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the-quiet-winds · 6 years ago

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Close Enough to Start a War (part two)

@ichlugebulletsandcornnuts knows what’s up. i know the first part had a precarious cliffhanger so here’s the resolution.

[part one]

[Part 2: Next Time I’ll Be Braver]

parr immediately hands jane a paper towel to catch the blood that leaks from her nose. jane half-smiles gratefully, before turning her attention to look upstairs.

"i can't believe people think that about her..." she trails off, then looks around at her bandmates. "about all of us."

"they're all wrong," boleyn chips in. "every single one who thinks anything like what he just said."

parr nods in agreement. "really, i'd like to know who wrote those books about us that said things like-"

she's cut off by a thump from upstairs, followed by eerie silence.

there’s a brief moment before everybody collectively understands, and then they all race up the stairs as fast as they can.

“kat?” jane calls, trying the door handle with one hand, the other still holding the tissue to her nose. “kat, can you hear me?” the door won’t open and there’s only silence from the other side. she turns to the others, eyes terrified. “the door’s locked.”

“let me,” boleyn says hurriedly, yanking a hairpin from her own hair. she twists it and pushes the end into the lock, and aragon stares at her disbelievingly.

“now’s not the time for jokes, boleyn!”

“i’m not joking,” boleyn says, not looking up. “i’d never joke when howard might be in danger.”

“you know how to pick a lock?” parr asks, and boleyn nods.

“after jane collapsed in the bathroom and we couldn’t open the door, i thought it might be something good to learn.” she twists the pin a few more times and lets out a quiet curse. “we’ll just have to hope it’s a shitty lock- there.” there’s a satisfying click as the door unlocks and boleyn takes back, looking incredibly relieved that she managed to do it.

jane throws the door open and nearly bursts into tears right there.

katherine, her darling, sweet girl, was propped against the wall, eyes half-lidded and completely slack. jane hates that she knows exactly what happened, since it had happened once before.

“kitty-kat,” she breathes, rushing over to the girl. she gently shakes her, hoping that, if she was quick enough, katherine would come back to.

unfortunately, she was incorrect, and katherine stayed out.

“i’m gonna call an ambulance,” cleves announces, grabbing her phone. jane doesn’t look up, focused on katherine.

“kitty-kat, it’s me, it’s mum.” she brings her hands up to katherine’s face and starts patting her cheeks, trying to bring her round without hitting hard enough to hurt. “can you hear me, kat? please, wake up!”

katherine remains blank and unresponsive and tears spring in jane’s eyes. “sweetheart,” she chokes out, “please, please, it’s mum. please hear me.”

parr, in an act of pity, comes over and gently pulls jane away from katherine. “she’s not nearly conscious enough, jane,” parr says quietly, attempting to be soothing.

jane struggles against her. “i can get her back!” she protests. “i know i can!”

parr reluctantly lets go.

jane immediately goes back to katherine, lightly tugging on her shoulders to lay her on her back, then taps her cheeks, lightly but desperately. if katherine woke up in the emergency room, the conversation they absolutely needed to have would be that much harder.

luckily, amazingly, jane thanks very star as katherine’s eyes slowly open, coming back to faintly focus on jane and her bloody nose.

katherine makes a confused sound before her eyes focus on the blood and she gasps. she tries to sit up suddenly but her body isn’t prepared for it and she jolts back down almost immediately.

“mum,” she croaks out, “mum, your nose-”

jane can almost see the realisation hit katherine and her face goes even paler somehow, ashen features turning horrified. she lets out a quiet whimper and closes her eyes, unable to move from the floor.

“shh, love,” jane soothes. “it’s just a bloody nose, no harm done.” she sits down, pulling katherine’s head into her lap. “what he said isn’t true,” she whispers gently. “no one will believe him.”

katherine whimpers at memory of redbridge’s words. “why wouldn’t they? he’s a professor,” she spits spitefully. “he’s the expert.”

her face suddenly screws up in worry. “what if people won’t want to hear my side of the story any more? what if they-” she sniffles quietly, “what if they don’t believe me?”

“i think you should take a look at this,” parr says quietly from behind jane. she hands jane her phone. it was open on twitter, where the hashtag for the documentary had been searched, and jane scans her eyes over the tweets.

“absolutely disgraceful documentary,” one tweet reads. “the queens were so much more than what he said.”

another says: “@stevenredbrige should be ashamed. @kathoward wasn’t to blame for anything 😡”

tweet after tweet showed support from the queens’ fans, calling the documentary out for its utter lies. there were even some tweets from well-respected historians correcting every falsehood from the documentary.

katherine rereads the words on the screen several times, almost not believing it was true.

“see, love?” jane asks gently, nonjudgmentally. “people believe us. they know it was all lies.” she leans down slightly closer. “they know it wasn’t your fault.”

katherine bursts into tears, burying her face in jane’s lap. she can only splutter forth various syllables of “i didn’t want it,” and “why did it happen?”

jane can only run loving fingers through her hair and let her cry, not having any answers to give.

katherine eventually cries herself out to near exhaustion, jane’s hand in her hair helping somewhat to soothe her. she lays there, numb and drained, barely hearing anything that’s going on around her and focusing only on the rhythmic movement of jane’s fingertips against the back of her head. jane looks up at the others, sadness giving way to anger.

“i don’t understand how he can go on tv and say those things,” she says hoarsely. “she was just a child.” a lump grows in her throat as she looks down at katherine laying in her lap.

parr and aragon nod solemnly. boleyn watches katherine and jane curiously. she watches the slow and repetitive movements of jane’s fingers in katherine’s hair, noting the way katherine seems to calm ever so slightly with each movement.

embarrassment flushed through her again as she looks down at her hands, her eyes finding base of her hand where her ‘sixth finger’ sits, mocking her.

“i was no witch,” she mumbles, before slipping out of the room and going back downstairs, leaving parr and aragon with jane and katherine.

she passes cleves on the stairs going in the opposite direction, and then finds herself back in the living room staring at the now blank tv. despite the screen not showing anything, boleyn can almost see redbridge sitting there, mocking her. she throws herself onto the couch with a huff.

there’s a small part of boleyn’s mind that, as much as she hates to admit it, slightly resents her cousin. okay, that’s not fair. it’s not katherine she resents; she loves katherine to pieces and she could never resent her. it’s just... she gets it, she understands that things were really hard for katherine, and they still are, and hearing all those lies about kat’s past was horrible enough for boleyn to hear, let alone kat herself. but it hadn’t been all sunshine and roses for boleyn either, and there was only so much attention and concern the others could have for her when katherine was having her own problems.

boleyn groans and shoves her face into a cushion. she shouldn’t be thinking like this, shouldn’t be jealous of the comfort katherine was getting when her cousin had literally passed out from the stress of it. besides, boleyn didn’t talk about her problems. she was the fun one, the kooky jokester who brushed everything off. that was her, right?

she can hear quiet voices from upstairs - jane sounding calm and kind like always. boleyn’s heart aches; she needs someone like jane to be there for her like she always is for katherine.

she sits on the couch, stone silent, for a long time. even as the other queens come and go for the evening, she pretends she’s fine even though she couldn’t be more awful.

she doesn’t try to sleep, she knows it wouldn’t work. night terrors plague her as often as they do katherine. she just doesn’t make the fuss.

it’s past midnight and she’s still sitting on the couch, house dark and quiet, when she hears footsteps and that kind, calm voice.

“what are you still doing up?”

boleyn turns suddenly, throwing a careless smile onto her face and pitching her voice just high enough to hopefully seem not as miserable as she felt.

“hey! i’m just, you know...” she trails off as she desperately tries to think of a good enough excuse. her brain appears to want to fail her today, and her mind is utterly blank. “...chilling,” she finishes, slightly lamely.

jane frowns at her. “i know that’s not true,” she counters. “what’s up?” she crosses to the couch, sitting down beside her. “you can talk to me, love.” the term of endearment slips out absentmindedly, as if jane was talking to katherine. ‘boleyn’ just seemed to formal. “you’ve been off since this afternoon, don’t think i didn’t notice.”

“off?” boleyn waves a hand, making a dismissive noise. “i’m not off.” jane just keeps looking at her, those kind eyes catching her off-guard, and boleyn finds her facade crumbling.

“well, it’s just, y’know,” she shrugs. “that documentary said some nasty stuff about all of us. i’m sure we’re all kinda freaked by it.”

“would you like to talk about it, love?” jane asks her softly, calmly, so as not to push her. she could tell boleyn had a defence mechanism in place, and if she could carefully disarm it then boleyn might talk to jane and share what was on her mind. she could hazard a guess, though; they all knew about boleyn’s insecurities about her hand, as much as she tried to hide it.

boleyn gives a shrug. “it’s stupid.” she sighs. “i know what he said isn’t true but it just stings, you know?”

jane nods silently, allowing boleyn to continue.

she considers for a long, quiet moment if she wants to explain. jane seems so caring, wanting to help her through it, but she’s just so afraid of being mocked and told off for what she feels, for showing any semblance of personality that isn’t carefree and fun, that it’s nearly impossible.

but then she sees jane’s face, imploring and caring, and she looks down at her hands in her lap again.

“i’m not a witch,” she mutters, tears pooling in her eyes.

“oh, love,” jane says, and her voice is so free of judgement that it makes the tears start to fall from boleyn’s eyes. “that was really horrible of him to say.”

having that thought reaffirmed by somebody else weirdly feels... almost good. it reassures boleyn that she wasn’t overreacting by being hurt by it, that she was allowed to have feelings about it. and then jane wraps her in a soft hug and boleyn finally gives in to her emotions in a way she hadn’t done for a long long time, sobbing into jane’s shoulder.

she clings to jane, almost embarrassingly so in her eyes. she can’t stop the tears as they pour down her cheeks, warm and raw. it reminds her of her past life, in a weird way, the night before she died. she felt the same - ungodly alone, scared, and regretful.

she feels jane’s hand slip upward and gently remove her hair from the messy bun it was half-confined to, letting it spill down, then beginning to lightly run her fingers through it.

“it’s alright, love,” jane whispers. “you’re okay now.”

boleyn’s thoughts mangle in her head,redbridge’s words twisting with her own lines from the show. even as her tears begin to subside on their own, her brain doesn’t clear.

she awkwardly pulls away from jane. her mouth fails to form words, so she simply tugs at the collar of her t-shirt, revealing crisscrossing red scratch marks around the base of her neck. “i have night terrors too,” she mumbles. “wondering if my head is still attached to my shoulders.”

“oh, love, i’m so sorry,” jane says, and she takes boleyn’s free hand in hers. she rubs her thumb in slow, soothing circles on the back of boleyn’s hand, and it reassures her that she can keep talking.

“sometimes I...” boleyn swallows. “sometimes i dream about henry on the day he had me arrested, and he has the guards chase me through the palace and then drags me before him, and he-” she cuts off her words and blinks back a fresh wave of tears. “he laughs. and then, other times i dream about elizabeth.”

that made jane pause. boleyn didn’t mention elizabeth very often, to the point that the other queens sometimes forgot she had even been a mother. the way boleyn speaks, however, is incredibly familiar, something jane had seen over and over again in her own mind when she thought about edward.

“i just wonder,” boleyn says quietly, “who explained it to her. who sat her down and told her that mummy is never coming back, that she’d never get a hug from me again.” she gives a dry half-laugh. “and i suppose she lost her father that day, too. it’s not like he cared about her after that.”

jane feels a sting at that. elizabeth that only been a tender two when anne had been executed. jane herself had forged a close bond with mary, then both girls were long forgotten when jane had edward.

“i looked after her the best i could,” jane says quietly, hoping to help boleyn feel better. “i wasn’t there for long enough to really do all that much, though.”

boleyn shrugs again. “i appreciate it,” she says half-heartedly. her hands pull back to lightly rest against her stomach. “elizabeth was lucky, at least,” she says softly, looking blankly downward.

“lucky about what-“ jane cuts off with a sharp inhale as the answer to her question appears in the form of boleyn’s famous ‘i had three miscarriages!’ line from the show, and her heart breaks just that much more.

“yeah,” boleyn says hollowly. she shifts slightly, hand unconsciously forming a fist. “at least she got to grow up.” she stares down at her lap. “at least she has a legacy as one of the most famous queens of all time, without some man in her way. and by god, i am so proud of her.” her tone turns darker. “i just wish i could have been there for her. i wish she could have had more siblings, I wish-” she closes her eyes. “I wish for so many things. but then I wake up, and i’m here, and little bess with her red hair and the cutest smile you’ve ever seen, she’s long gone.” she opens her eyes again, and it’s like she suddenly realises what she’s doing. “i’m sorry, i don’t know why i’m telling you all this.”

jane gives her a soft, thoughtful smile. she reaches out and takes her hand, gently uncurling the fist it was tightly bound into.

“it’s alright, love,” she says, “you needed to get it out.” she sighs, her confident and maternal facade slipping slightly. “i understand how it feels, darling. knowing your child is long passed, but you’re still here, knowing they did wonderful things in their lives that you can only read about in a history book.” she squeezes her hand and drops her voice again. “and you are allowed to feel things, anne,” she continues. she brings her free hand up to rest on boleyn’s cheek. “you’re allowed to feel all the anger and sadness and unfairness you want. you deserve that much.”

“i don’t want to drag everyone down with negativity,” boleyn shrugs slightly. jane rubs her thumb against boleyn’s cheekbone gently.

“you’re not ‘dragging anyone down’ by talking about your feelings. you’re human, anne, and humans feel all kinds of emotions. bottling them up won’t help, love. i promise you, nobody is going to think less of you because you feel things.”

anne gives an embarrassed half-smile, and jane can feel her cheek warm beneath her hand. “i should hope not, she says quietly with a little laugh, but jane can sense the sensation in the statement.

“do you think you’re ready to try and sleep now?” she asks.

boleyn shrugs. “i guess.”

she allows jane to lead her upstairs and into her bedroom. boleyn gets herself comfortable, jane watching from a safe distance, before coming over. “sweet dreams, love,” she says softly. without thinking, she leans over and lightly kisses anne’s forehead.

it’s a surprise, the forehead kiss, but not an unwelcome one. in fact, it actually makes boleyn feel safe, and slightly less alone than she normally felt when she went to bed.

“goodnight, jane,” she mumbles back, cheeks flushing slightly. “and, uh, you too. sweet dreams.”

jane smiles softly at her, before retreating to the door and switching the light off. she closes the door behind her and boleyn finds herself smiling slightly in the darkness. she draws the blankets around her fully and closes her eyes.

jane lets the door close and sighs quietly. then she smiles.

as she walks back to her own room, she finds herself reflecting.

katherine needed a mother, that much was clear. ever since the moment they met, jane saw that katherine needed someone to look out for her and love her unconditionally despite her past.

boleyn needed a friend, a sister. someone to confide in and not fear judgement from and help her sort out her feelings.

jane decides as she climbs into her own bed that she’s very content to be both, thank you very much.

#six the musical #six musical #jane seymour #katherine howard #anne boleyn #julie and jess write #close enough to start a war

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kadobeclothing · 5 years ago

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How to Get the Most out of Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

What do a Hand Forged 1060 High Carbon Black Steel Blade Full Tang Samurai Katana Sword and a 7,541-Piece Lego Millennium Falcon

Replica have in common? Well, first and foremost, they’re both awesome. Second, if you have kids under the age of three, you probably don’t want them playing with either — one is a choking hazard and one is a katana.

And third, you can buy both through the magic of something called ecommerce — the sale of products or services online. Ecommerce is becoming a staple of companies’ sales and marketing operations across virtually every industry. Here, we’ll examine some ecommerce marketing strategies your business can employ to land and retain as many customers as possible. Ecommerce Marketing Plan Your ecommerce marketing plan is essentially the sum of the ecommerce strategies and tactics you choose to employ. The most effective plans aren’t randomly cobbled together — they’re designed with intention. They’re often guided by a general marketing philosophy or underlying structure. For instance, the inbound methodology can be applied to an overarching ecommerce marketing plan. In this case, you would tailor your ecommerce marketing efforts to attract visitors, convert those visitors into leads, close deals and turn them into customers, and delight them once they’ve purchased your products or services to turn them into promoters. There are a number of different strategies to consider when constructing your plan. Here are some of the most effective options worth exploring.

Ecommerce Marketing Strategies

Blog. Contribute guest posts to other websites. Try referral marketing programs. Leverage social media. Drive user-generated content.

1. Blog. Maintaining a blog is one of the better ways to attract potential customers to your site organically. By creating quality content relevant to your industry, you can project a sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness to prospects. If you give strangers an incentive to visit your site through your content — beyond material specific to your product or service — you can generate interest that might ultimately turn into action. Regardless of what you’re selling, maintaining a blog for your site is a cost-effective way to prove that your business is an authority in its space 2. Contribute guest posts to other websites. Guest posts have the potential to expand your online visibility. Not only can it better establish you as an authority within your industry, contributing guest posts affords you more domain authority for your ecommerce site — leading search engines to believe your site is more reliable and worth ranking higher. You can accomplish this by identifying sites with keywords relevant to your products and reaching out to the people behind them. Sometimes, you won’t even need to create a post of your own. You might be able to just expand upon one of a site’s current posts with relevant context or an infographic that links back to your site. 3. Try referral marketing programs. Referral marketing combines two of the most powerful underlying assets to any ecommerce marketing strategy — word of mouth and incentives. A solid ecommerce referral program allows customers to relay your messaging to prospects who trust their judgment. Research indicates that word of mouth is directly responsible for 19% of all purchases and influences as much as 90% of them. So a significant part of your ecommerce marketing strategy has to be tapping into that trend. Referral marketing is one way to do that. By offering some sort of incentive — like a discount or small gift — to your customers in exchange for their referral of new prospects, you’re putting yourself in a position to better retain current customers while expanding your base. Here’s an example of a referral program from Stitchfix.

Source For more information on referral marketing, check out this article. 4. Leverage social media. A well maintained social media presence is an invaluable component to a successful ecommerce marketing strategy. That being said, ecommerce marketing over social media might not look like marketing for a conventional business, brand, contractor, or publisher. And not every social media platform is optimal for ecommerce. Ecommerce is an inherently visual medium. Very few consumers are willing to buy a product based solely on text. The success of your social media efforts often hinges your use of imagery to capture attention and generate traffic to your product pages. That makes Instagram one of the better platforms to complement your ecommerce marketing strategy. If possible, you should consider incorporating shoppable content — interactive content that allows your visitors to buy immediately — into your ecommerce marketing strategy. That can mean anything from strategically placing display ads within a social feed to adding additional tags that take users directly to a shopping cart.

Source 5. Drive user-generated content. Driving user-generated content is the practice of finding and fostering ways for your customers to promote your business. It’s an excellent way to facilitate word of mouth for your company. It drives traffic to your ecommerce site while building an authentic following of interested customers. User-generated content can come in many forms. One of the most effective ways to encourage it is through competitions — offering prizes to customers that promote your product in some form. You could also use promotional hashtags on social media or maintain review platforms where customers can share feedback about your product. One way or another, getting your customers to actively promote your product on their own provides a new degree of trustworthiness and a relatively inexpensive source of potential traffic to your site. For instance, Starbucks launched its #WhiteCupContest campaign in 2014. Customers were encouraged to draw whatever they felt like on the chain’s white cups. The winners’ designs would be used as limited edition templates for Starbucks’ cup design. In just three weeks, the company received over 4,000 submissions — generating plenty of buzz and free promotion.

Source If your business has any sort of ecommerce presence, you stand to gain a lot by exploring and employing different ecommerce marketing strategies. Many of the available options can be as cost-effective as they are valuable. No matter how you choose to structure your ecommerce marketing plan, make sure it’s dynamic, multifaceted, and well-maintained. Putting one of these plans in motion will take some effort, but if done correctly, that effort will pay off in spades.

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source https://www.kadobeclothing.store/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-ecommerce-marketing-strategy/

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chessedos-blog · 6 years ago

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World: Bleeding Noses and Blood-Red Eyes as Bangkok Battles Toxic Air

Choking air pollution and thick smog in Bangkok has adversely affected the health of many. With the air quality in Thailand's capital hovering at unhealthy levels, many people have taken severely ill with some sharing horrifying pictures of the effect it has had on them. Some people took to social media to share images of them coughing out blood, having blood red eyes and shared their concerns about the deteriorating air in the city. Hazardous dust particles known as PM 2.5 have exceeded the safe level in 41 areas around the capital, according to the Department of Pollution Control. PM 2.5 is a mixture of liquid droplets and solid particles that can include dust, soot and smoke, one of the main measures of the Air Quality Index (AQI). Public discontent has surfaced on television, with pollution-related hashtags trending and TV hosts advising viewers on the types of face masks they should wear. Read the full article

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lcsbianjesus · 8 years ago

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THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING 13RW -- TAPE 1 SIDE A

i’m bored it’s been five minutes and i am confused

the cringe at those two girls taking a selfie w/ her locker and saying “hashtag never forget” is too much to bare, who thought that was a good idea??

so far i only like the principal

this man dude is boring

they could transition into his memories of hannah a lot more smoothly to prevent the constant confusion i am feeling

oh look the tapes, maybe things will get better now

i know he’s mourning and stuff but honestly just this guy’s whole demeanor is super boring and frustrating i already feel like i’m gonna get sick of him

hello what is the point of having the starting monologue of the first episode be played 5 mins later honestly did they think this show through

i do like her short hair

see i was right now that the tapes are finally being played after like 10 mins of confusion and boring shit i have hope

“you are one of the reasons why” ooh yes, now i’m starting to feel a lil hype

still hate this guys face tho

what the fuck is helicopter parenting

lmao he broke the boombox haha what a nerd

i take back just liking the principal i have barely heard from hannah due to the unnecessary interruptions but i think i’m gonna like her

what a great cliche, nerdy awkward guy who happens to be the main in the whole plot rides a bike

why is he stealing a walkman honestly just go to a thrift store

the guy with the car and the tape fetish is cute -- update: his name is tony

i definitely like hannah

also who had the tapes before him or was he the first one

i should have read the book first

lmfao he nearly died smh stop i honestly don’t like him

i just have this thing for hannah already tbh

now his parents are gonna helicopter his ass for being dumb and riding his bike into that car

he probably has a concussion now

helmet lmao i love that name but big head would have worked better

she put so much fucking effort into this oh my god

24 minutes in and we have learnt nothing

okay finally the first reason has started

is kat okay cause she’s being super extra

how old are they supposed to be and how did they get beer

is anyone gonna talk about the guy with the hazard mask bong thing or

he barely knows her and he has a crush lmao i am uncomfortable

i don’t like kat’s hair

oh no hannah not that white guy justin i had faith

justin’s forehead is huge jackfilms has competition

WHY IS SHE INTO JUSTIN ZACH WAS CUTER ?? I’M MAD

i think we all know justin was a bad idea she started liking basketball.. for him

SHE STRANDED HIM ON THE BUS I LOVE H ER

who is thinking hannah baker is a slut i will fight them

hey its tony my mans

TONY IS THE ONE WHO IS WATCHING THEM I LOVE IT I LOVE TONY MY MANS TONY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

i knew it justin is a fuck boy with fuck boy friends he can choke i hate him

oh my god no what the shit i hate him and his friend what the fuck i want to kill them

HANNAH DIDN’T DESERVE THIS

HANNAH DESERVES BETTER

i love tony i want to die i loe him he is pure protect him

“sometimes its better to wait” helmet can choke how the fuck can you like him

the song saying “your mess is yours now your mess is mine” how coincidental

him looking up at the camera at the end was so cringy i hate it when they do that

concluding thoughts: hannah baker deserved better, helmet is annoying and i hate him, justin is a fuckboy and tony is my favourite.

#13rw #13 reasons why #13 reasons spoilers #hannah baker #helmet #clay jensen #mine #tww13rw

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paulbenedictblog · 5 years ago

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%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

How Kobe Bryant's tragic death rocked the sports world and put a spotlight on grieving a public icon

Kobe Bryant's loss of life can also bear been now not like any giant identify loss of life to this level thanks to the massive reaction and the messy aftermath of discussing his legacy.

The reporting on Bryant's loss of life used to be gorgeous in nature and showed the hazard of true-time reporting, as quite lots of fraudulent reports muddled the be troubled.

Bryant's loss of life also raised questions of grieve and honor a public icon who had also been accused of sexual assault.

That is the legend of what took residing on that tragic Sunday and the shockwaves it despatched around the sector.

Discuss over with Commercial Insider's homepage for more tales.

At 11: 32 A.M. PT, on January 26, a apparently innocuous winter Sunday, a myth from TMZ despatched shockwaves thru the universe.

"Breaking: Kobe Bryant Has Died in a Helicopter Atomize," the tweet read. The myth claimed Bryant used to be one in all five folk lifeless in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

Experiencing breaking events in true-time is a barely novel phenomenon. On that day, it used to be as in case your complete world used to be following the connected Twitter timeline, ready for more data. Maybe TMZ used to be wrong? Maybe there had been some mistake? Unquestionably, Bryant, a borderline mythological athlete peaceable a good deal in the general public seek, can also no longer be gone so with out note.

Smoke rises from the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant in Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020.

Ringo Chiu/Reuters

What felt cherish hours used to be no longer up to 20 minutes. Local reports got right here in, confirming a helicopter crash. Stomachs tightened. Maybe in a merciless irony, the worst used to be confirmed by top NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, at 11: 51 P.M. PT. "Kobe Bryant is among these lifeless in a helicopter crash beginning air Los Angeles, a provide confirms to ESPN."

Over the following hour, the traits continued. The crash had killed 9 folk, at the side of Bryant. His 13-three hundred and sixty five days-outdated daughter Gianna, aka "Gigi," used to be with him. The tragedy incorporated participants of Gigi's basketball crew, dad and mother, coaches, and the plane's pilot. They had been on their manner to a basketball sport at Bryant's Mamba Sports activities Academy.

The grieving, tributes, and discourse that followed over the arrival days and weeks is also now not like every other giant identify loss of life to this level.

Kobe Bryant's second existence expanded beyond basketball

For many athletes, the conclude of their careers feels cherish the conclude of their lives. Nonetheless Kobe Bryant used to be lots of. He told The Recent Yorker's Ben McGrath in 2014 that he cringed on the recommendation that he would retreat to a golf route and live existence slowly upon retirement.

"I bag questions the total time: 'What are you going to make when you retire?' As if I had no existence, no abilities beginning air of taking part in basketball," Bryant acknowledged. "It totally drives me loopy. 'You appropriate going to golf all day?' I'm, cherish, 'No. Who the f--- acknowledged that?' It be maddening."

Kobe Bryant had a ardour for "storytelling" in retirement.

Jerod Harris/Getty Footage for Dow Jones

Bryant's next ardour used to be "storytelling." Following his retirement, Bryant dove head-first into the ingenious world, forming Granity Studios, a multimedia firm that creates childhood's books, podcasts, TV series, and motion photographs, lots of which focused on childhood sports to coach existence classes.

"Having four daughters at dwelling, it used to be cherish I bear to create content for my childhood," Bryant told Sports activities Illustrated's Jon Wertheim in 2019. "Because I did now not see that, I did now not see content for younger folk that bear taking part in sports. So I major to recall one thing that had a fantasy enchantment to it and join that to sports. Magic and pathology and one of the inherent magic that is within the game itself. How make you recall that and place it into a legend that childhood would trip?"

Bryant received an Oscar in 2018, appropriate two years after retiring, for Splendid Animated Short for "Dear Basketball," based totally on the poem he wrote about retiring.

"As basketball gamers, we're supposed to close up and dribble," Bryant acknowledged at some level of his acceptance speech, alluding to depraved feedback made by Fox's Laura Ingraham. "I'm completely ecstatic we make a small bit bit more than that."

Bryant's post-retirement connection to basketball used to be abnormal. He did now not pursue the aged, sit-in the motivate of-the-desk, analyst objective. As an different, he had an ESPN+ series called "Detail," in which he broke down film. In his mind, nonetheless, it used to be more "storytelling."

"If that used to be my ardour, so as to sit down at a studio desk, make that day in, time out, I'd for sure make it. That's no longer my ardour," Bryant acknowledged on an ESPN convention name to advertise "Detail" in 2018. "My ardour is writing, developing, inserting magnificent tales together, weaving them in the fabricate of a tale."

Bryant, by all accounts, had looked as if it would pass previous basketball — or a minimal of the rolling boil interior of him had change into a simmer.

"I assemble no longer bear a tough time searching at it at all," Bryant acknowledged on the connected convention name, of getting an itch to play. "I bear this more thing that is attempting me that I trip doing ... I've in point of fact been in a position to pass on from the game."

"Lady Dad"

Kobe and Gigi Bryant.

AP Checklist/Michael Owen Baker

In retirement, Bryant used to be also focused on existence in conjunction with his daughters — Natalia, Gigi, Bianka, and Capri, born in June 2019.

After his loss of life, ESPN's Elle Duncan relayed a legend about giving beginning to a lady and talking to Kobe Bryant about it. Bryant reportedly boasted he used to be a "girl dad," announcing, "Factual be grateful you can need got been on condition that present because of girls are supreme ... I'd bear five more girls if I could also." The hashtag #girldad went viral after Duncan's legend, with fathers posting photos of their daughters.

"I take care of having girls. I take care of it," Bryant told Jimmy Kimmel in September 2019. "They're awesome, man. I think my wife desires a boy more so than I make."

Bryant gave the impact especially in the case of Gigi, who can also bear been his strongest connection to basketball in retirement.

Gigi aspired to play in the WNBA. Bryant told McGrath in 2014 that Gigi used to be "insanely, insanely competitive — cherish, mean." He in contrast her to himself.

He coached Gigi's AAU crew — aptly named "The Mambas" — and told Kimmel in 2018 that Gigi sought to elevate on his athletic legacy.

"The acceptable thing that happens is after we slip out, and followers will reach up to me, and she'll be standing next to me. They are going to likely be cherish, 'You gotta bear a boy. You and [Vanessa] gotta bear a boy, y'all gotta bear somebody to elevate on the custom, the legacy,'" Bryant acknowledged. "And [Gigi's] cherish, 'Hey, I bought this. You assemble no longer need no boy for that.'"

In late December, the two had been sitting courtside for a sport between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks. Cameras caught Bryant appearing to be instructing Gigi the game.

—Reese Waters (@reesewaters) January 26, 2020

The sports world grieves

Though Bryant can also bear disconnected from basketball in retirement, he used to be without a kill in sight linked to the game. He used to be an icon to a generation of athletes and a pillar in the sports world, attributable to 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, 18 All-Extensive identify Games, five championships, and an MVP award.

Bryant had been in the news the weekend of the crash. The evening sooner than, LeBron James had passed him for third all-time in scoring. Bryant, who had told journalists at some level of the week that he used to be ecstatic for James to pass before him — a "records-are-made-to-be-broken" sentiment — tweeted his congratulations that evening.

—Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020

Separated as he had change into from the game, the game did now not simply let slip of Bryant. Knowledge of his loss of life rocked the NBA world. The reactions had been cherish dominoes, falling one after one other.

There used to be ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and Jay Williams, crying thru live TV hits quickly after the news used to be launched.

There used to be the elusive Michael Jordan releasing a commentary: "Phrases can no longer describe the pain I'm feeling. I liked Kobe — he used to be cherish a small bit brother to me."

There used to be photos of James crying on a tarmac. It used to be later reported that James and Bryant had spoken on the phone early on Sunday after James had passed him in scoring.

There used to be Shaquille O'Neal choked up, announcing, "My spirit appropriate left my physique," lamenting no longer talking to Bryant more generally.

The Rockets' Austin Rivers and P.J. Tucker grew emotional after news of Kobe Bryant's loss of life.

David Zalubowski/AP Footage

Avid gamers paid tribute across the league. Some wrote messages on their sneakers. The Atlanta Hawks' Trae Younger began the game wearing a No. 8 jersey in honor of Bryant. Groups held moments of silence sooner than video games and started video games with eight-second motivate-court violations and 24-second shot-clock violations, tributes to Bryant's jersey numbers. Madison Sq. Garden changed its colors to yellow and pink.

Tennis gamers mourned. Soccer stars paid tribute. The Neat Bowl known Bryant sooner than the game and at halftime.

A makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant beginning air of Staples Center.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Footage

Meanwhile, Staples Center in Los Angeles became an unofficial funeral dwelling. Followers gathered beginning air the Lakers' dwelling arena, becoming a member of together in chants of "M-V-P," writing messages in chalk around the plaza, leaving vegetation, hundreds of basketballs, and more.

"He used to be LA's god generally," a Lakers fan named Brooklyn Butler told Insider's Lauren Frias.

In most likely basically the most acceptable tribute, some followers left a trashcan beginning air of the sector, with the message, "You realize what to make." Followers shot paper into the trashcan, yelling, "Kobe!"

The acceptable plan to myth on loss of life and grieve a public icon

Nothing about Bryant's loss of life, the crash, or the aftermath used to be effectively-organized.

The unfolding of the major parts showed the hazards of true-time reporting, in front of an target market of millions.TMZ's breaking of the legend drew scrutiny from LA Police. TMZ had reportedly broken the legend sooner than Bryant's family, or other households had been knowledgeable of the crash.

All over a press convention, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva acknowledged it used to be "wholly unpleasant" for the households to be taught the news sooner than being contacted by police.

"It'd be extraordinarily disrespectful to achieve that your family participants perished, and likewise you learned about it from TMZ," Villanueva acknowledged. "That's appropriate wholly unpleasant."

ABC suspended reporter Matt Gutman for erroneously myth that every four of Bryant's childhood had been on the helicopter.

"Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism," a representative for ABC Knowledge told Insider. "As he acknowledged on Sunday, Matt Gutman's preliminary reporting used to be no longer appropriate and did now not satisfy our editorial requirements."

An fraudulent myth acknowledged Rick Fox used to be in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant.

Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Showtime/AP Footage

One other inaccurate myth acknowledged that Rick Fox, a outdated skool NBA participant and teammate of Bryant's, used to be also on the helicopter. Fox later acknowledged that he used to be blind to the myth and used to be ignoring calls and texts from family participants, sending them into a horror. He at last answered, revealing he wasn't in the crash, however the tournament used to be demanding nonetheless.

The Washington Put up suspended journalist Felicia Sonmez after she tweeted a Every single day Beast article about Bryant's rape allegations from 2003, drawing ire from folk on Twitter. The Put up called her tweets "ill-timed."

The ideal uproar, nonetheless, can also bear centered on Gayle King of CBS. A week after the crash, King interviewed WNBA memoir Lisa Leslie about Bryant's loss of life and his legacy. King asked Leslie if it used to be "advanced" to be associates with Bryant thanks to the rape allegations that had been settled out of court, and whether or no longer they must be fragment of Bryant's legacy.

Gayle King.

Christopher Smith/Invision/AP Footage

King became the target of wrong ire, with famous celebrities cherish rappers 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg taking to social media to criticize her. Some thought Snoop Dogg insinuated violence in opposition to King by announcing, "Respect the family and motivate off, b---h, sooner than we reach bag you."

King bought hateful messages and loss of life threats and traveled with security. Assorted noteworthy figures got right here to her defense, at the side of CBS Knowledge President Susan Zirinsky, Sen. Cory Booker of Recent Jersey, and outdated skool United Countries Ambassador and national security adviser Susan Rice. Snoop Dogg later apologized for his feedback in an Instagram post.

Bryant's "advanced" legacy

Bryant's loss of life also left followers to reckon in conjunction with his previous. In 2003, a Colorado girl alleged that Bryant raped her while he stayed at a spa sooner than knee surgical treatment. In response to court documents, examiners learned bruising on the girl's neck and tears in her vaginal wall.

The court case became a national legend and performed out in a messy model. The girl's identify used to be leaked at some level of the trial, no matter attempts by police to assign her anonymity. She used to be field to loss of life threats and at last dropped the case when she now no longer major to testify in court. The case used to be settled out of court in 2005 and Bryant later issued a commentary on the matter.

"Though I in actuality think this hit upon between us used to be consensual, I opinion now that she did now not and does no longer scrutinize this incident the connected manner I did," Bryant acknowledged on the time. "After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now realize how she feels that she did now not consent to this hit upon."

Bryant misplaced all of his sponsors rather than Nike, and his recognition waned. Nonetheless, he continued taking part in basketball.

After the settling of the case, Bryant created his "Shadowy Mamba" persona, inspired by the film "Cancel Invoice," as a manner to shed his skin.

Kobe Bryant created the "Shadowy Mamba" alter ego after the 2003 rape allegations.

Christian Petersen/Getty

"Your complete route of for me used to be making an try to settle out take care of this," Bryant told The Washington Put up's Kent Babb in 2018. "I wasn't going to be passive and let this thing appropriate swallow me up."

All over his existence, there used to be largely an absence of public reckoning with the allegations in opposition to Bryant. In loss of life, in the case of every write-up of Bryant's legacy incorporated the phrase "advanced."

The actress Evan Rachel Wood tweeted the day after Bryant's loss of life: "He used to be a sports hero. He used to be also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously." She got right here under fire on Twitter and at last deleted the tweet.

While Bryant became an recommend for the WNBA and females's sports, cynics believed it used to be all fragment of an try to clean his previous — the legend-teller re-writing his bear legend.

ESPN's Sarah Spain wrote on the make of the allegations on Bryant's legacy and how Bryant will now by no manner in a position to manage with the matter:

"Imagine the objective he can also bear performed in redefining how followers, the media, and the general public, on the total, take care of sexual assault accusations if he had chosen to discuss out in regards to the case later in his existence ... We're left to grapple with the advanced legacy he leaves in the motivate of. To argue with one one other in regards to the equity of an simply retrospective. To exhaust for ourselves whether or no longer to be wakeful the person he used to be or appropriate the person we major him to be."

At Vice, Albert Burneko wrote a legend titled, "Kobe Bryant Was as soon as No Extra Inspiring Than Anyone Else," arguing that the phrase "advanced" is a step-around of the assault case.

"What the real fact of getting dedicated, or having credibly been accused of committing, sexual assault complicates for an acclaimed giant identify is the feelings ... of these who'd exhaust to head appropriate on celebrating him," Burneko wrote.

He continued:

"[Bryant] used to be also a immense and spectacular basketball participant, one in all the ideal stars in the history of the game, and a sturdy man who, in 2003 and on the height of his giant identify, used to be credibly accused of raping a 19-three hundred and sixty five days-outdated hotel worker after which refrained from a trial by leaking his accuser's identity and shaming her into silence. I assemble no longer think these items complicate every other, except you occur to think there's a deepest appropriate component to being appropriate at making contested leap-photographs."

Bryant by no manner spoke in regards to the case, most efficient the aftermath. In an interview with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne in 2016, he can also bear hinted at how he considered himself.

"It's essential to even bear gotten to achieve the real fact that we're human," he acknowledged. "All of us affirm s--- that we shouldn't affirm, we all make things we shouldn't make. All of us are angels, we're all devils.

"How will you realize that, rather than to achieve the real fact that we're all of this stuff?"

An incomplete existence

Kobe Bryant after his closing NBA sport in April 2016.

Jae C. Hong/AP Footage

Bryant, Gigi, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Peyton Chester, Christina Mauser, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan, left Santa Ana-John Wayne Airport for Camarillo Airport in Bryant's helicopter quickly after 9 A.M. on January 26.

The foggy circumstances in the Los Angeles residence had been so sinful that day that the Los Angeles Police Division had grounded its helicopters. Kurt Deetz, a helicopter pilot who had flown Bryant sooner than, told The Wall Freeway Journal's Ben Cohen and Erin Ailworth that just about all effective an skilled pilot would bear been allowed to hover in such circumstances.

About 10 minutes into the flight, air-visitors controllers ordered the helicopter to elevate because of one other one used to be landing within reach. The plane circled over Glendale for roughly 12 minutes sooner than getting "special visible flight tips" clearance to proceed in the foggy circumstances.

Round 9: 40 A.M., the helicopter changed its route for Thousand Oaks. In response to the Nationwide Transportation Security Board, the helicopter climbed to about 2,300 feet to steer clear of a cloud layer. It then began a descending left turn.

At around 9: 45, the helicopter crashed into a hill at about 1,700 feet. It used to be flying about 170 miles per hour and would bear weighed over 11,000 kilos. The NTSB acknowledged the helicopter ignored clearing a hilltop by about 20-30 feet.

The helicopter did now not bear a "dismal field," a instrument that records flight knowledge and cockpit audio, although investigators did acquire an iPad frail by Zobayan. The helicopter used to be also lacking abilities that could bear alerted Zobayan to the hill.

The cause in the motivate of the crash is peaceable under investigation.

Bryant's adoption of helicopters as a manner of transportation, in some techniques, encapsulated all that he used to be. It used to be flashy, it used to be convenient, it allowed him to maximize his time. In response to Babb, Bryant's helicopter, nicknamed the "Mamba Chopper," had even been painted dismal, with scales to explore cherish a snake.

"I had to settle out a manner the do I could also peaceable philosophize and focal level on the craft but peaceable no longer compromise family time," Bryant told Barstool Sports activities in 2018.

In response to a myth from Participants journal, Bryant and Vanessa had a pact no longer to trail in the helicopter together.

In an Instagram post on January 29, Vanessa wrote, "There are no longer sufficient words to describe our pain appropriate now.

"I recall comfort in vivid that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they had been so deeply liked. We had been so incredibly blessed to bear them in our lives. I wish they had been right here with us without a kill in sight. They had been our magnificent blessings taken from us too quickly."

My girls and I desire to thank the millions of folks who’ve shown make stronger and take care of at some level of this horrific time. Thank you for the total prayers. We for sure need them. We're completely devastated by the surprising loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the extraordinary father of our younger folk; and my magnificent, candy Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and noteworthy daughter, and supreme sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We're also devastated for the households who misplaced their family participants on Sunday, and we portion of their pain intimately. There aren’t sufficient words to describe our pain appropriate now. I recall comfort in vivid that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they had been so deeply liked. We had been so incredibly blessed to bear them in our lives. I wish they had been right here with us without a kill in sight. They had been our magnificent blessings taken from us too quickly. I’m no longer obvious what our lives assign beyond on the present time, and it’s very no longer going to think existence with out them. Nonetheless we bag up on an everyday basis, making an try to withhold pushing because of Kobe, and our toddler girl, Gigi, are gleaming on us to light the model. Our take care of for them is unending — and that’s to lisp, immeasurable. I appropriate wish I could also hug them, kiss them and bless them. Own them right here with us, without a kill in sight. Thank you for sharing your joy, your pain and your make stronger with us. We inquire of that you just grant us the glory and privateness we can bear to navigate this novel actuality. To honor our Personnel Mamba family, the Mamba Sports activities Basis has residing up the MambaOnThree Fund to reduction make stronger the different households tormented by this tragedy. To donate, please slip to MambaOnThree.org. To extra Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in childhood sports, please talk over with MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you lots for lifting us up for your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family ❤️

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant 🦋 (@vanessabryant) on Jan 29, 2020 at 4: 59pm PSTJan 29, 2020 at 4: 59pm PST

Bryant used to be 41. On the probabilities of existence after retirement, Bryant told McGrath in 2014: "Giorgio Armani did now not beginning Armani except he used to be forty. Forty! There could be this form of existence ahead."

An legit memorial for Bryant is deliberate for February 24 at Staples Center.

Extra: Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers NBA Gigi Bryant

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kiddiemom-blog · 6 years ago

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7 BLW-Friendly Vegan Infant Food Recipes

Since I went vegan in 2013, I knew that I wanted to raise my future children vegan as well. Every now and then I read articles about raising vegan kids, browsed through vegan parenting blogs and Instagram accounts, trying to map out my future approach to various challenges that vegan kids and parents face. Of course, the number one challenge is, “What the heck do I feed my kid every day?” (Although I have a hunch that vegan parents are not the only ones who deal with this challenge 🙂 )

From the beginning, I exclusively breastfed baby J whenever she wanted to eat (I understand that not everybody can do this, so no judgment here). At around six months, we started introducing solid foods.

Initially, I had my mind set on trying baby-led weaning (BLW)- the approach that implies babies feeding themselves whatever the rest of the family is eating instead being spoon-fed specially prepared mushy foods (there are a few important points to keep in mind, see below). Baby-led weaning has a variety of benefits, and it’s very popular in the vegan parenting world. There’s a lot of information about BLW on the official website and in this book (not 100% vegan FYI).

At six months, baby J’s self-feeding skills weren’t well developed yet, so for the first couple weeks I fed her the standard baby oatmeal cereal or steamed and mashed veggies mixed with breast milk. Eventually, her dexterity improved enough that she was able to hold some foods and feed herself.

Little by little, I introduced new foods, some of which were an instant hit (broccoli – can you believe it?!), and others took a few tries (carrots).

Curried lentil stew, blanched broccoli and zucchini (plus vegan Jambalaya for me on the bottom)

I knew that it was going to be a while before baby J is ready to eat most of the things Rob and I regularly eat (think salads, veggie burgers, spicy things like buffalo cauliflower, etc. – those flavors and textures can be too advanced for a baby). So I started doing research to find out what other vegan parents were feeding their kids.

I found a lot of ideas for vegan baby-led weaning on Instagram (the #veganbabyledweaning hashtag is very useful), but most of the foods I saw were meant for kids older than baby J. So what the heck do I feed to a mostly toothless vegan baby who’s not even a year old yet?

Eventually, after some trial and error, I came up with a few simple recipes that included the same foods and flavors we eat a lot, but in textures that baby J could manage under our supervision.

I’ve figured that a lot of vegan parents must be going through the same headache – actually, not only vegans but anyone who’s trying to introduce some veggies to their little ones. So today I’m sharing my plant-based baby food recipes that baby J has loved since she was about 7 months old.

Sliced fresh peach, mashed avocado with nutritional yeast, tofu scramble with onions and peppers

Things to Keep In Mind:

For all of baby J’s foods, I follow a few guidelines that also align with the rules of baby-led weaning:

– All the holdable foods need to be cut in pieces about the size of an adult pinkie finger, and have a soft texture (think easily mashed between two of your fingers);

– All of the foods are prepared with no salt or sodium added (babies’ bodies aren’t very good at eliminating sodium yet);

– With each new food, I wait 2-3 days to make sure baby J doesn’t develop an allergic reaction before introducing something else;

– For cooked savory foods, I add the same mixture of spices that I use a lot in my cooking (think cumin, paprika, thyme, oregano, granulated garlic and onion, and sometimes turmeric or mild curry powder). By adding these spices to baby J’s foods, I want to get her used to the overall flavors of our home-cooked meals.

– Important: Before introducing any solid foods to a baby, all caregivers need to learn the difference between choking and gagging, and research ways to help a choking baby (there are lots of tutorials on YouTube).

Our introduction of solids to baby J started with dinner at 6 months. Then we added lunch at 7.5 months, and breakfast just after 10 months. Most meals are a combination of 2-3 things from the list below, plus some soft fruit or halved blueberries every now and then. Baby J still breastfeeds 4-5 times a day in addition to that.

7 Plant-Based Baby Food Recipes

Note: The age shown after each recipe is the age we first tried giving that food to baby J. I’m sure other babies can have different abilities and food preferences at that age.

1. Blanched vegetables dipped in tahini. Broccoli, zucchini and carrots have been baby J’s favorite veggies. I cut an average-sized broccoli floret in quarters so that each piece has a long enough stem for baby J to hold. Carrots and zucchini are cut into pinkie-sized sticks. In a shallow pan, I bring about half an inch of water to a boil, then add the vegetables, cover the pan with a lid, lower to heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes for broccoli and zucchini, 8-10 minutes for carrots. Baby J loves holding the cooked veggies and feeding herself. By the way, tahini is optional.

Yield: 1 meal’s worth (depending on how much veggies you cooked)

Age: 6+ months

Chickpea flour omelet torn into small pieces, halved blueberries, steamed sweet potatoes

2. Steamed potatoes/sweet potatoes. Potatoes are a perfect mashable and/or holdable food with lots of nutrients, healthy starches and fiber. To steam them, I use my Cuisinart steamer insert similar to this one. I slice a potato into half an inch-thick circles, steam them until fork-tender, then cool them slightly and cut into sticks. Another perfect food for baby J to hold and feed herself. I refrigerate the leftovers and offer them to her again next day. By the way, steaming works well for cooking broccoli, zucchini and carrots too.

Yield: 2-3 meals.

Age: 6.5+ months

3. Mashed banana and nut butter* with ground flax seed. This mixture has been baby J’s favorite lunch (and mine too because it’s so easy to make) since about 7.5 months when I first introduced peanut butter. To make this, I mash half of a ripe banana with about a tablespoon of nut butter and a teaspoon of ground flax seed for a boost of omega-3 fatty acids. We’ve had success with peanut, almond and cashew butters. If the mixture is too thick, I thin it out with some water, non-dairy milk or pumped breast milk if I have it. This is one of the foods that I spoon-feed to baby J right now.

Yield: 1 meal

*Not sure about when to introduce nuts to your baby? “According to a recent recommendation from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, highly allergenic foods like nuts can be introduced into infants’ diets as early as six months … [S]ome research shows that introducing them early may reduce the risk of children becoming allergic to these foods later in life.” (Source) However, please consult with your pediatrician if you have further concerns.

4. Spiced polenta. This was one of the first holdable foods I offered to baby J. Freshly cooked polenta is soft enough for spoon-feeding, but when it cools, you can slice it into sticks or cubes that are easy for babies to pick up and hold. To make it, I bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1/2 cup dried polenta, and cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, adding a few more splashes of water or non-dairy milk when it becomes too thick early on. The mixture needs to be stirred often to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. A few minutes before polenta is done, I add 2-3 Tbsp of nutritional yeast (yay to the vitamin B12 boost!) and my spice mix (see Things to Keep In Mind above) – dosage varies, but usually about 1/2 tsp each. Once the polenta is ready, it can be spoon-fed to your baby as is, or poured into a rimmed glass dish, cooled for up to an hour, and sliced into sticks or whatever shapes your baby fancies.

Yield: 4-5 meals (I don’t let it sit in the fridge for longer than 4 days)

Age: 6.5+ months

Spiced polenta sticks, blanched carrots and zucchini with tahini dip on the side

5. Curried lentil stew. Lentils are a good source of plant protein, fiber, iron, potassium and other nutrients. I use red lentils here because they break down to an almost smooth, lump-free consistency (read: less of a choking hazard than other types of lentils that mostly remain whole during cooking). To make this stew, I cook 1/2 cup of red lentils in about 3 cups of water for 10 minutes until the lentils start breaking down. Then I add 1 Tbsp of tomato paste or sauce (whatever I have in the fridge) and a few spices from my spice mix (see Things to Keep In Mind above). If the stew looks too thick, I add a little more water. I let everything cook for another 5 minutes or so, then mix in 2-3 Tbsp of nutritional yeast and take the pot off the heat.

Yield: 3-4 meals

Age: 7.5+ months

6. Tofu scramble. Tofu is a good source of protein, plus the texture of a simple tofu scramble is perfect for a voracious little eater. To make this scramble, I pat-dry a quarter of a standard block of tofu (firm or extra-firm). In a small pan, I heat up 1 Tbsp of oil (or use water for oil-free), then add crumbled up tofu, add a few splashes of water and a few spices from my spice mix (see Things to Keep In Mind above). I also mix in 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and 1-2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast. I let the tofu scramble simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates.

Note: If I have time, I’ll saute finely chopped onions, shredded carrots and/or bell peppers in the oil first before adding tofu, then proceed with the rest of the steps. Yay for extra veggies and flavor!

Yield: 2-3 meals

Baby J is enjoying her chickpea flour omelet crumbles and sweet potato sticks

7. Chickpea flour omelet. I’ve been wary of offering whole beans to baby J for now, but I don’t want to skip their nutritional value. Enter the versatile chickpea flour! To make this omelet, I mix 1/2 cup of chickpea flour with my spice mix (see Things to Keep In Mind above), a pinch of baking soda, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and just enough water to form thick batter – think hummus rather than regular pancake batter. Then I finely chop some veggies that break down well during cooking (zucchini and shredded cabbage work well). I heat up 1 tsp of oil in a small pan, then pour in the chickpea mixture and even it out to reach 1/2 – 3/4 inch thickness. I cover the pan, letting the omelet cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes, then flip it and cook it another 2-3 minutes. The cooked omelet will look like a thick pancake. At this point, you can either tear it up into small pieces by hand, or cut it into sticks or any other fancy shapes that your baby likes.

Yield: 2-3 meals (the omelet keeps in the fridge for 1-2 days)

Age: 9+ months

I know that all this can look pretty overwhelming, but please bear in mind that I don’t make each of these recipes every day. I usually make a batch of polenta, lentils or tofu scramble once every 3 days or so, then add some blanched veggies as I go. I also try to offer baby J whatever foods we’re eating if they are appropriate in texture and aren’t overly salty. If all else fails, she’s happy to eat sliced banana with a smear of peanut butter, which has also become her favorite breakfast.

Question for you: What foods have you been successful feeding to your baby? Please let me know – I’d love to expand our repertoire!

Know any vegan parents who might find this info useful? Please share this post with them! And stick around for more awesomeness – you can follow Vegan Runner Eats by subscribing in the top right corner of this page, or by following the blog on , , and !

(This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through affiliate links on my blog, I receive a very small commission that helps me run this blog, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!)

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goarticletec-blog · 6 years ago

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It's a Twitter war: Doctors clash with NRA over gun deaths

New Post has been published on https://www.articletec.com/its-a-twitter-war-doctors-clash-with-nra-over-gun-deaths/

It's a Twitter war: Doctors clash with NRA over gun deaths

The photos from doctors came quickly and in succession: blood-stained operating rooms, blood-covered scrubs and shoes, bullets piercing body parts and organs.

The pictures on Twitter were an emotional response to a smackdown by the powerful gun industry lobby, which took issue with the American College of Physicians’ call late last month for tighter gun control laws. The recommendations included bans on “assault weapons,” large capacity magazines and 3D-printed firearms.

“Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves,” the National Rifle Association tweeted.

Physicians across the United States seized on the phrasing, taking to Twitter with 22,000 comments and the hashtags #thisismylane and #thisisourlane, posting photos of their encounters with gun violence and offering their own personal stories of treating such wounds.

The debate gained new urgency this week with the shooting death of an emergency room doctor outside the hospital where she worked, as physicians argue shootings are a public health crisis that they must play a key role in trying to stem. Dr. Tamara O’Neal was killed Monday outside a hospital in Chicago in what police say was a dispute with her ex-fiance. The shooter and two other people – a responding police officer and a resident in the hospital’s pharmacy – also died.

“It just shows that not only is this is in our lane, but this happens to us,” said Dr. Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore who as a 17-year-old was shot in the throat by a stray bullet fired during a dispute at a high school football game.

Sakran created a Twitter account @ThisIsOurLane which in just two weeks has attracted nearly 15,000 followers. They include Dr. Peter Masiakos, a pediatric trauma surgeon in Boston, who wrote “The Quiet Room” just hours after the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, about breaking the news that a loved one has died.

“We need to start talking about this as a public health issue. Politics aside, we have a problem that no other country has, and we shouldn’t,” Masiakos said.

About 35,000 people each year are killed by guns in the United States, and about two-thirds are suicides. That’s about 670 people per week and among the largest number of civilian gun deaths in the world.

The world’s highest rate of gun deaths is in El Salvador with a rate of 72.5 per 100,00; the rate in the U.S. is 3.1 per 100,000. Among all European countries, the rate never breaks 1 gun death per 100,000, according to Small Arms Survey, a Switzerland-based research organization that examines firearms and violence.

“These are not just statistics. These are people, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters that are being killed,” Sakran said. “The worst part of my job is having to go out and talk to these families and to tell them that their loved one is never coming home.”

It’s not the first time that medical professionals have taken on powerful industries: auto companies over seat belts, Big Tobacco over cigarettes and toys that posed choking hazards. It’s also not the first time that the gun lobby has pushed back against the medical community or researchers it considers to be biased. In the 1990s, Congress barred the Centers for Disease Control from conducting research that advocated or pushed for gun control; while it didn’t ban research from being conducted, it did have a chilling effect.

More recently, the NRA backed legislation in Florida – eventually overturned in court – that would have barred doctors from asking patients about guns in the home.

Dr. Stephanie Bonne, a trauma surgeon in New Jersey, was in the hospital when she saw the dispute playing out on Twitter.

“I was reading this, and I was like ‘Stay in my lane’, are you kidding me? Gun violence is something I deal with every day. We’re mopping it up in the hospital every day,” she said. “My second sort of reaction is maybe people ought to see what this lane is really all about.”

Bonne works at a Level I trauma center – the top-level hospital for treating the most serious cases. Her hospital sees about 600 gunshot wounds each year, and she described the toll that unfolds: medically, psychologically and financially.

“It’s always tragic and it’s always preventable,” Bonne said.

Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist in the San Francisco Bay area, examines the dead. She took to Twitter to push back at the gun lobby, posting: “Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my (expletive) highway.”

“The chutzpah, the gall is what really got to me,” Melinek told The Associated Press. “The NRA seems to think they’ve cornered the market on expertise when it comes to guns. And that’s not correct.”

She’s conducted about 300 autopsies involving gunshot wounds, about half of those suicides. She’s seen the damage from bullets and believes more and better research would help prevent gun violence.

Would GPS tracking on firearms or high-tech trigger locks make firearms safer, for example?

Dr. Arthur Przebinda, director of the gun rights advocacy group Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, said the pushback from physicians is largely driven by more liberal forces within medical academia and based on ignorance about firearms.

He described it as old, tired debate that shows a knee-jerk bias against firearms. Rather than stripping away constitutional rights, physicians should focus on finding ways to study the underlying causes of violence, he noted.

“These virtue-signaling physicians would be in their lane if they pursued better surgical techniques, better postoperative treatments. They are in the wrong profession if they want to cure society’s ills,” Przebinda said. “If that was their life’s calling, they should have pursued a career path in psychology, criminology or the clergy.”

___

This story has been amended to correct the first name of Dr. Judy Melinek.

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wionews · 7 years ago

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Delhi smog: PM2.5 pollutants well over double what is considered hazardous

New Delhi woke up to a choking blanket of smog on Tuesday as air quality in the world's most polluted capital city reached hazardous levels.

The US embassy website said levels of the fine pollutants known as PM2.5 that are most harmful to health reached 703 well over double the threshold of 300 which authorities class as hazardous.

"The moment I stepped out of my home I started coughing and there was a burning sensation in my eyes," said Naresh Yadav, a bank employee, as he walked to work in central Delhi.

"The government can't solve this problem alone, people need to pitch in and help the government to protect the environment."

Delhi's air quality typically worsens ahead of the onset of winter as cooler air traps pollutants near the ground, preventing them from dispersing into the atmosphere, a phenomenon known as inversion

Delhi's air quality typically worsens ahead of the onset of winter as cooler air traps pollutants near the ground, preventing them from dispersing into the atmosphere, a phenomenon known as inversion.

Firecrackers set off to celebrate the Diwali festival of lights in the city add to the toxic mix created by pollution from diesel engines, coal-fired power plants and industrial emissions.

The problem is further exacerbated by the burning of crop stubble by farmers after the harvest in north India, a practice that remains commonplace despite an official ban.

India's Central Pollution Control Board said high levels of moisture in the air and a lack of wind meant emissions had become trapped in the environment.

"Total calm conditions, marked by the complete absence of wind, has led to the situation," Dipankar Saha, a senior executive with the board, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

"The moisture has trapped emissions from ground-level sources."

The hashtag #smog was the top trending topic on Twitter early Tuesday as angry residents demanded stronger measures to curb pollution.

"This is the state of air quality this morning in Delhi-NCR! Horrific!" posted one resident beside a picture of thick smog.

Unprecedented pollution levels this time last year forced schools to shut as authorities scrambled to contain the crisis.

The World Health Organization in 2014 classed New Delhi as the world's most polluted capital, with air quality levels worse than Beijing.

A report in the Lancet medical journal last month said pollution had claimed as many as 2.5 million lives in India in 2015, the highest in the world.

Last month an environmental watchdog ordered the shutting down of all diesel generators and the city's lone coal-fired power plant as part of a slew of measures to curb pollution.

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clarkcountynv · 7 years ago

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Trick or Treaters Encouraged to Be ‘Inside by 9’ as Part of Halloween Public Safety Campaign

Halloween may be one of the most fun nights of the year, but it also can be one of the most dangerous for young pedestrians

That’s why Clark County is launching a Halloween public safety campaign that includes discouraging trick or treating after 9 p.m. Residents are also being asked to turn off their porch lights at that time to discourage children from knocking on their doors.

“Halloween is a lot of fun for families across the Las Vegas Valley, but it is also a dangerous time,” said Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, the driving force behind the campaign. “Children in costume are excited and sometimes don’t pay attention to traffic and may dart out into roads with costumes obscuring their vision. Drivers sometimes don’t see children until it’s too late. It’s important that parents encourage safe behavior on the part of their children and that drivers be especially careful. If we can reduce children’s exposure to potential harm, if they can be ‘inside by 9,’ we’ll all be better off.”

The “Inside by 9” campaign includes a 30-second television spot in English and Spanish that will air locally, numerous social media pieces, a website at www.Insideby9.com, cutouts that will appear at community events, fliers in English and Spanish that are being made available to local schools, libraries and community centers and for download on the campaign website, and more. The community is encouraged to share the content on social media using the hashtag #InsideBy9. The County will make it available on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, NextDoor and Tumblr.

“This campaign is truly a community effort,” said Commissioner Weekly. “Our goal is to raise awareness on the part of kids, their parents, motorists and participating households, and I think this catchy and creative campaign really does the trick.”

The public service announcements feature local actress Vanessa Lopez playing a good and bad witch Wizard-of-Oz style entreating kids to remember that there’s no place like home for trick or treaters and to by “Inside by 9.” Both PSAs may be viewed on Clark County’s YouTube channel and social media sites. They are airing on Clark County Television (CCTV) and local Cox television stations. Additionally, they are being distributed to local television stations for airing.

The UNLV College of Fine Arts Department of Theatre provided costumes for the shoot and helped Clark County find a bilingual actress willing to assist in the effort. Lopez is a 2016 UNLV graduate. Children and families attending many County Parks and Recreation Halloween events this month will be able to take photos of themselves next to near-life-size cutouts of Lopez’s image as the bad witch. Fliers with safety tips also will be handed out at the events.

“Halloween is a fun night for kids and adults alike but 9 o’clock is late enough for trick or treaters to show up at anyone’s home,” said Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak. “We want motorists and pedestrians alike to exercise special caution to make sure it’s a safe holiday.”

The www.Insideby9.com website features safety tips in English and Spanish for motorists as well as trick or treaters, along with links to the PSAs, information about upcoming Parks and Recreation Department Halloween events, and more.

“No one’s Halloween should be sullied by tragedy,” said Clark County Commission Vice Chair Chris Giunchigliani. “Drivers and pedestrians should be especially cautious on Halloween night and our campaign is designed to make just that point. I’m also happy that we are putting information out to our large number of Spanish-speaking families.”

Residents are encouraged to enjoy Halloween but to keep these safety tips in mind:

Motorists

• Drive slowly, especially in residential neighborhoods, and be prepared to stop when children are present; know that dark costumes may present a visual challenge for you as you drive.

• Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and curbs, and around corners. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unexpected ways.

• Avoid activities that distract your attention while driving such as talking on your cell phone or eating.

• Be very cautious turning into driveways and backing out, especially where hedges and bushes may block your vision.

• Watch for pets that may be running loose.

Trick or Treaters & Neighborhood Safety

• Never trick or treat alone. Young children should always go trick or treating with an adult.

• All children should walk, not run, from house to house, and use sidewalks, not roads. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.

• It’s best to trick-or-treat in familiar neighborhoods with well-lit streets.

• Wear costumes that allow you to be seen by drivers. Choose bright or light-colored clothing; decorate bags and costumes with reflective tape or stickers.

• Use face paint rather than masks or things that will cover your eyes. Costumes should be made of fire-resistant materials; avoid costumes with long, trailing fabric.

• Carry a cell phone with you and light your way with a flashlight.

• Cross the street safely at corners using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look both ways before you cross, and keep looking as you walk.

• Watch out for cars that are turning or backing up; don’t dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars.

• Only visit homes that have the porch light on.

• Accept your treats only at the door, and never go into a stranger’s house.

• Beware of jack-o-lanterns lit with candles, which are a fire hazard. It’s safer for households to use battery-operated candles or glow-sticks in jack-o-lanterns.

• Have grownups inspect your candy before eating. Don’t eat candy if the package is already opened. Small, hard pieces of candy are a choking hazard for young children.

#halloween #trickortreat #safety #lasvegas #vegas #insideby9

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evnoweb · 7 years ago

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This Week in Ontario Edublogs

Welcome to another issue of This Week in Ontario Edublogs, a chance for me to share some of the great reading that I’ve enjoyed recently. This week is no different. Here are some terrific blog posts to enjoy.

Don’t be intimidated even if it is Friday the 13th.

Why do we need heroes?

So many schools in Canada use September as a chance to celebrate the Marathon of Hope and Terry Fox. This post from Heidi Solway is a wonderful post sharing her thoughts about Terry Fox as her personal hero and the need for all of us to have heroes. What makes it so important, particularly since the Marathon was a long time ago, is that there are times where students need to be assisted in finding their own heroes. Left to their own choices, they may be overly influenced by other things.

Heidi also shares a beautiful poem that she penned personally. On the This Week in Ontario Edublogs radio program, Stephen Hurley and I talked about all this. As we turned to this poem, I’ll admit to choking up and shared the moment with Heidi. She noticed it as she listened to the program!

I sure sure did. I cannot talk about Terry Fox or the Marathon of Hope without choking up- and I’m made of concrete. Thanks again!

— Heidi Solway (@HSolway) October 11, 2017

We have the technology…We can build Schools of the Future

I was a bit skeptic when I read the title to Ramona Meharg’s post. Heck, we’ve had “the technology” for years and the schools that we see today are the future that that technology has built. Are they significantly better? A case could be made that they’re actually worse today. We now have environments where parts of the technology have been locked out or disabled by IT Departments. It’s a survival mechanism for them since we have so much technology and they’re charged with keeping it functional. We also have school systems that buy it as quickly as they can without providing quality professional learning to go along with it.

Beyond the technology of things, Ramona talks about the technology of humans which makes the concept so much more appealing and obtainable. She talks about what’s possible when you marry the technology of stuff with the technology of humans.

The result?

Students would be banging down our doors, begging to come in and learn. I wanna teach at THAT school.

Doesn’t everyone?

One Month In…

… only nine more to go?

Jennifer Aston takes us into the reality of her September. As a secondary school teacher, the concept of “reorganization” was foreign to me but even I have empathy for someone who goes from a class of 23 in Grade 6 one day to 30 in a 5/6 split the next day.

Read about her story and the technology that she has lined up to help her meet expectations from two grades.

I went through elementary school in split classes. We were told that the logic of being in the split class as opposed to the other straight class was that we were thought to be motivated, self-starters. I’m almost positive that I shouldn’t have been in that category! But it’s easy to see that technology support should make management of things easier.

The neat thing is that student blogging is on her horizon.

Sounds like things are going to be exciting in her class.

Are We Enabling Students to be Explorers of Deep Learning?

I’d hazard a guess that, if you asked every teacher that question, just about everyone would say “Yes, of course”.

Rola Tibshirani talks about what it means to her and offers three other questions.

How have we been shaping up the learning?

How are students owning the process?

How are students focusing on a purpose for their learning?

I think these are better questions. I really like the examples that she shares. They’re simple concepts but require some really deep thinking, research, and understanding. They’re also grounded in culture, empathy, and a scenario that I would guess most students would never have personally experienced.

Some worked on designing a toy for children in refugee camps. The teams who are working on science began exploring the design thinking process by looking at an injured bird with a missing a leg.

Lots of pictures and descriptions go along with her reflection.

On Connections and being Connected

Peter Cameron was on voicEd radio and the discussion got around to talking about “connections” and “being connected” via Derk Rhodenizer’s #WordinProgress show.

I think what I am having difficulty understanding is the difference between how be define a “connection” and a “relationship”.

To me, the answer looks pretty easy. You can have “connections” to basically anyone. Or, anything. But a “relationship” or “being connected” means so much more.

To me, it implies that there’s a give and take and both (or all) parts of those “being connected” are all the richer for the experience. A “connection”, on the other hand, could be a one sided interaction where the value is siphoned off in one direction only.

I think the concept gets blurred because there are people who self-identify as “connected educator” or “connected learner” where, in reality, they may take things in but contribute nothing back in return.

Exploding Dots for Global Math Week

You’re probably aware of Exploding Dots if you’ve been following Global Math Week.

Kyle Pearce write a rather lengthy post chocked full of ideas and activities to support things from his end.

Dig in.

Mathematics can and should be fun.

Twitter, Educators and Dissent

I’ve been in a lot of Twitter chats and online discussion where the duration of the talk can be, oh, ten minutes or so. Some Twitter chats force it to an hour with a Q&A format which allows everyone to come in and show their knowledge by entering as much edubabble as they can.

But, last weekend, a provocation from Paul McGuire turned into a three day marathon discussion where everyone was shooting from the hip. It didn’t matter what time of the day or night you looked into the stream, there was always an interesting discussion. sans hashtag too.

It inspired me to write a few posts summarized what I gleamed from the discussion. Paul wraps up his thoughts in this post and gives credit to many of the participants.

And, it all started with a simple question.

What does Twitter do for educators? Content creation? Constructive feedback? Displaying work? Ideas? https://t.co/iUZ5TeBg9D via @mcguirp

— Paul McGuire (@mcguirp) October 8, 2017

In the post, you’ll find a link to a Storify document that Paul generated to keep the discussion in one place. I think it would be an interesting exercise to diagram the discussion as well.

Is there a tool already created to do that? Please let me know of one if it exists.

There are always great things coming from the blogs of Ontario Educators. I keep that Livebinder updated as I find new content but I can’t find them all. Please use the form there and add your own if it’s not there. And, if you find a blog post from an Ontario Educator that you think should be highlighted in this weekly post, please let me know.

Your call to action – click through and read all of these wonderful blog posts. Share one of them with colleagues. Together, we can build groups of fans to support these wonderful thought leaders.

This Week in Ontario Edublogs published first on http://ift.tt/2gZRS4X

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