#and im proud to contribute to that legacy

[dontwanderoff]

i had soooo much to do this weekend and its currently after 2pm on sunday and ive done zero of those things :)

[ahdriking]

hello you kinky little fuckers (affectionate), I really wanna know which one of my fics has... stimulated you the most 😏 this is a blanket permission to get freaky on anon in my askbox

[alun1r]

Rare Alu Rant About Fandoms bc I never say shit:

Sue me, but getting into a fandom just for the intention of becoming popular is so weird to me.

Like sure you want a lot of people to see what you make. Because making something for the fandom should be seen! That’s dope as hell.

But you’re gonna lose inspiration real fast when you find out content creation takes a lotta work but more often than not comes with little reward.

I hold firmly the belief that Fandom is for making content for the pure reason of just because you can.

✨the joy of free will to bring your delusions to life so others can indulge in their delusions as well✨ Kinda vibes? Yanno?

I never started making HL content with the idea in mind that I’d reach 9k followers on tiktok. And I ain’t gonna lie it’s daunting for me. Specially as someone whose always just made shit for whatever reason without even posting it. But The videos that got me views and followers on tiktok, were made because I was high and wanted to laugh. And I’d figured “what the hell, this made me laugh….Maybe it will make someone else laugh.” And I’m glad it did.

And now I float around just making stuff. I still make whatever I want tbh. I do my best to give credit where credit is due in what I make. And yeah I’ve done some fan service videos and writing here and there because hey it’s fun for me.

I see so many posts or peoples bios saying that they’re working towards being popular in fandom and then their posts are what other people said or made on Twitter or tiktok or Vice versa and there’s often times there’s no real credit to original creators.

Don’t get me wrong, if it’s properly credited, AWESOME. Usually it’s not though, and that’s just wild to me. Because how are you expecting to get popular under your own name when you’re just reposting stuff.

That doesn’t make you a content creator.

A historical collector guess?? Because you’re like idk collecting all the stuff people made and what not onto a new page.

Idk dude. I just miss authenticity I guess. People making stuff and just being excited to show it.

Don’t get me wrong though it’s not all terrible on here and everywhere on the internet for fandoms. I’ve made close friends with other creators who feel and see fandom much the same. Just here to vibe and escape.

I’m not saying I don’t think views and followers and likes and notes or what have you, matter. I know they do. I get a lil confidence boost when something I make pops off. I feel proud.

But man it’s the intention of “ Im trying to be a popular creator” that rubs me the wrong way. Make stuff because you like it. Not because other people will. Doing whatever to get you likes wont bring the same satisfaction. And in more cases than not I see it backfiring and causing drama because, like I said it’s usually shit that’s copied or reposted.

Who knows maybe I’m just old and don’t understand bc I also see fandom and the work I’ve contributed as something I wouldn’t like boast about in real life. Because the reaction wouldn’t be positive. Like just for enjoying Hogwarts legacy I get teased in my daily life from acquaintances. It’s not totally negative. Buts it’s enough for me to know that YEAH 9k followers on tiktok don’t mean anything in the real world LMAO because at the end of the day, offline, I am still just a nerd whose daydreaming in her bedroom to escape reality.

I’m 24 dude. And I work in news. Shit is exhausting. Read a headline and you’ll see what I mean. And I just wanted to rant about it because it’s been bugging me since I joined fandom again last year.

But due to, idk my follower count and whatnot I always felt like I can’t or rather I shouldn’t speak my mind so much for fear of SOMEONE coming for me for something. And man I hate that feeling bc this bitch has opinions and I dislike the idea of feeling like others have control over it. But tbh eh. I wanted to rant. Just speaking into the void of the internet.

If you decide to send anon hate for my opinionated rant be ready for a meme bc I don’t have the mental capacity to take anything other than my IRL life responsibilities seriously lmao.

[xpiester333x]

I did it! Whether good or poor, I finally posted the first chapter of my fic. Does make me happy that it's finally shared and for a pair I love.

ANON!!! THAT'S GREAT!!! IM HAPPY FOR YOU!!! AND PROUD!!!

That's so huge! It takes so much to be willing to share your work! And no matter what, you made your fandom better by contributing. You contributed to its life and legacy! It's awesome!!!

You've inspired me. I'll try to get my fic finished in the coming weeks and post it (I don't want to promise an exact time frame cause, idk, that's too much pressure, but I'll actively work on it with the plan to post it asap.)

If you feel comfortable, I'd love to read it! You can link it to me privately? But if you're not comfortable with it, that's 100% okay, and I fully understand :)

[pinksthetics]

I’m so sorry Sara but all that is coming to mind rn is bee girl Adora 😔

dont apologize my friend im proud of the legacy ive contributed to 😌🐝💛🖤💛✨

[tiffytiff451]

Never Forgotten is our newest foundation sets.

The Color Street Foundation is honored to contribute a total of $100,000 to two organizations committed to providing education, research, and support for women and families who experience miscarriages, stillbirth, and infant loss: Star Legacy Foundation and Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support, Inc.

In conjunction with our specially designed Never Forgotten nail art strips developed to bring awareness to the cause, we are proud to support organizations that do important work for mothers and families who have experienced this monumental loss.

I personally never experienced this but i know many beautiful ladies that have. this is a way to show support to those who have.

Im so proud to be part of a Company that makes awareness of different things

[sdd-blogs]

kinda long also maybe tw for body image stuff

okay not 2 be emo on main but please read all the way thru its important. but sometimes. i do not like myself. sometimes i don't really see anything when i look in the mirror. sometimes i do not matter. sometimes i wish i was someone else entirely because i dont do enough and i dont have enough energy to do enough and i am very good at getting in the way and being a burden. i am very insecure about my body because the doctor told me i was overweight according to the bmi back in sixth grade and then in seventh a boy called me fat for fifteen minutes before i could get on the bus and escape and those were only Two Things but they ruined my self image and now i dont feel bad when i forget to eat sometimes because Hey At Least I Lost Weight. sometimes people leave me and i know i shouldn't care because i was born to be a third wheel and get left behind but it still hurts because i feel like Maybe This Time Will Be Different. sometimes i feel like i am not good enough for anyone because my brother and my sister are very talented and outgoing and smart and are going places with their lives and im unemployed, taking a gap year, sitting around all day doing pretty much nothing and contributing nothing and i have the legacies of my siblings and parents and grandparents to live up to. sometimes i cant get out of bed and I don't get out of bed and im too tired to feel bad about it. sometimes i really would rather be anywhere else than in my own body.

and sometimes. i feel very nice. sometimes i can look at myself in the mirror and not feel nauseous. sometimes i feel very cute. sometimes i get up and i do things and i don't feel like a waste of space. sometimes my day isnt spent sick to my stomach in an hours-long panic attack wondering if everyones going to up and leave me. sometimes things are okay. they have to be bad before they get good again. from mid-February up until about quarantine started was the best id felt in a long time. there are phases. there are good times and bad times. and that sounds like the same neurotypical bullshit im sure you and i and everyone else are sick of hearing. but sometimes things really are good and you shouldn't beat yourself up for things you cant control because youre doing the best you can with your given circumstances.

your best is enough. you are enough. im enough. we all are. you're chugging along as well as you can right now and im proud of you. admittedly it'll take a lot more than that to be proud of myself, but I'm working on that. apologies that you all had to read all my gross stuff about myself first, but i wanted to make it clear that despite all that, i am worthy of love. you are worthy of love. you are worthy of it in spite of and because of your struggles. someone on here said once you shouldn't feel like you have to hide the ugly parts of yourself to feel loved. and theyre right. it's advice i myself need to follow because thats. one of the only times ive ever divulged that to anyone. but its true. if im going to love you i am going to love all of you, bumps and bruises and scars included. you are not unworthy of love ever.

you deserve to be loved wholly and unconditionally because that is what everyone deserves and what everyone needs. you need to be loved for the sake of your own health and it is not a matter of whether or not you deserve it. give yourself some grace, some understanding. you are loved, you are worthy of love, please stop beating yourself up.

[expressyourselfanytime]

Lexa fans, my respects and thanks.

I know I am a day late and I also dont usually post fandom stuff, I just reblog, but I really wanted to share this bit.

(T.W. Lexa's passing related).

Clexa was happening while I was getting through a very rough patch of my life. I was pressured by my parents not to quit my major, which I didnt like, and I was feeling like I was wasting my time. My mother had barely survived a serious pneumonia. I was living alone in a new small apartment(at first I didnt even have electricity for some days) with almost no money at all(cause of my mothers illness) and with my depression and anxiety roaring. I was trying to get away from an abusive romantic relationship/friendship and I had fallen out with almost all of my friends(due to all of the above). I was smoking and drinking very heavily and I couldnt cut it down no matter how much I would want to.

My futile attempts at studying, alcohol(unfortunately), writing and good shows was the only thing keeping me going.

I was looking up to Lexa like my only link in life. She was everything I wanted to become. I saw myself in her very deeply, as I was really closeted and suppressed by my environment in many aspects of my life. I was fighting a war as well, against myself, my family and the world around me.

She aspired me to stay positive, to keep trying, to have faith. Alongside Clarke, they both encouraged me to keep my head high, to keep pushing, to not lose hope and that there is always a way to make it through the darkness.

Then Lexa died.

I had no idea before I reached the moment cause I was naive back then and I wouldnt want spoilers, I would want to enjoy the episode brand new. So I had no warning. I had no clue.

I was destroyed.

Of course I wouldnt comprehend it, I would be crying for days, I would struggle a lot to find a way to get through everything without the strong mental link I had created in my mind to keep me going.

I got better, fortunately.

But I truly, deeply, want to thank every single artist, writer, everyone out there for contributing to this community. Personally, I chose to keep Lexa alive.

I kept reading about her, I kept finding her essence, everything she stood for in my mind in the countless works about her and Clarke. I kept her alive inside me and that was what got me through.

She still is the embodiment of the person who keeps hoping and trying and working hard inspite what she was taught and how much she has struggled. She still is alive for me, through the stories, my memories, the legacy and the community she left behind.

And that is all thanks to you. To every single member of this community. Even the small likes, the subtle comments, everything, have brought us all where we are today.

Lexa lives, a small piece of her inside all of us.

P.S. for anyone worrying about my story, I am in a good place now. I left my studies, I am majoring in a subject I love, I live in a a different city which I also love, my mother is fine, we had a falling out but we are working through it. I succesfully quit smoking two years ago, I overcame the heavy drinking and now I drink very little and in social situations. I work and try to support my family as much as I can, I am openly gay, changed my appearance as I like it and I am very proud of myself, I overcame my depression and my anxiety is much better, I surrounded myself with people who truly appreciate and respect me and I give them back as much love and respect I can, and Im working very hard to become very good at my field because I love it greatly.

Great wishes to you all, and keep your head high as your Heda would want you to!

[thelifetimechannel]

====>

[borealnyx]

the last jedi thoughts

i have thoughts and shit about this movie, read them if you wanna be spoiled or something

Finn was sidelined as fuck. like his whole arc is ultimately pointless af. Like sure, things blew up a lot. But his and roses contribution to the survival of the rebellion has killed way more rebels than it actually saved. And all of that just to keep him apart from poe and/or rey

Also Rose. I love her, she is great. But the fact that they included a kiss between finn and her feels forced and wrong to me

the idea that because the first order blew Coruscant, now the first order rules almost everywhere and the allies of the rebellion are in hiding is kinda too much of a strech. Like... weren’t they supossed to be a minor terrorist group that the senate wasn’t taking serously, and that’s why the rebellion had to be created?? Bring back politics into star wars, because this makes no fucking sense

snoke: why the fuck would they kill him. A waste of a good Andy Serkis if you ask me. The first order is gonna self destruct in like a month with kyle directing it.

Also phasma. WTF! She could be a cool character. But the only thing we get of her is being violent against finn and seeing an eye???

Benicio del toro and Laura dern’ characters, so nice to watch you on a star wars movie. Time to die i guess

Speaking about death. why is luke dead but leia is alive??????!!?! That’s gonna be a huge problem really soon but i guess that’s not a mess for ryan to clean so fuck that i guess

Also, the very idea that Luke Skywalker, the dude who saved the galaxy with the power of love, upon finding out that his nephew had dark thoughts sometimes, the very first thing he does is thinking about killing him, is ridicously insulting and compleatly ridiculous and i will not stand this absolute missunderstanding of his character. luke skywalker would sit beside ben, bring him tea or green milk or something and talk with him about his doubts, offering his full support. Any other option is out of character.

Any scene except the last one where kyle and rey interacted. Bullshit. the whole thing.Jane eyre shenanigans if you ask me and i don’t like them.

And in a more positive note, because i’m not always a complete pessimist and there are a lot of things that i actually liked in this movie:

I have never been happier of seeing a muppet in my entire life crazy swamp guy! yoda is everyone’s favourite yoda and crazy swamp guy! yoda around luke is even better (that scene could have used some obi-wan, but maybe that’s just me)

Poe. Just him having a personality and things to do in the plot. It was beautiful and i’m proud of him. That hot tempered pilot is going to be the saviour of the rebellion. A few things i loved about Poe are:

his relationship to BB8, and how he rubs its head like a dog because it’s a really good bot.

How much he respects Leia and leia in turn tells him that he is a reckless idiot while she worries about him. Sorry kyle, you have a brother now and he is better than you in every conceibable way

ready to fight 24/7, impulsive reckless and ready to blow up anything. Putting his life on the line again and again in the name of what’s right

ROASTING THE WEASEL MAN

After having a speaking role in six of the nine star wars movies, princess Leia Organa of Aldeeran has FINALLY spoken with another woman on the big screen for anyone to see

LEIA USING THE FORCE 

Leia being a general. It breaks my heart. just leia by herself is heartbreaaking, but leia tired, but also unsurprised when she loses people by the hundreds, berating others for putting lifes at risk... Leia has no one left to fight for except her soldiers and she wants them all to be able to go back home.... and im crying again

Billie Lourd being around.i don’t know how to put it into words, but it feels special that she shared screentime with her mother in her most iconic role. Like the mother-daugther legacy that star wars lacks in its stories.

LUKE. i know i said that the flashback scene is ridiculous and should be considered not canon. But the rest, from him tossing the lightsaber over his shoulder like it meant absolutely nothing to how he disolves into the force while looking at the twin suns... a true icon. a leyend a true drama queen, everything he does is beautiful i love him

[imalostgirlcomefindme]

You only have today and tomorrow to pick up one if these adorable charms and contribute to a wonderful cause! I don't know exact numbers yet, but im oretty sure our company has sold at least 50,000 of these charms, which is INCREDIBLE. That is $40x50,000 that has been donated directly to Hurricane Harvey relief. Time has passed, and the images have faded from the news, but the people hit by this storm are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. They're still trying to rebuild and recover. They are still grieving. They still need us. Go to your local James Avery store or order online at jamesavery.com today or tomorrow, and 100% of the proceeds of this $40 charm will be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Note: the charm will still be available after the end of September, as it is a regular product in our Texas collection, but proceeds will only be donated through the end of September. ~ I'm proud to work for a company that truly cares for others and that shares the same love for our state that I do, @jamesavery. From now until the end of September, all proceeds for our sterling silver Deep in the Heart of Texas charm will be donated to the relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey. This charm is one of my favorites. It looks great on a charm bracelet, and I love it as a pendant on a chain. This charm costs $40 and is engravable. Come visit me at our brand spankin' new Longview location or visit your local James Avery store and get one today. In addition, the company has donated $100,000 to relief efforts and is dedicated to helping their employees effected by this storm. Mr. Avery started James Avery Craftsman in 1954 in a garage in Kerrville, TX. I can only imagine how proud he is of the legacy he has built today. ~ NOTE: I was not asked to post this. • • • • • #hurricaneharvey #harvey #houston #houstontx #deepintheheartoftexas #jewelry #fashion #myjamesavery #jamesavery #redcross #jamesaveryjewelry #silver #cute #donate #texasstrong #txstrong #houstonstrong #prayforhouston #prayfortexas (at James Avery Artisan Jewelry)

[olko71]

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2021/06/apple-struggles-in-push-to-make-health-its-greatest-legacy

Apple Struggles in Push to Make Health Its Greatest Legacy

Apple Inc. AAPL 0.32% Chief Executive Tim Cook has said the company’s greatest contribution to mankind will be in health. So far, some Apple initiatives aimed at broadly disrupting the healthcare sector have struggled to gain traction, according to people familiar with them and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Apple has envisioned an audacious plan for healthcare, offering its own primary-care medical service with Apple-employed doctors at its own clinics, according to people familiar with the plan and documents. To test that and other bold healthcare ideas, it took over clinics that catered to its employees and built a team with scores of clinicians, engineers, product designers and others.

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Today those ambitions, which aren’t widely known, have largely stalled as Apple has shifted the focus of its health unit to something it knows well: Selling devices, specifically the Apple Watch, according to people familiar with its strategy.

The new primary-care service hasn’t gotten off the ground, people familiar with it say. A digital health app launched quietly this year has struggled to keep users engaged, say people familiar with the app and the documents seen by the Journal. Some employees have raised questions internally about the integrity of health data coming from the company’s clinics that has been used to support product development, according to people familiar with their concerns and the documents.

An Apple spokesman said data integrity is the foundation for all of the company’s innovations. He pointed to the accomplishments of its health team and said the company is still in the early innings of its work in healthcare, adding that new technology such as heart-rate notifications in products like the Apple Watch have improved users’ health. He said data gathered by Apple’s devices is enabling new research that has the potential to improve care.

“Many of the assertions in this report are based on incomplete, outdated and inaccurate information,” the spokesman said.

Looking for new markets where technology can improve efficiency and outcomes—and power sales growth—the tech sector has eyed healthcare as an untapped opportunity. Some of tech’s biggest efforts have failed, including Haven, Amazon.com Inc.’s high-profile partnership with other companies that aimed to reduce healthcare costs. Today, Amazon has a new effort to sell prescriptions and a plan to launch virtual care across 50 states.

Tech giants like Amazon and Apple are expanding their businesses to include electronic health records — which contain data on diagnoses, prescriptions and other medical information. That’s creating both opportunities and spurring privacy concerns. Here’s what to know. Photo Composite: Heather Seidel/ The Wall Street Journal

Under Mr. Cook’s leadership, Apple has increased its research-and-development budget eightfold to $20 billion annually, according to its public filings. And besides a smartwatch, the company has released wireless headphones as well as new services. It has also invested heavily in health, autonomous driving and augmented reality, all technically complex, high-stakes areas, meaning that game-changing offerings could be years away or never come.

Apple can study markets for years before coming up with its own offering, and it sometimes works extensively on new projects or technologies that it ultimately doesn’t bring to market.

One of its most ambitious healthcare ideas was a plan to offer primary-care medicine, conceived in 2016, according to documents and the people familiar with the plan. An Apple team spent months trying to figure out how the flood of health and wellness data collected from users of its smartwatch, first released in 2015, might be used to improve healthcare, the people said.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who oversees the health team, urged employees to think big. He said Apple should disrupt what he called the “363” and “break fix” model of care in the U.S., where patients may not see their doctors 363 days a year and only visit when something goes wrong, according to people familiar with his ideas.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams oversees its health unit.

Photo: Apple/Associated Press

The team decided one of the best ways to realize that vision was to provide a medical service of its own, said people familiar with the plan, linking data generated by Apple devices with virtual and in-person care provided by Apple doctors. Apple would offer primary care, but also continuous health monitoring as part of a subscription-based personalized health program, according to these people and the documents.

If Apple could prove that its combination of device sensors, software and services could improve people’s health and lower costs, the company could franchise the model to health systems and even other countries, according to the documents.

To start, Apple chose to test the service out on its own employees. Apple took over employee health clinics near its headquarters that were being run by a startup and turned them into test beds for new health services, say people familiar with the changes. In 2017 it hired Dr. Sumbul Desai from Stanford University to run the effort, which was given the code name Casper, said the people familiar with the plan.

The effort continues today, but Apple has struggled to move Casper past a preliminary stage, say people familiar with its operations.

Dr. Desai’s unit in particular has seen multiple departures by employees who say its culture discourages critical feedback, which is potentially problematic for a unit focused on products and services related to personal health, according to people familiar with its culture and the documents. Some employees expressed concerns that internal data about the clinics’ performance, data that was recently used to support the rollout of a new digital health app, has been inaccurate or compiled haphazardly, according to the documents and people familiar with the data.

Those issues have been repeatedly voiced to Messrs. Cook and Williams, according to the documents and people familiar with the issues.

Apple’s spokesman said such criticisms are inaccurate.

Dr. Sumbul Desai runs a team that oversees clinics, handles relations with regulators and spearheads research collaborations.

Photo: apple handout/Shutterstock

Employees concerned about the culture pointed to a 2019 meeting during which a midlevel manager raised questions about data, according to people familiar with the meeting and the documents. Dr. Desai responded angrily, leading some present to conclude that critical questions were unwelcome, according to the people and the documents. The manager left Apple weeks later and the episode contributed to her departure, documents show.

Apple’s spokesman said Dr. Desai spoke to the importance of data integrity in the meeting. “This matter was investigated thoroughly and the allegations could not be substantiated,” the spokesman said. Apple declined to comment on the circumstances of the employee’s departure.

The spokesman said the company is proud of Dr. Desai’s work and that she has been instrumental in much of its healthcare work.

Mr. Williams and Dr. Desai didn’t respond to a request for comment and Apple declined to make them available.

In addition to overseeing the clinics, known as AC Wellness, Dr. Desai’s team handles relations with regulators, spearheads research collaborations and provides clinical expertise on other health products at Apple.

A recent initiative for Dr. Desai’s team, a digital health app called HealthHabit that is being tested on California-based Apple employees, has struggled with low engagement since the app’s launch roughly six months ago, according to documents and people familiar with the app.

HealthHabit offers to connect people with clinicians via chat and encourages them to set health challenges such as “I will exercise more this week.” Those with a history of hypertension can be connected to health coaches who can send them a blood-pressure monitor and scale and advise them on healthier habits.

A screenshot shows Apple’s HealthHabit app.

Photo: Apple

Half the people who had downloaded it as of May hadn’t enrolled and engagement among many who have enrolled has been low, according to the documents and people familiar with the app.

Data supporting the app’s hypertension program has caused new concerns among employees about the integrity of internal data and analysis, some of the people said.

During a presentation for all Apple health employees in March, Mr. Williams praised the clinics’ results in treating hypertension and pointed to them as evidence supporting the HealthHabit app’s potential, according to people who saw the presentation. He suggested that the company may have wider ambitions for the app if it is successful, they said.

In the meeting, Mr. Williams showed data indicating that 91% of patients in Apple’s clinics with more severe stage-two hypertension improved to healthier stages or normal, according to documents reviewed by the Journal, a figure that some employees feared could overstate the clinics’ success, according to people who attended the meeting and documents.

Rival companies offering hypertension apps have disclosed lower rates of success. Hello Heart Inc. reported 23% of stage 2 patients saw a significant improvement in blood pressure at 6 weeks. Livongo claimed one-third of patients with stage one hypertension or worse improved to an elevated or normal range in 6 weeks. Mr. Williams’s data didn’t include a time frame, according to the documents.

The Apple spokesman said that other companies analyze their hypertension data differently and that the data cited by Mr. Williams in the meeting was for an internal pilot, not a product.

Change and Challenges at Apple

More WSJ coverage of Apple, selected by the editors

Write to Rolfe Winkler at rolfe.winkler@wsj.com

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[brisbanecollection-blog]

'Irreplaceable, brave, talented': Tributes pour in for acclaimed Melbourne artist Mirka Mora

Mr Andrews said Mirkawas integral in transforming Melbourne into the creative, cultural and cosmopolitan city it was today. He added Mirkawas also a pioneer in Melbourne's thriving hospitality scene. Loading "Mirkas passion extended to food," he said. "Alongside her husband, she opened MirkaCafin 1954 said to boast one of the first espresso machines in Melbourne before launching Balzacin East Melbourne and Tolarno in St Kilda. "Mirkas work is represented in Victorias best galleries, in our most well-known restaurants and fittingly in the heart of our city, her mural welcoming visitors to Flinders Street Station. "On behalf of the Victorian government, I offer my sincere condolences to Mirkas beloved family and friends." Friend and former Port Philip Councillor Serge Thomann said Mirka was one of a kind and irreplaceable. "It is with a very heavy heart that I am sharing with you the passing of my dearest friend (and much more) Mirka Mora," he wrote in an emotional tribute on Instagram. "After a couple of years of ill health, she left us peacefully to join the world of angels she painted all her life." He said meeting Mirka in 1995 changed his life. Loading "She taught me so much, about art, life, love, beauty, innocence. And joie de vivre! She is leaving a massive hole in my heart and to the many people she touched," he said. "She was my strongest supporter... Her world was a beautiful world where there is no harm, only joy and love. Your presence is everywhere through your beautiful art and images. Especially around St Kilda and Melbourne." Australian Centre for Contemporary Art artistic director Max Delany said Mirka's harrowing experience of war at a young age gave her "joyous work, full of love and empathy, an underlying tenor of vulnerability and depth". "She was the most generous, inspiring, memorable person and we were incredibly lucky to be in her orbit," he said. "Mirka was one of the truly transformative figures in Melbournes cultural life, from the salon and soires that she established with her husband Georges at Collins Street in the 50s, to her role as maitresse of Cafe Mirka, The Balzac and Tolarno restaurants, and as an agent provocateur who blasted Melbourne out of its dull, grey British reserve, giving the city a joie de vivre." Family friend and Australian actor, Lachy Hulme, expressed his sadness at her passing on Twitter, remembering her as the "Grande Dame of Melbourne". "Vale the extraordinary Mirka Mora," he tweeted on Monday evening. "She invited me into her home, cooked for me, educated me, and helped me to be proud of my choice of career. With love and condolences to her sons, and my friends, Willy, Tiriel, and Phillipe." Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy lauded Mirka for her talent, spirit and cheekiness. "Vale Mirka," she tweeted. "Love her work, especially the art on local public icons. Her biography is illuminating reading about the horror of war, migrating to Australia and the life of an artist. Im very grateful for her talented, spirited and cheeky contribution." Fellow Labour MP Martin Foley remembered Mirka as an "impossible combination of creativity and vitality" that touched all those she came in contact with for the better. "The world weeps tonight for the loss of one of our brightest stars," he tweeted. She had more than 35 solo exhibitions throughout her career, including a retrospective at Heide Museum of Art in 1999-2000, celebrating 50 years of her work. Heide will mark her 90th year with Mirka Mora: Pas de Deux Drawings and Dolls, opening in October. Its curators have written a book, Mirka and Georges, to coincide with the exhibition. Mirkawas made Officier de l'Ordre desdes Arts et desdes Lettresby the French government in 2002. Her works are held by dozens of Australian galleries, and in private collections throughout Australia and overseas. She wrote several books, including 2000's My Life Wicked But Virtuous. In recent years she become a favourite on ABC TV's Agony Aunts, sharing her philosophies on life, love and family, often with a cheeky giggle. Mirka's son, William Mora, confirmed his mother's death on Monday night. "It's with great sadness that the Mora family announces the passing of our matriarch, the magic Mirka Mora," he said. "An artist and mentor who touched the lives of thousands, she has had an indelible effect on Australia's cultural life. At 90, she fought Alzheimer's and age-related illness to the end. The joie de vivre she has shared with so many will continue in her immense legacy of art and her spirit of generosity." https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/irreplaceable-brave-talented-tributes-pour-in-for-acclaimed-melbourne-artist-mirka-mora-20180827-p5004f.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

[apexart-journal]

Radha Gomaty in NYC Day 25

yeah ! of all things -a blonde! ive hardly seen a blonde head in NY actually...

Well, my ma used to joke ,actually only half joke, when she was much younger that she is going to dye her hair blonde or wear a blonde wig!

She had this penchant for reading all kinds of perfectly horrid political espionage novels and really goshawful state-of-the-art horror pulp too in English that my smart aleck, super brilliant older brother , my only sibling and her favorite offspring,shared with equal fervor.

(BTW She can read Malayalam ,Tamil,Hindi and speak Kannada as well with her natural flair to pick up languages and dialects with the admirable ease of a sponge).

I would stand gaping looking from one mouth to another like a viewer of a tennis match does as mother and son went into animated discussions of events , characters and motives in such books that I had no truck with . I came from altogether a different stock -a wild arboreal creature who skinned her heart &her knees endlessly against all well meant advice engaging with real life projects&relationships each time with the same indefatigable sense of optimism and enquiry .

In the long spells of solitude in between, I was drawing.

She created another sub story about going blonde_ with her typical dark self deprecatory merciless sarcasm ,combined with a high degree of histrionic skills "...You know i am going train to be a detective.A famous one working with the Globe detective agency .And then to look unobtrusive , I shall wear my blonde wig ,lean on a pillar or sit on the street side bench and pretend to read the morning paper while actually I am on assignment observing my target through a hole that i have cleverly punched in it ...!"

That narrative detail about my mother peering through a hole cut out of the morning newspaper with her large eyes ,wearing her blonde wig would have my brother and me rolling helplessly on the floor in splits

It was perhaps her way of expressing the much repressed travel bug in her.An insatiable curiosity about the world,its cultures ,landscapes,languages...

It didn't matter that warring alongside was her Vertigo ,bad enough for her to shut her eyes tight if she saw Spiderman by chance on the TV yelling- "Change that channel !Im giddy!"

Or her terror of water (kindly remember here that she ended up marrying my father who is a seaman!)

Or her strict adherence to vegetarianism but with great tolerance of outlook limited only by her very real physical suffering due to her acute sensitivity to smells. Her olfactory capabilities sharp as a dog's that while making her a superlatively gifted chef also affected her to the point of making her sick.

When she she was younger ,her tendencies for violent bouts of migraine also wore her out.

But that is my Amma.

From the time i was little i have borne witness to the live wire trembling with which she lived this split ,this mercilessly twisting Torque of equally intense&opposing contradictions every moment -Between her desires and her conditioning,her drives and her internalized strict self restraints.

It was always like she had more than two people in her who were constantly at war with one another . As a child , i could sense this wild impatient suffering moodiness in her around which she wore a cloak of inapproachability as she stormed her way through her chores in the kitchen with absolutely formidable multi tasking skills.

It always scared me quite a bit. Still does without fail to bear witness to suffering I am not allowed to approach or address.

I sensed it simply wasn't easy for her to be who she really was and learnt to empathise deeply and respect her for it .

When she was that young woman ,while she satisfied that hunger to travel and see the world by reading insatiably magazines like the TIME and national Geographic , the only favors her proud self deigned to accept from two of her brothers in the US, she ended up opening huge windows for my brother and me .

When she also tuned into foreign stations with an inborn instinct , even foreign language ones , they greatly contributed to my brother's and my own enrichment through the subconscious means of listening in into international languages and soundscapes while doing perfectly ordinary chores.

Today through some strange cosmic plan ,without any prior preparation or goal setting i find myself in NYC where my identity is mirrored back to me in a different light than the one I am used to being seen in back from I come.

That 'Outsider ' residing in me that also comes from and is perfectly hand in glove with a Universal Insider by which I am inhabited...One that recognizes increasingly the oneness of all life Forms with every passing moment ; A form of being that is becoming a form of seeing itself that with every passing moment is a lived affirmation of an insight that is more ancient than this little i that I am and present myself as.

There is no greater and more avid reader of the spiritual than my precious Amma has been for me . I learnt so much just watching her. I have been witness to that flowering of what is already in her , a legacy from her namesake and her pious courageous resilient paternal grandmother who took it on herself to raise her children single handedly with the early demise of her husband,teach the unlettered women of her immediate neighbourhood and initiate them into spiritual readings while she could.

My Amma retains her intellectual and researcher oriented approach while I ,as usual, remain that earnest and extremely foolish child who cannot learn it seems without repeatedly having her heart broken and knees skinned .But we appreciate one another now much better than ever before.

In a couple of hours it will be 7 pm back home. i can see my ma settle in with her plate of rice gruel in front of the TV Even today her idea of winding down after a day's home management at 77 ,is to watch a french film on the TVE channel.

This small town girl brought up cocooned in a conservative Tam Brahm household,my Mother Alamelu Ramakrishnan ,is my idea of a certain kind of unsung genius.

My Salutes to YOU ,with Blonde wig and the works!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

[sociomirrior-blog]

Create Your Own Legacy – Motivational Speech | Fearless Motivation Every morning, I rise. My feet touch the floor I’m prepared for war Prepared to grow READY FOR MORE Average will NEVER live in me I’ll show all you doubters! I will fight. I will win. You will see. I’m ready to give Give all I have I was born ready Ready to contribute Ready to create Ready to grow Can’t stop Won’t slow Greatness was never achieved By those who took the easy road I’ve flicked that switch Turned on. BEAST MODE. I know I must work I know I must push I know I must sacrifice I WILL WORK I WILL PUSH I WILL SACRIFICE Never will I take advantage I ADD VALUE TO ALL I GIVE MY ALL FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL I’ll never take advantage I’ll never drop the ball I’ll lead with INTEGRITY I WILL STAND TALL My legacy is on the line My PRIDE is on the line My integrity is on the line
 MY LIFE IS ON THE LINE Never will I settle for less than I can be Average will NEVER EVER live in me~ It’s what I fear most Being like the rest I WILL NOT REST UNTIL IM BETTER THAN THE VERY BEST! Until I’m better than yesterday Then I’ll catch my breath Recharge And go again! Go harder! Learn more Grow more So I can give more So I can be proud So I can be proud of what I have become Proud because I’ve always given my all Whether I lost or won I kept going! I showed HEART I showed courage I showed what I was made of That’s why I’m proud I did it my way Not the easy way My way! I didn’t listen to others My father or my mother I did what was best for me I worked for it I fought for it! I created my own legacy

[louiseflora6105-blog]

Revised Script

voice from L + R)

(Begin background noise)

Welcome to the free watch where you walk guide!

This guide will take approximately fifteen minutes is based on official and informal resources

If you could please position yourself towards the bottom of the street, adjacent to the needless alley sign and looking up the hill. Pause this recording till you have got yourself ready.

(Pause 10 seconds)

(Voice from R)

As we begin the tour I ask you to please walk at half pace until you reach the first blue sign

(Pause 8 seconds)

Please, as you walk look around you at the space that you are entering. This thin street has a notoriously strange ambiance. The claustrophobic nature of the place has lingered in the thoughts of locals and passers alike. As you drift further and further away from the busy street behind the atmosphere  grows quieter and it is easy to feel alone Even within the heart of the city.

As we pass the loading bay you may come across one of the current residents of needless alley, if you make eye contact be sure to smile as it keeps the environment a friendly one.

Watch your feet, the dogs like to come through here.

(Pause 8 seconds)

Keep walking, if you look out to your left for a blue sign we come to the home and office of a Dr church. Dr church’s inventions are widely famous and have attracting much international interest. You may have come across the motorised melon baller, reverse car alarm or even the widely used self inflating balloon. When he was alive he was famous among locals for his peculiar habits. Mr. A Whitman would observe dr. church at 12.00 every morning walking up and down the street three times before returning to his house, Mrs Johnston would notice that mr church would still wash and fold his former wife’s clothes and he would actively avoid conversations with most people.

Dr church developed many famous inventions here but perhaps the most famous was his design for the plug in bus. Used now across Europe and most of the world.

(Pause 8 seconds

Moving on now! Much more to see. If you could all Kindly turn to face behind you  and look across the row of windows, Mrs skinner, a former resident here acted much like a surveillance system. Her husband a mr Botgrills owned Birminghams ‘little Cuba’ tobacco manufacturers from beneath. Local rumours suggest that mr bottgrills was manufacturing more than just tobacco and may have contributed to organised illicit traders and gang organisations.

Make sure that you don’t stand here for too long. It is not good to be seen taking too much interest to mr skinners traded by either the authorities or the organisations that he supposedly works with.

(from the right printing soundscape)

Quickly now everyone, look behind you., you will be met with the former site of the Moody brothers printers.

(pause 7 seconds)

(print noise begins from the left)

(voice from the right )

Can you smell that heavy odour? Its like inky molasses. Im sorry but this smell may stick to your clothes and hair a while after passing this doorway. The moody brothers were important members of the street. The smell that they created in their printing workshop would deter many people from passing the alleyway. This in turn allowed for more secret activities to be conducted. The moody brothers never cared too much for their business or for printing. They co characterised needless alley with this smell for no more than five years before going out of business.

(pause 10 seconds)

(fade out printing soundscape)

(voice from right)

Lets move on now before we become used to that horrible smell, lets go to the next site

As we walk to our next point of interest I recommend you pause this guide to take a quick look at some of the artwork on this stretch of street.

(Pause 10 seconds)

(begin disorderly soundscape from L+R)

As you continue to walk slowly towards the next blue plaque id like you to look at how narrow the alley has become, given that this alley has remained mostly the same since the 1800s. This is largely because of the much needed services that were found only on this street. Many locals say that the planning department let the alley escape re-development due to their personal need for it’s more exotic services.

(pause 5 seconds)

A mrs Anne wood appeared before the magistrates in 1823 accused of being a 'nymph’ of needless alley .Miss Wood however saw herself as a businesswoman trading herself not for money but for secrets. Every churchman, vicar, policeman and family man that passed through this doorway was written down in a diary that miss wood would keep. much to the disappointment of her clients died shortly after her appearance in the courts and her diary was stolen.

(Pause 8 seconds)

(From right )

(Voice from left)

Now , kindly turn to your right and begin walking to our next location

As you walk you may encounter a rather unusual object to your left. This is the property of a miss mavis

Mavis fletcher worked as a seamstress. from 1968 to1972. Mavis left her unusual bicycle here. The bicycle was painted bright orange with pink handle bars, dirty green wheels and had a clashing reddy/brown seat. The bicycle was left un locked every week day between the times of 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and was never stolen on account of it’s unusual colours.

Unfortunately , err It seems to be missing today? Hmm. Well nevermind on with the tour! Nearly finished now.

(Pause 5 seconds)

Look to your right as we continue. You may notice some marks dashed into the concrete.

These marks are believed to be over 3000 years old. Archeologists from University college London suggested that these marks were created as a territorial message to other tribes. The discovery of bone material and soot stained stone suggests that there was a small tribe that lived in this area. These markings are possibly the first evidence of human activity in the Birmingham area.

It is incredible how well preserved they are!

(Pause 20 seconds)

Making our way to the very end of our guide we come to the site of Ronnies snack bar. It is towards the top of the street and marked with a blue plaque.

(Pause 10 seconds)

Ronnies snack bar opened at this site in 1972. In its heyday Ronnie’s was selling over 2160 chips, 20 cups of tea, 36 bacon butties , 60 bags of crisps and 36 fried egg sandwiches a day. Ronnie’s catered to the trickle of commuters that would pass through the alley but in time was given the reputation of being the locals living room. This greasy spoon overheard many scandalous conversations. In 1982 Mr Greaves, the owner retired to write a book, 'through the eye of a needle’ but due to the economic climate of the era, it was never published.

(pause 8 seconds)

As we walk up the last of the thin alley I hope that you have enjoyed our tour today. Now, a quick word of advice.The smokers among us might want to stand on the left hand side of the street as the right is reserved for more specialist tobacco connoisseurs,

It is local knowledge that a particular group of tobacco enthusiasts meets here as a customary tradition, part of the legacy of mr skinner and the botgrills tobacco manufacturers. Once a day they converge to share and indulge in the finest tobacco as well as to discuss political issues, the local economy and residential scandals. This group is notoriously exclusive and rarely accepts new members.

(Pause 8 seconds)

Thank you very much for joining me on this tour of Birmingham’s long and proud history. I’ve been Neville, your tour guide. We hope you all had fun and wish you a safe journey home

(This script was slight changed due to the actor tripping over the words and also the pauses re-arranged to work better through the alley. I have received feedback that the wording needs to be improved, less information is needed and the script needs to include more sensory information. I agree with this, I also think the wording needs to flow better with my voice actor. I am trying to give people a sensory experience that touches on themes such as unofficial and official history, the exaggerated and manipulated versions of history and also I want to provoke a general in treat in the site.