Categories
Environmentalism Photography Reading

August 13 . Issue #104

“Who holds the world between His bill

And made us strong or weak.

Is an undying moorfowl,

And He lives beyond the sky.

The rains are from His dripping wings,

The moonbeams from His eye.” William Butler Yeats

Hello and welcome to my weekly journal. This week I share an iconic photo, books and thoughts on climate change and more …

1. This week, August 12, back in 1958; A Great Day in Harlem the iconic jazz photograph was taken by Art Kane.

The Guardian has put together a great spread on that photo.

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, one of the younger members of that assembled jazz group reflects on that day. CBC’s Tom Powers takes us back to that day with a discussion with Rollins and Robert Benton one of the editors at Esquire back in 1958.

There’s a great documentary based on that day, A Great Day in Harlem.

2. A sobering piece of information this week from the UN Council on Climate Change, Code Red For Humanity.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, we made this mess and with some collective coming together of people who care we can overcome these challenges. Meet 36 Organizations helping to Solve the Climate Crisis.

And Women are leading Climate Change, here’s how:

Women are Leading Climate Change Solutions

3. Thursday, August 12 is World Elephant Day and to celebrate I am painting a toenail grey. Learn about the plight of Elephants and offer support if you can at Wildlife SOS.

My travel plans include a trip to India and I certainly want to see Elephants. My itinerary will have to include Rajaji National Park at the foot of the Himalayas.

There is a book about an Elephant Whisperer that I have started to read, “The Elephant Whisperer: My Life With the Herd” it is the inspiration for a short story I wrote about an Elephant.

My manuscript on martial arts-loving forest animals also features an Elephant, Sifu Ensho who is very good at Tai Chi Chaun Push-Hands.

4. Injuries, age, and fascia; any connections? This week, based on an interesting idea from my friend and karate sensei Scott Langley “Fascia” and how it affects movement. I watched some informative interviews with Dr. Robert Schleip, a 4 part series.

5. What I’m reading this week, actually I just finished, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King: About a 9-year-old girl lost in the woods.

I am not a big fan of the horror genre but real horror, the fear of the unknown, now that is something I can bite into.

Thank you for reading. If you think someone you know would enjoy my newsletter please share it with them. If you are looking for a great children’s book check out my new book, Samba in Brazil;  Paperback version, on sale for a limited time.

Or one of my other books, Samba on a Snowy Day or the Brazilian/ Portuguese version Samba em um Dia de Neve.

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong and keep going.

Copyright © 2021 Paul Yanuziello, All rights reserved.

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Categories
Children Activities Entertainment Gravenhurst Karate kids Martial Arts Music Muskoka Nature Photography Reading Summer Uncategorized

Newsletter #4

Hello all! I am back from my up north adventure. Northern Ontario is really quite beautiful in the summer. I managed to go for a therapeutic swim every day, mostly during the early morning, there is nothing quite like it after a strenuous work out.

I visited an outdoor museum aptly named The Tree Museum and as fall is fast approaching, I’m planning a return visit to take in the art amongst the trees, in falls full colour spectrum.

My Northern Sanctuary
Lake Muskoka

Some things that interested me this week, and I hope will be of interest to you too.

Here are my five items, links or suggestions that should get you some inspiration.

  1. A tree museum? Who could come up with that idea. It’s the brain child of Founder and sponsor: EJ Lightman. Curators: EJ Lightman and Anne O’Callaghan.With internet services restored I found this information at their home on the web,  https://www.thetreemuseum.ca/ “An Outdoor Art Gallery of Site Specific Installations”
  2. Along the same train of thought, nature, I have picked up on Greta Thunberg and her strike for climate change. Ms. Thunberg is a 16 year old who started a protest movement. Since December, teenagers across Germany inspired by the 16-year-old Thunberg’s climate fight have been marching weekly instead of sitting in classes. I’m all in, and looking for ways to contribute my time and effort. Greenpeace has some advice for the September 27th Strike For Climate Change here: https://www.greenpeace.org/canada
  3. A musician who inspired me to write about music, Wayne Shorter, check out my review of one of his recent concerts https://torontomusicreport.com/featured/wayne-shorter-quartet-live-in-concert/   and another musician whom I admire for her incredible talent, Esperanza Spalding http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/ are working together to create a new opera, something that promises to be very special, http://www.octopustheatricals.com/iphigenia I must get tickets to this.
  4. My reading continues with an author I recently discovered, Alexander McCall Smith and another series he has penned. The Sunday Philosophy Club, set in Edinburgh, Scotland and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie. I am thoroughly enjoying this book and considering a visit to Edinburgh.
  5. Karate classes have started, I’m teaching children and adults at www.smadojo Shingikan Dojo in Maple, On. I’m also instructing children at a community centre in the city of Markham, as well as one in the town of Stouffville.

Thanks for reading. If you like what you’ve read forward this to someone you think will enjoy it.

Please subscribe to my newsletter below. Just enter your email address and you're in! Join all my other subscribers who get my news, my writing, and interesting links delivered to their inboxes on the last Friday of each month:

 

Copyright © 2019 Paul Yanuziello, All rights reserved.

 

Categories
Children Children Activities Karate kids Lunchtime Karate Martial Arts Nature Photography Uncategorized

Getting Kids Motivated

Active children - karate fun
Lunchtime Karate

How do you get children active?

Promise them fun and make sure you carry through on that promise. In the photo above I’m guiding a lunchtime karate class for JK – grade 2 children, with my assistant Nina.

You want your children active. You also want them safe, you may or may not want to be a participant in their activity.  How best can you accomplish this and still maintain peace in the home?

Here I list a few proven ideas that have worked for me over the past. I will also share some motivators I think are a great idea.

I’ll also give you a few book recommendations that have some good ideas. There are some great blogs out there too. Just search, “How do I get my child away from the screen.” 

With my kids, it was always about dance. That’s what they wanted to do, that’s what we got them into. Getting the younger daughter away from the television was a challenge. But once she was out the door and tossed in the car, she accepted her fate and seemed to enjoy the interaction with the other children.

Her favourite dance teachers were the ones who got it.  The kids want to have fun, that is job number one for them and the great teachers make sure they include fun in all of their classes.

It seems like an easy decision, but setting limits on time spent in front of the screen, computer or video games. A maximum of two hours a day, that’s fourteen hours a week. 

So what do you do with the rest of the time? Boring! Can you hear the kids saying that already? Yes, you just may have to encourage them to get outside, get active.

Thornhill Park photo by PJY

What about reading, try it! Find a book that your child is interested in and read it together or let your child read it alone.

Photography can be fun for children of all ages, get outside and take some photos. You never know, some hobbies become a profession.

There are so many negative effects associated with too much screen time. Take that idea up a notch and get outside and read.

Owl in sleep mode, photo by Nadia S.

On getting outside and being active, check out this book by Richard Louv. “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.” Here is a link to his site.

http://richardlouv.com

For tips on parenting, try this book. There is great advice for parents here.

http://www.anndouglas.net/happy-parents-happy-kids/

Thanks for reading. If you like this post and want to support it, forward it to someone who’d like it.

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Love and Light

Paul

Copyright © 2019 Paul Yanuziello, All rights reserved.