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SAVE THE MONUMENTS

Trump announced (1,2,3) that he will make massive cuts to two national monuments - Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments in Utah, but many are fighting back. (1,2,3,4,5) 

WHAT DO THE CUTS MEAN!?

“The Bears Ears National Monument will go from roughly 1.3 million acres to roughly 228,000 — only about 15 percent of its original size. And Grand Staircase will be diminished by roughly half, from its nearly 1.9 million acres to about 1 million. The specific numbers were provided to reporters by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke prior to Trump’s announcement in Salt Lake City.” - NPR, Dec 4, 2017  

Okay, so?

Native Sovereignty

“It is a place essential to the physical, spiritual and cultural identity of the Hopi, Zuni, Ute and Navajo Nations. Before the advent of European settlers in the West, these peoples were here. They lived and flourished in the curvilinear canyons of red and orange labyrinthine rock in what is now Utah. People made their homes and offered their prayers around the green areas of the high elevations near the twin buttes that lend the area its name…

The monument designation sends a clear message that damaging, disturbing and looting our heritage is unacceptable, unethical and illegal to those nonnative residents who have always believed it to be allowable. The thousands of ancient cultural sites in Bears Ears represent an anchor for tribes to understand and share with today’s generation who they are, and helps show us the way to a more hopeful future…

But Bears Ears, as a national monument, is also about respect. The designation is a long-overdue acknowledgment the need for tribal input on policies affecting this land, and of the fact that previous treaties should have ensured the right of indigenous communities to govern and maintain that which is theirs. It is not right to go back on these promises now.” - Baca, Dec 8, 2017 

“More than 100,000 Native American archaeological and cultural sites, some dating to 12,000 B.C., are protected in Bears Ears. Tribes continue to visit these lands to hold ceremonies and to connect with their ancestors. “What is sacred cannot be reversed,” said James Adaki, President of the Navajo’s Oljato Chapter and a member of the Bears Ears Commission. (See photos and videos of Bears Ears.).” - EarthJustice, June 16th, 2017

Environmental

“The work to establish Grand Staircase-Escalante in the late 1990's sparked lawsuits and proposals to curb presidential authority under the Antiquities Act. Monument opponents failed then, but the controversy continued—in part because of industries’ wish to exploit fossil fuels that lie beneath the monument. Without its protected status, Grand Staircase-Escalante would be vulnerable to coal mining and oil and gas development, according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress.” - EarthJustice, June 16, 2017 

“This opens the door to a lot of potential harm on these lands – more oil and gas development? More mining, grazing and logging? More fences, shutting off hiking, climbing, fishing and hunting access? It’s all up for grabs.” - Eberie, Dec 27, 2017 

Scientific Research and Education 

“Both monuments are known for exceptional sites holding the remains of ancient human settlements, unique ecosystems, and troves of fossils.” - Underwood, Dec 6, 2017

“There were multiple reasons for making them monuments, but in both cases paleontology was one. When Grand Staircase-Escalante was set aside, there were very few areas anywhere in the world where we had a mammal fossil record right at the late Cretaceous period, when different mammal groups were diverging. Those fossils really filled a gap in mammal paleontology and put Grand Staircase on the map from a paleontological point of view. We now have the most extraordinary Late Cretaceous ecosystem documented anywhere. After the monument was established, a lot of the dinosaur material was discovered.” - Polly, Dec 6, 2017

“Many conservation biologists, archaeologists, and paleontologists oppose the moves, saying it could open the way to damage of sensitive sites by mining, grazing, and recreational activities.” - Underwood, Dec 6, 2017

Political

“The executive order threatens not only some of our nation’s youngest monuments, but also the public lands law that safeguards all national monuments, present and future: the Antiquities Act of 1906. Undermining monument designations and protections would establish a dangerous precedent…

The 120 years since the Arizona newspaper editorialized against saving the Grand Canyon have proven that protecting our public lands from extractive industries is a battle worth fighting.” - EarthJustice, June 16, 2017 

Though many are fighting, you can be a planeteer too. 

WAIT WUT - HOW DO I HELP!?

Donate to EarthJustice (filed a lawsuit against these actions) - “Despite an unprecedented barrage of attacks on the things we hold dear, EarthJustice has been taking on critical environmental lawsuits against the most anti-environment administration in this country’s history.” - EarthJustice

Use AmazonSmile to help Society of Vertebrate Paleontology at no cost to you! (SVP filed a lawsuit against these actions) - “SVP, in collaboration with several partner groups, will be taking legal action to block Trump’s cuts.  Not only do we believe that key paleo resources will be endangered when they are removed from the monuments’ boundaries, but we believe that the President lacks the legal authority to reduce those boundaries.” - P. David Polly, President of SVP

Buy Native American Rights Fund Merch (or donate. NARF representing the Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed a lawsuit to protect Bears Ears.) 

Write to Your Senators and Representatives through National Parks Conservation Associations. 

Share this post or any of the articles sited above to everyone you know.  

                                   #SIGNALBOOST

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YTE does #socktober! 

Never heard of Socktober? Check out this video. Kid President asks us all to take part in donating essential goods to homeless shelters across the country. YTE was super pumped to host it's very own Socktober event. We can't thank everyone enough for coming out and donating. You guys rock! We got an awesome haul and can't wait to take it down to the shelter. Stay tuned! 

- Kara 

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YTE shoots superheroes! 

Paired with Kimberly Lynn Photography we put together a superhero shoot with Superman and Wonder Woman. Stay tuned! 

- Kara 

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YTE runs with Rapunzel!

This weekend we had lunch with Punzie after our event. Everyone always gets excited when she is around. Where would you like to run into Rapunzel? 

- Kara

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YTE juggles!

Ok, not all of us. Juggling is a popular choice in the YTE crew. Many of our entertainers have picked up some kind of juggling. Know any juggling tricks? 

- Kara

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YTE does super heroes! 

This is Clair - our Wonder Woman! 

I have been having a blast playing Wonder Woman all year!! I’ve done lots of conventions and a few charities with more in the works. 

My costume was inspired by a combination of all the pictures I could find of wonder woman online. I wanted it to have the comic book feel but still look real for example….armor that is aged so slightly. 

I was talked into this idea by my friends you see here. I didn’t grow up on comic stories sadly. I know now I would have loved that. But they have shown me so much about it I fell in love with all the characters. Wonder Woman most of all of course lol! 

I must thank my superman Harrison though. Without his help I would have no clue anything about this character. He told me everything about her development down to her style and attitude. Which I fell into naturally and have so much fun portraying. I have such “Super” friends as he calls it!

I made the base of the costume rather quickly. It was just a bathing-suite style bottom I made with embroidered stars I hand sewn to them. The top was a perfect corset style pattern I used that fit my shape nicely. The armor is a combination of plastic, hard molded leather, cardboard, and fiberglass resign. The boots I ordered of course and the lasso is from decorative curtains. I had help with resign armor since I had only worked with fiberglass once before. Thanks Brian :)

Now that I’ve had so much fun and fallen in love with Wonder Woman….now whats next. Well I was going to wait for a movie so I could finally have a movie version suit like all my friends. But I’m too anxious!! I finally saw a warrior style I would like to duplicate and make my own thanks to the fan trailer that has gone viral. So you’ll just have to wait and see what I bring out next   

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YTE has fun!

jareddraws is one of our caricature artists! He drew thegothmedic at our event this weekend. Super awesome! 

- Kara

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YTE does glow parties!

One way to make a lasting impression - a glow party! UV reactive paint and glow in the dark balloons go great with some glow accessories. Have you ever had a glow party? 

- Kara

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YTE loves butterflies!

We had an awesome event this weekend. Lots of butterflies. Face painting was a big hit with the little ones. 

- Kara

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YTE teaches teens!

Many of the YTE staff have younger siblings, cousins, or relatives. We like to teach them entertainment skills when they're around. My brother learned some awesome contacting juggling tricks this weekend! 

- Kara 

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YTE loves glitter tattoos!

They are so cool. Our clients love them as much as we do. We do a lot of glitter tattoo gigs. 

- Kara

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YTE shares a video!

Here at YTE we like to record ourselves doing stuff and then see how many people will yell at us. So check out this video of Kara painting her faaaaace!

Hey everyone!

There are a lot of how to videos out there. I thought that maybe you’d be interested in the other side of face painting. When I create a new design I have to work it out on myself first. I take my time and spend waaaaay too long staring at it after every brush stroke. This design took me about 25 minutes to record, but 10 minutes of it is me staring, LOL. Before I began I drew an idea out on paper and used it as a guideline. To use this design in the field I will practice it until I can get it done in under 5 minutes.

Sorry about some lost footage - the camera died and I didn’t notice for a few moments. All you missed was dots. 

Developing a New Face Paint Design (by Kara Mundy)

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YTE goes to Disney's Hollywood Studios!

As you know - we love Disney! Many of the team here at YTE have annual Disney passes. We take every opportunity to visit. I call this visit Two Body Artists and a Mermaid Handler. Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM Studios, is a really neat park. Every park has its own thing. Magic Kingdom has the most rides, Epcot the most culture, Animal Kingdom has animals, and Hollywood Studios has shows! 

We always go to Hollywood Studios when we think it will be a busy day for Florida theme parks. (Such as Labor Day!) Shows can accommodate large amounts of people, but start seating 30 min ahead of time. On busy days this is the best. You can schedule your whole day around shows and wait only 30 minutes for each one. Compared to the 1-2 hour wait lines at Magic Kingdom. Score! Although I fell asleep in Beauty and the Beast. Can't play with the big boys. Followed by pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. Mmmm!

- Kara

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YTE visits MOSI! 

We -love- company outings. It really connects us as a work family. Usually our outings are all about the fun, but this trip it was about SCIENCE! (Who are we kidding? It was totally fun.) Everyone agrees that education is important. The company that learns together, earns together!  

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. (MOSI) They have some really cool exhibits there. Butterfly garden, mock TV station, Diasterville, a cool insight to humans, and the best part - Great White Shark. A documentary on the expectation and realities of sharks how cute sharks are. 

You can only imagine the fun a group of artist entertainers could have. Oh, and did I mention our boy Sonic the Cosplayer? Yea, he's cool. 

- Kara

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YTE parties at Disney!

For my birthday we went to Magic Kingdom. It was an interesting day because members of our group left and others joined at different times. We had 8 teamsters throughout the day. It was also busy being the first day available to annual pass holders with block out dates, but I -had- to go to Magic Kingdom or it just wasn't birthday enough. 

We all wore pins stating "We're celebrating!" except for mine which read "It's my birthday!". This is a really cool free service Disney offers its guests. If a cast member sees your pin they are sure to say "Happy Birthday!" You definitely feel special. Instead of birthday cake I had a Dole Whip float! Nothing better.

They have this new interactive card game you play throughout the park. We began playing, but it was just too busy to enjoy it. We are going to try again next time when the wait lines at 5 minutes. 

- Kara

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YTE performs for the Rays!

Its the end of the ninth for this season. So I thought I'd share some glitter tattoos we've done this season. Go Rays!

- Kara

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YTE entertains the Rays!

YTE entertains for the Tampa Bay Rays every Sunday home game. We do balloon art and glitter tattoos! Everything we do is completely customizable. As you can see we have glitter tattoos that are perfect for the Rays' fans! They absolutely love them. Of course the Rays stencil is the most popular. 

- Kara