The tiny house movement is growing bigger as Americans shrink their budgets and look for affordable alternatives to their Stuff Nation.

100-Square-Foot Tiny Home In Vermont Peter King decided to build tiny homes because he was sick of being a slave to debt and mortgages, and wanted to indulge in life's small, 10 by 10 foot pleasures.  Peter King has been building tiny houses for years and hopes to teach others the basics of simple living.

LOCATION:
East Johnson, Vermont

Ann Holley wanted to create an off-grid, transportable tiny house that would be technically an RV, but with an aesthetic that wouldn't feel like living in an RV. What she created with her partner Darren Macca is a 125-square-foot "stick built" home with a cedar exterior and a refreshing and expanding all-white interior.

The ProtoHaus has proven to be a truly portable home, making several cross country journeys. The couple originally built the home during a summer on her parents' property in Colorado. They then drove it 1,500 miles to Alfred, New York where they lived in it for a year while Holley was in grad school. Then they drove it back to Colorado where they parked it on a traditional lot in Longmont, Colorado.

For their next project they wanted to create a tiny "flexible space", something that could function as a guest house or a mobile office. The ProtoStoga just 40 square feet and it's design is "a hybrid between a Gypsy Vardo, Airstream-esque Trailer, Conestoga Wagon and a Shepherd Hut". At under 1,500 pounds (the Protohaus is 9,500), Macca can tow it with his 4 cylinder car and often uses it to cut his commute. He leaves it in a park across from his work and instead of commuting home, he camps out in it.

ProtoHaus: http://www.protohaus.moonfruit.com/

Filmed by Johnny Sanphillippo -- more of his stories about urbanism, adaptation & resilience: http://granolashotgun.com/

Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/...

As is the tradition at The Schoolhouse, The Alpha 1s lit the first candle during the Kwanzaa ceremony under the able (and experienced) guidance of Nari Penson.  The first candle is the Unity (Umoja) candle and is lit as the students said in unison, “Umoja means Unity.”

The Kwanzaa ceremony marked the end of three weeks of study and preparation to explore aspects of the holiday, of African American culture and of one’s own family stories. Kwanzaa is a non-­religious, non-heroic African American holiday celebrated from December 26 until January 1st.

Resplendent in red, black and green, Schoolhouse students shared traditional songs from the African American tradition – Zoodio,  Ain’t Gonna Let No Body, We Shall Not Be Moved —lit the 7 candles of the Kwanzaa Kinara, and explained (in both song and prose) the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self determination), Ujima (working together), Ujamaa (spending money wisely), Nia (purpose) and Imani (faith).

“I have faith that I will grow up and have a good job and family,” explained Geoffrey DeBrosse (8) of Colchester of the principle Imani (faith).  Of the principle Kujichagulia, Clare Stackpole McGrath (6) of Shelburne declared, “I am determined to do good things in the world and to help people who are fighting stop.”... continue reading>>http://www.theschoolhousevt.org/28th-annual-kwanzaa-ceremony

The gumboot dance (or Isicathulo) is an African dance that is performed by dancers wearing wellington boots. In South Africa these are more commonly called gumboots.

The boots may be embellished with bells, so that they ring as the dancers stamp on the ground. This sound would be a code or a different calling to say something to another person a short distance away. It was basically used to communicate in the mines as there was strictly no talking otherwise they would get punished by their boss.

Origin
Gumboot dancing was conceived by black miners in South Africa as an alternative to drumming—which authorities restricted. Another reason for gumboot dancing was for the miners in South Africa as they worked they sang. Gumboot dancing has now become a world-known dance; in schools children perform the dance. The boots were a solution to a problem of often flooded gold mines in which men otherwise stood in knee-deep water toiling at their work stations. It is also thought that the workers used the gumboots to relay messages to each other that they did not want their bosses to overhear.

Description
Gumboot dancers are commonly sighted on the streets and plazas of tourist areas in South Africa, such as the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. It is still used today by some miners. The dance likely originated among South African gold miners, and especially in their tough working conditions—including poor lighting and dampness. Many of the steps and routines are parodies of the officers and guards who controlled the mines and workers' barracks.  Like other forms of African dance, Gumboot utilizes the concepts of polyrhythm and total body articulation, drawing from the cultural dances of the African workers that manned the mines.  It is a percussive dance made by idiophones or autophones (objects of the everyday life vibrating by themselves), and is similar in execution and style to forms of "Stepping" done by African-American fraternities and sororities.


Appearances outside of core context
The dance is the highlight of the performance of Black Umfolosi, a prominent Zimbabwean folk group.

The album Graceland by the American pop singer Paul Simon has a song titled "Gumboots", which is performed in the style of South African township jive (mbaqanga) and contains performances by members of the Boyoyo Boys.

The British-American composer David Bruce has written a clarinet quintet entitled "Gumboots", which was inspired by Gumboot dancing. It was commissioned by Carnegie Hall in 2008 and can be heard in full on their website, performed by Todd Palmer and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Since the 1990s and 2000s, Drakensberg Boys' Choir School based at gumboot dancing the folk-African part of their repertoire and white gumboots are the part of the second variant of their concert costume (the first variant is a classical "white man's" costume).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumboot_dance

The xibelani dance or shibelani dance is an indigenous dance of the Shangaan or Tsonga women of the Limpopo province in northern South Africa. The name of the dance comes from the native Xitsonga language.

Method
In the xibelani dance the Tsonga women tie a type of African skirt—the xibelani commonly known as "tinguvu"—around their waist and then shake from the waist. The xibelani skirt is designed to make the wearer's hips look bigger, and thereby to emphasize the shaking.

Uses
It is customary for Tsonga girls learn the xibelani dance, and it is a way for them to express pride in their cultural heritage. The xibelani dance is used on occasions such as mkhinyavezo and ku chachula,as well as to accompany other traditional dances such as the makhwaya and mchongolo. Traditionally women dance the xibelani, while men perform the makhwaya, Xincayinciy(xigubu) and both participate in the mchongolo.

The Tsonga's perform the xibelani dance to their own distinct music, and it has become typical for all Tsonga bands to have female xibelani dancers. The xibelani and tshetsha dances have experienced regained popularity in modern Giyani as the people have embraced their traditional ways.

While the xibelani dance is customary for women, some men now also participate in it, especially when there is a xiseveseve (a type of party). In modern society the xibelani dance is regarded as an open dance in which everyone can participate, and it is used both in church as well as in rituals.

Video About Notes:  In honor of Black History Month, The first lesson in Shawn's "Bomb the Teacher" series is "The Black History Deception" where S discusses how Africans laid the groundwork for all civilization and how modern racism has misshaped history.

Suggested Reading:

The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Message to the Blackman in America: Elijah Muhammad
From "Superman" to Man: J.A. Rogers
From Babylon To Timbuktu: Windsor
Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys Vol 1 & 2: Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
Kill Them Before They Grow: Michael Porter
The Mis-Education of the Negro: Carter G. Woodson
The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave
They Came Before Columbus: Ivan Van Sertima
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Knowledge of Self: A Collection of Wisdom on the Science of Everything in Life
Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority
Why Darkness Matters: The Power of Melanin in the Brain
The Ankh: African Origin of Electromagnetism

There are many Black-History related websites, FREE PDF files of full-books, and Essays which I will provide upon request @  https://www.youtube.com/user/ShawnLov/featured

FINAL NOTE INFO SOURCE CREDIT:  The above blog post video and book information was originally posted by:  The Greatest Truth Never Told!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  http://goccuk321.blogspot.com (james whatt).  Just thought I'd share this post and give credit to the information source, as well as have a link to past/present/future blog posts.  Thank you :)

  Trayvon Martin.biography

Synopsis  Trayvon Martin was born in Florida on February 5, 1995. Martin had no criminal record when he was shot and killed by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman's arrest sparked a national debate over racial profiling and the role of armed neighborhood watch members in law enforcement. On July 13, 2013, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of murder.

Early Life:  Trayvon Benjamin Martin was born in Florida on February 5, 1995. His parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, divorced four years later. Trayvon Martin attended public schools in Florida, including the Dr. Michael M. Krop High School in Miami Gardens.

Martin struggled with disciplinary issues during his high school years. He was suspended three times during his junior year, for tardiness, possession of drug paraphernalia and vandalism. A police search of Martin's bag following one of these infractions yielded several pieces of women's jewelry that may have been stolen. Despite these infractions, Martin was never charged with a crime and had no juvenile record. . . continue reading>> http://www.biography.com/people/trayvon-martin-21283721

The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman took place on the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States. Martin was a 17-year-old African American high school student. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old mixed-race Hispanic, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting took place.  (Wikipedia)

The short film below, "Suspicious (Trayvon Martin Was Murdered by George Zimmerman)" is a reenactment of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by Mike McMahon X - MMXMultimedia.