#Lecturer Commerce

[rightnewshindi]

लेक्चरर कॉमर्स के पदों की भर्ती परीक्षा का परिणाम हुआ जारी, यहां देखें चयनित अभ्यर्थियों की पूरी सूची

Himachal News: हिमाचल प्रदेश लोक सेवा आयोग ने उच्च शिक्षा विभाग में लेक्चरर (स्कूल न्यू) कॉमर्स के पदों के लिए आयोजित भर्ती परीक्षा का परिणाम घोषित कर दिया है। आयोग ने लिखित वस्तुनिष्ठ और विषय योग्यता परीक्षण के बाद दस्तावेज सत्यापन में उनके प्रदर्शन के आधार पर लेक्चरर कॉमर्स के पदों पर नियुक्ति के लिए योग्यता क्रम में 47 उम्मीदवारों की सूची की सिफारिश की है। अनुशंसित उम्मीदवारों की अंतिम…

[oanthore]

Nous ne devons pas rejeter la mondialisation, mais la sauver sous une forme qui fonctionne mieux pour un plus grand nombre de personnes.

Dani Rodrik  -  Rééquilibrer la mondialisation

[prokopetz]

The hostility many contemporary self-styled "old school" Dungeons & Dragons players have toward the idea of a game with clearly stated design goals is so weird to me because, like, D&D has historically been one of the most over-explained games on the planet.

Just from glancing over the books I happen to have within arm's reach at the time of this posting, the equipment chapter in the 2nd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide cold opens with an essay titled "A Short History of Commerce", which at one point digresses into a discussion of international currency exchange in the Byzantine Empire. The Monstrous Manual defines the words "sporophyte" and "gametophyte". The Player's Handbook devotes two solid pages to teaching the reader how to visually distinguish among eighteen kinds of polearms. Do you wanna know what the difference between a guisarme and a guisarme-voulge is? Too bad – you're gonna learn!

"Old school Dungeons & Dragons isn't supposed to lecture you about its design goals" yeah, tell me you started with 3rd Edition without telling me you started with 3rd Edition.

[violetsandshrikes]

Notable Women In Zoology: Dr. Letitia Eva Takyibea Obeng

Dr. Obeng (1925-2023) was the first Ghanaian woman to obtain a degree in zoology, and the first to be awarded a doctorate. She is described as "the grandmother of female scientists in Ghana".

Her other notable accomplishments include:

A Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Botany (1952), a Master of Science in Parasitology (1962) and a PhD in Tropical Medicine (1964) where she studied the black fly and its relevance to river blindness

Post university, she lectured at the University College of Science and Technology (now known as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST) from 1952 to 1959

In 1952, Dr. Obeng became the first female scientist at KNUST

After her husband's death in 19659, she moved to the the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

IN 1964, she established the Institute of Aquatic Biology within CSIR to research the huge manmade Volta Lake in Ghana and its inland water system

Dr. Obeng was the first scientist to be employed by the National Research Council of Ghana

In 1965, Dr Obeng became a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2006, she became the first female president of the Academy

In 1972, Dr. Obeng delivered the Caroline Haslett Memorial Lecture to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, titled “Nation Building and the African Woman”

In 1972, she was an invited participant in the United Nations Human Environment Conference in Stockholm

In 1974, she began work as the Officer in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and in 1989, she became the Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Africa, and the UNEP's Representative to Africa

From 1992 to 1993, Obeng was a Distinguished International Visitor fellow at Radcliff College

In 1997, she received the CSIR Award for Distinguished Career and Service to Science and Technology, the first woman to receive such an award

The CSIR Laboratory (known as The Letitia Obeng Block) was named after her in 1997 as well

She received Ghana's highest national award, Order of the Star of Ghana in 2006

In 2017, she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from KNUST

She was also the author of numerous publications and works. Two meant for the public were Parasites, the Sly and Sneaky Enemies inside You (1997) and -Anthology of a Lifetime (2019)

[nia-academia]

Science Student Things

Getting a warning from every. single. senior. that its going to be hell but thinking "how bad can it be, i can handle it" (avg 10th topper misconceptions)

Being on a massive high after 10th results thinking you're gonna academically obliterate everyone in 11th-12th only to go into an extreme low within the first round of 11th grade exams

Cursing yourself for not researching enough before choosing science as your stream, fantasizing about how much better off you would be with Humanities or Commerce (delusional bcz those are hard asw but science is deadly tho)

Finding almost every chapter hard in the beginning and stressing over how you will ever complete the always-massive syllabus only to find that once you reach the end of the year what you thought was hard was just the tip of the iceberg (this also shows growth though so well done everybody)

Communal hatred for organic chemistry, anybody who doesn't hate it is either a genius or absolutely unhinged or both

Teachers always saying "you're a science student now" whenever they want to lecture you on how to never have joy in life and only live for marks

Having massive panic attacks and living in constant anxiety but nothing beats the joy of getting a hard numerical right in the first try

Scouring academic pages for study tips and routines and watching study vlogs etc but as a form of procrastination

Stressing over competitive exams ALL.THE.TIME because everyone you meet will talk about just that incessantly for two years

Realising that there are a plethora of careers you would rather choose than 'doctor' and 'engineering' but feeling unnecessary shame and guilt to pursue those

Coaching classes fooling us all into thinking they'll make us geniuses when actually they mostly add to the stress, even though they aren't completely useless they're definitely not worth lakhs of fees

Missing out on so so so many things in order to stay home and study even though its completely unproductive studying as you would rather be doing the thing you've sacrificed

Feeling guilty about doing ANYTHING that isn't studying, being made to feel guilty by others for doing things you love because "these two years are for sacrifices, after that you have all your life for these things''

The high of acing a test because it is so rare and takes actual blood sweat and tears that it leaves you with dopamine enough to last a week

Having your parents and relatives continually talk to someone older than you who has cracked the exam ur sitting for to get "tips" even if they cracked the exam 7 years ago and the format was completely different and much easier then

Having to rush over the syllabus so much that you forget how much you actually loved to study the subject, having your heart broken thinking that you're not good at your favourite subject anymore when actually its just the fact that its being taught in such a rush and not that you've lost your spark

Having the sympathy of all your non-science friends and always having moye moye talks with your science friends

[blueiscoool]

2,500-Year-Old Tombs With Artifacts Discovered in Israel

Archaeologists have uncovered ancient tombs and artifacts near Tlalim Junction, Israel, revealing trade connections between the region and distant civilizations, including Yemen, Phoenicia, and Egypt. The discovery sheds new light on the movement of goods and cultural exchanges across the ancient world.

Details of the artifacts

Excavations led by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) unearthed artifacts pointing to the area’s role in long-distance commerce. Among the findings were flint arrowheads, likely sourced from Yemen and Oman, as well as copper and silver jewelry.

Researchers also discovered small alabaster vessels, which were historically used to transport incense. One of the most striking objects was an amulet of Bes, the Egyptian deity known for protection and fertility.

A forgotten hub of trade and culture

Archaeologists suggest the Negev Highlands played a far more important role than previously thought. Rather than serving as a mere passageway for traders, the area may have functioned as a central hub where goods, ideas, and traditions were exchanged among civilizations.

The location of the tombs is unusual. Unlike most burial sites found near ancient towns or fortresses, these graves are isolated in a remote area with no nearby settlements.

Researchers have proposed two possible explanations: the site may have served as a designated burial ground for traveling merchants, or it could be a mass grave for traders who perished in an attack.

Dr. Jacob Vardi, an expert on ancient tools at the IAA said, “The unique concentration of flint artifacts uncovered at the site are unparalleled in Israel, and the only source that we know of is Yemen and Oman.”

Echoes of a distant past

Historical records suggest that trade caravans passing through the Negev carried luxury goods such as frankincense and myrrh, prized for their use in religious rituals and medicine.

Some accounts also suggest that the same trade routes may have been used for human trafficking, with enslaved women taken from Gaza, Egypt, Greece, Moab, and Edom.

Another intriguing aspect of the discovery is the presence of red ochre on some of the flint artifacts. This natural pigment was commonly used in ancient cultures, symbolizing blood, and played a role in religious or decorative practices.

Dr. Vardi speculated that the ochre-covered arrowheads may have had ceremonial or symbolic value, rather than being used solely as weapons.

Public unveiling of the findings

These discoveries of tombs and artifacts in Israel will be presented to the public for the first time in the upcoming lecture series “Archaeological Mysteries.” Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority will lead discussions on the significance of the excavation.

The series will take place at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel and will provide deeper insight into the region’s historical role in trade and cultural exchange.

Researchers continue to piece together the vast and complex network of ancient trade with each discovery. The findings from the Negev Highlands highlight the region’s connection to civilizations far beyond its borders, offering a glimpse into the lives of the traders who once journeyed through these lands.

By Nisha Zahid.

[on-cerulean-tides-rpg]

Hello tout le monde 💛

Après presque deux ans de pause dans l’univers des rpg, je reviens avec un projet qui me tient particulièrement à cœur. L'idée a commencé à germer il y a plus d’un an (voire même deux), nourrie par de nombreuses lectures de romans fantasy, et depuis, j’ai pris le temps de coucher chaque inspiration sur papier. Aujourd’hui, mon obsession envers ce projet est telle, que je me sens enfin prête à lui donner vie, alors j’espère que cette aventure vous plaira également ! ✨

✧ OCT, qu'est-ce que c'est ?

Un forum RPG médiéval-fantasy inspiré en grande partie par The Bridge Kingdom de Danielle L. Jensen, mais qui prend place dans un univers totalement original : le royaume insulaire d’Elyrian. Vous verrez qu’il y a également quelques autres sources d’inspiration, comme The Dark Shore (toujours de la même auteure) ainsi que d’autres œuvres diverses (Tolkien, Demon Slayer) et quelques éléments de mes anciens forums qui m’ont marqué à jamais.

🔱 Le Royaume insulaire d’Elyrian

Elyrian, c’est un petit royaume insulaire aussi sublime qu’imprévisible, où la mer façonne tout – les terres, les croyances et même les destins. C’est un territoire jalousement fermé aux étrangers, sculpté par les vents et les marées, où les îles surgissent et disparaissent au gré des caprices du monde. 

Le royaume est composé de trois grands archipels, où la magie danse avec les éléments et où les îles elles-mêmes semblent obéir aux caprices de forces anciennes. Son destin est lié aux deux saisons :

Les Marées Guerrières : période où l'océan s'apaise, ouvrant la voie au commerce et aux invasions ennemies.

La Saison des Tempêtes : lorsque le ciel se déchaîne et que les vagues engloutissent tout sur leur passage, offrant néanmoins un moment de répit au royaume.

Elyrian prospère grâce au Pont des Brisants, unique lien terrestre entre Elyrian et le continent, qui confère au royaume une puissance stratégique. Mais une ombre plane : le Monarque des Marées, garant de l'équilibre, est plongé dans un sommeil mystérieux, et déjà, des tensions éclatent entre les archipels. Maintenant, reste à savoir qui tirera avantage de ce chaos...

⚔️ Quel personnage incarner ?

J’ai souhaité créer un univers qui laisse une grande liberté dans la création de personnages. Que vous aimiez jouer des nobles, des pirates ou des mystiques hantés par des visions étranges, il y a une place pour tout le monde à Elyrian !

Les possibilités de personnages : marins, marchands, érudits, prêtres, guerriers, explorateurs, espions, alchimistes, chasseurs de reliques, assassins, nobles etc... les possibilités ne manquent pas.

Guildes & Sociétés Secrètes : vous retrouverez des guildes qui auront leur importance dans le déroulement de l'histoire. Je vous les dévoilerai plus tard, mais je peux d'ores et déjà vous annoncer qu'il vous sera possible de jouer des pirates écumant les mers.. 👀

La Magie des Souffles : il vous sera possible d'intégrer un peu de magie dans vos RP, car chaque Elyrien naît avec des pouvoirs appelés "Souffles", étroitement liés à leurs îles natales...

Les Seigneuries : chaque archipel sera dirigé par une Seigneurie (sous l'autorité du Monarque des Marées). il vous sera également possible de jouer un.e seigneur.esse ou un.e héritier.e ! Je mettrai donc à disposition des places vacantes dans des familles prédéfinies ! La Religion & les croyances : elle sera omniprésente dans l'univers, les dieux et les croyances ayant une importance particulières dans la vie quotidienne.

🌊 Les possibilités de jeu

Intrigue principale : Le Monarque des Marées est tombé dans un sommeil fiévreux, les îles se transforment et la stabilité du royaume vacille. Les alliances se forment et se brisent, tandis que des murmures parlent d’un pouvoir ancien prêt à être réveillé.

Conflits & alliances : Entre batailles navales, jeux de pouvoir et intrigues politiques, chaque choix peut influencer le destin d’Elyrian. Les tensions entre les archipels s'intensifient, et l’ombre de la guerre plane à l’horizon.

Exploration & quêtes : Partez à la découverte d’îles inconnues, affrontez des créatures mythiques, déchiffrez d’anciennes runes ou traquez un artefact qui pourrait changer l’avenir du royaume.

 Une mer vivante : L’univers évolue avec les actions des joueurs. Les marées ne sont jamais les mêmes, les vents soufflent au gré des caprices des dieux et les légendes prennent vie sous vos yeux.

Des possibilités infinies : Que vous soyez un guerrier en quête de gloire, un érudit cherchant la vérité, ou un simple marin pris dans la tempête du destin, votre histoire est la vôtre à écrire.

⎈ Autres informations

Le but de ce forum ? Un espace chill, sans pression, où chacun peut s’amuser à son rythme. Que l’on soit là pour l’intrigue épique ou juste pour faire évoluer son personnage tranquillement, tout est possible !

J’ai aussi envie de proposer une vraie dimension jeu de rôle, avec un système de quêtes bien ficelé (c'est la fan d'animes/webtoons qui parle là), où nos choix auront un vrai impact sur l’histoire. La mythologie, les artefacts qui y sont liés ainsi que le bestiaire joueraient donc un rôle très important et serait possible de débloquer des trésors et monstres légendaires… Et bien sûr, une boutique pour y claquer fièrement la moula que nous aurons durement gagnés (ne me dites pas que je suis la seule à adorer cumuler des points/argents sur mon profil pour tout dépenser dans des artefacts magiques qui ne me serviront peut-être jamais en RP???).

En bref, il vous sera aussi possible de partir à l’aventure comme un héros de JDR que de simplement faire évoluer son personnage à travers des RP plus simples.

☕︎ Un projet solo, mais bien avancé !

Je travaille seule sur OCT, mais l’univers est quasi finalisé, notamment la rédaction : les annexes, les lieux, le plus gros du lore est plus ou moins terminé (même s’il est fort probable que que je modifie pour la centième fois certaines informations sur les quasi 100 pages word que je garde précieusement sur mon pc). 

Toutefois, le forum en lui-même n’en est qu’au début de sa création et comme j’ai envie de bien faire les choses afin de proposer une plateforme agréable et pratique (et surtout puisque je suis bien rouillée en codage/graphisme), l’ouverture n’est clairement pas prévue pour demain... 

J’essaie donc dans un premier temps de prendre un peu la température pour savoir si ce projet peut éventuellement vous plaire.

Un serveur Discord est également ouvert si vous souhaitez venir discuter du projet avec moi ! ☺️

RENDEZ-VOUS SUR DISCORD

Donc voilà, plus d’infos à venir… en espérant que ce petit projet vous plaise autant qu’il me passionne ! 💙

[fatehbaz]

"defending civilization against bugs"

lol the mosquito sculpture

see Pratik Chakrabarti's Medicine and Empire: 1600-1960 (2013) and Bacteriology in British India: Laboratory Medicine and the Tropics (2012)

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Sir Ronald Ross had just returned from an expedition to Sierra Leone. The British doctor had been leading efforts to tackle the malaria that so often killed English colonists in the country, and in December 1899 he gave a lecture to the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce [...]. [H]e argued that "in the coming century, the success of imperialism will depend largely upon success with the microscope."

Text by: Rohan Deb Roy. "Decolonise science - time to end another imperial era." The Conversation. 5 April 2018.

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[A]s [...] Diane Nelson explains: The creation of transportation infrastructure such as canals and railroads, the deployment of armies, and the clearing of ground to plant tropical products all had to confront [...] microbial resistance. The French, British, and US raced to find a cure for malaria [...]. One French colonial official complained in 1908: “fever and dysentery are the ‘generals’ that defend hot countries against our incursions and prevent us from replacing the aborigines that we have to make use of.” [...] [T]ropical medicine was assigned the role of a “counterinsurgent field.” [...] [T]he discovery of mosquitoes as malaria and yellow fever carriers reawakened long-cherished plans such as the construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914) [...]. In 1916, the director of the US Bureau of Entomology and longtime general secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science rejoiced at this success as “an object lesson for the sanitarians of the world” - it demonstrated “that it is possible for the white race to live healthfully in the tropics.” [...] The [...] measures to combat dangerous diseases always had the collateral benefit of social pacification. In 1918, [G.V.], president of the Rockefeller Foundation, candidly declared: “For purposes of placating primitive and suspicious peoples, medicine has some decided advantages over machine guns." The construction of the Panama Canal [...] advanced the military expansion of the United States in the Caribbean. The US occupation of the Canal Zone had already brought racist Jim Crow laws [to Panama] [...]. Besides the [...] expansion of vice squads and prophylaxis stations, during the night women were picked up all over the city [by US authorities] and forcibly tested for [...] diseases [...] [and] they were detained in something between a prison and hospital for up to six months [...] [as] women in Panama were becoming objects of surveillance [...].

Text by: Fahim Amir. "Cloudy Swords." e-flux Journal Issue #115. February 2021.

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Richard P. Strong [had been] recently appointed director of Harvard’s new Department of Tropical Medicine [...]. In 1914 [the same year of the Panama Canal's completion], just one year after the creation of Harvard’s Department of Tropical Medicine, Strong took on an additional assignment that cemented the ties between his department and American business interests abroad. As newly appointed director of the Laboratories of the Hospitals and of Research Work of United Fruit Company, he set sail in July 1914 to United Fruit plantations in Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. […] As a shareholder in two British rubber plantations, [...] Strong approached Harvey Firestone, chief executive of the tire and rubber-processing conglomerate that bore his name, in December 1925 with a proposal [...]. Firestone had negotiated tentative agreements in 1925 with the Liberian government for [...] a 99-year concession to optionally lease up to a million acres of Liberian land for rubber plantations. [...]

[I]nfluenced by the recommendations and financial backing of Harvard alumni such as Philippine governor Gen. William Cameron Forbes [the Philippines were under US military occupation] and patrons such as Edward Atkins, who were making their wealth in the banana and sugarcane industries, Harvard hired Strong, then head of the Philippine Bureau of Science’s Biological Laboratory [where he fatally infected unknowing test subject prisoners with bubonic plague], and personal physician to Forbes, to establish the second Department of Tropical Medicine in the United States [...]. Strong and Forbes both left Manila [Philippines] for Boston in 1913. [...] Forbes [US military governor of occupied Philippines] became an overseer to Harvard University and a director of United Fruit Company, the agricultural products marketing conglomerate best known for its extensive holdings of banana plantations throughout Central America. […] In 1912 United Fruit controlled over 300,000 acres of land in the tropics [...] and a ready supply of [...] samples taken from the company’s hospitals and surrounding plantations, Strong boasted that no “tropical school of medicine in the world … had such an asset. [...] It is something of a victory [...]. We could not for a million dollars procure such advantages.” Over the next two decades, he established a research funding model reliant on the medical and biological services the Harvard department could provide US-based multinational firms in enhancing their overseas production and trade in coffee, bananas, rubber, oil, and other tropical commodities [...] as they transformed landscapes across the globe.

Text by: Gregg Mitman. "Forgotten Paths of Empire: Ecology, Disease, and Commerce in the Making of Liberia's Plantation Economy." Environmental History, Volume 22, Number 1. January 2017. [Text within brackets added by me for clarity and context.]

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[On] February 20, 1915, [...] [t]o signal the opening of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), [...] [t]he fair did not officially commence [...] until President Wilson [...] pressed a golden key linked to an aerial tower [...] whose radio waves sparked the top of the Tower of Jewels, tripped a galvanometer, [...] swinging open the doors of the Palace of Machinery, where a massive diesel engine started to rotate. [...] [W]ith lavish festivities [...] nineteen million people has passed through the PPIE's turnstiles. [...] As one of the many promotional pamphlets declared, "California marks the limit of the geographical progress of civilization. For unnumbered centuries the course of empire has been steadily to the west." [...] One subject that received an enormous amount of time and space was [...] the areas of race betterment and tropical medicine. Indeed, the fair's official poster, the "Thirteenth Labor of Hercules," [the construction of the Panama Canal] symbolized the intertwined significance of these two concerns [...]. [I]n the 1910s public health and eugenics crusaders alike moved with little or no friction between [...] [calls] for classification of human intelligence, for immigration restriction, for the promotion of the sterilization and segregation of the "unfit," [...]. It was during this [...] moment, [...] that California's burgeoning eugenicist movement coalesced [...]. At meetings convened during the PPIE, a heterogenous group of sanitary experts, [...] medical superintendents, psychologists, [...] and anthropologists established a social network that would influence eugenics on the national level in the years to come. [...]

In his address titled "The Physician as Pioneer," the president-elect of the American Academy of Medicine, Dr. Woods Hutchinson, credited the colonization of the Mississippi Valley to the discovery of quinine [...] and then told his audience that for progress to proceed apace in the current "age of the insect," the stringent sanitary regime imposed and perfected by Gorgas in the Canal Zone was the sine qua non. [...]

Blue also took part in the conference of the American Society for Tropical Medicine, which Gorgas had cofounded five years after the annexation of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Invoking the narrative of medico-military conquest [...], [t]he scientific skill of the United States was also touted at the Pan-American Medical Congress, where its president, Dr. Charles L. Reed, delivered a lengthy address praising the hemispheric security ensured by the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and "the combined genius of American medical scientists [...]" in quelling tropical diseases, above all yellow fever, in the Canal Zone. [...] [A]s Reed's lecture ultimately disclosed, his understanding of Pan-American medical progress was based [...] on the enlightened effects of "Aryan blood" in American lands. [...] [T]he week after the PPIE ended, Pierce was ordered to Laredo, Texas, to investigate several incidents of typhus fever on the border [...]. Pierce was instrumental in fusing tropical medicine and race betterment [...] guided by more than a decade of experience in [...] sanitation in Panama [...]. [I]n August 1915, Stanford's chancellor, David Starr Jordan [...] and Pierce were the guests of honor at a luncheon hosted by the Race Betterment Foundation. [...] [At the PPIE] [t]he Race Betterment booth [...] exhibit [...] won a bronze medal for "illustrating evidences and causes of race degeneration and methods and agencies of race betterment," [and] made eugenics a daily feature of the PPIE. [...] [T]he American Genetics Association's Eugenics Section convened [...] [and] talks were delivered on the intersection of eugenics and sociology, [...] the need for broadened sterilization laws, and the medical inspection of immigrants [...]. Moreover, the PPIE fostered the cross-fertilization of tropical medicine and race betterment at a critical moment of transition in modern medicine in American society.

Text by: Alexandra Minna Stern. Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America. Second Edition. 2016.

[onceuponatown]

The Loomis Radio School, Washington D.C. ca. 1921.

The school was located at 401 Ninth St. N.W. and operated with the call letters 3YA. By 1920 it was offering a six month course enabling the graduate to obtain a first grade commercial radio license and by January of 1922 was offering a four year course with a degree in Radio Engineering bestowed on graduates.

The school was founded by Mary Texanna Loomis, pictured in the last photo.

Born August 18, 1880 near Goliad, Texas. She was the second child born to Alvin Isaac and Caroline (Dryer) Loomis. Though born on homestead in Texas in 1880, by 1883 her parents had returned to Rochester NY and then on to Buffalo where Alvin became president of a large delivery and storage company. Little is known of her early years, but appears she had a fairly middle-class up bringing. She seemed well schooled, with an early interest in music and language (she mastered French, German and Italian) Her early years were spent in Buffalo, NY and she later relocated to Virginia. 

During the early years of World War I, she became interested in the new field of wireless telegraphy. There was a family precedent; her cousin, Dr. Mahlon Loomis, had conducted early wireless experiments with moderate success and may in fact have been the first person, in 1865, to send and receive wireless signals. 

Mary soon became proficient enough in wireless telegraphy to be granted a license by the United States Department of Commerce. Thoroughly fascinated with the field now called “radio”, she decided to turn her expertise into a career. Also, she wanted to do something that would honor her pioneering ancestor. Her idea was to do this by founding a radio school. 

Though radio was indeed, for many years, a profession dominated by men, Mary Loomis around age 40 took no notice and in 1920 founded the Loomis Radio School in Washington, D.C. and it quickly gained an excellent reputation. Ms. Loomis set high standards for the school and it attracted students not only from the United States but Europe and Asia as well. Loomis enjoyed teaching as much as she enjoyed radio itself. In an interview, she said, “Really, I am so infatuated with my work that I delight in spending from 12 to 15 hours a day at it. My whole heart and soul are in this radio school.” 

As president and Lecturer of the Loomis Radio School, Mary authored a definitive book on radio, named “Radio Theory and Operating.” 

By January 1922 the school was offering a four year course with a degree in Radio Engineering bestowed on graduates. Loomis also intended that her students understand more than just the inner and outer workings of radio. In addition to a radio laboratory (with equipment constructed almost entirely by Mary herself), the school maintained a complete shop capable of teaching carpentry, drafting and basic electricity. She reasoned that many of her graduates might find themselves at sea, or in other challenging situations and she wanted them adequately prepared. “No man,” Ms. Loomis said, at the time, “can graduate from my school until he learns how to make any part of the apparatus. I give him a blueprint of what I want him to do and tell him to go into the shop and keep hammering away until the job is completed.” 

The school appears to have been in existence at least through the early 1930's, but it has not been possible to find information after that.

In an interview given to H.O. Bishop of the Dearborn Independent in 1921, Mary was asked: “What sort of young men are taking up the radio profession?” to which she replied:

“The Kind who have grit and want to get there! Virtually all of them are ambitious and enthusiastic over the possibility of visiting every nook and corner of the world. My students are not only enrolled from various sections of the USA and Canada but from many foreign countries, such as Sweden, Ireland, England, Poland, Russia, Austria, Rumania and the Philippines. One of the brightest pupils I ever had was Prince Walimuhomed of Far-away Afghanistan. He was an extremely modest young man, keeping his real identity a secret until after graduating. He said he had no idea of earning his living by working at radio, but just wanted to know all about it. He does.You have no idea how much happiness I get out of the success of each individual graduate. My boys keep in touch with me from all parts of the world. Scarcely a day goes by that I do not get some trinket or postcard from some remote section of the world. I have made the wonderful discovery that the only way for me to get happiness for myself is to make some one else happy. I find that I am making these young men happy by teaching them every phase of the radio business so that they can earn a comfortable living for themselves and their dependents and at the same time, see the great big beautiful world.

As far as we can figure out, Mary Loomis left Washington D.C. around 1935 and moved to San Francisco where she worked as a stenographer. She died in 1960 and is interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park, Colma, CA. 

Source

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

i recently made a friend who's just so incredibly smart. she can deliver an in-depth lecture on history, philosophy and media without stumbling over her words even once as well as she can argue about it. but an interesting thing, she's a communist. but unlike the classic "everything should he free!", so believes that communism as it was on paper is supposed to the next step of human consciousness that we will most likely won't achieve in the near future. this i can get behind.

Nah, your "smart" friend is wrong. Communism, either theoretical perfect communism that only exists on paper or actual communism as it's always practiced in real life, is nothing to aspire to. The idea that the "next stage of human evolution" is some kind of higher consciousness where we shun the physical and embrace only the intellectual, or a gestalt consciousness, is faux intellectual garbage. They're ideas that were popularized by acid dropping left wing sci fi writers from the 60s and 70s who can't lift their groceries let alone some weights, and they've been dragged into every decade since because intellectual nerds really like the idea that their intelligence is going to be the future of humanity, and the meathead jocks that bullied them are going to be the less evolved Neanderthals they get to lord over. But the fact is humanity became the dominant species because of both our physical evolution and our intelligence. In fact, the only reason we're so intelligent is because of the way our physical brains are structured. So the argument can be made that greater physicality is our future evolution, not greater or "higher" intelligence. And as long as we inhabit a physical world, labor will always be necessary to survive. And as long as labor is necessary to survive, commerce will exist. And as long as commerce exists, the free market will always be the best, most ethical, most moral, most efficient, way to engage in commerce. Perfect textbook communism cannot work in the physical world. We've seen that time and time again as its tried over and over with the exact same results. Human rights abuses, genocide, slavery, oppression; they all go hand in hand with communism.

[genshinemblem564]

Birthday

How the different nations of Teyvat celebrate your birthday

My birthday is today so it's fresh on my mind, so you get headcanons.

_______________________________________________

Every nation has a festival in your name on this special day, but how does each festival differ.

• Mondstadt

The nation of wind and freedom and also wine, you would think this would lead to mass celebratory drinking, while this is true for some, the more upstanding citizens set aside their glasses, even the drunkard god himself, he does have his own role to play in this festival after all.

The city is decorated with windwheel asters and the shops carry wreaths made from the flower as you expressed amazement when first seeing the specimen.

Across the day dandelion seeds are gathered by visitors and locals alike and when the stars start to shine in the night sky a strong gust of wind summoned by Barbatos himself comes to help them soar, and due to the elemental energy flowing through them, it's as if the sky gained new stars that night.

• Liyue

The nation of stone and commerce, much like the Lantern Rite signifying the new year, lanterns are released into the night sky, these lanterns however are filled with notes containing prayers, thanks, and many simply wishing you a happy birthday.

Many of the city's shopkeepers offer a portion of their earnings to you, jewelers on the other hand offer their finest gems, only the best will do for their creator after all.

In years past a dragon could be seen resting at the peak of Jueyun Karst on this special day, these days however the only notable difference is the occasional absence of one of the funeral parlor's employees, but that's probably just a coincidence.

Unfortunately, Xiao cannot celebrate today, at least not to the extent that the others can. While hilichurls, treasure hoarders, and even the Abyss Order dare not disturb the peace this day, nothing can stop the rogue programming of the ruin guards. However seeing how diligently you work through your vessels even during festivities, he holds a sense of pride knowing you'd be doing the same if you were here.

• Inazuma

The nation of lightning and eternity, during the vision hunt decree, today was celebrated secretly, not because the Shogun had a law against, no, she was actually saddened by how quiet the day was, but it was because every vision bearer she hadn't caught thought she'd use the festival to round them up. Now that the hunt is over however, the streets of Inazuma are busting more than ever.

Inazuma is definitely the most diverse in its celebration, with warriors wishing to honor you by displaying their skills, artists hoping to show you the beauty of their craft, and a grand fireworks show courtesy of Naganohara Fireworks.

The shrine maidens of both Narukami and Watatsumi are very busy this time of year, accepting a multitude of offerings and words of appreciation for the creator.

The Arataki gang hosts a multitude of attractions for the festival, poor Shinobu was left with the paper work and the gang gets a good earful the next day, but she decides, so long as they're not causing problems, the lectures can wait until tomorrow.

• Sumeru

The nation of dendro, knowledge, and wisdom. In the past the Akademyia sages would over see this momentous occasion, now that role goes to lesser lord Kusanali.

The city holds a showcase of each of the Akademyia's darshans, this showcase is filled with incredible flora and fauna, all harmless of course, mechanical marvels, and elemental beauty.

Aaru village may be small but they go all out for you, due to how small it is there is nothing truly of note, but due to the peace mentioned in Liyue's section, even the ever diligent Candace can enjoy a day of leisure and laughter, much to Dehya's delight.

• Abyss

Not much is known about the abyss but one thing is clear, like the rest of Teyvat, they have a strong sense of devotion, so this is the one day of the year they retreat back to their domain and the nations are left in peace, as for what they do on this day, that is yet another mystery.

• Misc.

While treasure hoarders are known for, well hoarding treasure, on this day they leave the innocent in peace and even turn in some of their stolen goods, not directly of course out of fear of being imprisoned, but they leave them near city gates.

The numerous hilichurl tribes hold feasts as they dance around their bonfires, to the untrained eye this seems like normal behavior, however one may notice the particular dance they do is distinctly different.

The bards and poets of the land may not have much to offer in material goods, but they hope you are satisfied with their songs and rhymes.

The Adventurer's Guild does their utmost in every city to see that each celebration goes of without a hitch, it may not be much, but it's all they can do without treating it like any other day.

[stoneharbor]

hc + 👗 for a clothes-themed headcanon

[ from this ask meme ] Zhongli has an eye for the finer things in life—his sense of fashion is no exception. Each piece of clothing he wears is bespoke, handcrafted to suit his tastes. His wardrobe is nothing short of extravagant, filled with commissions from Liyue's finest tailors. Among his most prized garments is his tailcoat, designed by the legendary Yaksha Kapisas himself. Even his leisurewear is meticulously fashioned, with fabrics chosen after much deliberation (and, perhaps, a long-winded lecture about the history of such linens). His sleepwear is no less refined—made of silk sourced from the Feiyun Commerce Guild, acquired for a hefty sum of Mora upon his insistence. His belongings are treated with the utmost care, ensuring they endure millennia.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Canada Retaliates, and so does Trump (1440/AP) The Canadian province of Ontario raised prices on electricity exported to the US states yesterday, adding a 25% surcharge to power transmissions to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the move was in response to ongoing tariff threats from the Trump administration. Upon hearing about Ontario’s pushback, President Trump threatened to double the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, declare a national emergency for areas affected by the electricity surcharge, and increase tariffs on Canadian-made cars to “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada”—all while heightening his desire to make Canada the 51st state. “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” Trump wrote. “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.” Ford later said on X he chose not to impose the surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, New York and Minnesota after having a “productive conversation” about the economic relationship between Canada and the U.S. with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

Trump’s Tactics Lead Americans to Question Role on World Stage (NYT) Abraham Lincoln suggested the United States was “the last, best hope of Earth.” Ronald Reagan celebrated it as a “shining city on a hill.” George W. Bush argued that the nation was “the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.” But to President Trump, America is the all-powerful player in a series of high-stakes transactions. “You don’t have the cards right now,” he lectured President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in their extraordinary Oval Office showdown. Mr. Trump is radically different from his Republican predecessors in countless ways. But rarely is the contrast starker than in his approach to American leadership in the world. While those Republicans championed free trade, he has started trade wars. And while they argued that American assistance abroad could fend off problems at home, he has moved to gut foreign aid. Now, Mr. Trump’s nakedly transactional style is forcing Americans to reimagine how they see their country’s place in the world.

Tariffs face long odds in bid to bring factories home (Washington Post) President Donald Trump says there is an easy way for manufacturers to avoid his blizzard of tariffs: Move back to the United States. If it works, Trump’s tariff-first strategy could end a long stagnation in U.S. manufacturing output and create the kind of jobs that his blue-collar supporters crave. But in trying to repatriate manufacturing, Trump is battling powerful long-term forces that have caused factory jobs to dwindle to the smallest share of U.S. employment since government records began in 1939. Just 8 percent of American workers now toil in factories, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if Trump succeeds in luring companies inside his tariff walls, it is unlikely he could regain the nearly 5 million factory jobs that have vanished since the late 1990s, according to many economists. Machines greatly outnumber workers in modern factories. The jobs that remain require higher skills and no longer pay more than other opportunities available to workers without a college degree. Trump’s trade policy, against all odds, is trying to re-create an economy—and a way of life—that hasn’t really existed in the United States for decades.

Former Social Security official describes hostile takeover by Musk team (Washington Post) They came in aggressively, a former official who witnessed Elon Musk’s team take over the Social Security Administration said, demanding access to sensitive taxpayer data and refusing briefings on how the agency ensures the accuracy of its benefit systems. They recklessly exposed data in unsecured areas outside Social Security offices, the official said, potentially disclosing personally identifiable information on almost every American to people not authorized to see it. And representatives sent by the U.S. DOGE Service refused to explain why they needed taxpayer information that is protected by law, the former official said. These and other allegations are included in a sweeping declaration filed as part of a federal lawsuit Friday from Tiffany Flick, the agency’s acting chief of staff until she was forced out in mid-February. Flick describes a fast and tension-filled takeover of the agency and its sensitive data systems by DOGE in what amounted to a de facto coup by agency outsiders. The declaration is the first in-depth public account from a high-ranking government executive of how Musk’s team is operating at one of dozens of agencies as it leads a downsizing of the federal government.

‘Strong eruption’ of volcano in Guatemala forces evacuations (Guardian) Guatemalan authorities have evacuated about a thousand people after Central America’s most active volcano erupted, spewing lava, ash and rocks. Residents with traumatic memories of a deadly eruption in 2018 sought safety in a temporary shelter after the Fuego volcano—located 35km (22 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City—showed escalating activity on Sunday. Guatemala lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Russia shoots down 337 Ukrainian drones in massive attack (AP) Russian air defenses shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions overnight, military officials said Tuesday, in what appeared to be the biggest Ukrainian drone attack on Russia in the three-year war. The attack came hours before the start of key Ukraine-U.S. talks in Saudi Arabia on how to stop Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, officials said.

U.S. Agrees to Resume Military Assistance to Ukraine (NYT) Ukraine said it would support a Trump administration proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia, an announcement that followed hours of meetings on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia where the United States agreed to immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and resume military assistance to Kyiv. The talks in the coastal city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, brought fresh momentum to cease-fire negotiations that had faltered following a public confrontation at the White House between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents. In the statement, the United States and Ukraine acknowledged that the terms of any cease-fire would be subject to Russia’s approval.

Russia Trots Out Its Newest Weapons in Ukraine: Horses (WSJ) On the eastern front here, Russia is saddling up a mainstay of battlefields from earlier centuries to counter Ukraine’s drone army: horses and donkeys. The hoofed mammals carry supplies and soldiers to avoid the attention of drones, which can easily spot and strike armored and other vehicles moving near the front lines. While horses and donkeys are far from a centerpiece of Russian operations, Moscow’s dalliance is indicative of the ways in which a high-tech war is requiring creative uses of old-school combat methods, from trenches to motorbikes. Horses in combat date to around 1500 B.C., when they were used to pull chariots, according to the American Museum of Natural History. They later became a military linchpin for transport and cavalry charges. By the end of World War I, though, horses and donkeys were largely replaced by vehicles. Last month, Russian Lt. Gen. Viktor Sobolev told a pro-Kremlin media outlet the military was struggling to supply some units with ammunition, equipment and food. In this environment, using donkeys and horses in logistics is normal, he said. “It’s better if a donkey gets killed than two men in a car carrying the things necessary for battle and sustenance,” he said.

Hijacking in Pakistan (Foreign Policy) The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked a train in Pakistan on Tuesday, taking hostage 182 people, including security personnel. A U.S. official put that number closer to 450 people. The train was en route to the city of Peshawar when armed militants blew up the tracks and trapped it in a tunnel. The militants have killed at least 10 of the hostages, but at least 104 passengers, mostly women and children, have made it safely to the nearest station. The other passengers’ fates are unclear. At time of writing, the BLA remained in a tense standoff with the Pakistan Air Force, and at least 13 militants had been killed by security forces.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte arrested in the Philippines on an ICC warrant over drug killings (Bloomberg) In dramatic events on Tuesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government arrested and deported his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The move came just over a month after the impeachment of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, by allies of Marcos. A Senate trial, which would determine whether she gets removed from office, is scheduled to begin in July. The push by Marcos to sideline his main political opponents marks a gamble that could easily backfire. The Dutertes still hold clout, with Sara a top candidate in polls to win the next presidential vote in 2028. Just prior to his arrest at the Manila airport, the elder Duterte was regaled by thousands of adoring supporters at a Hong Kong stadium, showing the enduring appeal of a brash politician frequently compared to Donald Trump. And while Marcos also remains popular, his approval ratings have declined in part due to stubbornly high inflation. For Duterte, 79, the next step is facing charges in the Netherlands-based ICC over his drug war that killed more than 6,000 people.

Kiwi exodus (Economist) “Ditch the winter chill” and “expand your horizons in sunny South East Queensland!” reads one newspaper advert, luring New Zealand’s health-care workers towards a new life in Australia. “Warmer days and higher pays”, enthused another, last year, from the Australian state’s police service. Kiwis who chose “policing in paradise” could look forward to 300 days of annual sunshine and a A$20,000 ($12,500) relocation bonus, it declared. For many New Zealanders that is an easy sell. They are leaving their country in record numbers. Almost 129,000 residents emigrated last year—40% above the pre-pandemic average for this century. Its small economy and relative lack of opportunity have long driven young New Zealanders towards what they call the “overseas experience”, fanning fears of brain drain. And recently, New Zealand has been in a rut. The economy is in recession and unemployment has risen. Outgoing Kiwis grumble about costly housing and a crime surge. Unlike most, they have an alternative when times get tough: they are free to live and work in Australia, and vice versa. Almost 15% of them are now based “across the ditch”.

Syria’s government signs a breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities in the northeast (AP) Syria’s interim government signed a deal Monday with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main U.S.-backed force there into the Syrian army. The deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government, which is led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that led the ouster of President Bashar Assad in December. The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group are also expected to come under government control. Syria’s Kurds will gain their “constitutional rights” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades under Assad. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes.

Uganda deploys special forces to South Sudan to protect the government as fears of civil war grow (AP) Uganda has deployed an unknown number of troops to South Sudan in a bid to protect the fragile government of President Salva Kiir as a tense rivalry with his deputy threatens a return to civil war in the east African nation. Ugandan special forces have been deployed to Juba, the South Sudanese capital, “to support the government of South Sudan” against a possible rebel advance on the city, said Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, a spokesperson for the Ugandan military. The U.S. on Sunday ordered nonemergency government personnel to leave Juba. The U.N. is warning of “an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress” in South Sudan.

TikTok crooner, 92, feels 'very, very fortunate' (BBC) A 92-year-old who croons contemporary pop hits, garnering more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, says he feels “very, very fortunate”. Edwin Rayner, from Bournemouth, Dorset, stopped singing after his wife Margaret passed away but his granddaughters convinced him to upload some clips onto TikTok, creating a sensation. His latest successes include 8.7 million views for his cover of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club, and 11.5 million for his version of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. He told BBC Breakfast: “It’s so gratifying because some of the people who comment on me were in despair, and my singing, and songs, have brought back life to them, and it’s so pleasing to know I’ve done this.”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"LAZIEST UNDERGRADS HIRE STENOGRAPHER," Toronto Star. December 14, 1931. Page 1. --- Lectures Taken in Full for 50 Cents Week --- Commerce students at University of Toronto have decided it is too much of an effort to take notes in lectures so they have arranged to employ a stenographer. The scheme is to be tried out immediately in the political science course. For six economic periods a week the students will be able to concentrate on the lecturer, or to dream dreams. The committee in charge has arranged notes will cost a maximum of 50 cents a week for each student. A stenographer will attend the lectures and take down a word for word copy. This will be typed and mimeographed and the copies distributed to students in the scheme.

[on-cerulean-tides-rpg]

Us & Coutume - Généralités

La Monnaie 

En Elyrian ou dans les royaumes voisins, la monnaie, aussi nommée l’Aekel, est la même partout. Frappées à l'effigie d’un kelpie, les pièces de monnaie sont aujourd'hui l'unique façon de commercer, en dehors du troc dans les régions les plus reculées. Le cour de la monnaie ne fluctue jamais et reste toujours stable. Les pièces sont au nombre de trois : des piécettes en or, en argent et en bronze. 

1 pièce d'or = 5 pièces d'argent. 1 pièce d'argent = 10 pièces de bronze.

Le Langage

L'Elyrath est la langue commune en Elyrian, ayant évolué au fil des siècles et engendré divers patois dans les différents archipels, mais restant intelligible par tous les Elyriens. Cependant, en raison des échanges commerciaux avec les royaumes voisins, l'Aethelis est couramment parlé, notamment à Nepthis et Cresta, ainsi que parmi les familles nobles et érudites du royaume.

Le Commerce

En ce qui concerne le commerce, ce dernier tient évidemment une part très importante dans l'économie du royaume. En effet, chaque archipel possède ses propres denrées, ses propres spécialités que l'on ne peut trouver ailleurs :

Archipel de Nehenor :  Commerce global – Minerais de pierre – Armurerie – Coquillages – Pêche – Production fruitière – Production de chanvre – Epices – Bétail – Perles précieuses – Artisanat magique – Joaillerie –Minerai de sel 

Archipel de Takalan : Commerce Illégal – Artefacts rares – Artisanat précieux (bois & pierres) – Production de rhum – Épices – Café – Sucre – Production fruitière – Cueillette – Pêche – Minerai d’or – Chasse – Potions – Herboristerie – Alchimie – Archéologie

Archipel de Njorei : Armurerie – Minerais de diamant et d’argent – Construction Navale – Elevage de bétail – Cuir – Minerai de fer – Céréales – Production d’Eau de Vie – Défense militaire – Ecole Militaire – Commerce global 

L'Education

La transmission des valeurs et du savoir est un fondement essentiel de la société elyrienne. Chaque enfant né au sein du royaume a le droit de recevoir un apprentissage, bien que les disparités sociales influencent grandement la qualité et l’étendue de cette éducation. Les familles nobles et fortunées offrent à leurs enfants un enseignement approfondi et spécialisé, tandis que les classes populaires doivent souvent se contenter d’un apprentissage plus rudimentaire.

L’entrée à l’école est fixée partout au même âge : 10 ans. Avant cela, les enfants sont instruits à la maison par leurs parents ou un précepteur lorsqu’ils en ont les moyens. Dans les villages et les villes, des enseignements collectifs sont parfois organisés pour regrouper les plus jeunes et leur transmettre les bases de la lecture, du calcul et des traditions elyriennes.

L’école n’est pas obligatoire, mais fortement encouragée par les hautes autorités, qui y voient un moyen d’unifier le peuple et d’assurer la pérennité du royaume. L’enseignement général se termine à 18 ans, âge de la majorité en Elyrian. Au-delà, seuls les plus érudits peuvent poursuivre leurs études auprès de spécialistes dans les grandes villes. Toutefois, cet apprentissage avancé n’est pas gratuit et reste principalement accessible aux familles les plus aisées, capables de payer les érudits, alchimistes ou maîtres d’armes les plus renommés.

La mode & les vêtements

L'apparence joue un rôle primordial dans la culture d'Elyrian, quel que soit le statut social ou la richesse d'un individu. Le royaume valorise l'élégance et l'originalité, et chaque vêtement, qu’il soit simple ou somptueux, est un reflet du statut, des origines et de l'appartenance à un archipel. Les matériaux utilisés pour confectionner les habits sont un indicateur de la classe sociale d'un individu : plus les tissus sont précieux, plus leur porteur se distingue comme étant de haute naissance ou de grande richesse. 

Matières répandues : la soie, le lin, le velours, le coton.

Matières plus rares : l’écaille de mer polie, le cuir finement tissé, le cachemire des montagnes de Nehenor.

Chaque archipel d'Elyrian possède ses propres codes de mode, en adéquation avec le climat et les spécificités locales :

Nehenor - Étant les principaux producteurs de textiles du royaume, les habitants créent des vêtements sophistiqués et d'une grande qualité, souvent décorés de motifs représentant les souffles et les courants marins qui dominent leur archipel. 

Takalan - A Takalan, la mode s'inspire de la nature luxuriante de la forêt tropicale, avec des matériaux légers et des motifs inspirés des plantes et des animaux. 

Njorei - A Njorei, les habits sont conçus pour être pratiques et résistants, adaptés aux conditions difficiles des îles les plus exposées aux tempêtes.

Les femmes Elyriennes portent principalement des robes somptueuses, souvent cintrées à la taille, avec des jupes longues ou mi-longues, mais peuvent également opter pour des pantalons, plus pratiques dans certaines situations. Les vêtements peuvent laisser entrevoir une partie du corps : jambes, dos ou épaules, car la nudité n’est pas perçue comme un tabou dans le royaume, bien que la pudeur soit toujours respectée dans les contextes intimes. 

Us & Coutumes - La société

Classes sociales

Les classes sociales d'Elyrian sont principalement déterminées par la richesse, l'influence et l'origine.

Noblesse : Au sommet de la hiérarchie, composée des seigneurs des archipels, des conseillers du Monarque et des familles influentes. Ils détiennent le pouvoir politique et économique.

Marchands et Artisans : Riches et influents, mais en dehors de la noblesse. Ils jouent un rôle clé dans le commerce, la production et l'artisanat.

Citadins et Habitants : Classe moyenne, vivant dans les villes ou villages, travaillant dans des métiers divers mais sans grande influence.

Paysans et Ouvriers : Au bas de l’échelle, ils travaillent la terre, la pêche ou dans des usines, avec peu de droits et de ressources.

Hors-la-loi et Prisonniers : Une classe inférieure, souvent réduite à des travaux forcés, généralement issus de guerres ou de dettes impayées.

Moeurs 

À Elyrian, les âmes s’unissent sans entraves, guidées par le cœur, plutôt que par des conventions rigides. L’amour y est fluide et il ne connaît ni barrières, ni interdits. Hommes, femmes, personnes de tous horizons et identités trouvent leur place sans avoir à se justifier : ici, être soi-même est une évidence, et non un combat. Les regards en biais n'existent pas, car l’amour et l’identité ne sont pas des sujets de débat.

Mariage & Divorce

Le mariage à Elyrian est une institution sacrée, considérée comme l’union de deux âmes sous la bénédiction des dieux. Il est vu comme un engagement à vie, renforcé par des cérémonies religieuses. Le divorce, bien qu'accepté légalement, est extrêmement mal vu par la société, car il est perçu comme un échec de l’harmonie divine entre les époux. Ceux qui se séparent sont souvent stigmatisés, et leur réputation peut en souffrir. Cependant, dans des cas de violences ou d'infidélités graves, des exceptions peuvent être faites.

Naissances hors mariage

Le mariage est la norme au sein des couples et un enfant né hors de cette union est toujours mal vu. Les bâtards nobles sont bien souvent rejetés voire même tués dans des cas extrêmes à la naissance afin d'éviter un quelconque problème avec la succession.

Rites Funéraires

Les Elyriens honorent leurs morts lors de cérémonies nocturnes, empreintes de silence, de respect et de lumière. Ces rites, appelés Passage des Ombres, marquent le dernier voyage d’une âme vers l’au-delà. Deux voies sont traditionnellement possibles :

L’inhumation en mer, réservée aux marins, pêcheurs ou âmes ayant voué leur vie à l’océan. Le corps est enveloppé dans un linceul, lesté de pierres ou de chaînes rituelles, puis confié aux flots lors d’une veillée sous les étoiles. Une torche allumée est lancée à la mer pour guider l’âme, et une pièce d’argent est posée sur chaque paupière du défunt afin qu’il puisse “payer la traversée”.

Le bûcher funéraire, plus répandu sur la terre ferme ou pour ceux liés au souffle des plantes. Le feu est considéré comme une force de purification. Les cendres sont souvent dispersées dans les jardins sacrés ou au sommet des falaises, là où souffle le vent.

Quel que soit le rituel choisi, le nom du défunt est gravé sur une tablette de bois déposée dans un sanctuaire dédié à Myrron, divinité du passage. Des prières y sont murmurées pour éviter que l’âme ne se perde ou ne revienne hanter les vivants. Dans certaines régions, les proches portent un fil noir autour du poignet pendant sept jours pour marquer le deuil, avant de le couper lors d’un dernier adieu sur les flots ou autour des braises éteintes.

Comportements Sociaux

Le geste du souffle : Pour saluer ou remercier quelqu’un de manière respectueuse, un Elyrien pose deux doigts contre ses lèvres, puis les étend vers l’autre personne, comme s’il envoyait un souffle. C’est un signe de paix, de gratitude ou de reconnaissance.

Ne pas parler de son souffle subtil en public : Par tradition (et superstition), on évite de parler de son souffle subtil à haute voix, surtout devant des étrangers. Il est considéré comme intime, parfois comme un mystère sacré confié par les dieux. L’évoquer directement peut être perçu comme prétentieux ou dangereux.

Offrir un objet lié aux souffles : Pour marquer une alliance, une amitié ou un pardon, il est courant d’offrir un petit objet naturel lié au souffle de l’autre (plume, pierre polie, graine, goutte de verre, etc.). Le refuser est une offense grave.

Tresser les liens : Les Elyriens tressent souvent des cordons de fil, d’algue ou de cuir pour symboliser des liens (familiaux, amoureux, d’équipage). Ces tresses peuvent être portées au poignet, à la cheville ou tressées dans les cheveux. Les couper volontairement est un acte fort.

L’importance des noms : Changer de nom, ou le cacher, est un acte grave. Un nom public peut être donné à la naissance, mais certains Elyriens portent aussi un nom intime, connu de quelques personnes. Le révéler est un geste d’amour, de confiance... ou de manipulation.

Ne jamais pointer vers la mer : Pointer du doigt vers la mer est un geste mal vu, car cela revient à accuser l’océan, à le défier. On montre plutôt d’un geste vague du bras : c’est un signe de respect pour l’indomptable.

Et voilà le poisson ! La partie 2 de cette annexe arrivera très bientôt, stay tuned ! 💙

[fatehbaz]

hi! SUPER interesting excerpt on ants and empire; adding it to my reading list. have you ever read "mosquito empires," by john mcneill?

Yea, I've read it. (Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914, basically about influence of environment and specifically insect-borne disease on colonial/imperial projects. Kinda brings to mind Centering Animals in Latin American History [Few and Tortorici, 2013] and the exploration of the centrality of ecology/plants to colonialism in Plants and Empire: Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic World [Schiebinger, 2007].)

If you're interested: So, in the article we're discussing, Rohan Deb Roy shows how Victorian/Edwardian British scientists, naturalists, academics, administrators, etc., used language/rhetoric to reinforce colonialism while characterizing insects, especially termites in India and elsewhere in the tropics, as "Goths"; "arch scourge of humanity"; "blight of learning"; "destroying hordes"; and "the foe of civilization". [Rohan Deb Roy. “White ants, empire, and entomo-politics in South Asia.” The Historical Journal. October 2019.] He explores how academic and pop-sci literature in the US and Britain participated in racist dehumanization of non-European people by characterizing them as "uncivilized", as insects/animals. (This sort of stuff is summarized by Neel Ahuja, describing interplay of race, gender, class, imperialism, disease/health, anthropomorphism. See Ahuja's “Postcolonial Critique in a Multispecies World.”)

In a different 2018 article on "decolonizing science," Deb Roy also moves closer to the issue of mosquitoes, disease, hygiene, etc. explored in Mosquito Empires. Deb Roy writes: 'Sir Ronald Ross had just returned from an expedition to Sierra Leone. The British doctor had been leading efforts to tackle the malaria that so often killed English colonists in the country, and in December 1899 he gave a lecture to the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce [...]. [H]e argued that "in the coming century, the success of imperialism will depend largely upon success with the microscope."''

Deb Roy also writes elsewhere about "nonhuman empire" and how Empire/colonialism brutalizes, conscripts, employs, narrates other-than-human creatures. See his book Malarial Subjects: Empire, Medicine and Nonhumans in British India, 1820-1909 (published 2017).

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Like Rohan Deb Roy, Jonathan Saha is another scholar with a similar focus (relationship of other-than-human creatures with British Empire's projects in Asia). Among his articles: "Accumulations and Cascades: Burmese Elephants and the Ecological Impact of British Imperialism." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 2022. /// “Colonizing elephants: animal agency, undead capital and imperial science in British Burma.” BJHS Themes. British Society for the History of Science. 2017. /// "Among the Beasts of Burma: Animals and the Politics of Colonial Sensibilities, c. 1840-1940." Journal of Social History. 2015. /// And his book Colonizing Animals: Interspecies Empire in Myanmar (published 2021).

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Related spirit/focus. If you liked the termite/India excerpt, you might enjoy checking out this similar exploration of political/imperial imagery of bugs a bit later in the twentieth century: Fahim Amir. “Cloudy Swords” e-flux Journal Issue #115. February 2021.

Amir explores not only insect imagery, specifically caricatures of termites in discourse about civilization (like the Deb Roy article about termites in India), but Amir also explores the mosquito/disease aspect invoked by your message (Mosquito Empires) by discussing racially segregated city planning and anti-mosquito architecture in British West Africa and Belgian Congo, as well as anti-mosquito campaigns of fascist Italy and the ascendant US empire. German cities began experiencing a non-native termite infestation problem shortly after German forces participated in violent suppression of resistance in colonial Africa. Meanwhile, during anti-mosquito campaigns in the Panama Canal zone, US authorities imposed forced medical testing of women suspected of carrying disease. Article features interesting statements like: 'The history of the struggle against the [...] mosquito reads like the history of capitalism in the twentieth century: after imperial, colonial, and nationalistic periods of combatting mosquitoes, we are now in the NGO phase, characterized by shrinking [...] health care budgets, privatization [...].' I've shared/posted excerpts before, which I introduce with my added summary of some of the insect-related imagery: “Thousands of tiny Bakunins”. Insects "colonize the colonizers". The German Empire fights bugs. Fascist ants, communist termites, and the “collectivism of shit-eating”. Insects speak, scream, and “go on rampage”.

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In that Deb Roy article, there is a section where we see that some Victorian writers pontificated on how "ants have colonies and they're quite hard workers, just like us!" or "bugs have their own imperium/domain, like us!" So that bugs can be both reviled and also admired. On a similar note, in the popular imagination, about anthropomorphism of Victorian bugs, and the "celebrated" "industriousness" and "cleverness" of spiders, there is: Claire Charlotte McKechnie. “Spiders, Horror, and Animal Others in Late Victorian Empire Fiction.” Journal of Victorian Culture. December 2012. She also addresses how Victorian literature uses natural science and science fiction to process anxiety about imperialism. This British/Victorian excitement at encountering "exotic" creatures of Empire, and popular discourse which engaged in anthropormorphism, is explored by Eileen Crist's Images of Animals: Anthropomorphism and Animal Mind and O'Connor's The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856.

Related anthologies include a look at other-than-humans in literature and popular discourse: Gothic Animals: Uncanny Otherness and the Animal With-Out (Heholt and Edmunson, 2020). There are a few studies/scholars which look specifically at "monstrous plants" in the Victorian imagination. Anxiety about gender and imperialism produced caricatures of woman as exotic anthropomorphic plants, as in: “Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory" (Chase et al., Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009). Special mention for the work of Anna Boswell, which explores the British anxiety about imperialism reflected in their relationships with and perceptions of "strange" creatures and "alien" ecosystems, especially in Aotearoa. (Check out her “Anamorphic Ecology, or the Return of the Possum.” Transformations. 2018.)

And then bridging the Victorian anthropomorphism of bugs with twentieth-century hygiene campaigns, exploring "domestic sanitation" there is: David Hollingshead. “Women, insects, modernity: American domestic ecologies in the late nineteenth century.” Feminist Modernist Studies. August 2020. (About the cultural/social pressure to protect "the home" from bugs, disease, and "invasion".)

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In fields like geography, history of science, etc., much has been said/written about how botany was the key imperial science/field, and there is the classic quintessential tale of the British pursuit of cinchona from Latin America, to treat mosquito-borne disease among its colonial administrators in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. In other words: Colonialism, insects, plants in the West Indies shaped and influenced Empire and ecosystems in the East Indies, and vice versa. One overview of this issue from Early Modern era through the Edwardian era, focused on Britain and cinchona: Zaheer Baber. "The Plants of Empire: Botanic Gardens, Colonial Power and Botanical Knowledge." May 2016. Elizabeth DeLoughrey and other scholars of the Caribbean, "the postcolonial," revolutionary Black Atlantic, etc. have written about how plantation slavery in the Caribbean provided a sort of bounded laboratory space. (See Britt Rusert's "Plantation Ecologies: The Experiential Plantation [...].") The argument is that plantations were already of course a sort of botanical laboratory for naturalizing and cultivating valuable commodity plants, but they were also laboratories to observe disease spread and to practice containment/surveillance of slaves and laborers. See also Chakrabarti's Bacteriology in British India: laboratory medicine and the tropics (2012). Sharae Deckard looks at natural history in imperial/colonial imagination and discourse (especially involving the Caribbean, plantations, the sea, and the tropics) looking at "the ecogothic/eco-Gothic", Edenic "nature", monstrous creatures, exoticism, etc. Kinda like Grove's discussion of "tropical Edens" in the colonial imagination of Green Imperialism.

Dante Furioso's article "Sanitary Imperialism" (from e-flux's Sick Architecture series) provides a summary of US entomology and anti-mosquito campaigns in the Caribbean, and how "US imperial concepts about the tropics" and racist pathologization helped influence anti-mosquito campaigns that imposed racial segregation in the midst of hard labor, gendered violence, and surveillance in the Panama Canal zone. A similar look at manipulation of mosquito-borne disease in building empire: Gregg Mitman. “Forgotten Paths of Empire: Ecology, Disease, and Commerce in the Making of Liberia’s Plantation Economy.” Environmental History. 2017. (Basically, some prominent medical schools/departments evolved directly out of US military occupation and industrial plantations of fruit/rubber/sugar corporations; faculty were employed sometimes simultaneously by fruit companies, the military, and academic institutions.) This issue is also addressed by Pratik Chakrabarti in Medicine and Empire, 1600-1960 (2014).

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Meanwhile, there are some other studies that use non-human creatures (like a mosquito) to frame imperialism. Some other stuff that comes to mind about multispecies relationships to empire:

Lawrence H. Kessler. “Entomology and Empire: Settler Colonial Science and the Campaign for Hawaiian Annexation.” Arcadia (Spring 2017)

No Wood, No Kingdom: Political Ecology in the English Atlantic (Keith Pluymers)

Archie Davies. "The racial division of nature: Making land in Recife". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers Volume 46, Issue 2, pp. 270-283. November 2020.

Yellow Fever, Race, and Ecology in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans (Urmi Engineer Willoughby, 2017)

Pasteur’s Empire: Bacteriology and Politics in France, Its Colonies, and the World (Aro Velmet, 2022)

Tom Brooking and Eric Pawson. “Silences of Grass: Retrieving the Role of Pasture Plants in the Development of New Zealand and the British Empire.” The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. August 2007.

Under Osman's Tree: The Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Environmental History (Alan Mikhail)

The Herds Shot Round the World: Native Breeds and the British Empire, 1800-1900 (Rebecca J.H. Woods, 2017)

Imperial Bodies in London: Empire, Mobility, and the Making of British Medicine, 1880-1914 (Kristen Hussey, 2021)

Red Coats and Wild Birds: How Military Ornithologists and Migrant Birds Shaped Empire (Kirsten Greer, 2020)

Animality and Colonial Subjecthood in Africa: The Human and Nonhuman Creatures of Nigeria (Saheed Aderinto, 2022)

Imperial Creatures: Humans and Other Animals in Colonial Singapore, 1819-1942 (Timothy P. Barnard, 2019)

Biotic Borders: Transpacific Plant and Insect Migration and the Rise of Anti-Asian Racism in America, 1890-1950 (Jeannie N. Shinozuka)