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Woman’s friends reveal Secret Service-like training when casual DFM attempts to leave dancefloor alongside her

“She just like whispered something about an eagle in distress, then they all swooped into this coordinated like…formation. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Freshman Freddie Lowstein, still bewildered by the sleight of hand of a few hours prior, recounted the scene he’d just witnessed during Saturday night’s ΣΣΔ basement soiree.

“Where did they learn to do that? The blonde one elbowed the Natty right out of my hand!”

Apparently the result of a Dance Floor Makeout (DFM) gone wrong, the display of evasion had been performed by six upperclassmen women who seemed to have been enjoying themselves immensely only a few seconds earlier.

This reporter attempted to gather the women in question for comment on the scene of the incident, but only two had stayed behind long enough to comment. Coldly serious and with only enough time to utter a few words, they introduced themselves simply as “Hawk One” and “Hawk Two.”

Only Hawk Two gave remark, saying, “Look, I love your dress but we’re only here because we have orders to cover the rear and prevent any pursuit.”

However, all was not lost.

When spotted later that night, snacking happily in W&L’s late night co-op, the women revealed different sides of themselves. The elbowy blonde, Gretchen Yards, ’18, flagged this reporter down, obviously apologetic.

“Sorry about being so harsh earlier,” she said, “but when there’s a job to do there’s a job to do.”

She punctuated her statement with a shrug as her tall acquaintance, Margaret Kay Harper, ’17, chimed in: “Some of these frat boys can’t deal with a casual makeout. Our girl clearly wanted to leave. She gave the signal, we handled it, and now she’s over there ordering a vegetarian Sunrise.”

Misty-eyed, she glanced once more at her friend, who will live to see many similar basement parties.

“That right there. That’s why we do this.”

-Bri Shaw ‘18


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VentureLab: An Arsenal of STEM Education

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2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy o fCentrue Lab.

2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy of Centrue Lab.

Founded in 2013, VentureLab is a hands-on learning and innovation academy that teaches tech and entrepreneurship classes to children and young people. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization strives to grow the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs through inspiration, experiential learning and mentorship.

The VentureLab Adventure

The VentureLab team, comprised of entrepreneurially spirited individuals who left their day jobs in higher education, industry and more, have designed a comprehensive curriculum that equips kids (and especially young women) with the necessary skills to uncover and develop their potential from an early age.

VentureLab offers classes, camps and workshops for students of all ages to discover and explore their passions for entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and math (ESTEAM). Through the ESTEAM framework, participants learn key mindsets of entrepreneurial and design thinking and creativity, aided by hands-on instruction in technology. “Scientists have labs, engineers have machine shops, artists have studios,” says the nonprofit’s website. “We are an innovation lab where students actually practice innovation.”

VentureLab – About Us from Key Ideas on Vimeo.

The VentureLab Visionary

Luz Cristal Sanchez Glangchai, Ph.D., is a scientist, engineer, entrepreneur, teacher, mother, wife and tech innovation evangelist. She’s worked as a patent engineer and technical adviser for HulseyIP Lawyers and as a product development engineer for 3M. She founded NANOTaxi as a doctoral student and successfully patented her technology that provides safer and more effective delivery of therapeutics and biologics to tumor tissues.

Luz Cristal Sanchez Glangchai, VentureLab founder.

Luz Cristal Sanchez Glangchai, VentureLab founder.

Glangchai later managed the Idea to Product Program at the University of Texas at Austin, teaching students and faculty to bring ideas from the lab to the marketplace, and worked with some enterprising computer science students in 2008 to hold the first 3 Day Startup (prior to 3DS becoming an independent nonprofit in 2010), a weekend long startup boot camp of sorts, previously covered by the Rivard Report, that brings college students and professionals together to create companies. As a side note, she added, “I noticed that I would typically have less than 30 percent girls (and) women apply, and those who did apply would drop out the day before the event or even the day of the event.”

Glangchai’s undeniable entrepreneurial streak, passion for meaningful tech education, personal experience in several typically male-dominated fields and desire to train a new generation of leaders and innovators has finally culminated in the creation of VentureLab. As founder/CEO of the organization, she’s a woman on a mission to equip even the very youngest learners with the mindset, mentors and skills necessary to foster a lifelong interest in technology and creative problem solving. Additionally, she and husband Pat Condon, a Rackspace co-founder and formidable tech entrepreneur in his own right, have four young children between them, making this mission all the more personal.

Emboldened from a young age by a family that encouraged her to pursue all her academic and extracurricular interests, however stereotypically gender-nonstandard they might be, Glangchai commented, “I realized that we have to teach kids, and girls in particular, at a young age, before they have preconceived notions of what girls or boys SHOULD do. I wanted to teach them at young age to have confidence that they can create things, and yes, even create their own company. I wanted to teach them to have the courage to get in front of an audience and show their accomplishments. Overall I wanted to create an environment that felt safe for girls.”

Today’s Ventures

Just earlier this week, the Rivard Report discussed the challenge of combatting the “summer slide.” Students ready to dive in to the VentureLab experience are in luck: Registration for summer sessions is already underway. From Gamer, Maker (think robots, 3D printing and lasers) and Recyclepreneur sessions to Urban Farmer, Music Production and Film-focused camps, kids and children ages five to 19 should have no problem finding their niche.

2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy o fCentrue Lab.

2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy of VentureLab.

“I had never taught kids in K-12,” said Glangchai, mother to two kids of her own under the age of 10. “I tried to think about what they would understand. … So I started making the concepts less complex and using simpler examples and words to convey the same concepts. When we did the camps it turned out to be a great success. The experiential learning is really key in getting anyone to understand entrepreneurship. In all my classes I always try to teach kids slightly more than parents think they can handle, but I know that for the most part the kids rise to your level of expectation.”

Classes for younger students cost around $300, while the longer 3-week camps for high school age entrepreneurs run $1,000, though scholarships are available for students with financial need.

A Focus on Girls

While VentureLab offers programming to all kinds of young entrepreneurs throughout the year, the 2014 schedule of events will feature a number of sessions designed specifically with young women in mind to provide a hands-on, personalized learning experience.

Glangchai’s own experience, both in school and professionally, instilled a deep, personal desire to introduce more young women to the STEM fields. “One thing that I always noticed at 3M was that I was the only female engineer in my division and one of the only engineers under 30,” she said. “Also, during school I noticed that most of the people in my classes were guys. I think in undergrad at UT in mechanical engineering there were maybe three other girls in classes with me.”

2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy o fCentrue Lab.

2013 VentureLab students participate in Girl Startup 101. Photo by Kara Gomez.

In the five-day long Girl Startup 101, held twice in June and once in August, participants will learn how to create and launch their own company, culminating in a pitch session at the end of the program. Five-day Gamer and Urban Farmer summer camps, both in July, will offer hands-on instruction in game design and exposure to traditional and high tech gardening and farming, respectively.

“Based on my experiences, I want to start with young girls and give them the confidence to think that they can do anything. They can innovate and create. They can start a company, they can make their own money, they can build an engine or create software,” she said. Encouraged by her father from a young age, Glangchai and her sisters shattered gender stereotypes, playing sports, fixing cars and building things. “He pushed us in math and science and told us we could do anything in the world.”

Future Lab: A Larger Movement

“I am passionate about tech and entrepreneurship because I think this is what is needed in our global society,” said Glangchai. “We need to learn to think creatively and entrepreneurially, and we need to start learning the skills that will be important in the future.” She’s not the only one; just over the weekend, The New York Times published an opinion piece called “How to Get Girls into Coding“:

“To avoid perpetuating the tech industry’s glaring gender gap, schools should look more closely at these grass-roots initiatives that have had success in attracting and inspiring girls. One X factor seems to be the presence of female role models, which can be hard to come by when you’re one of the only girls in your computer science class. Girls know the stereotype of a geeky guy hacker in his basement all too well, and interacting with women who use computer science in their professional lives gives them an idea of something to go after besides an endless string of code. Many of the instructors, coding evangelists and students I spoke with credited a female mentor who nudged them along.” – Nitasha Tiku, The New York Times

Like-minded tech evangelists across the country, including Reshma Saujani, founder of the nonprofit organization Girls Who Code, Stephen Foster, a founder of the San Diego-based organization ThoughtSTEM, which teaches kids ages 8 to 18 to code in after-school programs and summer camps, and Kimberly Bryant, founder of the educational nonprofit Black Girls Code, have taken up a similar charge to educate the next generation of young—and particularly, female—STEM professionals.

2013 VentureLab students. Photo courtesy o fCentrue Lab.

2013 VentureLab students participate in Girl Startup 101. Photo by Kara Gomez.

Already garnering recognition from sources such as the Wall Street Journal, The Takeaway, Wired and Mashable, VentureLab has its sights set high, aspiring to be as respected and prolific as TED, to have a workforce as passionate Teach for America and to make a significant impact on decreasing the gender gap in STEM and entrepreneurial fields for women. “We want to be admired as a game changer for education,” reads the SA-based nonprofit’s website.

“In the future I would like be able to say that 75 percent of American students have gone through a VentureLab course or program,” said Glangchai. “I hope creativity, design thinking, entrepreneurial thinking and hands-on learning will be utilized for teaching all subjects. I think students need to be taught relevant technical skills that will allow them to succeed in a 21st century, tech-driven society.”

*Featured/top image: 2013 VentureLab students participate in Girl Startup 101. Photo by Kara Gomez.

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Posts Tagged: pregnant

What Pregnant Women Read

At Lit Hub, Yardenne Greenspan discusses the solace she found in parenting books during pregnancy: Now that I was in this completely new and foreign scenario, my body doing things I never realized it knew how, my mind trying to keep up, my emotions all over the place, it made sense to seek out something […]


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"That is to say, in the logic of some people any accusation based on recovered memory testimony should be believed, because seeking justice for the claimant is more important than any injustice done to the falsely accused. Many have pointed out that the number of convictions based on such accusations are a small fraction of the accusations that were made. Their claim, such as it is, is that the moral panic that lead to slews of unsubstantiated allegations are justified because it’s better to bear the inconvenience of a false allegation than allow any perpetrator to escape prosecution." - For Infernal Use Only

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Kevin Ross – The Soul Assassin

By Mike L Ng

Kevin Ross With the WBC Strap

Kevin Ross has maintained a very busy schedule and a high profile in Muay Thai in the United States and in Thailand.  Kevin as a recent resident of Sitsongpeenong Muay Thai gym in Bangkok, Thailand has fought a steady stream of fights in famous Lumpinee stadium and took part in the Toyota Cup 8-man tournament.  During the Toyota Cup Kevin Ross made a very convincing case for the level of American nak muay by winning the quarter final in the tournament and putting a ferocious attack on his opponent in the semi-finals.  Kevin has recently even come on the radar of Saenchai Sor Kingstar, widely regarded as the best pound for pound nak muay in not only Thailand but the world.

Among Kevin’s achievements so far are the Super light weight(140 pounds) WBC International champion, the Welterweight(147 pounds)WBC National champion, the Welterweight champion of Mexico and the USMF Welterweight champion.

Q: It’s been said even at an early age you always wanted to fight. How did you eventually find Muay Thai?

A: Well I always loved watching boxing fights and often thought about possibly fighting. I also really loved martial arts but never really saw a martial art that had and real fighting. The closest thing would be point sparring tournaments or stuff like that. Then one day I saw a Muay Thai fight on ESPN and I knew right away that it was what I wanted to do with my life, I was hooked.

You maintain one of the busiest fight schedules of any American nak muay. What makes you seek out fights so often?

The simplest reason is that I love fighting, I would fight every week if I could. I also got such a late start to Muay Thai that I don’t want to waste any time, I want to fight as much as I possibly can before I’m done. My goal is to get to 100 fights, almost half way there.

You recently spent some time at Sitsongpeenong in Bangkok,Thailand. How was your overall experience there?

I really enjoyed my time there. I will definitely be making it my gym in Thailand from now on. Everyone there was wonderful and made me feel welcome, from the trainers to the other fighters and Tim the owner. I felt right at home. It was really great being able to train with Kem and Sittichai every day. I rarely get to work with people in the same weight class as me, especially at that level. Most people I work with back home are at least 155 and up. This was really the first time I’ve ever gotten to work with world class fighters that are in my weight class. What’s funny is that I didn’t even realize that they trained there when I decided to go so it was a nice surprise.

A lot of people may not be aware that you are also a freelance artist. Is it your main day job?

I would consider it my side job as Muay Thai is my life. For me art has always been something that I’ve loved and have been good at from the time I was a kid but fighting is my real passion.

Do you prefer the fine art side or more the graphic design aspect?

Both really, I love all aspects of art but I tend to do a lot more paintings than anything else.

On a related topic, are you aware that your wai kru photo is probably now the 2nd most used photo for Muay Thai posters for artwork world wide next to Tony Jaa in Ong Bak?

Ha, yeah, it’s pretty crazy. I never would have thought that it would get as big as it has when we took it. It kind of just spread all over the world. Funniest thing is that most people don’t even know that it’s me. The first time I met William Sriyapai I noticed that he had it as his screen saver on his phone. I was like,”Nice pic man, you know that’s me right?” He didn’t believe me at first till I showed him the tats on my knuckles. People are always telling me that I should have found a way to make money off of it but I don’t think it would have gotten as big as it has if I had tried to copy write it or making people pay to use it. I’m just grateful to have added something to the Muay Thai world that people enjoy.

How do you feel about your image being emblazoned on so many Muay Thai promotional posters?

I think it’s cool, I’ve had a few promoters and gyms hit me up and ask me if they can use it, which is nice of them, but for the most part I’m just glad people enjoy the photo.

Kevin Ross' famous photo used in posters everywhere

There’s been a lot of speculation about why you are not on the USA team for Sport Accord. So to clear it all up did you get invited and declined or were you never invited?

I was never invited. Honestly I didn’t even know about it until you asked me why I wasn’t on it. I wish I would have been though because I would have loved to participate. [*Kevin Ross in retrospect remembers being asked while he was in Thailand awaiting confirmation for Thai Fight but also remembers after his initial invitation they went with someone else due to possible time constraints]

The early roster for Thai Fight for Thai TV channel 3 had you on it representing the United States. Can you describe for us why you are no longer on that roster?

Well I had already agreed to do the Toyota tournament when they invited me and of course I said that I would love to fight in both. A week before the Toyota fights I was told that if I participated in them that I would not be allowed to fight in the Thai fight promotion. Well I have turned down fights in the past because of being offered a better fight and then had that fight fall through and got left with nothing. So for me I take what I can when I can because you just never know. In the end I’m glad that I stuck with the Toyota one because after I passed up on the fight they offered the opportunity to one of my past opponents, Justin Greskiewicz. He was originally supposed to fight in an 8 tournament in New York and ended up pulling out of it so that he could participate in the Thai fight promotion. Well he was told, as was I, that they would be paying for all expensis,travel,hotel,etc, but a week before he was supposed to leave for press conference in Thailand he was told that he would have to pay his own way. So in the end he was stuck with no fights. It’s unfortunate because I would have liked to see America represented there but what can ya do.

You’ve had the opportunity to fight in different combat sports such as boxing and even MMA. What in your opinion makes Muay Thai unique compared to other combat sports?

Well I had those fights in other styles because at one point, and even a little today, it was almost impossible for me to get Thai fights. Both of my pro boxing fights were on less than two weeks notice and my MMA fight was only after a few months of ground training. Muay Thai is my passion and if I had it my way it would be the only thing that I would do but at the same time I would rather fight in boxing or MMA than not fight at all. I think the History,respect,culture and purity of Muay Thai is what really separates it. Muay Thai has a much more spiritual side to it than any other fighting styles. For me it’s the combination of the brutality and beauty that makes it so appealing. There’s nowhere to run and hide in a Thai fight. In my boxing fights as well as my MMA fight I never got that same rush, it was almost as if I had just got done sparring or something. I think it’s unfortunate that Muay Thai has not gotten as much recognition as MMA or boxing but at the same time I think that it has kept it a more pure sport. There seems to be so much more respect in Thai boxing than in other styles and I think that has a lot to do with the history and the fact that it hasn’t been as tainted or corrupted as other sports have been. I would consider almost every opponent I have ever had a friend. I mean when you’re in there it’s all business but I just don’t see any reason for all the trash talking or stuff like that outside of the fight. Sure you can say it helps sell the fight but I think if you have two world class fighters in there than that should sell itself. Regardless of whether it helps sell it or not, that’s just not me and I won’t pretend it is just to help sell.

Do you feel the level of Muay Thai in the United States has grown since you first began Muay Thai?

It definitely has. The level of fighters and the quality of shows is going up all the time, however slowly. I think the biggest reason it is taking so long is that there is so much more of an opportunity in MMA. There’s more shows more money and more exposure. For someone to make a living as a Thai boxer in America only through fighting is basically impossible. I mean there’s plenty of amateur shows all of the time but once you start getting up to a certain level there’s not a lot out there and that’s why you see a lot of people make the switch to MMA. There’s only a handful of promoters that even put on top level shows and they usually use the same people every time and even on those the pay is minimal. In order for Muay Thai to get bigger in the U.S. there needs to be more promotions, especially at the top level, and it really needs to get exposure on television. The only place for people to watch Thai fights is on the internet. Another reason I believe that it’s taking so long is you have so many people using the name ‘muay thai’ when they have absolutely nothing to do with it. There are countless fights, fighters and gyms that all say ‘Muay Thai’ but yet they know nothing of the sport. So you’ll have a so-called Muay Thai show and people that have never seen it will go and it ends up being a modified rules card, basically kickboxing, which ain’t the same thing, and their like, “muay thai is lame”, and all because it was misrepresented. Or you see these gyms that say that they teach Muay Thai yet the instructors have no clue about it and probably just went to a seminar or something, got certified and are now teaching people, it’s ridiculous. Another thing is if you watch any MMA fight the announcers will say someone is using Muay Thai just because they throw a kick or knee. On one hand it’s bad for the sport because it is being misrepresented but on the other hand it is getting the sport out there and getting people interested. I could go on and on about this.

You’ve trained in Thailand, prior to your latest trip to Sitsongpeenong, at Sitkuanim as well as Sasiprapa. How would you compare your time at Sitsongpeenong to prior trips to Thailand?

All of the camps that I have been to have been wonderful and have had their own great qualities. What made Sitsongpeenong really stand out to me was not only was it a hardcore camp with top level training but it was also a really nice one, as in the accommodations and cleanliness. Most of the time if it’s a really hard core, legit camp you are going to have to give up some comfort or you can go to a really nice gym that might not be as intense of training you know, so it just depends what you’re looking for. But at Sitsongpeenong they had the best of both worlds.

Kevin Ross Drops the Elbow

What are the challenges of fighting Thais compared to American opponents?

I think one of the biggest challenges is their experience and their hearts. The majority of fighters from Thailand fighting its their lives, it isn’t a hobby or something that they do for fun. It’s how they pay the bills and take care of their families. So more than anything it is the mental aspect of it. If someone is doing something for fun as opposed to doing it as a means to feed themselves and their families than they are a lot easier to break. There are definitely fighters here in the states that can hang at that top level but they are few and far in between. I think this just has to do with the lack of experience and dedication to the sport. But it goes back to that same problem, we just don’t have enough top level cards here, as well as gyms, so it’s really hard for fighters to stay active and really progress. The fighters here in the U.S. that do make it to that top level really have to completely dedicate every aspect of their lives to this sport and sacrifice more than most people are willing to.

Having accomplished many milestones in your career in Muay Thai already what other goals remain for you in Muay Thai?

Well there’s definitely winning the WBC world title but my biggest goal is and always has been to fight as much as possible and fight better people every time. More than anything I just want to be an inspiration to others and show people that no matter where they are in life that they can go after their dreams. I didn’t start training in Muay Thai until I was 22 and before that I was an alcoholic heading down a road to nowhere. Most people would have laughed in my face back then if I told them that this is what I wanted to do, as would I. Finally one day I had enough, poured out the drink in my hand and two days later started training and never looked back. I had originally seen Muay Thai when I was about 14 so it took me about 8 years to actually do it. A lot of things kept me from going after it. I knew people would laugh at me and not take me seriously, mostly because I didn’t even know how serious I was. I was too busy partying and wasting my life and it just seemed like an impossible dream to me. I never could have imagined that I would be where I am today when I first decided to turn my life around. All’s I knew is that I wanted to fight so I completely dedicated my life to it and didn’t let anything get in my way. I would also like to compete in the new K-1 MAX 63.5kg category. If I can show one person that it’s never too late to change their lives and to accomplish their dreams then I know I’ve succeeded.

Is there any likelihood that we could see you return to Thailand soon?

Definitely, I love it over there and want to spend as much time as I can but it isn’t always financially possible for me. I’m hoping to go back again towards the end of the year but if not definitely next year.

Maintaining as busy of a fight schedule as you have it can be hard to be healthy. What steps do you take to keep your fitness and health up?

Well trying to stay healthy hasn’t always been the easiest thing as I have had some pretty serious injuries over the years. I do my best to stay healthy and even when I do have injuries I tend to heal rather quickly. I really try and maintain a good diet regardless of my fight schedule. I mean as anyone who knows me will tell you I love the junk food and go way overboard after fights. But that will only last for about a week and then I’m right back on the grind. I think it’s really important to have balance, if you are so strict on yourself constantly then you’ll probably break down and go completely the other direction. So you’ve got to make sure and enjoy the little things from time to time, like donuts! I always have a lot of doctors, masseuses and chiropractors that have really kept me healthy as well. I would be a mess if it wasn’t for them. One of the worst injuries that I have had was snapping my ankle in China and my physical therapist got me back in the ring within 6 months. When my doctor first saw my ankle she didn’t think I’d even be walking properly in that amount of time. I really have to give them their credit and my thanks.

Kevin Ross Gets Busy in Cambodia against Phutong

Do you have any upcoming fights?

I don’t have anything set right now but I am looking to get something lined up towards the end of August or beginning of September. I really want my shot at Pinca or any other top fighters but I will fight anyone.

What so far has been your proudest moment in your Muay Thai career?

Winning the WBC International title and getting my revenge was definitely my proudest moment. There was so much emotion for me in that fight. From snapping my ankle and loosing that controversial decision in the first fight to the 5-6 months it took me to rehab my ankle. Then having the rematch be the war that it was and to end by knocking him out in the 4th round, I was just flooded with emotion and couldn’t keep it in. It was the best feeling in the world. Another one of my proudest moments was when I got to fight on the King’s Birthday in 2007. Walking out and fighting in front of that many people was the most surreal experience I have ever had. For some reason I have never been one to get nervous before fights, more times than not I get too relaxed and really have to get myself amped up to get the adrenalin flowing. I really thought that fighting in front of that many people would actually make nervous for once but I was calmer than I ever had been before. I really feel like God put me on this earth to be a fighter and in that moment I could just feel His presence and knew that I was doing what I was put on this earth to do, it was an amazing feeling.

Do you have any advice for new students in Muay Thai?

My biggest advice to anyone, whether it’s in fighting or anything else, is to go after your dreams and never give up. Figure out what you want out of life, what you are passionate about and go after it, no exceptions. But you also have to be willing to sacrifice in order to get there. If there is something that you love and know that you were put on this earth to do, there shouldn’t be anything that you let get in your way. I have had to give up so much, sacrifice and go through more than I could even begin to tell you but I wouldn’t change it for the world. There have been moments where I just wanted to quit, to give it all up. At time it would be a lot easier to just stop, give up and do something else but in the end I would live my life in regret. I think that is one of the biggest reasons that people are unhappy. They had a dream but never went after it because of fear of failure or fear of the challenge or any number of reasons. But I’ll tell you that even if you never actually accomplish the dream, just going after it will bring you more happiness and peace than anything else. I mean even if I never had accomplished as much as I have in this sport I never would have regretted going after my dream. I will always know that I gave it my all and I never have to look back on my life and ask ‘what if’. What if I would have tried, what if I wouldn’t have let fear hold me back, you’ll never know and it will eat you up forever.

For new and old fans do you have any parting words?

I just want to thank everyone that has helped and supported me over the years. I also want to thank all of my trainers and training partners, Mark, Shawn, Chaz, Norm(my conditioning coach) and everyone else along the way. I truly appreciate you all more than I could ever express. Whether it’s someone that has helped me train for fights or just someone that has said hello to me and told me that what I do inspires them, I appreciate you all. I will continue to give everything that I have to this sport for as long as I can and hope to inspire and touch as many lives as possible. “Face your fears, live your dreams”. God bless you all!

Much thanks goes to Kevin Ross for the interview and the well thought and detailed answers.  It truly was a pleasure and honor.

And now a clip of Kevin fighting with the WBC USA title staked:

[tweetmeme source=”kevin-ross-the-soul-assassin/]

~ by fatsoking on August 3, 2010.

9 Responses to “Kevin Ross – The Soul Assassin”

  1. Kevins my boy, but hes been hit in the head one to many times ;), as the coach of the US Team he was diffently offered a spot on the Sport Accord Team. He had the Thai Fight TV thing planned and the Sport Accord Tournament is Non-Pay as it’s an Olympic style event.

  2. Of course he wasn’t offered the spot! Can you give me ONE good reason why he would lie about it?
    It’s not like he hasn’t had a long time to think about his answers for this interview.
    Typical dodgy Muaythai stuff right there – SADLY!

  3. Keep a very close eye on Kevin ! He does what he says and is ‘hands down’ the best 140lb in America !

  4. Larsenator, lets calm down a sec buddy ;), Google me if you doubt my identity, Kirian Fitzgibbons, I’m the head coach of the US National Muay Thai Team. I am also a good friend of Kevin Ross. I am one of Kevin’s biggest fans and I never said Kevin was lying. But, with that said, I was the one that recommended Kevin to the USMF, IFMA and Sport Accord. The President of the USMF offered the spot to Kevin, Kevin turned it down because it conflicted with the ThaiFight TV Tournament. I’m sure that since he would be fighting for free vs. getting paid played a part as well. I have the email exchange as I was cc’d during the entire matter. Kevin was in Thailand at the time training. Now did kevin put 2 and 2 together at the time what he was turning down, probably not. The only reason I post this is that Kevin is the USMF Champion and in the US National Teams opionon the best American Male Nak Muay at this time. So I want to be clear to not offer him a spot would be foolish. I will jog Kevin’s memory i.e., hit him in the head, and have Kevin come on here and clarify. No “dodgy” muaythai stuff I promise ;).

    • Hi Kirian and welcome. I updated some notes on Kevin’s own thoughts about the SportAccord invitation and his feelings on it. He just updated me about them as of today.

      • Yeah Kevin told me he hit you up. It’s no big deal, but Kevin is way to good not to get an invite and as the head coach for the team if he did not get the invite at least I would feel like I was letting the US program down. I was very happy to get Miriam on the US Team this past year and she in turn won Gold. I am very confident that is Kevin fought at the World Cup he could do the same. I’m still working on him ;).

  5. OK. That makes sense. 🙂

    Yeah I’m a bit agressive these days as I’m fed up with SO much SH** going around in our sport – I’ve followed it since the early eighties and to be honest not a lot of positive developments have been achieved.

    I don’t know you and I’ve never heard of you but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your reply. 🙂

  6. Understood 🙂

  7. kevin is definately an inspiration for my muay thai game right now. i love seeing american nak muays get noticed and, not that kevin is the first, he is definately kicking open some doors for the rest of us trying to make a difference for american muay thai. good luck to kevin and all his endeavors!

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J Brand Apparel Online Sample Sale @ Gilt

5 January 2018

WHAT: J Brand Apparel Online Sample Sale @ Gilt

WHY: J Brand Apparel up to 70% off!

WHEN: 1/4 8am – 1/7 12am

*To sign up & access the sales, please click here.

Join Gilt to find the best brands at 70% off – no coupon needed!

J Brand Apparel

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Finding Your Perfect Diet

The most common question I hear relating to health and fitness is “What is the perfect diet?”, or “Will diet X work for me?”. For starters, yes, Atkins, Paleo, P90x and Insanity diet plans will work for you. In general, these are fantastic diet plans. You are cutting out the junk that is making you fat; white bread, processed foods, sweets, and sugar in general. If you haven’t figured out these basics in your quest to improve your life, regardless of fitness/physique goals, stop reading. Go back to whenever you starting seriously working out tell yourself not to waste the time. Lift all you want, run forever, but diet is the key component. It sucks, I know. Diet is the game breaker. Before we go any further, I’m going to assume you are serious about improving your diet, and therefore are willing to follow these five building blocks to every successful diet.

1)  Stop eating refined flour

2)  Stop eating sweets (refined sugar)

3)  Stop drinking soda and alcohol

4)  Eat more vegetables (90% of you don’t eat enough)

5) Drink water, when you are thirsty, and with every meal

That’s it. Those are your building blocks. You should not be considering these five basics as part of your trial and error. These are steadfast; this has less to do with you looking like Brad Pitt in Fight Club and more to do with you not being another pudgy fucker. If you don’t want to follow these principles, great, go back to the repeat episode of Teen Mom and your bag of Cheetos now. Have some pride in yourself.

OK so we have these basic principles down, you are 85% there. It really is that easy. People like to assume celebrities are ripped because they have the money to pay for a chef and a personal trainer. That is only partially true. The bottom line, and all that matters, is they are willing to do the work, both physically and mentally to get what they want out of their bodies. Stop making excuses. The information is easy, and available, it’s up to you to use it.  If you follow the five rules above, and work out a few times a week, you will see drastic improvements. Have willpower, be a better you.

Once you have the 5 basic principles down, now comes the fun part! Mix and Match. Something that works for one person isn’t going to work for another. An obviously drastic example is that someone who is trying to pack on a shitload of muscle (most gorillas in the gym) and someone who is trying to carve out their six pack (skinny guys who refuse to eat enough to pack on the muscle they want) need entirely different diets. One needs carbs; the other wants very few carbs, etc. It doesn’t just stop with what your goals are though; every body truly is different.  Things that will work for one 6’2 190lb person might make another person of the same physique feel bloated and lethargic.  So try all sorts of combinations. Try no dairy for a week. Try EXTRA dairy for a week. Try five servings of carbs each day (whole grains), try one. Try varying amounts of red meat. Use tofu (not too often for estrogen reasons). Fruits and veggies? Eat up. Figure out what makes you FEEL the best. How do you feel when you wake up, afternoon, night? Once you are feeling good all day; rested, energetic, awake, “clean”, you have solved yourself. You now have your perfect diet.

I have listed my perfect diet below.

2 Eggs
4 Egg Whites
1 Serving Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 Cup Strawberries
8oz Milk

1 Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Veggies
Protein Shake

8oz Milk

1 Serving Almonds
Protein Shake
8oz Milk

Pre-workout 4:15pm:
Protein Shake

Post Workout 6:00pm:
Recovery Drink (I use Accelerade)

Chicken/Fish/Steak (once a week)

This meal plan leaves me feeling clean and energetic from the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep at night. It took four years to figure out what worked best for me, and it may take you just as long. Each trial and error, you are learning, and improving yourself. The diet above may seem like way too much food to you, or too little. For my purposes, it’s perfect. Find out what works for you! There are literally 100’s of different combinations you can try when fine tuning your diet. Get the basics down first, after that, only good things will come.

Be the best version of yourself.

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Health Care, Identity, Life Stories, Health, Life

Time slowed down the day my best friend passed away

You know how they say that in moments of extreme anxiety you almost feel your heart stop? Maybe that’s what happened to me.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The day my childhood best friend took his life was during mental health awareness week. Throughout the week, I had been speaking to anyone that would listen about mental health awareness.

With the onset of 13 Reasons Why season two, people were talking about it. That night, I fell asleep watching the show.

At 5:00 am that morning, I woke up to my mom banging on my door. I saw her looking like I hadn’t in a long time. She was crying. I asked her what happened. She wouldn’t say. She just kept shaking her head and crying uncontrollably. Until she said his name. What happened? She just said no. There’s been an accident.

I met Emad when I was three-years-old.

We had been best friends since then. In a word, he was constant. If I think of describing him to anyone, the first thing I would say is laughter. Loud. Echoing. Hurting. His laughter was like fireworks cascading in the open air. I’d tell them that he was magnetic; everyone he let into his world felt that pulsating connection to be closer to him, to talk to him, to know him. I’d tell them about the things that I think of when I think of him: empty chocolate wrappers, open doors, Marlboro reds, daily tricks, all-encompassing hugs, and the suspension of time.

My body was too weak to contain the gravity of the situation. Click To Tweet

You know how they say that in moments of extreme anxiety you almost feel your heart stop? Maybe that’s what happened to me. Everything inside me hurt. Screamed. Shouted.

My body was too small to contain my pain. My body was too weak to contain the gravity of the situation. I screamed his name. Remembering every morning he came to wake me up when he got back from the airport. Remembering every walk we had from his house to mine, five minutes that were all ours. We’d always have the best conversations strolling down my street.

My mind couldn’t grasp what had happened, it wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. That’s what kept playing in my head.

I didn’t sleep that night. I haven’t slept most nights since then. Sunday came and I didn’t want it to because I knew I had to face people. My heart was too weak for that. Forget strong, I thought. I’m weak as shit. I’d spent so much of my life pretending to be the happy girl but I was tired.

So I cried my eyes out. Until I couldn’t cry anymore.

That’s when I started reading the news. No one would tell me what happened and I needed to know.

That one day, I thought I couldn’t feel any more pain than I already did. Click To Tweet

When I found out, I would have never even fathomed. I was scrolling through The Boston Globe and I came across a suicide story. I shrugged it off. But the more I read, obsessively, all over social media I realized I couldn’t avoid it. A few hours passed and by that point, I knew. I knew he had taken his own life and my heart felt like it broke once again. I wish I could tell you that I knew he was hurting, that I knew he was going through this.

But I didn’t. None of us did.

That’s the problem with mental health in Pakistan.

We don’t talk about it enough to even be aware of it. But this was more than that, this made me realize that most of the time, we don’t know what the people around us are feeling. Sometimes, we don’t even bother to try. As a populous, we’ve grown to rely on internalizing our feelings. Especially when it comes to boys, they’re taught this one idea of masculinity that has no place for emotions and that’s not okay.

It’s good to express the way you feel. Even if you feel awful, there is someone out there who will get it.

I knew he had taken his own life and my heart felt like it broke once again. Click To Tweet

On that ill-fated Saturday morning, my life changed. It gets easier to pretend. I pretend for my friends and my family. But mostly, lately, I pretend even for myself. I’m too scared of spinning out of control.

I’ve never judged his decision. I never thought any less of him for it. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t angry, at myself, at the world but not at him.

There are so many things I loved about him: his no-fucks-given advice, how he was the first person to smoke a cigarette in my room and I freaked, how I cried when he was leaving for uni and he laughed, told me that I’ll be alright without him.

How he could make friends so easily, and people always wanted to be enveloped in his world of crazy stories.

Most of all, I loved his unmistakable presence. The presence that some days, I still feel. When I’m walking the short distance between our two houses or when I’m sitting in his courtyard.

This isn’t something I’d ever want everyone to go through. I can’t tell anyone what to do when something like this happens, but I can tell you what I’ve learned from it:

The importance of speaking about mental health. In Pakistan, it’s so frequent that we push mental health to the sidelines, but pushing it aside does not make it go away. We need to acknowledge that mental illness has a long-lasting effect on lives.

Be kind to others. It’s so simple. Lately, when I feel my anger building, I try to stop myself from saying something rude. You never know how much words can really affect someone.

Make an effort with the people that matter to you. It’s so often that we ask people “how are you” in conversation, never even wanting to know the real answer. We’re too busy, we’re too caught up in our lives but trust me, it matters. It makes a difference to really listen when someone is speaking.

Ask for help. I know it’s scary and daunting. But taking a step back, and telling someone that you aren’t okay is important. It doesn’t work for everyone, but even if it works for one person, means it can be worth trying out.

The past few months have changed me, in more ways than I can explain. I’m grateful to have had him in my life for 21 years; my life was vivid because of him, and no one can take that away from me.

I hope that wherever he is, he’s smiling that goofy smile. I know that I’ll be looking for that smile wherever I go.

Maheen Humayun

Maheen Humayun

Maheen Humayun is a writer and teacher based in Karachi, Pakistan. A graduate of the John Cabot University program in English Literature and Creative Writing, Maheen writes about women's rights and social issues for The Tempest and The Express Tribune. Her novella, "Special," was published in 2012, and she continues to write short fiction. She is also an avid art journaller, coffee drinker, and impassioned feminist.

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Gear Review: AKU Tengu Low GTX

AKU Tengu Low GTX

MSRP: $249.99 USD
Weight: 870 grams; 30 ounces.
Height: Ankle height (low)
Material: Gore-Tex elastic sock inside with an EVA layer around the lower outside, giving the shoe a rubber-like exterior. AKU’s trademark Air 8000 and suede on the upper shoe.
Outsole: Vibram.
Color: Orange and turquoise, with gray and orange laces.

The Tengu Low GTX is a new model from AKU, an Italian boot manufacturer. With a Vibram sole the Tengu moves easily from flat, hard-surfaced trails to rocky, mud-laced mountain trails. AKU has more than 30 years of experience in the design and production of trekking and outdoor footwear. The boots are available in the U.S. and Canada through the company’s North American website and at retail outlets.

Circumstance of Use

Mud and water on the Long Trail in Vermont? The AKU Tengu Low GTX did just fine.

Vermont. Where mud and rocks collide. So what better place to put hard miles on the AKU Tengu Low GTX than the Long Trail north of Maine Junction. Over days of tramping through mudholes, stepping on trail-blocking blowdowns, and too many rocks to count, the Tengu impressed. The boots felt light on my feet. The Vibram soles gripped rocks and cushioned my feet. I didn’t get a single blister. They stayed dry inside after days of walking through shallow streams and mudholes that didn’t come over the tops of the boots. And though they did get wet inside after a day of rain and stomping in deep water, the insides were only damp the next day and dried with a fresh pair of socks. And I have to say, because I wanted to test the Gore-Tex lining and quickness of drying, I stepped in more and deeper mud and water than I normally would. I bounced on small blowdowns to see if I could break them up. I kicked rocks to see how the shoes protected my toes. In short, I put these shoes through hell. And they came out feeling like heaven. Before hiking in Vermont, I used these shoes for numerous day hikes in Connecticut, where I found that puddle-jumping is still fun after all these years.

Gore-Tex lining: Keeps your feet dry under normal trail conditions. Because of the low cut of the boot water will get in on rainy days or if you step in a deep puddle, but the inside liner dries fairly quickly.

Vibram soles: Good grip on wet and dry rocks; the soles absorb pounding on rocky and hard trails.

Outer layer: Good protection against stubbing your foot on a rock.

I liked these shoes for their firm, Vibram soles. I hike in New England, known for its rocky trails. These shoes gripped dry and wet rocks firmly. After years of full-height boots, I was leery of rolling an ankle with a misstep on a rock while wearing an ankle-height boot. Didn’t happen. My feet felt good at the end of a day spent pounding rocks on the Long Trail. The Gore-Tex liner is more like a sock that encases the entire foot, reducing entry points for water. The shoes do not have a traditional, loose tongue, which helps with the seal. The fit was true, and a size 12 U.S. fit my size 12 feet with no problems. Orange laces are included if you want something brighter than the gray laces put on in the factory.

Cons: At the high end of prices for low-cut boots. Distribution online or through distributors mainly on the East and West coasts and Colorado.

For comfort right out of the box, Gore-Tex lining, and a tough exterior that take a beating, these boots should last. They’ll be my go-to hiking boots from now on.

Shop the Tengu Low GTX Here

Disclosure: This product was donated for the purpose of this review.

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This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

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Vegan Peanut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I made cookies yesterday because my yoga teacher mentioned it and I’m highly suggestible. I started with the previous Hurricane Sandy Cookies recipe, but made some small adaptations due to what we did/didn’t have available. They came out quite delicious!

Vegan Peanut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup plain soymilk
  • 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup almonds, chopped

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare your baking sheets.
  2. Whisk together first five ingredients until very smooth. Mix dry ingredients. Combine all ingredients and stir to combine thoroughly.
  3. Hand roll into small balls and then flatten down to about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until tops develop cracks. They won’t look quite done. That’s ok. Remove sheet from oven, and wait 10 minutes before transferring cookies to plate.
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Posts Tagged ‘scientific research’

20 March 2018

Keith L. Bildstein, Ph.D.
Hawk Mountain Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science

Brandon trap shot

The walk-in trap used to capture vultures at the Eliza Cove dump (Photo by Brandon Breen)

An e-mail from birding phenom Noah Strycker earlier this week reminded me just how interconnected our natural world of vultures really is.  Noah’s recent “big-year” book Birding Without Borders has made him an international birding super-star, and that is what brought him to Hawk Mountain for a fall lecture last autumn.  While at Hawk Mountain, Noah mentioned that he would leading a birding cruise in and around the Falkland Islands in March 2018, and I suggested that he be on the lookout for our color-banded striated caracaras there.  (You may recall that we have banded more than 1200 of these enigmatic raptors over the past eight years on the Falklands, and I was certain Noah would spot one or more of them on his visit.)  And indeed he did–R36 yellow, a juvenile we had banded on one island last summer, was seen by Noah almost 20 miles away on another island, a sighting that adds significantly to our knowledge of movement ecology in the species.

Noah, who was traveling on the M/V Ocean Adventurer, chartered by Quark Expeditions on a 33-day Atlantic Islands voyage from Ushuaia to Cape Verde, stopped for the day on March 13, and he and some others on the tour went to Gypsy Cove near Stanley to look for birds. They spotted two wing-tagged turkey vultures, a species we have studying and tagging in the Falklands since 2006.  One was tagged with number 10 yellow, the other with 37 yellow, two individuals that had been tagged as adults on two successive days in early July 2010 at a municipal garbage tip near Stanley.  That the two were still hanging around together more than seven years later is testimony to the longevity of the tags (take a look at them on the accompanying photos), as well as to the relationship of the two birds involved, both of which most likely roost with dozens of other turkey vultures on one of two small tussac islands near by.

Although we’ve had hundreds of reports of many of the 52 vultures we have tagged in the Falklands, Noah’s observations are the first in several years to report two birds simultaneously.

Turkey Vulture (Stanley) 006

A wing-tagged vulture at a municipal garbage tip near Stanley in 2008 (Photo by Alan Henry)

Somewhat surprisingly, most of the tagged birds have remained near Stanley (and the dump) confirming that human rubbish plays an important role in the diets of these birds.  I say “confirming” because a study of regurgitation pellets from turkey vultures collected by Amélie Augé of the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute suggests a strong rubbish relationship.  Amélie collected her pellets in and around Stanley in 2015 and published her work in the journal Polar Biology in 2016.  Most of the regurgitation pellets she collected contained “anthropogenic debris,” including plastic, glass, paper, fabric, and/or aluminum in addition to more natural remains.  The relatively low human density of the Falklands (fewer than 3,000 on an archipelago the size of Connecticut) emphasizes the extent to which even small numbers of people can influence and contaminate the diets of raptors even on relatively remote areas.

I look forward to re-connecting with yellow 10 and yellow 37, as well as other wing-tagged turkey vultures on my next visit to the Falklands in August.  Assuming I do re-connect, I will let you know.

Read Full Post »

By Adehl Schwaderer, Hawk Mountain Conservation Science Trainee

03 Jan 2018

As a Hawk Mountain Conservation Science Trainee, you have the opportunity to be a part of many influential experiences, including counting migrants as they pass North Lookout and educating visitors about the importance of raptor conservation. But the experience that I have learned the most from this autumn was working with my fellow trainee Zoey Greenberg on our black vulture movement ecology project. This blog is part two of our vulture series so be sure to check out part one to gain a complete understanding of our project.

The plan was to locate three black vultures, Versace, Gifford, and Hillary, based on their recent GPS locations and observe what the birds were doing at these locations. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was excited to get started and gain new field experience, but no one had ever attempted groundtruthing with this species before, and it is still a new concept. We accepted this challenge with enthusiasm but were anxious about getting results. In the end we knew that no data would still be valuable information, however who doesn’t want groundbreaking results from their first ever field study?

Versace perched on a barn in the Kempton Valley, notice her wing tag and antennae of the telemetry unit.

Thankfully, our first day in the field was a success! Zoey and I followed Versace’s movements from the previous month, which led us to a large roost of black and turkey vultures in the Kempton Valley. We were ecstatic, and from that point on, we were on a roll! Throughout the next three months we kept up our tracking efforts and found many more roosts (some permanent and some temporary), observed interesting behaviors, and made an effort to trap and tag these birds. By doing all of this, we were able to confirm some of our suspicions. However, we also discovered things we did not expect.

One of the suspicions we were able to confirm was that black and turkey vultures more often than not share the same roost sites. These two species have very different tendencies when searching for food, feeding, and perching, but that did not stop them from co-existing at the same roosting sites and air space. We also suspected that the vultures would use some roosts more consistently than others depending air temperature, trees available, and proximity to their next meal. We determined what each roost site was being used for, as well as observed a shift in preferred roost locations and species composition as winter set in and turkey vultures began migrating south.

Turkey vulture trapped and tagged in Kempton Valley by Adehl, Zoey, and David Barber.

We found the most unexpected results attempting to trap “our” black vultures. We enlisted the help of Hawk Mountain biologists, David Barber and Jean-François Therrien, who both have extensive trapping and tagging experience with vultures and other raptors. The goal was to capture and wing tag a substantial number of the black vultures we followed around in the Kempton Valley.

To do so, we staked down road kill (a vulture delicacy) at several roost sights we had determined were used mainly for feeding. Once the bait was staked, we placed noose traps made of fishing line and parachute cord in a diamond around the carcass. Once everything was in place, we would wait for the vultures to descend on the meal and consequently get their feet stuck in our traps—a process that does not harm the birds).

That is exactly what we did. We waited… and waited… and waited to no avail. The first site we chose to bait was seemingly perfect. There was already an area on the property where the landowners frequently discarded rotting vegetables and meat scraps. In addition, dead trees and conifers, which provided many roosting options for the birds, surrounded the dump.

However, shortly after we began baiting, two unwelcome visitors decided to join the flock: an adult and immature bald eagle. Now you may be thinking, “Wow! How amazing you get to observe vultures and the majestic bald eagle in one place!” Well, you would be wrong. We learned immediately that vultures and eagles do not enjoy sharing the same air space, or the same dining room table for that matter.

adehl with tagged vulture

Adehl holds the trapped and newly tagged turkey vulture.

We are confident that this interaction caused us to be unsuccessful in trapping vultures at this trap site, and the second area we chose to bait and trap. As soon as the eagles were seen at the roosting areas, black and turkey vultures were not seen roosting in those locations again during our observations. We did not expect this to occur because in other locations, like the Conowingo Dam in Maryland, eagles and vultures co-exist in the same feeding sites with no apparent issue. We believe the higher tolerance in these areas could be due to a larger food source with enough to go around for everyone, meaning that there is no need to initiate a food fight. The availability of only one carcass at our bait sites and providing large carcasses that were more easily discovered could have been the reason that the vultures and eagles in our study did not get along at our sites. However, all was not lost! In the end we did manage to trap and tag one turkey vulture, which was a very valuable learning experience for Zoey and myself.

Ultimately, I was able to witness unique behavioral patterns through this opportunity that will stick with me the most. I will never forget the breezy autumn morning when over twenty turkey vultures performed aerial acrobatics on a freshly plowed hill between bouts of picking through the soil with their bills and talons. Nor will I forget standing in the pouring rain, watching more than forty black vultures run across the bars of an information tower with their bills clapping and wings spread wide.

Zoey and I learned so much by only taking the time to stop and observe, and we are excited to see what else others that take the time to do the same will discover.

Read Full Post »

By Zoey Greenberg, Hawk Mountain Conservation Science Trainee

21 Dec 2017

Screen Shot 2017-12-05 at 9.57.02 AM

Female black vulture named Donald over a quarry during September of 2016 near Palmyra, PA.

The tires crunched on gravel, and I shut the engine off. We had entered vulture country. With scope, data sheets, and binoculars in hand my project partner, trainee Adehl Shwaderer and I walked carefully up the gravel road as we scanned the tree tops for hunched silhouettes or soaring shadows. This was our first foray into the Kempton Valley, east of Hawk Mountain, in search of black vultures (Coragyps atratus). Our expectations were not high. However, we had innovation on our side: we were testing a method called “groundtruthing” to better understand the movement ecology of several vultures that had been tagged with satellite transmitters by Hawk Mountain scientists. After investigating their movements in Google Earth, we had discovered interesting patterns including an individual who spent time near quarries, and another that seemed to prefer cities. The problem was, we didn’t know why.

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 6.46.23 PM

Some tools used for groundtruthing method: laptop, smartphone with hotspot, and a vehicle.

Groundtruthing works like this: we, the field researchers, embark into the field with an internet hotspot and laptop in tow. We look up the locations of tagged vultures on an online database called MoveBank.org and then drive to meet individual birds and watch their behavior. By combining technology with old-school methods, we are able to gain visual access to black vultures and unveil mysteries about their movements that remain when we rely exclusively on satellite tracking data to explore patterns. As I became more comfortable with groundtruthing, I realized that the beauty of the method exists in its simplicity, utility, and the truism that even in this day-and-age there is no substitute for in-person observation.

A wonderful realm of study exists when we move beyond discovering where birds are, and incorporate studies that investigate why. Black vultures provide irreplaceable ecosystem services for us through their removal of carcasses that can carry harmful diseases. However, due to their curious nature and adaptability, they are often involved in conflict with humans that can result in noise-hazing, shooting, and other forms of human persecution. Therefore, investigating their movement patterns is necessary.

versace nov 2017 movements

Versace’s movements within the Kempton Valley, November, 2017.

At the beginning of our project, we relied on the signals of three birds, Gifford, Hillary, and Versace. (Donald, who turned out to be an adult female, flew to Washington DC after being tagged. We have not heard from her since.) By following these individuals, we discovered three night-time roosts within the first week and I feel confident that any bystander watching our first roost discovery would have been convinced we’d won the lottery. A silent performance of spastic jumping, “air-fives”, and the spontaneous creation of a vulture dance quickly occurred before we got back to business and counted the birds.

In the weeks that followed, we experimented with various observation techniques and read multiple papers on roosting ecology, black vulture foraging strategies, and behavioral study methods. We talked vultures at breakfast, lunch and dinner. We bored our housemates at the trainee residence with discussions on the most pungent types of road kill and the antics of our favorite birds. We filled our brains with vultures, and above all, became true detectives through a process of trial and error that taught us the value of being innovative in the field. Those first weeks were memorable, solidifying in me a hunger for scientific questioning.

zoey with tagged vulture

Zoey with a tagged turkey vulture.

There was an additional aspect to this project that I found consistently rewarding: the opportunity to speak with landowners in the Kempton Valley. Many of the roost trees preferred by “our” vultures were on private property, and in addition to observing the birds, we were looking for optimal trapping sites near already-established roosts in hopes of catching wing-tagged birds. This would provide us with information on associations among individuals. However, our trapping method entailed staking road kill to the ground and waiting for vultures to arrive while we waited nearby. In general, people aren’t thrilled about the prospect of hosting dead possums in their backyard. Nonetheless, we were rarely told no. Even landowners who professed a hatred of vultures were open and willing to hear our reasons for loving the birds, and eventually developed a tolerance of their own.

Vultures are hard to sell, and they do have some less-than appreciated habits, such as defecating on cars and toying with the rubber on windshield wipers. However, every “bad” habit has an explanation. For example, vultures are scavengers, meaning they rely heavily on maintaining strong neck muscles for tearing and pulling apart carcasses. To a vulture, rubber is an irresistible training opportunity to both strengthen their neck and satisfy their characteristically curious nature. It became clear that explaining to people why the birds were choosing their property provided them with a new dimension of understanding. This makes groundtruthing not only important for answering scientific questions, but also for enhancing a culture of appreciation around birds that struggle to gain respect. After all, our home ranges overlap with other species, and as such, perhaps we have a duty to critically evaluate our collective perception towards all of our neighbors, including vultures. After spending this season in the field, I am convinced that the Kempton Valley is a perfect place to start.

zoey and adehl selfie

Conservation science trainees Adehl (left) and Zoey (right) embark on an early morning search.

So what’s next for the vulture detectives you ask? Our field tested method of groundtruthing will be used to fill in more gaps in places with tagged vultures, contributing to our knowledge of why the birds go where they go. Ideally, this information can then be directly applied to informing locals, politicians, conservationists, biologists, and other groups affected by or connected with vultures in their region. As for Adehl and me, early morning roost searches and tactfully placed road kill may remain in both of our futures. There are few sights that compare to a group of dew-covered vultures eyeballing you from above as they slowly swivel their body to absorb the sun’s first rays. With a sight like that there’s only one outcome: once a vulture detective, always a vulture detective.

To learn more about our interesting findings, stay tuned for Vulture Detectives: Part 2 written by Adehl Shwaderer.

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By Katie Harrington, Hawk Mountain Graduate Student and Former Conservation Science Trainee

10 May 2017

This March I watched three Johnny Rooks feeding in the beached kelp wrack adjacent to a falling tide, with an endless symphonic bray of gentoo penguins in the background. Early afternoon seemed to be the rooks’ final push, as it were, to fill their tanks before tucking in for a late afternoon nap.

A fresh bird with a fresh band; welcome to the world K28 Yellow.

While the adult and two juveniles raked with resolve, another rook, band K28 Yellow, walked to within three feet of me. Unlike times before though, it wasn’t staring at me. K28 Yellow, whose plumage betrayed it’s youth–a fledgling, perhaps having only left the nest just six weeks prior– approached a piece of dried “basket kelp” tucked between driftwood and beach cabbage. Without hesitation, K28 “kick-boxed” the kelp and, clinging to the fibrous ball, fell and rolled onto its back. I watched, trying not to laugh, as it pecked at, clawed, and rolled around with the basket for five minutes, doing what I could only call playing.  The raptor, a close relative of the Peregrine and other falcons, reminded me of a puppy consumed with its chew toy.

While extensively studied in mammals, there are far fewer recognized examples of avian play, particularly in raptors. Among birds it is best documented in corvids (e.g. crows and ravens) and parrots.  Raptor examples include object manipulation by a captive-raised goshawk, an observation of a wild marsh hawk playing with its horned lark prey, and aerial acrobatics of bald and imperial eagles.

It’s worth pausing here in light of the genetic revelations of the past decade that place caracaras and falcons next to parrots in the tree of life, rather than alongside hawks and eagles. In fact, when reading about the kea, a parrot found only on New Zealand, you could almost replace their species name with “Johnny Rook” and have it read seamlessly. They, like rooks, are highly social, bold, curious, opportunistic foragers that feed on insects just as readily as seabirds and carcasses. And they play, extensively, with other keas and with inanimate objects. These qualities, along with their approachability, make both them and the Rooks the perfect candidates for studying play in the wild.

This occasion of watching a rook play wasn’t an anomaly. Over the two months I spent on Saunders Island this past austral summer (Feb-March), I watched multiple solitary and social play events across all ages of rooks. One time, another recently fledged bird and an adult played with a sheet of plastic stuck in the sand dunes, again rolling onto their backs as they kicked and pulled. For others, old carcasses, long picked clean became ceremonial tug-of war tools. Given the intensity of local fishing, there were also plenty of cast lines that washed ashore, frayed, half buried, just begging to be played with.

Are the birds learning about their environment, building social bonds, or honing  predatory or stress responses? At this point, we don’t know. Fortunately, our long-term banding project allows us to track this behavior in specific individuals, creating an unprecedented opportunity to understand the adaptive significance of this behavior in a raptor in the wild. And let’s be honest, what’s more endearing than watching a predator kick its talons up and play?

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Dr. Keith Bildstein about to release one of the northern breeders this January.

By Keith L. Bildstein, Ph.D., Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

17 March 2017

Most studies of bird migration focus on the movements of birds that ornithologists refer to as “complete migrants,” species whose global populations evacuate their breeding grounds each year while traveling to geographically distant wintering areas.  Although Arctic Terns, Black-and-white Warblers, and Broad-winged Hawks, along with a small percentage of other species of migratory birds, do follow this pattern, most migratory species of birds are “partial migrants,” species whose populations include both sometimes-migratory and non-migratory individuals, and whose migratory populations sometime overwinter in areas already occupied by non-migratory members of the same species.  It turns out that partial migration is a lot more complicated than complete migration, and although the former is little studied compared with the latter, its complexity makes it a lot more intriguing, as well as a lot more challenging, both to investigate and to understand.

New World Turkey Vultures are a good example of partial migrants, with some populations consisting entirely of migratory individuals, whereas other populations consist of both migratory and non-migratory individuals, and still other populations consisting entirely of non-migratory individuals.  The degree to which different populations of Turkey Vultures interact, and the effects they have on each other is not well known.  One place where such interactions have been explored is in the Llanos, the enormous freshwater wetland of central Venezuela, where Turkey Vulture migrants from western North America, which are larger and more massive than the region’s non-migratory, year-round residents, displace the latter from the best available habitats and gain weight after their arrival while the supplanted residents simultaneously lose weight.  Indeed, the so-called Llanos “residents” appeared to “migrate reciprocally” to avoid competing with of the larger North American birds.

But what happens in areas in which some breeders migrate south in autumn, whereas other stay put, while still others from more northern breeding sites migrate into the region and over-winter there?  Such is the case in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona, where members of the breeding population include both migrants and non-migrants of the aura race of Turkey Vultures, whereas as the winter-only individuals are migrants from the larger and more massive meridionalis race from farther north.  (Note: There are six subspecies of Turkey Vultures, three that breed in North America, along with two that breed in Central America, and three that breed in South America.)

Keith and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Senior Researcher Dr. Jean-Francois Therrien fitting a satellite to one of the norther breeders this January.

We began satellite tracking members of the Sonoran Desert breeding race in 2014 and have followed the movements of nine birds since then.  All but one have proved to be migratory, with some individuals overwintering consistently in Mexico, whereas other have overwintered consistently either in Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, or Colombia.  In late January of this year my Hawk Mountain colleague, Dr. Jean-Francois Therrien, and I traveled to our tapping site outside of Phoenix and successfully trapped two winter-only individuals of the meridionalis race of Turkey Vultures.  Although we don’t know exactly where these two breed, as of early-March one was on Vancouver Island in south western most Canada, and the other was in Death Valley California in late March, with both north of their Arizona trapping site.

Tracking the movement of all of these Sonoran birds for several years will allow us to determine if the northern breeders crowd out the smaller year-round residents from Arizona, and if so, whether or not the smaller southern migrants leave in autumn in advance of the arrival of the larger northern migrants and time their returns to avoid the departing northern migrants in spring.

Although this may seem a bit esoteric to some, understanding the extent to which the two subspecies interact in the Sonoran Desert has important implication for conservation.  Suppose, for example, that in Arizona the larger northern breeders consistently dominate the smaller southern breeders.  If so, the size of the former’s populations could limit the size of the latter’s, particularly in winter when food may be limiting.  If so, the fate of the latter would be affected by the fate of the former.  Thus, if global change were to affect the former–either positively or negatively–the latter might “respond” as well, albeit indirectly, in-kind.  Although, all of this remains highly speculative, the extent, if any, to which populations of the two races merits examination, and I very much look forward to doing so over the course of the next few years.

I will keep you posted of the arrivals and departures of both our “northern” and “southern” Arizona migrants this summer.

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Ariel view of Dakar, Senegal, a city of 3.5 million people and no traffic lights

By Keith L. Bildstein, Ph.D., Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

11 November 2016

I began my studies of the world Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture in The Gambia in September of 2013, when colleagues and I placed four tracking devices on individuals in the exurbs of Banjul, the capital of that country.  Almost immediately thereafter, I thought about investigating their populations in Senegal as well.  Senegal, the western most mainland country in Africa is a much larger nation that completely encircles The Gambia–except for the latter’s small Atlantic coastline– and is an ecological  transition zone between the humid tropics farther south, and the Saharan desert of Mauritania to the north.

The country-side along our survey routes

This year’s meeting of the Pan African Ornithological Congress in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, gave me the perfect excuse to follow up on this.  After attending the Congress and the important Second Pan African Vulture Summit associated with it, my colleagues and I tried to capture several “hoodies” in hopes of placing satellite tracking devices on them.  We also conducted three roadside surveys of vultures to learn more about the distribution of Hoodies and other vultures in the country.

Two mornings of trapping attempts at the Dakar Zoo produced no captures, and our attention on Sunday, the 23rd of October turned to leaving Dakar and traveling north to the small city of Louga, where three of us, Drs. Lindy Thompson, Rien Van Wijk, and I, planned to meet with a group of other European and African vulture biologists who also planned to survey vultures populations.

All went quite smoothly until we reached the town of Thies, Senegal, where our low-cost rental car overheated, forcing us wait on the curb for 6 hours for a replacement, which arrived only after darkness fell.  Driving at night in Africa is never easy–livestock, pedestrians, aggressive drivers, and potholes, see to that–and it was past midnight when we reached Louga, long after our colleagues had gone to bed.

Hoodie near a ruppell's nest.jpg

A Hooded Vulture perched near a nesting of Ruppell’s Vultures

A breakfast meeting the next day resulted in a decision to head southwest to the village of Dars, and then southeast on to the city of Mbaké, slightly more than 200 kilometers away, while surveying vultures en route.  Our colleagues would survey other routes.  We saw 169 vultures along the way, including 17 hoodies, 47 Ruppell’s Vultures, 71 White-backed Vultures and 34 Gyps vultures that we could not identify to species.  The route took us through open habitats not unlike those we survey in South Africa, except for the fact that all of the ungulates we saw on the way were domestic livestock (i.e., sheep, goats and cattle), rather than wild antelopes and other native mammals.  We spent the night in a small, and somewhat questionable, hotel on the outskirts of Mbaké, where a small red light over our beds confirmed our suspicions concerning the facility’s hourly rates of stay.

The next day involved following a meandering survey route to the city of Kaolack, which our travel guide referred to as the “armpit of Senegal. ”  Unfortunately, Kaolack turned out to be aptly named.  Our approach to the city included skirting the edge of a primary sewage treatment facility, which quickly cleared our nasal passages of the dust they had accumulated over the course of the day.  Our hotel and the opposite side of town proved to be something of an oasis, even if the highlight of its view-shed was an enormous

A Hooded Vulture perched at the gate to our hotel’s parking lot in Dakar, Senegal

mountain of salt excavated from the adjacent hypersaline estuary. The day’s route included good looks at 46 Hooded Vultures, together with lesser numbers of Ruppell’s, White-backed, and Lappet-faced Vultures, along with several impressive multi-thousand bird flocks of White Storks.  Our third and final survey route, which took us back to Dakar, produced an additional 69 Hooded Vultures, a number of which were sighted in Dakar itself, together with smaller numbers of African White-backed and Ruppell’s vultures.  Although we were not sure of what to expect, the numbers of hoodies, in particular, were more that I imagined, albeit much less than 10% the density of those we had seen on similar surveys in The Gambia in 2013 and 2015, in more moist wooded habitats, about a hundred kilometers farther south.

Although we collected our data in a traditional fashion using our odometer to indicate the locations of all birds we sighted, we later entered our counts into the newly developed African Raptor Databank (ARDB).  The brain child of my good friend Dr. Rob Davies, the ARDB aims to ascertain the conservation status of raptors and their habitats across Africa, and to help build the local expertise needed to monitor these species in the future and implement a sound strategy for their effective safeguarding.

The ARDB will be completed in two phases. The first involves building a database over a period of five years (2013 – 2018). The second involves distribution modelling of each species in relation to the availability of its habitat and production of a conservation atlas for African raptors, online and hard copy. The project which received initial support from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, is managed by habitat INFO, and is currently co-funded by The Peregrine Fund.

Given our initial experiences in Senegal, I plan to return early next year to conduct additional road surveys, as well as trap and affix tracking devices to two or more hoodies.

Importantly participants at the Second Pan African Vulture Summit I attended agreed to foster additional roadside surveys of African Vultures, the majority of which, including Hooded Vultures, are globally threatened or endangered.  Hawk Mountain plans to help in this effort every way possible, so that we can better assess vulture abundances and distributions, and, in so doing, formulate practical and effective conservation action plans.

Stay tuned as we continue to do so.

For information on how you can help, contact me at bildstein@hawkmtn.org.

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Hawk Mountain collaborator Kerri Wolter holding a tagged nestling Hooded Vulture in Olifants River Private Game Reserve, October 2013

By Keith L. Bildstein, Ph.D., Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science
and Lindy Thompson, Ph.D., Hawk Mountain Research Associate
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

10 November 2016

Yes, I admit it. We name our satellite-tracked vultures.

Some of our colleagues disagree with this, arguing that naming one’s study animals “personalizes” them in ways that make our observations less scientific.  But primatologist Jane Goodall and Nobel Prize laureate Konrad Lorenz named their study animals, and I have never doubted the scientific rigor of their work.  Naming animals as individuals makes their individual behavior easier to remember.  With more than 75 vultures tracked by satellite so far, numbers or alpha-numeric codes simply do not work as well, as names help to separate and categorize the birds in question and keep the stories of their movements in mind.

“Homebody,” a South African Hooded Vulture, is a case in point.

As a nestling, Homebody was fitted with a GSM satellite tracking device by Walter Neser and Kerri Wolter at the Olifants River Private Game Reserve in northeastern South Africa just west of Kruger National Park on the 19th of October, 2013.  Unfortunately, the unit never worked, and we decided to try to re-trap and refit Homebody with a new unit in the summer of 2014.  Trapping a vulture once is relatively easy.  We have caught hundreds of them.  Trapping the same bird twice, however, is a different matter entirely.  In 2004 we caught and placed data loggers in the body cavities of six Turkey Vultures to record their heart rates and core body temperatures.  The following year the birds needed to be recaptured and their data loggers removed to retrieve the accumulated data.  It took then graduate student and now Dr. Jamie Mandel, hundreds of hours during much of the next spring and summer to recapture four of the birds.  The other two were never recaptured.

Hawk Mountain trainee Nobuhle Mabhikwa holding the retagged Homebody in the Olifants River Private Game Reserve in June 2014

We had allotted a week of field time to recapture Homebody to replace its malfunctioning unit with a working one.  Three days unsuccessfully attempting to do so had us at wits end.  Hooded Vultures defer to larger African White-backed Vultures at carcasses, and Homebody, even though present at our trapping site, hardly ever got close to the carcass, let alone the snares that we had set around it.  But then something happened that one only dreams about.  We were late getting to our trap the fourth day of field work, and lo-and-behold Homebody and several other Hoodies were already at the site picking up small pieces of the bait that remained from the previous day.  Disappointed by their early arrival we drove our Land Rover toward the birds, flushing all of them into the air.  Miraculously, Homebody, after taking off to escape our approach, flew into a thorn bush and became entangled on one of the lower branches, which had slid between its body and the backpack harness we had used to attach the tracking device.  Within seconds we ran to the bush and hand-grabbed Homebody, disentangled it, and brought it back to base camp.  We then removed the malfunctioning unit and placed a new, fully functional unit on it.  Within 45 minutes of its miraculous recapture, we were celebrating our “lucky day” over a couple of beers.  A once-in-a-million event allowed us finally to satellite track the young vulture that had been tagged eight months earlier.

Tracking device recovered from Homebody in October 2016

This alone makes for a great story.  But Homebody’s epic journey does not end there.  Last week–and more than two years later–we received an email from Colin Rowles, game warden at the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve.   Colin said a staff member on fence patrol had found Homebody dead at an impala carcass. When Colin went to collect the transmitter, he found that a Martial Eagle had consumed most of the Hooded Vulture.  Jackal tracks at the carcass lead him to believe that a jackal had killed Homebody.   We hope to place Homebody’s unit, which is still working, on another Hooded Vulture as early as this December.

Homebody’s movements 2014-2016

Even though the story ended tragically for Homebody, we have placed similar units on other Hoodies, both in The Gambia and Ethiopia, as well as in South Africa.  Although several of these birds have died, most are still alive and transmitting important information.  The data we are now gathering will allow us to offer advice on how best to protect these birds, as well on the factors that most threaten them.  Costs associated in doing this are not inconsequential.  Homebody’s unit cost four thousand US dollars and download information from the unit cost us close to 600 dollars per year.  The information, however, is “priceless.”  Understanding the ecological neighborhoods of Critically Endangered Hooded Vultures is key to protecting them.

To learn more about our work with Hooded Vultures and other species of scavenging raptors, or want to support our field efforts financially, contact me at Bildstein@hawkmtn.org.

My next blog will describe our recent field work in Senegal, where Hooded Vultures remain very much in evidence.

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