#he understood his social obligations as a successful rich person

[twopoppies]

This is so, so lovely 😔

And I have the feeling, this description fits all 5 of them… There is a reason why we (still) feel attached to them.

“He never once asked for anything. He did not want publicity, he did not want people to know, he just didn’t have that motivation – he saw a need and knew he could help.”

https://x.com/hs_news_/status/1849428317008461953?s=46&t=HJNgJeyaKbaPu8DTunwOUA

💔 I’m so sad. And so angry.

x

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

Dorothea Hackman (Euston Food Bank director) shares how Liam Payne secretly gave up his time to help feed hundreds of struggling families in Camden:

“Liam Payne was the kindest, most sensitive young man I have ever met over an incredibly long period of time.”

“He got in touch out of the blue and offered help. We desperately needed the money at the time. We were dealing with a massive increase in demand – because of lockdown people were desperate for food.”

“He got in touch and asked what we did and what we needed. We told him about our work and he said, ‘Right, I’m giving you £80,000.”

“He came down to the food bank and really got involved, really rolled his sleeves up. He carried crates, packed boxes and bags, he visited us, supported us and  was always charming”

“We are all incredibly upset and sad to hear the news. He really got it. He really understood his social obligations as a successful and rich person. He stood up to be counted. We will miss him terribly.”

“He never once asked for anything. He did not want publicity, he did not want people to know, he just didn’t have that motivation – he saw a need and knew he could help.”

Food For All director Peter O’Grady recalled the singer turning up at a kitchen in Holborn and helping make giant pots of curry. He added:

“He actually saved the day during the pandemic. He made the biggest single donation we have ever had, with no fuss. He didn’t want anyone to make a thing about it. He let nobody know of his generosity.”

Source: Camden New Journal

[liamnews]

How Liam Payne secretly gave up his time to help feed hundreds of struggling families in Camden

When lockdown left hundreds of families struggling to put food on the table, pop star Liam Payne had the means to help – so he did.

The One Direction singer, who died last week after a fall at a hotel in Buenos Aires, handed over £80,000 to Camden food poverty campaigns and rolled up his sleeves to volunteer as well.

This week Euston Food Bank director Dorothea Hackman paid tribute to the star and explained how he had, without publicity or fanfare, stepped in to help when they were at their most desperate.

She said: “Liam Payne was the kindest, most sensitive young man I have ever met over an incredibly long period of time.”

The singer had been approached on social media by a young volunteer who was a fan and, to their surprise, he responded immediately. As the pandemic struck and London went into lockdown, the Euston food bank went into overdrive.

Ms Hackman added: “He got in touch out of the blue and offered help. We desperately needed the money at the time. We were dealing with a massive increase in demand – because of lockdown people were desperate for food.

“He got in touch and asked what we did and what we needed. We told him about our work and he said, ‘Right, I’m giving you £80,000.’”

Half of the donation went to the Camden Town charity Food For All, and Liam visited both the Euston food bank and Food For All’s community kitchen to volunteer.

Ms Hackman added: “He came down to the food bank and really got involved, really rolled his sleeves up. He carried crates, packed boxes and bags, he visited us, supported us and was always charming.”

Ms Hackman added: “We are all incredibly upset and sad to hear the news. He really got it. He really understood his social obligations as a successful and rich person. He stood up to be counted. We will miss him terribly.

“He never once asked for anything. He did not want publicity, he did not want people to know, he just didn’t have that motivation – he saw a need and knew he could help.”

Food For All director Peter O’Grady recalled the singer turning up at a kitchen in Holborn and helping make giant pots of curry. He added: “He actually saved the day during the pandemic. He made the biggest single donation we have ever had, with no fuss. He didn’t want anyone to make a thing about it. He let nobody know of his generosity.”

[life-rewritten]

Lovely Writer (5-7)- The Fantasy of Love: The Search for Family, Freedom and Love

Wow it’s like I haven’t written in so long on here. You know this because I literally have to analyse and break down Lovely writer episode 5-7 and catch up before tomorrows episode, these episodes just by themselves are packed and full of depth and meta and it takes ages to comb through the information and present the results. But I’m back and I have so much to say, I feel so incredibly worried and scared for our babies as they deal with the villains of the show, but I also can’t help but swoon at the themes of the show, and why they’re important for representation in BL to be shown and discussed. Lovely Writer continues to be fluffy, cute BL on the surface but deep within a powerful medium for conversations about LGTBTQ representation and more. Isn’t it brilliant? And with two incredible Bl couples there’s so much to break down and analyse. So let’s break down the fantasy of BL love and why it’s a massive theme in the show.

Gene and His Fear

Gene’s reactions to people are in a way very similar to someone who is going through a stereotypical situation, and at first I didn’t understand why he had such a certain mistrust in people like for example although it was understood his fears and worries about Nubsib, he reacted in a way that seemed very extra and over the top in episode 6. The reason why this feels extra is because he made the audience feel like Nubsib must have been a horrible person to him in the past for him to go into a panic attack and break down over the fact that he lied about his identity and it is Sib. Obviously the reason why he was panicking is because he had realised he had fallen in love with Nubsib and he thought he was a victim of a practical joke wherein he fell hard but Nubsib’s feelings were insincere. It seemed like he felt scared like the one person he trusted and felt truly himself and comfortable with (who Nubsib always seems to be for him even in childhood) was fake and not possible path for him. This points back to the doubts and ideas Gene holds about himself, he doesn’t have social anxiety but he does have a form of discomfort that makes him feel he doesn’t belong with others, like he’s different, he’s ‘abnormal’ this points to his internalised struggle with his sexuality and being with his friends who want him to be truthful, it points out to his struggle with being imaginative preferring toys and childish games over the games his peers preferred at a young age, him being a BL author when normally it’s not written by men etc. He tends to want to hide and shield himself from others by entering his own imagination hence why he finds writing a safe space. The one person he found comfort in sharing all his fears with or embracing who he was is Nubsib, this is why his walls broke in shock realising that all Nubsib did was a lie. And really not going to lie Gene’s comments to Mhork about people assuming that because he’s a writer he’s an introvert did throw me, because I do see him as that, he has a lot of trust issues that’s what it seemed like to me, someone who doesn’t trust people, or like confronting or dealing with situations because he feels alienated or different from others, someone who doesn’t like being vulnerable with people because he’s afraid of it being used against him. That’s fine because when he’s angry at Nubsib those reasons make sense to me why he broke down in that way, it pulled on all of his hidden insecurities, all of his fears about never finding someone else that gets him, all of his worries that he was always being mocked or looked down upon that other people could tell he was different, that he was weird, that he didn’t feel comfortable with them.

 Because he’s meant to be like this when Nubsib’s truth gets unveiled, he’s going to be terrified, go through the panic attacks, go through the break downs and flooding of emotions that were hidden deep, this is why his reactions are extremely dramatic and intense.  That’s what I thought. But what Gene tells Mhok is that he only pulls away from people when he writes to focus, and that’s fine but it didn’t add up with how he acts with others when it comes to social situations, sure he’s polite, and sometimes agrees to go out and do something with others, but we can see he tends to feel stressed, uncomfortable and annoyed with how people behave, especially when it’s not what he feels like doing (this happens both as a child and also as an adult). The second confusing thing I had to process was that Gene is wealthy. I did mention in previous episodes that Nubsib and Gene have mirror characters with Hin mirroring Gene, and Aey mirroring Nubsib’s situation, however one of the differences between them and their mirrors is the idea of privilege and ease of life. Gene isn’t as desperate as Hin to be a writer because he doesn’t have to prove anything, he’s fully accepted at home, he’s immensely wealthy, has a writer mum to seek advise from, and most of his family support his dreams (will break down the father later), Hin has none of that, in fact he’s even more desperate to make it to writing by doing BL because he is suffering from lack of wealth and prominence in the industry. Nubsib is given semi permission to do whatever he wants, to change his name to do acting but he always has a place back home, he also as well has prominence and isn’t desperate either to have his acting dreams come through, because he can be protected and taken care of since he’s the heir of his father’s company. Aey has none of that, Aey’s family is toxic, forceful and abusive and he doesn’t have any choice but to cling to acting for freedom. You  seeing the similarities and use of mirroring in the show?

It’s really important because it again makes us understand why Gene and Nubsib are going to be probably victims of Hin and Aey who feel like they have no choice but to commit to their desperation and get rid of whatever will stop them. Gene and Nubsib don’t need to do that (though they have other problems) and instead actually take what they do a bit for granted, for example even if the BL industry is corrupted and Gene isn’t happy to write for it, he’s still making money, is being observed and talked about whilst Hin isn’t getting that and he wants to write BL authentically. It’s the same as Nubsib, although the industry makes him angry, he also takes for granted what he has, he’s not careful even when warned about how his actions with Gene could lead to the production of the show failing, he’s just set on Gene, again I agree with them but when you look at the fact that Aey has no choice but to be this way, to have the ship with Nubsib if he wants to survive and make it, Nubsib’s actions start to seem privileged, and selfish. This is why Lovely writer is a great show, none of the characters are all good, and none of them are all bad, it’s all about humans who have flaws and act like real life people with issues they need to grow from and learn from whilst dealing with the fear and pressure of the BL industry as a whole.

Again the villain of the show isn’t the characters it’s the industry its self, the system, the rules and the way things are done. That’s what the ultimate villains are here and also the traditional rules of society that entraps the characters (will get into this later).  Again the being rich and successful since his childhood might also explain why Gene doesn’t let people easily into his life, Gene may not trust people either because of his status, his family’s name, his reputation. Again it brings up the idea that he could be used when he’s vulnerable for something else and tricked and played with if people know his truths and insecurities and use them as weapons. You could also argue that Gene wants to run away from the rich things in life even though he is comfortable with how he lives (Plus he probably made enough money from Bad engineer to move out), it may also allude to Gene not wanting to be known for his father’s wealth and status, and the reason why he clings to writing so desperately is because he wants his own success, his own freedom, his own earnings from what he loves to do. One of the themes with all 4 characters especially Aey, Gene and Sib is Freedom, as much as ambition is important to them it’s because it’s the only way to get them to escape the life that they have been forced to grow up in  because of their parents, rules, obligations and demands. By finding their own paths, and clinging to it desperately they all find a space to breath, to be their true selves and have no chains holding them to other traditions, rules or jobs that they don’t want to be in.  

Fathers and their Traditions

Gene’s father seems like also a source of his insecurity in himself, he looks like he fills Gene’s head with worries and doubts and fear that he’s not doing what he’s meant to do. When the father suggests to Gene that he should return back home, I know that look on Gene’s face very well, it’s anxiety, worry and fake smile to find an excuse why that isn’t possible. Gene’s mind knows his father doesn’t approve even though he smiles and fakes his way of looking like he doesn’t mind who Gene is, what Gene does. But it’s starting to be clear the father is homophobic, in fact it’s so clear that he sends Gene of to boarding school when he’s 14 just because he thinks and fears that Gene may be queer, he also tries to bring Gene back home because it’s easier for him to stop Gene writing Bl then. In fact this is another theme of the episodes since we were introduced to Aey’s story, the mirroring of the fathers in the show. The fathers are starting to have a pattern, and it all points to tradition, obligations and conforming to societal norms.  All Nubsib, Gene and Aey have all ran away from home because of this pattern. They’ve all pulled away from their families to focus on their dreams, this also includes Hin though it’s unsure if his parents are as bad as the others or if they are supportive and understanding. Aey’s father is the most traditional and outspoken, hence he’s abusive, vile and obtuse with how he speaks to Aey. He chains his son down and punishes him because he tried to flee and find happiness and love (with a boy heaven forbid!) and when Aey’s lover wasn’t who he said he was, wasn’t faithful and and was a coward he uses that opportunity to constantly put shame and emotional abuse on Aey making him carry the burden and weight of the father’s manipulations, and making him feel alienated and alone with no one to trust. It’s disgusting and it was horrifying.  Now Gene’s father is different, also manipulative on the surface but doesn’t show it outright to his son who though has been imbedded with the same insecurities and self-deprecation when he thinks he’s not fulfilling what is seen as right/ traditionally normal.

This is probably why Gene does have these  secret avoidances of who he was for a while, because he already had a vibe from his father since the childhood days, he probably understood later that his dad intentions made him feel alienated from what he wanted to do, and what he felt comfortable with. This is why when his father keeps silent whilst others are praising his show, and book he notices but keeps silent, because he knows he will soon go back to writing in his own home comfortable and himself with Nubsib. Nubsib’s father is not yet introduced but from what we have heard of him, he also falls into the line of responsibility and obligation because Sib is going against his fathers wishes by choosing to chase after Gene and become an actor, he’s breaking away from the tradition in his family preparation to take over his father’s company. Likewise we see that when Sib was a child he was also like Aey abused by being forced to give into pressure of doing what is seen as right and appropriate for a rich child. He was abused by his piano teacher and his mum turned an eye, refused to listen to him and punished him each time he tried to be free from that. Again although Sib’s father isn’t there, his absence shows what his role is too, he felt just as stifled by his father as his mother and he wanted to get away from it all. Gene was his escape from that, from all the duties, obligations, and neglect. They found each other and both ran away to play in an imaginary world together,  this kickstarted Gene’s love for creativity and writing, but also kickstarted Sib’s devotion to Gene who paid attention and showed him love and care. So the parents are tied to this theme of entrapment, and force and order,  with closed mindsets, ignorance and old fashioned ideas about what real ambition is, they become obstacles to their children’s pursuit for purpose, freedom and love. They are also the second villains of the show because they represent that idea of society and it’s traditional conformist norms being a barrier to people’s liberty of self. A theme always readily explored in the BL genre.

MhokAey: Fantasy of Love vs Resentment of Trust

We need to discuss about Aey and Mhok. A lot has happened to them since I wrote my previous analysis. Including the whole reveal that what they are is more than just friends but it threads a line between unrequited and toxic requited feelings. There’s a lot of confusing feelings about them, a lot of angst and drama and hate and mistrust to do with their story. Mhok is at the center of this. I remember analysing his character using Bad engineer mirroring outline that he was like the character he plays Tawan, he’s also like a second lead romantic interest for Aey, he comes second but he’s devoted to making sure Aey is safe and he’s devoted to trying ensure Aey doesn’t snap or leave his humanity and morality behind. Mhok and Aey like Gene and Nubsib (surprise surprise they also mirror them, with same themes and ideas) have known each other since they were children, Aey was cruel and heartless at that time due to the pressures of the environment he was in (from the father’s pressure and Aey being submissive to his father’s wishes) because of this Aey seems to have been angry, hurtful and callous all the time, including to Mhok who watched him and feared for his state. However Aey later finds freedom and happiness as he falls in love with Time, Time makes Aey finally want to give up all the pressure and obligations and be himself, except Time wasn’t who he said he was and when Aey’s father posed an obstacle after Aey’s jealous sister outed him (though I think she’s not the only person behind this I’ll explain), Time ran away with the money they saved up and left Aey damaged, broken hearted and destroyed.

Sadly what happened next is Aey also found Mhok to be part of this family’s bretrayal, and so he avoided Mhok and thought Mhok is using him to try and be seen as a good son/son in law to his wealthy family. The reason is why would Aey think Mhok is to blame? Unless in doing something stupid as always to protect Aey, in maybe knowing Time wasn’t who he said he was, and in anguish of his unrequited love for Aey, Mhok is the one who outed Aey to Earn which then led tothe catalyst? Why not? We don’t know his role during the time, Time was in Aey’s life, for someone who seems utterly devoted and possessive and at times jealous about Aey’s love interests (this includes him being jealous each time Aey and Sib interact or kiss), Mhok in order to protect Aey, his goal by the way, probably told Earn to find a way to stop it from happening but Earn hated Aey and used it as an opportunity to kick him out and make him lose his beloved son status because she was jealous. This is why Mhok cannot speak up when the father berates Aey about Time because he’s the one who probably started it.

We see that for Aey’s safety and ensuring he doesn’t go too far with his anger and callousness, Mhok goes behind his back constantly warning others about Aey’s motives (this irked me because the way he describes Aey as like this monstrous scary creature makes me wonder why he would think Aey could trust what he sees in him as love). Mhok tells Gene to be careful of Aey, he takes the blame and says he would take the fall if anything happens, it shows that even though he says Aey is awful, he’s happy when Aey shows some sort of vulnerability or selflessness but it also shows he does love Aey unconditionally. But how can Aey trust Mhok if he is connected to the Time situation, if he doubts Mhok’s goals and he understands what Mhok thinks of him and says of him to others. Of course he wouldn’t trust Mhok because everyone makes Aey feel like a monster, his father does this every day, everyone says they know he’s awful, cruel and callous, they know he can hurt people, they tell him this, and Aey holds on to this, he believes this is how people see him and in order to survive and get what he wants he has to manipulate others and be seen as kind and vulnerable on the surface to not suffer the same pain he goes through with his family and the people who judge him on his past . See how Mhok’s unrequited love borders on toxicity as well?

In order to make Mhok suffer because of his thirst for vengeance, and his bitterness and pain of feeling betrayed by him Aey kisses Mhok and pulls away pretending to be unaffected. Of course he is like this, he’s filled with anger, hate and distrust of everyone his goal is to hurt the ones who hurt him even if he senses that there is an attraction, there is vulnerability and authenticity with himself when he’s with Mhok. There’s a weakness which is why he succumbed for a while with the kiss and the hug, Aey was in pain and some part of him trusted Mhok’s embrace, but it switched back because of fear. For Aey Love is a fantasy for him, because love has caused him nothing but pain, the only way he can use love now is to manipulate and escape the clutches of his family and survive and be free. Love isn’t the goal anymore, so he uses the fantasy of BL love which fans cling to, to make people love him, to make people praise him, and in order to do so he focuses on Gene as an obstacle to him and Nubsib’s fake relationship. Without Nubsib the show won’t be a success, if the show isn’t a success he’ll be seen as a failure and his father would be proven right, and without success he’d be left alone, tired, abandoned and betrayed. See why he’s more desperate than Nubsib when it comes to acting? Gene mocks BL and says it’s a fantasy of love, and with Aey he’s right, Aey uses the industry’s idealism of the corrupt fantasy of BL love to get his gain. But can you blame him? And is Mhok really doing right in his aim to protect Aey from going past the edge?

The reason why we get Gene’s mum talk about authentic LGBTQ movies and then have Gene say that BL shouldn’t be part of that is exactly what Tee is trying to call out as the director of the show. But Tee is using Lovely Writer to be a place for representation conversations, we have had conversations about internalised homophobia, coming out, sexuality, authenticity of relationships,  we’ve had consent shown by the main couple so Tee is very serious about representation and trying to make this show a medium where things are serious and done correctly. Yes Mhok and Aey are very toxic for now because even though they representing authenticity of love, because there is something they both can’t control that is connecting them to each other, they’ve known each other for so long and can’t help but be tied together because of those feelings. Mhok is devoted to Aey even though he acts opposite at times, but because he doesn’t know how to show love accurately, he fails repeatedly with how he tries to show love, trying to fit in the situation with logic but also trying to hide behind the scenes so he can keep an eye on Aey, on the situation, so he can have control over it. Mhok has certain stereotypical ideas about Aey imbedded from their childhood together making him know Aey is manipulative, cold and mean but despite the fact that he thinks this way, he just thinks Aey can have a chance to turn around and truly be happy by forgiving others and himself. Mhok knows he loves Aey for who he is but at the same time, he dislikes that Aey is morally grey and he wants to stop Aey from making more mistakes to himself, to protect everyone around Aey that may be hurt in the crossfire of his bitterness. Because Aey has been burned by the pressure and betrayal of the family dynamics he has, he becomes also without meaning to a version of the person he hates; his father, he becomes manipulative, sneaky, and aggressive with how he does things. It also makes sense that as he was suffocating when he was younger that he turned colder and meaner because he needed somewhere to let out the hurt and pressure of being the perfect child and perhaps Mhok really was hurt by this with that action. His character makes sense to me because it’s not okay but it’s understandable. Mhok knows Aey in and out, in fact he knows Aey’s family is toxic and so does what he does to show love by being  chameleon like and putting himself directly into the family, hiding to try and find a way to protect Aey from the dynamic, this is why Aey misunderstands that he’s trying to replace him and please the father, get into their good graces to take his place but Mhok is doing it for Aey.

The themes about trying to find out what’s authentic and what’s not, manipulation and masks in order to hide and be near the one they love mirrors Nubsib and Gene’s romance path too, this is why I said their outlines mirror each other, whilst Aey like Gene feels hurt by the fakery and feels mocked by the mask of Mhok/plans of Sib, Gene and Nubsib have managed to communicate and reach an understanding about the truth about their relationship.

The Authenticity of Lovely Writer

So there’s a theme/question about the fantasy of love for these two couples because at a point both Gene and Aey doubt that the love of their partners is real, they believe it’s a trick, fake, joke.  That they’re both doing this for power, to have control over their weakness and vulnerability to use that against them. Gene is weary about people but finds himself automatically willing to trust and understand Nubsib because of what he represents to him safety, comfort and warmth, and freedom. Aey on the other hand has become jaded with love and finds Mhok instead as his place to hold resentment, anger and pain for the past. No matter how much he wants to try and move on, try and hope for a better dynamic (as we saw he tried in episode 4),  they constantly shatter that hope and by episode 4 he’s done, and also includes Mhok with that memory. So Aey and Mhok are in a toxic state because there is no chance for communication, no revealings of truths, and Aey is in a broken mindset, resentful of himself, resentful of everyone, and resentful of love.

In a way the fantasy of love is a  perfect theme for Lovely Writer, since Gene is meant to learn that BL is only corrupt because own voices aren’t there to help write serious stories or avoid problematic tropes. As Gene falls in love with Sib, he realises that just because things may seem fake or shallow doesn’t mean that they are, you need to be open, to think about it in a different point of view, you need to also learn to accept the truths and overcome your prejudice and stigma with those things. It’s important to note that although Nubsib starts of using inauthentic means, his love for Gene is real, which is ultimately what Gene accepts in episode 7. It’s real and he should stop running away from what he’s feeling just because of old fears and worries that it’s wrong for him to be his true self and love what he loves. I hope we get to see Aey go through his own journey to this too, as he’s about to fall even more and regress with his anger and desperation, I hope Mhok does more than just sitting behind the scenes if he really wants his goal to be to save Aey from his self and resentment. Mhok needs to be braver, to show up and make Aey see the truth about what he feels, just like Sib did with Gene. Because at the end of the day if the love is authentic and true, Aey won’t be able to avoid the truth, Aey won’t be able to hide or run anymore like Gene was doing, Aey would want to start slowly hopefully stop seeing Love as just a fantasy but something real. Obviously we’re more half way through and this means the big guns are going to be out. It’s time to tackle the villains, to see them shed their skin and show their true colours, It won’t be easy and we may have some regressions because of fear but our couples will overcome it and find them selves through it, at the end of the day hopefully they end up getting their freedom, love and happiness. As for now I continue to love this show, and I continue to praise it’s depth and meta. Let me know your opinions on the episodes so far. What do you think about MhokAey and SibGene,who’s more pitiful? Let me know.

[gravitascivics]

WE ARE ALL IN THIS SANS TOGETHERNESS

In a former life, this writer taught the high school course, American Government.  And before the term or course began, he knew that one lesson was already lodged into his schedule.  That lesson would be toward the beginning of the term, and it was noted as the “political spectrum” lesson.

          He would draw on the board a single horizontal line and that image was to communicate a continuum.  Vertically, he would place a line in the middle.  Then going to the right, more or less at equal distances, he would add three more vertical lines with the last one at the end of the horizontal line.  The same would go to the left of the middle line.  Below these vertical lines, he would entitle each.

          The middle line would be titled neutral and/or moderate.  Then going right, each of the lines, in turn, would be titled conservativism, nationalism, and fascism/Nazism.  To the left of the middle, the titles liberalism, socialism, and communism would be placed. 

Surely, recurring readers of this blog will know to what all this refers; i.e., the right, to increasing degrees, indicates belief in conservatism (belief in traditional, national values) to increasing degrees of intensity.  Left of center, one has belief in liberal/progressive values (belief in social/economic/political experimentation or change).  As to the “extreme” terms at the ends of the horizontal line, they indicate approaching and then arriving at totalitarian rule, as exhibited by Hitler’s rule in Germany or Communist Party rule (especially under Stalin) in the Soviet Union.

This former teacher, during the lesson, would indicate how the American population was distributed along this graph with a bell-shaped curve.  This curve sort of explained why the US has a two-party system.  It’s a math thing.  He would toward the end of the lesson superimpose a curve with a number of “bumps,” the bumps growing in height as it approached short of and just beyond the center of the horizontal but with the curve almost at zero point in the moderate or neutral range.  This would demonstrate why Europe has multi-party arrangements.

Another point was made, that as one found oneself toward the extremes, one would be more motivated to be involved in politics and to even secure more claimed knowledge about it (symbolized on the graph with plus signs and minus signs).  Of course, this described amounts of knowledge acquisition did not insure one was open to true knowledge.

As one observes among Americans today, that attraction could very well be toward desired “knowledge.”  Of course, such affected people are subject to propaganda lies or misunderstandings if those beliefs further support established biases.  Today, by the way, the role that social media plays in promulgating such misinformation is well documented.

This political spectrum can be applied to political populations from around the world, and if one were to go online and inquire the term “political spectrum,” one would find more involved representations of this distribution of political sentiment.  But all this is offered here as merely context. 

Daniel J. Elazar offers a spectrum of sorts that distributes American political thinking and sentiments.  He doesn’t use the term spectrum, but as with the spectrum described above, his terms can be (and are described) as points on a continuum.  His terms are “individualism,” “collectivism,” “corporatism,” and “federalism.”  This posting will begin an overview of his “spectrum” by describing the first of these terms, individualism.  But his offering begs the questions, why offer this set and why are they offered in the order they are described?

In way of answering these concerns, he writes:

  American history can be understood as a struggle between four major orientations toward the relationship between the individual and civil society (that by-now-slightly archaic early modern term which conveys so well the way in which all comprehensive societies necessarily have a political form and the way all good societies keep that political form from becoming all-embracing totalitarian).[1]

  He further points out that each of the terms refers to a political tradition in American culture that stretches back to the nation’s beginning.  While Elazar makes the case that the last view, federalism, was dominant during all those years, the other three can find their American origins during the nation’s founding.

          And with that introduction, he begins a rundown of these terms beginning with individualism.  Of the four, individualism is probably the best known and most talked about.  According to this writer, it is dominant today, but Elazar thought otherwise.  This despite the fairly shared opinion that America, through the years, has been probably one of the most individualistic nations in the world.

          As such, they are categorized as Lockean men and women.  Each is pictured as a solitary entity contracting him/herself with other solitary actors through the arrangements spelled out in contracts – legally recognized agreements which are specific in their elements and reflecting transactional obligations.  Within these agreements an assumed motivation of self-interest prevails.

          With such a basic understanding, the role of government is limited to protecting the rights of each actor to be so engaged freely and hampered only by limitations that would undermine the actualization of such a system.  For example, that government would legitimately issue laws and accompanying policing powers to make robbery punishable upon being found guilty of such behavior. 

Short of such actions, individualism leads to a reality in which those who are most successful in the entailed competition of interests, can exert more influence – the rich tend to rule.  History provides sufficient evidence to this consequence when individualism is dominant.  American history offers such evidence and, one can argue, no less evidence than what the more recent years has demonstrated since the individualistic bias of the prevailing Reagan policy era which started in the 1980s still prevails. 

Today, as a consequence, one reads such headlines as “Top 1% of U.S. Households Hold 15 Times More Wealth Than Bottom 50% Combined.”[2]  Along with this level of what many consider irresponsibility by the rich and others, is the psychological reaction to this “everyone is his/her own domain.”  That is a resulting, prevalent levels of alienation among the American populous. 

As individualism increases and has been dominant since the years after World War II, there have been increased cases of anti-social activities and personal depression that one associates with an alienated social environment.[3]  Interestingly, even the staunches individualists do seem to make exceptions to this more general view by allowing for kinship and friendships.  Some of this can be found in the most individualistic hobs of social life, those being country clubs, fraternities/sororities on colleges campuses, and religious congregations, parishes, or temples (although this last religious category is not noted for being so individualistic).

The next posting will move on to collectivism – admittedly, a big conceptual jump from individualism.  But one should keep in mind that this individualism does not lose its influence as one might be caught up in collectivist, corporative, and even federalist allegiances.

[1] Daniel J. Elazar, “How Federal Is the Constitution? Thoroughly,” in a booklet of readings, Readings for Classes Taught by Professor Elazar, prepared for a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute (conducted in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 1994), 1-30, 12.

[2] Tommy Beer, “Top 1% of U.S. Households hold 15 Times More Wealth Than Bottom 50% Combined,” Forbes (October 8, 2020), accessed April 9, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/08/top-1-of-us-households-hold-15-times-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-combined/?sh=506a9c815179 .

[3] For example, “Alienation,” Healthline (n.d.), accessed April 9, 2021, https://www.healthline.com/health/alienation .

[typhonserpent]

Tagged!

and this time i was actually tagged as opposed to tagging myself i’m so happy ;_;

Tagged by @emotionalmorphine​ and I’m gonna answer both sets of questions because I’m bored, but if I’m tagging you then you don’t have to feel obligated to do the same.

The rules are: ✰ Post the rules ✰ answer the questions given to you by the tagger ✰ write eleven questions of your own ✰ tag eleven people

1) In which order do you eat the flavors in a box of popsicles? Red or orange first, then green, yellow, purple is last because I’m not a big fan.

2) What is your morning routine like? What is one thing about it you wish you could change? Usually I stamp snooze 30+ times before I force myself out of bed to pee, take my meds, do a little grooming, and then go to work. If I could change anything it would be nice to actually be awake in the morning as opposed to a groggy piece of shit. :,D I have no idea how morning people do it.

3) What hobby/pastime are you too scared to try? I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy but between dyslexia and arthritis I would probably suck at it.

4) Tell me about your all-time favorite pet that didn’t belong to you. Ronron the fox on youtube! Actually I would love to own any kind of fox ;.;

5) Are you adventurous when you eat at restaurants, or do you order the same thing over and over? I order the same thing over and over. I like going to new places but once I find my favorite dish I stick to it like glue.

6) If you could spend the rest of your life as an NPC in a video game, which game would you pick, and where would you live? Animal Crossing because I’m rich in that universe and I can make money fishing and picking up fruit.

7) What were you obsessed with as a child which seemed normal at the time, but in retrospect was kinda weird? For some reason I really liked The Drew Carey Show and when I rewatched it as an adult I have no idea. 1) Why I liked it so much or 2) why my mom even let me watch it (seriously, it’s FAR from child appropriate).

8) Describe your perfect hot dog. If you don’t eat hot dogs, you can tell me about your favorite pizza. Be specific. hhhhng- Okay there used to be this street dog vendor in my town named Chad and he was the sweetest guy. There was nothing particularly special about his hot dogs other than that they were cheap, but he was so friendly he always struck up a conversation with you, and he gave away his leftovers to homeless people. He passed away a few years ago and you know that saying you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone? Yeah that was Chad. People left bouquets of flowers on the corner where he used to have his stand and I even bought a rose and left it there with a little card. I would give a lot to see his stand there and buy a hot dog from him again, I miss him.

9) What is your favorite non-food smell? LILACS! My dad used to have some lilac bushes in his yard and when they bloomed EVERYTHING smelled like lilacs for a week and it was AMAZING.

10) How do you mark your page in a book? Dog ear? Bookmark? Leave it open face down? Whatever I have on hand. Past bookmarks have included old receipts, coupons, letters, and a concert pass I found on the ground.

11) Have you ever had a subscription to a newspaper? What section do you read first? I have never had a subscription because my town has a free newspaper and the writing in it is a million times better than any of the ones you pay for. I always turn to the Cheers and Jeers section because angry people amuse me.

1. Pick up your closest book and tell us the first passage. The closest book to me is a pocket-sized book of Shakespearian insults. The first quote it lists is as follows: ”Thou crusty batch of nature.” - Troilus and Cressida Although if you want to get TECHNICAL the book opens with an introduction that talks about Shakespeare, so you could consider the first passage to be: ”William Shakespeare is the most studied writer in the history of Western civilization. His body of works includes thirty-eight plays, 154 sonnets, and two epic narrative poems. And it’s not like he lived to be 100, or anything. But even if he had, I think we can all agree that the man was insanely prolific - and wildly successful in his lifetime.”

2. Describe your favorite book, series, video game, or movie in the worst possible way but making sure we still know what it is. I highly doubt anyone’s going to guess what this is but if you’ve read the book you’ll probably guess it instantly. Interstellar immigrant fucks gender roles through a dysfunctional lack of social understanding and a bunch of horny women. Do you grok?

3. Who was your first crush? Was it a person you knew, a celebrity, or were they not even real? What did you like so much about them? I vaguely recall liking a guy in my first grade class but all I remember about him was his name was Brian and he let me borrow his markers. The latter was probably the only reason I liked him seeing as how all the other kids were kinda shitty to me.

4. If you were to shoot a documentary, what would it be about? I’ve always wanted to see some professional publication on like, internet linguistics. We’ve evolved far enough into the information age that there are certain, universally-understood ways of communicating tone and emotion through text. I REALLY want to see someone study these rules, and it would be cool to learn what those rules are in other languages!

5. What have you always wanted but never been able to get? A decent night’s sleep A pet fox! Or a pet dragon. A this point both are equally likely to happen XD.

6. If you were offered a good job in another country, all relocation expenses paid and accommodation guaranteed, could you leave next week? Provided my partner and my pets could come with me, I will happily watch America’s rapid decline from the comfort of another country.

7. If money was no issue, what fashion style would you adopt? Would you buy anything ridiculously expensive or frivolous? I would make nudity socially acceptable. Body-shaming free, of course. Alternatively, I’d like to adopt a steampunk fashion style, since that’s rad as hell.

8. What can you do better than anyone you personally know? With emphasis on personally know ... baking. I’m a stress baker and it’s an art I’ve perfected through anxiety. Also friends have begged me for my cookie recipes.

9. You’re given magical powers, but to keep them you have to give up the most important thing to you. What would it be and would you do it? The most important thing to me would be either my partner, my pets, or my ability to write, and I don’t think I could give up any of them no matter the incentive.

10. Someone gives you a million dollars! But there’s a catch. You either have to keep it all for yourself and never spend a dime on anyone else, or you have to give every cent of it away. What do you do? Give every cent away to my mom who would not only buy herself a house but would probably buy me whatever I wanted anyway.

11. What cryptid are you really? Do Kaiju count? Because

If not Mothra then probably Nessie because I avoid people and I like to swim.

Now for my 11 questions!

1. If there was a movie about your life, what song would play during the credits?

2. What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

3. Who’s your favorite disney princess?

4. Do you like memes? If yes, what’s your favorite? If no, which one do you find most obnoxious?

5. What are your pets? If you don’t have any pets, what pet would you like to have?

6. If you could bring back any animal from extinction, which would you pick?

7. What’s your favorite childhood past time?

8. Is there anyone from your past you wish you could reconnect with?

9. What’s on your walls right now? Posters, paintings, pictures?

10. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

11. What’s your favorite color?

I tag @trendsand-makebelieve​, @amenadeal​, @protect-him​, @traitor-say-what, @damnedapostate​, @glitchedcannibal, @gaysparkler, @relmyna-verenim, @keenunknownruins, @kittymaddpryde, and @vale-stone

[rbzpr]

Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne (F. Brunel)

La Rochelle, 23 April 1756 - Saint-Domingue (near Port-au-Prince), 13 June 1819

Of the famous actors of the Revolution, Billaud-Varenne is one of the most poorly understood. We will therefore simply attempt to shatter the mythical coating which still surrounds the life of Billaud, about whom A. Carpentier writes that he had « a kind of majesty which makes one shiver » (Le Siècle des Lumières, 1962). Let us start with the myth. The notes of the Restoration make him the person responsible for the September Massacres of 1792, the symbolical (and physical) figure of the « buveur de sang ». Later, being the archetype of the outcast, he fascinated the liberals of the 1830s due to his revolutionary inflexibility and the long journey to Cayenne. Finally, demanding the condemnation of Danton, responsible for the death of Robespierre, persecuted by the Thermidorian Reaction, he disturbs the revolutionary historiography which, not knowing how to classify him, marginalised him or transformed him into an « ultra ». And the myth is so resistant that it has clouded his biography.

Yet, it was up to Billaud-Varenne to embody, through the generation to which he belonged, through his social origins, through his intellectual education and through his professional activity, the sociologically « average » portrait of a Conventionnel. Being the son (and grandson) of a lawyer in the Présidial of La Rochelle, he stemmed from this provincial bourgeoisie which produced so many revolutionary leaders. His family was affluent, and the possession of lands consecrated a notabilité which came from the legal sphere, not from the Atlantic. Being the oldest of three boys, he received an education which destined him for the paternal inheritance. His academic career, however, has been obscured by a tradition of historiography that has been created by A. Aulard. In fact, it does not seem to us that he has frequented the Collège d'Harcourt, but he located a partially autobiographic novel there – the establishment is near his Parisian home – which remained unfinished (in 1786) and within which he integrated memories of his visit to Juilly. On the other hand, it seems probable that he has « faits ses humanités » in the college of the Oratorians of Niort and studied philosophy in La Rochelle. Afterwards, he studied law in Poitiers and was sworn in as a lawyer in 1778. Billaud returned to La Rochelle: there, he appeared more preoccupied with his theatrical success than with legal problems, and a « deviance » occurred in his trajectory, which was, all in all, unremarkable until then. Leaving his native town in 1782, he vegetated in Paris for some months before being admitted to the Institution de l'Oratoire in March 1783. Due to his age, which was rather advanced for a novice (27 years), and to his « coldly regular and decent » character, he was sent to the prestigious College of Juilly in September 1783, not as a professor or as a préfet des études (this is still a legend), but simply in order to exercise the modest functions of préfet de pension, i.e. of supervisor. He only stayed there for a year and, having performed badly, left Juilly and the Oratory in 1784. Having returned to Paris, he enrolled in the board of lawyers in the Parlement and married (an union which also arouses romantic accounts), but this move – breaking with the familial conformism – does not fall into the « marginality » or the destitute life of the « bohême littéraire ». And yet, the man claimed to be a « philosophical writer ».

In the highly charged atmosphere of the years 1787-1788, lampoons and pamphlets flourished which were not averse to pornography ; Billaud himself still showed himself to be eccentric, without contradicting the preoccupations of his milieu, the one of the lawyers and magistrates of the Parlement of Paris. Professing some disdain for ephemeral papers, he prepared two works which, through their scope, were meant to be demonstrative and reflective: Le dernier coup porté aux préjugés et à la superstition and the three volumes (nearly 1,000 pages) of Le Despotisme des ministres de France... appearing anonymously in 1789 (with London and Amsterdam certainly being fictional places of publication). The first book is not simply an anticlerical manifesto, but betrays the influence of the critical exegesis of biblical texts (which, incidentally, was still strong in the Oratorian milieu) and the refusal of any dogmatic theology: as he was a follower of natural religion, one does not see what could, in Year II, classify Billaud among the adversaries of the Cult of the Supreme Being. The second work, an onerous historico-legal treatise, ignores the « facetiae » of the time while bearing the mark of the event, the crisis of 1787-1788. Above all, it makes it possible to measure the erudition of a notorious Montagnard and to easily nuance the « Rousseauism » attributed to the Jacobins. The most frequently cited authors are, in fact, Necker and the referential corpus of parliamentary (and jansénisant) « constitutionalism », both the theorists of natural law and Montesquieu, for whom Billaud's admiration would never diminish.

A first turning point occurred in the autumn of 1789. Billaud-Varenne condemned the betrayed revolution: Le Peintre politique... castigates martial law and underlines the already worsening gap between the Declaration of Rights (constituent principles) and the decrees that had been adopted by the Assembly. In the following year, it was the danger of « Caesarism » which he evoked by an indictment on the Nancy affair, Plus de ministres, ou point de grâce... in 1791 marks the breaking point, the open adherence to the republican idea and the penetration of Rousseauist « politics », particularly of the theme of sovereignty of the general will. L'Acéphocratie... is at once a plea in favour of universal suffrage and a denunciation of the exorbitant powers that had been granted to the executive branch ; the imagined « federative government » has to allow everyone to exercise their citizenship (to dire le Droit), without falling into the trap of an illusory direct democracy: by binding the legislative through a system of « rings », thereby making it subject to the declared natural law, to the ensemble of citizens (the Nation), Billaud heralded the principle of centralité législative and the referendum process. Being a known « patriotic author », he often intervened at the Jacobins and spoke out against the war, as well as against the adventurism of the « enthusiasts ». From the winter of 1791-1792 onwards, the traits of Billaud-Varenne's political theory were therefore more or less fixed. The two last opuscules, « the profession of faith » of a « législateur philosophe », would come to clarify this thought. Les Eléments du Républicanisme (1793) particularly offered a radical social programme: in the name of the droit à l'existence, a successional system was proposed which tended towards an egalitarian redistribution of all riches. As to the last publication, Les Principes régénérateurs du système social (Pluviôse Year III) was at once the ultimate manifesto of a revolutionary who knew he would be condemned in the future. Billaud here professes his conception of democracy one last time, as well as the moral (practical) obligation to realise the rights of man in a public space of fraternal reciprocity. Nothing in the published theoretical work of Billaud therefore allows to give the epithet « ultra » to him. Was his conduct in the Convention, then, the cause for this classification to the far left of the Montagne?

Elected a deputy of Paris after having been the substitut du procureur of the revolutionary Commune of 10 August, Billaud of course spoke out in favour of the king's death, without appeal to the people or suspended sentence. In April 1793, he was absent during the indictment of Marat: being on mission with Sevestre in the Breton departments, he did not stand out due to « ferocious » repression of the rebellious zones, but reminded the « misled people of the countryside » of the gains of the Revolution. Having returned to the Convention, he voted against the Commission of Twelve and demanded, on 9 June 1793, to exempt the citizens who were reduced « to the absolute necessities »  of the payment of any direct contribution: one can no longer clearly justify citizenship as a right of man independent of the property of material goods. On 23 June 1793, at last, he proposed and obtained (still in the name of the declared natural law) the abrogation of martial law. It is to the events of September 1793 that Billaud-Varenne owes, in fact, his reputation as an « extremist » and, in particular, his admission to the Committee of Public Safety in the aftermath of the journées of 4 and 5 September. Facing the demands of the Commune of Paris formulated by Chaumette, Billaud only repeated his own principles: a revolution fails if one only takes « half-measures », it was necessary to « act », and it was from the Convention that the « national movements » had to come from. Nothing therefore distinguished him from Robespierre or Saint-Just. Incidentally, the two only Reports made by him to the Convention are politically essential: Billaud was the one who translated the political principles which had been pronounced by Saint-Just in the name of the Committee of Public Safety into terms of action. Thus, it was up to him, on 28 Brumaire Year II (18 November 1793) to present the project of a « mode of provisional and revolutionary government » and, on 1 Floréal Year II (20 April 1794), to expound on the « civil institutions », to articulate the idea of a stabilisation of the Revolution, opening the future to a new social bond based on a « daily exchange of mutual aid ». Billaud never differentiated himself from the « Robespierrists » in anything.

Here, the second obstacle to interpreting the political position of Billaud arises. On 9 Thermidor, it was his intervention, more than the gesticulations of Tallien, which stopped Saint-Just's speech. Why? The difficulties of answering are so enormous that we will confine ourselves to some hypotheses. Undoubtedly he was irritated by the non-collegial writing of the Law of 22 Prairial (he did not attack it in substance) ; undoubtedly the « denaturation » (his expression) of the Police Bureau of the Committee of Public Safety seemed to him to form an executive power which he loathed ; undoubtedly, at last, it seemed to him that Robespierre, in denouncing « new factions » at the Jacobins on 13 Messidor Year II (1 July 1794), threw the Revolution back into a vicious circle and contravened the project that had been defined in Floréal. These suggestions are only based on barely reliable sources, the defences of Year III. Let us admit that the historical reconstruction is not easy, because the post-Thermidorian persecution succeeded in clouding the political figure of Billaud-Varenne. Having been accused of being an « accomplice of Robespierre » by Le Cointre, he left the Committee of Public Safety to re-election and, contrary to other Montagnards, remained silent until 13 Brumaire Year III (3 November 1794), when he spoke the famous sentence at the Jacobins: « the lion is not dead when he sleeps, and when he awakens, he exterminates all his enemies ». The phrase hit the nail on the head and justified, in advance, the closing of the Club. After the reintegration of the Girondins and the process of Carrier, the path was clear for the elimination of « Robespierre's tail ». On 7 Nivôse Year III (27 December 1794), a commission of 21 members was created in order to examine the conduct of Barère, Billaud, Collot d'Herbois and Vadier ; they were erected as « great culprits » even before the Report of Saladin (12 Ventôse Year III / 2 March 1795) was delivered. The Convention took advantage of the events of 12 Germinal Year III and condemned them to deportation. Billaud-Varenne was exiled to Cayenne, and political silence signified his unfreedom.

Billaud survived all of his fellow convicts, those of Year III and of Year V, his enemies ; among the latter, he only got in touch with Brotier. The events of 18 Brumaire set him free, but he refused to return to the France of Bonaparte and remained in Cayenne even when the Portuguese occupied Guyana in 1809. When the colony became French again in 1816, he did not want to become a subject of Louis XVIII and embarked for New York, then settling in Saint-Domingue where he died at last. One attributes these last words to him: « My bones, at least, will rest in this land which wants liberty... »

Through his writings and his political action, Billaud nonetheless belonged to this current which attempted to combine social justice (happiness) and human dignity (rights of man). The undertaking was undoubtedly not easy during the revolution, but the project left a lasting mark on progressive thought. Thus, Jaurès, the author, let us not forget, of a thesis on the origins of German socialism, wrote about Billaud-Varenne: « it is the most curious synthesis that I know of egalitarian and socialist leanings and of an individualist and divided order ». One can criticise the Jaurèsian formulation. but one cannot deny that Billaud (like many others) has attempted to devise the wedding of the droits de créance and the droits-libertés.

Source: Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française (Albert Soboul)

[douchebagbrainwaves]

BUT ONLY GRADUATION RATES, THEN YOU'LL STAY AHEAD

What Business Can Learn from Open Source August 2005 This essay is derived from a keynote talk at the fall 2002 meeting of NEPLS. In every presidential election since TV became widespread, they'd become auto-unsubscribing filters. In fact, here there was a bimodal economy consisting, in Galbraith's words, of the forces underlying open source and blogging is that ideas can bubble up from the bottom as they get used to it and take it away from the most committed investors and work your way out of the initial sales of the Apple I, he felt obliged to give his then-employer, HP.1 Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Dan Giffin, Sarah Harlin, Jessica Livingston, Greg Mcadoo, our contact at Sequoia, was one of the principles they teach you is to align the car not by lining up the hood with the stripes painted on the side of safety: when someone offers you money, take it. The venture capital business is pretty incestuous, and there was my program, written in C, they would have spent riding it down. I was leaving I offered it to him, he omits any comments except the note-to-peer dating site? If I order something from an online store builder, with about 14,000 users is ipso facto worth exploring. Why spend twenty years climbing the corporate ladder was one of the most memorable paintings, especially when you're young and smart, you don't really understand them.

I met them today They have an interesting business I'm just not sure how much credit to give him. Someone who doesn't know the kind of problem. But otherwise they felt they had enough to work that way. It's a little misleading to talk of versions when describing a gradual process, but that's only the immediate cause. If so, could they actually get things done. In particular, don't be deterred from applying to Y Combinator. Delivered on that promise. Actually it's structural. It was always understood that they enjoyed what they did. They'll lie to you on this one. In fact the large staffs of successful startups have, by building something you yourself need, the first three were our biggest expenses.

That was what we call the classics.2 It seemed curious that the same task could be painful to one person. For example, they like largely for the feeling of virtue in liking them. So far I've been able to achieve filtering rates that approach CRM114's. But that's another issue.3 Founders arriving at Y Combinator said that early on it had been a one-character name. Growth When we launched Viaweb, it seemed as if we were visited by beings from another solar system.4 Thanks to Trevor Blackwell and Jessica Livingston for reading drafts of this. In math it means that a shorter proof tends to be related, in that government office was a recognized route to wealth.5 When you see these ideas laid out like that, remember: ideas like that?

Often your information will be wrong: I tried living in Florence when I was a kid playing basketball? Sometimes they even agree with one another to invest in successive rounds, it often feels like they're trying to force them to be cold and calculating, or at least to yourself, I don't think it has much to offer good programmers, one of the top 20 YC companies by valuation have the. If someone pays $20,000 for 10% of a company like Yahoo or Intel or Cisco, he'd think communism had won. At YC we're excited when we figured out what seemed to be from the UK. Japanese are only about 2%. Now anything that became fashionable during the Bubble killed themselves by deciding to build server-based software wins, it will at least be a powerful force. Bill Yerazunis, Dan Giffin, and Lisa Randall for reading drafts of this, and Marc Andreessen, Joe Gebbia date: Fri, Jan 23,2009 at 11:09 AM subject: Re: airbnb They did but I am not sure I buy that ABNB reminds me of Etsy in that it makes me really want to.

And now that I've realized what's going on. Step 3: Series A Round Armed with their now somewhat fleshed-out business plan and trying to decide whether to change some part of it doesn't have to advertise. The history of the 20th century executive salaries were low partly because companies then were more dependent on banks, who would have disagreed with that, so we tightened up our filter to decrease the standard deviation of design outcomes because they want to invest the next time they need funding.6 For example, I doubt it will change anyway. On the average trip I bring four books and only read one of them. Sometimes angels' deal terms are standard doesn't mean they're favorable to you, especially if they're young and ambitious, they want to market themselves to the investors who are seriously interested in you, they will not always say what they really care about is the lack of responsibilities. And so it is unfair when someone works hard and doesn't get paid much. As organizations get smaller, you have to step back one step further along it. Meanwhile the iPhone is selling better than ever. Choosing a marginal project is the startup itself, they might have. I'm convinced the facetime model is not just that it will be to your advantage: you can go too far in any law, and this gives you an excuse for failure. I think the place to focus is the margin of failure, you succeed—and that's too big, they become overwhelmed.7

And what makes them work is not us but their competitors. The best we could do to get started that he was harming his future—that he was writing differentiation programs even in the mating dance with investors; the distinction between the spikes and the average writer of detective novels.8 2 to 3 times as many people alive in the US were designed by architects who expected to live in the suburbs. That was her actual word.9 Thanks to Sam Altman, Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, and my father for reading drafts of this. The New Funding Landscape October 2010 After barely changing at all for decades, the startup agrees to turn away other VCs for some set amount of time knows not to default to skepticism, no matter how much. The reason, again, language designers are somewhat out of touch with the world. Com. Eventually, they get their investment back before the common stock holders that is, in any social hierarchy, people unsure of their own, you can find someone to handle the paperwork for them. How important is it?10

Notes

I'm not claiming founders sit down and calculate the expected after-tax return from a few stellar exceptions the textbooks are similarly misleading. For more on not screwing up than any other company has to be hard on the entire period since the mid twentieth century, Europeans looked back on industrialization at the moment it's created indeed, is caring what random people thought of them.

Realizing that much to say because most of the most promising opportunities, it could change what it means they still control the company will be, yet.

The French Laundry in Napa Valley. Samuel Johnson said no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for that reason. Any expected value calculation for potential founders, and especially for opinions not expressed in it.

According to a clueless audience like that, founders will seem as if a company. That can be huge. Nat. But it was so violent that she decided never again.

In one way in which I warn about later: beware of getting rich, purely mercenary founders will seem more powerful, because the danger of chasing large investments is not even allowed to discriminate on the y, you'd see a clear upward trend. No one in an industrialized country encounters the idea. Earlier versions used a technicality to get something for which you are listing in order to win. The founders want the first couple times I saw that I hadn't had much success in doing something different if it were.

Of course, that they aren't. So if they don't yet have a three letter word.

Even now it's hard to say that a their applicants come from going to get a patent troll, either as truth or heresy. As Paul Buchheit adds: I remember about the same thing, because they are building, they could bring no assets with them. The late 1960s were famous for social upheaval.

It's not the sense of the biggest discoveries in any field. She ventured a toe in that water a while we have.

It's suspiciously neat. World War II to the founders want the valuation of your identity. No, we used to retrieve orders, view statistics, and don't want to turn down some good ideas buried in Bubble thinking. And while this sort of wealth—wealth that, in writing, and both times I bailed because I can't refer a startup.

I talk about real income statistics calculated in the mid twentieth century. When I catch egregiously linkjacked posts I replace the url with that additional constraint, you don't get any money till all the more accurate predictor of success for a small company that could evolve into a de facto chosen by human editors. It's probably inevitable that philosophy will suffer by comparison, because people would do it for you.

[dailyaudiobible]

07/03/2019 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 22:3-23:30, Acts 21:37-22:16, Psalms 1:1-6, Proverbs 18:11-12

Today is the 3rd day of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am, of course, Brian like every day. It’s great to be here with you, yeah, fully getting ourselves immersed into this seventh month of the year. Tomorrow's a big holiday, the 4th of July, at least for those of us who live in the United States. It's Independence Day for us. It’s Jill's birthday as well. So, we’re looking forward to that, but let's not get out of ourselves. That's tomorrow and today is happening right now. And, so, we’ll take the next step forward in our journey through the book of second Kings. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Second Kings chapter 22 verse 3 through 23 verse 30.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we’ve been through some pretty evil kings in the book of second Kings in succession. Some even were sacrificing their children, like human sacrifice in Hinnom Valley which is which is in Jerusalem, but that we encountered the reformer, a king like no other named Josiah in second Kings today. So, he was repairing the temple when they found, the priest Hilkiah found an ancient scroll, which was the covenant between God and Israel. And, so, this was read to the king and once the king heard these words, he understood that they had strayed far from God then he was relentless in his pursuit of cleansing, like, restoring the land. So, he doesn't take up a lot of space in the Scriptures, but the Scriptures do indicate that there was no king like him.

So, then in the in the book of Acts we’re in the same city, we’re in Jerusalem, we’re just there centuries later and we are seeing come to fruition all that Paul's friends had been telling him all along his journey back to Jerusalem. He’s caused a riot, people are trying to kill him, Roman soldiers have swept in and rescued him from death, and he wants to talk to them. And, so, we began that today.

And we also started…started our second trip to the Psalms this year, which we do every year. It’s interesting how we get to this point in the year and as we hear the words of the Psalms, they have different…like…we’re used to their cadence and rhythm and what they're telling us. So, as we go through the second time, so rich, so meaningful, and we’re reminded that if we will actually take the time to meditate on God's word and His ways in our lives we’ll be like trees planted next to a river bank, we won't wither, we’ll be fruitful and prosperous and strong, which is what we want. So, the instruction there is to meditate upon God's word, allowing it to instruct our ways.

And then from Proverbs we got some practical wisdom that we have to hold onto, “pride goes before destruction, humility precedes honor”. So, what we’re basically talking about here is arrogance, right? Arrogance that lifts us above, elevates us above another person. Haughtiness can be seen in the way that we demand somebody's esteem by dominating them. So, like we’ve said so many times, if we could begin to observe, if we could watch, if we could catch ourselves doing these things we’ll see all kinds of weeds that are growing in our lives, but there supposed to be identified, like they're not supposed to be ignored. They’re supposed to be seen and identified and pulled because they’re leading us on a path that results in destruction. On the other hand, the proverb tells us that being humble before our brothers and sisters, right, the opposite of the arrogance and contempt and haughtiness. It's our humility that actually elevates us to the place of respect and honor that we keep demanding. So, in other words, if you want to be respected and be respectable and respect-full. So, demanding respect is only gonna make enemies and is only gonna destroy us in the end.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for the many things that You have shared with us through Your word today as we continue to move in and through the second half of the year. Show us how to be humble. Show us how to stop dominating people. Show us how to be comfortable in who You've created us to be. I pray this in the name of Jesus our savior. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it's where you find out what's going on around here.

Coming up pretty immediately on the calendar is the seventh day of July, just a few days from now on Sunday, this is the Daily Audio Bible long walk, a day that it is our own internal, our own community holiday and a beautiful one it is because it's a day that we set aside to go for a long walk with God, to actually have a day where all of the obligations and responsibilities, all of the chaos, all of the anxiety, all of the things that bring on the depression, like all of this stuff that plagues us, we just make a decision and say, I’m taking a day off from that and I am running to my Father because none of that is gonna make any sense any other way and I'm not living the second half of the year like that. So, we go for a long walk with the one who loves us more than anyone ever will, with the one who laid his life down on our behalf. Yeah. We go somewhere beautiful, somewhere beautiful in nature, the creation of our God and we be still and know that He is God and we be still and listen for the still small voice and we go for a long walk and we share everything that's in our hearts. Like, we just never have the time and we never will if we don't make the time, which is the point of the Daily Audio Bible long walk. We’re just making the time to go pour our hearts out and to listen as God speaks His heart to us about what the second half of the year is supposed to look like. So, make plans for that. That's on Sunday. You may be like, “well…make plans…like how do…like how do you do it?” Basically, you walk out your front door and you either get in your car or you walk from there to somewhere beautiful, whether that's a park…I mean it doesn’t matter whether you're five minutes away from where you want to be, or whether you're five hours away from where you want to be, just go somewhere that compels you, somewhere that’s beautiful and go for a long walk. So, that's very individual, but it's communal when you know that all over the world your brothers and sisters are doing this. And then we just ask, hey wherever it is that you are, you’re probably gonna have your phone, so take a picture. Like, you probably have your phone and you probably should but you probably should stay off of it, right? You can go to a park somewhere in nature and blow the entire day on social media…like say nothing to God and that’s probably not gonna be as beneficial though. But anyway wherever you go, take a picture or shoot a little video. Post it back to the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page, facebook.com/dailyaudiobible. And we’ll get those and we’ll post them up and we’ll have a little mosaic. All kinds of windows begin to open up into each other's lives, and we just get to see the beauty of the world in one day. So, it's…it's amazing, I'm looking forward to it, I need it very badly. Actually I’m very much looking forward to it. So, make plans for that this Sunday.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it lives on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253, is the number to dial.

And that is it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, this is Jesse from Washington. I called in a couple a years ago and a bunch of people prayed for me. I was going through…I hadn’t even gone through a divorce with my wife. Lisa the Encourager prayed for me, a few other people. There was a bunch of stuff going on with my employees, my workplace, my family. My wife and I ended up getting a divorce, but I just wanted to call in. I’m like two months behind and I heard people keep talking about the Daily Prayer and how important it is. And I just want this to be a testimony, my testimony. It changed my life. Every day putting on the armor changed my life. Like, you have to do it or at least try it and then see what happens when you don’t put on your armor every day. It’s just…it’s a life-changing thing. It’s restored my marriage, it’s restored my family, it’s restored my business. Like, my wife and I work together in our own business that we built from nothing with no experience. And part of that stress caused us to get divorced and the Daily Audio Bible brought us back together, like finding a church home, daily prayer, Brian. Like all of this stuff, it’s taken a couple of years, but now we have another baby and another baby on the way. It’s…the best thing you could possibly do besides listening to this is to put on your armor every day. And the restoration…I don’t know what else to say other than thank you all. As pastor Genne would say, “my beautiful family.” Thank you all. I love you all. It changed my life, it’s changed the people around me’s life and we’re…my wife and I are going to be better people for our kids because of this. So, I should have written something down but I think that was the gist of it. Love you all. Thank you all. Pray for you all.

Hi DAB family, this is Scott from Tennessee. I have been putting off calling for a while, but I need prayer. There are a couple things I wanted to ask for. More immediate and pressing, I wanted to ask for prayer for my mental and physical health. I have been experiencing really intense depression and anxiety recently as well as confusion and difficulty focusing. I don’t fully understand what it’s from but I’m trying to stay grounded and I’m looking for help. And then, I’ve had food related issues that I’ve been struggling with for a while, which I think may tie in somehow to the mental stuff. And then I’ve also been struggling financially, working but having difficulty making ends meet. Seems like there’s been things just kind of cropping up all over the place that have made it difficult. Anyways, thank you all for your prayers and I enjoy listening every day. Take care. Bye.

Hey this is Jerry calling from Duluth Minnesota. And now this is the Jesus carrier from my familiar bus stop that I carried newspapers for many years listening to the DAB. Calling about three different things here. Don’t know if I’ll get all of the time in __. First of all, God has really impressed upon me how important it is to support that which is feeding me, that which is life to me and that’s the DAB family. You all have been such an incredible blessing and Brian, your faithfulness day by day step-by-step. And, so, God has impressed me to give on a monthly basis and it’s so easy to do. Set it up one time and it’s done. And I pray God would…how much do you want to give? What do you want me to give? And to be honest with you, I have nothing to give right now. My revenue is down $3000 a month from what it was a year and a half ago and it’s as a self-employed social media marketer. But God impressed me that He wanted me to $73 a month, seven is the number of perfection, seven is the years that He sustained me through my self-employment, that journey, and three for the number of the Trinity - the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit __ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the three people, the three leaders of Israel in David’s kingdom there. So, $73. Don’t have it but I’m gonna trust God for it. I’m not giving to get. I’m giving because that’s what God wants me to do. So, please, pray that what does God want you to do to support this spiritual nurturing. God has been so good to us…

Good morning Daily Audio Bible, Loralee in Boynton. Let’s pray. Giver of all, another day has started, and we take our place beneath our great Redeemer’s cross. Lord, healing streams continually flow where balm is poured into every wound, where we’re washed in the all cleansing blood confident that You see us in Christ. Help us to pick up the loins of our minds, to quicken our steps, to speed as if each moment where our last, that our life be joy, our death glory. We thank You for the temporary blessings of this world - the fresh air, the sunlight, the food that renews our strength, the garments that clothe us, the sleep that gives rest, the canopy of the stars at night, the summer breeze, the flowing streams, the relationships of family and friends. Our cup runs over. Help us appreciate these daily mercies. Your hand gives blessings, Your power turns away evil. We bring our tribute of thanks for Your graces, the full warmth of faith, the presence of Your spirit, the strength of Your restraining will. Blessed be our Father and Lord. Thank you for Daily Audio Bible family, Lord. Brian, Jill God bless you. God bless everyone. I love you. Have a great day.

[authorklbelvin]

We’re Trying: A simple tribute to a great man. Thank you, Dr. King. We're trying.

I wrote this is 2005 when creating my poetry book A Man in Transition, published in 2008. (Bravin Publishing LLC) 

My writing was evolving since then, but I needed to include this tribute to Dr. King. Years ago, I placed this on my social media page years ago, but sadly, not much has changed and I think we're still far off from the dream and ideas Dr. King had for us a people. 

http://www.bravinpublishing.com/catalog/item/7294083/7584779.htm

From "A Man in Transition" by K. L. (Keith "K. L." Belvin)

We’re Trying:

A simple tribute to a great man. Thank you, Dr. King. We're trying.

Where have those leaders gone? Where are the men of conviction? Where are the wives of these great men and where are those families that were born from the union of such great folks?

Where is the next Dr. MLK, Jr.?

Did King's words indeed only rate as a good speech and some interesting lessons in history classes? Is he only to be an exciting topic in January and then again in February when we watch the films and say, "Was it really that bad then?" "How could they just stand there and let that happen to themselves!" "Why didn’t they fight back?" "Did non-violence really work?"

Did Dr. King die for nothing? Is his holiday indeed that or is it a token of appreciation so we will stop complaining about things? Why did the episode of the Boondocks spark controversy when it was really about how many of us forgot what the man was really about? Did we forget he was a man of God, who died doing what he believed God wanted him to do?

Where is the next MLK, Jr.?

What happened to real marches about real issues? Where did the SNCC, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SCLC The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and BPP, Black Panther Party for Defense go? DO people even remember what Jim Crow was laws were all about?

Dr. King paved the way, but when did we stop laying the bricks to the house he built with blood, sweat, tears, and his life? When was the last successful boycott after King when home? Something is wrong here; times are supposed to be better. What did he do wrong? Where are the men this great OAK TREE of a man was supposed to Father? King gave his life for what he believed. Who picked up his flame and added theirs on lighter fluid? How could we have gone backward, from Sean Bell to Emmit Till? Something is wrong. King saw and understood what the future was supposed to be by looking deep into his present and things still didn't change.

See for yourself-------->

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Martin Luther King JR. “I Have A Dream Speech.” Washington, D. C., 1963.

Yet nothing has changed, and that check was never rewritten. Where did we go wrong?

Where is the next MLK, Jr.?

We are farther divided now than we ever were economically, educationally, socially, and of course spiritually. We are not even close to helping each other over the hump. Hell, we have moved back to the back of the bus without being told to do so. How did this happen? Wasn't King’s death supposed to spark a national uprising that spirited us in the very future he was fighting for, took all those beatings for, and spent time in jail for? I thought when you’re a martyr for your cause, people stand up and take notice of your life being taken and become motivated? Where did he fail here?

Did we forget that period between 1963 and 1972 when we watched and allowed America to act out and kill Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, the Kennedy brothers, and King himself?  Toss in the infiltration and destruction of all the Black Panthers for fun, and this is how our movement died? Where did we fail them?

Well, they gave him a holiday, and we get the day off, but through all the TV shows, plays, skits, and songs where will the next KING emerge from? The next who, the future KING? One benefit is his queen has left to take her place next to the man she loved, so if for nothing else I am happy that the KINGS are reunited. On this day I am going to sit for a few and ponder the very questions I have put to all that have read this. I really don't have the answers.

As an educator, I have tricked myself into believing that I will have some small role in the making of the next “King,” and with the Lord's mercy, he'll allow me to see one grow into the next MLK, Jr. I can only dream and pray it doesn't end like the man whose holiday most won't celebrate in a fashion fitting to the man that died for it to become one.

Dr. King, I have never met you or seen you in person, but your presence is felt when I read your words or watch your videos. The Lord truly touched you, and I hope I can do a tenth of all that you've done to make this a better world to live in. God bless you, Dr. King, your wife, and your family.  I am one of those children who listened to you as I grew into a man and prayed someday my children and many other children "will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King JR. “I Have A Dream Speech.” Washington, D. C., 1963.

However, I have to be honest, sir. It’s not looking too good.

from Blogger http://bit.ly/2S2L0EA via Naik

[thetruthseekerway]

Pilgrimage and Its Universal Lessons

New Post has been published on http://www.truth-seeker.info/jewels-of-islam/pilgrimage-and-its-universal-lessons/

Pilgrimage and Its Universal Lessons

By Faisal Kutty

Pilgrims return home enriched by this more pluralistic and holistic outlook and with a new appreciation for their own origins.

Millions of pilgrims from all over the world will be converging on Makkah in the coming days. They will retrace the footsteps of millions who have made the spiritual journey to the valley of Makkah since the time of Adam.

Hajj literally means, “to continuously strive to reach one’s goal.” It is the last of the five pillars of Islam (the others include a declaration of faith in one God, five daily prayers, offering regular charity, and fasting during the month of Ramadan). Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey.

The Hajj is essentially a re-enactment of the rituals of the great prophets and teachers of faith. Pilgrims symbolically relive the experience of exile and atonement undergone by Adam and Eve after they were expelled from Heaven, wandered the earth, met again and sought forgiveness in the valley of Makkah. They also retrace the frantic footsteps of the wife of Abraham, Hagar, as she ran between the hills of Safa and Marwa searching for water for her thirsty baby (which according to Muslim tradition, God answered with the well of Zam Zam). Lastly, the pilgrims also commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for the sake of God. God later substituted a ram in place of his son.

Yet, the Hajj is more than these elaborate rituals. The faithful hope that it will bring about a deep spiritual transformation, one that will make him or her a better person. If such a change within does not occur, then the Hajj was merely a physical and material exercise devoid of any spiritual significance.

As all great religions teach, we are more than mere physical creatures in that we possess an essence beyond the material world. Indeed, this is why all great religions have a tradition of pilgrimage. In the Islamic tradition, Hajj encapsulates this spiritual journey toward this essence. The current state of affairs — both within and outside the Muslim world — greatly increases the relevance of some of the spiritual and universal messages inherent in the Hajj.

As Islamic scholar Ebrahim Moosa asks rhetorically: “after paying homage to the two women Eve and Hagar in the rites of pilgrimage, how can some Muslims still violate the rights and dignity of women in the name of Islam? Is this not a contradiction?”

Indeed, the Qur’an teaches: “I shall not lose sight of the labor of any of you who labors in my way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other.” (Aal `Imran: 195)

Clearly, the white sea of men and women side by side performing tawaf (circling) around the Ka`bah (the stone building Muslims believe was originally built by Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael) should lay to rest any claim that Islam — as opposed to some Muslims — degrades women. The fact that millions of Muslims transcending geographical, linguistic, level of practice, cultural, ethnic, color, economic and social barriers converge in unison on Makkah, attests to the universality of the Hajj. It plants the seed to celebrate the diversity of our common humanity. Pilgrims return home enriched by this more pluralistic and holistic outlook and with a new appreciation for their own origins. One of the most celebrated Western Hajjis (one who has completed the Hajj) is none other than African-American civil rights leader El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbaz, more commonly known as Malcolm X. The man profoundly reassessed his previous views during the Hajj. This transformation, of course, sealed his break with the Black Nationalist Movement of the Nation of Islam.

Contrary to the teachings of the Nation, he concluded that Islam encompassed all of humanity and transcended race and culture. Malcolm X later said, “In my 39 years on this Earth, the holy city of Makkah had been the first time I had ever stood before the Creator of all and felt like a complete human.”

In Makkah, he discovered himself mixing with, “fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was whitest of white.” Malcolm X was so inspired by what he witnessed, that, in letters to friends and relatives, he wrote, “America needs to understand Islam because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem.”

Upon returning to America, he embarked on a mission to enlighten both blacks and whites with his new views. Malcolm X understood that in order to truly learn from the Hajj, its inherent spiritual lessons must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims to forging a common humanity with others.

In fact, as part of the spiritual experience, the pilgrimage links people across religions through a past shared by several Abrahamic traditions. This combined with the Islamic teaching of the common origin of humanity holds out much hope. Indeed, the Qur’an teaches: “We created you from a single pair of a male and female (Adam and Eve), and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other and not that you might despise each other. The most honored of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you” (Al-Hujurat: 13). This is a great celebration of the differences and at the same time unity of all of humanity.

Another essential spiritual message of the Hajj is one of humility to God and His supremacy and control over all that we know. The multitude of people and their inner beliefs and practices are all to be judged by God and God alone in His infinite wisdom and full knowledge. Indeed, as the Qur’an insists, “Let there be no compulsion in matters of faith, truth stands out clear from error.” (Al-Baqarah: 256) The result of a successful Hajj is a rich inner peace, which is manifested outwardly in the values of justice, honesty, respect, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and empathy. And it is these values – all attributes of God almighty — that are indispensable to us all if we are just to get along in this world.

———-

Faisal Kutty is a lawyer and writer. He is an adjunct professor of comparative law at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. He is also a past vice chair of the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations. His articles are archived at www.faisalkutty.com.

[travelwithpamela-blog]

Making the Most of Your Journey

On the road, I leave my convenience zone and also satisfy individuals I would certainly never ever encounter at home. In Europe, I'm immersed in an area where individuals do things-- as well as see things-- differently. That's just what distinguishes cultures, as well as it's just what makes travel exciting. By being open to distinctions and staying flexible, I have a better time in Europe-- therefore will you. Be emotionally supported for some surprises, great and poor. Much of the success of your journey will certainly depend upon the mindset you pack.

Expect issues, as well as tackle them artistically. Travel is amazing and satisfying due to the fact that it needs you to ad-lib, to be imaginative as well as spontaneous while conquering surprise difficulties. Make an art out of taking the unexpected in stride. No journey is without its frustrations: If your must-see sanctuary isn't really covered with scaffolding, or your must-visit gallery isn't closed for restoration, your favored musician's work of art is out on car loan-- possibly to the United States. Be an excellent sporting activity, delight in the uncertainty, and romp in the pits.

Most of my readers' wealthiest travel experiences were the outcome of apparently horrible mishaps: the lost key in Slovenia, needing to discover a doctor in Ireland, the blowout in Portugal, or the moped mishap on Corfu.

The majority of the moment, the most awful outcome is a missed gallery or more, as well as maybe a blown budget for the week. However you may well make some close friends and also accumulate some fond memories. This is the significance of travel that you'll delight in long after your journal is shelved as well as your images are archived in your mind.

Head off screwups before they occur. You make a rental-car reservation 6 weeks early, have everything in careful order, show up to pick up your auto ... and also it's not there. The rental firm's mistake? Sure. Yet if you 'd called a day in advance to verify-- despite the fact that you shouldn't have needed to-- you could have avoided that irritating hiccup in your itinerary. Ascertaining points along the way will certainly decrease the possibilities of having your trip tainted by other people's mistakes.

Don't be a creative worrier. Some vacationers proactively cultivate pre-trip anxiousness, creating all sort of reasons to be worried. The news is constantly packed with air-controller strikes, train accidents, terrorist dangers, tiny issues transformeding into large issues, and also old problems ending up being new once more ... and yet countless individuals travel to Europe annually and also delight in enjoyable, highly gratifying journeys. Anticipate points to fail at some time-- no one's trip is ever before perfectly smooth-- however don't sweat things that hasn't happened (and is extremely not likely to happen) to you.

Be militantly friendly-- Attila had a lousy trip. Every summertime-- when Europe's at its best and most crowded-- I enjoy travelers and citizens clash. Occasionally it's the outcome of the traveler's error; often it's the local's fault ... and frequently it's a simple misconception worsened by etymological and cultural obstacles. Either way, lots of vacationers leave soured-- but unnecessarily so.

Do not allow one unpleasant interaction destroy a travel day that's or else loaded with exciting brand-new views, sounds, and also flavors. When I capture a Spanish seller shortchanging me, I deal with the bill, smile, as well as claim "Adiós." If a French resort receptionist snaps with your question, wait, smile, and attempt once more. Assume that it's a misconception. With a focus on addressing (as opposed to "winning") any type of dispute you could find on your own in, you'll be on your means faster-- and with your excellent mood undamaged.

Transforming the various other cheek is vital to any person riding Europe's magic carousel. If you put back, the trip mores than. The militantly pleasant could rotate for life.

Ask questions. If you are as well proud to ask inquiries, your dignity will certainly stay well intact ... up until you understand you have actually hopped the incorrect train, ordered the one recipe you didn't want, or led your traveling partner in circles searching for that a person gelato area.

Numerous travelers are as well shy (or humiliated concerning the language obstacle) to ask inquiries, even though doing so can protect against the sort of easy blunders that cost priceless money and time. Regional resources are a riches of information, as well as the majority of people enjoy in order to help a vacationer. Obstacle the language obstacle. Use a paper and pencil, deceptions, or whatever it takes to be understood. Don't be afraid to butcher the language.

Ask questions-- or be lost. If you are lost, obtain help. Perceive friendliness and also you'll locate it.

Make on your own an exhibitionist, even if you're not. The meek might inherit the planet, but they make poor vacationers. Be a stimulant for adventure and also exhilaration. Meet people. Don't wait passively for social experiences-- reach out and make them occur. The American casual-and-friendly social design is captivating to Europeans that are raised to regard social formalities. While our slap-on-the-back friendliness could be overplayed as well as obnoxious, it can also be an excellent possession for the American curious about fulfilling Europeans. Consider that social quality a plus. Appreciate it. Capitalize on it.

Watch for chances to make meaningful contact with regional people. When a possibility presents itself, I get on it. Owning by a random cheese celebration in Sicily? Quit the automobile, get out, and eat cheese. Hiking with England's Lake District and standing out right into a pub for a beverage? Do not rest alone at a table-- take a place at bench, where residents hang around to talk. Dinnertime in Mostar, Bosnia? Avert from the cutesy Old Community as well as be the initial American visitor to sit in a new restaurant.

Accept that today's Europe is altering. Europe is a complicated, mixed bag of the older, the brand-new, as well as every little thing in between. Hoping for an everything-in-its-place, fairy-tale land, romantic visitors grope for Europe's past while finding themselves amongst a living civilization realizing for its future.

This provides us with an occasionally uncomfortable dose of truth. Europe can be crowded, tense, shabby, contaminated, industrialized, and also, increasingly, hamburgerized. Hans Christian Andersen's statue has obscenities inscribed across its base. Amsterdam's sex shops and McDonald's share the same streetlamp. In Paris, militaries of Sudanese sales people bait vacationers with cream color arm bands and also crocodile handbags. Drunk punks do their ideal to repulse you as you climb to St. Patrick's tomb in Ireland, and Greek ferries unload hills of trash right into their passing away Aegean Sea. A 12-year-old young boy in Denmark smokes a cigarette like he was birthed with it in his mouth.

Contemporary Europe lives and moving. Maintain! Savor the distinctions. On town squares, tattooed violinists play Vivaldi while statue-mime Napoleons jerk into activity at the decrease of a coin. The most up to date government tax obligation or demonstration march has everyone talking. Today's problems will certainly load tomorrow's galleries. Feel blessed to walk the vivid streets of Europe as a student-- not as a court. Be broad-minded. Take in, approve, and also find out.

If you can believe positively, travel smartly, adapt well, and also connect with the society, you'll have a really abundant European trip.

Useful Link: Travel Agents in Sri Lanka

[authorklbelvin]

We’re Trying: A simple tribute to a great man. Thank you, Dr. King. We're trying.

I wrote this is 2005 when creating my poetry book A Man in Transition, published in 2008. (Bravin Publishing LLC) 

My writing was evolving since then, but I needed to include this tribute to Dr. King. Years ago, I placed this on my social media page years ago, but sadly, not much has changed and I think we're still far off from the dream and ideas Dr. King had for us a people. 

http://www.bravinpublishing.com/catalog/item/7294083/7584779.htm

From "A Man in Transition" by K. L. (Keith "K. L." Belvin)

We’re Trying:

A simple tribute to a great man. Thank you, Dr. King. We're trying.

Where have those leaders gone? Where are the men of conviction? Where are the wives of these great men and where are those families that were born from the union of such great folks?

Where is the next Dr. MLK, Jr.?

Did King's words indeed only rate as a good speech and some interesting lessons in history classes? Is he only to be an exciting topic in January and then again in February when we watch the films and say, "Was it really that bad then?" "How could they just stand there and let that happen to themselves!" "Why didn’t they fight back?" "Did non-violence really work?"

Did Dr. King die for nothing? Is his holiday indeed that or is it a token of appreciation so we will stop complaining about things? Why did the episode of the Boondocks spark controversy when it was really about how many of us forgot what the man was really about? Did we forget he was a man of God, who died doing what he believed God wanted him to do?

Where is the next MLK, Jr.?

What happened to real marches about real issues? Where did the SNCC, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SCLC The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and BPP, Black Panther Party for Defense go? DO people even remember what Jim Crow was laws were all about?

Dr. King paved the way, but when did we stop laying the bricks to the house he built with blood, sweat, tears, and his life? When was the last successful boycott after King when home? Something is wrong here; times are supposed to be better. What did he do wrong? Where are the men this great OAK TREE of a man was supposed to Father? King gave his life for what he believed. Who picked up his flame and added theirs on lighter fluid? How could we have gone backward, from Sean Bell to Emmit Till? Something is wrong. King saw and understood what the future was supposed to be by looking deep into his present and things still didn't change.

See for yourself-------->

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Martin Luther King JR. “I Have A Dream Speech.” Washington, D. C., 1963.

Yet nothing has changed, and that check was never rewritten. Where did we go wrong?

Where is the next MLK, Jr.?

We are farther divided now than we ever were economically, educationally, socially, and of course spiritually. We are not even close to helping each other over the hump. Hell, we have moved back to the back of the bus without being told to do so. How did this happen? Wasn't King’s death supposed to spark a national uprising that spirited us in the very future he was fighting for, took all those beatings for, and spent time in jail for? I thought when you’re a martyr for your cause, people stand up and take notice of your life being taken and become motivated? Where did he fail here?

Did we forget that period between 1963 and 1972 when we watched and allowed America to act out and kill Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, the Kennedy brothers, and King himself?  Toss in the infiltration and destruction of all the Black Panthers for fun, and this is how our movement died? Where did we fail them?

Well, they gave him a holiday, and we get the day off, but through all the TV shows, plays, skits, and songs where will the next KING emerge from? The next who, the future KING? One benefit is his queen has left to take her place next to the man she loved, so if for nothing else I am happy that the KINGS are reunited. On this day I am going to sit for a few and ponder the very questions I have put to all that have read this. I really don't have the answers.

As an educator, I have tricked myself into believing that I will have some small role in the making of the next “King,” and with the Lord's mercy, he'll allow me to see one grow into the next MLK, Jr. I can only dream and pray it doesn't end like the man whose holiday most won't celebrate in a fashion fitting to the man that died for it to become one.

Dr. King, I have never met you or seen you in person, but your presence is felt when I read your words or watch your videos. The Lord truly touched you, and I hope I can do a tenth of all that you've done to make this a better world to live in. God bless you, Dr. King, your wife, and your family.  I am one of those children who listened to you as I grew into a man and prayed someday my children and many other children "will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King JR. “I Have A Dream Speech.” Washington, D. C., 1963.

However, I have to be honest, sir. It’s not looking too good.

from Blogger http://bit.ly/2S2L0EA via IFTTT