New York Times

A Dance Troupe Adds Fresh Faces. The Youngest Is 66. New York Times Yackez is a family project if you think of the originators, husband and wife and they're my dance family, she said over coffee with Mr. Velez-Jackson recently, referring to her aerobics students at the West Side Y.M.C.A., the 92nd Street Y and ...

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A Dance Troupe Adds Fresh Faces. The Youngest Is 66. - New York Times

Today, we are increasingly surrounded by devices and interfaces. We have smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, smart cars and smart home appliances. With every person expected to own up to 20 connected devices by the year 2020, the Internet of Things (IoT) provides every marketer with the opportunity to derive business insight from a networked fabric of devices, data, people, and processes.

The growth of the IoT has profound implications for customer identity. Previously, brands could market to a device with a degree of confidence that they were talking to the same consumer. As customers increasingly interact more with more Things that are used by many people, the link with the identity of the end user is eroded. To make the most of the Internet of Things opportunity, it is vital that marketers can understand the identity of this end user.

Take, for example, internet-connected TVs. IAB research suggests that 78% of US adults who watch TV use another device while watching TV and the smartphone is the predominant second screen. However, who exactly is watching the TV at any given time? Marketers do not really know because it is currently still difficult for brands to personalise advertising based on who is in front of the TV. While a single user often uses a website, and even more often a mobile app, a connected TV can be watched by one person or many.

Brands have tried to solve this problem before, through partnerships with mobile apps such as Shazam, but Customer ID mapping will allow for a more comprehensive solution. Mapping users devices with a household to a TV ID allows messaging to be personalised based on their activity on other devices. If you can bring profiles on the users devices, especially mobiles, then it is also easy to build a strong idea of the customer that is watching the TV.

Another breakthrough IoT device is the connected speaker and the virtual assistants that live on those devices, such as Amazons Echo speaker with Alexa baked in. Amazon has built an open API that allows brands to build Alexa skills. Skills are mini voice apps that allow the end user to use voice to user services, such as Alexa call me an Uber or Alexa play me some relaxing music on Spotify.

Customer identity matters here too. Of course, it is important that the Uber being ordered be paid for by the right person. Different household members may also have very different ideas of what constitutes relaxing music. For this reason, Amazon allows you to set up an Amazon Household and add users to it. This process still feels rather clumsy Alexa requires you to remember whose profile you are using at a given time, breaking the seamlessness of the user experience.

Connected cars are also showing significant promise. Google, Apple and tech providers like Cisco all provide platforms for car manufacturers to integrate with, allowing cars to get smart. In some ways, customer identity for cars is more straightforward, as identifying the driver will nearly always be done deterministically.

However, there is still the challenge of knowing who else is in the car, a potentially important factor in customising the experience. For example, imagine if it was possible to identify that a partner was in the market for a holiday, and replace radio ads with information about that destination? This level of retargeting is becoming a reality as identity technology is increasingly sophisticated and able to deliver with increased accuracy which customer is using a connected device.

Identity and IoT will also have a major role in the retail store of the future. A retailers interactions with its customer used to end at the point of sale. That is no longer the case. Today, by managing and analysing the real-time data that IoT devices provide (for example smart and interactive point of sale material), companies can gain new insight into how their products are performing, consumer trends and purchase behaviour, and how that ties back to individual users.

These are just some examples of how identity in a world of internet-connected devices is evolving, forcing marketers to keep up. Marketers that can stay ahead of the curve, however, should be able to leverage significant first-mover advantages and enjoy a wealth of new opportunities for creating the sophisticated and personalised experiences that customers demand.

The key, as ever when looking at new technology, is not to get too caught up in the technology and for the marketer to stay rooted in the customer experience.

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Why Brands Need to Get Smart About Customer Identity and the Internet of Things - Fourth Source

The Imperial Orchestra and the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority sponsor the weekly event from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday from October through March.

LAKELAND Today is the last opportunity this season to start out the work week with Music Munndays, a lunchtime concert in downtown Lakelands Munn Park.

The Imperial Orchestra and the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority sponsor the weekly event from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday from October through March.

Todays concert will be by Motett with Lemay Olano-James. Motett is a jazz trio featuring Davis Collister on bass, Jody Marsh on keys and Jean Bolduc on drums.Olano-James is a violinist.

Expect to hear some swing, foxtrot, rhumba and mambo.

The original ideain October 2015 was to provide a break for downtown office workers, said Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Development Authority.

Mondays kind of bum people out," she said. "This way they can start their work week out with a relaxing time in the park.

And it has been a way to promote the park, she said.

Instead of rushing by on their way to and from lunch, people can stop at the park with a blanket or sit on one of the benches and relax, listen to music and play board games or fill out one of the adult coloring pages available at a tent on the Kentucky Avenue side of the park, she said.

Over timethe office crowd morphed into more of a community crowd, Townsend said. Retirees and young parents with toddlers come from home for the free concert, bringing lawn chairs or blankets and lunch, Townsend said.

And sometimes school groups or community groups make a field trip out of it, she said.

The Imperial Orchestra arranges the musical entertainment, Townsend said.

As examples of the type of entertainment the Monday crowds hear, Imperial Orchestras Facebook page lists the entertainment for the month of March as an ISO Brass Quintet, Acoustic Dose (acoustic guitar and vocals), Jazzanovoa (Latin-influenced instrumentals) and todays entertainment by Motett with Lemay Olano-James (jazz with electric violin).

We try to mix it up, to expose people to different types of music, Townsend said. It is just a good time -- just a couple of hours over lunch to hang out, have a good time playing board games and relaxing with coloring while getting exposed to something you may not normally listen to.

Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @marilyn_ledger.

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Music Munndays is wrapping up the season with 1 last concert - The Ledger

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Parents listen up. With spring break underway, are you looking for some fun and safe places for your kids to hang out thisweek?

If you feel like you missed signing up for camps and everything is filled-up, Ashley shows us places that are open and have plenty of space for you and your littles ones.

From strolls at the zoo, toscience atMcWane Center, to tumbling with your tots or relaxing with your tweens, there are still a number of ways to spend the days even you havent enrolled your kids in everycamp across the state this week.

Topping my list is theBirminghamZoo.Freestylin isa new way to do Zoo Camp! Campers will have the freedom to choose their activities throughout the day. A few options might include zoo hikes, games,a ride on or see an animal show.Freestylin is designed for your camper by your camper.

Ifyou are looking for a more relaxing day, try the Villager Yoga in Mountain Brook. (http://www.villageryoga.com/)You can actually drop your older kids off and go run errands or have mom time.

AnnieDamsky of theVillager Yoga is offering two mini-camps on Tuesday and Wednesday. Were doing a day at the spa so kids will get to come. Well do yoga together. Were going to make fresh smoothies and well have some skin treatments.

If youre looking to share thefun, look for Mommy and Me classes too, from newborn on up.

Annie says You get to just come and bond and free yourself a little bit from distractions and start really teaching your kids about self-care from an early age.

For yourmusicians, head over to Mason Music. Itsgeared to students who have little or no experience with music.This campallows childrento learn how to sing and play instruments like the guitar, piano, drums and violin. The goal is to allow students to explore their musical interest.

There is alwaysMcWane Center and all that it has to offer. Check out the latest IMAX orlet thekiddosrunthrough the halls and explore the science of the world around them. Be sure to check in early if you are theparent of a little one, Itty Bitty Magic City is a huge hit for kids under 5.

Kids can roll into a good time doing gymnastics. Find your local gymnasium and see what hours and special classes they offer this week. Its a great way to let the youngster burn off some much-needed energy.

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Ashley's Mom Monday: Last-minute ideas for Spring Break fun - WIAT 42

Last updated13:56, March 28 2017

JIM CHIPP

Wellington High School Adult Community Education director Colin Wharton.

Colin Wharton, Director of the Community Education Centre at Wellington High School, will retire this week after eight years at the helm.

He was previously Director of the Newlands Community Learning Centre and has spent 40 years working ineducation inNew Zealand.

What are you passionate about?

Working with communities of learners who have real need brings great satisfaction. Whether working with children or adults, to see a student arrive with a need [and] then to see that need met and the student leave

better than they arrived, that really sparks my passion!

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*Night class lights undimmed by cuts

What isthe biggest changeyou have seen over your time at the CEC?

The biggest change in Community Education during my time has been the establishment of digital online enrolment and administration systems. This has transformed how community education is managed and run.

What is your best memory from your time at the CEC?

Meeting and working with people where a practical difference can be made and seen. It is exciting to see the language needs of immigrants, refugees and migrants being met and their language and social skills improve.

What do you see as the biggains New Zealand has made in education since you started, what areas need improvement?

The biggest gains New Zealand has made in providing quality education is in the move away from book-based and formal learning to online education and internet based learning. Every classroom at Wellington High now has a data-show projector. Wireless connections are

accessed across the school. Students arrive in year nine with their digital device and this device is central to their learning. Use of digital devices is now stretching right throughout our adult programme in the evenings and weekend as tutors source content and plan

activities using digital media for our community education students. Going forward, the biggest challenge to Community Education I see will be providing the necessary language and social skills for migrants as they are welcomed into New Zealand.

I believe there is a serious disconnect between the desire of government to provide workers for expanding employment opportunities, and the social and practical help those same people need to successfully settle into their new country and culture.

What is on the cards for 2017-2018?

Our next move is to Feilding and back to the rural [life]. There is a house to build, a garden to develop, some native bush needing attention and a few in-lamb ewes to care for.Ahhhhh retirement!

What was the last book you read?

The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins. I love a novel with plenty of action and intrigue.

What are you listening to?

Selah. Selah is an Australian gospel folk group. I love harmony and so love their music! The word 'Selah' is a biblical one meaning 'pause and reflect'. There will no doubt be plenty of time for that in retirement!

What does a perfect day in Wellington look like?

Working in the garden or relaxing with music, an exciting book and a cup of frothy cappuccino. That will make the day a good one for me!

What is something people don't know about where you grew up?

I grew up in Stratford, milked a house cow, spent some years with shearing gangs and much time walking a lambing beat. For 30 years I have greatly enjoyed beekeeping. These days I really enjoy developing gardens and working with wood. Give me a chainsaw and I'mhappy!

-Stuff

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Look who's talking: Colin Wharton - The Press West Coast

By John EwoldtStar Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS Organic cotton textiles register no more than a footnote in the worlds cotton production, but Vishal Naithani wants to change that.

His company, Sustained Organic Living in suburban Minneapolis, selects certified organic cotton grown in India with non-GMO seeds. The products are made using only fair trade labor on the farms and in the factories.

The challenge for Naithani and his company, which is also known as Sol Organics, is to be able to create the level of interest among consumers for organic apparel that has been generated for organic food. For now, his chief weapon is price: He aims to price his products significantly lower than his online competitors and on par with high-quality bedding that is not fair trade organic.

Every family should have access to affordable organic cotton just like they have access to affordable organic food, he said. It shouldnt be only the wealthy who can afford premium products.

Sol Organics is one of a number of companies offering organic, fair trade textiles online or in stores. Companies such as Boll & Branch and Patagonia sell them. West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target feature organic cotton that may or may not be fair trade. Naithani said Sol Organics is the only Minnesota-based company to do so.

Part of the reason Naithani acts as a maverick is that organic cotton hasnt grabbed the consumers attention like organic milk, produce and poultry.

Shoppers arent ingesting organic cotton as they do organic foods, so they may not see the benefit, said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at Kantar Retail, a retail consulting business. We havent trained shoppers to think about how cotton is grown or how it fits in the environmental food chain.

Conventionally grown cottons critics say the so-called fabric of our lives is a crop that requires lots of water and chemicals to grow. A pesticide-intensive crop, conventional cotton uses more than an average amount of pesticides, although the amount is in dispute.

Cotton covers 2.5 percent of the worlds cultivated land, yet growers use an estimated 10 to 25 percent of the worlds pesticides, according to Rodale Institute, a Pennsylvania organic farm and researcher. AMIS Global, an agriculture data firm, estimates the pesticide usage for cotton at closer to 5 percent, according to Cotton Inc., a U.S. trade organization.

In India, where more than 20 percent of the worlds cotton is grown, child labor is common. According to a Harris Poll conducted in 2016, three in five consumers would not purchase a cotton product if they knew it was picked by children or forced labor.

Naithani and others in the business believe that, in time, more consumers will search out organic sheets, towels and clothing. Only 5 percent of consumers purchase organic clothing, slightly higher among millennials, according to Kantar Retail.

The average price paid for a queen sheet set in the U.S. is $80, but organic cotton sets (300 thread count sateen) start at $240 at BollandBranch.com and $258 at Coyuchi.com.

At the wholesale level, organic, fair trade cotton costs only about 15 percent more than conventional cotton, Naithani said. He doubles the cost of the goods for his retail price while competitors triple the cost, he said.

The only way to get people to convert to buying organic cotton is to keep prices competitive. Costco and Wal-Mart have made organic food affordable, he said. We want to do the same for organic cotton.

At $119 for a queen set and $139 for a king set at solorganix.com (after a $40 instant savings), his prices are 30 to 50 percent less than comparable products online, but still nearly double what a conventional set costs at Kohls or J.C. Penney.

Naithani hopes to drop the price of his queen-sized set to $99 within two years, once the product reaches critical mass. Affordability is the tipping point, he said. It promotes access, which in turn creates demand and conversion to organic cotton.

Brett Whitfield sees organic cotton as early in its life cycle but poised for growth. Target and Pottery Barn recently expanded their organic textiles selection. Pottery Barns spring collections show fair trade, organic sheets and towels.

Target, which already had organic cotton sheets, clothes and baby items, added organic in its new Cat & Jack kids line. Its recent pledge to remove perfluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textiles by 2022 shows a long-term commitment.

We know organic cotton is important to our guests, said Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman. It will continue to grow in the future, whether its home or apparel. Its not the be-all-end-all, but its important.

Naithani, who also sells his product on Amazon, hopes to break $1 million in annual sheet sales by next month. Thats still a fraction of the online retailer Boll & Branch, which sold about $40 million in organic fair trade sheets and towels in 2016.

Sols products are getting four- and five-star reviews online. His return rate is an enviably low 2.5 percent.

Increasing the demand for organic cotton creates this tremendous upside where everyone wins, the farmer, the consumer and the earth, he said.

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Organic Cotton - The Ledger

Obama after a July 2009 town hall meeting at a Kroger in Bristol, Virginia.

Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images

This post originally appeared in Business Insider.

Whole Foods is losing millions of customers to what was once an unthinkable threat: Kroger.

The organic-food chain has lost as many as 14 million customers in the past six quarters, according to Barclays analyst Karen Short. Most of those customers are instead going to Kroger and probably won't ever go back to Whole Foods, Short said in a recent research note. "The magnitude of the traffic declines ... is staggering," Short said. "As most retailers knowonce traffic has been lost, those patterns rarely reversed."

Krogera conventional grocer not known for organic offeringshas not historically been regarded as a significant threat to Whole Foods. But in recent years Kroger has ramped up its supply of organic foods in a bid to steal market share from Whole Foods and other niche grocers such as Sprouts Farmers Market and Fresh Market.

Kroger now devotes several aisles in its stores to organic and natural foods and offers a variety of organic meat and fresh produce. The chain has its own line of organic goods under the "Simple Truth" brand.

The expansion into organics has paid off. Kroger's sales of organic and natural food totaled $16 billion in the past year, compared to $15.8 billion at Whole Foods, according to Barclays.

As Kroger's share of the organic-food market grows, Whole Foods' is shrinking. Whole Foods' same-store sales fell 2.4 percent in 2016. That metric is expected to fall another 2.5 percent this year. Meanwhile, Kroger's same-store sales grew 1 percent in 2016.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently acknowledged the growing threat from conventional grocers, without specifically naming Kroger. "The more conventional mainstream supermarkets have upped their game," Mackey said on a call with analysts in February. "We're going to do the best job that we can to keep our core customers from migrating back over to those guys."

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The Vikings consider pork to be the best meat of all. Their very strong preference for raising pigs almost caused the complete deforestation of Iceland, too. Another interesting tidbit: The Greenland Norse hated eating fish. More...

But according to Short, the Barclays analyst, there's not much Whole Foods can do to stop the shopper attrition. "Whole Foods might face significant challenges to reverse behavioral changes even if execution improves because execution at competing retailers remains very strong," Short added.

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Shoppers Appear to Be Ditching Whole Foods for the Organic Food at ... Kroger? - Slate Magazine (blog)

Stateside's conversation with author Margot Finn.

Grocery store shelves, restaurant menus and cookbooks are a lot different in 2017 than they were 30 or 40 years ago.

Americans tend to pay a lot more attention to the food we eat and how it's prepared. We know more about fine wines. Many of us seek out organic fruits and vegetables, and are willing to try exotic foods our parents and grandparents couldn't even imagine.

But, at the same time, we've seen the income inequality gap widen. How has "good food" become conflated with high status?

Margot Finns new book, Discriminating Tastes, explores the way food trends and consumption is an expression of class anxiety and economic inequality.

Finn lectures in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. She specializes in food, popular culture, and class.

Finn started writing her book wondering why so many talk about how to eat better.

The common thread that I found in looking at the way people were talking about these foods and choosing them, seemed to be that it was about status, Finn said.

She found similarities between today and the Gilded Age, a period of economic inequality from 1880 to 1920. Popular then were elaborate dinner parties, slimming diets, a concern for the purity of food, and an embrace of ethnic food, particularly "Oriental" culture.

Japanese teas were a popular way to entertain, particularly for the upper middle class, she said.

The four ideals of the food revolution sophistication, thinness, purity (clean and natural foods), and cosmopolitanism (food diversity) expressed a need to differentiate oneself through food consumption, Finn said.

These food trends disappeared during the Great Depression and mid-century period, when income inequality shrunk. As income inequality rose in the 1980s, these four food ideals started to become popular again.

Because income inequality hasnt shrunk at all, my feeling is that theres still actually a lot of pressure to aspire through your consumption practices, she said.

Listen to the full interview above.

(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)

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America's obsession with specialty, organic foods linked to widening class differences, book argues - Michigan Radio

With the dust settling from one of the most heated local election seasons in years, the Beach Cities Health District wants to help residents move on and mellow out.

On April 6, the public health agency which serves Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach is putting on a free post-election community mindfulness workshop at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

The 6 p.m. event will bring together mental health experts to guide the audience through methods to help relieve stress and anxiety. It will be similar to one held after the contentious Hermosa Beach oil drilling Measure O campaign in 2015, which drew hundreds of participants.

Weeks after the March 7 election, division is still running deep in Redondo Beach, where contests for mayor, City Council and a ballot measure to derail a $400 million waterfront makeover were clouded by personal attacks, negative mailers, anonymous online posts and campaign finance complaints. While Manhattan Beach had a less controversial election for City Council, tensions have emerged over campaign mailers that targeted two ousted incumbents.

Next week, Eric McCullum of Insight LA, Tristan Coopersmith of Life Lab and Greg Flaxman and Shiori Lange of the Beach Cities Health District will go over a series of meditation techniques, including intention setting, loving-kindness, visualization and mindful breathing.

Beach Cities Health District CEO Tom Bakaly, who formerly served as city manager in Hermosa Beach, said the idea is to help individuals be present and calm.

One of the things we know from our data with Gallup polls over the last six years is in the South Bay, were very healthy and doing well in most categories, but one we struggle with is stress, Bakaly said. I think election season is maybe a contributor.

He said both sides of the Measure O battle turned out for the first workshop in Hermosa Beach, which took place weeks before the vote.

I think you build community one person at a time, Bakaly said. Our hope is if people are present or are in the moment, that they will be conscious of their actions and attitudes.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and pre-registration is required online at bchd.org/mindfulness. Child care will be offered at the nearby AdventurePlex kids play facility in Manhattan Beach. For more information, visit the Beach Cities Health District website or call Tiana Rideout at 310-374-3426, Ext. 139.

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Can meditation heal political wounds in the South Bay beach cities? - The Daily Breeze

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Ever notice that getting a manicure can be a little awkward? Yes,its a totally relaxing way to pamper yourself (and make sure your nail polishlooks fab)its just that youre sitting across froma (likely) stranger and surrendering your hands to them for half an hour, unable to really do anything.

Which means that it might bean ideal time tomeditate.

Its a concept that hasnt escaped Amyling Lin, founder new nail salon-slash-meditation studioSundays.I got this idea because I saw so many clients just closing their eyes during their manicures, she says. Its the perfect moment where you can get relaxed and just in your own zone. So many women feel like its the only time thats their own where no one is bothering them, so I realized its a great moment to meditate.

So many women feel like its the only time thats their own where no one is bothering them, so I realized its a great moment to meditate.

Sundays, situated in New York Citys Nomadneighborhood, offers headsets to customers so they can go through a guided meditationduring their treatment. That said, youre of course free to do it your way. (If you need somewhere to start, check out these pro tips.)

But most importantly, Lin notes that its not abouthow you meditate, just that you take the moment to recharge and rewind. Through practicing this mindfulness, it helps your mind feel relaxed, she says. Of course, thats a bonus on top of ahand massage. And coming to aftera meditation with totally chic nails? Thats a beauty treatment I can get behind.

Sundays, 51 East 25th St., New York, NY 10010, (646) 998-5711, dearsundays.com

While youre getting the healthiest treatmentever, here are 3 reasons why your manicureshould be waterless. Also important: No-chip gel manicures just got way better for you.

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The one place where you're not meditatingbut should - Well+Good