Bobby Selvaggio Life in Jazz
Visual Art Showcase Lisa Schonberg Grace Summanen Jason Lee
Groove Therapy A Simple Solution
Re co w
www.aroundkent.net publisher/photographer Matt Keffer 330.221.1274 info@aroundkent.net
art director Susan Mackle
content volume 19 2019 6 Akron Art Museum Exhibits 10 Visual Art Showcase 18 Bobby Selvaggio: Life in Jazz
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illustrator
Chuck Slonaker
contributing writers Laurel Myers Hurst Elliott Ingersoll, Ph.D. Mark Keffer Kasha Lageza Dr. Patrick O’Connor Bobby Selvaggio John Trifero Paul S. Wang
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or pictorial content of any manner is prohibited without written permission. aroundkent accepts no responsibility for solicited materials.
24 Computational Thinking: The Cloud
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30 University Hospitals 32 Meet the Newest Physicians at UH Portage Medical Center
34 The Road Less Traveled 40 Kent Social Services' Capital Campaign
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46 Elliott Ingersoll: Academia Nuts in a Digital Age
50 Groove Therapy 54 Taichi Chang Style 59 Portage Park District: Park Rx Photos Courtesy of Heidi M. Rolf
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Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World June 29 through September 22, 2019 Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries DREAD & DELIGHT: FAIRY TALES IN AN ANXIOUS WORLD brings together the work of contemporary artists who use classical fairy tales to address the complexities of our lives today. While some embrace the stories’ promises of transformation and happy endings, others plumb the stories’ more troubling elements—poverty, addiction, and exploitations of power. No matter their approach, each of the artists dismantles and reassembles the tales in imaginative ways. In a 1980s arcade-like
video by Ericka Beckman, the story of Cinderella becomes a means to talk about women’s proscribed social roles; in Timothy Horn’s nearly lifesize carriage made of crystalized candy, it becomes an opportunity to address queer identity and notions of the so called rags-to-riches American dream. In Alison Saar’s tar and gold-leaf covered sculpture Blonde Dreams, the story of Rapunzel becomes an avenue for reconsidering racial constructions of beauty; in MK Guth’s 1800-foot-long braid Ties of Protection and
Mother Load Timothy Horn, 2008, plywood, painted steel, aluminum foil, polystyrene foam, hot glue, acrylic medium, rock sugar, and shellac, 6 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 ft., Courtesy of the artist © Timothy Horn, photo by Jason Schmidt
Safe Keeping, it becomes the site for a conversation about values and desires.
All Fur III Natalie Frank, 2011—14, gouache and colored chalk on paper; 30 x 22 in. each, Private collection © Natalie Frank, photo by Farzad Orwang
Many of the fairy tales featured in Dread & Delight will be readily familiar. Others are lesser known and provide an opportunity to explore the rich breadth of the fairy tale tradition. Throughout the exhibition, one finds that the artists have engaged with fairy tales across time—from early Italian, French, and German anthologies; to Walt Disney’s 20th-century animations; to postmodern retellings by authors such Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood. Collectively, they remind us that fairy tales have never been merely children’s tales. Rather, these age-old stories of wonder are powerful tools for making sense of life’s stark—and often dark—realities.
Dread & Delight is accompanied by a scholarly publication charting five decades of fairy tales in the visual arts and featuring a new work of fairy tale fiction by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link. Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World was organized by the Weatherspoon Art Museum at The University of North Carolina, Greensboro and curated by Dr. Emily Stamey. Its presentation in Akron is made possible through the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, The Tom and Marilyn Merryweather Fund, the John P. Murphy Foundation and Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC. Media sponsorship provided by Western Reserve PBS.
Mernet Larsen: The Ordinary, Reoriented Through September 8, 2019 Judith Bear Isroff Gallery Mernet Larsen (b. 1940) makes intriguing, humor- and tension-infused paintings featuring geometric figures that inhabit space in ways that defy gravity and conventional viewpoints. The artist stages ordinary scenes— people playing cards or eating dinner, a faculty meeting, reading in bed—but constructs them with vertiginous, skewed spatial relationships that convey a sense of precariousness. The disorienting treatment of perspective places the viewer inside and outside of the paintings at the same time, “as if they’re wearing the situation,” the artist describes. Along with the figures’ deadpan facial expressions and subtle body language, Larsen’s puzzling compositions reveal an essence of everyday human interaction. Wry, anxious and awkward, the paintings are frozen monuments that are simultaneously alien and familiar.
Drawing Hands Mernet Larsen, 2017, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 67 1/2 x 36 1/4 in., Courtesy of Jack and Ellen Kessler
Reading in Bed Mernet Larsen, 2015, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 60 x 38 1/4 in., Courtesy of Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins
David Vitone at his garage filled with possessions of wife, Lisa, who has recently moved out to live with her parents in north Texas, Akron, Ohio Joe Vitone, 2013, archival inkjet print, 11 x 14 in., Courtesy of the artist
Thursday, June 27 • 6:30 – 8:30 DOWNTOWN@DUSK SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
(member appreciation night!) SAMMY DELEON AND HIS LATIN JAZZ SEPTET Saturday, June 29 • 11 – 2 pm DELIGHTFUL PARTY FOR DREAD & DELIGHT
Joe Vitone: Family Records
April 27— October 27, 2019 Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Gallery
Mernet Larsen: The Ordinary, Reoriented is organized by the Akron Art Museum with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.
Upcoming Akron Art Museum Events
Seminar Mernet Larsen, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 59 x 40 in., Courtesy of David Howe
Keith Morlan with son Chuck Morlan, Kenmore, Ohio Joe Vitone, 2017, archival inkjet print, 20 x 24 in., Courtesy of the artist
Joe Vitone: Family Records is an ongoing series of portraits of photographer Joe Vitone’s relatives living in and around Akron, Ohio. Begun in 1998, this body of work documents evolving interpersonal connections between parents and children, siblings, spouses, cousins and other relations within working class communities of the Rust Belt region. Shot each summer when the artist—now based in Austin, Texas—travels back to Ohio, this series features scenes from festivities such as birthday parties and weddings as well as intimate portraits set outside homes and workplaces. Touched by celebrations and struggles including marriage, divorce, addiction, new homes, unemployment, new jobs and babies, the lives of Vitone’s relatives reflect experiences common to families across the United States. Joe Vitone: Family Records is organized by the Akron Art Museum with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ohio Arts Council and the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation.
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volume 19 | 2019 • www.aroundkent.net
Visual Art
S H O W C A S E
Abstraction in visual art is far from new, but many area artists are using it to produce rich and meaningful work. In western art, from the pioneering experiments of the fascinating Swedish mystic Hilma af Klint, to Russian Suprematism, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Op Art, even Land Art, etc., we have seen wide-ranging developments in both form and content. Three artists here—in printmaking, painting, and
Mark Keffer KSU Class of ‘88
sculpture—make it clear that abstraction can still make for a vibrant, first-hand art experience.
L I S A Printmaker Lisa Schonberg has developed a number of engaging directions in her work, with an aesthetic that leans toward the organic, contemplative, and abstract. The imagery she explores can be seen as a personal interpretation of natural forms. Wind and water patterns, plant- and coral-like allusions and nonrepresentational elements are prominent and come together in compelling ways that
S C H O N B E R G
rest comfortably between abstraction and representation. The prints offer an almost dreamlike parallel to our known realities, and in the process use art as a positive conduit for reflection and hope. Often, beauty is present for its own sake, which is an appealing and thoughtful counterbalance to a troubled world. At times Schonberg creates work that conveys active movement, even turbulence,
Wind Over Water 24 x 54”, relief monoprint, 2019
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but never without a sense of control and harmony. A generally softened color palette effectively compliments her use of shape, line, and pattern, which one can assume is reflective of her reverent relationship to the natural source of the imagery she utilizes. As she states: I don’t make art that merely records what I see. I am mostly interested in developing new ways of thinking and feeling about our world. For me, making art is about celebrating nature and contemplating our connections to it while hopefully communicating a sense of awe, mystery and peacefulness. I explore image making by combining various different printmaking processes such as relief, intaglio, monoprinting,
Capturing the Wind 17 x 63”, relief monoprint collage, 2018
and screen-printing to create one-of-a-kind prints or “variable editions”. My prints include such phenomena as water currents, earth formations, abstract and tangled foliage, along with other natural patterned and textured ephemera. At times, the prints are about places I’ve visited that elicit an emotional impression of the natural environment inherent in that place. I am inspired by the multitude of patterns and textures associated with these places and the light, shadows, reflections, and colors that draw me in for a closer look. Most of these regions or places have environmentally compelling stories of both beauty and survival. Lisa Schonberg received an MFA degree in Printmaking from Kent State University and a BFA from Ohio University. She currently teaches at Baldwin Wallace University and Notre Dame College of Ohio. She recently had a solo exhibition at Stillpoint Gallery, Cleveland and two-person shows at Kendall Gallery
and FAVA Gallery, both in Oberlin, Ohio. She was included in the inaugural CAN (Creative Arts Network) Triennial in Cleveland in 2018. Other exhibitions include the Morgan Paper Conservatory, Cleveland; Artist Archives of the Western Reserve, Cleveland; Feuerwache Loschwitz Gallery, Loschwitz, Germany; HeightsArts, Cleveland Heights; Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, Ohio; Zygote Press Gallery, Cleveland; and the Canton Art Institute, Canton, Ohio, among others. Her work is in collections including The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Grafikwerkstatt Printmaking Studios (Dresden, Germany), Ohio Arts Council, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and MetroHealth Hospital of Cleveland. www.lisamschonberg.com
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Off Kilter, Nesting Wings 14 x 11”, handmade paper, pulp painting and relief monoprint, 2018
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Visual Art G R A C E Found materials have been favored over traditional art materials by many artists in the past, but the work of Grace Summanen brings a distinct and purposeful sensibility to this practice. Her manipulated and painted fabric configurations occupy a space between standard distinctions of painting and sculpture. The work presents scenarios that are at once familiar and strange, known but evocative of another, entirely invented, reality. Her past work involved a wider array of found objects, but currently she displays a greater sense of focus and honed exploration. The fabrics she incorporates serve as a peculiar and engaging kind of structure onto which she employs a heavily involved painting process. The results reveal the history of their making and an involvement that transcends the sum of their parts. In some cases, there is a sense that the paintings are simultaneously a depiction of imagery while existing as that imagery itself. This seems related to the way in which Jasper Johns' paintings of flags and targets are depictions of those subjects while at the same time being, in a sense, flags and targets. This can result in an oddly heightened sense of reality and can promote ruminations on the very nature of reality and perception. Summanen describes her work: My work blurs the lines between high and low art by using everyday objects and materials. I create my painting surfaces with fabric, plastic
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S H O W C A S E
S U M M A N E N
Contrast acrylic, latex, fabric on wood, 16 x 18 x 4�, 2017
bags, toilet paper tubes, or scrap paper. My installations include these same materials. We live in a mass-producing, consuming, and purging society. It is a part of who I am; who we all are. I want the viewer to
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investigate what materials are used to create the artwork and change how they think about our every-day objects. We need to see the magic that surrounds us.
Stripes acrylic, latex, fabric on canvas, 32 x 40 x 4”, 2018-19
Currently in my paintings, I have been using folded fabric as a means to explore texture, line and movement. I have used curtains, blankets, and scraps from other projects. Different fabrics allow for experimentation with multiple textures and paint applications. Traditionally in painting, fabric is a common still life subject; but instead of painting the illusion of the fabric, I am painting the fabric itself. This abstracts the subject matter for inspection, exploration,
Lace acrylic, latex, fabric on wood, 9 x 12 x 4”, 2018-19
and transformation. I am also interested in the traditional associations with feminine crafts. Grace Summanen earned an MFA from Kent State University in 2011. Her BFA, with a minor in English, was from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She also attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She teaches at Lake Erie College, Lakeland Community College, and the University of Akron. Recent exhibitions include a three-person show at Zygote Press in
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Cleveland; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas; The Painting Center, NYC; Heights Arts, Cleveland Heights; SPACES, Cleveland; and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, among numerous others. Her work is in the collections of cARTa (Cleveland Art Association); MetroHealth, Cleveland; Case Western Reserve University; Kent State University School of Art, and private collections. www.gracesummanen.com
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Visual Art
S H O W C A S E
J A S O N
L E E
Abstraction takes on a kind of idiosyncratic industrial flavor in the work of Jason Lee. His sculptures involve a good deal of skill and knowledge regarding various processes used in their fabrication, but the merit of this work is not exclusive to the way in which it is made. There is an especially interesting and open-ended nature to the mindset at work here and a refreshing reluctance to define meaning in literal terms. Too often, visual artists create work to convey language-based meaning, without fully appreciating the extent to which the medium is its own language and can communicate meaning on its own terms. This is a strength of abstraction, but of course, it occurs in representational art as well. Some of Lee’s work contains representational elements and frequently references idealized aspects of suburban America—modular homes, green lawns, picket fences, etc. These stereotypical images were a significant influence on him, despite their lack of authenticity. He claims: My current body of work reflects on the suburban landscape of my childhood. The constructed environment mimics elements and color schemes of the skateboard pseudo-culture that was sold to the rabid and disenfranchised youth of the 80’s by pop media. This pristine wonderland of suburbia did not reflect my experience… The further his work moves into abstraction, the less obvious these influences become. This lack of specificity can be challenging, but can also be a welcome and freeing quality. The viewer is not led by a clear-cut narrative and can experience the
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Mad Garden press board, steel, cast rubber, enamel paint, 8’ x 10” x 16”, 2019
work in a more all-encompassing sense; one that more accurately reflects life experience. In a piece titled I Hope You Learned Something, the artist cryptically references as an inspiration time spent working for his father’s sideshow circus
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growing up, and also claims a connection to Joseph Beuys, an important pioneer in installation and performance art. This approach allows for a direct response while inviting further thought and investigation. The piece Suburban Home isolates a fragment
that resembles the surface of such a home and displays it prominently as an autobiographical slice of the past. It creates a wonderful paradox in which memory, a fragmentary and nebulous mechanism, is referenced through a physically solid and finite means. Jason Lee received an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BFA from Kent
State University. He is currently Associate Professor of Art, and Sculpture Foundations Coordinator at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. He formerly taught at Kent State. He recently showed work in Kent at the KSU Downtown Gallery in the juried Alumni Show. He has shown extensively on the national level, with solo exhibitions held at Syracuse University, New York; Clark Arts Center, Rockford, Illinois; University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina; NOLA Contemporary Art Museum,
Suburban Home steel, embossed paper, screenprint, aluminum, cast plastic, 8’ x 3’ x 3’, 2015
New Orleans, Louisiana; Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, Virginia; UB Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, New York; and the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. Numerous group exhibitions include the Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio; Artist Image Resource, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; FSU Museum of Art, Tallahassee, Florida; and the Contemporary Arts Collective, Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won a number of awards for merit, research, and teaching in his work as an artist and educator. www.jleesculpture.com
I Hope You Learned Something packing blankets, ratchet straps, steel, cast plastic, aluminum, 4’ x 3’ x 3’ (each unit), 2018. Back: Blatant Localism, steel, Bondo, luan, 24” x 20” x 10”, 2018
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One of my earliest memories is being with my mother and two brothers driving to a performance my dad, Pete Selvaggio, was doing. When we got there, I just remember meeting this older musician and not understanding who this person was or any of the historical significance of that. At the time, my dad was finishing up being out on the road with the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, and I believe this was one of the last gigs he was doing with the band before Guy Lombardo passed. It’s pretty cool now to look back at that and see how my dad was part of something that was part of the history of this music I’ve ended up dedicating my life to. I grew up going out to hear my dad play quite a bit; whether it was with groups or him playing solo piano. I met, through my dad, all of the great Cleveland Jazz musicians way back before I even considered becoming a musician. I look back now and understand all that music I heard was in my head, even if I wasn’t playing it at that point. I wanted to be a baseball player when I was young. I was actually pretty good and was considering playing professionally, at
Photos Courtesty of Heidi M. Rolf
some point. I did pick up a saxophone for fifth grade band when it was that time to start playing because, of course, my parents wanted us to play music in some way. My brother Freddy, the middle of the three of us, was playing drums already at the time and so I was hearing that in the house. I remember when I played the saxophone (to see what instrument I was going to play) the person in the booth (who I couldn’t even remember to tell you who it was) made a comment about how natural the instrument sounded from me. Again, I didn’t really take notice of that at the time. I just said, "Cool, let’s play this instrument." So, I went through middle school and high school playing in all the bands, including jazz band, without any real serious interest. Even when I got into high school, into my second and third year in particular, and stopped playing baseball because of all the music things I was doing, I still didn’t really take it overly serious. At that point, I started to understand that playing this instrument came pretty easy to me, at the time, and I didn’t understand what it meant to really play yet. That came in college at Kent State where I went for my undergrad studies in music.
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Other than my father, I’ve had two main mentors from Northeast Ohio that I still get to see and hang out with today. The first is John Klayman, who was my first jazz saxophone teacher. I look back now and understand how important it was how John taught me. This has really affected me all the way up through today, as a teacher. He taught me all the fundamental things, of course, but he never said I had to do it this way, or one way only. He let me pick the things I wanted to work on and never challenged me to play differently, when I wanted to play the way I wanted to play. That was significant. My other mentor is Chas Baker. When I started my undergrad at Kent State, Chas was the jazz teacher at Kent. Not only is he one of the great musicians I have known, but he was very similar to John in that he never told me how to play; he just told me how to get to that point. And he showed me the way by introducing me to a record that really showed me what it meant to go all-in as a jazz musician. That record was Cannonball Adderley’s Radio Nights. Continued on page 20
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Continued from page 19 This is a live record that Cannonball did that’s a little later period for him. It’s basically the end of the modern/chromatic jazz era of Cannonball before he got into the wonderful stage of the Mercy Mercy Mercy stuff. As I listened, I wore that record out; playing along with it, trying to understand what he was doing. I started understanding that this was real serious music. And if I wanted to play like this, I needed to rethink my dedication to jazz. SoI did, going "all in", practicing multiple hours everyday, trying to soak up as many sounds as possible, and figuring out how to play them. This led me to start my first gigs while I was still at Kent with various wedding band groups and in particular, a very significant band I played with, the Jazz Revival Orchestra. This was the first important band I played with because it was a professional jazz big band. We played a lot of various things, but mostly we played a lot of Thad Jones music, which was another significant step for me; hearing that music and wanting to understand it and play it at as high a level as I could. That was another experience that made me understand I wanted to go "all in" and be a professional jazz musician. As I finished up at Kent, having met my now wife of 25 years and getting engaged, I left for New York City to pursue a master’s in jazz performance. I love Northeast Ohio and I love making this my home today. But, it took me going to New York City to really understand the attitude of playing
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jazz music, holistically speaking. What I mean by that is not just playing it, but every other aspect of it; like composing, putting projects together, and all the other entrepreneurial aspects of being a musician, and the attitude that it takes to make all that happen on your own; not relying on anybody else. This is important to understand. Of course, we want friends and fellow musicians that we can be close with, and work with, and hang with, but the reality of it is musicians need to get to a point of taking on a
personal responsibility of moving themselves forward. If help happens along the way, that’s great and take advantage of it. But nothing’s going to happen for you unless you take the responsibility unto yourself to move forward. And there’s a certain understanding and attitude involved in that. That’s the most important thing I got out of New York City. I’ve met some lifelong friends at Manhattan School of Music and I was able to start performing with significant musicians that were known nationally and internationally. Two more specific mentors were teachers of mine at Manhattan School:
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Dick Oatts and Bobby Watson. The interesting thing is both of them taught in much the same way as my original teachers back home. This is the history of the music and the fundamentals, but always make sure you’re looking for your own voice. I look back now and understand how important and significant having teachers like this was for me to be the player and person I am today. Another cool thing, and what I consider to be my first big gig, was performing with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at the Village Vanguard in New York City. I subbed on a couple of rehearsals with them through my teacher Dick Oatts, and that led me to performing with them a bunch the year before I left New York. It was pretty amazing to be playing the same Thad Jones charts I did back home, except this time with the band that Thad actually wrote them for. I was hanging on for dear life next to some of the great jazz saxophonists today, including Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry, Ralph lalama, and Gary Simoleon. This was another one of those watershed moments for me, musically. It basically helped me understand that all this time I was putting in was important and putting me in positions to be able to play with some of the best jazz musicians around. That was New York City in the 90s. Playing gigs with Ryan Kaiser at Birdland, Steve Wilson and Ingrid Jensen at Smalls, Scott Wendholt and Matt Wilson at Augie’s, and soaking up the sounds of some of the great musicians today like Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau, and Roy Hargrove, around New York. It turned into a calling for myself to do all those things they were doing, like recording
music, and touring, and creating projects of new music. That energy and excitement filled me all the way through today; 25 years later. When my wife Chelsea and I decided to move back to Northeast Ohio, which was always the plan, I came back home and noticed with all the great musicians in town, there wasn’t a whole lot going on where musicians were playing new music and recording and touring. At first, I just put myself back into the scene, playing local gigs like I was before I went to New York. And after a little bit, I started thinking to myself and talking with Chelsea about all the things I missed about New York, musically. And so, since that was what I wanted to do and there was no scene around doing that, I created my own scene with a handful of musicians that I knew would be interested in doing new music and all of those things. This became my biggest watershed moment in life. Through trial and error and discussions with New York musicians, I went through the process of writing new, original music; going into the recording studio and learning that process; figuring out how to put a tour together logistically speaking; how to write letters to jazz record labels and jazz performance venues; and all those entrepreneurial aspects of being a musician. Basically learning on the fly how to do everything I saw my New York peers that I respected doing. I’m humbled by the fact that I have recorded ten CDs as a leader and been on multiple other CDs as a sideman; that I’ve been on countless tours across the country and in other countries performing my original music; and of all these things that I’ve done in the past 20 years with this mindset. I am most proud of the number of musicians I’ve been able to put to work in all these settings. Because that’s what building a scene is about; creating a
community of musicians that enjoy making music together and moving everyone forward. Education has become a very important topic for me. And, although I am the director of jazz studies at Kent State University, I don’t mean just school education. I mean holistically. The mentorship that musicians that are older and
from New York, which is writing your music, doing tours, and recording. And at Kent State, being able to pass down these traditions to younger musicians, I’m getting them to understand what it takes and means to be a musician. Now, it’s become a kind of balancing act between being a musician and being an educator. In some regards, it’s an easy balancing act because I don’t separate the two, meaning I am a musician first and everything else, including being an educator, comes out of that. The hard part of the balancing act is simply the time. I’m still finding it; meaning time to be a full-time musician, but it isn’t as easy anymore as it used to be. I am getting ready to record my 11th CD for DotTime Records. This will be my first live CD I’ve done and I’m quite excited for that. I’m working on a couple of tours coming up in the spring and summer. I’ve been writing grants for various projects and I’m really excited and anxious to see what comes of that. I guess this road that I’ve been on has not crumbled enough yet for me to have to get off. I guess it’s always been a little bumpy, in some regards, and it’s just a different kind of bumpy today. But I just enjoy it too much still and I’m still excited for what there is to do yet.
have more experience can pass down to the younger musicians on the scene; I mean, that’s basically what John and Chas and others did for me. There’s a good wealth of younger Jazz musicians in Northeast Ohio that have started to do the same things I did when I came back
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www.bobbyselvaggio.com
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THE SEVENTH IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES
Cloud Computing For Everyone
Paul S. Wang
Introduction In recent years, cloud computing has been an important growth area in the Information Technology (IT) industry. Generally, the word “cloud” refers to computing powers on the other end of a computer network. Almost always, we are talking about well-organized hardware, software, services, and know-how across the Internet for the purpose of reducing, supplementing, or complementing local computing resources. Cloud-based resources are not pinned down at any fixed location and can be floating anywhere on the Internet. Perhaps that is why the word cloud is used. How did cloud computing emerge? Who needs it? For what purposes? Advantages and disadvantages? Why should I care? We’ll try to answer some of these questions here in this 7th article of the Computational Thinking (CT) series (past articles in aroundkent.net Vol. 13 to 18).
Computing Paradigms In the early days, computers were large and expensive. They were housed and maintained by computer centers with highly trained staff. These are known as mainframe computers. Users accessed a mainframe by CRT-screenand-keyboard terminals and shared its computing powers. Such terminals were connected to the computer center by physical cables and could display only characters, no bitmap graphics or mouse yet. Miniaturization and large-scale integration of digital electronics brought rapid changes. The capacities of CPUs, memory units, and displays
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increased and their prices dropped at an astonishing rate. The Apple II and the IBM PC were among the first personal computers introduced back in the early 1980s. They started to shift computing from the mainframe paradigm to the PC paradigm where users had the whole computer—hardware, software, storage and display—all to themselves. Meantime, in the late 1980s, the Internet began to take shape. Based on the ARPANET (funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Defense Department), the NSFnet, the US National Science Foundation’s network of universities and supercomputing centers, helped create an explosive number of local and regional networks governed by the Internet Protocol (IP). Eventually, the Internet became so dominant that it virtually eliminated all historical rivals, such as BITNET and DECnet. In late 1991, the World-Wide Web (WWW), an Internet-based service, started to take root. The Internet and the Web quickly grew and became ubiquitous globally, affecting almost every aspect of our daily lives. Computing thus entered the Internet paradigm, combining PCs, smart-phones, the Internet, and the Web into a comprehensive computing environment. The new computing paradigm brought online email (hotmail, gmail for example), voice and video calls (Skype, Google Hangout for example), social networking (Facebook, Tweeter for example), Audio/Video sharing (Youtube, Vimeo for example), and much more. Many of these capabilities are free for individual users.
Cloud Computing The stage was then set for the next computing paradigm, cloud computing, a confusing yet fascinating term.
The MIT Technology Review article “Who Coined ‘Cloud Computing’?” traces the interesting history of the term. However, in short, The notion of network-based computing dates to the 1960s, but many believe the first use of “cloud computing” in its modern context occurred on August 9, 2006, when then Google CEO Eric Schmidt introduced the term to an industry conference.
For a business, owning and operating all the computing hardware and software in-house can be expensive in terms of infrastructure, operation, management, maintenance, and upgrade. This is especially true for medium and small enterprises. The speed and bandwidth of the modern Internet make it possible to access and use remote (non-local) computing powers located somewhere across the Internet—that is in the cloud. This means people in a company can access all the computing powers in the cloud with a PC or a Chromebook.
A Closer Look at the Cloud Technology companies, such as Amazon (AWS), Cisco, Google, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft (Azure), Apple (iCloud), CloudBees, Rackspace, SAP, Alibaba and many others, have the economy of size to supply cost-effective cloud computing services on the Internet. Subscribers of cloud computing, organizations or individuals, simply enjoy the computing power, usually for a reasonable fee. And the rented services are available 24×7, accessible anywhere on the
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Internet from a desktop, laptop, Chromebook, tablet, or smartphone. Reaching the cloud is simple. Usually you will use a Web browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari and login to your cloud account. For businesses large and small, cloud computing can be an attractive alternative to owning, staffing, and operating their own IT equipment in house. Promoters of cloud computing ask, “If you need milk, would you own a cow?” Just get the milk (the computing power you need) and let someone else worry about the cow (everything related to providing the milk). Cloud service providers (CSPs) offer many types of products including: Cloud Storage Distributed, virtual, reliable, and fault tolerant data storage easily accessible on the Internet/Web. Dropbox and Google Drive are well-known examples. Often, cloud storage is also combined with file sharing, management and/or system backup/restore functions. Software as a Service (SaaS) Software running on cloud servers accessible on-demand to subscribers, typically through a thin client via a Web browser. SaaS software performs office productivity (Microsoft Office 365 for example), customer relationship management, computer aided design, database management, human resource management, and many other tasks. Platform as a Service (PaaS) Virtual hardwaresoftware servers, typically complete with operating system, application programming and execution environment, database, and Web server. Customers can control and use the platform as well as develop custom applications on it. Continued on page 26
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Continued from page 25
Advantages and Disadvantages
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Virtual IT data centers complete with maintained servers, storage, and network facilities. On such infrastructure, a customer can install operating systems and develop and deploy their own applications.
Thus, we can say the term Cloud Computing usually refers to leased, usage-based, computing powers accessed via the Internet that supplement or replace in-house facilities.
Cloud Clients web browser mobile app thin client terminal emulator …
Internet
application
SaaS CRM email virtual desktop communication games …
platform
PaaS execution runtime database web server development tools …
infrastructure
IaaS virtual machines servers storage load balancers network …
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Cloud computing has clear advantages and disadvantages, as compared to in-house solutions. The top advantages are: less up-front investment, faster to set up and start, fewer IT personnel and equipment, more reliable and physically secure, global anytime access, easy information sharing and collaboration, and simple to scale up or down. Perhaps best of all, there can be much less bother and expense for hardware/software installation, operation, update, maintenance, security, and user help. Disadvantages are: relying on cloud service providers for privacy and security, less in-house control of IT services, lower, often unpredictable, network speed (compared to in-house LAN), limitations of applications running remotely rather than locally. Cloud computing is a growing industry. It makes sense for the right tasks and can be cost effective and more convenient. Individuals and IT professionals will need to weigh the pros and cons and pick the right cloud solutions. Often, a combination of in-house platforms, private cloud, and public cloud can be the best choice. Free and open cloud software, such as FOSSCloud (foss-cloud.org) and others, makes it much easier to create your own cloud services. Understanding cloud computing brings more computational thinking (CT) ideas to the fore such as: CT: You don’t have to bring it with you when you can access it from anywhere.
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CT: Physical locations are no longer so important or distancing. CT: A computer is almost useless without access to the Internet. CT: Data storage on the cloud has many advantages. Applying CT, we can rethink the modern airliners’ voice and data recorders, commonly known as “black boxes.” After an accident, locating or retrieving the all-important black boxes often becomes difficult or even impossible. Why not use “cloud black boxes” instead? Important data can be sent securely from planes in flight to cloud storage on a continuous basis. Hence, there won’t be any need to search for the black boxes. With real-time data, we can better monitor airliners, control flights, and manage our airspace.
Free Cloud Services for Individuals Perhaps the most well-known is Dropbox, a cloud storage service started in 2008. According to a CNBC Tech article, “Dropbox started with a couple of checks written for $15,000— today it’s worth $12 billion.” The free Dropbox Basic plan provides 2.5 GB of storage for an individual user. You can easily upload/download files, place files in different folders, and manage them just like you can on your own hard drive. Plus, you can share selected files publicly, with specific people, or invite others to access your dropbox in allowable ways. Dropbox saves your files securely with encryption. It also help you store and manage photos and videos. Additionally, you can automatically backup/restore your files, known as file synching. You can add more storage space for a fee.
Similar cloud storage and file sharing providers include Google Drive, Amazon Drive, Box, and others. Streaming services, freely available to the public to upload and share audio/video contents, include YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and more. Cloud-based services are increasingly being made available for businesses and individuals. These include tax return preparation, accounting, finance, task/project management, budgeting, photo/art processing, and many more, even interactive Web-based mathematics education (WME)—an early example of cloudbased expertise. For example, the aroundKent Magazine uses issuu, a digital discovery and publishing cloud platform, to store and share its extensive set of archived articles.
In summary, the world of computing advances with time:
Mainframe Computing Internet/Web Computing
PC Computing Cloud Computing
The future of cloud computing? Sky is the limit. According to Gartner, an IT research/advisory company, worldwide public cloud revenue is forecast to grow from $305.8 billion (2018) to $411.4 billion (2020). Why not explore what’s available that you can use? When using the cloud, be extra careful about security and privacy of your data. A previous CT article on cyber security may be helpful. I hope you find this article useful and please feel free to email your feedback to me at pwang@sofpower.com.
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A Ph.D. and faculty member from MIT, Paul Wang became a Computer Science professor (Kent State University) in 1981, and served as a Director at the Institute for Computational Mathematics at Kent from 1986 to 2011. He retired in 2012 and is now professor emeritus at Kent State University and IT consultant.
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In Search of a Good Night’s Sleep “A well-spent day brings happy sleep.” — Leonardo da Vinci
Except for those with sleep problems. WHETHER IT’S DIFFICULTY FALLING ASLEEP or problems staying asleep, a poor night’s sleep is a bad way to start the day. University Hospitals Portage Medical Center neurologist Marvin Sih, MD, offers help and hope to area residents who find themselves tossing and turning when they should be snoozing. “With the proper diagnosis and treatment, most sleep problems can be treated successfully,” says Dr. Sih, who is board certified in sleep medicine. Typical problems he can help with run the gamut from insomnia to narcolepsy and include everything in between, such as sleep apnea, sleepiness, sleepwalking, and leg movements.
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Like any health or medical problem, the critical first step in developing an effective treatment plan for sleep problems is to determine the exact diagnosis. “My first move is to identify whether the patient can’t fall asleep, can’t stay asleep, or can’t wake up,” Dr. Sih explains. “To do this, I have the patient describe his or her bedtime routine, and we talk about how long it takes them to fall asleep, whether they snore or kick their legs and if they yell or do something else they shouldn’t be doing in their sleep.” Other information he gathers at the first appointment includes whether the person wakes up during the night and cannot fall back asleep, what time he or she starts their day, whether they nap during the day, and their emotional state during the day.
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Serious Sleep Interruption Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep problem that Dr. Sih treats. “Snoring and daytime sleepiness are symptoms often related to sleep apnea,” he says. “Most people with sleep apnea snore, but not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. “People with sleep apnea experience interrupted sleep. Their airway collapses during sleep, lowering their blood oxygen,” he explains. “That causes defensive mechanisms in the brain to kick in that arouses the brain repeatedly. In severe cases, this happens from tens to sometimes a hundred times a night. For patients with sleep apnea, sleep usually is not refreshing.”
Daytime sleepiness is usually one of the obvious results of sleep apnea, but more importantly, sleep apnea is potentially life threatening. Untreated sleep apnea increases the person’s risk for high blood pressure, poor blood sugar control, stroke, abnormal heartbeats, and heart attack. Fortunately, treatment to control sleep apnea can reduce these risks. The starting point for patients with suspected sleep apnea is a sleep study. The UH sleep lab in the area is at the UH Streetsboro Health Center At the sleep lab, the patient is connected to sensors that monitor brain activity, blood oxygen levels, leg motion, snoring, and breathing. A computer records the signals, and the patient is video-recorded while sleeping for possible later review, with a sleep technician in another room. After the test, Dr. Sih reviews all the data to make a definitive diagnosis. If the sleep test confirms a diagnosis of sleep apnea, many times the first line-treatment is a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine that keeps the upper airway open while a person is sleeping.
“For most patients, insomnia has behavioral causes, related to what we call ‘poor sleep hygiene,’” Dr. Sih explains. “This refers to habits and environment that interfere with sleep, such as a bedroom that is not adequately darkened, screentime during bedtime, or drinking caffeine or exercising too close to bedtime.” Dr. Sih helps patients identify the pre-bedtime behaviors that may be interfering with their sleep and then works with them to develop a strategy to improve their sleep hygiene. “A sleeping pill is usually not the answer,” Dr. Sih stresses. “Pills are intended for shortterm use, such as those who have temporary reasons for their insomnia,” he stresses. “Insomnia usually is a chronic problem, and there is no good pill to treat it.” The good news is that insomnia can be treated effectively, if the patient is willing to commit
to making behavioral changes and has realistic expectations, Dr. Sih notes. A patient also may have other medical or psychiatric issues that contribute to or cause insomnia. He advises his patients at the outset that successful treatment is a process and not an immediate fix. Sleep issues are not the only possible reason for daytime sleepiness or tiredness, Dr. Sih notes. When his evaluation shows these symptoms are related to another underlying health or medical problem, he conducts further testing and evaluation if he suspects a neurologic issue, or refers the individual to his or her primary care provider or another specialist for other types of problems. Dr. Sih sees patients at UH Portage Medical Center, 6847 N. Chestnut St., Ravenna. Call 330-297-2401 to make an appointment.
“I always educate the patient about sleep apnea and CPAP before starting treatment. When patients understand their problem and why CPAP is necessary, treatment is more successful,” Dr. Sih notes. “In 95 percent of cases, if the patient tolerates CPAP and uses it as prescribed, it controls the problem, which means fewer than five episodes of stopped breathing during the night.”
Help for the Sleepless Insomnia – the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep – usually doesn’t have a physical cause, which can make treating it challenging.
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Meet the New Doctors at UH PORTAGE MEDICAL CENTER
IULIANA D. BOBANGA, MD
Iuliana D. Bobanga, MD, is a fellowship-trained endocrine surgeon with experience in thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal surgery, and diagnostic ultrasound of the head and neck. She is experienced in minimally invasive techniques such as endoscopy and laparoscopy as well as conventional open surgery.
Dr. Bobanga earned her BS in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit. Through her general surgery residency at UH Cleveland Medical Center followed by a fellowship in endocrine surgery, Dr. Bobanga gained a broad knowledge of surgical treatment for diseases of the endocrine glands, skin, soft tissue, breast, and upper and lower GI tracts. She joined the UH Portage Medical Center staff in late 2018 on completion of her fellowship. “My approach to patient care is to treat patients as I would want to be treated: with compassion, care, and respect. I take my time to understand what the problems are, explain the diagnosis to the patient, and discuss treatment options together,” Dr. Bobanga says. “If surgery is recommended, I want my patients to understand exactly what will happen in the operating room and have all their questions answered. I also aim to have open communication with the patient’s primary care doctor and any other specialists that may be involved in their care.” In her leisure time, Dr. Bobanga enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, cooking, reading, photography, hiking, and traveling.
CLAUDINE ELIZABETH SIEGERT, MD, FACS
Claudine E. Siegert, MD, FACS, is a general surgeon in the Department of Surgery at UH Portage Medical Center. She is fellowship trained in laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgery and is certified in the daVinci robot system for minimally invasive surgery. Her specialties include laparoscopic hernia surgery and general surgery.
A Northeast Ohio native, Dr. Siegert earned an undergraduate degree in genetic and molecular biology from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. She received her medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, and completed her residency in surgery at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL. She pursued in- depth training in laparoscopic surgery as a fellow at Rhode Island Hospital of Brown University, Providence, RI. Dr. Siegert has been in practice in North Carolina since completing her fellowship in 2001. She returned to her home state and joined the UH Portage Medical Center staff in late 2018. She brings 17 years of experience to her patients and strives to treat each patient with compassion and caring at every visit. “I prefer the small office atmosphere to allow for more time with each patient to fit their individual needs,” she says. “Going through surgery can be a stressful time, and I believe a few extra minutes in preparation can help reduce stress levels so patients can focus on recovery.” She also believes knowledge is power and likes to educate her patients about their conditions and treatment plans. In her leisure time, Dr. Siegert enjoys spending time with family and friends, scrapbooking, hiking trails, and trying new restaurants. She lives in Hudson with her daughter. Dr. Siegert is board certified in surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery.
Dr. Sih earned his bachelor’s degree in basic medical sciences with honors from the University of the Philippines Manila, and his medical degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, also with honors. Following his internal medicine residency at UH Cleveland Medical Center, he completed a residency in neurology at University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago. He completed his subspecialty training there also, with a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology (EMG) followed by a fellowship in Sleep Medicine.
MARVIN SIH, MD
After completing his second fellowship in 2013, Dr. Sih practiced in Kansas until he was named to the UH Portage Medical Center staff in late 2018. In his approach to patient care, Dr. Sih believes understanding the patient and his or her problem is essential to successful treatment. “You can’t successfully control or treat something if you don’t know what you’re treating,” he says. Outside of work, Dr. Sih enjoys travel. He lives in Solon with his wife and daughter. Dr. Sih is board certified in neurology, sleep medicine and electrodiagnostic medicine.
DR. BOBANGA AND DR. SIEGERT
DR. SIH
UH Portage General Surgery UH Portage Medical Arts Building 6847 N. Chestnut Street Suite 330 Ravenna, Ohio 44266
UH Neurological Institute UH Portage Medical Arts Building 6847 N. Chestnut Street Suite 325 Ravenna, Ohio 44266
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arvin Sih, MD, is a M general neurologist in the Neurological Institute at UH Portage Medical Center. He is dual-fellowship trained in Sleep Medicine and Clinical Neurophysiology (EMG), a specialized type of testing that evaluates nerve and muscle function.
330-297-2401
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Dr. Patrick O’Connor
The Road Less Traveled is a recurring feature that describes the path creative, interesting people took to get to where they are in life. Most creative people have traveled very interesting paths to get to where they are … usually zig-zagging a lot, shifting artistic gears, retracing steps, exploring new passions, revisiting previous works,
An Accidental Path To Dance “I never imagined I’d be in a long term academic position, let alone in multiple positions of leadership. I think my whole road is an accident, up to a point”. Joan Meggitt has evolved from athlete to singer to musician to aspiring law student to entrepreneur to performer to dance educator and administrator. Usually, dancers who achieve Joan’s level start as a child prodigy with special lessons, guidance, and experiences. In high school Joan was an outstanding athlete (tennis) and musician
failing a whole bunch, and generally bouncing back often. All these experiences are part of their creative profile and serve to motivate and inspire them. This feature tells that story. This issue of The Road Less Traveled features Joan Meggitt; associate professor of Dance in the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. Joan has an extremely wide and deep record in the arts, especially dance, and brings a world of experience to her profession. Author note: If a reader would like to suggest someone to be considered as the subject of a future Road, e-mail the publisher at info@aroundkent.net.
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(piano) while taking all the usual high school classes. She was also a classically trained Mezzo-soprano who performed in opera. She performed in the Pittsburgh Mendelsohn choir (both Junior and Senior). Mezzo means half so Mezzo-soprano is half soprano. This looks to be about the only thing Joan has ever done half-way. She studied economics at Allegheny College with plans to go to law school. She was q uite sure she knew what she wanted to do and where she was headed. Life, however,
“
I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
would have different plans for her. While at college, she was active in the vocal program, performing with multiple choirs, giving recitals, even performing in opera productions. However, even with all her experiences in singing up to that point, she took voice lessons for the first time in college! She had relied mainly on her natural talent and love for singing.
— Robert Frost
It was her voice teacher who told her to take a dance class to improve her posture and singing. So, at 19, she took her first dance class—a modern dance class with a former dancer from the Erick Hawkins Dance Company in New York City. Soon, the dance director told her she should be a dancer, which really set off a bomb inside her. “I remember feeling as
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”
if I were exploding and imploding at the same time”. She stayed the course as an economics major, graduating from Allegheny with a bachelor’s degree. “In my economics classes, I had some very passionate and creative teachers but I found a cohort in the arts that was missing in Economics.” Though she was very focused, Continued on page 36
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Continued from page 35 goal oriented, and successful in many ways, her path was still being formed. After making the leap to dance, she was very intentional about living a life in dance; but even then, opportunities randomly presented themselves. When an opportunity presented itself, she took it. She never thought about what she was supposed to do; she “just jumped”. She arranged a dance audition at Case Western Reserve University for the Masters in Fine Arts program. She was denied admission but was given very specific feedback on what she needed to do to improve. She spent the next four years tending to that feedback and returned to Case for another audition. This time, she was accepted, ultimately receiving the MFA. Along the way, she worked numerous part-time jobs and started a dance company, touring internationally. She also worked with many dancers, composers, musicians, and visual/ film artists before eventually arriving at KSU in 2005.
Dance Scholar Joan has two parallel passions in the world of dance. First are her professional experiences in the KSU dance division. Second is her passion
“Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order” — SAMUEL BECKETT —
for taking dance to people from nontraditional populations. Both paths are, for the most part, completely accidental. Joan is a dance scholar who combines her many artistic experiences with her skills as an educator. Her world revolves around dance for traditional and non-traditional populations.
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Here is Joan with the student cast of her dancework, "Mercy", opening night of Dance'18 in the School of Theatre and Dance. The fall faculty dance concert is one of several opportunities for dance majors and minors to perform.
Traditional
Non-traditional
In addition to her current faculty role, Joan served as the Coordinator of Dance Division in the School of Theatre and Dance from 2017 to 2019. She makes dance, teaches dance, reads and writes about dance, and directs and produces dance. Joan’s competence and dedication were recognized when she received KSU Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009. She also writes, make dances, and co-directs the annual Student Dance Festival.
She is also very devoted to providing dance opportunities for non-traditional populations. She taught dance to children in the Cleveland Public Schools and ran summer dance programs for urban youth. She has also shared dance programs for people with disabilities, primarily Parkinson’s disease (PD).
She teaches classes in the modern dance technique of Erick Hawkins, improvisation, composition, dance history, and dance appreciation. Her work is all about creativity and innovation. She works with dance majors and minors as well as students outside of dance. For info on dance courses, programs, and performances visit the website: https://www.kent.edu/theatredance.
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For 17 years, she directed the Antaeus Dance Company she started in partnership with her husband, Brian. She named the studio Anteaus in honor of the Greek God of the same name. Antaeus had his power rooted in the ground and would be victorious as long as he kept his feet on the ground. Joan named her dance company after Anteaus because her style of dance is close to the ground. Many forms of dance feature the upper body but Joan’s dancing is about being close to the ground.
Joan has also been involved in the “Yes…I Can (!) Dance” program at InMotion dance studio in Warrensville Heights. The mission of InMotion is to use dance, exercise and healing arts to strengthen the mind, body, and spirit of those affected by Parkinson’s disease. Considerable research evidence supports dance as a healing activity both mentally and physically with a wide assortment of health benefits, especially as people age. It is good for balance, energy level, memory, endurance, heart/lungs, muscle tone, and strength. Dancing reduces stress, improves selfconfidence, and controls weight. It even contributes to better social skills, which leads to overall well-being and longevity. I visited InMotion and participated in a session Joan led of the “Yes… I Can (!) Dance” class. My goal was to see these benefits in person. It was inspiring to see her blend singing, dance, music, exercise, and movement into one physical, emotional, and social experience for us. We were all very much engaged on many levels.
Multiple Mentors and Role Models It is quite common for successful people to have role models and mentors who have influenced their RLT. Joan’s case in this area is a bit unique as she has many mentors and role models. They include people in dance but also in music, ceramic art, theatre, choreography, athletics, film, and non-profit management including her husband, Brian. Kathryn Karipides, Shanna Sheline, Sherri Mills and Kelly Holt highlight a long list of mentors on her path. A primary lesson she has learned from these important people is everything connects into a holistic view of the important role the arts play in life. She has also learned from them that everyone teaches everyone!
Dance is a metaphor for life. When Joan says everything in her RLT is connected, she means it. In addition to her vocal studies in college, she took studio art classes. All those arts experiences have stayed with her to this day. The lessons were interchangeable from discipline to discipline and applicable to life. One of her first dance teachers, Jan Hyatt, would always say, “It’s all connected”. She believes this is true for any creative individual, regardless of their discipline, in and out of the arts. She met other artists and has worked with them to create multi-media pieces that included original music, film, set, and lighting design. She has reciprocated with her artistic friends by creating dances to accompany their work. Music, singing, and dance are companions to provide an overall experience in the arts. Joan has done an amazing job of merging her talent/abilities/experiences in music, dance, singing and athletics. A common thread in each is they all require considerable discipline and dealing with disappointment. Her parents' wisdom that “disappointments abound; that’s life “was instrumental in making sure she recognized her own value; from the inside out. While external recognition is valuable and rewarding, she finds the intrinsic rewards are in making art. It feeds her soul and enables her to meet disappointments head on. Wisdom from one of her many mentors: “Use it for good rather than evil.”
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Problem solving is a premium for Joan. She finds, in some respects, making the dance is the easiest part—particularly when you work with a great group of creative people. Finding the resources for space, music, costumes, sets, lighting … that’s the real challenge and has forced her to be creative. She even taught herself to sew so she could design and make costumes for her dance company! Hats are part of the costume a performer wears and perhaps a symbol of vulnerability. When you wear a hat you feel different than without it. Hats can transport you to exciting artistic places. Joan believes vulnerability is important. This is really an asset rather than a weakness, as it is sometimes perceived. “What I do as a teacher and artist requires me to be vulnerable.” She also asks those around her to be vulnerable because it keeps everyone engaged. It is also a great responsibility that she takes seriously. Vulnerability enables us to be open to new ideas and approaches. This encourages us to travel paths we might otherwise overlook. It opens us up to risks, which broadens our perspective and experience. As an artist, you Continued on page 38
A Yes...I Can(!) Dance class at InMotion in Warrensville Heights
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Photo courtesy of Marty Horvath
Continued from page 37 must be permeable and aware that vulnerability provides growth from new experiences. For anything new to come out, something new must go in.
A Gift to Share: Keep Moving Joan has a professional and personal passion for dance and the impact it has on people and cultures. She views her dance abilities and talent as a gift to share with others. Joan practices her passion. She guides numerous students who study dance professionally as performers and teaches courses for students majoring in other academic subjects. She wants them to see how important dance can be in all aspects of life. Her goal is to expose as many people as possible to dance. She believes
Joan believes it’s important to be fluid. “I’ve always been about moving on; I keep moving and trying to learn”. This makes sense considering her accidental (yet inspiring) path from law student to multitalented artist, dedicated to sharing her love of dance with as many people as possible. It appears Joan’s RLT will continue to wind and evolve and take her (and others) to amazing places. She will stay the course holding tight to her belief: Take the leap; someone will catch you.”
“Take the leap; someone will catch you.” — JAN HYATT —
our current view of dance is too narrow. Some people think dance is off limits for them. We need to take a broader look at the importance of dance in our society thereby increasing the number of people who experience it. Joan believes if you become too attached to what you think something should be, you will be disappointed. You must be willing to give way, to move around, or through something in order to keep moving. If something fails to work one way, you can always find another way.
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Joan with her Dad, John J. Kranak (1922—2015), for his 91st birthday celebration
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K
ent Social Services’ home of 18 years at 1066 South Water Street is a beacon of hope for the city’s most vulnerable residents. But for the three employees and hundreds of volunteers who operate Kent’s only free hot meal site and food pantry, it’s a cramped and timeworn building that simply can’t keep pace with the never-ending demand for its services. For the first time in its history, KSS—a program of the non-profit Family & Community Services Inc.—is launching a capital campaign to raise funds for a renovation and expansion project that would not only allow the agency to reach even more hungry households, but also to offer educational and recreational programs for clients.
Kent Social Services'
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN to better serve our most vulnerable neighbors
Kasha Legeza
Those clients include people like Misty, a mother who was disabled due to an accident at work. “My teen daughter and I are living on my disability. If it wasn’t for the good graces of Kent Social Services, I would not be able to feed my child,” she explained. And Anne, a widow of seven years. “The stock market wiped out our savings, which left me
Photos by Brad Bolton
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"That’s a shame", Anderson said. By tapping into resources available through Kent State University and other local partners, a variety of programs could be offered—from social and recreational programs for senior citizens to nutrition, cooking, and gardening classes for low-income families to social enterprises that train clients for the food service industry while generating some income to help KSS become more economically sustainable.
History and Need The nondescript building, constructed c1967 by the LK Restaurant chain, was purchased by F&CS in 2000 to give KSS its first permanent home, allowing the then-fledgling agency founded by Sister Jordan Haddad to finally
alone and without the income we had saved and worked for all our lives. Without this center, I would not have food from month to month. I thank God for this center and people who care,” she said.
consolidate its hot meal and food pantry programs under one roof. The building, which had been vacant for some time, underwent a modest renovation that included new restrooms, replacing ceilings and worn carpet, the creation of two small offices, and installation of new exterior doors for greater wheelchair accessibility. Little has changed since then—except for the evergrowing demand for services.
Christie Anderson, KSS community outreach manager, said that since Kent has no senior citizen center, many area seniors while-away their days in the dining room. Other folks spend hours there simply to escape the heat of summer or the cold of winter. But for a small shelving unit of donated board games and two bookcases of donated volumes, there is little to occupy their minds. And there’s no space for anything else—particularly programming.
While the agency’s 3,700-square-foot facility is being used as efficiently as possible, its two primary missions—serving hot meals every weekday (plus three Sundays monthly) and Continued on page 42
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Continued from page 41 distributing groceries through the Choice Pantry—cannot be performed simultaneously.
receive three bags of basic grocery staples once monthly.
Since the food pantry shelving units are located along a dining room wall behind the servingline counters, the pantry must close during meal times. The expansion project would separate the hot meal and pantry spaces, enabling a greater number of working poor clients to access the pantry during their lunch hour. And with each area having its own entrance, KSS could truly achieve confidentiality for pantry recipients, who are required to meet federal income eligibility requirements in order to
On average, KSS serves 65 hot meals each operating day, but there are times when all 76 dining room chairs are occupied and more are needed. The renovation project would increase seating to accommodate 96 diners, and provide the much-needed space for afternoon programs. KSS served nearly 21,000 hot meals and distributed more than 8,500 bags of groceries in 2018. It takes an enormous amount of
manpower—and much more space than is currently available—to collect, sort, store, and distribute the 145,400 pounds of nonperishable food donated just last year alone. Marquice Seward, KSS’ full-time program manager, coordinates scheduling an army of 400 volunteers who provide more than 12,000 hours of service annually. All of their work is done in the meager 500 square feet of building allotted for the kitchen, walk-in coolers, and storage areas for non-perishables. “We utilize every inch of space in this building,” said Seward while stepping up against a wall to make way for a volunteer pushing a groceryladen cart. The facility’s work areas are beyond cramped. Large shelving units line nearly every usable wall, reducing walking space to narrow pathways. nd it’s not just food on those shelves. KSS also A distributes donations of other items needed by those struggling financially: personal hygiene products, diapers, baby food, socks, winter hats and scarves, pet food, and more. The agency provides school supplies to low-income families at the start of each academic year; generous boxes of food for families and individuals during the holidays; and even toys for children at Christmas. iven the continuing decline in the relative G income of the working class, the number of area residents facing food scarcity is growing. Wages for lower income people are not keeping pace with inflation, work hours are reduced to avoid paying benefits, child
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care and health care costs are rising, placing an increasing financial burden on the working poor. The need simply never ends.
The Capital Campaign Anderson said KSS is totally dependent on the generosity of the community, as it has no committed funding source. While United Way of Portage County provides about 20 percent of the agency’s funding, the lion’s share comes from direct donations from local individuals, churches, civic groups, and businesses. For the first time in its history, the KSS board is asking the community for help in supporting a capital improvements campaign. The campaign is expected to kick off later this month, once the firm DS Architecture, finalizes the renovation/expansion plan and creates a cost estimate. Metis Construction Services, also of Kent, will be serving as the general contractor for the project. KSS has created a Capital Campaign Committee whose members will serve
as project ambassadors. Led by Michelle Hartman, working chair, the committee also includes Marilyn Sessions, Laing Kennedy, Mike Beder, Bill White, Mike Finley, Kurt Ruehr, and Alfreda Brown. “We are pleased to share that KSS has already received about $100,000 in donations to kick start the campaign that we anticipate will cover about 20 percent of the cost,” Anderson said. According to Hartman, being a vital part of the community has been the focal point for Kent Social Services where they provide more than just nourishing meals. They provide a nurturing atmosphere where the volunteers offer formidable support to the community members and their families and they help transform the service organization and society for the benefit of all people. “What every individual has in common is a very human need for food, dignity and respect. It’s important for us to take care of all people because this is what it means to be part of a community,” shared Hartman.
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Anderson said KSS staff will be happy to provide a tour for anyone wishing to view the facility and learn more about the need for capital improvement donations.
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Elliott Ingersoll, Ph.D.
a colloquialism for being irrational, rigid, and prone to passionately defend ideas that are indefensible. As such, some degree of “crazy” is human nature and those of us in “the academy” fall victim to it as much as lay people. But I digress; examples may be instructive.
Exhibit 1: “The Cloud”
WHEN PEOPLE LEARN I CHAIR a large department in a public, urban university (let’s call it City College University), they sometimes accuse me of living in an “ivory tower” and not being in touch with the “real world.” These people (for the record) spend much of their time staring at social media sites and watching reality TV so I don’t take it too personally. I do admit though that those of us in academia suffer our share of 21st-century neuroses. Even in academia, educated people can make change difficult and neurosis can trump reason. Thus, the title of this article. Lest readers think I am biting the hand that feeds me, my focus in this article is human nature rather than the academy itself. However, wherever human beings tread, some degree of nonsense is bound to follow. I am a professor who trains people to be mental health counselors. Counselors, psychologists, and social workers are all practitioners of what is called “talk therapy” and we have our work cut out for us. I have a friend who works in the physics department. While he and his colleagues talk about Euclidian curves, imaginary numbers, and black holes, my colleagues and I are stuck trying to figure out why people act so crazy and how to help them be less so. We’ve made little progress. Of course, “crazy” is
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I am sitting in a meeting of the Executive Council of my college. It consists of department chairs, associate deans, budget officers, and the Dean leading the discussion. Joining us today are colleagues from Information Services and Technology (IS&T). We are told that City College U. is seeking to save money by taking data from our computers and putting them on “the cloud.” This “cloud” is discussed with a zeal
questions increase in complexity and spur sidedebates and passionate rebuttals. Common sense dispensed with, the posse from IS&T, all but forgotten, beat a hasty retreat to go and do what they planned to do anyway—put our data on “the cloud.” On sunless days I gaze up in the sky hoping to see my students’ transcripts or my pay stub but, alas, it seems I was right. “The cloud” was just another computer.
Exhibit 2: Going Paperless In its passion to boldly lead the way into the 21st century, my institution (like most others) began a campaign to “go paperless.” I hoped and prayed this did not include the restrooms, but in the academy one never knows (there may be a truck unloading electronic bidets as
Academia Nuts I N A D I G I TA L A G E
approaching the evangelical until I point out “there really is no cloud.” The head of IS&T starts in his chair, frozen with a rictus grin. His eyes glaze over like he is having a stroke. No one, apparently, has ever challenged this. Shaking and heaving, he manages to respond, “What? I’m sorry?” I repeat, “There is no cloud. What you are describing is taking data off our computers and putting them on someone else’s computers. How will this save us money?” Now I’ve done it. The gentleman from IS&T insists we save money not paying for the maintenance of the computers. This of course begs the question; why move our data on computers no one is maintaining? Or, if they are, why not just learn how they maintain theirs more cheaply and do that with ours? The magic of the moment has passed and now everyone is asking questions. Like only academics can, the
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I write this). What it has included is increasing the complexity and time required of ordinary, simple tasks as well as those that engender enormous anxiety. Approving time cards used to be a simple task. I used my right hand (for I am right-handed) to sign off on the “cards” (actually, sheets of paper) every other week. Simple and elegant. These were then sent to the Dean who approved my signing off—done! Now we have a software system—let’s call it “Wasted Days.” “Wasted Days” demands that I create an eight-letter password with UPPER and lowercase letters, one Arabic numeral (Roman numerals not allowed) and some diacritic mark (#$!!!). This password of course must be updated every few months and most department chairpersons keep a list of three “Wasted Days” passwords taped to their computer that they cycle through systematically. So much for
security. The real problem is that “Wasted Days” does not function well (hence its nickname). What used to take me fifteen minutes may take forty-five due to logouts, resets, and a “save” button that works roughly half the time. My institution has treated me well though, so every two weeks I load up on Red Bull and do battle with “Wasted Days.”
Exhibit 3: Staff Evaluation I work with three brilliant and talented staff members without whom, our department would devolve into a chaotic, one-lung operation heaping shame upon the house of City College U. I see organization as an organic, choreographed process. The staff, faculty, and students of my department intentionally cultivate an atmosphere of care, respect, and creativity. My three staff members have very different assigned duties and carry them out with a grace that would make Fred Astaire look like a Hobbit with a titanium knee. These three staff are also represented by two different unions who get on about as well as Hezbollah and Israel. The two unions also have two different evaluation processes (all electronic, of course). Two of the three staff report directly to me so I must evaluate them annually. This leads me to the Human Resources Staff Evaluation software that we will call “Wasted Nights.” “Wasted Nights” insists that staff be evaluated on goals and competencies worded by the respective, different unions. Of course the wordings are quite different and both sets of goals and competencies bear little resemblance to the hustle and juggling my staff do to solve crises, deal with penitent, desperate students, assist with enrollment, teach faculty how to run the copier, supervise student workers, and (voluntarily) decorate the office seasonally as well as clean it well beyond the humble standards of physical plant. The competencies in “Wasted Nights” are merely scratching the surface of
the complex amalgam of duties these people carry out faithfully five days a week. There is a narrative section at the end of “Wasted Nights” where I can truly praise the staffs’ near Divine interpersonal skills, good humor, and compassion for the inevitable troubled student who wanders in two minutes before the office closes. While “Wasted Nights” is more-or-less benign, it keeps me working well into the early morning to make sure that I have matched the required wording of each program while at the same time conveyed my deep appreciation for these foot-soldiers of the academy.
Exhibit 4: Faculty Promotion What is less benign than “Wasted Days” and “Wasted Nights,” is the new “E” dossier system. The dossier makes or breaks tenure-track professors and takes their first six years to compile. The dossier summarizes a professor’s teaching, research, and service activity. If they are deemed to be good-to-great teachers, productive scholars and good citizens of the academy, they are usually granted tenure and promotion. As you can imagine, the dossier itself is anxiety-producing and every rejected or revised article occasion for a homicidal fantasy; every snarky student evaluation evoking howls of outrage. The old dossiers were compiled in huge binders that were often wheeled around in carts from chairperson’s offices to the Dean’s office. Enter the “E” dossier program I call “Hera.” The aim of “Hera” was to eliminate all the binders and paper. The outcome is yet to be determined. Like the mythological Hera, this computer program is vicious, spiteful, and delights in inflicting agonies on defenseless, untenured mortals. My junior faculty have been trained three times in “Hera” because the manufacturer keeps “upgrading” the program so that commands that previously worked, no longer function. In addition to the anxiety generated by compiling a stellar dossier, now
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junior faculty must genuflect before Hera, hoping all their hard work will not be erased in one of her piques of disdain. This does not feel like progress.
Left Behind Being human, I too am prone to fits of neurosis and anxiety about our brave, new, digital age. There is a little known point at which Baby-Boomers like myself lag so far behind the tricks and trades of the digital times that we never catch up. In academia, if this happens before we retire, it is a dark time, indeed. Let us call this the “digital rapture.” Similar to the “rapture” of theology, the digital rapture occurs when boomers like myself have either failed or refused to learn new software or new versions of old software. While those who constantly honed their “technology chops” are raptured to a new world with less space for the humanity of the academy, I and my ilk are left behind, exiled to wander an analog wasteland with only the company of a Walkman, a cassette of “Dances with Wolves,” and our last “flip” phone (rendered as useless as a rotary dinosaur). I saw foreshadowing of digital rapture when, as a junior professor twenty-five years ago, I chuckled at the senior professors whose new computers were neatly tucked in the corner of their office while they hammered away on an IBM Selectric. “Email? Why use email? Just ring me on the phone,” they would say. Well, they got out before emails, texts, “Wasted Days,” “Wasted Nights, and “Hera” came to rule the roost. Whether I will be as timely and fortunate as them remains to be seen. Or, perhaps I will succumb to the equivalence of being a glorified programmer, forsaking all teaching and writing to keep up with the ever-multiplying software and digital “edutainment” tricks. Time and my own breaking point will tell.
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Groove Therapy
It’s a solution so simple, so natural and so cost-effective that it may seem too good to be true. volume 19 | 2019 • www.aroundkent.net
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Laurel Myers Hurst
THE PROBLEM? It’s two-fold: the epidemic of neurological and mental wellness issues in our bodies and the rampant incivility in our society. Dispensing the remedy for what ails us is the passion of Kent State University alumna and Kent resident, Laurel Myers Hurst. Hurst focuses on the fundamentals of wellness: rest, nourishment, movement and state of mind, and builds these elements into the lives of her clients through GrooveTherapy™ events, family coaching and individual consultations.
in the US suffer from major depression, and major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in people aged 15 to 44. What’s more, these conditions in less severe forms affect us all from time to time. We can readily identify with churning angst in the pit of our stomach or sleepless nights of worry brought on by stress or fear of the future. In her practice, Hurst meets these challenges head on from the inside out. It’s shocking to learn that more of the “feel good” neurotransmitters—serotonin and dopamine—are made in our gut than in our brain, and the good bacteria in our gut are largely responsible for the health of our nervous and immune systems.1 Hurst rarely encounters clients who struggle with mental wellness who don’t also have tummy troubles or some sort of autoimmune diagnosis.
Partnering with the industry leader in traditional herbal and nutritional remedies for healing the gut, calming the immune system and feeding the brain what it craves for optimum focus allows Hurst to address her client’s wellness at the cellular level.
Changing Our Wiring On the macro level, GrooveTherapy depends on the glorious design of the human body to overcome neurological challenges. Over the past decade, brain research has revealed much about our innate neuroplasticity. Throughout our lives, our nerve connections grow and change dependent on our activity. The things we do, day-by-day, hardwire our nervous system to do those things better and better by repetition. This is a double-edged sword. If our physical, emotional, and social activities are beneficial, over time our health and resilience grows. However, harmful patterns are reinforced by the same mechanisms. This explains a great deal about many of the negative things in our lives. It’s the force behind the habit we picked up as a kid that is so hard to break, the thought pattern we try to leave behind that haunts us still, and the aching neck acquired in a fender bender 10 years ago that plagues us daily. With time and repetition, we are in a rut that is hard to escape.
Hurst founded GrooveTherapy™ Health + Wellness, LLC in 2017 after more than a decade of studying the benefits of melorhythm through Gospel music and traditional drum ensembles and becoming certified as a Blomberg Rhythmic Movement Training® consultant. In March, she will become one of six professionals licensed to instruct this neurodevelopmental protocol in the United States.
In the face of all that bad news, Hurst states, “The good news is that we can create a new groove!”
Neurological and Mental Wellness
Finding Hope Through Neuroplasticity
There is no denying that Americans are in a neurological and mental wellness crisis. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and the National Institute of Mental Health, 40 million American adults suffer from anxiety, 9% of adolescents
As we sleep, the body scans the nervous system for neuronal connections that have been recently used. Connections that have Continued on page 52
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Continued from page 51 gone inactive are pruned and the active nerve pathways are myelinated. Myelin is the “turbo boost” for nerve conductivity. Myelin speeds the rate at which signals can be sent along a particular nerve pathway and stabilizes the communication between the brain and the part of the body activated by the nerve (i.e. skeletal muscles, vital organs, sensory inputs).
Here’s where the magic happens. By moving, thinking, and acting in beneficial ways, we shift the creation of nerve connections toward beneficial pathways. When we repeat beneficial activities, we also myelinate beneficial nerve pathways. Because our nerve connection sites have an approximate 15 month lifespan, over time we can completely redirect and reshape the nature of our neural network. By beginning today, you can be a completely different person from the inside out in just over a year.
Directing Neuroplasticity For Physical, Emotional and Cognitive Development Stimulating, developing and integrating beneficial nerve connections mature the neural network, soothing physical pains and quieting emotional distress with them. Have you ever thought about why jiggling a baby calms fussiness? Activation of the Tonic Neck Reflex to stabilize the position of the head gives the brain a problem to work on that is greater than whatever distresses the infan, whether that be hunger, teething pain, a wet diaper, or just sheer boredom. Presenting these types of “problems” to the brain stimulates new areas of growth in the dendrites that connect nerves to one another. Any body of any age can reap the benefit in this pattern of nerve growth. Blomberg Rhythmic
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Movement Training (BRMT) is based upon the stereotypical movement patterns innate to infant development in the time time before they rise from the floor to walk. The movements are fun and easy, and they work. By following these patterns, we can develop or regain qualities of physical, emotional, and cognitive resilience we may have lost or to which we never had access. BRMT demolishes barriers and builds bridges to wellness.
Putting The Fun In The Practice As with any practice, the fallout is adherence. Results come with repetition. Fail to practice; fail to see results. In Western medicine, healing is a private relationship between a physician and patient. Hurst knows from her ethnomusicological training that in many cultures wellness is a community endeavor. The support and joy emanating from group practice overcomes the inertia that keeps us immobile and unwell. Hurst packages the practice of rhythmic movement training with group drumming in a philosophical and character education curriculum called GrooveTherapy. We live in a world of virtual reality and online grocery shopping, but there is no replacement for looking across a drum circle at another living soul and playing together. Think you can’t do it because you’re not a musician? Hurst’s drum groups are more like “drum karaoke” than drumming for trained musicians. All the drum and bell parts are supported by midi tracks so GrooveTherapy participants can play along. Hurst says, “The group, whether it’s large or small, sounds great right away, and that sound will make your heart and your body dance for joy.”
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Putting Civility Back Into Society The direction of Hurst’s current research involves the social and emotional benefits of group drumming. “In drumming, you get constant feedback. You’re playing into the group, and the sound immediately instructs you to fine-tune what you’re putting out there. In this style of drumming, it’s not about ‘playing on the beat.’ It’s about calling to the group and hearing the group call to you. The call and response is reassuring and reinforcing. The repetition—traveling over the same musical ground over and over—ameliorates the tension and fear we feel in trying something new and different. The sense of calm, concentration, and confidence is self-rewarding. It feels terrific, and it’s a feeling we share together.” Hurst believes the empathy and deference practiced in drumming spills out into other areas of life. “And we need all of that we can get in America today, don’t we?” Hurst asks. Current research backs up the lofty aspirations Hurst has for her practice. A 2017 Brain Science article published by Yuhi et al documents, increased oxytocin (the bonding hormone) levels among children in group-care foster homes who practiced drumming.2 Oxytocin levels were boosted most among boys ages 8–12 in the context of structured rather than free play in a drum group. Structured drumming is the basis for GrooveTherapy. Anyone of any age can participate, and some of the most vulnerable members of our society may benefit the most. Hurst urges, “The weight of psychological and social pain is crushing us as individuals and as a culture. If we can lift that weight by working together, I say, ‘Let’s do it now!’”
The Big Picture Through her personal experience of recovery, the improvement in her personal clients and the success stories among clients of her professional students, Hurst is convinced that, when it comes to biopsychosocial health, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulations of the skeletal system and various therapies for the muscles (physical, occupational, massage) and the mind (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) will not “stick” unless the nerves are primed, stimulated and reinforced to accept them. Proof of the healing potential of nerve stimulation and induced neuroplasticity is found in the amount of capital invested in high-tech interventions that achieve these effects, including surgically implanted electrical and transcranial magnetic stimulators. Though these technologies promise excellent results, they are not widely available, and they will never be available to individuals lacking the deep pockets to pay for them.
It gratifies Hurst that by attending to the foundations of good health and revisiting the innately patterned movements by which our neurological system developed in the first place, she can support health equity in ways that patented technologies cannot. In her
practice, she has seen even severe nerve disorders improved by the simple rocking movements she teaches that are free and accessible to every body. Hurst currently leads GrooveTherapy sessions in northeast Ohio, and she conducts individualfamily consultations in the homes of her clients. Several times per year, she instructs medical staff, teachers, therapists, social service providers, counselors, mental health professionals, and parents in the essentials of Blomberg Rhythmic Movement Training. GrooveTherapy is also a revitalizing option for corporate and community retreats and workshops. If you would like more information about the training and services she provides, Hurst can be contacted at grooveforhealth@gmail.com or www.grooveforhealth.com.
1 Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2015 Dec; 13(3): 239–244. 2 Brain Sci. 2017 Nov 16;7(11). pii: E152
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What is Oi?
The Chinese have a wholistic view of life and health. The Chinese word Qi means flowing life energy in the human body. Qi is: breath, blood flow, bio chemical system, bio-electric of the nerves system, lymph nodes system, energy flow, or life force. A better way to understand is it’s the synergic effect of all the body's systems working together for its maximum effect. Qi is found in Chinese medicine and martial arts; if your Qi is not flowing, you're dead! Despite the widespread belief in the reality of Qi, scientifically, it is an unverifiable concept to date. Medicine is also known as an art. You apply your art and if you keep getting the same result over and over again, then you have a viable treatment. Taichi has been getting positive results for centuries.
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TAICHI CHANG STYLE
John Trifero
What is Taichi?
Taichi is a martial art from China. Legend claims that in the 12th century, at a Taoist monastery in the Wudang Mountains, a monk observed a crane and cobra in mortal combat, and from his observation, the Taichi exercises were developed. That’s the legend. However, research casts doubts on the validity of those claims. Mystical origin stories are part of the Chinese culture and should not be taken literally, but metaphorically. Although some liberties were taken with the origin of Taichi, its health benefits have never been disputed. They are being proven by the Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and the American Heart Association, to name just a few. Taichi’s unique combination of slow movement and deep breathing results in an exercise that creates a meditative state. This explains why Taichi has stood the test of time: it gets results for your health.
Health Benefits of Taichi The study From the Mayo Clinic states: “Taichi can be a positive part of an overall approach to improving your health. The benefits of Taichi may include: decreased stress, anxiety, depression, and improved mood.”1 Why is this important? Remember Bob Harper from the television show the Biggest Loser? He was one of the original trainers and he recently survived a massive heart attack. He said he previously believed, “that when it comes to health, it’s about your diet first and foremost, and then it’s your exercise, then sleep, and
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then stress management,” and has been sharing this ideology for decades. Since his heart attack, he sees it differently. “Stress management is the number one key to a healthy body and a healthy mind. Those are still my four core beliefs,” he adds, but he has now flipped that hierarchy. “I think that stress management is the number one key to a healthy body and a healthy mind. When you manage your stress, you’re more likely to make better food choices,” he believes. “If you manage your stress, you’re going to be more likely to prioritize a workout to take care of yourself and your sleep is going to be so much better.” Stress has been linked to all kinds of health issues. Taichi is known as meditation in motion, and meditation is one of the most healthful stress management choices of all.2 The American Heart Association, in an article published October 11, 2017, in the Journal of the American Heart Association, its author said: “Taichi is a promising and safe exercise alternative for patients with coronary heart disease who are unable or unwilling to attend traditional cardiac rehab.” Now, it doesn’t say it cures heart disease, what Taichi does is provide a successful way for people to get into or back into an exercise program.3 Another study from the Harvard Medical School said, “Taichi is often described as 'meditation in motion', but it might well be called, 'medication in motion'. … There is
growing evidence that this has value in treating or preventing many health problems.“ “A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for Taichi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age.” Here’s some of the evidence from the study: MUSCLE STRENGTH. Taichi can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. Taichi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen. BALANCE. Taichi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Taichi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall. AEROBIC CONDITIONING. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, Taichi can provide some aerobic benefits.4
Simply put, almost any exercise can improve your health; the catch is to find an exercise you can do consistently. Taichi is an exercise that can be performed by people of all ages and abilities. The practice of meditation in motion helps manage your stress and leads to better health. Taichi movements and deep diaphragmatic breathing massage the internal organs, and provide tremendous health benefits by improving circulation. No other exercise gives you so many benefits in one package as Taichi.
Fighting and Self-Defense Applications Because it has had such noticeable health benefits, it has been mostly forgotten that Taichi is also a martial art, and its movements or postures have fighting and self-defense applications. There are many styles of Taichi; the
style being taught at Kent Parks Recreation is known as Chang Style Taichi. What does that mean, or should I say, to whom does it refer?
Chang Style History Grandmaster Chang Tung Sheng (1908— 1986) was a Hui martial artist. He was one of the best-known practitioners and teachers of Chinese wrestling, also known as Shuai Chiao. His drive and talent resulted in Chang becoming the youngest faculty member at the Nanjing Central Kuoshu Institute, the most prestigious and influential martial art school in China at that time. In 1933, at the age of 25, Grandmaster Chang Tung Sheng competed in the 5th National Kuo Shu Tournament, also called the All-China Full Contact Tournament, winning the heavyweight division over several hundred other competitors. As the story goes, Grandmaster Chang was observing General Li Chien, considered the leading expert of Yang style Taichi, practicing pushing hands (a type of sparring in Taichi) with some of his students. General Li asked Chang’s opinion. Chang, never one to pull punches, both figuratively and literally, replied that he thought the students were letting him win due to his high rank. Surprised at the audacity of Chang’s remark, Li asked Chang if he would like to have a try himself. Chang accepted the offer, whereupon Chang promptly sent Li to the ground. Eventually, General Li came to consider Chang his equal and a friend. He was so impressed by Chang’s combat skills and applications that their collaboration resulted in an entirely new style of Taichi, today known as Chang style. Never defeated in martial arts challenge matches, Chang died in Taiwan in 1986. He was considered a national treasure. Continued on page 56
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Continued from page 55
Chang Style Today Enter Grandmaster Chicoine. He became interested in the martial arts while serving in the military in Japan. Thus began his life-long journey into this discipline. In the 1970s, Grandmaster Chang and Grandmaster Chicoine met. For a long time, non-Chinese were not permitted to train in Chinese Kung Fu. The boxer revolution had left hard feelings for the Chinese masters for quite some time. Fortunately for us, Grandmaster Chang did not share this view, so much so that Chang did the unthinkable: he adopted Chicoine as his 13th son. During the following years, Grandmaster Chicoine reached the highest rank in the world next to Grandmaster Chang himself. After the death of Grandmaster Chang in 1986, the rank of Tenth Degree Black Belt was retired. Ten years later, this distinction was awarded to Grandmaster Chicoine. Grandmaster Chicoine had a long career in law enforcement. To this day, he still teaches law enforcement agencies and our military in unarmed combat. His abilities in iron palm are legendary.
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As a student under Grandmaster Chicoine and with his approval, I am honored to teach this rare form of Taichi. I consider it an obligation to pass on this legacy. That’s how you are now able to have such a rare opportunity to learn Chang style Taichi. I am fortunate to have been a student of Chang style Taichi since the 1990s. I believe it’s one of the rarest styles of Taichi on earth.
Available to You The first class of Taichi is free to new people! When coming to your first class, you will be met with many friendly people. To get the most out of Taichi and learn the complete form, it will take a little time and commitment, although just learning the first set and practicing several times a day will provide you with the health benefits mentioned. You will gain confidence and a desire to learn more. My students have mentioned that since they have been doing Taichi, they have noticed that they are more focused on other aspects of their lives. Once learned, you can practice Taichi for the rest of your life. Come join us!
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Kent Parks and Recreation Now has Taichi Classes are held at 1205 West Main Street on Wednesdays at 11: 30 am and Fridays at 4:00 pm All are welcome; any age or ability. You don’t know what Taichi is? It is worth finding out. It’s fun and it could help improve your health! You can join any class at any time. Classes start with warm up exercise and the Taichi form is taught by the postures (movements), step by step. It’s easy to get started and no special equipment is needed; just loose clothing and comfortable shoes.
1. From the Mayo clinic web site: Article name: Tai Chi: A gentle way to fight stress By Mayo Clinic Staff, https://www. mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/indepth/tai-chi/art-20045184 2. From Popsugar fitness website: Article name: Popsugar Fitness Bob Harper Bob Harper Weight Loss Advice, June 20, 2018 by Dominique Michelle Astorino 3. From the American Heart Association website: Article name: Journal of the American Heart Association Report, October 11, 2017 Categories: Heart News https://newsroom.heart.org/news/HYPERLINK “https://newsroom. heart.org/news/tai-chi-holds-promise-as-cardiac-rehabexercise”tai-chi-holds-promise-as-cardiac-rehab-exercise 4. The health benefits of Tai Chi Updated: December 4, 2015, Published: May, 2009 https://www.health.harvard.edu/ staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi
57 (alternative title “God ‘n Guns”)
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aroundKent Landmarks
Be the cool friend and give a gift that will be enjoyed for years. Purchase prints, canvas and merchandise online or purchase them framed at McKay Bricker Framing at 141 East Main Street in Kent.
Visit aroundkent.net to order prints.
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theSnarky Gardener AS A TEENAGER, I RAISED RABBITS FOR 4-H.
Every year, I would enter them in the Summit County fair as I grew up in Green on a small farm. My bunnies would be judged, and I would receive ribbons and trophies. I still remember the “Best Opposite Sex” for Buck, my New Zealand White buck, and “Best Doe and Litter” trophies I won. I learned many lessons while showing my rabbits. One is that you can’t display your ribbons on the cage’s outside as the rabbits will eat them (munch munch munch). Second, rabbits moved to a new strange home with lots of noise will get stressed and bite (specifically on the fleshy area between the thumb and pointer finger). Lastly, and most importantly, competition helps one to strive to be better. Many years ago, I entered some of my produce into the Portage County Randolph Fair. It’s pretty standard, as far as fairs go. There are demolition derbies, country/western concerts, tractor pulls, 4-H exhibits, fair food (which is not fair for those of us trying to eat healthy), and local vendor displays. Of course, entering vegetables, canned goods, and photos does feel a little childish but these are in ADULT categories, so maybe not. And with the adult entries is prize money; enough to pay for your $5 admission to see if you won.
“It’s better to look good than feel good.” Most judging is done on how the entries look. Some canned goods and baked goods will be taste tested but vegetables will not. So, how do they determine who’s the best? By what I call the “supermarket test”. If your entries look like you bought them from the store, then you’ll win. I think people get too hung up on size (bigger is better). If I have five nearly identical potatoes and my competition has one or two giants and several others that don’t match, I’m going to
win. Unless the category is “Biggest Pumpkin” or “Largest Tomato”, just make sure your veggies are good enough to buy and eat. Just don’t enter purchased produce. That’s called “cheating”. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.
This excerpt from the Portage County Fair Book says it best: “Judging is performed and ribbons awarded based on but not limited to the entry’s uniformity, market quality, neatness, freshness, cleanliness and if the entry qualifies for its section and class.” One other piece of advice I wished someone would have told me is if you are entering kale or Swiss chard, bring vases to put their stems into. A week of hot steamy summer weather will wilt otherwise beautiful leaves. There’s nothing sadder than shrivelled up plants which will certainly not win you any awards (unless nobody else is in your category).
Read the fair book and know your rules. As soon as it’s available, pick up or download the official current year “Fair Book”. It will have all the rules, deadlines, and categories listed in detail. One piece of information you might find interesting is if you have to live in the fair’s county to enter. None of ours have that rule (that I know of ), so if that’s the case in your area, go for it. Personally, that sounds like a lot of work. Also, make special note of the date when your entry paperwork is due (it was August 7th in 2018 for Portage County), and when you must bring in your stuff. Miss these deadlines and you will find out life is unfair (see what I did there?).
More is better One important part of the fair book is the entry categories. These tell you all the items you can enter into the fair. Read them all; you might
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find a few surprises. For instance, I discovered special men’s categories for canning and baking. In 2015, I entered my canned dilly beans in the “Men’s Canning – Bean” category and won first place (against NO competition). It didn’t occur to me that I could have entered three jars of dilly beans—one in the men’s and others in canned bean and canned pickle categories. I also entered two sets of purple fingerling potatoes—one in the purple potato group and a second in the fingerling group. Using this technique of volume entering, I ended up with a whole bunch of first and second place ribbons.
Fair Time When the fair is held will determine which one’s you should enter. For example, the Summit County fair is held every year in late July while Portage County is traditionally held in late August (August 20—25 here in 2019). Many more veggies will be ready for entering in a month’s time. When you turn in your entry forms, you’ll need to make judgements about what your future garden will be producing at the time of the fair. You might not have tons of tomatoes now, but you might in a few weeks. If in doubt, sign up for the category. If you don’t have something to enter at fair time, no big deal. There is no penalty for not having entries.
Have fun and brag (but not too much). The most important rule is to have fun. You are pretty much doing all this hard work for bragging rights. People at work still talk about my award-winning dilly beans that I brought in for a potluck. Of course, some people may not want to hear you talk about your “award winning vegetables” over and over. Oh well, they’ll just have to get used to it. Or maybe they could enter their own veggies this year to quiet me down a little.
volume 19 | 2019 • www.aroundkent.net
PARK RX PROGRAMMING OFFERS ADVENTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE AS SPRING FINALLY ARRIVES in Northeast Ohio, Portage Park District is launching the first official schedule of events for its Park Prescription program (Park Rx). Park District’s Park Rx program is designed to work with anyone who is interested in spending more time experiencing nature. Research has shown that time spent in nature is good for your physical and
mental health; it can reduce stress and anxiety, increase happiness, lower blood pressure, and improve pain control just to name a few. The goal of Park Rx is to have programs that offer everyone in the community the chance to enjoy the parks and start a journey to better health. Portage Park District offers over 2,000 acres of land, 14 miles of hike and bike trail, and
nine miles of equestrian trails; it’s a great way to explore Portage County while also working toward healthy goals. The Park Rx program works with partners in healthcare and wellness to create programming in line with current health standards. Partners include: AxessPointe Community Health Centers, Inc. in Kent; Kent State University, School of Health Sciences; NEOMED SOAR Clinic; Ohio WIC; Portage County Health District; Portage County Job and Family Services; Sequoia Wellness; and University Hospitals Portage Medical Center. Bill Benoit, President of University Hospitals Portage Medical Center, shared his thoughts on Park Rx, “UH Portage MC is proud to support this Parks program. As the President of the hospital and a licensed Occupational Therapist, I encourage everyone who is able to take advantage of this program. Regular physical activity has numerous health benefits including heart health, increasing endurance, improving the delivery of nutrients to vital organs, and can help to improve mental clarity. As always, I would recommend speaking with your physician about your exercise prescription.” Programming will include a variety of activities such as: yoga basics, group hikes, nature hikes, and healthy eating. Additional details and registration can be found at portageparkdistrict.org.