it out of their passion for music, rather than the commercial success," Farias said.
MIDiA
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a20466912f2f5e23ba52f64b9fe26495 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2017/10/26/how-this-working-mother-of-five-built-a-top-ethical-skincare-company-elevating-african-women/ | How This Working Mother Of Five Built A Top Ethical Skincare Company Elevating African Women | How This Working Mother Of Five Built A Top Ethical Skincare Company Elevating African Women
Shalom Lloyd (center) with Fatima (left), one of the women working with Naturally Tribal in Essan,... [+] and her baby boy. Naturally Tribal Skincare
As a mother of five and full-time Global Transformation Leader at Roche Products Ltd in the UK, Shalom Lloyd has her hands full. Like many moms, her children are a great source of inspiration and motivation. And in this African British entrepreneur’s case, one of her kids has been the impetus behind her own company Naturally Tribal Skincare.
In 2014, after three rounds of IVF, Lloyd gave birth to twins, one of whom was covered in eczema shortly after birth. For months, Lloyd combined lotions, creams, emollients, and teas to stop her son Josh’s ‘scratch until drawing blood’ dilemma.
Then one day, being Nigerian-born, she tapped into her African heritage, and started mixing together raw Shea and other ingredients from her homeland. Using these natural elements worked wonders, and took a mere three days to get Josh’s skin back to what is was when he was first born.
From there, Naturally Tribal Skincare came to fruition. Today, the social enterprise uses Mother Nature’s gifts to create products with natural and ethically sourced ingredients, while working with women in Essan, Niger State in Nigeria to produce quality Shea to a premium standard.
Launched in February 2017, Naturally Tribal Skincare currently has eight products on the market for men, women and children, and was recently selected by Commonwealth First as an Export Champion.
Maximizing her dual heritage and 20 years of working in the pharmaceutical industry, Lloyd’s mission is to provide natural remedies for Africa and the West. The company’s current business model is designed to purchase all its Shea from the women of Essan, while sourcing additional customers in the Western world, and giving them access to a larger market.
“Despite receiving billions in aid for several decades, Africa has not achieved the levels of economic self-determination needed to enable it to deal with its own poverty, disease and chronic dependency,” says Lloyd. “The aid development model being used in Africa isn't working. African nations are rich with natural resources and development potential. What they need is trade! There is a great saying: ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' This works.”
How did Shalom build an ethical skincare company, while juggling a full-time job? Here are the four things she attributes her success to:
Make your business about your relationships and its affect on society—not you.
Being originally from a developing country and living in the UK, Lloyd knows firsthand that it’s important to not assume that people are less fortunate, less happy, or less knowledgeable just because they’re from a different culture or a third world nation. That's why she and her team are not employing the women of Essan; they’re partnering with them.
“Trade boosts development by enabling people to use their resources, skills, and expertise to help themselves and improve their own future,” says Lloyd. “We are collaborating with Essan on infrastructure and trade that goes way beyond our business, and creates a portal through which this rich cultural identity can be accessed by the UK and the world through our products.”
The women of Essan holding Naturally Tribal Skincare products they're helping create. Naturally Tribal Skincare
Stay aligned with your ethics, and help others do the same.
Lloyd says not allowing one’s self to be tempted by the easy route is critical when creating an ethical business, or any kind of business for that matter. Naturally Tribal’s solution for keeping its values at the forefront has been to work closely on the ground with the women of Essan, while supporting with the community with infrastructure to ensure quality training through education and capability building.
“Being true to one’s word, transparent and honest, and allowing one’s self to listen and take on board what’s being said verbally and non-verbally—when you do that and follow with action, you build trust,” shares Lloyd. “The King of Essan made it clear that he was particular and cautious about any partnerships, but with Naturally Tribal, today, the King and his people, particularly the women are enabling, championing and supporting our plans.”
Complete 90% of your to-do list before finishing the day.
As someone with a full-time day job, Lloyd’s working hours do not fit the 9 to 5 norm. She devotes her full working days to her work at Roche, which takes her all over the world. She spends her evenings and weekends on building Naturally Tribal.
“In both organisations, I work and surround myself with the most amazing and talented people, who I delegate to when I need to, which is a secret ingredient for success if you ask me,” she says. “My one rule is to complete 90% of all my to-do list before I finish my working day. When you enjoy and are passionate about what you do, it ceases to be a chore.”
Capture your crazy thoughts as they come to you, and take time to take a step back.
Lloyd says she sleeps with a pad of paper and pen by her bedside to record the ideas that go through her mind at night and in the morning.
“First thing I do when I wake up every morning is kiss my babies!” she says. “They are my motivation! Then I jump in the shower, where I have my thinking and reflection time, which sets up my day. Next, I pick up my pad and go through my to-do list, which has a section for my day job and another for Naturally Tribal. My list sets me up for the day and my hour-long walks in the evening with my son help clear my mind. My husband and I recap our day every evening regardless of where we are – he keeps me grounded and when I get stuck or go off track he gives me a dose of reality or motivation, depending on what’s needed.”
Naturally Tribal currently has 36 formulations in its pipeline, and is creating more.
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5a710fb9a3b57e4ce91d6b4651144240 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2018/06/20/world-refugee-day-meet-the-entrepreneur-employing-women-refugees-through-the-joy-of-healthy-food/ | World Refugee Day: Meet The Entrepreneur Employing Women Refugees Through The Joy Of Healthy Food | World Refugee Day: Meet The Entrepreneur Employing Women Refugees Through The Joy Of Healthy Food
The Mediterranean Sea route for Syrian refugees hoping to settle in the West is the deadliest route in the world for them to travel. Of the reported 5,350 refugee deaths in 2015, at least 3,700 were on the Mediterranean. This journey is captured in VRefugees, a VR experience founded by Lina Zdruli. Designed to be an empathy building tool, the project narrates the journey of seven refugees fleeing Syria and crossing into Europe. When users put on the Oculus headset, they’re immersed in the world of a refugee making this voyage.
As someone who understands some of the trials refugees experience, Zdruli is determined to prove that the private sector can provide solutions for refugee employment. She wrote her MA thesis at Georgetown University on the topic. As a World Bank consultant, she analyzes this prospect and studies the potential risks involved. And as an entrepreneur, she’s putting her theory to the test.
“At the World Bank, we work on the humanitarian development nexus, and look at how we can create a bridge from immediate relief to more livelihoods and sustainment,” says Zdruli. “So I wanted to learn on my end as a business owner what the unique points are, and how can we develop a model that other industries can adopt.”
Dafero Dates
In February 2018, Zdruli launched Dafero, a consumer food startup that employs refugee women to make healthy, organic snacks. Working out of a commercial kitchen, the women choose the best variety of dates to produce Dafero’s naturally gluten-free date spread. They’ll soon be making almond butter, and at times bake date-based brownies.
Lina Zdruli, founder of Dafero, employs refugee women in Maryland to make healthy, gluten-free food... [+] products. Dafero
Employment & Training
Through a partnership with the International Rescue Committee in Maryland, Dafero has access to a steady pipeline of refugee women ready to get to work.
Zdruli says that in addition to employment, Dafero plans to offer leadership skills to its employees, and connect them to English classes, as mastering the English language is vital for some refugees to build livelihoods in the United States.
For example, Dafero’s first employee, Safa, a Syrian refugee who settled in Maryland with her family, was a hairdresser back home in Syria. She had gotten as far as the eighth grade in her education.
“I loved my profession, but here in the US it would be too difficult just now to begin that job because my English is still so poor,” says Safa. “It would be impossible to fully understand clients.”
“We’re looking into providing a training process to allow the refugees to pick up English and other certifications,” says Zdruli. “We want to train them in leadership skills, as well. So Safa could train the new cohorts. And she’ll have a US employment reference, which will help her build her resume.”
Safa has four children under the age of 10, and her husband suffers from a permanent back injury from a work accident. Managing all this plus taking language classes is a heavy load. For this reason, part-time work, which is what Dafero offers, is best for her versus a full-time job.
Dafero date spread is currently available for purchase online and has been sold at festivals. Zdruli’s goal is aiming to get the food product into Washington DC-based health food stores this summer and later into larger retailers.
Why Hire Refugees?
While employing refugees is undoubtedly good for them and contributes to the economy, not all private sector players have been on board with the idea, and not all have incorporated best practices when implementing such programs. With over 65 million forcibly displaced people in the world today, and 21.3 million of them refugees, it’s time they start.
According to the Refugees Deeply study “Refugees as Employees: Good Retention, Strong Recruitment”, refugees tend to stay with the same employer longer than others, and once employers create positive working relationships with refugees, the opportunity to recruit more is fresh on the table.
“For the past 67 years, we’ve had UNHCR, and while they’ve been indispensible on the humanitarian side, you have one or two generations of refugees living in a camp-base model or not being granted work," says Zdruli. "In the private sector, there are many pockets that actually need labor. Private sector job opportunities could create a win-win solution as long as you have safeguards.”
As part of her thesis research, Zdruli interviewed human resources officers in Germany about why they hired refugees. She then built a six step model for companies to follow.
The six steps include the following:
Decide whether a company has the capacity to hire directly, or wants to empower refugees to work in other companies. It is important to understand whether your company has the time and resources to not only train but also hire refugees, which will give them a greater incentive to perform highly during the trainings. If the company does not foresee employment opportunities opening, it can still make long-term contributions to their refugee communities by offering programs that will help the newcomers compete for jobs. Examples include language courses, skills-training and certification adaptation. For example, Zanox decided it could not hire refugees, so they took on a traditional corporate social responsibility approach by offering in-kind donations.
Align their core capabilities with the community needs. Volkswagen’s technology team provided software services for NGOs helping refugees in Wolfsburg, the VW headquarters.
Allocate specific funding and employees. The Germany company, Gewobag, hired a refugee coordinator to manage all its trainees and full-time hires. Through this, the company encouraged employees to volunteer time and mentorship to trainees, and framed the program in terms of other initiatives that Gewobag found successful and beneficial to all employees.
Establish written partnerships to ensure all parties stay accountable. Accenture coordinated with the City of Frankfurt and the local Chamber of Commerce to organize career fairs and bring in the companies to hire refugees. Without the partnership MOU the first attempt to work with University of Frankfort failed.
Remain flexible. All those interviewed during Zdruli’s research noted that this was a new process for both themselves and the companies in their networks. Like any initiative being implement, learning from prior mistakes is key.
Tap into networks. The companies interviewed said they participated in roundtable discussions with their branches in other cities and countries or in networks of other companies assisting refugees. Examples of convening networks include Wir Zusmmen and Jobs for Refugees.
While building Dafero and consulting for the World Bank, Zdruli continues to investigate the long-term potential and risks in making investments in refugee employment. Some obstacles to creating a sustainable bridge include the possibility of visas being revoked, as well as the ability for refugees to establish their identities and become financially included. These are all issues that require cooperation and collaboration from the public and private sector to address.
As more members of the private sector build refugee employment initiatives, small businesses like Zdruli’s exemplify the positive impact putting your money where your mouth is can have.
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dcc851d03916aeba48499128f47d0a5f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2019/01/22/from-self-defense-fighter-to-global-franchise-founder-the-story-of-shefighter/?fbclid=IwAR2yFZbR_l8dqa490AIt2_6I8db2_9HQX8EykGGyuLUYYfIu5C4rht_fEJo | From Self-Defense Fighter To Global Franchise Founder: The Story Of SheFighter | From Self-Defense Fighter To Global Franchise Founder: The Story Of SheFighter
Lina Khalifeh, Founder of SheFighter SheFighter
Growing up in Amman, Jordan, where extracurricular activities for young girls were few and far between, Lina Khalifeh jumped into Taekwondo lessons at age five at her second cousin’s martial arts studio. She was good at the sport, and her coach told her so. Because being “good” at anything wasn’t something she ever head at school, Taekwondo became her school, and helped her develop her physical, mental and emotional awareness.
Years later, after seeing a friend suffer from physical abuse by her father and brother, Lina grew determined to train women how to defend themselves. That's how SheFighter—the first women’s-only self-defense school in the Middle East—was born.
Since launching her company in Amman in 2012, Lina and her all-female staff of 500+ instructors have trained more than 15,000 women across the globe. In addition to Jordan, SheFighter studios operate in Palestine, Armenia, Holland, South Korea and Mauritius, an island off the southeast coast of Africa.
Hillary Clinton and SheFighter Founder Lina Khalifeh at Vital Voices event in Washington D.C. SheFighter
After being honored by former President Barack Obama at the White House’s Emerging Global Entrepreneurship event in 2015, being given “The Economic Empowerment Leadership” award by Hillary Clinton and Vital Voices in 2018, and training actress Emma Watson, Lina has no shortage of opportunities to continue to expand SheFighter, which she plans to bring to the U.S.
Defying Cultural Norms
While she’s received a number of accolades for her work, getting SheFighter off the ground has been anything but a cake walk for Lina. For one, female founders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have the lowest rates of Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in the world with merely 4% of the population. Two, while 96% of girls graduate from university in Jordan, only 17.3% participate in the labor force, according to the Department of Statistics in Jordan.
“When I started SheFighter in 2012, I thought women would accept it,” shares Lina. “But a lot of women didn’t want to get out of their comfort zone and started attacking me. They said, ‘what you’re giving us is not a solution’, because they thought they were free and liberal. But the culture is stronger than the educational system here. As a girl you’re born knowing that someone will take care of you, so you don’t have to take care of yourself. So women may get their masters or PHd, but they know they can go back home and their fathers will take care of them.”
Creating Her Own Style
These days, the demand for SheFighter is growing faster than Lina can keep up with at times.
“Sometimes you grow so fast, but you don’t have enough budget to grow that big," she says. `’So now I’m doing partnerships with other countries, and doing training of trainers courses. We have a big number of certified trainers to train other women in other countries.”
In the SheFighter studios, trainers teach students how to take care of themselves on multiple levels. With a copyrighted manual and student training system of five different degrees, the SheFighter self-defense technique is a combination of Taekwondo, boxing, Aikido, Kung Fu, and training for the military.
“If someone threatens you with a gun, knife or stick, you’ll know what to do as a trained SheFighter,” says Lina.
Training & Certifying Syrian Refugees
The manual and certified training have played a significant role in helping SheFighter create partnerships with a number of NGOs, including UNHCR, Oxfam and UNDP.
When the organization takes on a project to support women in rural areas, the women trained in those locations by SheFighter instructors are able to take the lead of that project and be compensated for it.
“It’s also a way of promoting economic empowerment for women,” says Lina.
Through a partnership with the UNHCR, SheFighter has certified 12 Syrian refugees to be trainers, who are paid in salary and now training other women in refugee camps.
“We can create leaders there. Get them out of the camps, train them, and give them the tools they need, ” Lina shares.
Developing Emotional Intelligence
At the core of Lina’s purpose-driven business is her will to help people find fulfillment from within. She often speaks at conferences to encourage young people how to develop their emotional intelligence, and deal with the highs and lows of life. An avid reader, she credits the great mystic poet Rumi and Bruce Lee as sources of inspiration and enlightenment on this topic.
“A lot people, women or men, want something to satisfy them outside instead of inside,” Lina opines. “Through martial arts, I was always connected internally to myself. Taekwondo was one of the best things I started because it’s a solo sport. The more you’re connected to your emotional intelligence the more you’re going to rise in life. So Shefighter was mostly an energy coming from within me to everyone else.”
As she continues to build SheFighter and her emotional intelligence, Lina hopes the world stops attaching negative stigmas to people for being emotional.
“We have pressured women so much that they feel to be connected to their emotions is wrong,” she says. Being connected to our emotions is good, we just need to control them like Bruce Lee said. You may get bad news, but you have a choice on how to respond to it.”
Part of maintaining this kind of balance is keeping your ego in check. Lina says that at times when women she trains become more powerful, their egos begin to take charge. In these scenarios, Lina tells her trainees they have to stay humble, and says “at any moment one injury can drop you."
Additionally, when Lina gives lectures to young audiences, she stresses the importance of being kind and supportive toward yourself.
“We need to start educating kids on how to balance their egos, and how to talk to themselves as if they are their own best friends,” Lina says. “When I was training I never stopped. I never let anyone put me down. I never listened to naysayers or haters.”
Because your best friend will never let you give up on yourself, and if she sees you suffering she'll do what she can to lift you up. She might even launch a company or cultivate a movement in your honor.
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810233d12334abdaffd82b9cbd4bc6d3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2020/04/10/trailblazers-of-puerto-rico-meet-the-couple-making-shields-for-healthcare-workers-on-the-frontlines-of-covid-19/?sh=55a60d47763a | Trailblazers Of Puerto Rico: Meet The Couple Making Shields For Healthcare Workers On The Frontlines Of COVID-19 | Trailblazers Of Puerto Rico: Meet The Couple Making Shields For Healthcare Workers On The Frontlines Of COVID-19
Tredé cofounders, Vicente Gascó Gómez and María Laura Martínez Kezner Tredé
“I think I have a fascination with doing pieces that help people in need,” said María Laura Martínez Kezner, cofounder of the Puerto Rico-based product design and 3D printing studio, Tredé.
While in the middle of churning out 3D printed face shields for healthcare professionals risking their lives on the frontlines of COVID-19, I was able to get some time with her and her cofounder and husband, Vicente Gascó Gómez. Shortly after hearing news of the pandemic, the duo joined forces with Engine-4 Coworking Space founder, Luis Torres, who has a fabrication lab and large format 3D printers in his facility.
For several weeks, the global maker community has been iterating and producing 3D printed designs to save the lives of patients and healthcare workers. So far, the products have included everything from 3D printed ventilator valve replacements to hands-free door openers to face masks to 3D printed quarantine booths. The Open Source COVID-19 Medical Supplies Facebook group, which became a nonprofit on April 1, is seeing non-stop activity, and has collected information for local chapters all over the world.
While 3D printers are unquestionably serving their weight in gold right now—so much so that the FDA has listed FAQs regarding 3D printing PPE for makers, physicians and hospitals—they come with their fair share of challenges when aiming to produce items at scale. In Puerto Rico, one of the biggest issues is a gap in supplies.
Case in point: María and her team were in dire need of filament, which comes from the United States and Europe. Thankfully, through a donation they were able to get it just in time. To date, they’ve produced 1,500 face shields, and expect to reach 2,000 by next week.
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Just What The Doctor Ordered
A group of doctors and nurses at El Hospital HIMA San Pablo Cupey, who received Tredé's and ... [+] Engine-4's face shields Tredé
María says collaborating with doctors on the design and fit of the shields has been the best part of this experience for her.
“We've had doctors call us and e-mail us that the face shields have made a lot of nurses feel very, very secure,” she shares. “I think that's one of the things that we're doing mostly of course, is giving a sense of assuredness that ‘everything's going to be okay. I have something else to protect me.’”
Dr. Robin Arroyo, MD, an on call doctor who visits patients on a daily basis, helped María and her team validate the design.
“I am actually amazed by the initiative the 3D printing community has taken around the world,” says Dr. Arroyo. “You need to understand that given the circumstances, and the fact that PPE is so scarce, any gear we can get our hands on that would just provide protection, even in the slightest form, is deemed priceless. What Vicente Gascó and María Laura are doing at Tredé is incredible. It's people and things like these that give me hope, and let's all healthcare providers know that we are not alone in this fight.”
Collaboration and ideation travel when people can’t.
After talking with a community of local doctors who said Puerto Rico would definitely need more PPE (personal protection equipment), María and Vicente started researching what 3D printing studios were doing in Italy and Spain, and found there was a massive need for face shields.”
Vicente, the lead designer at Tredé, said he received some tips on how to optimize faster printing from Neotko Sebas, a maker in Spain he’s been following on Twitter for quite some time. Tredé is also collaborating with Samantha Snabes and Charlotte Craff at re:3D in Austin, TX, who have helped with the retrofitted design, and loaned Tredé one of their large-scale 3D printers. Additionally, another four 3D printers were recently loaned to the team by Atlantic University.
The shields Tredé and Engine-4 are making are a derivative of the original visor by Swedish designer Erik Cederberg. Adapting to local Puerto Rico feedback, Vicente and team are reverse-engineering the design to make it work with pre-cut shields from National Safety Equipment Supply, a Puerto Rican company that has 4,000 pre-cut shields in stock.
“A lot of people were trying to do modified masks,” says Vicente. “But we were like, ‘ that's going to be really hard.’ The fit is an issue. We're probably not going to be able to get the filters. So that's why we decided to just go with the face shields.”
Plan C: Makers Gonna Make
MAKE Magazine founder, Dale Dougherty MAKEMagazine
Beyond Puerto Rico, makers are making, adapting, and using space creatively everywhere. MAKE Magazine founder, Dale Dougherty, who is widely renowned as the leading advocate of the Maker Movement, has been tracking and writing relentlessly about the international maker response to COVID-19. He recently told me about a maker in East Tennessee who decided to manufacture 3D printed PPE design, and turned a football locker room into a small production facility to produce it.
“That's not enough to create needs for the state, but the process can be replicated,and that production facility can be replicated in other places,” says Dale.
My main reason for catching up with Dale was to learn more about what he referred to as Plan C in his article Plan C: Crisis Mode for COVID-19.
“My coverage for this is that Plan A was the government saying, ‘We got it. We'll take care of this.’ I don't trust them. Plan B was, ‘We'll get industry to solve the problem for the government.’ That's the private/public partnership—the task force model. What I realized is that it's on the maker community to pull off Plan C—civic engagement. I call it the back-up plan for the back-up plan. And if those first two plans don't work, this is the last resort. You've got to get the ideas and talents of people and engage them.”
In a perfect world, Dale would like to see plans A, B and C all complement one another.
“We’re finding ourselves in the position of thinking like a developing country—like a country that is not used to having constraints suddenly finding constraints put upon it—that the things we’re used to having we can't get,” says Dale. “And what do you do when you can't get something? Well, you step back and you figure out how to make it yourself.”
When Health & The Maker Movement Intersect
While their COVID-19 response marks María’s and Vicente’s first time creating products for the medical sector, they’re no strangers to designing projects for social impact. Prior to the pandemic, María and Vicente were working primarily for the private sector. They gave talks on 3D scanning and collaborated with multiple organizations focused on health.
“One of our contact’s has a nonprofit that helps local community girls talk about sex education,” shares María. “We built a woman's body parts with 3D printing. Then the nonprofit gave it to young girls to teach them about their body parts, while they were coloring it. So I think that's a beautiful project.”
Tredé also collaborated with Museo Puerto Rico to create 3D sculptures of paintings by local artists so the blind community could feel the pieces, rather than just hear about them. And Vicente created a book for blind people that incorporates braille and sculptures.
Tactile Sculptures made by Tredé for the Visually Impaired, commissioned by the Instituto de Cultura ... [+] Puertorriqueña | 2019 Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
Having a great interest in health, María has always wanted to collaborate with hospitals, but due to regulations it’s been a difficult entry point—until now.
“We always tried to get inside the hospitals,” she says. “We've done talks about MRIs, doing scans with 3D printings, 3D scannings of the body. But just to do a product for the medical industry or the medical community, this is our first time.”
If this crisis has proven anything, it’s that there’s a first time for everything, and open-source collaboration is critical for protecting the lives of our healthcare workers, patients and the human spirit.
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dccd090ef8ea4d181992bc2ec6eae3e5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2020/10/11/empowering-the-music-industrys--next-generation-of-djs-producers--engineers-this-artist-is-helping-girls-make-beats/?sh=2d4c7078728b | Empowering The Music Industry’s Next Generation Of DJs, Producers And Engineers, This Artist Is Helping Girls Make Beats | Empowering The Music Industry’s Next Generation Of DJs, Producers And Engineers, This Artist Is Helping Girls Make Beats
Tiffany Miranda, President & Founder of Girls Make Beats Girls Make Beats
Music inspires multiple aspects of our culture—the way we speak to one another, the way we dance, the way we dress, the way we feel, and how we identity with other people. Based on this alone, having gender balance in the music industry is crucial for creating a culture that promotes equality. Suffice to say, we’re not there yet.
According to a study by the University of Southern California’s USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, only 2.6 percent of women were credited as producers on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts from 2012 to 2019, and only three percent of audio engineers are women. Currently, the ratio of men to underrepresented women in the industry is 133 to 1.
Recording artist and engineer, Tiffany Miranda, is working day in and day out to change these stats through her organization, Girls Make Beats, a nonprofit training young girls ages 5 to 17 to be the next generation of DJ, producers, and engineers.
Having Creative Control & Creating Confidence
As a young singer, Tiffany was offered her first recording contract at age 15. While pursuing her career as a contestant on American Idol and The X Factor, and spending time in studios, she saw that all of the creative direction and control was coming from men. Baffled by this and wanting to pave a path for future generations of female artists to work in creative environments free of the rampant sexism she faced, she decided to literally take matters into her own hands.
When she was 18, she got a job and put her paychecks toward building her own home recording studio, which ultimately led to her getting her certification in audio engineering.
“In recording studios, there’s usually a man saying, “Now sing it sexier. Do it my way. This is what you should be,” shares Tiffany. “We want to empower girls in our program to take over these creative positions, so they can be more powerful, and have a say in the images and the the content that’s flooding culture, while using music as tool to do that.”
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While the music industry landscape looks bleak for women on the producing and engineering side, Tiffany knows from experience how much dedication and perseverance pay off. After interning at a record label where she was assigned desk job duties, while the male interns were given opportunities to work in the studio, she eventually was taken seriously by a Miami-based recording studio called Sobe Swag Labs. The company offered her an in-house engineering position, and she quickly became one of their most sought-after engineers, which led to her reconnecting with producers she sang hooks for when she was 15.
From The Classroom To Real World Opportunities
When Tiffany first started Girls Make Beats in 2012, it consisted of her, her laptop, one DJ controller, and one Ableton Push MIDI Controller, along with 25 girls in a classroom. Today, through partnerships with major manufacturers the girls have access to top of the line equipment. Beyond that, they’re collaborating with musical icons.
In May, the organization launched the GMBTV show, with guest star Janelle Monáe giving a live Q&A session with the girls on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook.
That’s not all. Girls Make Beats recently created an original remix for Janet Jackson's latest single "Made For Now," featuring Daddy Yankee, and they’re currently working on a remix with one of Roc Nation’s new artists.
The young producers also collaborated on an original piece of music for a Ford commercial highlighting female empowerment. This got them some studio sit-in time with Angela Bassett.
Seeing Is Believing
On top of all the star-studded collaborations Girls Make Beats has had the opportunity to do, the organization is making a documentary about the budding artists.
“When we ask our girls why they think there are so few women producing and engineering music 98 percent of them say the same thing—that the world thinks boys are better than girls,” says Tiffany. “They haven’t seen enough of themselves doing the job. A lot of girls just don’t see Barbie behind a mixing console, but that’s why we’re here. We want to change that narrative.”
Changing the narrative starts on day one of the Girls Make Beats program by having the girls pick DJ names and introducing themselves as aspiring producers or aspiring engineers.
“Confidence grows organically within our girls in a short amount of time,” says Tiffany. “During our five-day intensive summer program that runs from Monday to Friday, by Friday typically shy girls are doing their own beat showcases for their friends and family. At the end of the day, if our girls leave with confidence, and they feel like they can do something that they thought only boys could do then we’ve done our job, and that’s the most important thing we do.”
The confidence boosting is paying off. Kaiya Nyasha, a Girls Make Beats alum, who runs the nonprofit’s blog received a scholarship to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a full scholarship to Berkeley.
When reflecting on accomplishments like Kaiya’s and thinking about her own experiences as a young singer and audio engineer in training, Tiffany’s happy that she now sees the big picture.
“Everything I went through led me to creating Girls Make Beats,” she says. “All of the challenges I’ve faced have given me so much purpose. My journey was a lot bigger than I initially thought.”
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a5b693da72c78bc27ee3e0fbe8e3ef87 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2020/10/22/how-the-youngest-woman-trader-on-wall-street-is-helping-startups-go-public/?sh=4989cfbc2891 | How The Youngest Woman Trader On Wall Street Is Helping Startups Go Public | How The Youngest Woman Trader On Wall Street Is Helping Startups Go Public
Lauren Simmons, youngest woman trader at the NYSE and host of new streaming series "Going Public" Going Public
Wall Street has been a white man’s world since its inception. So have venture-backed startups. Currently, black or Latino people run less than 3% of venture capital funded businesses and women run a scant 9%. But if Lauren Simmons has anything to say about it both industries are going to become more diverse and colorful.
At 22, Lauren made history by being the youngest and only full-time female equity trader on Wall Street for Rosenblatt Securities. Hailed as the “Wolfette of Wall Street,” she’s also only the second black female trader to work on the trading floor in the New York Stock Exchange’s 225-year history.
Now at 26, in addition to helping Millennials and Generation Z-ers get on top of their personal finances, Lauren is hosting the interactive series “Going Public,” which chronicles the journey of a diverse cast of entrepreneurs, as they seek funding from investors and strive to get listed on the Nasdaq. The pool of founders isn’t the only group the project is diversifying. Viewers of the show are able to support the featured companies by investing in their Regulation A+ IPOs through an associated online platform.
“Traditionally, in most IPOs you had to be an institutional investor,” says Lauren. “You had to have a certain net worth. Now everyday Americans can have the access and the resources to really be on the ground floor. They have the power to buy into a little bit of America, to buy into a small business that is growing into a larger entity, and be a support system to them. You get to hopefully buy into the next Amazon.”
Driving Diversity & Inclusion
One of the core reasons Lauren loves “Going Public” is that it’s selecting everyday Americans to participate.
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“We are being inclusive and conscious of the individuals and founders that we’re having on this show because everyday America doesn’t look like Wall Street,” she shares.
Outside of supporting projects that are making diversity and inclusion a priority, Lauren wants her generation to take more risks.
“I think for anyone who says, ‘I am X, I am Latina, I’m a woman, I’m LGBTQ, I’m whatever—you’ve always known this,” she says. “Don’t make it an excuse or crutch to not power through and be successful within your role. Your role is not determined by what your skin color is, how tall, how pretty, how overweight or not you are, it’s how well you are going to do in this role, and I just wish that more women in particular would just take the risk. If it’s a company that says yes to you, they said yes because they felt that you could do well within this role. If you feel like you are a token hire—I hate saying that— but let’s say you are and the company does have ill intentions you have just as much power to walk away from that company, as well.”
Guiding The Next Generation To Financial Wellness
As part of her mission to empower the next generation to have financial wellness, Lauren has some basic tips for young people, and they’re rooted in being measured and patient.
“I think immediately where people’s minds go when they’re thinking of investing long-term is investing in the stock market,” she says. “But I say, that’s not a starting point or even a starting conversation. You really need to make sure that you’re paying down your student loan debts and that you don’t have credit card debt or other liabilities that you have to work toward, because investing in the market doesn’t mean buying a unicorn stock and getting wealthy over night.”
So when’s the right time to invest?
“Once you have everything lined up, your money and retirement, even if you have kids, put the money toward a 529 savings account, and once you don’t have any liabilities then you can invest in the market,” says Lauren. “This has been a strange year, but if you are going to touch the market, you just really need to educate yourself on the stocks that you’re looking into. Don’t do something because of speculation or because it’s a trend. I think that will burn severely, which is what I see happening among what people are calling the Robinhood traders, as they’re piling into stocks, and they’re really not educating themselves.”
How can people educate themselves on finance?
Fortunately, Millennials and Generation Z know how to use their smartphones as if their lives depend on them.
“You have your phone, and that means you have access to an entire world,” says Lauren “You really do have tools and resources in your hands. You can Google what’s a stock, how to invest in stock, how to open a brokerage account, what should I be looking for? You can put energy toward that.”
So, next time you’re waiting for the train, in between meetings, or lounging on your couch, remember you can spend your time scrolling and swiping anything. Why not make it information that can help you elevate your financial well-being or invest in the next Amazon?
Season 1 of “Going Public” will debut in 2021 to Entrepreneur.com’s digital audience of 14 million. It will also be available on smart TVs and app-enabled devices through Facebook Watch, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
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af425e095471cf3fdcdb8d908f81290d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2020/11/18/what-we-can-learn-from-dolly-partons-business-savvy---her-1-million-donation-to-the-moderna-vaccine-to-fight-covid-19/?sh=4561b4d31f50 | What We Can Learn From Dolly Parton’s Business Savvy And Her $1 Million Donation To The Moderna Vaccine To Fight Covid-19 | What We Can Learn From Dolly Parton’s Business Savvy And Her $1 Million Donation To The Moderna Vaccine To Fight Covid-19
Country music legend, entrepreneur & philanthropist, Dolly Parton, contributed $1 million to ... [+] Moderna's coronavirus virus vaccine. ASSOCIATED PRESS
For decades, iconic superstar, Dolly Parton, has shown the world that not only does she know how to write and sing hits, she has a knack for spotting them across entertainment segments, business investments, and most recently a possible coronavirus solution. Via the Dolly Parton Covid-19 Research Fund and in partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the entertainer donated $1 million that was allocated to partly fund the Moderna vaccine, which is proving to be 95% effective, according to company data.
When Parton first donated to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center's in April there were 200,000 cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. There are now over 11.3 million cases, and nearly 250,000 Americans have died.
While Dolly didn’t find out how her contribution was used until yesterday, she told "Today" hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, "I'm just happy that anything I do can help somebody else, and when I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good. Evidently, it is. Let's just hope we find a cure real soon."
Expand Your Brand For Good
Dolly’s no stranger to putting her money to good use. From intellectual property to physical entertainment properties, she’s built a multimillion-dollar empire. On top of that, she supports a number of education initiatives spearheaded by the Dollywood Foundation, which she named after her theme park and established in 1988.
Growing up with an illiterate father, promoting literacy has been an important part of Dolly’s nonprofit work. In 1995, the Dollywood Foundation launched Imagination Library, which distributes books to children across the globe from when they’re born to their first year of school, free of charge. In addition to her foundation, Dolly has provided financial support for a number of charities including the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Save the Music Foundation, and the Boot Campaign, an organization that donates proceeds to military veterans who are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and physical injuries.
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Not bad for a farm girl born in Sevier County, Tennessee. The fourth of 12 children, Dolly’s parents struggled to make ends meet. But in Pigeon Forge, TN near the hills where she grew up poor is where Dolly built Dollywood. She jointly owns that property plus Dollywood's Splash Country, Dollywood's DreamMore Resort, and Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Cabins with Herschend Family Entertainment. She’s also part owner of Dolly Parton's Stampede and Pirates Voyage dinner shows with World Choice Investments. Her entertainment businesses attract 4.5 million visitors annually and employ more than 3,000 people.
Own What You Create
An eight-time Grammy winner, early on in her career, Dolly made sure she had ownership interest in all the songs she wrote, meaning she gets paid when another artist sings one of her songs. At age 20, she started the Owe-Par Publishing Company with her uncle, Bill Owens, and retained a controlling interest in her music from the very beginning. She also owns her own record label, Dolly Records.
Famously covered by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, Dolly’s iconic, unabashed ballad, “I Will Always Love You” made Dolly $10 million in royalties in the 1990s and continues to rake in plenty or cash for the country music legend. Long before Whitney’s rendition became one of the best-selling singles of all time, Elvis Presley expressed interest in recording a version of the song. Dolly declined the offer because his management asked for a 50% stake in the song’s publishing royalties. In her book, half was too high.
Support Women
A vocal supporter of women, Dolly has been known to show solidarity for her sisters in public and behind the scenes. In 1986, Dolly and her former manager, Sandy Gallin, founded Sandollar Productions, the company that produced the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie in 1992, and is credited in every episode of the TV series. Sandollar executive Gail Berman told the New York Times that Dolly personally handed her a check when she discovered that Berman was given less royalty money than the men at Sandollar.
And of course, the singer supports women in her music. Whether it’s “9 to 5” or the 2018 track “A Woman’s Right,” which was inspired by the 19th Amendment, Dolly’s ability to express how far women have come and how far we need to go, all with a beat and a smile, is something we’ll be singing to for ages.
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0abab5aa51ab5adfb54e599e7ac21777 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2021/12/30/12-times-women-made-history-in-science-politics-and-justice-in-2020/?sh=5de30780b527 | 12 Times Women Made History In Science, Politics And Justice In 2020 | 12 Times Women Made History In Science, Politics And Justice In 2020
Group of activists with holding hands protesting in the city. Rebellions doing demonstration on the ... [+] street holding hands. getty
It’s that time of year again, the time when year in review listicles are flooding our screens. One of the biggest arguments regarding listicles is that they don’t provide context, stimulate the mind, or provoke action. That being said, after the colossal mixed bag of disaster, despair, tragedy, innovation, hope, solidarity and wake up calls that have emerged in 2020, I think it’s suffice to also say that most retrospectives this year have more than enough context bleeding between, behind, in front of, and on top of the lines.
It gives me great pleasure to highlight 12 times women made a positive dent in history in the year 2020. Here they are in no particular order.
Hamilton Bennett, senior director of vaccine access and partnerships at Moderna, the Cambridge, MA based biotech company responsible for producing one of the two COVID-19 vaccines being administered across the U.S. While developing the vaccine in early January was a huge risk, given that very little was known about the virus at the time, Bennett pushed for Moderna to take on the challenge. My favorite quote from her so far is, “"We believe that our platform is going to make a difference, and we believe that we're uniquely capable of responding to this pandemic. And if we don't do it, maybe no one else will." That’s leadership.
The president of the Waorani community Nemonte Nenquimo speaks during a demonstration against the ... [+] entry of oil companies onto ancestral Amazonian lands for exploration activities, in front of the presidential Carondelet palace, in Quito on June 25, 2019. - The Ecuadoran government had appealed -on April- a ruling won by the country's Waorani indigenous tribe, triggering a judicial fight on the extraction of crude oil in the Amazon. (Photo by Rodrigo BUENDIA / AFP) (Photo by RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Nemonte Nenquimo was named one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in 2020 for leading her indigenous nation, the Waorani of Pastaza, to a victorious court ruling, declaring that the Ecuadorian government could not auction off the Waoriani peoples’ land for oil exploration without their consent. Earlier this year, Nenquimo was awarded the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize for protecting half-a-million acres of Amazon rainforest from oil drilling. Now, she’s donating her $200,000 prize to launch the Frontlines Challenge, a fundraising campaign aimed at raising resources for Indigenous-led forest protection. Stay tuned for an in-depth profile on Nemonte and her community’s indigenous wisdom and practices from me soon!
Mayra Guzman-Kaslow, president and CEO of GK Pharmaceuticals GK Pharmceuticals
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Mayra Guzman-Kaslow is president and CEO of the women-led Puerto Rican biopharmaceutical company, GK Pharmaceuticals, the first and only company in Puerto Rico to manufacture a molecular Covid-19 test approved by the FDA. After 29 years of helping people through chemical engineering, she has defied the traditional biases against women in STEM, not only in Puerto Rico, but around the world. Regarding her journey building GK Pharmaceuticals, she said: “The first day I came to Puerto Rico, the first day I went to a government office and I expressed that this is my business plan, I’m going to open a pharmaceutical company in Puerto Rico. The person laughed. They said, ‘you crazy? Pharma companies in Puerto Rico are owned by Americans and men.’ I said, ‘I have good news for you. I am American. I am Puerto Rican, I am a woman, and I’m going to show you that I am going to build a pharma company here.’”
ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 03: Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush speaks during her election-night watch ... [+] party on November 3, 2020 at campaign headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. With tonight's victory, the Democrat Bush becomes the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images) Getty Images
Cori Bush, the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress, will be sworn in at the Capitol on January 3. Prior to winning her run for Congress, she began leading Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 after the shooting and death of 18-year-old Ferguson, MO resident, Michael Brown. In an interview with ABC News Bush said: “....what we need to do now is not allow it [BLM] to be a fad. We need it to be fact because when it's fact, we get to live.”
Kathrin Jansen, Ph.D., a senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, which developed the first FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine, in partnership with BioNTech, to be administered in the U.S. led a group of more than 650 people focused on delivering the product. Prior to this feat, Jansen’s work with vaccines contributed to the prevention of infectious diseases, such as human papilloma virus, meningococcal meningitis, and pneumococcal pneumonia. A resident of New York, where Pfizer is based, she would see refrigerator truck morgues parked in front of local hospitals when the virus began spreading across the city. During an interview with 60 Minutes, she said: “I took this very personally. I wanted to fight it, beat it, fight it down. It was— nothing else mattered.”
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a viral immunologist and research fellow in the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Health, is one of the NIH’s leading scientists behind the government's mission to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine to the American people. She worked with Moderna on the pharmaceutical company’s solution. During an event hosted by the National Urban League, Dr. Anthony Fauci said to the audience: "So, the first thing you might want to say to my African American brothers and sisters is that the vaccine that you're going to be taking was developed by an African American woman. And that is just a fact.”
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 06: Gitanjali Rao speaks onstage during The 2018 MAKERS Conference at ... [+] NeueHouse Hollywood on February 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS) Getty Images for MAKERS
Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old Indian American scientist and inventor was named TIME magazine’s first-ever ‘Kid of the Year’ for creating a water contamination tool in response to the water crisis in Flint, MI when she was 10 years old. She’s also built apps that help diagnose opioid addiction and prevent cyberbullying. The sophomore at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Denver, CO said to the Associated Press: “...I’m so grateful and just so excited that we’re really taking a look at the upcoming generation and our generation, since the future is in our hands.” Indeed it is. Girls like Gitanjali make the future look good.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 04: Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM) talks with reporters after a portrait with ... [+] her fellow House Democratic women in front of the U.S. Capitol January 04, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 116th Congress has the biggest number of female members ever while the number of Democratic women in the House has grown from 16 to 89 since 1989. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Getty Images
Deb Haaland of New Mexico became the first of two Native American women elected to Congress, along with Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas, in 2018. Now, if the Senate confirms President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of her, Haaland could be the country's first Native American Cabinet secretary. On December 28 she fittingly tweeted: The Interior Department manages our public lands to make sure we protect them, honor them, and preserve them for future generations. This was all Indigenous land, once — so it's ironic that we've never had a Native American Interior Secretary. I would be honored to be the first.
NASA Astronaut Christina Koch answers questions during a postflight news conference at the Johnson ... [+] Space Center in Houston, Texas on February 12, 2020. - NASA's Christina Koch returned to Earth safely on February 6, 2020, after shattering the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images) AFP /AFP via Getty Images
Christina Koch, an engineer and NASA astronaut, landed safely on Earth in February after spending 328 days on a single mission in space, setting a new record for women astronauts, along with performing the first all-woman spacewalk. Koch is one of 18 astronauts—half of them women—who will train for the NASA program that is aiming for a moon landing by 2024—meaning she has an opportunity to be the first woman on the moon. In an interview with The Daily News, she said of the new insights she cultivated from being in space: “One is just the perspective you gain from seeing the planet from a different view and recognizing that there is more to things in life than what makes us different. That can get lost when you are living on the planet, and don’t see it from the outside, and don’t see that there are so many ways to view and see things. We all have to live on Earth and survive on it.”
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - 2020/08/28: President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the ... [+] presidential palace. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her desire this week for her country to reach a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, saying it would strengthen our engagement and help establish a rules-based trade order in the region. (Photo by Walid Berrazeg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, and Tsai Ing-wen, President of Taiwan, all have something in common. In addition to all being women, they’ve been more successful in addressing Covid-19 outbreaks than their male counterparts. While the pandemic is not a game of women versus men, the fact that these women leaders have controlled the coronavirus well is something society can learn from in the crisis of humanity versus disease.
US Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris speaks during an event announcing the nomination of Dr. Miguel ... [+] Cardona as Education Secretary at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 23, 2020. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Kamala Harris became the first African-American and first woman to serve as California’s attorney general in 2010. Six years later, she became the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the United States Senate. In August of 2020, she became the first Black woman and first Asian-American woman to appear on the presidential ticket of a major political party. And now, she’s the first Vice President-elect of the U.S. As she said during her first speech as Vice President-elect, she’ll be the first to hold office in this positions, but she “will not be the last.”
The countless number of women (and men) around the world who have made masks to protect people from contracting or spreading coronavirus will go down in history as cultivating a collective movement in solidarity for the human race. From fashion designers to refugees to community organizers and volunteers, mask making and developing other PPE for frontline healthcare workers and for everyday people, has been one of the biggest trades of 2020.
There are undoubtedly more times women made history in 2020 than the ones mentioned in this piece, and there will be more milestones for women in health, science, politics, and social justice to celebrate in years to come. Until then, to anyone who’s reading this, if you took care of yourself and your loved ones, if you kept your head above water when the whole world began sinking, if you discovered something new about yourself while being stuck inside, or if you simply relaxed or prayed or dreamed of how you want to shape your life when the pandemic is over—you made history in 2020.
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390eb457cba24954ed9b0459bc41fdcc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2021/12/31/meet-the-entrepreneur-who-started-the-first-pharmaceutical-company-owned-by-women-of-color-in-the-us/?fbclid=IwAR2TWMrQycLoFClV0pzfXj9ZHtKw4BBwTIPYhIfYN-6r27ck4VBuCEnW-Y4&sh=343278f7c6bb | Meet The Entrepreneur Who Started The First Pharmaceutical Company Owned By Puerto Rican Women In The U.S. | Meet The Entrepreneur Who Started The First Pharmaceutical Company Owned By Puerto Rican Women In The U.S.
Mayra Guzman-Kaslow, Founder and President of GK Pharmaceuticals GK Pharmaceuticals
When the outbreak of Covid-19 was first reported on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China scientist and chemical engineer, Mayra Guzman-Kaslow, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico-based and women-led pharmaceutical company, GK Pharmaceuticals, first began tracking the disease rigorously. It wasn’t long before one of the organization’s senior scientists, who has experience working in bio-molecular analysis, suggested the team develop a molecular Covid-19 test, so they would be ready when the virus spreads to Puerto Rico.
In July, GK Pharmaceuticals brought the test to the Puerto Rican government. After intense pressure, the company emerged as the first and only organization on the island manufacturing a test of this kind approved by the FDA. A veteran of the drug industry for 29 years, Mayra’s speciality is in regulatory compliance, FDA regulations, and the regulatory agencies of other countries.
Women in Pharma
Born, raised and educated in Puerto Rico, Mayra got a job opportunity on the mainland and lived there for 29 years. Proud to be Puerto Rican, she returned to the island for an adventure, and then launched GK Pharmaceuticals with her two daughters and another engineer, who’s also her best friend from childhood. Not only is an all Puerto Rican and women-led pharma company monumental for Puerto Rican women, it’s a milestone for the drug industry across the United States.
According to Pharmacy Times, women make up a majority of people entering the pharmacy profession. In 2017, women received 61.9% of first professional pharmacy degrees. Additionally, women account for about 74% of the U.S. health care workforce. However, when it comes to C-suite leadership, there were no women running a top-10 pharmacy chain or pharmacy wholesaler in the country two years ago. At the time, out of the top 10 specialty pharmacies, only one had a woman at the helm.
“We need to educate young women who are undecided about what they want to do for a living to pharmaceuticals,” says Mayra. “There’s a great opportunity for women in science, and we need more women scientists, chemists, biologists, and engineers. We are just as capable as men. I want to be a mentor for those young women.”
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Why Puerto Rico?
Mayra chose to launch GK Pharmaceuticals in Puerto Rico for a number of reasons. For one, it’s a territory of the United States, and when she first returned to the island, the president was starting to close pharmaceutical manufacturing in China and bringing the activity to the U.S. Historically, Puerto Rico has a long legacy as a pharma manufacturing center (currently 46% of its economy), and is currently home to 12 of the world’s 20 top-grossing pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, and Merck. For this reason, the territory has emerged again as an alternative to Asia for drug companies in the wake of Covid-19.
“Now is the perfect time for more pharmaceuticals to be manufactured in Puerto Rico because it’s an opportunity for Puerto Rico to inject money back into its economy,” says Mayra. “Puerto Rico has a very good human capital ecosystem, where people are well-trained and have great experience because the major pharmaceutical companies have had a strong presence here. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for Puerto Rico to show the world that yes, we are capable, and we are still in good shape to do business.”
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cf3bbe477814c00f671c56d71443e0a8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissasilverstein/2015/05/27/a-gender-quake-in-the-film-world/ | A Gender Quake in the Film World | A Gender Quake in the Film World
These last two weeks have been the most important moments in the fight for gender equality in Hollywood in the seven-plus years that I have been working on this issue. The only other moment that comes close is Kathryn Bigelow winning the Oscar for Best Director in 2010.
Despite how it may look from the outside, these last two weeks did not happen overnight. This is the culmination of a decades-long struggle by several generations of women who have had to fight for no more than the right to tell their stories and share their visions.
While I am cautious to applaud that change is coming, anyone who has been a part of this battle -- and yes, it is a battle because there is a lot of power and money at stake -- has to be heartened by the media crescendo on behalf of women in the last couple of weeks.
It has taken a long time for this issue to be taken seriously in the media and the industry. The ACLU pushed the conversation to a whole new level with its request for an inquiry into Hollywood’s women-director problem by reframing the issue as "systemic discrimination." For a country that prides itself on being a meritocracy, those words carry particular resonance. The lawyers at the ACLU did not send their letter lightly; you don't just petition federal and state agencies for investigations without a lengthy research and evidence-collection process.
French actress/director Emmanuelle Bercot (L) and French actress and director Maiwenn May 24, 2015.... [+] Photo credit: BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Female directors who are looking for opportunities know full well that Hollywood is not a meritocracy – and let's be honest, the men know it, too. Maybe some people don't get the full extent of the problem women directors deal with on an everyday basis, but I don't for one second believe that men AND women don't notice that, week after week, the people calling the shots on a TV show they’re working on are nearly all men.
And film actors know that, when they get to a set, most often the person in charge will be a man. Studies show that people are more comfortable with men being in charge. Part of that is because that is what people are used to. And let's also remember that the film business is a microcosm of the world, and for the most part, men run the world.
There is a great story that I keep telling people that I heard a while ago about Iceland -- a telling one about representation and role models. A young boy was asked if he wanted to be president of Iceland. He replied that he couldn't be president of Iceland because only women could be president. This boy had never seen anything but a female president in his country during his lifetime. So he counted himself out for that job because he just couldn't imagine it, because he had no role models for that position.
When the ACLU threw down the gauntlet, it seems that they freed women in Hollywood, especially the actresses. It gave them the sense of freedom to speak out, and it was a glorious thing to watch happen during the Cannes Film Festival. It also gave other women directors, namely Kathryn Bigelow (the only woman to have achieved the holy grail of the Best Director Academy Award), the opportunity to stand up for her fellow female directors. In her first statement on the issue (that I have ever seen), she called the employment numbers for women directors "horrific." Yet, I must say that the silence from male directors in Hollywood on this issue (minus Paul Feig) has been deafening. Where are the men on this issue? This is not just a women's issue; this is a cultural issue. Women are leading the way towards change, and the men had better get on board.
Being at the Cannes Film Festival during this gender-quake moment was fascinating. Cannes is a bizarre place. So much of it is about the objectification of women, especially on the red carpet. And while there were panels and discussions and receptions happening at the grassroots level, the headlines are made when stars speak out. And boy, did they talk: Salma Hayek, Emily Blunt, Frances McDormand, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Agnes Varda to name just a few. And because Cannes had dubbed this “the year of the woman,” all talk about women made news.
And that is why Heelgate or Shoegate or whatever you want to call it became such a big issue. Cannes is a unique place of extremes. Look at the two women directors they chose to be in the main competition: both French and both actresses/models (see picture above.) That’s Cannes’ impossible gender-policing in a nutshell.
We need more women telling stories because we see the world from one perspective, and it has warped our brains. We need to shed these preconceived notions of who is an auteur, who is a director, who is a storyteller. What these two weeks showed me is that this is just the beginning of a gender revolution in film.
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853438dae7b309fc4249ce8bc0172b8f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2016/07/19/a-day-in-the-life-the-morning-rituals-that-power-my-productivity/ | Day In The Life: The Morning Rituals That Power My Productivity | Day In The Life: The Morning Rituals That Power My Productivity
Ever wonder what the life of an up-and-coming entrepreneur or a CEO really looks like? Considering a leap to a startup? Or just curious about the day-to-day of someone navigating her way in a different industry? Women@Forbes new ‘Day In the Life’ series gives an insider’s view of what these women do — from their inspirational moments and behind-the-scenes at work to the apps, productivity tips and stress-reducing tricks they can’t live without.
My typical weekday starts at sunrise. I’m up and out of bed between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Growing up, I was a night owl, however, as I’ve matured, I’ve come to cherish the tranquil, meditative quality of mornings. Waking up early ahead of the hustle and bustle centers me and creates positive momentum that propels me throughout the day.
Within the first 30 minutes of waking up I mix up a protein shake and hydrate with warm water and lemon. Breakfast is usually a quick slow-carb meal of eggs and greens, which stabilizes my blood sugar and gives me the energy I need to tackle my highest priority projects before lunch.
Before heading to the gym or out for a run, I filter my inbox. Taming my messages gives me a productivity boost. I clear out clutter and process anything that can be done within two minutes. It’s a quick win that frees my mind and lets me fully enjoy my workout.
In a time when mentors are important to have but hard to find, I look to the authors and thought leaders I follow as part of my virtual "brain trust," contributing to my ongoing career development. Right now I’m reading Getting To Yes With Yourself by William Ury, which covers how to master the “inner game” of negotiation through self-awareness in order to then influence others.
As an introvert, I'm attuned to my surroundings and prefer quiet, serene spaces for working. That's why I've curated an office that promotes order and calm to help me focus. It's the perfect environment for the level of deep thinking needed for strategy and writing projects. It also nurtures the type of concentration I need when coaching, which depending on the day may involve anything from helping clients execute a job search strategy to make a major career change, ask for raise, or helping female founders thrive through the emotional ups-and-downs of running a startup.
After a long day, I find my sanctuary on the mat. I started practicing yoga about two years ago and it’s completely transformed both my mind and body. It helps me decompress and relax, which is why I save it as a treat to end the day.
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efd5fd6ec7c41a456f6512ecfa510a32 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2016/08/15/forget-positive-thinking-this-is-how-you-actually-change-negative-thoughts/ | Forget Positive Thinking: This Is How To Actually Change Negative Thoughts For Success | Forget Positive Thinking: This Is How To Actually Change Negative Thoughts For Success
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There’s no shortage of self-help gurus who swear that repeating positive phrases to yourself can change your life, encouraging that if you simply tell yourself "I am strong and successful", your fears will simply disappear.
If you’ve tried using positive affirmations, you know that it can be a difficult habit to maintain. You may spend five, 10 or even 20 minutes reciting your affirmation, but the other 23 hours of the day? Chances are that your mind drifts back to old, repetitive thoughts that have burned deep grooves in your brain.
The problem with positive affirmations is that they operate at the surface level of conscious thinking and do nothing to contend with the subconscious mind where limiting beliefs really live.
It goes without saying that if you command yourself to think “I am abundant and attract wealth”, yet your deeply held core belief is that you are never enough or unworthy of your success, your brain will be quick to incite an inner war. If you are trying to tell yourself "I am successful", but you struggle with insecurity regarding your skills and accomplishments, your subconscious may likely remind you of the many times you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of your boss or made a mistake at work (trust me, we've all been there!).
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The truth is that it's natural and healthy to experience a range of feelings, including less pleasant ones like disappointment, sadness or guilt. While there's no question that ruminating in negative emotions can turn toxic, whitewashing your insecurities with positive thinking is merely a temporary fix.
Unreasonably optimistic thinking can trigger a self-defeating spiral, particularly for those prone to anxiety and depression. Research shows that while repeating positive self-statements may benefit people with high self-regard, it can backfire for those lacking confidence.
If positive affirmations can be ineffective–even detrimental–how are we to take control and mentally empower ourselves to change?
While wishing ourselves into a success mindset won’t work for most, here's a few strategies to try to make your self-talk work for you instead of against you.
Dig Yourself Out From “Debbie Downer” Thoughts.
Start with articulating and acknowledging thoughts weighing you down–ones that don't serve any useful purpose beyond keeping you stuck. Releasing statements, such as, "I forgive myself for procrastinating" or "It's okay for me to be angry" shortcut self-bashing and free up emotional resources.
If you spend less time beating yourself up for procrastinating, you can redirect that energy into breaking down a project into manageable tasks and actually tackling your to-do list instead.
Give Interrogative Self-Talk A Try.
Research shows that asking ourselves questions rather than issuing commands is a much more effective way to create change. It’s as simple as tweaking the way you speak to yourself. When you catch your inner critic flinging accusations, think: how can I turn this statement into a question? (see what I did there?). Asking questions opens up exploration and possibility.
Here’s some examples:
Am I willing to do what it takes? When have I done this before? What if [insert worse case scenario] happens? How can I…?
This type of self-inquiry powers up problem-solving areas of the brain helping you tap into your innate creativity. You're able to greet negative thoughts with curiosity instead of fear.
Focus on Progress, Not Perfection.
Using a positive affirmation like "I am wonderful and powerful" may backfire if you don’t truly, deeply believe it at both a cognitive and emotional level. To effectively re-frame your thinking, consider who you are becoming, focusing on your progress–the current track or path you’re on.
You might re-work your self-talk to sound more like "I am a work in progress, and that’s OK." It’s pointing you in the direction of positive growth and is both realistic and achievable. Another example: telling yourself "Every moment I’m making an effort to be more conscious about how I spend my money" acknowledges the fact that you are evolving and that you have choice in creating a better financial future for yourself.
If you’re prone to negative self-talk and are sick of positive affirmations that don’t work, try one of these re-framing techniques. You may start to notice major changes in your mindset and an uptick in your productivity and success.
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6f2c53e1f53de6d020269a76ac58ff0b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2016/08/22/why-reaching-your-goals-can-surprisingly-make-you-less-happy/ | Why Reaching Your Goals Can Surprisingly Make You Less Happy | Why Reaching Your Goals Can Surprisingly Make You Less Happy
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Do these sound like promises you’ve made to yourself?
Once I get the promotion, I’ll feel like my career is on track. After this busy period, I won’t have to work so much and can spend time doing things I enjoy. When I make six-figures, I'll be financially secure enough to move across the country/start a family/write a book.
In our goal-oriented society, setting an objective to work toward is often a powerful motivator that drives professional and personal progress.
In theory this may not sound like a bad thing, but what if when you achieve that goal, life doesn’t really look or feel any different? For example, have you ever completed one project only to realize that there’s now even more to do, meaning you're further from the work-life balance you so desperately crave? Others may relate to the confusing feeling of finally getting or a raise or promotion, only to remain haunted by anxiety and a sneaking sense of disillusionment.
This disconcerting let down has name. Commonly known as the arrival fallacy, it's a psychological thought trap high-achievers are all too familiar with.
Here's how the arrival fallacy works along with what you can do to counteract it and reach new heights of success.
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The Arrival Fallacy: What It Is And How it Works
The arrival fallacy–a term introduced by positive psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier–operates on the idea that in the process of working toward a goal, you come to expect that you will in fact reach it.
Anchoring on a future goal triggers reward centers in the brain, inducing a cognitively soothing effect. That feeling of accomplishment becomes part of your day-to-day identity. You readily adjust to this new state of being so much so that actually attaining a goal turns out to be less satisfying than expected.
While dedication to continuous personal improvement is admirable, it's a slippery slope. When we get too caught up in future outcomes, we may attach to an unattainable illusion of perfection. We seek goal after goal, hoping something will make us happy, which reinforces a cycle of self-doubt and not feeling "good enough".
Instead, it can develop into a cycle of searching for external things—accomplishments or material objects—to fulfill and complete us. There's always new goals to take the place of those that have already been fulfilled. We go for bigger clients, seek larger raises or want to lose 15 pounds instead of five. We keep upping the ante.
Moreover, oftentimes once we reach the place where we thought we'd be happy, there's new challenges and responsibilities to face. Getting a promotion may mean working longer hours, launching a side hustle involves constantly seeking new business and losing weight may incite jealousy among co-workers or mean fewer happy hours and fancy lunches, straining your networking strategy.
Steps To Overcoming The Most Common Goal-Setting Mistake
What the arrival fallacy teaches us is that although you may fill your life with evermore ambitious goals and projects, sometimes reaching these heights does not necessarily deliver happiness. Yes, as cliché as it sounds, it’s the journey not the destination that teaches lessons, reveals simple pleasures, brings new people into our lives and instills in us a genuine, internal sense of contentment.
All this isn’t to say that setting goals or shooting for success in a particular area of your career is a recipe for unhappiness or failure, rather it’s how you allow that goal to dictate your daily mood that can bring you down.
Striving for self-improvement is essential. Here's how to do it in a healthy way that accelerates success.
Rediscover Your Mission
It can be easy to become so unshakably transfixed on achieving professional objectives such as banking a certain salary or earning a prestigious job title that your original purpose is forgotten. Mired in busywork and the daily ins and outs of your duties, you may lose sight of the bigger "why" of what drives you. Without a sense of purpose, you climb the ladder success with profound emptiness.
When this happens, dedicate intentional time to re-orient back to your mission. Take a day or two to refocus. You don’t have to travel anywhere. You can simulate a professional mini-retreat by asking yourself big questions like “What would I be doing if money wasn’t a problem?” or “When do I feel most alive?”
Through this internal exploration you may come to realize is what you covet more than a promotion or raise is the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, lead a team or simply feel more validated and appreciated at work.
Value The Process Over The End Result
In study after study, social scientists like Daniel Pink have found that external rewards and traditional financial incentives don't improve employee performance. They may actually backfire, making it difficult for people to come up with creative solutions.
Instead research shows high achievement is the result of intrinsic drivers–that is, a desire to do something for inherent interests, self-fulfillment or enjoyment. Motivation increases when people have the desire to perfect their craft. Successful people enjoy the learning process and don’t mind when it continues beyond an expected time frame. They relish in the journey to mastery. They focus on the happiness cultivated along the path to a particular goal, not necessarily a material outcome.
Try savoring how satisfying closing a huge sale feels, how deeply loved and seen you feel when family take note of your accomplishments or appreciate the increased recognition your company is receiving in the industry.
Commit To A System
Setting a big, hairy audacious goal–like publishing a book or launching a startup–can be a fantastic catalyst for change, but it's not enough. You must commit to a process of taking action on a consistent basis.
Start with the question, “What could I do daily that would guarantee a result and move me forward?" to design your habit system. If you're an aspiring author, create a weekly writing schedule. If you're an entrepreneur, devise standard operating procedures to streamline your efforts. Whatever it is, it has to be an action you can sustain over time.
Recognize That Success Is Fluid
Understand that metrics of success—whether related to career, fitness, love or whatever else—are fluid and dynamic. There is always a higher rung in the ladder and over time your targets change. The ideal career when you’re in your 20s may be a poor work-life fit by the time you turn 35.
Instead of prescribing to career milestones society dictates you should have reached by a certain age or salary bracket, keep your options open, define success on your own terms and embrace the many opportunities you encounter on along the way.
Rather than work to attain a “cure-all” end goal, it’s important to view life as a succession of practices that build a imperfect yet wonderful big picture. Greatness comes from years grit, effort and many stumbles along the way.
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2d25877b523b7b8bde52a06428bb0683 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2016/09/19/why-dysfunctional-families-create-great-entrepreneurs/ | Why 'Dysfunctional' Families Create Great Entrepreneurs | Why 'Dysfunctional' Families Create Great Entrepreneurs
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We’re living in a golden age of entrepreneurship.
There’s never been a more favorable time for founders, freelancers and members of the side-hustle generation seeking to define success on their own terms.
Look around and you'll find no shortage of inspirational figures leading the way. They are today’s visionaries, including self-made women who have built history-making brands with genius, guts and grit such as Meg Whitman, Sara Blakely and Arianna Huffington to name a few. They're the founders of game-changing companies that have revolutionized our culture, technology and economy–from SpaceX, 23andMe, Zipcar, Uber, Amazon and countless others. The list grows longer every day.
But what of their paths to greatness? Are there traits successful entrepreneurs share?
How Great Entrepreneurs Face Adversity: Dysfunctional Family Theory
We know that it takes more than a great idea to launch a business. But what gives some smart, ambitious trailblazers the edge above others?
Lean Startup pioneer and Stanford professor Steve Blank has a theory that it lies in their psychological makeup. After decades in Silicon Valley watching companies come and go, he observed that great startup CEOs seemed to have similiar personality traits, including passion, tenacity and a remarkable comfort operating in chaos.
Blank and his venture capital colleagues noted another peculiar pattern–that a disproportionate number of founders came from dysfunctional families. In his ideas on "dysfunctional family theory" first articulated in 2009, Blank posits that many (not all) entrepreneurs come from a less than white-picket-fence, Brady-Bunch-esque upbringing.
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In his "admittedly very unscientific survey", Blank found that up to one-half of people working doggedly to build their companies self-identified as coming from household environments marked conflict, fighting, harsh discipline, little to no expression of love and substance abuse.
Blank reasons that, of children raised in a dysfunctional family, some emerge from childhood with a keen ability to focus and take action despite discord. They develop skills to cope with uncertainty and learn how to thrive even in the face of instability. Their brains are wired for resilience.
Additional research supports the suggestion that a difficult upbringing begets a successful entrepreneur. The pivotal trait that enables a dysfunctionally-raised child to develop into a ground-breaking entrepreneur is resilience, or adaptation in the face of adversity or trauma.
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People who are resilient are able to bounce back from difficult experiences relatively quickly and unharmed. They’re mentally strong, in control of themselves and skilled problem solvers. Children who endure a troubling adolescence but are able to channel that emotional strength into career success could have the most potential for professional powerhouse status.
Any of the above ringing a bell for you? If you think you might fall into the “dysfunctional childhood / professional greatness” camp, you might identify with these qualities or situations:
You balk at strict rules.
Coming from a household where nothing was the same day to day, you might like to bend and shape actions as situations require. This makes you a great out-of-the-box thinker.
You’re able to execute against all odds.
Leaders reared in topsy-turvy home environments are familiar with acts of will. Even if conditions aren’t conducive, you’ve got to get it done anyhow, even if that's on your own. In a work setting, even when things are in flux you keep your nose to the grindstone and deliver.
You have a strong sense of urgency.
You’re used to feeling like there’s a fire lit under you, which serves you well in the workplace. You don’t have to wait to be told what to do or how to do it. You just plug in and produce.
You operate serenely in chaos.
Deadlines, demands, disarray—none of these have an adverse impact on your output. Actually it’s when your fortitude and composure shine. When those around you are stressed, you’re often the one that’s able to hold it all together and forge forward.
You can read any room.
Being raised in a dysfunctional environment has honed your ability to navigate emotional minefields. In a professional setting, that EQ makes you well-equipped for taking the temperature of investors, board members, new hires and other high-stakes audiences so you can intuitively gauge the best course of action.
Whatever the climate of your youth, it’s encouraging to realize that difficulties in your past can be put to positive use in your career. After all, the only predictable thing about launching a business is its unpredictability. The key is to be self-aware of the challenges and trials that have led you to where you are, and how they inform your disposition and decisions in the work arena.
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07e866861da07534ece32fe9a3117f5c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/04/16/how-to-stop-worrying-so-much-and-manage-stress-better/ | How To Stop Worrying So Much (And Manage Stress Better) | How To Stop Worrying So Much (And Manage Stress Better)
Worrying all the time is a reality for many entrepreneurs. Long hours working alone, increased pressure to succeed and the rigorous demands of running a business often result in concerns that multiply and go unchecked.
Don't fight your worries – channel them productively. (image courtesy of Bruce Mars via Pexels) Bruce Mars via Pexels
Whether it’s one or two big problems that nag at you consistently throughout the day or a host of little things that zip in and out of your head and break your concentration, there’s one simple way to manage them: take a worry break.
The Benefits of Worrying on a Schedule
A worry break is a scheduled time that you set aside on a regular basis to focus on the anxieties or problems that are preoccupying you.
If that sounds like a recipe for more stress, consider this: spending 15 to 20 minutes a day on a worry deep-dive can ultimately reduce your worries and help you cope more effectively with the challenges thrown at you. When you focus intensely on your concerns at a designated time instead of letting them run wild and interfere with your day, you’re more equipped to create constructive solutions.
If you’re ready to try a worry break, here’s how experts recommend you start:
Schedule a time for your worry break.
Pick a time when you are usually alone and are less likely to be interrupted. Ideally, you would take a worry break on a daily basis, making it part of your routine. This also makes you less prone to skipping it on hectic or stressful days (which is when you need it most). Proactively tending to your mental well-being should be a habit, not an afterthought . Set a calendar reminder, write it in your planner and commit to it.
Channel worries elsewhere until it’s time to focus on them.
Trying to fight off negative thoughts and emotions backfires. They will just pop back up like trying to hold a beach ball under water.
Instead, capture your worries in a document, journal or note. You may find it helpful to jot down stressful thoughts as they occur to you, especially if you feel worried about so many things that you can’t even keep track of them. (It happens – especially to us perfectionists.)
This serves a few purposes: it keeps you organized, gives you peace of mind you won’t forget anything important and means worries stay out of sight, out of mind until you’re prepared to tackle them. This may be difficult at first, but it gets easier.
During your worry break, worry intensely, but worry well.
When your scheduled worry break arrives, don’t do anything but worry. Free write about your fears and concerns. Be as detailed and specific as possible. Don’t censor yourself. If any new ideas or next steps occur to you as you worry, jot those down too.
When problems meet the light of day, you'll probably find that solutions often come more naturally than you ever expected. It makes perfect sense: when you resist negative emotions like worry, they only become stronger. But when you confront them head on, we diminish their power and often find ways to tackle them productively.
You might find the quiet time for reflection and deep concentration allows you to think more clearly. Or you might try setting a timer to brainstorm possible options to run by your team or a trusted mentor. Asking yourself questions like the ones below can also unlock your creative thinking:
What story or limiting thoughts am I telling myself about this situation? What would I do if I had unlimited time and resource or if X wasn’t a barrier? What would I like to happen? What will I do first?
Worry Break Over? Time to Move On
When your worry break is over, switch gears. If you feel fixated on a problem, remember that you’ll have another worry break on the calendar. In the meantime, you’re now free to focus your energy elsewhere, without the powerful cognitive toll that round-the-clock stress takes.
So, worry away — when the time is right.
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44e31b9b7728c970255e9cc043bf3674 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/04/23/do-you-have-a-job-career-or-calling-the-difference-matters/ | Do You Have a Job, Career or Calling? The Difference Matters | Do You Have a Job, Career or Calling? The Difference Matters
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Many of us find ourselves trapped in jobs that we do not particularly enjoy or connect with on any level. Maybe you followed the rest of your family into medical or legal careers when what you really wanted to launch your own business or to work in the arts. Whatever the case, it can be disappointing to feel like your job does little other than provide a paycheck.
Most of the coaching clients I work with seek the ultimate dream job. They want a role that is not only emotionally and financially satisfying, but one where they can also have an impact. In other words, they want to find their calling.
Meaningful work is important to almost everyone, regardless of what that work entails. Luckily, research suggests that experiencing your work as a calling instead of “just a job” largely comes down to changing your perspective.
If you find yourself unsatisfied with your work-life, here’s how you can move toward the meaningful experience you crave.
Job, Career or Calling – What’s the Difference?
Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor at Yale School of Management, has spent her career researching how individuals identify with their work. She has established three different, defined contexts of work: job, career and calling:
Job: A job provides you with pay, benefits and perhaps some social perks. It’s primarily about earning that paycheck. People in this category are typically more invested in their lives outside of the office. Work is merely the way they afford to do the things they love. They focus on their family, friends and hobbies more than their professional pursuits. If you no longer see your job as a place to learn, gain experience or increase your connections, it could be a sign that you have a “Job” orientation towards your work.
Career: A job you do for others, while a career is what you do for yourself. Career professionals are also working for the paycheck (let’s be honest, who isn’t?), but they are more driven to seek out opportunities for advancement in the workplace. These individuals tend to strive for the next promotion, look for more training and generally aim to impress. People with a career orientation tend to have a long-term vision for their professional future, set goals and enjoy healthy competition with colleagues.
Calling: Those who experience their work as a calling are most likely to feel a deep alignment between their vocation and who they are as a person. They feel a personal and emotional connection to their work. They are enthusiastic, have a sense of purpose and are willing to work harder and longer to make a contribution. Unsurprisingly, this group is often the most satisfied with their professional situation.
Which Work Orientation Do You Have?
Here’s questions to ask yourself:
What is the most meaningful part of my job? Do I end my work day feeling emotionally satisfied? Would I be in this position if I didn’t need the paycheck? Do I want to rise to the top of my chosen career path or am I happy where I am?
Tips to Transform Your Job into a Career or Calling
The important thing to remember is that no category of work orientation is more legitimate than the others. Each one is a valid way to approach your professional life, as long as it’s guided by your personality, preferences and values. However, if you want to transform your job into a career or calling there are a few simple tips you can try:
Change Your Outlook
If you are feeling stuck in an unsatisfying job, experiment with changing your mindset. Let’s say that you work at a law office or medical practice, shuffling papers and generally keeping people on track. Instead of giving in to negative self-talk or focusing on "getting by" each day, choose to focus on how integral your responsibilities are to making the practice successful. Your responsibilities – however mundane they may seem – are integral to the business’ continued success.
By challenging yourself to approach your work with a different outlook you may find yourself imbued with a new sense of purpose. Now you are choosing to see yourself as the person who keeps the ship sailing, not just a paper-pusher. Simple changes like this can help breathe new life into an otherwise stale work experience.
Play to Your Strengths
You are more likely to feel satisfied with your job when you utilize your strengths. And if you find a job that makes use of your strengths, you get closer to discovering your calling. Wrzesniewski coined the term “crafting” to refer to redesigning your responsibilities to better leverage your strengths. To do this for yourself, start by filling in the blank: “The best part of my workday is when I __________.”
Look Outside Yourself
Consider focusing some of your energy on making connections, including internally with colleagues and supervisors as well as with interesting people pursuing a path you admire. Building relationships will help break-up the monotony of a typical day and give you a different aspect of your professional life to focus on. You never know when serendipity might occur, where your next opportunity will come from or where it may lead you.
If you are dissatisfied in your current job, you are not alone. Many Americans struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in their work. The good news is, you can become more satisfied by making some of these small, simple tweaks to your mindset. Intentionally choosing to reframe your role and actively playing to your strengths, for example, can go a long way toward creating a positive work experience.
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74041a2e74aa184bd6cb08c611d40bf3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/04/30/5-ways-to-make-boring-meetings-exciting-again-using-psychology/ | 5 Ways To Make Boring Meetings Exciting Again | 5 Ways To Make Boring Meetings Exciting Again
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Meetings are generally viewed as boring, time-wasting affairs. They can be breeding grounds for contentious dynamics as co-workers fight to stand out from the crowd. While meetings can be helpful for collaboration, excessive, back-to-back sessions can leave people feeling micro-managed. This slows productivity to a halt and may stunt the growth of high-performers who, if given more white space, would otherwise thrive.
Everyone has heard the generic advice for effective meetings:
Don’t over-schedule. No one wants to spend six hours a week in meetings. Only schedule a meeting when it is truly necessary. Schedule shorter meetings.
This advice, albeit obvious, is still good. But why not take things a step further? Infuse your meetings with wit, creativity and take advantage of psychologically proven ways to foster engagement. When you implement these tips, your colleagues may just start looking forward to meetings as a workplace ritual.
Tips for Engaging Meetings That Suck Less
Ditch the Table
Meetings are traditionally held in uninspired, neutral-toned rooms with a large table and chairs in the middle. Square and rectangular tables subconsciously reinforce workplace hierarchy. When your aim is collaboration, putting everyone on equal footing is important. If collaboration is your goal, include a circular table in your meeting space.
Better yet, ditch the table completely. Arrange chairs in a circle, facing inward. Removing the table encourages open communication between colleagues and lightens up the formal atmosphere. If you need to distribute handouts or refer to charts during the meeting, consider alternative ways of displaying them: hang them on the walls around the room to encourage movement and spontaneous dialogue, for example.
To energize meetings, you can also break up longer meetings with short, standing breaks. Research suggests that standing up while working increases job performance. Encourage your colleagues to get up and move their bodies. Lead the room in some quick stretches or unintimidating yoga poses before getting back to work.
Change Your Venue
Speaking of that uninspired, bland meeting room: why not ditch it altogether? Getting out of the office does wonders for everyone. Holding meetings at unconventional locations can foster excitement about a quick trip out of the office. Our ability to focus is directly linked to the novelty of the experience. Changing your meeting routine will promote focus and engagement among your co-workers. Consider other alternative locations as well, like coffee shops, downtown stress or a park.
Create Chill Vibes
Encourage your colleagues to de-stress by providing small, unobtrusive toys like stress balls and fidget spinners. Recent research into “fidget widgets” suggests that those who utilize them are better able to focus on their primary task. People who decompress, even for just a few minutes, with something creative and completely unrelated to their jobs are more productive in the long run. The theory is that as we become used to our environments we grow complacent and any stimuli introduced to that environment jolts us out of complacency to refocus our minds.
Introduce Playfulness
Shake things up by introducing playful elements into your meetings. Encourage punctuality by having all tardy colleagues sing a short song upon entering the room, for instance.
Humor breeds an informal atmosphere. Engaging in friendly competition and playfulness helps those in attendance feel a sense of camaraderie and leads to a more productive, collaborative space.
At Brivo, a security management firm, they have a “No Rehash” policy. Each time a colleague revisits a topic already covered in that meeting, his co-workers raise paddles with “no rehash” written on them, signaling to the colleague that it is time to wrap up their point.
Get Quiet
Encourage silence in your meetings. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but short bits of silence can be a boon to meeting productivity. We tend to equate collaboration with chatty dialogue, but silence can be an equally powerful tool. People will offer better solutions when given time to think critically about the problem. Give your colleagues the space to come up with those solutions. Don’t fill it with endless noise or useless PowerPoint slides.
Meetings don’t have to be boring. When done well, meetings are tremendous tools for collaboration and problem solving. Spice up your weekly meeting by changing the venue. Introduce fun and games (literally). Consider the addition of strategic silence and breaks. Not only will your colleagues be grateful for change, they may start looking forward to your next meeting.
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776a7daa9ab812ff1216f0fe74fc8fe9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/05/16/what-you-can-learn-from-the-morning-routines-of-productive-people/ | What You Can Learn From The Morning Routines of Super Productive People | What You Can Learn From The Morning Routines of Super Productive People
How do you start your day? Do you jolt awake at the sound of your alarm blaring? Or do you mindfully ease into the A.M. with a healthy meal, exercise and setting goals for what you plan to accomplish?
Your mornings can set the tone for your entire day. It can mean the difference between a productive day or a sluggish one, having a powerful ripple effect on your mood, happiness and focus. If you leave your day to chance, you'll likely get sidetracked by distractions, other people's priorities and find yourself consumed with stress.
On the other hand, creating a morning routine can help you feel calm, controlled and powerful. Morning routines provide a way to feel accomplished and reach new levels of success…all before 8 a.m. There’s why many highly successful leaders — from Benjamin Franklin to Oprah and Bill Gates — have crafted morning rituals that maximize their energy, productivity and creativity all day long.
Credit: Benjamin Spall Credit: Benjamin Spall
No one knows about the power of rising strong better than Benjamin Stall and Michael Xander, the co-founders of My Morning Routine and authors of the new book, My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired. I’m a huge believer and evangelist for the power of mornings and daily routines, which is why I'm grateful to have a few of my A.M. practices featured among those of greats like Arianna Huffington, Marie Kondo, Ed Catmull (President of Pixar and Walt Disney), fitness guru Jillian Michael and many more.
The duo has extensively catalogued almost 300 morning rituals. In this interview, Benjamin Spall shares insights about what they've learned, how you can apply it in your own life (even if you're not an early riser) and a few of his own practices.
Why are morning routines so important and what first inspired you to study them?
When you have a positive morning in which you’re spending your first few hours (or first few minutes, depending on how long you have) doing things that you already decided in advance you really want to do, you’re starting your morning with intention. When you start your morning with intention you can bring your morning “wins” with you into the rest of the day.
It’s important to note that when I refer to morning routines, I’m referencing the time between you waking up and either leaving your home, or transitioning to the next part of your day. If you work a night shift, your “morning routine” may start at 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. You don’t have to be an early riser to have a morning routine; you just have to be conscious of how you spend your time when you wake up.
The inspiration to study morning routines came over five years when my co-author Michael and I wanted to create a project looking at the importance of habits in our day to day lives. We quickly realised that mornings provide the perfect platform for new habits to grow. Three weeks after coming up with the idea, our first couple of interviews were published online.
What are the most common elements of a powerful morning routine?
The most common elements of the most successful morning routines are their ability to be simple and easy to follow. I’m serious! That’s not to say the intricacies of these habits need to be simple (your workout routine can be as complex as you want it to be), but what is simple and easy to follow in this situation would be, say, getting out of bed and doing two minutes of light stretching, or sitting down for a five minute meditation.
Without meaning to offend anyone involved, there’s nothing intrinsically special about the people we profile in this book; aside, that is, from their ability to keep the habits and routines that allow them to achieve at a high level. And we can all do this; we can all turn our morning into a more positive experience (even parents of young kids can, to an extent; we have a chapter on this in the book), we just have to know where to start, which this book can help you with.
Most people wake up and hurry off to work, but you say that a successful day starts by boosting your productivity and relaxing, which may seem counterintuitive. How does one achieve both benefits – and why does it matter?
It matters that you’re achieving both benefits, but it doesn’t necessarily matter than both happen in the morning. In the book we interview a wide range of people, and doing so was so fascinating for me personally because it was often difficult to predict whether someone placed more of a premium on relaxing, working out, or getting productive work done first thing in the morning.
For example, Vanguard Chairman Bill McNabb told me that the quiet time between 6:00 and 7:30am is when some of his best work gets done. He noted that it’s his time to read, think, and prepare for the day ahead. He still works out, but he does so later in the day to break up his workday. The same is true of relaxing; some of the people I interviewed like to ease into the day by spending the beginning of their morning meditating, reading, or generally just reflecting on the day ahead, while others prefer to get right down to work and slow down in the evening instead.
You've gathered "interview statistics" from high-performers across industries including with leaders like Arianna Huffington, General Stanley McChrystal, Marie Kondo and others. Can you share stand-out insights from those statistics?
The main thing the statistics we included in the book do is confirm biases that we all have: yes, we need to go to bed earlier (our interviewees average a 10:57 p.m. bedtime), yes we need to wake up earlier (6:24am), and no, we absolutely should not be hitting the snooze button.
Of course, statistics don’t always give us a complete picture. If you’re a night owl and you’ve been reading this interview with skepticism, I get it. While we desperately believe in the power of having a good-for-you morning routine, that doesn’t mean you need to start waking up early every morning if you get your best work done late into the evening or at night. If this is seriously working for you, then statistics be damned, keep at it.
How do you start your day? Have you picked up habits from the people you've studied?
Great question! I’ve absolutely picked up habits from interviewing so many people about their mornings over the past five years, as has my co-author Michael. The most recent addition to my morning routine has been twenty pushups and ten jumping jacks, followed by a ten minute meditation. It’s so simply that I rarely don’t do it, and if I do forget it takes so little time that it’s easy to fit into my day later on.
For about the last year I’ve been keeping my phone in my kitchen overnight, on airplane mode, having replaced it with an analogue alarm clock as my morning wake-up siren (though I’m usually awake before it goes off). It took me over four years of editing the interviews on our website and being told about this trick dozens of times before I finally did it. And it’s made a huge difference to how present, calm, and generally less frantic I feel in the morning. When possible, I aim to not turn my phone off airplane mode until I start work.
There's so much advice out there about how to craft an effective morning ritual. How does someone go about finding a routine that's the best fit for them? Any tips you can share, especially for readers who may feel overwhelmed or assume they're "not a morning person"?
Try everything once! Well, maybe not everything, but we do truly believe that if you’ve been considering trying something (such as meditation, a new workout, having a set time to do your most creative work… you name it), bringing this into your morning routine is a great way to see if it’s for you.
Give each new element you bring into your morning routine a fair shot. Trying something for just a couple of days before giving up isn’t enough. And keep things short! Don’t go all-in on a two-hour workout or creative writing session on your first morning.
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909d6aa4a76076e816458dc2d6956cfb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/05/23/from-bankruptcy-to-millions-in-revenue-a-founders-lessons-for-young-entrepreneurs/ | How This Founder Went From Bankruptcy To Millions In Revenue | How This Founder Went From Bankruptcy To Millions In Revenue
Starting a business is filled with emotional ups-and-downs. Oftentimes you're investing your confidence and your hard-earned money into a risky decision that might not pan out. When you're an entrepreneur, the fear of failure is ever-present. If you want to succeed, you have two choices: (1) fall victim to worry and self-doubt or (2) get better at dealing with inevitable setbacks and make friends with the unknown.
Entrepreneur Gary Nealon chose option two. Today Gary is the founder of Nealon Solutions, a consulting firm that helps eCommerce businesses grow. Previously he built multiple multimillion-dollar businesses, including his company RTA Cabinet Store, which offers consumers the ability to purchase ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets online. But Gary's road to success was paved with detours, including a bankruptcy that forced him to start over. Now he's distilled his hard-won wisdom into a new book, Notes to a Young Entrepreneur, which focuses on providing aspiring entrepreneurs with advice on everything from raising capital to finding mentors, and even adjusting your mindset for success.
There's no doubt that young adults are shifting the way work is done. Over 60% of millennials have thought about starting a business and 72% of high schoolers say they want to be their own boss one day. Without the right mental and emotional toolkit, the next generation of entrepreneurs won't thrive.
In this interview, Gary discusses how he rebounded from failure, how to find a great mentor, and what to do if you think it's too late to start a business (spoiler alert: don't give up on your daydream!).
Credit: Gary Nealon Credit: Gary Nealon
Melody Wilding: You're a self-taught, serial entrepreneur. Tell us a little more about your journey.
Gary Nealon: I didn't know anything about entrepreneurship when I started, but I knew that I didn't want to keep working for other people. My first attempt at being an entrepreneur was an epic failure. I was working as a Director of Sales of a logistics company and started researching companies to buy. I didn't know how I was going to buy one, or any experience running one, but I spent two years researching niches.
I was able to find some people to invest and I liquidated everything that I had saved up to that point. Unfortunately with the economic downturn and unforeseen problems in the company, I ended up filing bankruptcy on it after about a year. It was a huge blow emotionally and mentally, but I was determined to find a way to own my own business.
I had to start from scratch and realized just how little I knew about running a business, so had to educate myself. I went back into the workforce and started a cabinet business out of my house. I used the last $5,000 I had and all the money that I was earning from my job to build up the business until it was making enough money to cover my expenses. That let me switch to working on it full time.
Wilding: Why write a book about entrepreneurship for teens?
Nealon: After speaking at high schools for several years and meeting young entrepreneurs at various conferences, I noticed that there was a huge disparity between what was being taught in schools and the skills needed to excel at running a business. For kids that don't have an entrepreneur in their family, they don't really have anyone that can give them advice on how to do it. This is the book that I wish someone had given me when I was in high school. I hope it helps future entrepreneurs.
Wilding: There's also a social mission behind this book. Tell us about it.
Nealon: I'm not an author by trade, so the book is my way of paying it forward and hopefully having a positive impact on teens and the future of entrepreneurship. I figured we could have twice the impact if we not only helped aspiring young entrepreneurs, but also give the proceeds to help young women in third world countries receive literacy training so that one day they can potentially impact their community. That's why I’m excited to say that each book purchased will provide one year of e-education for a child in India through B1G1, Business for Good.
Wilding: You talk a lot about the importance of mentorship. How has mentorship helped you in your career? How can a young entrepreneur find a great mentor?
Nealon: Mentorship is hugely important and helps accelerate your growth. The right mentor will have already gone through what you are going through and will help you avoid the same mistakes. They won't do it for you or give you step by step instructions, but they will help guide you.
I didn't realize the importance of having mentors until a couple of years into my business journey. I started joining groups of other successful entrepreneurs who had already been through what I was going through. The key to finding really good mentors (for me) involved looking for people that were several years ahead of where I was and offering to help them in some way that added value to their company. That might be offering your time, money, or connections, but finding a great mentor starts with first helping them in some form.
Wilding: You say that "success and failure aren't black and white". What do you mean by that, and how can someone fail successfully?
Nealon: You need to shift your mindset about what failure means. What most people would consider a "failure" or setback is just a new lesson you learned. The key to failing successfully, is to make incremental tests or improvements, learn from it and adapt.
With internet-based businesses, this is so much easier now then it ever has been. You can test a new idea for a couple hundred dollars with Facebook or Google ads and have a pretty good idea if it is going to work or not. If you compare that back to when I started or earlier, you would have had to invest a lot more money into product development or more conventional forms of advertising, such as TV or print and you might not know for sure if it was going to succeed.
Wilding: What's your best advice to someone who feels it's too late to follow their dream of starting a business?
Nealon: I don't think it is ever too late to start a business. The older you get, the more responsibilities you may have, such as a family, bills or mortgage. Start small and minimize the risk. For someone that does have a family and is concerned about not having a reliable income source, I would say that they should start the business on the side and work at it during off hours. You will have to sacrifice some of your free time, but it will allow you to grow the business to the point where it covers your salary and allows you to work on it full time. Not all businesses are overnight successes, so if you put in the time when you can, and keep at it, you can be successful.
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e71d1e18ddcbf61295924c5ca5bf3319 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2018/07/16/how-to-raise-girls-to-be-strong-women-according-to-a-psychologist/ | How To Raise Girls To Be Strong Women, According To A Psychologist | How To Raise Girls To Be Strong Women, According To A Psychologist
What would you guess women are most stressed out about in their careers? One might assume that hating your job or dealing with the frustration of finding a better one, would top the list. But according to the results of an annual survey that I send several thousand readers of my email newsletter, the most common problem women face is that they don’t feel confident.
Readers said things like:
I want to start a business, but I fear looking foolish.
I feel I shouldn’t have been picked for the role I am in. I feel like a sham.
I doubt myself and find it hard to ask for what I want.
These responses are from smart, accomplished women. Many have advanced degrees. Some of them have earned high-ranking leadership positions at Fortune 500 companies that are household names. Why are they questioning themselves?
A lack of confidence starts early, says Dr. Lauren Hazzouri. She is a licensed psychologist and founder of The Practice, a movement that helps women and girls stand in their power. In this interview, she discusses what inspired her to start The Practice, how to move past the voice of the inner critic, and how we can raise girls to be strong women leaders.
Photo credit: Tory Rust Credit: Dr. Lauren Hazzouri
Melody Wilding: Your movement, The Practice, is helping to revolutionize the way girls and women care for their emotional health. Tell us more about The Practice -- the mission, and what inspired you to start it? Lauren Hazzouri: The Practice is a method created to address the low self-esteem and unique mental health concerns of Gen Z girls. There are approximately 40 million Gen Z girls living in America and 25 percent of them are in high school. Research indicates that 70 percent of them have low self-esteem, 30 percent experience anxiety and/or depression, and a reported 23 percent of high school girls have seriously considered suicide. Girls are diagnosed at twice the rate of boys, and 80 percent of those who would benefit from treatment don’t get it for various reasons including fear and shame, lack of insight, limited awareness, feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness, unavailability and financial hardships. The rapid decline in mental health can be attributed to evolved gender expectations, screen time, and interpersonal stress perpetuated by social media. This generation of girls has been socialized to cater to the opinions of others like previous generations, yet our digitally connected world increases the impact of established harsh social norms. They grow up chasing likes and sacrificing their unique sense of self in order to conform to what society tells them they should be: “good girls” who are thin and attractive, naturally smart and successful without threatening the social system. The Practice allows Gen Z girls to see clearly the social norms and aspects of society that contribute to their unwanted thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, while providing evidence-based strategies to help to manage them effectively. The Practice method utilizes proven cognitive behavioral methods, behavioral activation, mindfulness training, and other psychological techniques, in addition to poetry, music, movement, and art. When we educate girls about why they feel the way they do— and teach them how to feel and ultimately be better—we empower them to change the standard and replace it with one that values inclusivity, intersectionality, and equality. Because girls and women make up 51 percent of the population, with us coming together and standing in our power, we can do it! The Practice mission is to provide all of the resources that Gen Z girls need through an inter channel experience— both online and in real life to be the generation that changes what social norms look like for themselves and future generations, too. Wilding: What type of impact is The Practice having? Hazzouri: The Practice is often an introduction to important topics that affect all girls and women in a significant way. For example, many 13-18 year olds in small towns across the country have never heard the word patriarchy. They’ve never challenged core beliefs or been taught that thoughts aren’t facts. Much of what we offer at The Practice is education, psycho-education and community. We identify the problems, so that the girls can stop identifying with the problems that all of us, girls and women, face. We offer solutions and a dose of relief. The Practice is my own personal battle cry. I was a girl. Now, I’m a women and a psychologist. Quite frankly, I’m sick of girls thinking they’re messed up, when they’re everything. It both saddens and infuriates me. My own feminist awakening has a lot to do with the timing of the launch of The Practice. My awakening provided words and context for what I’ve always known. My hope is that The Practice provides that same sort of awakening for girls at an early age, so that they can shed the impact of society, stand in their power, and create new social norms for themselves and future generations. A decade ago, when I started my private practice in Pennsylvania, it became apparent to me that all the girls who were seeking therapy were experiencing the same problems that were manifesting in different ways, dependent on the individual. Instead of identifying the diagnosis as the problem, it only made sense to go deeper and identify the socialization of girls as being the problem and recognize social norms as a contributing factor to what all the girls were thinking, feeling, and doing, regardless of diagnosis—even sans diagnosis. At that time, I began offering self-esteem workshops, free-of-charge and open to the community. In addition, I developed a curriculum for girls that utilizes proven strategies of both western psychology and eastern philosophy. The combination of self-esteem work, psychology’s strategies, lifestyle changes, music, dance, art was working for those who had the opportunity to come to therapy, though what I was teaching was not only for ill-being but for well-being, too. I knew it would benefit every girl. In addition, I thought the girls would benefit from connecting with one another, but because of confidentiality guidelines and HIPPA regulations, they’d likely never meet. That’s when, I began seeking ways to bring what is now The Practice to life. The Practice, a method, a community, a movement for all girls.
Wilding: Seventy percent of girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up. How do these beliefs go on to affect us in our careers?
Hazzouri: Research indicates that seven out of 10 girls ages eight to 17 have negative opinions of themselves in someway, such as their looks, school performance, or relationships with family and friends. Research tells us that majority of girls ages eight to 17 are insecure and unsure of themselves. At age 17, our self-esteem doesn’t increase significantly but the research on self-esteem disappears because we stop focusing on holding ourselves in high regard and begin crushing accomplishments—in hopes that increasing confidence will close the gap.
The problem; it doesn’t. We find becoming a rockstar in all the ways that society values doesn’t cut it, because society is where we are, not who we are. Even more, the more we internalize society and it’s messaging, the more our self-esteem is at risk.
The messages that we women, receive from birth—to be accommodating, thin and attractive, smart but not too smart, successful until we threaten the social system—have a significant effect on how we think, feel, and behave. We are taught that our value is based on our appearance, our relationship status, and the like. Of course, we don’t value ourselves for who we are. Of course, we don’t recognize our real worth. That, ladies, we aren’t taught.
Here’s the deal: Shedding the impact of social norms takes much less efforting and much more challenging old-school, misogynistic core beliefs that we’ve unknowingly internalized.
In order to increase esteem, we must identify the problem (social norms) and hop into the solution (ourselves!) You heard me. We are not the problem. We are, instead, the solution. It’s time for us to stop taking over where society leaves off with our negative self-talk, focus on fitting-in, and desire to be liked.
Wilding: How can women get ourselves unstuck? What's one tip we can start taking action on today?
Hazzouri: Take control of your thoughts. Each one of us has both a positive and a negative thought voice. The negative voice is the part of you that has internalized all of the warped messages thrown at you by society since birth and works overtime to shame you into fitting in with societal norms. The negative voice is trying to save you from rejection much of the time.
Traditionally, psychology has told us that the negative voice or “inner-critic” spews irrational thoughts. I disagree. Society fuels self-destructive thoughts. Make no mistake! You are not crazy. You’re an intuitive good-listener, which is the very reason that many of our self-destructive thoughts look similar, such as “I’m ugly,” “I’m stupid,” “I’m a burden,” or “I’m a loser.” When not overt, all you have to do is read between the lines of social messages and that’s what you get. Thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to actions. To change the way you feel (a.k.a less than), change the way you think. Identify thought patterns that lead to unwanted feelings. Thoughts are not facts. Instead of buying into what you’ve internalized over decades in this place, I invite you to challenge what you’ve learned. What is learned can be unlearned—with practice. Call B.S. on your negative thoughts. Write them down. Replace them with truth. Get on with your day. Remember, each one of us came with everything we need to get through this life in a healthy and happy way. Period.
Next, teach others to respect you, not like you. Of course, we all want to be liked but when being liked is top priority, we often compromise ourselves. We, women, are not schooled on setting boundaries, which leads to over-commitment, resentments, and all-out exhaustion. Screw that, seriously. You deserve time. You have a voice. Even when it’s uncomfortable, use it. Comfort is overrated. It’s time to get comfortable being uncomfortable for you, for me, for all of us.
Lastly, get here and show up. You are the only person in the world with your experiences and perspective. You don’t have a purpose. You are your purpose and frankly, we need you. You’ve gotta show up for you, for us. The goal is to have your head and your body in the same place at the same time—no easy feat (for now anyway). Start by using your senses—look at what’s around you, take in the colors, smell the scents in the room, feel the fabric on the chair or that of your skirt, taste the watermelon in your mouth, listen to the bird outside the window. It’ll take you a couple of minutes to truly be in your moment. With practice, it begins to feel come more naturally. It’s worth it, ’cause there’s nothing that keeps you from feeling good where you are, quite like being where you’re not. Our power is in our presence. Our duty is to get here. After practicing thought management, boundary setting, and presence, your value will be unmistakeable— even to you.
Wilding: How can we raise young girls to be strong women? In your opinion, what needs to change?
Hazzouri: Have them join The Practice! Plus…
1.) Be a good social model. In order to help girls to feel their value, we need to value ourselves.
2.) Teach girls about patriarchy. Help them to understand the impact of society, so that they can see clearly the impact norms have on their own self-esteem and their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
3.) Provide opportunities for them to join together in presence and healthy coping through creative endeavors such as, dance, music, art, poetry.
4.) Get them the evidence based strategies psychology offers so that they can manage mood, anxiety, and the like. This way, they can stop focusing on how they feel and start focusing on all that they are.
Wilding: What do you wish every women knew about stepping into their potential and owning their personal power?
Hazzouri: You are already everything that you need to be. You came that way.
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3f6365a29357b90efe35f78d148a00ca | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2019/08/21/how-to-stop-taking-criticism-so-personally/ | How To Stop Taking Criticism So Personally | How To Stop Taking Criticism So Personally
When I asked my client Jessica how her relationship with her manager was going since we last spoke, there was a long pause.
“Jessica, what happened?” I asked.
“She ripped apart a presentation I put together. She said I needed to start over from scratch because it totally missed the mark. I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation all weekend!”
Maybe you’ve found yourself in Jessica's shoes, feeling angry, insecure, or demoralized after getting bad feedback. When someone criticizes your work, it can feel like a confirmation of your inner critic saying you’re not good enough. Other times, a single offhanded comment (“you look tired”) launches you into an existential crisis about how you’re too old and have accomplished nothing with your life.
But if you want to do anything important in the world, you’ll inevitably get negative feedback. Why not learn to get better at it? Besides, mastering the art of responding to criticism like a pro is linked to higher job satisfaction and is the cornerstone of building trust in any relationship.
Here’s how to respond positively to negative feedback, find the good in it, and fortify your confidence as a result:
First, thank them. Seriously.
You may be tempted to lash out and give that person a piece of your mind.
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Before you say something you’ll regret (or that’ll get you fired), pause. Don’t panic. Practice being aware of your emotional reaction.
Then, buy yourself time to calm down and gain distance from the comments by saying something like “Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts” or “I’ll need a moment to digest that”.
By doing so, you use your empathy skills to achieve two things: (1) you make the person feel heard and validated and (2) you gain control of your emotional response so that you respond respectfully.
Find the Lesson
After you've given yourself some space to process what’s been said, you’re ready to evaluate the feedback objectively.
Keep in mind that criticism is a reflection of one person’s opinions and beliefs, including their fears. For example, your family may be critical of your career choices when in fact they’re just worried about you. Do your best to de-personalize their comments and assume positive intent.
Find a growth opportunity within the criticism by asking for specific examples about where you could improve or what you could do differently next time.
Go on the Offense
Instead of shuddering away from feedback except at performance review time or when you have a fight, solicit it proactively.
This process, called desensitization, involves gradually exposing yourself to scary situations until the anxiety dissipates. The more comfortable you get having difficult conversations, the easier they become (and the more your confidence grows as a result).
Look for low-stakes opportunities to show your work to new people, setting up regular one-on-ones with your boss, or even creating a weekly date night so you can have important conversations with your partner. In Braden’s case, he stopped fearing his boss’ criticism by getting his input on presentations earlier and more often.
You won't please everyone all the time and negative feedback is a natural consequence of going for your goals. Remember, though, that at the end of the day the opinion that matters the most is the one you hold of yourself.
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17311dd8ca88d382d18a7d02c1720c74 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2019/09/09/the-quiet-strength-of-the-ambitious--introvert/ | The Quiet Strength of the Ambitious Introvert | The Quiet Strength of the Ambitious Introvert
Which sounds like a dream job to you?
Spending your day brainstorming and chatting with co-workers in an open-plan office? A day with no meetings and plenty of time to dive into a creative project by yourself?
If you picked option 2, you might be an introvert.
Who is an introvert, actually?
Put simply, being introverted means you’re someone who is more sensitive to stimulation. Many introverts cherish deep thinking and reflection. Most of all, introverts often need periods of rest and recharging in order to do their best work.
It’s easy to imagine that introverts might see their qualities as a liability in their careers. especially when our culture glorifies hustle and charisma. (Don’t tell that to Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Marissa Mayer. and Michael Jordan, who are among history’s most successful introverts alongside Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt.)
The rise of the introverts
But take heart, dear introverts, because your time to shine is here. Growing recognition for the introvert movement, sparked by leaders like Susan Cain, means that different working styles are being embraced now more than ever.
You can bring your whole self to work, quiet qualities and all. Here’s how to leverage sensitivity to your advantage and thrive in the workplace:
1 - Play to your strengths
Your emotional intelligence, empathy, and communication savvy are skills that make you a loyal, valued team player (even if group work isn’t your favorite). Plus, your curiosity perfectly positions you to lead, so look for opportunities to exercise this creativity. Be the one to ask thoughtful questions that inspire people to think differently. You’ll soon be regarded as an innovator.
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Believe it or not, introverts can be great salespeople precisely because they tend to be so skilled at building rapport, listening, and empathizing with customer needs. But be mindful when choosing a career that a job requiring lots of travel, excess noise, or distraction may not the best fit for you.
2 - Focus on energy management, not time management.
Work is infinite, but your energy isn’t. The secret to high performance as an introvert, then, is to optimize around your natural ebbs and flows.
For one week keep track of your workday activities. Rate how much each energizes you. Look for patterns in the times of day you feel most alert. Limit or eliminate tasks that drain you. Do more of what sustains you.
If you notice you’re more focused in the mornings, for example, start the day with writing or creative work that requires concentration before you even open your email.
I suggest to introverted clients that they leave a 15-minute buffer in between all appointments in order to give them wiggle room to decompress and replenish if needed. One of my clients created “office hours” to limit people dropping by during the day. It helped limit the number of interruptions to her work, and gave her employees the confidence to know when to pop by to talk to her.
Don’t forget to make self-care part of your daily to-do list. For introverts, recharging is an important part of thriving in your job. Build in plenty of time for self-reflection about what you want in your career over the long-term.
3 - Create the right conditions for success.
Introverts are more sensitive to the environment around them. Curate a workspace that feels comfortable and calming to you. Small changes like natural lighting and using noise cancelling headphones can make a big difference in your mood and well-being.
4 - Speak up.
Introverts have a bad habit of living in their own heads. That rich inner-life is a wonderful thing, but unfortunately people can’t read your mind which is why it’s critical you communicate your preferences to others. Whether that’s requesting extra time to digest feedback or asking to write up a report instead of presenting it, speak up about what you need and want.
Prepare for stimulating situations introverts often don’t fare well when they are caught off-guard or put on the spot. Have go-to practices such as stretching or deep breathing to use to center yourself before heading into overwhelming situations.
To the extent possible, try to prepare in advance for meetings, which can be an introvert’s worst nightmare. Ask for the agenda ahead of time so you get a chance to gather your thoughts and questions.
Be social in a way that fits your style. It’s a myth that introverts are antisocial or shy. They simply prefer to build relationships differently. Satisfy your fundamental human need to belong by connecting with others one-on-one. Invite a coworker to lunch or focus on meeting one new person at a conference. When it comes networking, focus on quality of relationships over quantity.
Introverts aren’t the rare freaks of nature they were once made out to be. In fact, studies show introverts make up over half of people in the U.S. today. You’re in good company, too: many of the world’s most successful people –– from J.K. Rowling to David Letterman –– also love solitude.
It’s time to let your sensitivity shine and use your quiet strengths as the superpowers they are.
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85b8567d24e41f8dd24ff98778e2fd26 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2020/01/13/forget-big-goalswhy-tiny-habits-change-everything-according-to-a-stanford-psychologist/ | Forget Big Goals–Why Tiny Habits Change Everything, According to a Stanford Behavioral Scientist | Forget Big Goals–Why Tiny Habits Change Everything, According to a Stanford Behavioral Scientist
Ladder career path for business growth success process concept. Wood block stacking as step stair ... [+] with arrow up. Hand putting wooden cube block on top pyramid Getty
Now that the new year is here, you’ve probably recommitted to your goals with conviction. Maybe you’ve vowed that this is the year you get a promotion, get your productivity under control, or finally achieve the work-life balance you have been craving. Whatever your aspirations, one truth remains: change is hard.
No one knows this better than the world’s leading expert in habit formation, BJ Fogg, PhD. Dr. Fogg leads the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and he has personally coached over 40,000 people—and influenced countless more, including Instagram founder Mike Krieger and best-selling author Tim Ferriss.
Fogg’s new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything, cracks the code on how human behavior works with a groundbreaking model that doesn’t involve tricks, hacks, or willpower.
Melody Wilding: High-achievers like to set big goals, and a lot of them. Where can this approach go wrong or backfire? Why is tiny better?
BJ Fogg: I think everybody, high-achiever or not, can benefit from learning the tiny habits method and what's behind it. It's really learning the skills of change and in Tiny Habits, I present a systematic way that anybody can use to learn how to bring habits into their lives.
If you are high achieving in one area—like you're really good at taking exams or are very good at making presentations and very creative—we tend to also think that we have gifts when it comes to changing our behavior. That's not necessarily true.
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High-achievers are just like everybody else when it comes to motivation: our motivation goes up and down over time. We have to accept that fact and acknowledge that we all face struggle.
High achievers are more susceptible to self-criticism, being hard on themselves, and not being very empathetic. When we don't achieve these lofty goals, we think, “I'm talented in other areas and things should come easy to me”. In my own life I have thought, “BJ, you're good at a lot of things, but that doesn't mean you're necessarily good at changing your behavior.” That was a hard lesson.
Wilding: What are some of the most common work or professional related habits you see people trying to develop?
Fogg: Productivity is very high on the list. That's not a habit, but it's an aspiration that people have.
In my lab, we did three studies about how people aspire to change. And it turns out, that while productivity means different things to different people, we identified that phrasing matters. What worked best was when people said they wanted to be more productive in things that mattered to them.
Other people want to look at how to reduce their work stress and how they can avoid letting the stress of the day affect their personal life, which are big and hard to achieve goals because we don’t have many role models.
Wilding: Where do you start when it comes to developing new work habits?
Fogg: The first place to start is to get clear on what you really want. So don't think yet about the specific habits, like “I'm going to read 60 minutes a day”. Think about what you really want, that tiny first step, which is clarifying your aspiration. What is it that you want? Reducing stress at work is different than being more productive. Building your business network is different from making more money. Spend some time and reflection writing down different things that you want. Habits that are related to things we really want are the easiest to form.
Wilding: Why do you say we can never “break” a habit?
Fogg: The phrase “break a habit” has been with us for a long, long time. And the reason I'm going after it is because it sets up the wrong expectation of how to actually rid yourself of unwanted behavior.
The way we use the term today implies that you put in a lot of force, in a single moment, and by doing that, you're done—the habit is broken and resolved. That's not the right expectation for most habits.
The alternative that I'm putting forward is untangling a habit, which sets up an entirely different expectation. Number one, you can't do it instantly. Just like undoing a big phone cord or a big string Christmas lights, it’s a process and can’t be done instantly. Number two, you can’t start with the hardest tangle first. You start with the easiest one. And third, you will get there. You can’t do it at once, but it’s not impossible.
For those three reasons and more, untangling a habit sets up a much better expectation about the process and helps people do it in the right way rather than thinking, “If I just had enough willpower in this one moment, then I’d be able to change.”
Wilding: I work with many highly sensitive leaders. One of their greatest strengths is thinking deeply, but they can also get caught in analysis-paralysis and perfectionism. Can you talk about the info-action fallacy and how people can get past it?
Fogg: Early in the book, I talk about how information alone does not reliably change people's behavior. There is a fallacy that if we just have the right information, people will change. But people believe what they want to believe. So information that they don’t want to believe, they don’t and vice versa. And nowadays with so much information out there, you tend to only encounter things that you're looking for, so you're not exposed to what goes against what you're looking for usually.
I encountered this a lot at Stanford where I've been teaching for 20 years. In the Stanford context, I call it the “big brain problem”. The students are smart people who know how to research and analyze. But guess what? That doesn't mean they’re taking action. In fact, they may be delaying action by thinking and talking and analyzing things from every single angle. It’s helpful to give the problem a name and call it out.
Wilding: How do you deal with it?
Fogg: You don't really learn anything until you put something real into the world. Otherwise you’re not learning. Learning involves getting out there, making mistakes, and learning what goes wrong and what goes right. It may feel good to sit around and talk about what you want to change, but you only make real progress when you ship and build things.
In my classes, I give students deadlines. For example, X has to be implemented and put into the real world by Monday at noon. Or I’ll tell them we have 45 minutes left in class and they can’t leave until they pilot a small intervention. They’ll say “We can’t do that!” but I say, “Yes, you can. Just get started.” All of them make it out of the class on time, and better yet, half of the interventions they created actually show promise several days later.
In the workplace, I train industry innovators to focus on snap testing, which involves going from nothing to rolling out a pilot and getting results within four hours. This isn’t a minimum viable product. We’re talking a really, really quick test of the psychology. Nine out of ten snap tests will fail. So expect the first one to fail. Setting the expectations low takes the pressure off. But what you find is the odds of success are way better than 10 percent. Once you find the little nugget that works — I call it a “tiny machine” — you grow and build it.
Wilding: You give a name to a new emotion – shine. Can you explain what that is and how readers can apply it in their work lives, specifically to tackle negative responses like shame, guilt, and self-criticism?
Fogg: This is really the most important part of Tiny Habits. Shine is the name that I gave to that great, positive emotion you feel when you are successful. When you do a behavior and you feel successful, your brain goes, “Whoa! What just happened? I’m going to do that again.” Your brain releases neurochemicals and takes notice when you have that strong positive reaction, which is what wires the habit—not repetition.
In Tiny Habits, I talk about the technique of celebration, which you can also use to wire habits more quickly. I give 100 ways to celebrate in the book. Pick what works for you.
My real mission is to help people, to teach people, and to give people permission to feel shine without pushing it away. Instead, feel it and turn up the volume on it, which also help others around them.
Wilding: Let’s say you’ve been trying to form a new habit, but it’s not working. How can you troubleshoot?
Fogg: The first thing you start with is looking at the prompt, or did I have something to remind me to do the habit? If you don’t, create one. You do that by anchoring it to a routine. For example, “after I start the coffee maker, then I get out my to-do list.”
If you’re actively using a prompt and it’s not working, look at the next part of the behavior model, which is your ability to do the habit. If the habit is really easy to do and you’re still not doing it, then you know you have a motivation problem, where you have a decision to make about whether you want to choose a different habit or not.
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d847f57a83abf033c323a92a4669612d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2020/04/06/how-to-speak-up-and-get-your-voice-heard-on-conference-calls-even-as-a-reserved-person/ | How To Speak Up And Get Your Voice Heard On Conference Calls, Even As A Reserved Person | How To Speak Up And Get Your Voice Heard On Conference Calls, Even As A Reserved Person
If you want to advance your career, you need to be comfortable speaking up and voicing your opinion on conference calls.
This is easier said than done for Sensitive Strivers.
As big feelers and deep thinkers, many Sensitive Strivers struggle to be heard on conference calls. They may feel talked over by their dominate colleagues. They tend to perseverate over saying the “right” thing and are fearful of coming off as uninformed.
At best, this hesitancy detracts from your ability to contribute. At worst, it erodes your visibility and your confidence along with it. The more you hold back, the less likely you are to be seen as a competent, effective leader.
Getting your voice heard in meetings isn’t just a struggle for junior employees. In fact, I’ve had senior executives and leaders at nearly every leading company seek out coaching to improve their confidence while communicating.
Why Conference Calls are Challenging for Sensitive Strivers
There’s a few reasons conference calls in particular are a challenge for Sensitive Strivers versus in-person meetings:
Lack of visual cues
Without real-time, non-verbal feedback, your brain goes wild. You mentally “fill in the gaps” and assume the worst – that people aren’t receiving your message or they’re judging you negatively.
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Requires more assertiveness
Sensitive Strivers tend to be reserved and they are more comfortable sitting back versus butting into a conversation to offer a point. Conference calls also require you push back if someone interrupts or starts talking over you, which doesn’t come naturally to Sensitive Strivers.
Overstimulation
There’s a lot to juggle on a conference call. You’re simultaneously trying to navigate technology, remember your key points and monitor the audience’s response. All this can leave your sensitive brain overwhelmed and distracted, which makes it harder to listen, be present and find an opportunity to jump in.
Nevertheless, your quiet, reserved nature doesn’t have to hold you back from making a contribution. You need to be able to react and respond off-the-cuff with greater ease and make yourself visible on calls, even if it’s uncomfortable at first (and it will be!).
In fact, your unique style, nuanced insights and thoughtfulness are what position you to provide value and be the leader your team needs.
12 Ways to Get Your Voice Heard on Conference Calls
Get to know the people in the “room”
When I ask clients why they have trouble speaking up on calls, they typically say it’s because they don’t feel comfortable or familiar with the other people present. As sensitive people, they need connection to feel safe and at ease. That’s why I tell them, preparing for a conference call happens long before you dial in. You need to make an effort to get to know your colleagues and counterparts outside of meetings. Getting over the hump of sharing your thoughts becomes much easier when you’re comfortable and have context on the other people in the “room.”
Review the agenda
Every good meeting has an agenda. Set aside five to ten minutes, at least 24 hours in advance of the conference call, to review the key points. Look for an opportunity to pre-meditate what you will address. Choose a topic that is important to you and think about your viewpoint. Giving this some thought before the meeting will help you feel prepared. Write down your points so you remember them.
Talk to the organizer beforehand
Once you know where you want to contribute, contact the organizer and let them know. That way, the organizer can “hand the baton” over to you at the appropriate time. This creates accountability for yourself and makes you look more credible and influential.
Keep a cheatsheet
One advantage of conference calls is that you can keep notes open on your computer while you’re speaking. Use that to your benefit. Write down your high-level bullet points or questions you want to ask and keep them front and center during your call.
Arrive early
Make a point to dial in three to five minutes early. That way you can build rapport and warm up by making low-key conversation.
Build on others’ points at first
Sensitive Strivers are perfectionists. They put undue pressure on themselves to offer brilliant ideas. This backfires because you end up saying nothing at all unless it meets your unrealistically high standards. Instead, focus on simply building the muscle of speaking up first without the expectation to blow people away. Build on comments and ideas from your colleagues with your own substantial examples, case studies or viewpoints.
Speak early
Challenge yourself to make a comment within the first five minutes of the call. The longer you wait, the harder it gets to speak up because (1) you psych yourself out and (2) other people start to contribute ideas you had.
Account for dead air
Don’t let silence scare you. It’s normal to have gaps in conversation. It doesn’t mean you bombed. In fact, it might mean you left such an impact that people are processing what you’re saying. Expect that there will be lulls and be brave enough to acknowledge them, saying something like, “It seems like you’re all digesting what I just shared so I’ll give you a moment.” If you’re the one presenting, anticipate what questions people may have and come ready with a list of frequently asked questions. That way, you look exceedingly knowledgeable, as if you were reading their minds. It also positions you as “in charge” of the conversation and you’ll be able to skillfully smooth over silence.
Stand up while you talk
Stand up when you speak or use a standing desk (if you’re not on video). Doing so will allow you to get more breath in your lungs and speak with deeper resonance, which subconsciously signals power. Because air and energy can flow through your body, you’ll sound and feel more authoritative. Standing up can also help you stay focused and embody confidence.
Record yourself
Painful? Yes. Useful? Absolutely. Evaluate yourself objectively. In your mind, imagine you are watching a play or the performance of someone else. Assess your body language, tone and delivery. Where are your hands positioned? Is your voice loud enough? Are you speaking too fast or too slow? If you’re normally soft-spoken, raise your volume by a notch on calls. Vary your pace and inflection so you sound as interested in the subject matter as you actually are. If you have a good relationship with your manager, you can share the recording with them and get their feedback, too.
Set ground rules
Clear expectations are at the core of every productive conference call. Ground rules like “one person speaks at a time” help limit interruptions and people talking over one another. On video chat, ask that people mute themselves in the beginning and use the “raise hand” feature if they have something to contribute. If you’re the meeting leader, establish ground rules yourself. If you’re participating, suggest the organizer adopt ground rules to help the meeting run more efficiently.
Enforce your boundaries
If a co-worker does talk over you, address it immediately in a calm but direct way. If you don’t, the behavior will continue. You don’t have to be abrasive, a simple “Hey, I noticed you interrupted me a few times during the call. Can we talk about that and figure out how to avoid it in the future?” will suffice. Also, push back in the moment saying “Hey Name, I’m speaking right now. Thanks” or “Hey name, let me finish.”
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0d6ff56db8438735dbb2343b0cfa0b98 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2020/12/07/4-tips-to-strengthen-your-level-of-influence-in-the-workplace/?utm_source=elinfonet | 4 Tips To Strengthen Your Level Of Influence In The Workplace | 4 Tips To Strengthen Your Level Of Influence In The Workplace
Influence is about setting an example that inspires others to do as you do. The keyword here is, inspire. Influencing others isn’t about pressuring people to submit to your requests. Nor is it about manipulation.
Influence, at its core, is akin to persuasion in the most genuine form. It involves inspiring others by how you show up and how you make them feel by leading them.
So, how does a leader influence a team to work towards a vision, share their passion, and to get things done?
If you’re a sensitive high-achiever (or what I call a Sensitive Striver), then you already have the tools that other less-sensitive leaders may not. Your team will understand that you care about their values as much as your own, because of your ability to read them and to feel how they are feeling. Your strength in empathy gives you a boost because you know what matters to your team. This creates a space of connection, understanding, and trust. With that as your foundation, your success in influencing as a leader will shine.
Leadership by Influence: 4 Essential Aspects to Increasing Your Influence in the Workplace
Once you have a solid base of trust and connection with your team, you can strengthen your ability to influence and further your success as a leader. Here are some key skills to increase your level of influence:
Be Transparent
To increase your influence, you must remain open and honest. It's key to allow others to voice their questions and concerns and to answer them with transparency. Being honest is easy when there is good news to share, yet remaining 100% honest when the news is bad can be difficult. The best leaders are transparent in all instances. If a question is posed that you are not prepared to answer, say, “I want to be sure to have all of the correct information before I answer that. Let me check the facts and get back to you by the end of the day.” Be sure to follow-up as soon as you can address their question. Answer with positivity and openness, and you will achieve a team committed to you and your goals.
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As a Sensitive Striver, if problems do arise, your ability to communicate with empathy will be a guiding light for the rest of the team.
Inspire Loyalty
Inspiring a sense of commitment from your team is vital to successful leadership. This can be accomplished by motivating and improving the working lives of your employees. Look for and speak to their accomplishments. Understand that your success also lies in the quality of people that you help advance within the company. If someone in your group is going above and beyond in their role, acknowledge them. The pride you take in your team’s successes not only motivates your team, but inspires deep loyalty to you as their leader.
Lead By Example
Sensitive Strivers don’t fall short on determination. Lead by example by staying confident and focused on the end goal. A leader crippled by self-doubt or deterred by setbacks sets an uneasy tone and can contribute to chaos among the team. When a problem emerges (which you have most likely played out in your head), keep a steadfast and positive attitude. This is important, though difficult, especially if your reputation is on the line. If you see yourself struggling to maintain or regain positivity, take a moment to remind yourself that you can change your mindset. Your attitude is your choice, and your team will mirror that behavior. Turning obstacles into unprecedented opportunities generates a collective calm that is nothing short of inspiring.
Beware The Perfectionism Pitfall
Sensitive Strivers tend to be perfectionists. Your impeccable attention to detail and ambition to keep going until it’s “flawless” contribute to your success. Yet, at other times, your need to do things “right” can fuel anxiety. As Brené Brown says, “Perfectionism is self-destructive simply because there’s no such thing as perfect. Perfection is an unattainable goal.”
Carrying your expectation of perfection over to the team you are trying to lead will chip away at the group’s morale. To avoid fallout, stay focused on what is working, and what you can control. More likely than not, the end goal is still intact.
The ability to influence others is one of the most essential qualities a leader can have. Taking the time to learn the steps of influencing others intelligently and ethically, will improve your success as a leader, and that of the company's.
Sensitive Strivers, you have a leg up in the world of influencing people. Your high emotional intelligence, your passion, and your drive will set you apart. You will be a leader who brings people together with a common goal and will inspire your team to get things done and done well.
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a6ae6c9b95e30aa7d9c2d6e27f25f8cc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meredithferguson1/2018/04/30/beyond-awareness-successful-social-impact-brands-do-these-4-things/ | Beyond Awareness, Successful Social Impact Brands Do These 4 Things | Beyond Awareness, Successful Social Impact Brands Do These 4 Things
When we think about some of the most memorable social impact campaigns of our time—from #LikeAGirl to Fearless Girl—we admire them for their unique approach to making a powerful statement. But simply making a statement is no longer enough if you want Gen Z to pay attention and care about your brand. (And you should – Gen Z will comprise more than 40% of all consumers in the next two years.)
Gen Z is changing the definition of brand engagement and consumer social impact. When young people were asked, "Who should be most responsible for addressing the problems facing our world today?” they said “citizens.” Not our government or not-for-profit organizations.
Being a responsible citizen means being a responsible consumer and Gen Z is raising the bar on what that means. They’re less interested in simply choosing a brand because it donates a percentage of its proceeds to charity (Look at the struggles Newman’s Own is having, and they donate 100% of their proceeds to charity!). To rise above the noise and really get noticed, brands need to give this young consumer an opportunity to join them in their cause-related efforts.
Brands like Patagonia and The Body Shop have been successfully galvanizing and activating their consumer communities for years around the issues they champion. And these efforts have resulted in strong, lasting relationships with their consumers. But you don’t need to be a multi-million dollar brand to deeply engage your consumers and create real change.
Here’s how five emerging (and fast growing!) brands that our DoSomething.org members (young people between the ages of 13 and 25 in every area code in the country) told us they love; and how these brands are tapping into a new way of doing business and connecting with a growing base of conscious consumers.
Integrate cause into your business model
Around the globe, workplace conditions at clothing factories are notoriously poor. The Clean Clothes Campaign says, “Garment workers across the world face a daily grind of excessive hours, forced overtime, lack of job security, poverty wages, denial of trade union rights, poor health, exhaustion, sexual harassment and hazardous working places.” Online clothing retailer Everlane is changing this. A leader in sustainable apparel, the brand has invited its consumers to witness exactly where, who, and how it makes its clothes: Everlane talks about the factories it selects and shares images and videos of the production process. It’s creating a community of consumers around these principles and encourages—solicits even—consumer feedback on its textiles, processes, and factories. What’s more: it believes in radical price transparency. On the website the company reveals the true costs of each product—from materials to transportation expenses—so the consumer understands exactly what they’re paying for. This level of transparency and education is appreciated by young people and they respond with purchases and loyalty.
Invite consumers to volunteer alongside you
The founders of United by Blue started the durable goods company to have a bigger impact in the environmental space. For every product sold, the brand removes one pound of trash from the oceans and other waterways. But this isn’t just a look-at-how-great-we-are branding exercise; it’s both a commitment and a cultivation tool. United by Blue invites its consumers to be a part of the hands-on work it does. "Our pledge to remove one pound of trash means rallying our team and likeminded volunteers to pick up plastic bottles, tires, appliances, and even abandoned trucks, from rivers, streams, creeks, and beaches," the company says. By inviting its consumer base to join in its cleanups and asking them to suggest places that need cleaning, their consumers—called the Blue Movement—become active participants in the company’s mission, engendering a more meaningful brand relationship. Celebrating its 10,000th volunteer and on track in 2018 to sell one million products—double last year’s sales, it’s working!
Give consumers a way to see the impact of their purchase
The one-for-one model made famous by TOMS Shoes has been favored by many up-and-coming brands like Yoobi and Bombas. It’s a good way to make an economic impact, but now, many brands are taking the concept one step further. One of the fastest growing apparel brands in North America, Tentree, has a goal to plant one billion trees by 2030. For every item purchased, ten trees are planted, and consumers get a unique code to register their trees, see where they are planted, and track them. And as of last summer Tentree already is halfway to its goal.The Brooklyn-based STATE bags also engages consumers in its mission to give American kids in need a new backpack. For each bag sold, STATE hand-delivers a fully-stocked backpack to a child at its signature bag drop rallies, huge motivational events attended by employees, consumers, and corporate partners alike. With support from Gen Z faves including Chance the Rapper and Beyoncé (BEYONCÉ!) coupled with its charitable ethos, it’s no surprise this brand is growing.
Enroll brand ambassadors for your cause
Yes, checkbook philanthropy is still valuable—and donating a portion of proceeds to a worthy cause can inspire more purchases. But rallying consumers around the purpose of your product—and the organization that’s benefiting from it—can be a more impactful (and sticky) way to engage young consumers. Love Your Melon is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America. They created the Love Your Melon Campus Crew Program, an exclusive group of students that are determined to improve the lives of children battling cancer. These Crew Members are brand ambassadors who raise awareness for childhood cancer, represent the brand through promotions and sales events, and directly help children with cancer, some even taking the children and their family members on day trips. Through its more than more than 13,000 student ambassadors on 840 college campuses, they’ve donated more than $4.3 million and 125,000 hats to date (and they’ve done this without sacrificing sacrificing growth or profit!).
TL;DR
Cultivating a relationship with the Gen Z consumer means moving beyond just show-and-tell to a more meaningful engage-and-involve model. You need to establish a clear social message and then invite your consumers to join your efforts. When you move in this direction, you’ll reap the rewards—both in impact and in sales.
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509836a9d53ee2af3d69664e9de44b62 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2014/01/14/private-equity-groups-focus-on-operations-to-combat-lean-returns/ | Private Equity Groups Focus On Operations To Combat Lean Returns | Private Equity Groups Focus On Operations To Combat Lean Returns
By Marlene Givant Star
It's gotten a lot tougher to succeed in private equity in the past 10 years. As a result, firms are becoming more proactive about improving the operating performance of their portfolio companies.
In the 1990s, when the business was less mature, private equity firms were able to negotiate sweet terms because targets were less sophisticated about valuations and there were fewer competitors vying for deals. Conditions became harsh in 2001 when the debt markets shut down for leveraged buyouts. The financing markets didn't recover until 2005 to 2006--only to buckle again in the financial crisis of 2008.
The changing dynamics of the business have depressed returns and put pressure on fund fees.
The Cambridge Associates U.S Private Equity Index had an average annual return of 8.22% for the five years ended 30 June. For the 10 years, the average was 14.12%.
"Private equity groups had to change from financial engineering to building value. They had to sharpen their game," says Tate Pursell, managing director of Woodbury, New York-based private equity firm Unlimited Horizons.
Increasingly, PE firms are adding partners with operating expertise within their firms and to manage their portfolio companies. They are also adding independent directors to the boards of their portfolio companies. In some cases, a private equity-owned company has an operating partner on the board as well as independent outside directors.
This has been going on since the 1990s but is picking up steam now, Pursell contends.
Joe Healey, senior client partner and private equity practice leader of Korn Ferry, says limited partners are reducing fees paid to private equity groups and funds are getting smaller, causing firms’ profits to shrink. Private equity firms are no longer getting deal fees as they did in the past, and are holding onto portfolio companies longer than they used to, which also reduces returns.
As the price of assets has gone up due to competition, "you better do a lot with these companies after you buy them," Healey says.
Some companies pay directors with equity options. Others, generally ones owned by large private equity groups with billions in revenue, provide stipends in the significant five digits per quarter in addition to options, Pursell says.
Limited partners investing in private equity funds have been pushing for more operating expertise to improve performance, Pursell says. "Limited partners want operating expertise at the fund level and the board level as a condition of investing," he adds.
In addition, bringing independent directors with an operating background to the board can provide support to a CEO. Clayton Dubilier is one firm that has several operating partners on retainer to help fix or grow portfolio companies. Typically these are retired CEOs. Sun Capital and Cerberus also employ this strategy.
Healey says "if you make operating executives partners with the CEO, maybe you could sell after three years instead of four years, making a big difference in your investment returns."
Korn Ferry is working with a number of private equity groups to find these individuals, Healey says. "As a firm, we've had 15 or more operating partner searches in the last year."
Marlene Givant Star, deputy editor, is Mergermarket’s global industrial sector head. You can reach her at marlene.star@mergermarket.com
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950050f9d1789927e1a04ee4200b6204 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2015/01/23/facebook-accused-of-playing-monopoly-with-virtual-currencies/ | Facebook Accused Of Playing Monopoly With Virtual Currencies | Facebook Accused Of Playing Monopoly With Virtual Currencies
By Peter Geier
Facebook’s ability to control how third parties such as app and game developers monetize their products via the social media giant has come under the spotlight over alleged past misdeeds involving virtual currencies.
In an antitrust lawsuit filed in Delaware in December, virtual-currency service provider Social Ranger LLC claims that the social-networking titan parlayed its dominance of social gaming—FarmVille and PopCap Games are two notables—into an unlawful monopoly.
Using credit cards and PayPal, online gamers can convert real money into virtual currencies to purchase items such weapons in games like Zynga’s Mafia Wars. Virtual-currency service providers facilitate these transactions.
Social Ranger claims in its complaint that Facebook invited game developers to its social-network platform in order to attract subscribers, telling the developers that they could keep any money they earned via their games. When Facebook purportedly saw how much money developers were making, it launched its own virtual currency and service provider—Facebook Credits— and eventually made game developers use it instead of the variety of virtual currencies and service providers Social Ranger claims had thrived until that time.
This move by Facebook allegedly monopolized the virtual-currency service provider market.
Facebook has abandoned its own virtual currency since then but has kept an exclusive grip on payment processing for games using its platform, the complaint says.
Social Ranger claims that Facebook’s illegal monopolization of the virtual-currency provider market “destroyed” viable competitors and resulted in “billions of dollars” in ill-gotten gains.
The social gaming market in the US alone was valued at over $5 billion for 2015—Facebook reported around $200 million in revenue from the sector for the first quarter of 2013. Any antitrust violation proved at trial would provide for treble damages.
Curiously, this case does not appear to be attracting the heavy tread of US or foreign regulators, and its filing has come with surprisingly little fanfare. None of the parties is talking about it.
Social Ranger, a privately-held entity incorporated on 12 December, identifies itself in its complaint filed on 29 December as the “successor-in-interest” to Super Rewards, a virtual-currency service provider allegedly damaged by Facebook’s heavy-handed dealing.
Court documents identify Social Currency LLC as Social Ranger’s parent company. Super Rewards—which Social Ranger’s complaint claims that Facebook “destroyed”—allows customers to “handle worldwide virtual payments through a unified and managed platform” and builds “monetization tools for app and game developers.”
Facebook is defending itself in a similar antitrust action in the same court filed in October 2012 by virtual-currency and payment-processing provider Gambit. That case currently is pending the court’s decision on summary judgment.
Social Ranger says in its complaint that it and its affiliates “already have all the necessary facilities and equipment to operate a virtual-currency services business, or the ability to purchase or implement them.”
John Kirkwood, a senior fellow of the American Antitrust Institute who teaches at Seattle University School of Law, says that the most recent complaint lays out a sound case, but leaves out critical details. Kirkwood says he was surprised that regulators appear to have no interest in a case which seems so outrageous.
If the allegations have substance, Facebook simply could or should have charged game developers a user fee to avoid the monopolization and so-called tying issues in the first place, he says.
An adverse ruling against Facebook could force the company to recalibrate the terms and conditions it can impose on third parties, ultimately impacting its bottom line.
Only time will tell whether this is an opportunistic lawsuit or a legal action that ultimately changes Facebook’s ability to pick and choose its “friends.”
This post is brought to you by PaRR (Policy and Regulatory Report) — a product of The Mergermarket Group providing proprietary intelligence and research on competition law and sector-specific regulatory changes around the world.
Peter Geier is a Legal Affairs Reporter for PaRR based in Washington DC. He can be reached at peter.geier@parr-global.com.
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721bb159d3ad84d8d40ca5a1fdfd7123 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2016/10/11/auto-megadeals-headed-for-slow-lane-under-clinton-or-trump/ | Big International Auto M&A Could Be Headed For Slow Lane Under Clinton Or Trump | Big International Auto M&A Could Be Headed For Slow Lane Under Clinton Or Trump
By Sam Weisberg
For radically different reasons, international megadeals will become increasingly difficult in the automotive space no matter who wins the U.S. presidential race.
Large deals across different sectors have already come under heavy antitrust scrutiny during President Barack Obama’s administration—a scrutiny that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is expected to continue. Theodore O’Neill, a senior research analyst at Ascendiant Capital Markets, points to last April’s cancellation of the merger between chip maker equipment giants Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron due to Department of Justice opposition. And in the auto space itself, Clinton publicly castigated the tax motivation behind the $14 billion Johnson Controls-Tyco merger that allowed the company to relocate to Ireland. The deal was completed in September.
While Republican candidate Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care less about potential monopolies arising from large mergers, he may oppose international deals of this nature, given his stated devotion to keeping auto manufacturing jobs in the US. That very sentiment is making the auto sector, which relies on cheaper labor overseas for manufacturing, rather uncertain, according to one auto industry banker.
O’Neill says that Trump will not likely persist, however, in blocking large international deals, once he “realizes that’s not economical.“
As for middle or small-market M&A transactions involving, for instance, automotive suppliers, Clinton is not anticipated to be as vigilant with regard to antitrust matters as she would be for megadeals. And Trump will find it difficult to block deals in which it is necessary to send some jobs overseas.
“If you’re, say, a car seat manufacturer, you can’t do that in one factory, you have to scatter throughout the world,” says O’Neill.
The auto banker says Trump would be likely to push to keep manufacturers in Michigan or other states, which would hurt original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who want the ability to move production to lower-cost countries.
Jeff Windau, a senior equity analyst at Edward Jones, says he doesn’t see M&A in the auto sector being impacted under either candidate. M&A will continue to be driven by the need to meet consumer demand as well as safety requirements, and acquisitions of in-demand technologies such as those related to autonomous or electric cars will persist.
On a day-to-day level, giant OEMs like Ford and General Motors, as well as their suppliers, may benefit most from a Hillary Clinton win as she is expected to continue Obama’s auto industry-friendly policies, according to the auto banker. Clinton lauded Obama’s success with restoring the auto sector on her web site in January, noting that the industry had its “best year ever.”
Obama supported the auto sector bailouts in 2009, and the automakers have done well under his administration, so there may be a sense of stability with Clinton, the banker says. The $63.4 billion government bailout of GM and Chrysler inadvertently helped Ford, which, though it did not accept bailout money, ultimately benefited from the federal aid’s rescuing of auto parts suppliers servicing Ford.
In 2015, the auto industry sold 17.5 million lightweight vehicles, up from a low of 10 million in 2009.
However, one disadvantage for legacy emissions products makers is that the EPA’s demands for cleaner auto mileage and emissions standards could be stricter under a Clinton presidency, notes O’Neill. While Effraim Levy, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, agrees, he believes tougher emissions regulations will actually benefit auto parts groups such as Illinois-based Tenneco, which specializes in clean air performance products.
Sam Weisberg is deputy industrials editor for Mergermarket and Dealreporter. He can be reached at Sam.Weisberg@mergermarket.com.
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272539a6e1036849b41393b5eeb044e7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2017/06/07/data-storage-deals-show-no-signs-of-being-shelved/ | Data Storage Deals Show No Signs Of Being Shelved | Data Storage Deals Show No Signs Of Being Shelved
By Chris Metinko
Data storage may not sound like the sexiest of sectors, but it still sees a fair amount of action.
Just last week, Mountain View, California-based virtual storage provider Tintri filed for a $100 million initial public offering — three months after Hewlett Packard Enterprise had agreed to buy publicly traded Nimble Storage for $1 billion. And of course, the sector provided the entire technology industry with one of its largest deals ever just 20 months earlier, when Dell EMC announced its merger.
Industry players expect even more deals could come as legacy storage vendors look to keep up with changing technology, trends and IT budgets. Storage has seen an evolution in the last decade as more flash arrays have replaced older spinning disk technology, and more changes may be on the way from newer technologies such as software-defined storage. Dell EMC, NetApp, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and Cisco Systems all could look for innovation in storage through M&A.
The data storage market is being affected by several trends, including an increasing number of enterprises moving their business applications to the cloud, the growing popularity — and decreasing cost — of flash technology, and the greater need for analytics to make sense of all the data that’s being stored, according to one sector executive.
The market is ripe for disruption also from newer architecture offered by several startups, according to a second executive. A handful of software-defined storage companies, such as Formation Data Systems, Hedvig and Datera, all could be of interest to incumbents. They have already attracted the interest of investors, with Hedvig receiving a $21.5 million Series C in March, and just last year Datera raised a $40 million Series A.
This multi-cloud and hybrid cloud capable storage becomes more attractive as companies’ budgets get constrained, while its data grows exponentially year after year. Even the secondary storage market is seeing disruption, as large enterprises are seeing their needs rapidly expand. Seattle-based Igneous Systems just came out of stealth mode last October and its hybrid storage solution helps companies back up and archive their data from various on-premise file systems and databases, and then integrates it to the public cloud. Igneous’s product helps replace older NetApp and Dell EMC appliances. The technology is scalable and uses commodity hardware instead of expensive, proprietary appliances long pushed by legacy storage providers.
And while some may see consolidation merely as the large getting larger, some small and mid-sized players in storage see it as a prime opportunity to grow in the $20 billion market. Narayan Venkat, CMO at hybrid storage provider Tegile Systems, said his company already was making inroads in Nimble’s partnership and customer base following its announced sale to HPE since some do not want to be customers of one of the massive players in the market.
Chris Metinko, a senior reporter for Mergermarket and Dealreporter, covers technology, media and telecommunications from San Francisco. He can be reached at Chris.metinko@mergermarket.com
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37d9565703b7c3a7765d49d4279bab17 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2018/01/25/solar-tariff-shapes-up-as-speed-bump-not-wall-for-development/ | Solar Tariff Shapes Up As Speed Bump, Not Wall, For Development | Solar Tariff Shapes Up As Speed Bump, Not Wall, For Development
Roger Garbey of Goldin Solar installing a solar panel system on the roof of a home in Palmetto Bay,... [+] Florida, on Tuesday, a day after the Trump administration announced it would impose duties on solar equipment made abroad. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
By Michael Schoeck and Jinjoo Lee
U.S. solar power developers were dealt a blow early this week when the Trump administration approved the U.S. International Trade Commission’s recommendation to impose a 30% tariff on imported solar cells and modules.
The immediate impact of the decision to affix a tariff on imported panels is a “speed bump, but not a wall,” for solar power, said PJ Deschenes, a partner at renewable energy boutique Greentech Capital Advisors. Solar developers will find other areas of cost cuts in the solar value chain, he said.
Still, a sector adviser said mid-term project development pipeline valuations are still expected to take a hit from already declining level.
The president’s siding with the ITC’s Section 201 tariff remedy requested by two companies, Suniva and SolarWorld, could in turn create more M&A opportunities for project developers and independent operators in need of an additional financial sponsor, said the sector adviser and a solar executive.
While the tariff deals a blow to the industry, it does not reverse the solar market’s growth trajectory, said Keith Martin, co-head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s project finance group. “It will erase gains that solar has made since mid-2016 in reducing equipment costs,” he said.
GTM Research estimates that the tariffs will cut about 7.6 gigawatts (GW), or 11%, of the 68.9GW of solar projects to be installed between 2018 and 2022.
Utility-scale solar projects will account for 65% of the lost capacity, according to Cory Honeyman, associate director of US solar at GTM. This is largely because 75% of utility-scale solar projects under development were procured primarily due to their economic competitiveness rather than state mandates, he noted.
“There’s a high level of sensitivity where even just an increase of $2 to $3 per MWh in power purchase agreement (PPA) pricing is enough to roll back those contracts in certain markets.” Residential solar projects will see the least impact from the tariff because modules account for a smaller portion of installed costs.
Stockpiling Panels
Elias Hinckley, a project finance partner at K&L Gates, agreed with Martin, saying many US developers have already stocked up on large inventories of solar panels over recent months in anticipation of a negative result to the ITC trade case.
The decision places a 30% tariff in the first year, 25% in the second year, 20% in the third year and 15% in the fourth year. In each year, the first 2.5 GW of imported solar cells would be exempt from the tariff.
Attorney Martin said that some developers will have to check power purchase agreements they signed on projects under development to determine if the projects remain viable. “Developers will have to assess whether they can still deliver electricity at contracted prices if they have to pay 10 to 13 cents a watt more for solar panels,” he said.
The re-evaluation of PPAs could spur M&A for projects that are still two or more years from completion, noted Deschenes. Developers that find that they cannot deliver on the promised electricity prices would look to transfer ownership of projects to recapture development costs to other players that have cost advantages.
Integrated solar companies that manufacture their own solar panels or those that have imported some of the 2.5 GW worth of panels exempt from the import tariff are better suited companies and thus potential acquirers, said Deschenes.
“Project economics will degrade somewhat for new deals,” said Jesse Grossman, CEO of commercial and utility solar developer Soltage, which is backed by power producer Tenaska. Resulting project finance cost increases could constrain independent and mid-size project developers, which could spur additional M&A activity, he said.
The immediate impact on M&A activity is likely to be seen over the coming months, cautioned Hinckley. “Some of the developers that were not hedged [before the tariff] may find this adding to the ongoing margin squeeze,” Hinckley said.
As reported by this news service, Louisville, Colorado-based utility solar developer Clean Energy Collective enlisted Marathon Capital over the fall to undertake a market check which could result in the sale of the company. Clean Energy Collective is backed by First Solar, New Energy Capital and Black Coral Capital.
On Jan. 15, Swiss PE firm Partners Group sold a 43.8% stake in Silicon Ranch, a Nashville-based utility solar developer, to oil major Royal Dutch Shell for $217 million, marking Shell’s first acquisition of a solar development business.
“Uncertainty is not helpful in any industry, and now we at least know what the rules are and can plan accordingly,” David Vickerman, Silicon Ranch chief corporate development officer, said. Prior to its minority acquisition by Shell last week, Silicon Ranch had already procured panels for its development portfolio through 2019, Vickerman said, so any exposure to the tariff case should be minimal.
With Shell’s support, Silicon Ranch will be able to procure new PPA contracts in additional states outside of its current 15-state operations, Vickerman said. He said he does not anticipate the company’s disciplined approach to acquisitions to change based on either the solar tariff or its ownership change.
Suniva filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017 and has since awaited a decision from the Section 201 trade case before determining its going concern value, according to sister publication Debtwire. Suniva previously merged with Chinese producer Shungfeng International Clean Energy in October 2015, but nevertheless blamed its insolvency on “steep price competition” from Chinese solar imports, according to a Debtwire report.
SolarWorld filed for insolvency proceedings in Bonn, Germany, in May 2017, while its US operations remained unscathed. In a response to Trump’s ruling this week, SolarWorld USA CEO Juergen Stein thanked Trump and said, “we are still reviewing these remedies, and are hopeful they will be enough to address the import surge and to rebuild solar manufacturing in the US.”
Michael Schoeck and Jinjoo Lee cover the power generation and renewable energy market for Mergermarket and Inframation News from New York. They can be reached at Michael.Schoeck@acuris.com and Jinjoo.Lee@acuris.com.
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16db2354687211017b4b328201c36879 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2018/03/26/blockchain-turns-pied-pipers-internet-fiction-into-reality/ | Blockchain Turns Pied Piper's Internet Fiction Into Reality | Blockchain Turns Pied Piper's Internet Fiction Into Reality
by Hana Askren
In the hit HBO show Silicon Valley, the fictional startup Pied Piper pivots to create a new Internet that uses a peer-to-peer network built on top of people’s smartphones. The idea effectively cuts out the need for servers in huge data centers run by Amazon, Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft, in what’s become known as cloud computing.
Technologies evolving out of blockchain – a digital ledger of economic transactions that gave us Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies -- is turning that Internet fiction into reality. A new generation of computing infrastructure startups are threatening to disrupt technology incumbents and could be targeted by them for M&A, according to industry executives and analysts.
While blockchain technology began by removing third party banks from financial transactions, it has progressed to removing third parties from other digital processes, including cloud-based storage and applications. A new crop of startups, including Golem, Holo, Swirlds, Iexec, Economic Space Agency , SONM and Iota, is trying to disrupt the cloud computing industry by using blockchain-derived software to capitalize on under-utilized consumer computer capacity, replacing remote servers altogether.
Blockchain has now become “bigger than financial services and payments,” says Rajesh Kandaswamy, research director of Gartner. It has moved from being a super-secure digital transaction protocol into a secure database that can process much more information than simple transactions, he says. For example, open source Hyperledger cites improved data flow in healthcare organizations as one application of its ledger technologies.
The next step in the evolution is full decentralization, with data verification done through software that stores information in the network instead of on a server, says Kandaswamy. Each startup claims to achieve this through a different type of programming code: Holo's software holochain uses a “distributed hash table;” Swirlds’ Hashgraph uses “asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance;” while Iota uses a "Directed Acyclic Graph" or a "Tangle," and so on.
These startups are bypassing the cumbersome process of public verification of blocks and chains. Nor are they relying on the asset- and energy-intensive process of mining. For example, Iota claims to be faster than blockchain partly because its Tangle has “no blocks, no chains and no miners,” according to its website.
Each company is building its own vision of a computing infrastructure where consumers and enterprises will be able to run all their applications, database functions and other computing without third party servers. As an alternative to cloud computing, it would use available computer capacity more efficiently, keep sensitive data secure, and democratize computing power by making "self-hosting" possible. If the technology works as promised, "everyone in the network is compensated for being in the network" - something that would not have been as feasible before cryptocurrencies, says Peter Borovykh, Blockchain Solution Architect at BlockchainDriven.
The concept of cutting out the middleman in a "sharing economy" model, already begun in the realm of cars and houses by Airbnb and Uber, is extending into financial services and potentially computing, Borovykh explains. Cryptocurrency becomes a fuel for powering transactions on the network and incentivizes participants, adds Igor Telyatnikov, COO of blockchain technology provider AlphaPoint.
If serverless computing lives up to its promise of keeping sensitive data in the hands of its owners rather than housed inside third party infrastructure, and performs better and faster than the cloud, the sector could see a tipping point, notes Gartner's Kandaswamy.
Nonetheless, the sector is in its infancy and the likes of Golem, Holo, Swirlds, Iexec, Economic Space Agency and Iota still have a long way to go.
These startups are still building their networks, whose reliability, speed and resilience has yet to be tested, Kandaswamy cautions. Even cloud computing has not yet been fully adopted by many large enterprises and these companies may have difficulty “weaning people away from established products,” he says. Borovykh adds that in practice thus far, blockchain-based networks have not proven to be faster than centralized servers.
It could take years to reach a critical mass that will prompt acquisitions of these startup technologies, says Borovykh. Once that happens, however, existing cloud service providers like Amazon could see value in acquiring these companies even if they compete with their existing business, says Kandaswamy.
Some companies are already wary of becoming M&A targets. Holo is owned by a nonprofit foundation to protect incentives for users, funders, and developers, says Holo’s Jean Russell, who is heading up an initial coin offering (ICO) at the startup. Swirlds aims to become a stand-alone company modeled after the first successes of the internet revolution, says its CEO, Mance Harmon.
Corporate structures and M&A potential can be muddied by token issuances as well, says AlphaPoint's Telyatnikov. Startups have bypassed traditional funding routes via ICOs or token sales, allowing them to raise capital without selling equity, as reported by Mergermarket. Early adopters may buy tokens which can pay for hosting on the network but do not confer ownership rights like equity, notes Telyatnikov. Under this model “computing power becomes an asset” that can be monetized and shared, adds Borovykh.
Many of these companies are at the initial fundraising stage. Economic Space Agency is developing an open-source software platform that can be used to create self-governing entities, and expects to raise funding via an ICO, says CEO Akseli Virtanen.
Holo, which is preparing to launch an ICO for up to 25 million EURO, has developed an open source software which allows users to host applications using spare processing power on their smart phone or computer, for which they can be paid in the company’s token, Holo Fuel, as reported by Mergermarket. Instead of a public ledger or a permission-based accounting system, Holo has designed a crypto-accounting system based on traditional double-entry bookkeeping.
Iexec, an Ethereum-based decentralized computing company, rewards providers of computing power with its RLC token. It raised $12 million in an April 2017 ICO.
Golem, a peer-to-peer network that uses redundant computing power on consumer computers, raised $8.6 million in a 2016 ICO.
SONM raised $42 million in a 2017 ICO for its "decentralized fog computing platform."
Dreams of ubiquitous free or cheap computing are leading to utopian visions of unhackable net neutrality and the demise of all middlemen. Only time will tell whether Silicon Valley fiction can become reality.
Hana Askren covers energy and mining M&A for Mergermarket from New York. She can be reached at hana.askren@acuris.com.
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bce1a34479dcf864ae7225f60b6ca4bc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2019/11/04/big-vc-deals-will-delay-mexicos-first-fintech-ipo/ | Big VC Deals Will Delay Mexico’s First Fintech IPO | Big VC Deals Will Delay Mexico’s First Fintech IPO
No need for startups to hurry into the public market when giants like SoftBank and General Atlantic are pumping in private capital.
By Carlos Martinez and Dominic Pasteiner
Investments in Mexican fintechs by large firms such as SoftBank and General Atlantic have added liquidity to the market and will likely delay the sector’s first initial public offering, two industry executives and a sector lawyer tell Mergermarket.
TOKYO, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 30: A man walks past a SoftBank mobile phone store on September 30, 2019 in ... [+] Tokyo, Japan. SoftBank, the technology and investment conglomerate owned by Masayoshi Son, is one of the largest investors in troubled American real estate company WeWork. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images
SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, in March launched a $5 billion fund to invest in technology startups across Latin America. A month later, it invested $1 billion in Colombian on-demand delivery startup Rappi, and in May it poured $20 million into PayClip, Mexico’s leading online payment processor by number of clients, as part of the company’s $100 million funding round.
PayClip, whose backers also include Greenwich, Connecticut-based General Atlantic, was considered a candidate to become Mexico’s first fintech to launch an IPO, Mergermarket reported in June 2018.
In August, SoftBank disclosed its newest investment in a Mexican fintech when its Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure announced on LinkedIn that the Japanese conglomerate would invest in used-car platform Kavak, according to Reuters. Claure oversees SoftBank’s Latin American investments.
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General Atlantic also backs Kavak.
SoftBank is also in advanced talks to invest in local lender to small and medium-sized enterprises Konfio, according to Reuters. Last month, Konfio secured a $100 million credit facility from New York-based Goldman Sachs. The bank also backs local SME lender Credijusto.
Mexican fintechs will have to invest the capital raised in these large funding rounds before focusing on a possible IPO, says Maria Ariza, CEO of Bolsa Institucional de Valores, Mexico’s newest stock exchange.
Recent investments like those announced by SoftBank have increased market liquidity, allowing Mexican fintechs to remain private for longer as some of them struggle to comply with new regulations, according to a local sector lawyer.
Last March, a new law — Ley Para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnologia Financiera, or Fintech Law — was enacted that requires online wallets, crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrency-based payment systems to obtain operating licenses from the country’s banking and securities regulator, known as CNBV. Some companies are expected to struggle to meet CNBV’s requirements, including meeting specific capital and liquidity levels. “It’s better to work through that struggle as a private company rather than a public company,” says the sector lawyer.
The CNBV estimates that about 200 of the more than 515 fintechs currently operating in Mexico require an operating license. As of September 26, 85 companies had applied for one.
Mexican fintechs also got spooked about going public following We Co's aborted listing and Lyft and Uber Technologies’ disappointing IPO debuts, according to one local venture capitalist.
After scrapping its IPO plan in September, We’s valuation plunged from $47 billion to less than $8 billion. Similarly, Lyft and Uber’s market caps are below their latest private valuations.
There has not been an IPO in Mexico since September 2017.
Carlos Martinez is Mergermarket’s Senior Correspondent based in Bogota, Colombia. Dominic Pasteiner is Mergermarket’s Mexico Correspondent based in Mexico City.
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1162a39765d34b950968c0d976c84430 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2020/02/04/oming-in-on-lululemon-with-digital-and-kids-offerings/ | Oming In On Lululemon With Digital And Kids' Offerings | Oming In On Lululemon With Digital And Kids' Offerings
Alo Yoga's business has legs as it aims to double store locations this year.
By Heather West
How does one compete in a crowded market for designer yoga leggings? Try adding sheer fabric to reveal strips of toned flesh; offer ribbed or reflective details, or a bold red plaid.
Or open experiential retail locations, replete with kombucha on tap, yoga classes, and the promise of a like-minded community.
On the side, you can add subscription fitness videos, ala Peloton, and sprinkle in sightings of Kendall Jenner wearing your product. And don’t forget the children, the next generation of yogis.
Or you can do all of the above. Meet Alo Yoga.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: A general view of atmosphere at Flow Into Fashion Week hosted by ... [+] Delilah Belle Hamlin with Biossance & Alo Yoga on February 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Alo Yoga & Biossance) Getty Images for Alo Yoga & Biossance
The Los Angeles-based premium yoga apparel company has been around since 2007 but is on a mission to double its brick-and-mortar presence this year, with new stores slated for its biggest markets: Los Angeles and New York.
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As it looks to build its brand awareness, Alo Yoga has invested in content, acquiring the Seattle-based yoga app Cody in 2018, rebranding it Alo Moves, and flipping it into a subscription business. The unit provides online yoga, fitness and meditation videos.
“The future is in content,” says co-founder Danny Harris, who does not rule out additional acquisitions.
Founded by co-CEOs Harris and Marco DeGeorge, Alo Yoga remains entirely owned by the two executives, who have been friends since youth.
It currently has six physical stores, and by the end of 2020 should have up to seven in Southern California and four or five in New York. One store under construction on New York’s Fifth Avenue will span 20,000 square feet with a restaurant on the roof.
It is in good company, with reports noting how many digitally native brands are taking advantage of retail weakness and swooping in to open stores.
Harris says the Alo shopping experience is meant to be immersive, not unlike the way Restoration Hardware “inspires you to get into their designs,” then return home and purchase items online.
Other major makers of yoga apparel include Lululemon Athletica and Gap’s Athleta brand.
“All our competitors focus on fitness, and the products look like you just got back from hitting some tennis balls.” Alo products, Harris says, are designed to be worn from studio to street, and aim to be more fashion-forward.
Meanwhile, yoga apparel for children is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.5% through 2025. Alo Yoga has taken note, having started a non-profit foundation called Alo Gives that aims to influence children to take up yoga. Its website features free, 5-minute videos to show kids the benefits of yoga and meditation.
“When we were children, Apple gave us Apple IIe’s to use.” Now it has the largest market cap in the world.” He continues: “We’re doing the exact same thing.”
“We inspire people to get into the practice,” says Harris, through social media, a free YouTube channel, Alo Moves, its retail stores and other digital outlets.
He admits the apparel isn’t cheap but says those who can’t afford to spend more than $100 on leggings can access its brand through other means. The leggings are “fuel for our megaphone,” he says.
While Alo Yoga does not disclose financials, Harris says revenue is in the vicinity of $200 million. Sales totaled approximately $40 million between Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone. It also enjoys high margins, helped by the fact that Alo Yoga is vertically integrated, with its own manufacturing facilities.
Alo Yoga is one of several companies under the umbrella of Color Image Apparel, which was started by Harris and DeGeorge in 1992. Its revenue is in excess of USD 800m. Other companies within the holding company include Bella + Canvas, which makes wholesale T-shirts; and maternity wear maker Ingrid + Isabel.
While Alo Yoga is not in need of external financing, it could consider taking on an investor or partner to aid expansion to Asia, or to lend experience in brick-and-mortar or other capabilities. The EU is also on its radar, he adds.
Harris says the company frequently turns away approaches from private equity investors as Alo Yoga is focused on a longer-term plan for its brand that could include a public listing in five to seven years.
Given the growing interest by Apple, Alphabet’s Google and others in health and wellness, tech giants are “exactly who we could partner with or take on as an investor,” he adds.
Heather West is Senior Editor for Mergermarket and Dealreporter in the Americas. She is based in San Francisco and can be reached at heather.west@acuris.com.
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11811f3a15fc7521656c309393a637f5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2020/11/03/what-keeps-you-up-at-night-views-from-the-c-suite-on-us-election/?sh=49ad7c573862 | What Keeps You Up At Night? Views From The C-Suite On U.S. Election | What Keeps You Up At Night? Views From The C-Suite On U.S. Election
By Jeff Sheban, Deborah Balshem and Yiqin Shen
If anything is certain heading into Tuesday’s general election, it is that 2020 has been a year like no other. Widespread uncertainty over so many issues – ranging from the next administration’s response to Covid-19 to the future of healthcare – continues to roil financial markets and divide the nation.
Rendering of the blue donkey and the red elephant in a spotlight representing the Democratic and ... [+] Republican political parties, respectively, on top of the American Flag. getty
What’s crystal clear, however, are the stark differences between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden on so many issues including trade, taxes and the environment. To borrow a catchphrase from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, elections do have consequences. What impact will the results have on financial markets and the outlook for M&A?
In the final runup to Election Day, Mergermarket has been speaking to C-level executives at public, private and family-run companies in a variety of sectors to better understand the issues that are important to them. Among them:
Taxes: How much could capital gains and corporate rates rise if Democrats gain control of both Congress and the White House, and the impact on M&A Trade and debt: Will government debt and trade tension with China continue to rise if Trump is re-elected, and implications for capital markets Healthcare: Are we headed for another major overhaul, and what it would mean for private insurance Energy: Is carbon-based energy going the way of the dinosaur, and if so, how soon
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After the springtime chill in M&A activity due to Covid-19, both corporate and financial buyers have been slowly catching up on deal activities. But Mergermarket data indicate that strategic buyers are somewhat lagging in deal flow, while sponsors are pushing ahead. In Q3, strategics contributed less than half of total monthly deal count (as shown in chart), down considerably from the year-ago period. Typically, corporate deals account for about two-thirds of total deal activity.
Corporate vs PE M&A Deal Trend: 2019-2020 Mergermarket
Aside from general Covid-19 restrictions contributing to the slowdown, some corporates may have held back ahead of the election due to uncertainty surrounding antitrust regulations, geopolitical risk, and confidence in the stability of equity markets. On the other hand, PE buyers, especially those focused on the middle market, are less exposed to the same headwinds, and seemingly more willing to put money to work now.
Either way, we asked company executives to weigh in on what is on their minds heading into this momentous election, and how the outcome could impact their companies or sectors. Here is what they had to say:
Rob Painter, CEO of Trimble [NASDAQ:TRMB], a multi-billion-dollar global software provider
We are keeping a close eye on industries like construction, transportation and agriculture, which are part of the backbone of the U.S. economy and are important customer segments for Trimble. For example, we hope that whoever is elected will make technology-enabled investments in our nation’s infrastructure, much of which is long overdue for an upgrade. By making infrastructure a priority, the next administration can make a positive impact on fundamental and sustainable job creation, while improving the lives of Americans through the expansion of broadband access and better quality and safer roads, bridges, utilities and more. Expanded broadband access will further enable Americans in rural areas to better participate in the digital economy. We also hope that whoever is elected will make responsible trade and tax policy decisions that enhance the competitiveness of U.S.-based multinational companies.
Nancy Ham, CEO of WebPT, a provider of rehab therapy software
We serve outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy practices, whose success is driven by their ability to deliver great care at appropriate levels of reimbursement. Considering nearly 25% of their patients are Medicare beneficiaries, the most urgent issue facing the rehab therapy industry is the 9% cut to Medicare reimbursements which is slated to go into effect 1 January, 2021. A payment cut of this magnitude will have a severe and immediate impact on all rehab therapy providers who treat Medicare patients, especially during a time when many practices are still recovering from this year's economic shutdown. At present, the only way the cuts can be repealed is for Congress to intervene.
Ben Persofsky, executive director of the Brown Brothers Harriman Center for Family Business
Broadly speaking, family business owners don’t like uncertainty. They can think through and adapt to circumstances that they know, but it’s harder to plan for situations where the outcome and timing are both uncertain. Right now, the three big issues presenting uncertainty for family business owners are Covid-19, taxes and the balance of power in the federal government. With respect to Covid-19, family business owners want to know that their candidate is going to do everything they can to manage the pandemic since it has affected both the workforce and, in most cases, the customer base too. The continued erratic effects in these areas are challenging to manage, so business owners are looking for impact that provides greater stability now and in the future. Regarding taxes, many business owners had moved some operations (previously offshore) back to the U.S. due to a change in tax treatment. It is unclear what will happen with those policies during the next four years. Uncertainty around taxes also clouds the decision-making behind whether family business owners buy or sell businesses. Finally, an imbalance of power allows one party to make sweeping changes that may or may not be favorable to business owners across the board. While owners tend to have strong arguments for why they do or don’t like a particular candidate, the policies of the candidate they favor may not always be aligned with business owners overall. In this regard, family business owners mirror the divisions we see within the country.
Stan Middleman, CEO of Freedom Mortgage, one of the top 10 largest U.S. direct mortgage lenders
Our business will be impacted by a change in interest rates. If the outcome is a sweep by Democrats, it is likely rates will go up, reducing our opportunities for refinancing yet improving the value of our servicing portfolio. The idea is more spending drives inflation. If Republicans win across the board, things stay where they are and ultimately rates will head up as the economy improves, but more slowly. I think if the Senate is controlled by the Republicans and a Democratic president is elected, that would lead to lower interest rates as more stimulus would be required through a deadlocked environment.
Corbin Petro, CEO of Eleanor Health, a provider of mental health and substance misuse treatment services
This is a critical election for the healthcare sector, which is significantly impacted by policies at both the federal and state levels. At the federal level, we are hopeful that the administration will maintain expansion of health insurance coverage, increased development of value-based payment models, and support of telehealth and mental health. This would continue the work of previous administrations in ensuring Americans have access to evidence-based, affordable, outcome-oriented mental health care. At the state level, federal policies like Medicaid expansion have historically had an option for states to opt in or out, and we’re hopeful that state legislatures and governors will continue to opt in to this important expansion of coverage needed by so many Americans. Finally, elected officials lead by example in the language they use, which impacts our work reducing stigma in treating mental health and addiction as chronic illnesses.
Siddhartha Sachdeva, CEO of Innowatts, an AI-enabled energy tech company
The energy space will see big changes over the next four years — but they’ll be driven primarily by market forces, not by the occupant of the Oval Office. Consumer demand for sustainable, resilient, and affordable energy will drive a push for decarbonization, so the real question is how Washington will respond to that transformation. Planet-friendly policies could speed the transition to a zero-carbon grid, but any excessive regulations could also complicate things for energy providers. Either way, though, the next administration will preside over a period of innovation and growth for America’s energy sector.
Carl Coyle, CEO of Liberty POST, an early childhood special education and autism therapy services provider
Most important to our industry is the certainty of federal support to the states because we are so tied to the federal dollar through Medicaid. In New York, for example, there has been a 20% withholding of funding to all counties and school districts in expectation of receiving federal support to the tune of USD 59bn. Without federal funding, that 20% “withholding” will become a cut. and the New York law that says school-assessed property taxes cannot go up by more than 2% annually will likely be repealed, causing everybody’s property taxes to go up. A Biden win is more likely to positively impact states, as he has shown more willingness to expand the Cares Act. But more important than who is elected president is how the House goes. If the Democrats have the majority, they are likely to pump more money into the states.
Paul Paradis, president of Sezzle [ASX:SZL], a buy-now-pay-later payments processing company
Our business is driven by consumer spending. We saw significant usage of our platform right as the first stimulus came into the market. The shift in spending patterns from in-store to online was a huge tailwind for us. It had a major impact on consumer confidence with people being able to afford things they needed or wanted because some money was coming in. Our solution caters specifically to young people or those that don’t have traditional credit, and that stimulus check was extremely important to our customer base. So the biggest impact for us is whether or not another stimulus bill will be passed. One other thing, if you would assume that Biden was going to be more strict about state shutdowns – closing malls and stores if infection rates rise – that could actually be another tailwind for our business.
Mark Cherney, CEO of U.S. Urology Partners, a physician management services organization
Most important is that we see a quick conclusion to the election with the least amount of disruption. In my 45 years in healthcare, I have not seen an election that has been detrimental to the healthcare sector and I do not anticipate significant changes with this one. I think pre-existing conditions are here to stay, and all the noise around eliminating this benefit will not hold water. If anything, we are seeing more people with insurance coverage. The shift to value-based care is creating better outcomes while reducing costs, making healthcare more affordable and accessible. There will always be reimbursement cuts when utilization runs hot, but the burden of proof to reduce costs while maintaining or increasing quality care lies with the providers, who must be more imaginative and creative with cost effectiveness. The winners in healthcare are those who innovate.
Jeff Sheban is a Midwest-based journalist for Mergermarket. He can be reached at jeff.sheban@acuris.com. Deborah Balshem (mmreporter@ymai.com) is a senior freelance reporter who covers multiple industries for Mergermarket from Fort Lauderdale. Yiqin Shen is a New York-based senior reporter with Mergermarket and Dealreporter, covering healthcare. She can be reached at yiqin.shen@acuris.com.
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483e9f77f60d69fac011d4d23023b8fc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2020/12/31/cannabis-companies-brace-for-defensive-mergers-in-2020/ | Cannabis Companies Brace For Defensive Mergers In 2020 | Cannabis Companies Brace For Defensive Mergers In 2020
By Dane Hamilton
The struggling cannabis sector is likely to see a wave of large and mid-sized mergers in 2020 as growth capital goes up in smoke, stock prices decline and producers report lower-than-expected sales, industry executives say.
With the investor euphoria in 2018 and early 2019 for market share gains giving way to the hard realities of constructing profitable businesses, more companies will turn to mergers to conserve cash and survive, they say.
"We've had six months of zero wind in the sector," said Bruce Linton, the former CEO of Smith Falls, Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corp. and leading industry figure. The market for new listings, an important indicator of investor interest, has been "crushed," and many previously announced stock mergers in the sector are being renegotiated or terminated, he said.
The emerging Canadian and U.S. industry has been slammed on multiple fronts, although many experts still see a bright multi-billion dollar future, viewing the current travails as inevitable growing pains, similar to the Internet boom of the early 2000s.
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2019, file photo, marijuana grows at an indoor cannabis farm in Gardena, ... [+] Calif. State analysts will release a report on California's cannabis taxes, which have lagged behind early projections as the legal market struggles to find its footing. The report could include recommendations for changes to cannabis taxes, such as the type of taxes to levy and how to collect them. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS
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In Canada, a limited pool of legal retail outlets have not kept up with demand, resulting in the continuation of a robust and lower-priced illegal cannabis market that Canada's 2018 legalization was designed to thwart.
In the U.S., states like California and Oregon suffer from oversupply, driving down producers’ prices. Recent deaths from vaping have also stifled demand in a key cannabis growth market, which producers blame on lack of regulation. And the market for legal cannabidiol (CBD), once viewed as a strong growth area, has faced regulatory challenges and consumer skepticism.
"Companies are looking at their burn rates and cash positions and asking 'how are we going to get through this?’" said Hershel Gerson, CEO of Ello Capital, a boutique investment bank focused on the cannabis sector. Given that "there is no liquidity for capital raises," the answer will increasingly be defensive industry consolidation, he said.
Signs of distress are rampant in the U.S. and Canadian M&A market as public valuations continue to fall, disrupting deal valuations. The Alternative Harvest ETF, representing a basket of large cannabis stocks, has fallen 56% from its 2019 high in March.
At least 11 cannabis transactions involving North America-based targets valued at over $2.9 billion collectively were terminated in 2019, according to Mergermarket data.
"More companies are terminating previously announced transactions that were either overpriced at the time of the announcement or are no longer core to organic growth," said Viridian Capital Advisors in a December report. "There is a market shift toward stock-for-stock mergers versus cash-based acquisitions in order to achieve economies of scale while preserving cash,” the report stated.
Among larger deals, MedMen Enterprises, a high profile U.S. cannabis retailer, in October cancelled an all-stock $682 million acquisition of PharmaCann, citing falling cannabis stock values. And Cresco Labs, which in April agreed to buy Origin House in an all-stock deal worth about C$1.1 billion (US$837 million), said in November it would restructure the deal and delay its close after Cresco stock fell by more than half. Curaleaf in October also renegotiated a $949 million deal originally reached in May to buy Cura Partners.
Some industry operators, however, remain optimistic that the industry will gradually regain its footing. Ontario, the most populous Canadian province, for instance, said recently it would dramatically increase the number of licensed cannabis retail outlets from 24 to up to 1,000 stores.
And operators hold out hope that some form of U.S. federal-level cannabis legalization could be on the horizon, albeit more likely after the 2020 presidential election, given the turbulent political environment.
"I'm not ready to call a floor on valuations right now, but we're getting close," said Andrew Pucher, a former Goldman Sachs banker who joined Tilray in May as head of corporate development.
Pucher said companies are willing to engage in merger talks, given that "public and private market financing options are effectively closed," including for IPOs. "With businesses burning cash, they are evaluating options, and M&A may be the only viable route."
The maturing of the industry to focus less on grabbing market share and more on profitable growth "is making the industry more sustainable and viable" and bringing in more institutional capital, Ello's Gerson said, even though it has punished retail investors who bought shares of the first wave of cannabis companies to go public.
Not everyone is happy with a new industry focus on profits. Linton, who was sacked as CEO of Canopy in July after a dispute over strategy, said "I don't believe the industry is ready for a discussion about earnings per share."
Canopy "could have been a super-profitable business three years ago," said Linton, at the expense of research and development and corporate initiatives to boost long-term growth. "My view is that if you want earnings per share, you should be a bank," said Linton.
Dane Hamilton is Mergermarket’s US Healthcare editor, based in New York City.
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cd52f215fd256f0d42550a191b2c89dd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meriameberboucha/2017/08/28/scientists-make-it-rain-diamonds-in-the-lab/ | Scientists Make It Rain Diamonds In The Lab | Scientists Make It Rain Diamonds In The Lab
The first time and only time I’ve been to the United States was when I carried out a summer placement at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. To get there, I had to have an interview at the U.S. embassy, where when asked what I was going to do in the U.S. I said that I’d be making diamonds. My interviewer laughed at me. But it was true, that was the experiment I was going to help out with. And now, a research collaboration of scientists from all over the world have, for the first time, created "diamond rain" in the laboratory to mimic the conditions of the interiors of icy giant planets. Dominik Kraus, scientist at Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, described this work as "one of the best moments of my scientific career."
Icy giant planets like Neptune and Uranus in our solar system, are planets with a gaseous atmosphere and a rocky core surrounded by a dense slush of different ices. The ices are generally hydrocarbons made of heavier elements including oxygen, carbon, sulfur and nitrogen bonded to hydrogen. Under extremely high pressures, diamond rain can be seen deep inside their interiors. This occurs when the hydrogen and carbon are squeezed by extreme pressures to form solid diamonds. They then slowly sink towards the center of the icy giant forming a layer around the rocky core, just like rain sinks in our atmosphere towards the surface of Earth.
'Diamond rain' is seen in the interior of icy giant planets like Neptune and Uranus in our solar... [+] system. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Researchers from Germany, Japan, the United States and the UK carried out experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to mimic the diamond rain within the interior of icy giant planets. This field of work which consists of recreating astrophysical environments is known as laboratory astrophysics. It is a way of simulating large astrophysical events on small spatial and temporal scales in the laboratory where parameters can be changed in order to learn more about the Universe we live in. "We can’t go inside the planets and look at them, so these laboratory experiments complement satellite and telescope observations," says Kraus, lead author of the Nature Astronomy paper that describes this work.
The diamond rain was created in the laboratory by producing extreme conditions of high pressure and temperature in polystyrene, a plastic which was used to mimic methane, the element that leads to the unique blue color of Neptune. Methane is a hydrocarbon where each methane molecule comprises of four hydrogen atoms bonded to a single carbon atom. An intense optical laser at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at LCLS was used to generate a pair of shock waves in the polystyrene. The first smaller and slower shock was overtaken by a stronger second shock in order to create the perfect conditions for diamond formation.
The MEC hutch of SLAC's LCLS Far Experiement Hall is home to the 'diamond rain' created by... [+] scientists in order to learn more about the interiors of icy giant planets. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
The diamonds formed were only a few nanometers (hundreds of a millionth of a meter) in diameter and lived for about 50 femtoseconds, in other words, 50 quadrillionths of a second. Therefore, just like the flash of a camera is used to capture a moment in time, a short pulse of light is needed to capture a snapshot of this very fast reaction. The short pulses of light used were the short pulses of x-rays from "LCLS, [the] brightest x-ray source in the world," says Siegfried Glenzer, professor of photon science at SLAC. Snapshots of the nanodiamonds were taken at different times during the diamond formation to obtain details of the reaction and the size of the diamonds.
Scientists have speculated that the diamonds formed on planets like Uranus and Neptune are possibly millions of carats in weight and form over thousands of years. As a result, this work paves the way for learning more about the interiors of icy giant planets. Planets are classified by their mass and radius, therefore, by understanding the interior processes of planets, the way planets are modelled and classified could change too. Moreover, being able to create nanodiamonds on Earth could potentially be useful for applications in medicine, electronics and scientific equipment.
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f57ae76e3493ab73c566c87db2232d82 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meriameberboucha/2018/01/24/silicon-valley-welcomes-a-superconducting-x-ray-laser/ | Silicon Valley Welcomes A Superconducting X-Ray Laser | Silicon Valley Welcomes A Superconducting X-Ray Laser
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, operated by Stanford University, is home to the longest particle accelerator in the world and also the world’s first hard x-ray free electron laser. The x-ray free electron laser is currently undergoing a major upgrade. Last week the first cryomodule that will make up the upgrade arrived at SLAC. The cryomodule will help accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light and help amplify the performance of the x-ray free electron laser.
X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL) are quite different to a normal laser pointer that gives off visible light. An optical laser typically works by using light to induce a gain medium to produce more light with the help of some mirrors. However, XFELs work via the wiggling of electrons which give off x-rays. You can find out more about how XFELs work in one of my previous articles here.
The XFEL at SLAC, known as LCLS, stretches across 3 miles and will soon contain many 40-foot-long cryomodules which will form the basis of the LCLS upgrade to LCLS-II. Cryomodules are sections of particle accelerators which contain strings of very, very cold niobium cavities which will operate at 2 degrees Celsius absolute zero (-456 degrees Fahrenheit). The cryomodules will be cooled with liquid helium, providing a temperature similar to that of outer space. At this low temperature, the module will become superconducting, meaning the electrons in the system will experience negligible resistance and can travel faster. This allows the electrons to wiggle more vigorously producing brighter x-rays. 37 of these cryomodules will be used in LCLS-II where it is hoped that x-rays that are 10,000 times brighter than LCLS will be produced and the pulses will occur a million times per second. Find out more about the superconducting accelerator here.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will provide half of the cryomodules and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia will provide the other half. Fermi Lab is located in Illinois, so the very first cryomodule that arrived at SLAC by truck last week made a hefty trip from Illinois to California – essentially making a trip across the whole of the U.S. Before the cryomodules arrive at SLAC, they undergo numerous checks and tests before they are packed and shipped by truck. Since SLAC is located very close to the Bay Area the cryomodules are painted in an ‘international orange’ color to match the Gold Gate Bridge. The remaining 36 cryomodules are scheduled to arrive within the next 18 months. SLAC’s project director for LCLS-II, John Galayda, stated that getting the first cryomodule to arrive at SLAC ‘required years of effort from large teams of engineers and scientists in the United States and around the world’.
The first cryomodule arrived at SLAC from FermiLab last week. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
LCLS-II scientists hope to examine chemical events, study biological molecules in reactions important for life as well as unravelling the mysteries of the quantum world by taking pictures and measurements of individual atoms and molecules with incomparable resolution. The upgrade will consist of more frequent pulses which means more data can be collected in less time. Mike Dunne, the director of LCLS says, ‘within the space of just a few hours, LCLS-II will be able to produce more x-ray pulses than the current laser has delivered in its entire operations to date’. This is super exciting stuff, so watch this space, I can see a lot of exciting data to come from LCLS-II.
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895464b08e5dbd17380289a015a0872b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meriameberboucha/2019/01/30/black-holes-are-strange-but-white-holes-are-stranger/ | Black Holes Are Strange, But White Holes Are Stranger | Black Holes Are Strange, But White Holes Are Stranger
We have all heard of black holes. These are the famous objects in space that no matter or radiation can escape. The gravitational pull of these objects is so large that even the fastest thing in our universe, light cannot escape it. Because of this, black holes are the darkest objects in our cosmos. Black holes are the result of large, dying stars that collapse in on themselves. All the mass is squeezed into a very small amount of space. Whilst the core of the star is imploding, the outer layers are flung out into space in the form of a supernova: a beautiful cosmic explosion.
Supernovae are also the reason why heavier elements are seen in our world. Without supernovae, we would not exist. You have probably heard this before, but yes, this is where the saying "we are star dust" comes from.
Black holes are tricky to find though. They cannot be detected because they "suck" all the surrounding light in and so do not emit any detectable radiation. Instead, scientists will look at the effects of the strong gravitational pull of the black hole on the surrounding space.
An artist's impression of a large star in close proximity to a black hole. Where the star's matter... [+] is being sucked in by the black hole. Theoretically, the inverse of a black hole is a white hole which does not have an event horizon and instead, does not let matter in. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab
White holes can be thought of as the inverse of a black hole: nothing can get inside them . If you were on a trajectory towards the centre of a white hole you would disintegrate before you reached there by the huge amounts of energy erupting from the white hole. White holes fall out of the laws of general relativity and are the time-reversal versions of a black hole. In reality, it seems quite impossible that they exist since they sound like energy generating objects. At this moment in time, no white holes have been observed. Some scientists are even considering the Big Bang to be a white hole but has not been proven yet.
One of the main reasons behind why white holes are not considered to be real is the fact that white holes decrease entropy. The laws of thermodynamics tell us that the overall entropy of the universe is increasing. Yet white holes decrease entropy and so would not fit into our current model of the universe. Others believe that white holes might be the missing piece of the dark matter puzzle. At the moment though, white holes are just mathematical monsters that have not been materialized.
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0eec470dc7c523cc84259449d3cf0fce | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2014/09/22/ten-years-later-lost-shows-us-why-we-need-new-pilot-mandates/ | Ten Years Later, 'Lost' Shows Us Why We Need New Pilot Mandates | Ten Years Later, 'Lost' Shows Us Why We Need New Pilot Mandates
Few things in entertainment are more difficult than pulling off a successful television pilot. Even if a series creator knows episode five is going to be the one that hooks audiences for life, they still have to find a way to get that audience at least somewhat excited in the idea of the series from the first episode (even on a binge-geared series such as Orange is the New Black). Even worse though, is the fact that one must find a way to introduce a world filled with interesting characters while still trying to tell a story that works for the single episode it takes place within. This is why when we look at the track-record of legendary television over the years, it interesting to take note of the one thing most of them have in common: longer than average pilots.
A decade ago today, ABC’s Lost hit the scene with a show that broke all the rules. It was heavily serialized, featured a massive ensemble cast and was only interested in character building that supported the series mythology. But beyond everything it eventually did for the medium, there’s one thing it had from the very beginning that displayed the ways it stood out from the pack. Lost had a two hour pilot.
Miami Vice, Alias, Breaking Bad, Lost, all legendary television in their own right, but all very different types of shows. However, what all these series share are pilots that went against the standard. Miami Vice featured a two hour pilot that allowed ample time to establish the characters of Tubbs and Crockett as individuals before bringing them together as the take charge team they became. Alias ran as a full-hour, commercial free pilot that gave audiences more than enough time to learn all about the life of Sydney Bristow leading up to the moment she learns her entire exsitence is a lie. Breaking Bad, like Alias, ran as a commercial free, full-hour pilot that allowed for more than enough minutes to explain, convincingly, to audiences why Walter White had to become a meth-cook to save his family from hardship down the road.
Imagine the kind of pilot Breaking Bad would have been if it was forced to only be 42-minutes long. Imagine what Miami Vice would have looked like if the introductions of Crockett and Tubbs had been rushed, or worse, skipped in favor of the duo just already being a team. The beginning of these stories matter so much because they’re what get us interested. Even if it’s just enough to get us to episode two where “the real magic happens,” the first episode of any television series is crucial, and to think it can be rushed to meet a specific advertiser influenced mandate is just ridiculous.
The chairman of ABC at the time, Lloyd Braun, was removed from his position because of the Lost pilot which, at the time, cost $13 million, making it the most expensive to ever be produced. Had it not been for a handful of people who realized a show like Lost was going to need breathing room to succeed, we wouldn’t be talking about it today. If the sequence of events that leads to legendary television programming often includes longer than average pilots, why haven’t all the networks jumped on board? While we can ponder the answer being about money, advertising space or tradition, the only people that can really answer the question honestly are the executives making the calls behind the scenes.
Lost features one of televisions best pilots to ever exist, there’s no doubt about that. But, it got that mantle by doing something many other great series have done: taking its time. In an age where series like Gotham struggle to find a cohesive episode narrative among the massive amount of world building that exists, it’s time networks start remembering the first chapter of any story is arguably the most important. And when that chapter has the room it needs to breath, great things can occur.
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52619856d76cc34ae9b768fec31c5e9b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/03/04/nbc-universal-comedy-ott/ | NBC May One-Up Competitors With Rumored New Web Video Service | NBC May One-Up Competitors With Rumored New Web Video Service
From HBO to CBS, it definitely seems like the name of the game for 2015 is OTT (over the top). However, while these new channel specific services are nice and offer new levels of convenience for the likes of cord cutters looking to break free of the hassle that is standard cable and satellite subscriptions, something the brains behind these OTT platforms continually fail to comprehend are the two things that will make them worth something: branding and original content. However, with a new report, it seems NBC has actually learned from the mistakes of its competitors.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “NBCUniversal is aiming to launch a comedy-focused subscription Web video service later this year.” The report went on to add, “the comedy service would likely feature full episodes of NBC shows such as The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live. The company also plans to invest in original series for the services and may enlist its TV stars to create exclusive content.” The interest of the news aside, the two key elements relating to its importance are the ideas of “comedy-focus” and “exclusive content.”
Rather than just trying to sell regurgitated NBCUniversal product for the sake of a new revenue stream, the company wants to include all sort of content with a focus on genre specificity over brand association. Like Netflix and Amazon, it appears the goal of NBCUniversal’s OTT service it to make people associate a content type with it rather than a name – for now. Of course, Netflix and Amazon are identified today as Netflix and Amazon, but in the beginning they were just content delivery systems for a variety of things, and that’s what made them worth something.
But, really, it’s the “exclusive content” that could be the most important element of this announcement, especially if utilized correctly. Like The CW has done with CW Seed and Nickelodeon failed to do with Nick.com, NBCUniversal could use its OTT service as a way to experiment with concepts that may be to “out there” for any of its traditional outlets. As it stands, there’s no real comedy channel under the NBCUniversal banner; nowhere to have its Key & Peele sketch show or sitcom revival. Imagine if this had existed when NBC cancelled Community. The narrative may have been wildly different.
In fact, NBCUniversal sees so much potential in the idea that the WSJ’s report even goes on to include statements that the organization is considering similar services based in faith, family and horror. Like comedy, NBCUniversal lacks a dedicated network for these genres. Sure, it has places it can put some of them, like a Syfy horror series or USA family show, but unlike competitors such as Viacom, NBCUniversal has never really latched on to the idea of branding as it pertains to programming type… until now.
These OTT services are NBCUniversal’s chance to make a statement. They’re a chance to blaze trails of success among seas of failure. CBS’ OTT launch didn’t go over as everyone hoped, CW’s Seed is still in the very early stages of its foundation building and HBO has yet to launch its announced service. NBCUniversal has a real opportunity to beat its competition to the punch, but more importantly, it has the opportunity to it in the right way. This move can be about more than just going to where the key 30 and under demographic lives. This can be about diversifying a content library for a whole new generation. Will things go that way? It’s hard to say, but there’s hope, and at this stage, that’s all we can really ask for.
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0beab49630ba58ad2d412492148a2769 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/03/29/fear-the-walking-dead-trailer/ | 'Fear the Walking Dead' Trailer Arrives with All the Same Feelings of 'The Walking Dead' | 'Fear the Walking Dead' Trailer Arrives with All the Same Feelings of 'The Walking Dead'
Given the ratings of the mothership series, it was never of question of if AMC was going to expand the Walking Dead franchise, it was a question of when. Recently, we got our answer when the network ordered Fear the Walking Dead for a two season commitment that’s set to kick-off later this summer. Considering this past weekend marked the season finale of the original’s most recent episode run, it seemed as good a time as any to debut the first trailer of the new series, and that’s exactly what the network did.
Of course it’s no surprise the new show feels tonally identical to its predecessor, but there is a lingering question of whether or not the new show can stack of up to the original, and more importantly, just what qualifies as a success. When Fear the Walking Dead finally premieres, is it going to be expected to deliver on the ratings of The Walking Dead’s 1st season or its 5th? In its 2010 debut, The Walking Dead scored only 5.35 million viewers (which is a massive number by cable standards), a data point that pales in comparison to the show’s current ratings that can sometimes top over 17 million viewers. Is it reasonable to expect these kinds of numbers from a new series right out of the gate?
What’s kept The Walking Dead’s ratings alive is not its undead extras, but its fully living cast. People are tuning in for Rick, Daryl and the rest of the gang, not the zombies. If zombie were all it took, iZombie and Z Nation would be the biggest hits since The Big Bang Theory. It wasn’t until The Walking Dead entered its third season (around the time Netflix viewership entered the game) that it began pulling in double digit ratings. This is the kind of thing AMC is going to need to wait for, hence why it most likely offered up a two season order to begin with.
The network’s shows are notorious for having low ratings in a traditional format, however they seem to do very well when building to an event – such was the case with the final season of Breaking Bad. Chances are good the ratings of Fear the Walking Dead are going to seem lackluster at first when the show kicks off during the summer. That said, if the characters hold up, the Netflix viewership that will take place during the show’s hiatus will propel it to decent ratings come the time of its guaranteed second season.
It’s no secret why AMC wants a Walking Dead spin-off that, like the original, it owns outright. As it stands, the original already holds lucrative syndication deals with both MyNetworkTV and Netflix for over-the-air replays and exclusive digital streaming respectively. In addition, AMC can run marathons of the series at any point, essentially for free, and profit two times over on the advertising (as it did when it ran special black & white versions of specific episodes a couple years ago). More Walking Dead means more profit for AMC. But while that’s all well and good, the success of the spin-off is going to be determined over the network’s willingness to be patient. If it can hold out for three years to see a return on investment, it could have itself another monster hit on its hands.
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0f2152c5c3673569ae56d1a4ac0b04d7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/04/20/jon-stewart-final-episode/ | Jon Stewart Sets Final 'Daily Show' For August | Jon Stewart Sets Final 'Daily Show' For August
Tonight on The Daily Show, the recently announced to be retiring Jon Stewart revealed his final episode of the series will take place on August 6th of this year. This would fit in line with speculation that his finale would either take place around the time of his contract expiration in June or at the end of the year in order to allow the comedian ample time to run out the rest of 2015.
His official announcement can be seen in the video below:
One would assume this particular date announcement would mean Comedy Central hopes to launch the first set of Trevor Noah hosted episodes of The Daily Show in September as opposed to launching the new host at the start of 2016 like the network did with Larry Wilmore in January.
Ultimately, there was never going to be a date announcement that was going to not feel like it was coming too soon. Stewart's been a staple of the late-night game for over 15 years, and the loss of his presence will be felt regardless of whether it comes in August, September, December or another five years down the road. However, an August end date should be enough time for Comedy Central to get its affairs in order before the big hand-off takes place in, presumably, the following month.
At the moment, there's no indication as to how Stewart plans to present his final episodes in as far as format's concerned. He could just ride the wave as if it's another day, or the final week or two could just be one giant "remember when this happened" montage. In addition, it also wouldn't be surprising to see Comedy Central roll the host's final episode into Larry Wilmore's time-slot on August 6th in order to give Stewart a full hour to say goodbye to his audience. Put simply, at the moment there are many options on the table.
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