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Government of Canada to allow up to $400 for home office expenses
December 29, 2020 /in 2020, Accountants, Blog, Business Owners, tax /by Orna Elizur
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For the 2020 tax year, the Government of Canada introduced a temporary flat rate method to allow Canadians working from home this year due to Covid-19 to claim expenses of up to $400. Taxpayers will still be able to claim under the existing rules if they choose using the detailed method.
From the canada.ca website:
Each employee working from home who meets the eligibility criteria can use the temporary flat rate method to calculate their deduction for home office expenses.
To use this method to claim the home office expenses you paid, you must meet all of the following conditions:
You worked from home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
You worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2020
You are only claiming home office expenses and are not claiming any other employment expenses
Your employer did not reimburse you for all of your home office expensesWhat if your employer has reimbursed you for some of your home office expenses
You need to meet all of the above conditions to be eligible to use the Temporary flat rate method.
New eligible expenses
For the detailed method, the CRA has expanded the list of eligible expenses that can be claimed as work-space-in-the-home expenses to include reasonable home internet access fees. A comprehensive list of eligible home office expenses has also been created.
Click For Full details and Claim Forms
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Highlights of the 2020 Federal Fall Economic Statement | Additional $20,000 CEBA loan available now
December 7, 2020 /in Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Associates, Coronavirus - Practice Owners, corporate, disability, Financial Planning, rdsp, tax /by Orna Elizur
On November 30, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland provided the government's fall economic update. The fall economic update provided information on the government's strategy both for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its plan to help shape the recovery. We've summarized the highlights for you.
Corporate Tax Changes
Information on several subsidy programs was included in the update. These changes apply from December 20, 2020 to March 13, 2021.
The government has provided an increase in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to a maximum of 75% of eligible wages.
If you are eligible for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (eligibility is based on your revenue decline), you can claim up to 65% of qualified expenses.
The Lockdown Support Subsidy has also been extended – if you are eligible, you can receive a 25% subsidy on eligible expenses.
Also, there were two other significant corporate tax changes:
Starting January 1, 2022, the government plans to tax international corporations that provide digital services in Canada if no international consensus on appropriate taxation has been reached.
The tax deferral on eligible shares paid by a qualifying agricultural cooperative to its members has been extended to 2026.
Personal Tax Changes
The following personal tax changes were included in the update:
The update confirmed the government's plan to impose a $200,000 limit (based on fair market value) on taxing employee stock options granted after June 2021 at a preferential rate. Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) are not subject to these rules.
If you started working from home due to COVID-19, you could claim up to $400 in expenses.
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) has temporarily been increased to include four additional payments. Depending on your income, you could receive up to $1200.
Additional modifications were proposed to how the "assistance holdback" amount is calculated for Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP). The goal of these modifications is to help RDSP beneficiaries who become ineligible for the Disability Tax Credit after 50 years of age.
Indirect Tax Changes
GST/HST changes impacting digital platforms were included in the update. They will be applicable as of July 1, 2021:
Foreign-based companies that sell digital products or services in Canada must collect and remit GST or HST on their taxable sales. Also, foreign vendors or digital platform operators with goods for sale via Canadian fulfillment warehouses must collect and remit GST/HST.
Short-term rental accommodation booked via a digital platform must charge GST/HST on their booking. The GST/HST rate will be based on the province or territory where the short-term accommodation is located.
And some good news on a GST/HST removal! As of December 6, and until further notice, the government will not charge GST/HST on eligible face masks and face shields.
A lot of changes came out of the fall update – and you may be feeling overwhelmed. But help is at hand!
Contact us to learn more about how these changes could impact your personal and business finances.
Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) $20,000 expansion available now
The Government of Canada website has been updated with the new CEBA requirements and deadlines:
As of December 4, 2020, CEBA loans for eligible businesses will increase from $40,000 to $60,000.
Applicants who have received the $40,000 CEBA loan may apply for the $20,000 expansion, which provides eligible businesses with an additional $20,000 in financing.
All applicants have until March 31, 2021, to apply for $60,000 CEBA loan or the $20,000 expansion.
Apply online at the financial institution your business banks with:
TD: https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/covid-19/small-business-relief/
Scotiabank: https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/scotia-support/latest-updates/business-banking/small-business/supporting-our-customers-is-our-top-priority.html
BMO: https://www.bmo.com/small-business/financial-relief-loc/#/login?PID=MBLBC&language=en
CIBC: https://www.cibc.com/en/business/advice-centre/covid-19/canada-emergency-business-account/now-available.html
RBC:https://www.rbc.com/covid-19/business.html
National Bank: https://www.nbc.ca/forms/business/covid-emergency-account.html
HSBC: https://www.hsbc.ca/1/2//applications/business-apply
Canadian Western Bank: https://www.cwbank.com/en/news/2020/canada-emergency-business-account-now-available (via phone/email)
To get the full details:
CEBA Loan Details
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Applications for the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy starts today!
November 23, 2020 /in Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Practice Owners /by Orna Elizur
For businesses, non-profits and charities facing uncertainty and economic challenges due to COVID-19, the Government of Canada is now taking applications for the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). The CERS delivers direct and targeted rent support without the need to claim assistance through landlords and provides:
up to 65% of rent for businesses, charities and non-profits impacted by COVID-19.
an additional 25% Lockdown Support during a public health lockdown order.
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
Canadian businesses, non-profit organizations, or charities who have seen a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of their commercial rent or property expenses, starting on September 27, 2020, until June 2021.
This subsidy will provide payments directly to qualifying renters and property owners, without requiring the participation of landlords.
If you are eligible for the base subsidy, you may also be eligible for lockdown support if your business location is significantly affected by a public health order for a week or more.
To be eligible to receive the rent subsidy, you must meet all four of the following criteria – you:
Meet at least one of these conditions:
You had a CRA business number on September 27, 2020
You had a payroll account on March 15, 2020, or another person or partnership made payroll remittances on your behalf
You purchased the business assets of another person or partnership who meets condition 2 above, and have made an election under the special asset acquisition rules
These special asset acquisition rules are the same for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).
You meet other prescribed conditions that might be introduced
Note: there are no prescribed conditions at this time
If you don't have a business number but you qualify under condition b or c, you will need to set one up before you are able to apply for CERS. You do not need a payroll account to apply for CERS.
Are an eligible business, charity, or non-profit (eligible entity)
Check which types of businesses, charities, or non-profits are eligible
If your business, charity, or non-profit is related to another eligible entity, you may be considered an "affiliated entity". This may affect your calculations for the subsidy.
Learn more about affiliated entities
Experienced a drop in revenue
Your drop in revenue is calculated by comparing your eligible revenue during the reference period with your eligible revenue from a previous period (baseline revenue).
There is no minimum revenue drop required to qualify for the subsidy. The rate your revenue has dropped is only used to calculate how much subsidy you receive for these periods.
Calculate your revenue drop online
After you have read about the expenses you can claim, you can use the online calculator to find your revenue drop while calculating how much subsidy you may receive.
Read about the calculation
You can read the in-depth details of how the revenue drop is calculated.
Check what counts as eligible revenue
A CERS application must be filed no later than 180 days after the end of a claim period.
Have eligible expenses
To apply for CERS, you must have a qualifying property. Only certain expenses you pay for qualifying properties are eligible for CERS.
Learn about qualifying properties and which expenses you can claim
The full details of the CERS can be found at: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-rent-subsidy.html
Apply for Rent Subsidy
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Applications for Canada Recovery Benefit now open!
October 19, 2020 /in 2020, Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Associates, Coronavirus - Practice Owners /by Orna Elizur
The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) is now open for applications.
As described on the Canada.ca website, the CRB gives income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are directly affected by COVID-19 and are not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The CRB is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
This program replaces the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and, if eligible, provides $1,000 ($900 after taxes withheld) for a 2-week period.
If your situation continues past 2 weeks, you will need to apply again. You may apply up to a total of 13 eligibility periods (26 weeks) between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.
To be eligible for the CRB, you must meet all the following conditions for the 2-week period you are applying for:
During the period you're applying for:
you were not working for reasons related to COVID-19 OR
you had a 50% reduction in your average weekly income compared to the previous year due to COVID-19
You did not apply for or receive any of the following:
Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
short-term disability benefits
workers' compensation benefits
Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) benefits
You were not eligible for EI benefits
You reside in Canada
You were present in Canada
You are at least 15 years old
You have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
You earned at least $5,000 in 2019, 2020, or in the 12 months before the date you apply from any of the following sources:
employment income (total or gross pay)
net self-employment income (after deducting expenses)
maternity and parental benefits from EI or similar QPIP benefits
You have not quit your job or reduced your hours voluntarily on or after September 27, 2020, unless it was reasonable to do so
You were seeking work during the period, either as an employee or in self-employment
You have not turned down reasonable work during the 2-week period you're applying for
You need all of the above to be eligible for the CRB.
APPLY FOR THE CRB
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New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy | Wage Subsidy extended | CEBA additional $20,000 loan
October 9, 2020 /in 2020, Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Practice Owners /by Orna Elizur
On October 9th, the Federal Government announced the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), the extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and additional loans through the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).
New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy for businesses
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) is the replacement for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA).
When launched, the new program will allow businesses to apply directly for rent relief through CRA. The original CECRA faced criticism because it required landlords to apply for the assistance and absorb a 25% reduction in rent which may explain the low uptake.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the new rent subsidy will be available for businesses that continue to experience revenue decline due to COVID-19. From Canada.ca:
The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, which would provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19. The rent subsidy would be provided directly to tenants, while also providing support to property owners. The new rent subsidy would support businesses, charities, and non-profits that have suffered a revenue drop, by subsidizing a percentage of their expenses, on a sliding scale, up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible expenses until December 19, 2020. Organizations would be able to make claims retroactively for the period that began September 27 and ends October 24, 2020.
A top-up Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy of 25 per cent for organizations temporarily shut down by a mandatory public health order issued by a qualifying public health authority, in addition to the 65 per cent subsidy. This follows a commitment in the Speech from the Throne to provide direct financial support to businesses temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision.
Allowing businesses to apply for the rent subsidy directly will make obtaining support for those in need as straightforward and simple as possible.
The new CERS is set to be available until June 2021.
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy extended to June 2021
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will continue to provide wage relief for employers until June 2021. As well, the subsidy will remain at the current rate of up to a maximum of 65% of eligible wages until December 19th and will not decrease on a sliding scale as previously planned.
Canada Emergency Business Account – additional $20,000 interest-free loan
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be expanded to provide an additional $20,000 loan with $10,000 forgivable if repaid by December 31, 2022. Additionally, the application deadline for CEBA is being extended to December 31, 2020. Businesses applying for the loan will be required to prove they have faced income loss caused by COVID-19.
See the full news release at canada.ca
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CERB Extended | Business Owners who did not qualify previously – expanded CEBA starts June 19th
June 17, 2020 /in 2020 Only, Blog, Business Owners, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Associates, Coronavirus - Practice Owners, Coronavirus - Students, corporate, individuals /by Orna Elizur
CERB Extended 2 more months
Great news for Canadians out of work and looking for work. The CERB will be extended another 8 weeks for a total of up to 24 weeks.
As the country begins to restart the economy, the Federal government will be making changes to the program to encourage Canadians receiving the benefit to get people back on the job. From Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's website:
"The Government of Canada introduced the CERB to immediately help workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so they could continue to put food on the table and pay their bills during this challenging time. As we begin to restart the economy and get people back on the job, Canadians receiving the benefit should be actively seeking work opportunities or planning to return to work, provided they are able and it is reasonable to do so.
That is why the government will also make changes to the CERB attestation, which will encourage Canadians receiving the benefit to find employment and consult Job Bank, Canada's national employment service that offers tools to help with job searches."
READ ABOUT CERB EXTENSION
More small businesses can apply for CEBA $40,000 no-interest loans
Applications for the expanded Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be accepted as of Friday, June 19th, 2020. Small businesses that are:
"… owner-operated small businesses that had been ineligible for the program due to their lack of payroll, sole proprietors receiving business income directly, as well as family-owned corporations remunerating in the form of dividends rather than payroll will become eligible this week."
Read about expanded CEBA
TD: https://www.forms.td.com/app/ceba/#/ceba/ceba-form
There are restrictions on the funds can be used. From their website https://ceba-cuec.ca/:
"The funds from this loan shall only be used by the Borrower to pay non-deferrable operating expenses of the Borrower including, without limitation, payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax and regularly scheduled debt service, and may not be used to fund any payments or expenses such as prepayment/refinancing of existing indebtedness, payments of dividends, distributions and increases in management compensation."
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Small Businesses! Applications for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance starts May 25th
May 24, 2020 /in 2020 Only, Blog, Business Owners, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Practice Owners, corporate /by Orna Elizur
Lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19
The Application portal for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) opens at 8:00am EST on May 25th. The description from the CMHC website:
"Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses provides relief for small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. It offers unsecured, forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners to:
reduce the rent owed by their impacted small business tenants
meet operating expenses on commercial properties
Property owners must offer a minimum of a 75% rent reduction for the months of April, May and June 2020."
Due to expected high volumes of applications, the application dates will be as follows:
Monday – Property owners who are located in Atlantic Canada, BC, Alberta and Quebec, with up to 10 tenants who are eligible for the program
Tuesday – Property owners who are located in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Territories, with up to 10 tenants who are eligible for the program
Wednesday – All other property owners in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Territories
Thursday – All other property owners in Atlantic Canada, BC, Alberta and Quebec
Friday – All
From the CMHC website:
"To qualify for CECRA for small businesses, the commercial property owner must:
own commercial real property* which is occupied by one or more impacted small business tenants
enter (or have already entered) into a legally binding rent reduction agreement for the period of April, May and June 2020, reducing an impacted small business tenant's rent by at least 75%
ensure the rent reduction agreement with each impacted tenant includes:
a moratorium on eviction for the period during which the property owner agrees to apply the loan proceeds, and
a declaration of rental revenue included in the attestation
The commercial property owner is not and is not controlled by an individual holding federal or provincial political office.
CECRA will not apply to any federal-, provincial-, or municipal-owned properties, where the government is the landlord of the small business tenant.
Where there is a long-term lease to a First Nation, or Indigenous organization or government, the First Nation or Indigenous organization or government is eligible for CECRA for small businesses as a property owner.
Where there are long-term commercial leases with third parties to operate the property (for example, airports), the third party is eligible as the property owner.
Also eligible are post-secondary institutions, hospitals, and pension funds, as well as crown corporations with limited appropriations designated as eligible under CECRA for small businesses.
NOTE: Small businesses that opened on or after March 1, 2020 are not eligible.
* We define commercial Real Property as a commercial property with small business tenants. Commercial properties with a residential component and multi-unit residential mixed-use properties would equally be eligible with respect to their small business tenants.
NOTE: Properties with or without a mortgage are eligible under CECRA for small businesses.
What is an impacted small business tenant?
Impacted small business tenants are businesses — including non-profit and charitable organizations — that:
pay no more than $50,000 in monthly gross rent per location (as defined by a valid and enforceable lease agreement)
generate no more than $20 million in gross annual revenues, calculated on a consolidated basis (at the ultimate parent level)
have experienced at least a 70% decline in pre-COVID-19 revenues **
NOTE: Eligible small business tenants who are in sub-tenancy arrangements are also eligible, if these lease structures meet program criteria.
** Small businesses can compare revenues in April, May and June of 2020 to that of the same period in 2019 to measure revenue losses. They can also use an average of their revenues earned in January and February of 2020."
For Full Details and to apply:
See details and Apply for CECRA
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Expanded eligibility for CEBA $40,000 interest-free loan
May 19, 2020 /in 2020 Only, Blog, Business Owners, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Practice Owners /by Orna Elizur
"If you are the sole owner-operator of a business, if your business relies on contractors, or if you have a family-owned business and you pay employees through dividends, you will now qualify." – PM Justin Trudeau
The Prime Minister outlined the expanded eligibility for the Canada Emergency Business Account and highlighted companies such as hair salon owners, independent gym owners with contracted trainers and local physio businesses will now be eligible.
The eligible amounts are being expanded to include businesses with 2019 total payroll between $20,000 – $1.5 million.
Prior to applying, please make sure you have this information readily available:
Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (BN 15 digits)
2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (T4SUM)
Click to Get Full Details
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Apply starting Friday for Canada Emergency Student Benefit! Help on the way for seniors.
May 13, 2020 /in 2020 Only, Blog, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Retired, Coronavirus - Students, retirement /by Orna Elizur
Students can apply for $1,250 through the Canada Emergency Student Benefit starting Friday
From canada.ca:
"The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) provides financial support to post-secondary students, and recent post-secondary and high school graduates who are unable to find work due to COVID-19.
This benefit is for students who do not qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI).
From May to August 2020, the CESB provides a payment to eligible students of:
$1,250 for each 4-week period
$2,000 for each 4 -week period, if you have dependants or a disability"
Learn More and Apply for CESB
Seniors to receive up to $500 one-time payment
The Government of Canada will be providing help to vulnerable seniors by providing a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for Old Age Security (OAS). For seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), they will receive an additional $200.
Learn More about Help for Seniors
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Extended! Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy extended beyond June
May 8, 2020 /in 2020 Only, Blog, Business Owners, Coronavirus, Coronavirus - Practice Owners /by Orna Elizur
On May 8th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that they will extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) beyond June. This measure gives qualifying employers up to $847 per employee each week so they can keep people on the payroll.
To be eligible to receive the wage subsidy, the Government of Canada website states you must:
be an eligible employer. Eligible employers include:
individuals (including trusts)
taxable corporations
persons that are exempt from corporate tax (Part I of the Income Tax Act), other than public institutions:
boards of trade
non-profit corporations for scientific research and experimental development
labour organizations or societies
benevolent or fraternal benefit societies or orders
registered charities
partnerships consisting of eligible employers
Public institutions are not eligible for the subsidy. This includes municipalities and local governments, Crown corporations, public universities, colleges, schools and hospitals.
have experienced an eligible reduction in revenue.
have had a CRA payroll account on March 15, 2020
The Canada Revenue Agency launched an online calculator to help businesses determine the amount they can expect from the wage subsidy program.
Calculate your Subsidy amount
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Are you looking for somewhere to send photos of your finished boats? We love to receive them! Enter your photos in our new Chesapeake Light Craft Photo Contest, where monthly winners receive $150 CLC Gift Cards and the annual winner gets a $1000 CLC Gift Card! Submit your photos on this page to enter.


text:
The Walls of Freedom, Book 3, Autographed Paperback
"I just hope I...Have the spirit to go on fighting. Have the power to take on forces that are so much bigger than me."
On the run, Erika, her husband, Vince, and their children flee the government forces in search of a new life. The Great Quake ten years ago left the United States devastated. FEMA camps sprouted up in Regional Districts to control the chaos and separate the landowners from the refugees. Erika and her family spent nine years as refugees in the camp before they found out that Vince's parents were still alive and they were searching for them. The Las Vegas FEMA Director, realizing his mistake, attempted to have the family eliminated to save his career. Vince and Erika take their family's future into their own hands and flee the camp in a cross country action packed adventure. Will they find Vince's parents? Will society accept them again? Can they accept this new government system?
Books will be Autographed and sent out in new condition. Once sold and sent the sale is final. Books are like art and not everyone is going to love everybook.I have no doubt you are going to enjoy the adventure but if not give it to a friend or the library.
Would you like me to add a name? (optional)
Do you have a special message for a loved one? (Must be short, ie: Happy Birthday, etc.) (optional)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Coding Flexibility in Healthcare Act (H.R. 3018) introduced by Representatives Marsha Blackburn and Tom Price would allow either ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes to be submitted on claims with dates of service after October 1 (i.e., "dual coding") for a six-month period. In a press release, Rep. Blackburn indicated that a transition period allowing the use of either ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes is needed in the event that some physicians' practices software is not ready to support ICD-10 by October 1. Similar comments have been made by supporters of H.R. 3018 (see Medical Group Management Association letter). However, dual coding is unworkable and costly, as well as unnecessary.
Submitting paper claims, if the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act waiver provisions are met.
Additionally, providers can reach out to billing service companies or contact the Healthcare Billing and Management Association to find a billing service company that can assist them with submitting ICD-10 compliant claims.


Eating and drinking the right things makes you feel better and gives you sustained energy for your training and beyond.
Here are some tips to help you as you plan your training menu.
Eat a healthy breakfast that includes protein, whole grains and a piece of fruit as well as a glass of water. Starting your day with nutritious fuel gives your body the energy and strength to focus and train, said Dave Johnson, Awesome 3000 running coach.
Johnson recommends bagels, fruits, cereal, cottage cheese, dried apricots, soy-nut trail mix, energy bars, English muffins, fig bars and fruit yogurt. He also recommends snacks that come in their own natural wrapper such as fruit and whole grains.
Shoot for three meals and two to three snacks a day with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein, said Shannon Simmons, Director and Associate Professor of Exercise Science at Corban University.
If you eat grains, eat whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat pastas, she said. It's also important to read labels, Johnson said. Find foods that are low in sugar and high in fiber, protein and vitamins.
Your body might crave sweets after a training run but resist the temptation to eat junk food and instead make a healthy fruit smoothie to refuel, said Brenda Knobloch, a member of the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation school gardens team.
"You might be hungry for sugar after a big effort but eating healthy foods will give you more energy in the long run," she said.
Today: Warm up. Run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes, repeat 3-4 cycles. Cool down and stretch.
Wednesday: Cross-train – play tag, ride your bike, dance and swim. Get out and play!
Thursday: Warm up. Run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes, repeat 3-4 cycles. Cool down and stretch.
Friday: Cross-train – play tag, ride your bike, dance and swim. Get out and play!
Saturday: Warm up. Run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes, repeat 3-4 cycles. Cool down and stretch.
Sunday: Have fun. Be active.
Cost: $20 per runner kindergarten through high school and $15 for pre-kindergarten and special needs participants.
April 19: Last Day for early bird registration. After today, the fee increases by $10.
May 2 & 3: Packet pick-up, 8:30 am to 6:30 pm, Salem-Keizer Education Foundation, 223 Commercial St NE. Packets not picked up by 6:30 pm May 3 will be forfeited. There will be no day-of-run packet pick-up.
Wash hands with soap and water and then gather ingredients on a clean kitchen counter.
2. Measure orange juice and plain yogurt.
3. Add all ingredients to blender.
4. Put the top on and blend until mixture is smooth and ice is chopped about 1 minute.
PRO TIP: Think ahead: Freeze banana for an extra cold smoothie.


This Buttermilk Ranch Popcorn is salty, crunchy, tangy, and totally addictive!
The funniest thing happened last month.
My mom was staying with us for a couple of weeks after the baby was born. One morning she was preparing Owen's breakfast, and she accidentally made him a cup of chocolate milk with buttermilk instead of regular milk. He took one sip and spat it out in disgust. I don't think he's ever going to let her forget the mistake. He's still talking about it: "Remember when Nana made me chocolate milk with BUTTERMILK?!" he asks, widening his eyes for extra emphasis.
If only he knew that the buttermilk he despises is the key ingredient in his beloved waffles. I try to keep a carton on hand, but I don't always have it, and when I don't–and we can't make waffles on Sunday morning–he's catastrophically disappointed.
This is a rather long-winded explanation for why I recently picked up a box of powdered buttermilk. It keeps forever on the shelf, so you're never out. And since you can prepare only as much as you need for a recipe, you never have an excess of buttermilk to either use up or waste.
To be perfectly honest, I'm not the hugest fan of ranch dressing, but I love ranch-flavored snacks. Is that weird? Cool Ranch Doritos are my weakness. If there is a bag in the house I won't stop until I'm licking the last few powdery crumbs from my fingers. Not exactly a healthy indulgence.
But this buttermilk ranch popcorn? It's actually not that bad for you. I pop a heaping 2/3 cup of popcorn kernels in just three tablespoons of oil (I used canola, but you can use olive oil, coconut oil–whatever you like), and then toss it with just two tablespoons of melted butter. Then I add all that delicious tangy, herby flavor: powdered buttermilk, dried dill, kosher salt, garlic and onion powder.
This recipe was loosely inspired by one I saw in Cook's Country magazine a few years ago, but I played with the ratios of ingredients and left out the chopped fresh cilantro, because who puts cilantro in ranch dressing? I think my version gets it just right.
Whenever we have friends over, I love to put out a big bowl of popcorn to have with drinks. It's much healthier than chips and dip or cheese and crackers, and you can really have fun with the flavors! I usually make this rosemary truffle popcorn, but this buttermilk ranch version will definitely be in the regular rotation.
Don't you want to dive right in?
Pour the oil into a large pot with a lid. Add a few popcorn kernels, cover the pot, and place over medium-high heat. As soon as you hear them pop add the remaining kernels and cover the pot again. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the popping slows almost to a stop, 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and pour the butter over the popcorn. Sprinkle with about 2/3 of the buttermilk mixture. Cover the pot and give it a good shake to coat the popcorn evenly. Taste and add a little more of the buttermilk mixture if you want more salt and flavor.
That's too funny – I probably would have spit my milk out too if I accidentally drank buttermilk instead of regular milk 😀 Buttermilk with chocolate no good. Buttermilk Ranch Popcorn – now my mouth is watering! This sounds incredible!


text:
Shipping from Vietnam to the Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of Vietnam's largest EU trading partners and investors. Dutch companies such as Heineken, Damen Shipyards, Philips, and Friesland Campina have been investing and doing business in Vietnam for many years. Thanks to the EU Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVTA), trade between Vietnam and Netherlands will grow even more. In this article, you will learn the most common ways of shipping from Vietnam to the Netherlands and how long the shipping can take.
Sea freight from Vietnam to the Netherlands
The Netherlands is the gateway to Europe. Rotterdam is home to one of the largest ports in the world, so naturally, sea freight is the most popular and the cheapest way to send goods from Vietnam to the Netherlands and, overall, from Asia to Europe. Sea freight offers a greater loading capacity than air or even road freight.
When shipping by sea, you have to choose between FCL and LCL. FCL (Full Container Load) means one shipper books a single container for the transportation of their cargo only. LCL (Less than Container Load) means that several exporters book a container to fill the space. The LCL is perfect for smaller and less time-sensitive shipments.
How long does sea shipping from Vietnam to the Netherlands take?
On average, it takes 25-35 days to ship from Vietnam to the Netherlands by sea.
Major ports in Vietnam:
Hai Phong Port is a port group in Haiphong City, Vietnam, serving Northern Vietnam. It is the leading seaport for northern Vietnam, and there are plans for the port system to handle ships up to 30,000-40,000 DWT.
Da Nang Port is a major port system located in Central Vietnam at the mouth of the Han River on the East Viet Nam Sea, in the city of Đà Nẵng. It is the third largest port system in Vietnam.
Saigon Port is a network of ports in Ho Chi Minh City. The port name is derived from the former name of the city. By 2013, it has become the 24th busiest container port in the world.
Vũng Tàu Port is a group of seaports, one of the sea transport hubs, mainly serving as Vietnam's oil and gas trading hub.
Quang Ninh Port is a very important port in the exclusive economic zone of Northern Vietnam. It is the second most significant port after Hai Phong. Major freight liners and transshipping container ships pass through Quang Ninh regularly.
Major ports in the Netherlands:
Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe and the world's largest seaport outside Asia. It is located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands.
Port of Amsterdam is a seaport in Amsterdam in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the 4th busiest port in Europe by metric tons of cargo.
Port of Moerdijk, as a multipurpose port, has a 1200-hectare industrial area and a port facility that handles oil and chemical products. It has five basins, each around one nautical mile apart and a T-shaped tanker berth lying on the western side of the basins.
Air freight from Vietnam to the Netherlands
Air freight is the fastest and safest mode of transport but also the most expensive. Air freight is perfect for small shipments containing high-value or time-sensitive goods.
How long does air freight from Vietnam to the Netherlands take?
Whether we choose express or standard air freight, shipping time can take between 3 days for express shipment and up to one week for standard shipment.
Major airports in Vietnam:
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) is the busiest airport in Vietnam. It serves Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the rest of south-eastern Vietnam. It was the 25th busiest airport in the world in 2020.
Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), located in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is the largest airport in Vietnam in terms of total capacity. It is also the largest airport in the country for cargo transport and the second busiest airport for passenger traffic, after Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Da Nang International Airport (DAD) is located in Da Nang, the largest city in central Vietnam. It is the third international airport in the country and is an important gateway to central Vietnam.
Cam Ranh International Airport (CXR) serves the city of Nha Trang, which is 30 km from the airport. This airport handles over 9 million passengers annually, making it the fourth busiest airport in Vietnam and one of the fastest-growing airports in the country.
Major airports in the Netherlands:
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is the main international airport in the Netherlands. It was the world's third busiest international airport by international passenger traffic in 2021.
Eindhoven Airport (EIN) is an airport located 7.6 km west of Eindhoven, Netherlands. In terms of the number of served passengers, it is the second largest airport in the Netherlands.
Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) is an international airport serving Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second largest city and The Hague, its administrative and royal capital.
How much does it cost to ship from Vietnam to the Netherlands?
The shipping costs depend on the cargo's type, method of transport, route, distance, and the chosen freight forwarder. Many freight forwarders will offer you varying prices. ShipHub.co is a website that gives you the opportunity to compare different offers from reliable freight forwarders. You can receive free quotes for your shipments and choose the best offers.


text:
«Higher Ground» — песня американского фанк-музыканта Стиви Уандера, первый сингл из альбома Innervisions. Песня достигла 4-й строчки в чарте Billboard Hot 100 и добралась до вершины USA Hot R&B. Уандер сочинил и записал песню в течение трёхчасового творческого порыва — в мае 1973 года. Альбомная версия содержит дополнительный куплет и длится на 30 секунд дольше, нежели сингл-версия. Уникальное звучание песни было достигнуто за счёт клавинета пропущенного через педальной вау-эффект . В качестве баса, в песне был использован синтезатор Moog. Посредством последовательного наложения инструментов, Уандер сам сыграл на всех инструментах, в том числе на ударных.

Отзывы критиков
В 2004 году журнал Rolling Stone поставил песню на 265-е место в своём списке «500 величайших песен всех времён», написав: «песня была записана незадолго до несчастного случая, едва не ставшим фатальным для Уандера — певец попал в автокатастрофу и находился в коме в течение нескольких дней. Когда Уандер пришел в себя, турменеджер музыканта спел мелодию этой песни ему на ухо; Уандер ответил — пошевелив пальцами под музыку».

Хит-парады

Кавер-версия Red Hot Chili Peppers

«Higher Ground» — песня американской рок-группы Red Hot Chili Peppers, первый сингл из альбома Mother's Milk.

Эта версия песни была номинирована на соискание награды MTV Video Award.

Песня вошла в саундтреки к следующим фильмам: «Пассажир 57» (1992), «Могучие морфы: Рейнджеры силы» (1995), «Авансцена» (2000), «Широко шагая» (2004), «Всё или ничего» (2005), «Каратэ-пацан» (2010) и «Хочу как ты» (2011). Также, она звучит в одном из эпизодов телесериала «Принц из Беверли-Хиллз» (1991).

«Higher Ground» отметилась в следующих видеоиграх: Guitar Hero, Rocksmith и SSX3

В одном из эпизодов телесериала Бивис и Баттхед, главные герои обсуждают музыкальное видео этой песни.

Британский журнал Total Guitar, поставил песню на второе место среди лучших кавер-версий всех времён.

В рамках «Года миллиона желаний», аттракцион Space Mountain в калифорнийском Диснейленде, использовал эту песню в качестве своей заглавной темы на протяжении 16-ти недель: с 3 января по 26 апреля 2007 года.

Сингл содержит би-сайд «Millionaires Against Hunger», который был записан во время сессий для альбома Freaky Styley.

Хит-парады

Список композиций и форматы издания

Компакт-кассета; США (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Nobody Weird Like Me»

Грампластинка 7"; США (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Fight Like a Brave»

Компакт-диск; Великобритания
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground» (Munchkin Mix)
 «Millionaires Against Hunger»
 «Mommy Where's Daddy?»

Грампластинка 12", компакт-диск; Германия (1989)
 «Politician (Mini Rap)»
 «Higher Ground» (Munchkin Mix)"
 «Higher Ground (Dub Mix)»
 «Mommy Where's Daddy?»

Грампластинка 12" (промосингл); Великобритания (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground» (Munchkin Mix)"
 «Higher Ground (Bert Bevans Remix)»

Грампластинка 12" (промосингл); США(1989)
 «Higher Ground (Edit)»
 «Higher Ground»

Грампластинка 12" (промосингл, версия 2); США (1989)
 «Higher Ground (12» Vocal)"
 «Higher Ground (Politician Mix)»
 «Higher Ground (Dub Mix)»

Грампластинка 12" (тестовая печать); США (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground» (Munchkin Mix)
 «Millionaires Against Hunger»
 «Mommy Where's Daddy?»

Грампластинка 7"; Австралия (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Punk Rock Classic»

Грампластинка 7"; Великобритания (1989)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Millionaires Against Hunger»

Компакт-диск (промосингл); США (1989)
 «Higher Ground (CHR Edit)»
 «Higher Ground»

Грампластинка 7" (3D Punch Out Pepper); Великобритания (1990)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground (Munchkin Mix)»
 «Politician (Mini Rap)»
 «Higher Ground (Bert Bevans Mix)»

Грампластинка 12" (Gatefold sleeve pop up); Великобритания (1990)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Fight Like a Brave»
 «Out in L.A.»

Грампластинка 12" (Limited edition picture disc); Великобритания (1990)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground (Daddy-O Mix)»
 «Fight Like a Brave»

Компакт-диск (макси-сингл); Великобритания (1990)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Fight Like a Brave»
 «Behind the Sun»
 «Out in L.A.»

Компакт-диск (промосингл); Испания (1992)
 «Higher Ground»
 «Higher Ground»

Компакт-диск (промосингл); Франция (1992)
 «Higher Ground (Daddy-O Mix)»
 «Millionaires Against Hunger»
 «Castles (Live)»

Компакт-диск (промосингл); Европа (1992)
 «Higher Ground (Ben's Mix)»
 «Higher Ground»

Примечания

Ссылки

Песни Red Hot Chili Peppers
Песни Стиви Уандера
Синглы, возглавлявшие Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Песни Этты Джеймс
Песни, вошедшие в список 500 величайших песен по версии журнала Rolling Stone
Синглы по алфавиту
Песни по алфавиту
Синглы 1989 года
Синглы Red Hot Chili Peppers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Charleston County employee accused of sex with inmate
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A woman working for Charleston County has been arrested and accused of having sex with an inmate at the county jail. Multiple media outlets reported that 22-year-old Victoria Linnette Brown of North Charleston has been charged with sexual misconduct with an inmate. A sheriff's department news release said Brown worked as a production supervisor and was hired by Charleston County through a private service. The department says an inmate at the jail told officers he had sex with Brown in a walk-in cooler April 2 while working in the jail kitchen. No other information was immediately available. Brown faces up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted. It was not clear if she has an attorney.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A woman working for Charleston County has been arrested and accused of having sex with an inmate at the county jail.
Multiple media outlets reported that 22-year-old Victoria Linnette Brown of North Charleston has been charged with sexual misconduct with an inmate.
A sheriff's department news release said Brown worked as a production supervisor and was hired by Charleston County through a private service.
The department says an inmate at the jail told officers he had sex with Brown in a walk-in cooler April 2 while working in the jail kitchen.
No other information was immediately available.
Brown faces up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted. It was not clear if she has an attorney.


We create innovative, emotional and meaningful designs of your products and services that best satisfy your needs and are in sync with given circumstances.
Seyvester is a tracked machine for timber extraction in rugged terrain. The proposal was created as a semester-long group project at the Industrial Design Department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, co-authored by the designers Jiří Malík and Tomáš Novotný. The main theme of this vision is to explore the possibilities of timber extraction machines in the near future, including controls and user interface of displays.


First of all, there are differences. Short stories can be intimidating because there seems to be less room for error. If there's a strict word count limitation, it also forces you to pick each word carefully. They have to fight for a chance to be in the story. Each word gets scrutinized. Having to deal with those constraints is actually a good exercise, which will help you write better novels. Another thing is there's not much room to wander and explore, and some writers enjoy that part of the journey.
What I'm going to share with you is simply one way of plotting a short story. Do I use this on every one? Nope. But I have used it, for action-driven stories. I reverse-engineered some of my best shorts and found that all the action-driven ones come close to using this structure, naturally. And again, this is just a guideline. It's just like any other structure out there. The Three-Act Structure. The Hollywood Formula. While it may also seem, well, formulaic, I assure you it can still be utilized for any kind of story. Just like with those that use the 3-Act or Hollywood structure, you can have two totally different stories that still don't resemble each other. Note – I will be sharing some other structures for short stories soon to give you a better selection.
So let's get on with it, shall we? You probably saw the image above. Maybe it looks complicated. I can assure you, it's super simple, and if you decide to try it, you'll end up with a solid plot every time. The only thing you'll have to tweak is the pacing (as far as plot is concerned).
First thing I do is bracket the story with Premise and Punchline. The premise, for my purposes, is the hook. What makes that story unique. For example, humans are subservient to intelligent apes in Planet of the Apes. That's a solid premise. I also like to end my short stories with a punchline. It's basically a snappy climax. It gives them a bigger kick. The ending of The Sixth Sense is like this. You can still wind down after the climax (denouement), but you don't have to, not here. Sometimes you can leave right when you throw the punch. It's up to you. But that's what I do.
I lay out the premise and the punchline (for me, it's usually a big twist) first. This gives you an idea of your general story arc. It tells you where you're coming from and where you're going.
Premise – Humans are subservient to wizards and the wizards can't be killed with standard weaponry.
Once that's done, I simply throw in the catalyst. Sometimes you'll hear this called the inciting incident. This is the event that throws everything into motion. It gets the characters moving toward the punchline. This also helps prevent you from starting the story from the wrong place. It lets you hit the ground running. Start in the thick of it. With the action. That, combined with your premise hook, should propel the reader right along.
Catalyst – A man trashes a wizard's rookery after hitting his breaking point, which puts thoughts of revolution into the minds of other fed-up non-magic folk.
Now you just need to get from point A (the catalyst) to point B (the punchline).
Once you've got the catalyst, the rest really isn't that hard. All you do now is have the characters respond to the catalyst, followed by a setback. You want setbacks – conflict, tension – because they make your story exciting. The harder it is for your character to reach the goal (possibly the punchline), the more your audience will appreciate it. They'll feel like the character deserves it. So throw something in there after the catalyst. Put a stick in the protagonist's spokes. The more daunting the scenario, the better.
Setback – The wizard retaliates. He makes an example so that others realize this behavior is unacceptable and fruitless.
Now that you have the setback, go ahead and throw them a bone. Give the characters a gain. Let them get ahead. Say yes to them. Let them move closer to the goal. A lot of structures will have you go back and forth, yes, no, yes, no. Like so. This is basically one no/yes right off the bat. Will the protagonist move closer to their goal? We shall see. Oh, wait. A setback. No. But then they do something that brings them closer to the goal. Yes!
For better effect, you can make this bone a double-edged bone.
Gain – Other wizards see these revolts as an opportunity to wreak havoc on rival wizards, so some of them help the humans.
But don't let them get too far. Hit them with another setback. Remember that tension is awesome. Conflict is awesome. Making it hard for your characters to get the goal is the essence of the story. Make them earn it. Like I said, some structures do this a lot. Seven sets of yes/no's? Not necessary with short stuff, but if you want, go ahead. But for our purposes, we're going to stick with no/yes/no. This is essentially letting the villain get the first strike, let the hero comeback, then let the villain get the upper hand again. The villain can be anything, too, by the way. The environment, the situation. Whatever.
Setback – The humans realize they're being used. They feel hopeless once again. They realize what they're up against. They need a better plan.
You can essentially go back and forth with the gains and setbacks for as long as you like. Add a few more in there if you like, no big deal. My structure is just a guideline. But when you're done dancing, when you're done with the back and forth, this is when you add the rising action.
I like to just throw in three gains in a row for the protag. Some structures have this as more back and forth, only each gain is bigger in scope. Rising higher than the last time before coming back down, then rising even higher than before. You can do that, too, if you like. Go nuts. But I just like to simplify as much as possible and add in other flavor later. So consider this the bare minimum. Three gains. Closer, closer, closer. The reason I do three gains in a row is so I can yank the rug out for the big crash.
These three gains and the big crash is essentially the Third Act. Make each gain more intense than the last for better effect.
Gain – They take the saboteur approach. If they can't kill the wizards, they decide to break their things.
Gain – More lowly humans join the revolution. They pick up steam.
Gain – They amass a huge army and meet a group of wizards on a field of battle to let them know they've had enough.
This, along with the Rising Action, is probably one of the most important elements here. Right after the hero seems to have everything under wraps, slam them in the gut with a big setback. A huge one. The iceberg that sank the Titanic. One that brings them to their lowest point in the story. They should feel defeated, lost, hopeless. The best place for this, of course, is right after the three gains.
Something to note about the big crash: you'll want to throw in material that leads to this point so it doesn't seem out of the blue. Side stories are good for this, or using the decisions of the protagonist to cause it, maybe inadvertently. Watch any romantic comedy. They all have this element in there. It's usually a breakup. Either way, it follows a big buildup, and it has to be at least proportionate to that buildup.
Crash – The humans are no match for the wizards. Many of them are slaughtered.
After the big crash I like to throw in the punchline. You can do this immediately after or throw in another gain. This is where I put the big twist, if I have one (I usually do). If you use a twist for your punchline, remember to go back through and salt clues earlier in your story and occasionally throughout. I like to leave off with the punchline because short fiction doesn't always need a denouement. You don't have to wind down (you don't in novels, either, but most people do). Just throw the sucker punch and walk away. Let the reader leave with a reeling mind.
Sometimes you can even put the punchline right after the denouement. They do this in a lot of horror films. The whole story happens, the wind-down. Then right before the credits roll the monster's eyes click open. Oh no! It's not really dead! I'm not saying that's what you should do, it's just an example. We've all seen a film that does this.
The punchline fits somewhere into the conclusion of your story. I like to start with the premise and the punchline upfront, before I even start writing, so I know where the story's headed. Where the characters have to be. Having a punchy ending is important to me, much like having a catchy intro that begins with a bang. Go out with a bang. Knock their socks off. Leave them thinking afterwards.
Punchline – A human kills a wizard with the wizard's own weapon after discovering all their power is derived from the way their spells are worded. The legend was that wizards could not be slain by any blade, whether friend or foe.
What are the R's for?
If you look back at the diagram, you'll see two red R's on there. Those stand for "response." They're just a reminder to myself that much of the plot has to do with how the characters react or respond to the setbacks and gains. Nothing just happens for no reason. These technically belong all along the course of the story, but for the diagram I only put two.
Give it a try. Use it on stories that aren't even action-driven. It'll still work. Next time I'll share a totally different method for structuring idea-driven stories (you're leading the audience through a civilization in the distant future and describing their strange customs in detail, perhaps).
The method will give you a solid, basic structure that you can add to. Flavor it however you like. Obviously, my example is a simple one, but it's designed to be simple, to give you a great starting point. Weave two story arcs together. You can even use the same structure on both and have them intersect throughout. Experiment. Have fun.
Also, if you want a bunch of cool generators (names, place names, conflict, motivation, plot, traits, and way more), check out my Android app for writers. It's free!


Kythera is a Greek island that is known for producing high-quality premium thyme honey. With so many producers of thyme honey from Kythera, brand identification is necessary. This school packaging project by George Voulgarakis is a prime example of how the product should be effectively packaged.
The color scheme calls to mind the pureness of the thyme honey itself, and the simple illustration or caricature of a man carefully straining the honey gets the message across.
The bottle and front label.
The label at the back.
The sealed bottle inside the opened box.
The closed box resembles the cabinet in the logo illustration.


text:
EUROVISION | FEATURED
Hip-Hop and Eurovision: A 25 year history
by Gal Hazor
At the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom was represented by a song titled Love City Groove, sung by a group also called Love City Groove. Did I say sung? I meant rapped. Yes, that's right; throughout the performance, members Yinka "Reason" Charles and Jay Williams exchanged romantic lines in a steady flow, clad in the oversized flannel most commonly associated with 90s California rappers. And so, that night onstage in Dublin, Love City Groove became the first hip-hop song to compete in the Eurovision.
Love City Groove delivered a solid number with technical skill and a catchy chorus, and was rewarded with a respectable tenth place finish. That should mean the Eurovision community would fully embrace hip-hop, right? Well, not quite. A quarter century after Love City Groove, hip-hop still feels like somewhat of an anomaly at Eurovision, but its presence in the contest has grown and taken on many forms. This article examines the history of hip-hop at Eurovision, by looking at some its most inspiring – and embarrassing – appearances in the contest.
The Novelty Factor
Two years after Love City Groove, Eurovision saw another rap entry, again dealing with infatuation. This is where the similarities end though, as Kølig Kaj's Stemmen i mit liv, the 1997 Danish entry, describes a far less conventional romance. Kølig confesses his love for a phone operator, an obsession which ruins his social life and financial state. The staging is just as quirky as the subject matter, complete with a backing singer seated at an office desk, and Kølig himself in eyeball-melting leopard-print pants.
Stemmen i mit liv finished in a rather disappointing 16th place, but since then, many more entries would use rap for novelty purposes. Sometimes it would prove successful, as was the case for German comedian Stefan Raab, who represented his country at the 2000 Eurovision with "Wadde hadde dudde da?". Decked out in golden disco attire and spitting mostly nonsensical lyrics in a made-up German dialect, Raab's unintelligible yet passionate delivery landed Germany at fifth place. More often than not, though, Europe would turn its nose up at such zany rappers.
In 2006, The United Kingdom gave hip-hop another shot at Eurovision with Daz Sampson, known mostly for his club versions of old hits. His entry, Teenage Life, finds him reminiscing over his school days, an interesting sentiment botched by a few select lyrics and not to mention the awkward classroom staging. Nostalgia feels much less compelling when you're a grown men thinking of "those sixth form chicks that misbehave," while your backing singers are dressed in schoolgirl uniforms. A far cry from the first British rap entry, Teenage Life ended up in 19th place.
Many more rap entries since Teenage Life have amped up the corny, lightweight side of the genre, often suffering a worse fate. Finland's 2009 entry, Lose Control by Waldo's People, featured heavily accented rapping, drowned out by the dance beat and the chorus singers. It got to the final solely by the grace of juries, but unfortunatley finished in last place. And this was a success in comparison to Woki mit deim Popo, the 2012 Austrian entry by EDM-rap duo Trackshittaz. The sleazy ode to backsides, performed in the duo's regional dialect, scored the poorest of all entries that year, finishing last in its semi-final with only 8 points.
The Serious Side
In parallel to the goofy, party aspect of hip-hop, several Eurovision entries have used the genre's verbosity to try and convey deeper messages. The earliest example of this is Putnici, Dino Merlin's first appearance for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999, alongside french singer Béatrice. While the music – dominated by a violin, saxaphone and assorted percussion doesn't scream hip-hop, Dino does rap his verses in a soft monotone as he accepts life's unexpected turns and the passage of time.
Putnici, which reached seventh place, actually set an interesting precedent for Eurovision songs mixing rap with regional sounds. This combination worked well for Joci Pápai's Origo, Hungary's 2017 entry, melding electronic beats with Romani influences. After detailing his experiences with bigotry, Pápai goes on an extended rap verse describing the confidence he gets from his religious faith and his music. Origo finished eighth, one place below the much sillier Romanian entry mixing rap and yodeling.
That kind of success didn't happen for Utopian Land, the 2016 entry from Greek group Argo. Like Trackshittaz, Argo rapped in their local dialect, in this case Pontic Greek, but this was a much more respectable performance. A celebration of the group's regional culture in its instruments and choreography, the lyrics portray a nostalgic journey back home to drink and dance with loved ones. Perhaps this genre mix was too extreme as Greece, with its third rapped entry, failed to qualify to the final for the first time in its Eurovision history.
Other entries have used hip-hop's socially conscious roots more boldly, and likewise failed to capture the international audience. The most prominent example was Ukraine's 2005 entry, Razom nas bahato by the band GreenJolly. Already an anthem for the Orange Revolution protests following Ukraine's 2004 presidential election, the song's less explicit Eurovision version was still a defiant call to action against corruption and oppression. Perhaps due to its confusing bilingualism or overt political tone, the performance didn't go down well. Despite a rave reception by the local crowd in Kiev, GreenJolly's rap-rock hybrid only managed to reach 19th place.
Slow Road to Success
These examples suggest that, as a whole, hip-hop is an odd fit for Eurovision, whether it's presented as fun-loving or profound. This sentiment is echoed in much of the discourse about the contest. For instance, a 2013 BBC documentary named rap the #1 genre to avoid at Eurovision, despite showing Daz Sampson argue for its potential. And just this year, in an interview about the movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, music producer Savan Koetcha defined the mock Swedish entry Coolin' with da Homies as an attempt to write "the wackest rap on the planet."
However, the sound of rapping isn't total anathema to Eurovision fans. One song featuring rapping actually won the contest: Sertab Erener's Everyway That I Can, Turkey's 2003 entry. It's a short and rather unimpressive moment, but it's there. There are several other entries which have taken hip-hop to the top 10 of the scoreboard, some of which were highlighted here. Had the 2020 contest taken place, perhaps similar success could occur for Latvia's Still Breathing, where Samanta Tīna spits a brief but memorable rap verse, or Armenia's Chains on You, where Athena Manoukian oozes hip-hop and R&B swagger.
25 years after Love City Groove performed in Dublin, hip-hop's relationship with the Eurovision remains mixed. Many of the genre's appearances in the contest have been deemed tasteless, forgettable or non-Eurovision like, in any way. Some of this treatment is justified, some seems like a backlash to the genre's immense global popularity. But just like the Eurovision itself, hip-hop is a diverse world of music that's equally entertaining and meaningful to its followers. As more countries include rap entries in their national finals, it seems Eurovision and hip-hop are slowly finding common ground. Hopefully it won't be too long before rap lyrics can reach the glass microphone trophy.
Hip Hop at Eurovision – are you a fan or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Gal Hazor
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Studies of the relationship between soy and cancer can make for some interesting reading. Since we have a natural fear of cancer, one of the dread diseases, we are always interested in foods which are either said to lessen the chances of getting the disease, or which should not be eaten as they may increase those chances. When you look into the relationship between soy and cancer you get arguments on both sides of the equation.
Compounds And Chemicals - We all know that soy is a very healthy and nutritious food. It provides more protein than any other plant we eat, and is chock-full of other beneficial nutrients. Where soy and cancer come into the picture is the fact that in soy there are certain compounds that could be classified as cancer fighters. One of these compounds, genistein, is known to have the capability to modify cell differentiation, in other words it tends to prevent or at least slows abnormal cell growth, and what cancer is all about is abnormal cell growth which eventually crowds out healthy cells.
There are other chemicals in soybeans which could fit into the category of cancer fighters. Phytate, a derivative of phosphorous, binds iron and calcium, and in doing so seemingly protects the intestinal tract for carcinogens. Phytosterols are another group of chemicals, which seem to have a very positive effect in the prevention of colon cancer, and have even been linked to the prevention of skin cancer.
All of this is good news of course, but what often happens, especially if these chemicals are used in experiments on rats with some measure of success, there are those who immediately, and somewhat understandably, feel that more is better. The theory is, if one eats a great deal more soy than is typically done in our culture, or better yet, if these chemicals are concentrated into supplements, the number of cancer cases should plummet.
There are been numerous case studies involving soy and cancer, and there have been enough positive results to indicate that a diet rich in soy may indeed lower the number cancer cases. One cannot go so far as to say that eating soy will definitely reduce one's chances of getting cancer, only that there seems to be a correlation. Ironically, for a long time women who were recovering from breast cancer were advised not to eat soy, and some doctors still give that advice. Studies appear to indicate that in this instance, soy is not harmful. But as is the case with many kinds of medical and nutritional studies, the jury is still out.
Another indication that eating soy may inhibit the growth of cancer cells is the fact that Asian women, who eat many times the amount of soy that American or European women eat, experience markedly lower rates of cancer, especially breast cancer. It has yet to be proven that if American women eat as much soy as does the typically Asian women, their chances of having to deal with cancer would be significantly reduced.
Positive Correlations - While the effectiveness of soy as a cancer fighter has not yet been proven to the point that we are urged to eat more of it, a number of soy and cancer correlations have been shown to have validity. Women who eat soy do seem to have a lower risk off breast cancer, eating soy apparently lowers the risk of colon cancer, and there also seems to be a relationship between soy and incidents of lung cancer.
This we do know. Soy is a very healthy and nutritious food item, and anything that tends to make us healthier, also tends to lessen our chances of acquiring certain diseases. Whether the soy and cancer relationship is a direct one or something more circuitous is something still to be determined.


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Afghanistan: Bloody, Broken Dreams
April 5, 2017: In the last week police have disrupted two terror attacks in Kabul, one of them using a suicide car bomber. Increasingly since 2014 the security forces have managed to develop more effective intelligence and security capabilities and prevent most Islamic terrorist attacks in capital but that sort of thing does not make headlines while the occasional successful attack does. The major sponsor of most attacks is not the Taliban but ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) or Haqqani Network. ISIL does it for their own reasons while Haqqani does it because that is now they continue to enjoy a sanctuary in Pakistan.
Meanwhile the Afghan government maintains the security of Kabul by punishing those who made mistakes and enabled attacks to be carried out. For example, the recent attack against the Kabul military hospital led to a prompt investigation of how it happened and within weeks twelve officers, including two generals, were dismissed and accused of poor performance (or poor judgement) that made the attack possible. That sort of thing does motivate other officers and American advisors have noted that as well as the Afghans adopting that attitude towards failure and responsibility.
Meanwhile the Taliban is expanding into many other criminal enterprises, in an effort build up their cash reserves they will need for when they believe they have an opportunity to seize control of the country. Extortion (from Afghans in general and especially Afghan firms spending aid money to rebuild the country) have brought in billions for the Taliban, who expect to eventually inherit these improvements when they regain power. The Taliban are operating in a traditional Afghan way, acting as a strongman who insists on "tribute" or else. Most Afghans regard the Taliban as bandits with religious delusions. They are feared but not admired in any way.
The Taliban "takeover" fund apparently has several billion dollars in it and American counter-terror campaign devotes a lot of effort trying to find the money and seize it. This effort gets little publicity because it is not very dramatic at all. Moreover it involves a lot of very senior and very corrupt people in countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Afghanistan itself. The Taliban expect to need these shady financial operations after they take over because they assume they will be an outlaw state as they were in 2001, but a more effective one. The majority of Afghans do not want a return of Taliban rule in any form.
The Afghan government has other sources of income. The national budget is currently $6.6 billion and two-thirds of that comes from foreign aid. Because of the Taliban and drug gangs, 36 percent of the budget goes to security. Another 21 percent goes to infrastructure and natural resources. Despite how important both these items are a lot of this money is stolen and that is a very visible bit of damage caused by corruption. Yet there is still a growing sense of national identity and willingness to make sacrifices for a better future. This is aided by the fact that in most of the country the Taliban and drug gangs are hated and often encounter organized and heavily armed resistance from locals, even before the security forces show up. This is partly because the Taliban and the local drug trade were started by members of the Pushtun minority. While a minority the Pushtun have always been the largest minority and thus used that to usually dominate the other minorities (who resented it). This is a major reason why Pakistan is such an unhelpful neighbor.
While the drug gangs are thriving and bribing a growing number of government and security officials the Taliban are using that weakening of government control to reduce areas where the government (national or local) can interfere with Taliban or drug gang operations. For the Taliban the bad news is that the growth of drug gang power and income has turned all the neighbors, including most Pakistanis, against them. As much as Pakistan (or at least the Pakistani military) wants the Taliban to control, or at least disrupt, Afghanistan the majority of Pakistanis see Afghan Islamic terrorists and opium as a major threat. All the other neighbors (Iran, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) see nothing good coming from Afghanistan becoming a narco-state guarded by Islamic terrorists. That didn't work in the late 1990s and there is no reason to believe it will work now. But there is so much drug money involved (the Taliban alone are believed to receive over $2 billion a year) that the problem persists, even within the Taliban itself.
The government still controls most (at least 60 percent) of the population and the Taliban/drug gangs less than ten percent. For the drug gangs controlling population is not their goal. The drug gangs are largely satisfied because nearly all the gains have been in areas they value most. The fighting has always been concentrated in a few of the 34 provinces that are key to the drug operations. These provinces include Badakhshan in the northeast, Ghazni in the southeast (near the Pakistan border), nearby Zabul, Helmand in the south, Nangarhar in the east and Kunduz in the north. Helmand is most important because that is where most of the opium and heroin is produced. The other provinces are important because they provide key smuggling routes for getting the drugs out and essential supplies (weapons, chemicals and cash) in.
The biggest problem the drug gangs have is the intense attention their Islamic radical hired guns attract. In particular the gang leaders fear being confused with the men running various Islamic terror groups in the region. That's because the West (in particular) has long known that counter-terrorism operations are most successful when they concentrate on the leadership and the cash flow. This is another manifestation of the old adage that "amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics." The latest innovations in this approach is the use of large databases and customized counter-terror search software to seek out patterns of how the groups operate. This helps identify who the key people are and where they will be found. Same with the cash and key supplies (weapons, ammo, and in this case chemicals for turning opium into heroin.) This decapitation (kill or capture the leaders) approach does not guarantee quick destruction of a terrorist group but does limit its growth and operations in general. The drug gangs have a real fear that these tools will eventually be turned on them. They saw what happened in other countries (most recently Colombia) when these tactics were applied to drug cartels.
The Taliban is particularly vulnerable to decapitation attacks at the moment because the group has, since 2015, been increasingly unstable because of a dispute over who the senior leaders should be. There are also increasingly loud accusations that the current leader, who is also the head of the Haqqani Network, has turned the Taliban into a Pakistani puppet. There have always been complaints about this but they have gotten more popular, and more violent, as more Taliban remain in the group mainly for the money, not the goal of turning Afghanistan into a religious dictatorship. These attitudes were reinforced in late 2014 as thousands of Pakistani Taliban fled to Afghanistan to escape a Pakistani military offensive against their longtime sanctuary in North Waziristan. These refugees spoke of the devious plans the Pakistan military had for Pushtuns (most Taliban have always been Pushtuns) and Afghanistan in general.
April 4, 2017: Afghanistan and Pakistan began using a new hotline established so that military commanders on both sides of the border could quickly contact each other to deal with an unexpected border incident. Britain helped Afghanistan and Pakistan negotiate some new security cooperation deals, including regularly exchanging details of people wanted for criminal activity along the border.
April 3, 2017: The Taliban have announced the goals of the upcoming Spring Offensive. The Taliban expect to expand their presence in Helmand, Oruzgan, Farah, Faryab, Sar-e Pol and Kunduz provinces. Currently about a third of the country is controlled or threatened by Taliban forces. After more than a year of fighting the Taliban have disrupted government control in ten of the 14 districts in Helmand province. Most of the ten are effectively under Taliban control and another three are moving in that direction. The Ministry of Defense also announced plans to deal with increased Taliban violence in those same provinces the Taliban targeted.
The government also revealed a program for doubling the size of its SOF (special operations forces) from 17,000 to over 30,000 by 2020. Currently about 70 percent of the offensive operations are carried out by the SOF, which are a combination of army and police commando (or SWAT) type units and the best trained, led, armed and reliable troops in Afghanistan.
In the east (Paktika province) police arrested a man identified by intel as a Haqqani Network suicide bomber trained in Pakistan and recently arrived in Paktika to kill a senior police commander. The arrested man provided more details of his mission and training when he was interrogated.
April 2, 2017: In the east (Nangarhar province) Afghan special operations forces clashed with a group of ISIL gunmen, killing nine, capturing two in addition to seizing weapons, cell phones and other useful information. Most ISIL activity is in Nangarhar province, which is on the Pakistani border and a major export route for heroin and opium. Because Nangarhar is relatively quiet (for the provinces on the Pakistan border) it was the area ISIL leaders selected as a base area. That is why this is also where ISIL suffers most of its losses in Afghanistan. American UAVs and Afghan commandos concentrate on ISIL targets there and capture a lot of data which details ISIL operations in the area. The data shows that a large fraction of the ISIL men in Afghanistan are foreigners, mainly from Pakistan. ISIL attracts recruits from other Islamic terrorist groups that are seen as not sufficiently dedicated to the cause of world domination, defending Islam and generally being self-righteous outlaws. Another reason for joining ISIL is the uncompromising attitude towards opium and heroin. While most Taliban justify working for drug cartels (for the money) ISIL makes no exceptions.
In the east (Paktika province) someone fired four rockets across the border into northwest Pakistan (Kurram). There were no injuries.
March 25, 2017: After years of threatening to do so Pakistan has begun building a security fence along its Afghan border. This is part of an effort to hinder the Pakistani Taliban groups based in Afghanistan from easily moving back and forth. The initial fence construction is along the border with the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. These two provinces are where there has always been a lot of lawless activity and these days it is full of Islamic terrorists hostile to either Pakistan or working for Pakistan (against Afghanistan). Fence construction will continue with priority given to areas where there are the most problems.
March 24, 2017: In the east (Nangarhar province) several American UAV missile attacks left at least 22 ISIL men dead.
March 20, 2017: Pakistan opened its Afghan border crossings permanently after having closed them all on February 16th to pressure Afghanistan to do more about border security. One reason the border was reopened was that Pakistani firms that supply goods to the Afghan market noted that these extended border closings have caused a growing number of Afghans to prefer Iranian, Turkish and Indian goods imported via Iran or Central Asia. That will become easier and cheaper as Iran and India complete a road and rail network from the Iran coast to eastern Afghanistan. The latest border closing cost Pakistani businesses $3 billion in sales. The most active legal crossing is Torkham Gate in northwest Pakistan. Normally about 15,000 Afghans use this crossing each day along with about $4 million worth of goods. Torkham was closed several times during 2016 because of ongoing border disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the southwest (Baluchistan) Chamman is the second most active border crossing with Afghanistan. Most of the 2,500 kilometers of border is rural, thinly populated and lacking roads. The border violence has been going on for years and is more about unresolved border disputes than anything else. Torkham has always been the main border crossing with Pakistan because on the Pakistani side is the Khyber Pass. This is the easiest way to get from northern Afghanistan to the lowlands (most of Pakistan and all of India) beyond. Most of the Afghan-Pakistani border is still called the "Durand Line." This was an impromptu, pre-independence invention of British colonial authorities and was always considered temporary (or at least negotiable) by locals. This was mainly because the line often went right through Pushtun tribal territories. However, the Afghans are more inclined to accept the Durand Line, and fight to maintain it. Thus recent Pakistani efforts to build more fences and other structures on their side of the border as an attempt to make the Durand line permanent and no longer negotiable. Afghans who use the border are also angry at a new Pakistani visa policy, which requires regular users of the crossings to get a visa. Officially this is a security measure, but given the rampant corruption in Pakistan Afghans see this as another opportunity for Pakistani border officials to demand bribes.
March 19, 2017: In the east (Paktika province) an American airstrike killed Qari Yasin, a local al Qaeda leader and bomb expert who is from Pakistan (Baluchistan) and has many connections within the Pakistani Taliban. Yasin was responsible for planning several major attacks in Pakistan and training some of the best bomb builders and attack planners. He was also responsible for several assassination attempts against senior government and military officials in Pakistan. Islamic terrorists have been trying to operate from bases across the border in Afghanistan, especially Paktika province and that is responsible for most of the violence in eastern Afghanistan.
March 17, 2017: Pakistani Taliban based in Afghanistan crossed border into Pakistan near the Khyber Pass and attacked a border post. Two Pakistani soldiers died, along with six civilians and attackers. Pakistan complained to Afghanistan but was told that this was largely the fault of the Pakistanis whose offensive in North Waziristan had driven thousands of Islamic terrorists into eastern Afghanistan and there were not enough troops and police available to deal with such an influx of armed men.
In the east (Paktika province) an American airstrike killed two Pakistan Taliban leaders.
March 13, 2017: In the east (Paktika province) an Afghan airstrike destroyed two vehicles carrying Haqqani Network personnel and ammunition. When Afghan troops arrived they found that two of the ten Haqqani dead were leaders wanted for their involvement with several recent terror attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in eastern Afghanistan. Haqqani Network leaders gained control of the Afghan Taliban in mid-2016 and have been bringing in experienced Haqqani operatives from Pakistan to help with that. By late 2016 Afghan police confirmed that a growing number of known Haqqani personnel were showing up in eastern Afghanistan, often involved with planning terror attacks. Founder (in the 1980s) Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2o14 and his successor (Siraj Haqqani) continued to cooperate with the Taliban and maintain subservience to ISI (Pakistani military intelligence). Because Jalaluddin Haqqani helped Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders escape Afghanistan in 2001 there has always been a sense of mutual dependence. For that reason Haqqani leaders were able to help deal with the mid-2015 power struggle within the Taliban and thwart the recruiting efforts of ISIL. Given that Haqqani works for ISI (the Pakistani CIA), Pakistan had to approve, if not help bring about this new arrangement. The Afghan government protested to Pakistan about this but, as usual, Pakistan insisted it had nothing to do with Haqqani, the Taliban or supporting Islamic terrorism of any kind.
March 10, 2017: In the east (Paktika province) Afghan SOF troops killed two ISIL leaders wanted for their role in planning and carrying out major terror attacks.
In the north (Kunduz province) two senior Taliban leaders (one in charge of finances, the other military operations) were killed during clashes with Afghan forces. Four other Taliban were killed and several vehicles (some carrying weapons and ammo) as well.
March 8, 2017: In Kabul four ISIL terrorists, disguised as doctors, attacked the main military hospital. One attacker used an explosive vest while the others used bullets and grenades to kill at least 50 patients and staff and wound many more before they were themselves killed.
March 6, 2017: In the east (Kunar province) at least 76 shells and rockets were fired from Pakistan into rural areas near the border. In 2016 Afghanistan accused Pakistan of resuming the shelling of Afghan territory in eastern (Kunar) and southern (Helmand province) Afghanistan. Although most of the shells and rockets land in remote areas they still manage to kill or wound some people, usually innocent civilians. These rocket, mortar and artillery attacks from Pakistan have been particularly heavy in 2013 and 2014 but happened much left frequently after a new Afghan government joined the U.S. to call out the Pakistanis on these attacks. Pakistan usually refuses to admit they are even happening but because of the 2015 cooperation deal (mainly to deal with Islamic terrorists hostile to everyone) Pakistan became more receptive to these complaints.
March 5, 2017: Pakistani Taliban based in Afghanistan crossed border into Pakistan and attacked three Pakistani border posts in the Mohmand district. Five Pakistani soldiers and at least ten attackers died.
March 4, 2017: In the south (Zabul province) Afghan forces killed an ISIL leader and 16 of his followers who were attempting to move part of ISIL base operations from eastern Afghanistan (Nangarhar province) to Zabul.
In the north (Kunduz province) an Afghan airstrike killed 18 local Taliban, including three leaders.
March 3, 2017: Pakistan opened its Afghan border crossings for two days as a humanitarian gesture.
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Lake Effect Co. is a retail brand and blog that encourages you to connect with the beauty and adventure of nature, through time by the water. It's a venue to share magnetic lake stories and perfect lake moments, to embrace a unique lifestyle, and to let the ever-changing water inspire us. It's about being balanced in adventure, health, beauty, and self, all through the lens of life by the lake. It's a suggestion to "Chase More Sunsets" which is code for finding what inspires you and building a life that includes more of that.
Lake effect literally means the precipitation or other miscellaneous weather patterns produced when cold air passes over warmer water or vice versa. In my world, the lake effect includes crisp breezes swirling off the lake on sweltering days and incubator-type temps on cold days. A lake's effects extend far beyond the weather. When you're on lake time, you know it. It's a slower pace. It's a breath of fresh air. It's connecting with nature. It's letting the waves heal you. It's forgetting you've ever been anywhere else. When you're on lake time, it's never wanting to leave.
And while we may not all have the chance to reside lakeside, or even near a body of water, we can still find common ground in those prized, even if brief, moments when we catch a glimpse of the closest body of water or remember a moment when the water filled us with a sense of awe. Sometimes you just know what feels good to your soul, and for many like me, that is the Lake Effect.
So nice to meet you! I'm Katherine. Growing up in the Lake Country area, just 30 miles west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, kept me constantly around lake people - the ones that just got it. I was either tagging along on someone's boat for the day, helping keep an eye on friend's younger siblings playing by the shore (lifeguard status, right here), or begging my parents to let us launch our boat after work for an evening cool down. Living lakeside, I consider myself truly lucky to get a glimpse of the water every day. I am in love with the water, for the beauty, adventure, inspiration, and healing. It constantly heals me and shapes my existence. I talk about it a lot on the blog. Like, here and here.
Lake Michigan and the Lake Country are lovely, but "my lake" is Medicine Lake in Three Lakes, WI (my family wrote about it here). Medicine Lake is a place I've called true home since age three. The days always seemed to go on forever, giving me extra hours of pier time. I tossed and turned all night before we hit the road to the lake, butterflies of excitement in my belly that felt almost as aggressive as the fish flopping on the pier after I'd reeled them in. I flew off the end of the pier without a care in the world. None of that has changed, because despite growing older, we never truly grow up at the lake. Even today, daylight seems to linger unending, and cocktail hours flow right through dinner. We're all truly at our happiest when we're lakeside.
Lake Effect Co. was born after many years dreaming of products, phrasing, and branding that embodied how I felt about my beloved time at the lake. Every shared conversation with a fellow lake-lover ending in "How would anyone ever find out about that hidden gem," or "We need a shirt that says that" brought me that much closer to bringing the idea to life..
Lake Effect Co. is not only where to buy items that embody your lake life love - though there's nothing wrong with simply wanting to buy and fly. It's also a community to connect with others who feel similarly via our blog, social channels, and in-person events. I love the idea that there is an entire crew of summertime swimmers, boaters, wet dogs, sunset-chasers, eagle-spotters, and pier-loungers, all sharing a love of their version of lake life. While summertime lake love is often easiest to express, loving the lake is a four-seasons adventure. We not only embrace the spring blossoms, fall hikes, windburned cheeks, cozy, bundled, fireside nights, and snowshoeing, skiing, and Irish-coffee-heavy-ice-fishing mornings, but in these times it's often MORE important to intentionally seek out things that make us feel alive. Which leads us to the fact that nature is our favorite healer. While we can't help but share ways the water brings us to life, we'd love to have you share your story if it does the same for you.
So let's celebrate how lucky we are to live and love on and in these beautiful bodies of water . . .
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