Photo by: Kelsey Greene

Emily Blue will bring her music to Cowboy Monkey on Friday in downtown Champaign.

Here's what's happening in the area's

MUSIC SCENE

The research behind the concert

Sinfonia da Camera's concert on Saturday at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana was influenced by market research the chamber orchestra conducted with two University of Illinois MBA student groups.

One group's survey asked: "What word(s) would you use to describe orchestral music?" The three top responses were "relaxing, classy and old-fashioned."

"We have decided to capitalize on the 'old-fashioned' description as well as the current popularity of the old-fashioned cocktail and do a throwback evening on Saturday our American Century concert," said Jenie Kechulius, the orchestra's operations and personnel manager. "The idea is to tell audience members particularly the under-40 crowd that they should feel free to dress up in '20s, '30s or '40s era clothing."

"The American Century" concert, starting at 7:30 p.m., will feature works by American composers, beginning with Leonard Bernstein's most popular overture, the "Candide." Violinist Rachel Patrick (above) will join Sinfonia in David Canfield's "Rhapsody after Gershwin."

The concert also will feature Samuel Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915." It will end with a suite of favorites from George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," arranged by Robert Russell Bennett.

Tickets are $40, adults; $36, senior citizens 65 and older and retired UI faculty and staff; $8, non-UI college students; and $5, youths high school age and younger. Call 333-6280 or visit krannertcenter.com.

Valentine's Day concert

A Valentine's Day performance by local and regional musicians will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at McKinley Presbyterian Church, 809 S. Fifth St., C.

"A Time for Love" will feature solo classical piano repertoire and selections from opera and jazz music that highlight romance, including works by Leonard Bernstein, Franz Liszt, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland.

The featured performers include local pianists and educators Tatiana Shustova and Jaifang Yan, as well as soprano Elena Negruta. Joining them will be concert pianist Ian Gindes, who recently returned from performing live on Chicago's WFMT classical music station, and opera singer Cornelius Johnson, who recently performed in "Porgy and Bess" at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Special guests are jazz pianist Chip Stephens, a professor in the UI Jazz Studies Program, and his wife, singer-songwriter Paige Stephens.

"We wanted to create an exciting program to bring together a variety of music designed to be shared with someone you love," Gindes said. "It has something for everyone to enjoy whether you prefer opera or Broadway, popular classical music or jazz. We are excited about the opportunity to enjoy sharing this music with you and that special person in your life in an intimate venue."

Tickets will be available at the door for $12 for general admission and $7 for students and senior citizens. For more information, check out the event's page on Facebook.

Sonic Illinois schedule

Celebrating the UI sesquicentennial in 2017, Krannert Center and the School of Music are exploring the diversity of the contemporary music scene this and next month via a new project titled Sonic Illinois.

Sonic Illinois is a revival of the spirit of the UI Festival of Contemporary Arts, which was a major cultural force in the mid-20th century on the campus. With Sonic Illinois, the campus and community are invited to explore innovative composers, musicians and scholars.

The celebration will include historic compositions, global contemporary artists, School of Music ensembles and works by Illinois faculty and students. Audiences will hear pieces by John Cage, Jeffrey Mumford, Julia Wolfe and Osvaldo Golijov; School of Music composers Erin Gee, Reynold Tharp and Erik Lund; student composers Kyle Shaw and Dongryul Lee; and School of Music alumna Tomeka Reid.

The remaining Sonic Illinois events:

Illinois Modern Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Smith Memorial Hall Recital Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave, U.

Jupiter String Quartet with Todd Palmer, clarinet, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Krannert Center's Foellinger Great Hall.

Bang on a Can All-Stars with the UI Chamber Singers: Wolfe's "Anthracite Fields," 7:30 p.m. March 3, Krannert's Tryon Festival Theatre.

Cajun group to visit Post

Mardi Gras, which falls on Feb. 28, will be celebrated early with Cajun music from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at The Iron Post, featuring the trio Blake Miller, Amelia Biere and A.J. Srubas.

Miller and Biere are part of a vibrant Cajun and Creole music scene in and around Lafayette, La. Miller is a gifted accordion player and fiddler and can play rock-solid bass and guitar as well, according to bassist-guitarist Rob Krumm of Urbana.

Currently with The Revelers, Miller was one of the original members of the Pine Leaf Boys and also played with the Red Stick Ramblers. He grew up in a Cajun family in Iota, La., and is a grandson of well-known accordion builder Larry Miller.

Blake Miller has served stints in other Cajun/Creole bands of note including Balfa Toujours, Les Malfecteurs and Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole.

Originally from Dodgeville, Wis., Biere is a terrific guitarist and vocalist, Krumm said. She honed her musical skills with Anabel and the Bell Tones, an all-women Cajun music group in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Drawn to learn more about Cajun and Creole music and culture, Biere moved to the Lafayette area a few years ago and has performed often there with local musicians.

Srubas, originally from Green Bay, Wis., grew up playing Irish music in a family band. After graduating high school, he studied fiddle in Ireland for a few months. Upon returning home, he was introduced to old-time music after his older brother started to learn claw-hammer banjo.

Srubas, who now lives in Minneapolis, was hooked and has been playing old-time music for the last decade. He plays old-time fiddle in the Bootlicker Stringband and Cajun fiddle and pedal steel guitar in the New Riverside Ramblers. When not playing music, he is an apprentice violin-bow maker and organizer for The Monday Night Square Dance and other Minnesota festivals.

This will be the trio's first show in Champaign-Urbana.

Also at the Post, Dennis Stroughmatt & Friends will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 24.

Stroughmatt, who lives in Albion in southern Illinois, tours with his bands Creole Stomp and L'Esprit Creole and with his latest project, a traditional country band that pays tribute to the music of Ray Price and his Cherokee Cowboys.

The Iron Post gig will feature Stroughmatt on fiddle and accordion; Doug Hawf, guitar; Doug Rigsby, drums; and Krumm, bass and accordion.

"For this gig, we'll play a lot of traditional Cajun and Creole tunes from Louisiana and mix it up with some swing, blues and country. This should be a very fun show," Krumm said.

A taste of Klezmer and Yiddish music

Klezmer and Yiddish music luminaries Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer will be in Champaign-Urbana for a series of events from Thursday through next Sunday.

In addition to a playing at a performance and dance party Saturday, the duo will present a lecture and musical demonstration on the UI campus and host a "Big Klezmer and Yiddish Music Jam and Workshop" for all ages.

For more than 25 years, Strauss (violin, accordion, voice, dance) and Warschauer (voice, guitar, mandolin) have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. They were long-time members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman.

The two are Yiddish speakers and have researched and collected Yiddish and Hebrew songs and instrumental melodies since the 1980s. Together they lead some of the most popular klezmer music, Yiddish song and traditional dance workshops throughout North America and Eastern and Western Europe.

Other events featuring the duo:

Klezmer Concert and Dance Party, 7 p.m. Saturday, Sinai Temple, 3104 W. Windsor Road, C. Free.

Klezmer Music: From Old World to New: Lecture and Musical Demonstration, 7 p.m. Thursday, UI Music Building Auditorium, Room 1030, 1114 W. Nevada St., U. Free.

Big Klezmer and Yiddish Music Jam and Workshop, 2 to 4 p.m. next Sunday, Phillips Recreation Center, 505 W. Stoughton Ave., U. Open to all ages, levels and backgrounds; singers are welcome too. There also will be a workshop section for experienced musicians. Freewill donations will be appreciated.

For more information, see tinyurl.com/klezmerduoitinerary and klezmerduo.com/.

Emily Blue playing Cowboy Monkey

Emily Blue, frontwoman of the band Tara Terra, will debut new material for her #BubbleGumAcidPop project during the show Emily Blue + Church Booty with Tell Mama at 8 p.m. Friday at the Cowboy Monkey, 6 Taylor St. C. The cover is $7.

#BubbleGumAcidPop will be released in March. In November, Blue's last album, "Another Angry Woman," raised more than $3,000 for Rape Advocacy Counseling and Education Services.

Church Booty delivers a musical experience drawing on a wide range of influences, Blue said. The band formed in Champaign-Urbana but members now live in Chicago, where they entertain crowds with high-energy performances.

"Guided by tight arrangements and skillful improvisations, the bar is set at a high musical standard that works both the brain and the booty," Blue said.

Free Urbana Pops recitals at library

The Urbana Pops Orchestra will host three free recitals, each at 2 p.m. the second Sunday of the month, at the Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green St.

The recital today will feature violinist Tamra Gingold, who will perform along with students from Urbana High School. On March 12, bassoonist Christopher Raymond will perform. And on April 9, violist Robin Kearton will perform with students from the Community Center for the Arts.

"These winter/spring recitals have been another way that the Urbana Pops Orchestra can share music with the community and give performance opportunities to some of UPO's student musicians," said orchestra President Debra Levey Larson. "Because these recitals are short and casual, they are also a great way to introduce young children to orchestral instruments. The library setting makes it easy for families to wander in, listen to a few pieces and get up and walk around if their kids need to stretch."

Larson said the recitals also serve as a venue to help promote the ensemble's summer concert schedule, "because the full orchestra only performs in June and July, the recitals help us bridge the long Pops drought."

The summer concerts this year will be June 10 and July 15 in the Urbana School High auditorium.

For more information, visit urbanapops.org.

ARTS SCENE

Parkland grad displaying works

The Giertz Gallery at Parkland College will welcome back distinguished alumna Alicia Henry with an exhibition of her works, opening Monday.

The reception for the solo show, "Home: Works by Alicia Henry," will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, with a gallery talk at 6 p.m. by Henry and music by Nathaniel Banks and Friends. Henry will give an another lecture at 1:15 p.m. Thursday in Parkland's Harold and Jean Miner Theatre

The exhibition will remain on view through March 28.

The exhibition, lectures and reception are free and open to the public.

Giertz Gallery Director Lisa Costello said Henry's exhibit has been long anticipated.

"We are delighted to have this Guggenheim Award-winning artist return home from Nashville to exhibit her work and share her experiences with our students and community," Costello said. "Hosting it this year, in celebration with Parkland College's 50th anniversary, makes it an ideal time."

The exhibition features work that explores issues of loss. Henry is interested in how cultural, gender, racial and social differences affect both individual and group responses to loss. Using abstracted human figures, both in isolation or interaction with others, Henry goes beyond mere representation of the figure to present a psychological interpretation of her ideas.

Henry is an associate professor and the discipline coordinator in the Department of Arts and Language at Fisk University. She received her bachelor's of fine arts degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her master's of fine arts degree at the Yale University School of Art.

In addition to attending the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, she has received numerous awards, grants and residencies, including a Ford Foundation Fellowship; a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant; residencies at Art in General, the MacDowell Art Colony and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown; and most recently, the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art.

Henry's works have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are held in private and public collections.

The Giertz Gallery's spring semester hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. The gallery will be closed Feb. 23 for Professional Development Day and March 1825 for spring break.

St. Thomas More fundraiser

The High School of St. Thomas More's Art Club and Art Department, along with Culver's restaurant on Marketview Drive in Champaign, will have an "Empty Bowls" supper fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at The High School of St. Thomas More, 3901 N. Mattis Ave., C.

Proceeds will go to organizations that fight hunger.

The Empty Bowls project was started by high school students in Michigan in 1990. Since then, groups worldwide have sponsored their own Empty Bowls events, in which people buy an empty ceramic handmade bowl in which to have soup and then take the bowl home.

The art students at St. Thomas More have hosted Empty Bowls events for 11 years, usually raising close to $2,000 each year. This year, Culvers will provide the soup and bread. The money raised will be donated to The Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Champaign.

In addition to the meal, there will be music, drama and dance performances. Other supporting participants include St. Matthew Catholic School, Holy Cross School and Campus Middle School for Girls, as well as many family members, teachers and friends who made bowls.

The suggested donation for the bowl and meal is $10 and for the meal alone, $5. Additional donations are welcome.

Photos on display in 'Seeking'

The Asian American Cultural Center, with the Urbana Museum of Photography, is presenting through March 31 the exhibition "Seeking" of black and white photographs made from film.

The exhibition features photographs by Yashin Chen, Ryan Fang and Ziang Xiao, who explore their Chinese culture and its traces in the American society. The project consists of three parts, with each part offering a personal view of each artist.

Xiao, born and raised in northern China, documents the lifestyle and landscapes of mainland China. As a Taiwanese, Chen feels living in America reminds her every day of the importance of the Chinese culture. For the short period she went back to Taiwan, she brought back photos of the landscape and people. Fang, as an international student at the UI, explores the impact of Chinese culture in the Midwest, particularly Chicago and Champaign-Urbana.

The exhibit is open for viewing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Asian American Cultural Center, 1210 W. Nevada St., U. The reception will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.

LITERARY SCENE

Book launch party at Esquire

Champaign author Patricia Hruby Powell will celebrate the publication of her latest book, "Loving vs. Virginia," at a book launch party from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Esquire Lounge, 106 N. Walnut St., C.

In free verse, Powell tells the story of the landmark civil rights case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"In 1955, in Caroline County, Va., amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love," reads the Amazon review. "Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it and won."

At the free launch party, Hruby Powell will read from the book and sign copies sold by Jane Addams Book Shop, Champaign. Robin Kearton, Tom Faux and other musicians will perform the kind of string band music that Mildred Loving's family played in Virginia. Along with its regular menu, the Esquire will offer Brunswick stew, a traditional dish from Virginia.

Hruby Powell, also a dancer and storyteller, has had four other books published and is working on another to be published next year.

THEATER SCENE

DLO will perform 'Violet'

Danville Light Opera Musical Theatre will present the award-winning, Tony-nominated Broadway musical "Violet," with a dessert performance at 7 p.m. Friday and dinner performances at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. next Sunday at Bremer Auditorium at Danville Area Community College.

The music in "Violet" ranges from folk to blues to rock to gospel and was written by Tony-winning composer Jeanine Tesori. Inspired by the short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Betts, "Violet" has been praised as "a work of great resonance and beauty and joy" by New York magazine; Newsday wrote, "The Broadway musical we've been waiting for has arrived!"

The synopsis: Violet is a disfigured woman of unshakable faith who boards a Greyhound bus in Spruce Pines, S.C., to pursue her dream of beauty. The real journey takes place through the people she meets on the road leading to a television preacher in Tulsa, Okla. Set in 1964, themes of tragedy, racism, faith and, ultimately, acceptance and love, are part of the story. Its setting in the early days of the civil rights era will resonate with audiences today."

Director Jeanne Dunn embraced a minimalist vision for the production, putting the focus directly on the story, the characters and the performances. "Violet" has been on her theatrical "bucket list" since 2010, and she is collaborating on it with music director Karen Grove.

Leading the cast are Mallory (Williams) Middendorf in the title role and Phil Bryant and Bryan Jenkins as two young soldiers to whom Violet grows close.

More:

That's entertainment: Spotlighting events throughout the area - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

February 11, 2017 Whole Foods may have led the charge on organic food, but it's in danger of being left behind by the movement it helped create.

The supermarket chain reported declining in sales for the sixth quarter in a row, experiencing 2.4 percent fall in salescompared tothe first quarter, amidst an increasingly competitive organic food retail market.

"We are refining our growth strategy, refocusing our efforts on best serving our core customers, and moving faster to fully implement category management, said the chief executive officer of Whole Foods, John Mackey, in a statement following the release of the report.

The Austin-based store said at the end of 2013 that it was planning to grow its 470 US locations to more than 1,200. But the new report shows a shift from expansion to consolidation, as it closes nine stores this quarter.

"The more conventional, mainstream supermarkets have upped their game," Mr. Mackey told investors, reported the Wall Street Journal. "The world is very different today than it was five years ago."

The numbers back his claims: Sales of organic products increased 209 percent between 2005 and 2015, topping $43.3 billion in 2016, the US Organic Trade Association said. Studies from the US Department of Agriculture also underscore the rapid development of the industry, with the number of organic farms growing from 67 in 2011 to 166 in 2014.

Whole Foods, who brands itself as "America's healthiest grocery store," is no longer the only market for fresh, minimally processed produce and foods. Now nearly three out of four grocery stores offer organic products, according to USDA.

In addition to the popular farmers markets popping up in more and more cities, retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, and Costco all offer organic selections to the consumers flocking to their aisles for their lower prices.

According to the Seattle Times, Costco in 2015 became the biggest organic grocer, sellingmore than $4 billion of organic food each year, while Krogers recently launched organic line also netted $1.2 billion in sales in 2014.

To fight its "whole-paycheck" reputation and falling sales, Whole Foods launched a cheaper grocery store chainnamed 365 to appeal to Millennials, a generation who are keen on wellness and exercise. As the Christian Science Monitor noted in 2016:

The 365 chain of stores is designed for Millennials and budget shoppers. According to the website, it will feature heavier discounts, competitive prices, and a few innovative additions, like Whole Food Friends, third-party businesses that operate in or nearby the 365 shops.

Whole Foods is aware of its pricing problems. On Wednesday, Mackay told investors that "in some cases, when we have particularly a strong quality advantage, the gap might be a little larger. But if theyre selling the exact same items and exactly the same brands, we feel like we really need to be competitive on those prices."

Others have pointed to Whole Foods ambitious expansion plan and its poorly managed stores as the reasons behind the stores lower sales.

"The company finally told investors what they've been waiting more than a year to hear: Whole Foods will give up on a misguided goal of adding 1,200 new stores to an over-retailed America," wrote Shelly Banjo, a columnist at Bloomberg.

"Instead, it will close unprofitable stores and hold back on building more of its lower-priced 365 stores until it's more confident in the concept's long-term performance."

Go here to read the rest:

Organic food is more popular than ever, so why is Whole Foods struggling? - Christian Science Monitor

TheStreet.com

Organic food has never been so popular, so why is Whole Foods now struggling? Sacramento Bee Organic food has never been so popular among American consumers. Ironically, that's bad news for the brand that made organic a household name - namely, the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods. On Wednesday, Whole Foods reported what is arguably its ... Has Whole Foods Become a Half-Baked Stock?TheStreet.com Organic Food and Beverages market research report and Design Guidelines Overview 2021Satellite PR News (press release) Global Organic Food Market 2017 Conscious Food, Organic India, Morarka Organic Foods, Ecofarms(India)Publicist Report - Market Research News by Market.Biz (press release) CNBC all 312 news articles »

See more here:

Organic food has never been so popular, so why is Whole Foods now struggling? - Sacramento Bee

Mike Ilitch had a nondescript career as an infielder. Signed by Detroit in 1952, he was assigned to Class D Jamestown where he played alongside Coot Veal and Charlie Lau. Veal went on to play shortstop for the Tigers. Lau went to the big leagues as well, then became a legendary hitting guru.

Ilitch spent four years in the low minors, then became a pizza magnate and a beloved owner of two sports franchises in his hometown. On Friday, he passed away at the age of 87.

Ilitch opened his first Little Caesars in 1959, and in 1982 he bought the Detroit Red Wings. Ten years later, he bought the Detroit Tigers. All three have thrived under his ownership.

Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain in the United States. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup four times from 1997-2008, and have reached the playoffs for 25 years running. The Tigers have gone to the postseason five times in the last 11 years, and their lowest attendance over that stretch was 2.46 million.

What will happen now that the patriarch of the Ilitch empire is gone? Forbes estimates that the family is worth $6.1 billion, so the money is there if 51-year-old Christopher Ilitch, who is now calling the shots,follows in his fathers footsteps and keeps the purse strings open. MLB doesnt have a salary cap (the NHL does) and the Tigers currently have one of baseballs highest payrolls. Unlike some owners, Mike Ilitch was more interested in winning than he was in filling his own coffers.

Christopher Ilitch is unlikely to do things much differently than dad. But that doesnt mean changes arent on the horizon. The Cabreras, Kinslers, V-Marts, and Verlanders are no longer spring chickens, and the farm system is anything but vibrant. A rebuild seems inevitable, regardless of expenditures, and it will likely begin following the 2017 season. In the meantime, the Tigers will chase a World Series title in memory of Mike Ilitch.

When I interviewed him last summer, Cardinals outfield prospect Harrison Bader told me that he has a pretty concrete understanding of how a swing is going to work. Its hard to argue. The 22-year-old University of Florida product has an .822 OPS since St. Louis selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft. Riding on a fast track, he reached Triple-A midway through his first full professional season.

He hit a speed bump upon his arrival in Memphis. Bader slashed .231/.298/.354, with just three home runs, in 49 games following his promotion. The power outage was notable, as hed gone deep 16 times with Springfield in 318 at bats.

Eric Longenhagen raised concerns about Badens future thump in his Cardinals prospect list a few weeks ago. According to our in-house scouting expert, Bader has plus bat speed and some raw power, but its hard for him to utilize it in games because his swing is so flat and linear.

My interest piqued, I asked Baden for his perspective.

Quite frankly, Ive taken some pretty-non-linear swings through the zone, said Bader. Ive gotten lift on the ball. But as fast as the pitches are moving, its really difficult to be that fine with your swing. My only goal is for it to be strong and aggressive. I do try to stay flat through the zone. You dont want to be chopping at the ball, or getting under it. Sometimes it works out well with that flat swing it results in a back-spun ball that goes over the fence.

Bader is aware that launch angle data is being studied, but he hasnt spoken to anyone about it. While he considers himself a student of the game, not everyone explores the science of hitting in the same way.

Studying the game from a players perspective would be drastically different from that of somebody hired out of an Ivy League school into a front office, opined Bader. I dont bring my calculator to the box with me. I just focus on getting into a hitting position to where I can do the most effective damage. At the end of the day, it comes down to understanding your body, and having a feel for the game that you cant really get if you dont play it. Thats what Im trying to perfect.

The Chicago Cubs announced several promotions on Friday. Among them was John Baker going from Baseball Operations Assistant to Coordinator, Mental Skills. The new title befits what hed already been doing. What happens between the ears, and how that impacts physical performance, became a focus for the 36-year-old Cal-Berkeley product not long after he was hired 14 months ago.

As far as former backstops go, Baker is more of a Moe Berg than a Yogi Berra. Calling him a renaissance man may qualify as hyperbole (or maybe it wouldnt), but hes certainly not cookie-cutter. That much was clear when he brought up one of his pet projects at last summers Saberseminar in Boston.

We use the scientifically-backed practice of meditation with our players in the minor leagues to help them perform better on the field, said Baker. We teach guided meditation. Darnell McDonald thats his main role with the team. He goes around and leads guys in meditation, and teaches them how to do it on their own. We promote some different applications iPhone applications, Android applications for our players to do that.

Improving focus is a primary objective. Baker spoke of three-second time windows where each player on the field should be fully focused on every pitch. Another goal is to reduce stress. That is especially true in environments like Boston and Chicago.

Kevin Youkilis talks about having been called a truck driver, and the hate he sometimes felt, explained Baker. Jake Arrieta told me that he was followed in Manhattan, for 10 blocks, by 60 people. He was with his family. Kris Bryant was telling me hes having trouble, in Chicago, just leaving the house.

Theres all of this pressure, so we practice meditation. Why? So we can recognize negative thoughts and let them go, and so we can be fully present for those three seconds. Thats how we teach them to deal with that kind of pressure, stress, and failure. Its by living right now, in those three seconds, 150-200 times a game, and then going home and not worrying about them any more.

Nate Jones was confident that his velocity would return. He wasnt disappointed. In his first full season after coming back from Tommy John surgery he went under the knife midway through the 2014 campaign the White Sox reliever regularly rushed his heater to the plate in the upper 90s.

Rehabbing from a repaired ulnar collateral ligament is an arduous slog, replete with a fear factor. That is especially true for flamethrowers. What if the explosive fastball the weapon that got them to the top fails to rematerialize?

Jones did his best to cast doubt aside. Rather than dwell on negative what-ifs, he put his trust in the process and eschewed radar gun readings.

Coming back, I wasnt worried about velocity, Jones told me this past summer. I wasnt trying to hit a certain number, or anything like that. My focus was on making sure it was quality work, with my mechanics and my direction. If you have that good foundation, everything should fall into place, including the velocity at the end. I just went out there and did the program, and luckily it worked out.

The righty has a similar attitude when hes standing on a game mound.

Ive never been one to have a feel for just what my velocity is, said Jones. I just throw with what I have. If Ive gone a couple days in a row and its only 90 percent of usual, its still Boom! Im going after you. Ive always been like that. Whether its 99, 97, or 95, its all about whats in the tank that day.

Are certain pitch sequences more effective than others? I asked Red Sox manager John Farrell that question recently, and while time didnt allow for an expansive answer, he did weigh in on the subject.

Any time you can force a hitter into making adjustments to the extremes that a given pitcher can execute high fastball to something soft and moving down below the strike zone youre creating the greatest difference between velocity and location, Farrell told me. Those are combinations that have proven to be successful. And strikes are a priority. So is the appearance of strikes, whether thats through deception, or release point, or whatever it might be.

Farrell went on to say that sequencing is something you talk to pitchers about routinely. Not being predictable is crucial. Hard up followed by soft down is less effective if the batter knows its coming.

A pitcher has the final say, said Farrell. If youve maybe established a sense of predictability, you always have the ability to adjust off of it. All it takes is one variation of that predictability, and then all bets are off. You cant assume its going to be the same pitch, in the same count, as in the previous sequences.

This past Wednesday, we heard from Chase Headley and Ken Singleton on why switch-hitters will occasionally go same side against an opposing pitcher. Not included in the article were Mark Teixeiras thoughts on that same subject.

The recently-retired Teixeira was better from the right side an .895 OPS as opposed to .858 lefty and thats how he liked to hit against butterflies. Thanks largely to his AL East match-ups against Tim Wakefield, the erstwhile Yankee had 50 right-on-right plate appearances over his long career.

It was a knuckleballer-only thing. If a conventional pitcher was on the mound, he was going to be in the opposite-side batters box. Period.

Youre just not used to doing it, Teixeira told me at the tail end of last season. Ive been switch-hitting pretty much my whole life, so its just not a comfortable feeling when youre going right-on-right or left-on-left off a normal pitcher. When youve been doing something your whole life thats just what you do. Theres a reason youre a switch hitter to go left against right, and vice versa so Ive never thought about doing it any differently.

Teixeira, who was just hired as an analyst by ESPN he should excel in his new job went deep 409 times, and slugged .509, for four teams from 2003-2016.

I missed the news when it came out just before Christmas, but Todd Kalas is the new TV play-by-play voice of the Houston Astros. He is replacing Bill Brown, who retired after three decades in that role. Kalas reportedly one of 70 to apply for the job has spent the last 19 years as part of the Tampa Bay Rays broadcast team. His father, 2002 Ford Frick-recipient Harry Kalas, called games for the Astros and the Phillies from 1965-2009.

LINKS YOULL LIKE

At The Cincinnati Enquirer, Carol Motsinger explained the science and math that will hold up the Pete Rose statue.

Kevin Kernan of The New York Post wrote about how Frisbee golf plays a role in Seth Lugos crazy curveball.

The hitting coach for the Brewers Triple-A affiliate is back on the field after recovering from a rare disease. Tom Haudricourt has the story at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In the opinion of FanRag Sports Jonathan Bernhardt, MLB whiffed yet again on resolving non-existent pace-of-play woes.

Writing for 101 Sports, longtime St. Louis scribe Bernie Miklasz took A Look at Mike Mathenys Comical, Baffling Use of Alternative Facts.

RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Walter Johnson went 10-2 in games where he pitched 13 or more innings.

As of his 21st birthday, Dwight Gooden was 41-13 with a 2.00 ERA and 1.93 FIP. Hed played two MLB seasons and led the NL in strikeouts in each of them.

Dwight Evans had a 3-0 count 193 times in his career. He put nine balls into play on 3-0, including a single, a double, a triple, and two home runs. In all plate appearances where the count started 3-0, he slashed .426/.813/.721.

In 1912, Home Run Baker of the Philadelphia As led the American League in HR (10) and RBI (130). He also had 40 doubles, 21 triples, and 40 stolen bases.

A reminder that the 2017 SABR Analytics Conference will be held March 9-11 in Phoenix. Featured speakers include Jim Deshaies, Jerry Dipoto, Mike Hazen, Jed Hoyer, Bill James, Randy Johnson, and many more.

Continue reading here:

Sunday Notes: Ilitch, Bader's Bat, Baker's Meditation, more - FanGraphs (blog)

Its sort of like yoga. Without pants. And with lots of stroking.

Collage by Kevin Burzynski

I came to the practice of Orgasmic Meditation nine years ago via a circuitous 20-year route of other practices: yoga, seated meditation, bodywork. I havent found a more powerful catalyst for really effecting change in my life than OM.

Orgasm, the way I know it, is indirect, unpredictable, expansive, inclusive. Its a state rather than an event. What the rest of the world calls orgasm, we call climax: part of orgasm, but far from the whole story. If the climax is the cymbal crash in a symphony, were looking at the whole symphony. We learn to up our attention to the more subtle stuff; the low oboe line is just as interesting and relevant.

OM is a 15-minute partnered practice in which a stroker strokes the upper-left quadrant of a womans clitoris with no goal except to feel what arises. The stroker is fully clothed, and the strokee is undressed from the waist down. Its a strict 15 minutes we set a timer. Part of the beauty of the practice is that its so self-contained; I know exactly whats going to happen in those 15 minutes. The protocol of the practice is quite rigid. This isnt a professional service, like getting a haircut or a massage. Rather, its a community of folks who practice, meaning theyre co-creating an experience. The whole notion of giver and receiver falls away. Its more like jazz. The bassist isnt giving Miles Davis a bass line. Rather, theyre both just responding in pitch-perfect resonance to the thing thats between them.

Both stroker and strokee train in this practice private training is three sessions to get started. (My intro package is $450, for about three to four hours of instruction.) After training, all practice sessions are free. Once youre trained, youre added to a private community page or forum, and thats where you find partners for your practice. There are probably about 500 or so folks who have learned to OM in Philly. Its not like a dating app, either. I OM with people I would never date, and Ive had amazing experiences with partners I dont know socially. All genders train and practice of course, you need a minimum of one clitoris to practice. Usually its done in somebodys home; just like youd have a friend over for tea, you have a friend over for an OM.

We look at orgasm as a flow state, something bigger that overtakes you. Its so different from other sexuality practices out there. Its not 15 tricks to blow her mind tonight! Its more similar to the Slow Food movement, which took all the crap out of our food so that we can learn to truly taste how, say, an apple tastes. This is learning to feel again.

I expected OM to change my romantic relationship, and it did it improved our communication, and we became more honest with each other. But I was blown away by the impact it had on my other relationships. The range of people I enjoy has expanded infinitely. I have more empathy and better boundaries, and Ive learned to ask for and receive what I want more fully. Practicing that, day in and day out, with the most sensitive part of my body has made it so much more available when my pants go on and Im out in the world. Im nine years into this practice, and the only things I know for sure are that Ive never had the same experience twice in an OM, and Ill never feel all of my orgasm. And thats the beauty of it: This terrain is infinite.

Be respectful of our online community and contribute to an engaging conversation. We reserve the right to ban impersonators and remove comments that contain personal attacks, threats, or profanity, or are flat-out offensive. By posting here, you are permitting Philadelphia magazine and Metro Corp. to edit and republish your comment in all media.

Link:

Philadelphia Sex Diaries: I Practice Orgasmic Meditation - Philadelphia magazine

February is Heart Health Month. While a heart-healthy diet like the Ornish Diet and daily exercise are the most important steps we can take to support cardiovascular health, adopting a daily meditation practice has also been shown to be very helpful. When a healthy lifestyle is suggested, we usually think of watching what we eat and becoming more active, but we tend to think that there is not much we can do to reduce our daily stress levels.

Excess stress may promote a heightened inflammatory response, which could in turn negatively affect the cardiovascular system. We all know that high-stress situations can cause an increase in blood pressure. Compounding a not-so-great diet with heightened stress levels may eventually lead to a chronic condition.

Removing the stressors sounds like the easiest and most effective plan of attack, but many of our daily stressors are things that are not so easy to remove. Over time, the little things can add up, like running late to work, being behind schedule on a task or helping the kids with their homework. Before we know it, we are worked up and stressed out and sometimes may not even remember why. Many doctors recommend stress-reducing techniques and many are suggesting a daily meditation.

A daily meditation practice for as little as five to 10 minutes can be a great way to take a step back from our stressors and racing thoughts. Many people think that meditation is an impossible task of stopping our thoughts or trying not to think. That is not the case. Trying to clear the mind can actually lead to more stress when we get frustrated that we can't do it. I think of meditation as stepping back and watching our thoughts. With time, we can develop a tiny amount of time between our thoughts to decide if or how we react.

Try this. Sit down and get comfortable. Now count every in and out breath until you get to 10, then start back at one. If you get distracted by a thought, no big deal. Start back at one. If you make it to 10 without getting distracted by a thought, good job. Now start back at 10. Using this practice for five to 10 minutes once or twice a day may just be the way to change how you relate to stressors and help you keep your stress levels in check.

Travis Lemon is a certified herbalist at Healthy Life Market who has worked in the natural health and wellness industry for more than 12 years. He can be contacted at travislemonmh@gmail.com.

Read the rest here:

Travis Lemon: Calm your heart with meditation | Features ... - Huntington Herald Dispatch

Hakuins Song of Zazen

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water; How sad that people ignore the near, and search for truth afar, Like someone in the midst of water crying out in thirst, Like a child of a wealthy home wandering among the poor. Apart from water there is no ice, apart from beings, no Buddha. Lost on dark paths of ignorance, We wander through the six worlds, from dark path to dark path. When shall we be freed from birth and death? Oh, the zazen of the Mahayana! To this the highest praise! Devotion, repentance, training, the many paramitas, All have their source in zazen. Those who try zazen even once wipe away beginningless crimes; Where are all the dark paths then? The Pure Land itself is near. Those who hear this truth even once, and listen with a grateful heart, Treasuring it, revering it, gain blessings without end. Much more, those who turn about, and bear witness to self-nature Self-nature that is no naturego far beyond mere doctrine. Here effect and cause are the same; The Way is neither two nor three; With form that is no form, going and coming, we are never astray; With thought that is no thought, Singing and dancing are the voice of the Law. How boundless and free is the sky of samadhi! How bright the full moon of wisdom! Truly is anything missing now? Nirvana is right here, before our eyes. This very place is the Lotus Land; This very body, the Buddha.

(translated by Norman Waddell)

The ReverendJiun Josh Bartok, a long time student of Zen, my dharma successor, and guiding teacher of the Greater Boston Zen Center, is seen by many as one of the rising stars of the younger generation of Western Zen teachers recently gave a wonderful talk on the practice of Zen meditation. I recommend it to anyone interested in the Zen life, meditation, or, just for a pointer or two on how to meet this life were given. The talk itself runs twenty-five or twenty-six minutes. It is followed by another twenty or so minutes of dharma dialogue, which is also worth listening to.

The Mechanics of Zazen.

Interesting?

Well, I think so. The path of Endarkenment. The great way of our lives plainly presented for our consideration. Nothing less.

At no extra charge, for further reading on the Zen way heres a pretty comprehensive bibliography compiled out of my forthcoming book on Zen meditation and the Zen life.

And, finally a lovely little video on the mechanics of Zen meditation. It misses some posture possibilities and makes some categorical statements Id present differently, but, nonetheless worth watching.

Read this article:

A Song of Endarkenment: Zen Teacher Josh Bartok on Zen Meditation - Patheos (blog)

Your heart is a muscle, and just like any other, you have to work it out to keep it strong. (And by that, we don't mean heart rate-boosting cardio, though that helps too.)

Whether you're "training" your heart for romantic love, #selflove, or food love, he best way to flex those heart-warming muscles is with meditation. (And if food-love is your jam, this guide on how to eat mindfully is key.)

Though there are several different types of meditation, this open-heart practice utilizes mindfulness meditation, which is all about focusing on the physical sensation of the breath, says Lodro Rinzler, author ofLove Hurts: Buddhist Advice for the Heartbroken andco-founder of MNDFL, a meditation studio in New York City. "It's all about coming back, over and over again, to the present moment." (Here's why everyone is hyped up about mindfulness.)

This practice is beneficial to all the relationships in your lifeeven those that fly under the radar. Open-heart and loving-kindness meditations can help you develop vulnerability, patience, and empathy, and have a humanizing effect on everyone you cross paths with, says Patricia Karpas, founder of the Meditation Studio app. (Check out these 17 other magical health benefits of meditation.)

The more you train your mindfulness, the more you're able to show up for all the people in your lifeand befully present and authentic when you're with them (whether that's a first date, dinner with our long-time spouse, or at work with a complete stranger), says Rinzler. "It's a bit like taking the heart to the gym; you experiment with opening our heart to people you like, people you don't know very well, and even people you don't get along with."

And while it has benefits for your everyday life, this kind ofmeditation can help you prep for big moments, toolike having difficult conversations or surviving a fightsays Karpas. "An open-hearted conversation sometimes means just radically accepting another's point of view and moving on." (Kind of like when you're sitting at the dinner table with your uncle who is a "yuuuge" Trump supporter.)

Here, Rinzler guides you through an open-heart meditation that not only explores your relationship with someone you love, but also with someone you may have a conflict withwhether that's an ex, a family member, or a boss you butt heads with on the regular. (Need some auditory guidance? Try the audio below for an Opening the Heart meditation by Elisha Goldstein and the Meditation Studio app.)

1. Take three deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth.

2. Bring to mind the image of someone you love dearly. Make it visceralthink about how they normally dress, the way they smile, and the way they do their hair; all aspects about him or her.

3. Soften your heart toward this person and repeat a simple aspiration: "May you enjoy happiness and be free from suffering." As you repeat this phrase, you might contemplate, "What does that look like for this person?" "What would make him or him happy today?" Keep coming back to the aspiration itself, and at the end of five minutes let the visualization dissolve.

4. Bring to mind the image of someone you don't necessarily get along with. Sit with that image for a minute, letting judgmental thoughts go. Then begin to list positive things that this person desires. At the end of each thing, add three magic words: "just like me." For example: "Sam wants to be happy...just like me." or "Sam wants to feel desired...just like me." Hopefully that will illicit some form of empathy for this person.

5. Then, move on to other areas that might be less easy to accept: "Sam lies at times...just like me," or "Sam was totally arrogant...just like me," or "Sam slept with someone he shouldn't have...just like me." Maybe you haven't been arrogant for weeks or slept with someone inappropriate in years. But if you've ever done these thingsor something else you aren't necessarily proud of, just own that fact for a moment. Sit with it. After a few minutes of contemplating ways that this person is just like you, drop the contemplation, raise your gaze toward the horizon, and rest your mind. Rest with whatever feelings have emerged. (Need to let out some anger? Try this NSFW anger meditation that makes it okay for your mind to have zero filter.)

If you're just learning how to meditate, it might take some practice to calm your mind and focus on just one thing (because, let's be honest, our brains usually have about 10,000 tabs open). But the best part is that you literally can't do meditation wrong. According to Rinzler, the only possible mistake you can make is "judging yourself harshly. That's it."

Continue reading here:

How to Meditate for an Open Heart - Shape Magazine

Its happened again! Another ice cream company has released a vegan ice cream without telling anyone. Recently, lovers of dairy-free ice cream had a lot to rejoice about when Ben & Jerrys, who previously had only four flavors in their line of almond milk ice cream, added two new flavors to their roster:Cherry Garcia and Coconut Seven Layer Bar. There was no PR release, no new additions to their website, and not even a social media announcement they simply shipped ice cream to stores, kicked back, and waited for vegan ice cream lovers to do the talking. It looks like this is going to be a thing now because last night, word broke via social mediathat Breyers, a staple in the frozen dessert world, secretly released their very first vegan ice cream flavor! Their first choice for a non-dairy ice cream was cookies and cream. Like Ben & Jerrys line of vegan ice cream, Breyers vegan ice cream is made from almond milk.

Dairy consumption in the United States has been declining steadily by 25 percent per capita since the 1970s, so it makes complete sense that ice cream staples like Breyers would want to hop aboard the dairy-free train. In fact, a recent studyby Packaged Foods revealed that free from frozen desserts, which includes vegan ice cream, are one of the products that are driving the U.S. ice cream industry towards a $28 billion market. And according to David Sprinkle, a researcher for Packaged Foods Ice cream and frozen novelties remain among the top ten food categories in supermarkets. More than 85 percent of U.S. household use ice cream or sherbet. So, smart move, Breyers.

Most of us have probably had a tub of Breyers ice cream in our freezer growing up so hopefully, now that a vegan version is available, longtime fans will be tempted by this new flavor (we certainly are). It is also interesting to note that Breyers, along with Ben & Jerrys, are both owned by Unilever, the multinational company that attempted to sue Hampton Creek over the validity of calling their vegan mayonnaise, Just Mayo, mayonnaise. They dropped the suit and then released their own variety of vegan mayonnaise soon after. At the very least, they did not try to pull the same stunt with ice cream and other dairy products, like a handful of dairy supporters in the U.S. are attempting to do right now over the validity of non-dairy milk being called milk.

If this whole secretly-releasing-vegan-ice-cream-flavors thing is going to be a thing, then it is one that we will readily embrace with spoons in hand, a cozy couch, and a TV series queued up for binge-watching. A 1.5-quart carton of Breyers vegan ice cream retails for $4.99.

Lead image source: Alyssa Weiss

Read more here:

Breyers Secretly Releases Their First Ever Vegan Ice Cream! - One Green Planet

Just in time for Valentines Day, our affiliate PETA Australia conducted an experiment to determine who gets more right swipes on Tinder: vegans or meat-eaters. Even its staffers were surprised by the results. When the same guy, using similar content, created one Tinder profile as a vegan and another as a carnivore, his vegan profile got double the number of right swipes.

In one profile picture, 29-year-old Peter wore a shirt that read, Vegan, and in the other, he wore a shirt that read, Bacon. His other photos showed him at the supermarket buying fruit or meat and at the beach holding a dog or a fishing rod. His bios were identical for each profileexcept for one phrase, which read either Vegan for life or Bacon is life.

Peter found out that there were double the number of fish in the sea for guys who care about animals, the environment, and their health.

And theres more:

PETA U.K. conducted its own Tinder study, in which Oliver duplicated precisely the same kind of contrasting content that Peter had used. Once again, the same guy got almost double the right swipes when his profile said that he was vegan.

Women looking for men on Tinder cant seem to resist tapping on the heart when a guy clearly has one.

Swipe right on your vegan starter kit today.

Visit link:

Want More Right Swipes? Go Vegan - PETA (blog) (press release)