#it's about seeing others as objects to use for your own gratification or advancement. it's not seeing them as PEOPLE.

[x-i-l-verify]

#not saying consent and self control shouldnt be valued#because fuck yes they should be #but it completely destroys what their characters are supposed to be #and totally destroys the concept of a sin

Sins Being Neutered By People Who Don't Understand Sins

The embodiment of lust caring about consent and the embodiment of gluttony caring about self-control is the adult equivalent of this.

[irenedubrovna]

A post regarding Euphoria for the benefit of myself and basically no one else

So, it really bothers me when people say Euphoria is groundbreaking, progressive media. Here’s a dissection of why I don’t think it is, because this is what I feel like doing at work:

The character of Rue is objectively great. She by far receives the least overt sexualization, and is treated neutrally in terms of active sexuality. She’s treated like a normal teenage girl with mental issues and an addiction to drugs. She falls in love with a girl who she pines for and places on a pedestal. The reason I think she is written this way is because she is a Sam Levinson proxy. She written with gender ambiguity and with little regard to the experiences she’d go through as a black gay female, probably because Sam Levinson has no insight to that aspect of life. Her performance is heightened of course by Zendaya, who breathes unique life to the Sam Levinson’s artistic extension, and without her performance this show would not get even half the acclaim it gets. Attribute that to Zendaya of course, because the director has done little to deserve this acclaim.

The rest of the females, sans Lexi, are pornified to a disgusting extent, not only due to the fact that they are supposed to be underage, but also because their existence as people is treated as being absolutely secondary to their sexual appeal. They are foremost presented in terms of their relation to sex. Cassie, Maddy, Jules, and Kat cannot be removed from their sexuality without disrupting the plot or their journeys in relation to the plot. Why are the females so intrinsically linked to uber fetishized versions of female sexuality, or uber fetishized versions of blossoming female sexual identity?

Maddy is presented not only scantily clad 90 percent of the time, but also dressed in a precariously unattainable sexual fashion. At any given time she is styled to look straight out of, simultaneously, a high fashion editorial, and a “barely legal” porno. She is airheaded and profane, and promiscuous, her mannerisms dictated by the adult films she’s “studied” in order to project an image of perfect hyper sexual femininity. She’s complacent in becoming a prototypical housewife because it will earn her a comfortable place as a trophy wife. She has no aspirations beyond that. So, let’s unpack all of that. Maddy’s role in the show is mostly passive. The most active thing she does in the plot is revenge fuck a man in the pool of a party. Nearly everything else she does in the show that is plot relevant is of someone else’s volition. Even less of what she in the show is related to anything other than a man. She is abused and then pressured into framing another man for said abuse. She has no agency as a character. The only notable difference to this rule is when she takes drugs at a carnival, knocks a pot of chili over, and calls her ex’s mom a cunt. Removed from her active sexual life and carefully cultivated aesthetic, she’s a trite stereotype of an unambitious girlfriend who gets treated poorly. I see people call Maddy iconic, but if she wasn’t gorgeous and well dressed, I doubt anyone would even think twice about her, let alone create fancams and Instagram pages dedicated to her. She exists as a plot device, and as pretty set dressing to build up the shows aesthetic. Her emotions are not well explored, her motivations are sexist, and she is often there to be demeaned, objectified, or to say a bad word. The most damning part of her involvement in this show is her episode where it is stated that she, as a fourteen year old girl, lost her virginity to an adult man, and it is stated she was in control of the situation. This is a dangerous thing to say about a character, to any audience, but especially a young one. To imply that a precocious young girl was in control during her first sexual encounter with a much much older man implies things that frankly border on rape apologist ideology. This show states this unflinchingly and with no further elaboration. If there’s one thing that tells you that Euphoria is a bad show, let it be that. Also, if there’s one thing that tells you about Sam Levinson as a person, and the way he views girls and women, let it fucking be that.

Jules is a young trans girl. She also likes to have sex with men as a means to “conquer femininity”. Scratch that, she likes to have degrading sex with older men in order to “conquer femininity”. This mindset is shown to be toxic, of course, but I think the problem with this idea in general is that there’s no deeper exploration for what this mindset means. It implies that she believes women are the sum of their intrigue and degradations. This mindset I can only assume would be a cultivation of dysphoria and internalized misogyny, which this series is absolutely not prepared to address in a tactful manner. Jules is a teenager with mental illness, trauma, and is undergoing an identity crisis. There’s something powerful in her character, something worth saying, however we only get trimmings of those meaningful things, and are ultimately left with a hurtful depiction of a trans girl because all of her musings on womanhood and identity are incomplete, and they fail to reach beyond the surface of their thesis statement. She wears colorful clothing, is overtly feminine and artistic in her presentation. Everything about her screams insecurity over her own womanhood. That is the crux of her character. Now, I think we should ask ourselves, is trans person who is insecure about their identity peak representation? Is this what trans people deserve? Is it “groundbreaking “? If this show was run by someone else, I might be inclined to say that there’s nothing insidious about this, but this is the guy that made Assassination Nation, so I think we know what he thinks of young women, the way they should be portrayed (that is, for the capitulation of a man) and realize his inclusion of a trans woman in his cast is no more meaningful than the inclusion of any other woman. Women to him are made to be categorized and should, at the end of the day, be easily palatable for the capitulation of a man. The device of having Jules being interested in older men and rough sex for identity reasons is transparent. Trans women are exploited and objectified with a similar fervor to cis women, the caveat being that they are “a forbidden fruit” of sorts to straight men. Jules is sissified, her presentation fetishistic. Her role in the plot is more involved. Her relationship with Rue is sweet, though toxic on both sides. She is ultimately betrayed, blackmailed, and snowballs into something of a manic episode, all well portrayed by Hunter Schafer, but I don’t think her inclusion in the show absolves it of any of its many sins.

Let’s talk about Cassie. Cassie is the Eurocentric beauty standard exemplified. She is the blonde haired blue eyed girl next store, and her boobs are of course always on display. She is notably promiscuous, something I say right off the bat because that’s how she’s introduced, as a so called slut through the words of the devil (Nate Jacobs). She is a girl with daddy issues, which we are all familiar with at this point. Her sexual boundaries begin and end at the whim of her partner. The terms of her consent are much like the terms of consent of many young girls brainwashed by society and the rising tide of degradation porn: everything is alright as long as you provide them comfort and affirmation afterward. You can touch them roughly without asking, you can use them as a tool to affirm your masculinity. This is the way men prefer their women now: just broken enough to say yes to anything they want. It’s become a joke at this point. Men like girls with issues, but only the ones that will feed their own desires. Cassie Howard is meek. Her inclusion in the plot I suppose ties to themes of drug addiction and how it divides and destroys the people you love. It doesn’t show what it does to her beyond shaping her sexual encounters, which is no surprise. Overall I’d say Cassie is in this roster of females as the most traditional categorically, in relation to how men view women and further how they sexualize them. She has a relationship with someone who doesn’t really love her. That mostly what she does here. Gets used. Doesn’t drive the plot or conflict much. More pretty set dressing. More aesthetics. How this show consists of so many women but is driven so much by men is unsurprising, and, again, very enlightening in the grand scheme of things.

Lastly we touch on Kat. I’d like to begin with the fact that self actualization through sexual exploration, in a show run by a man, is just a cloak for a woman to gratify the audience with her sexuality. Regardless of whether or not she is plus sized, this is overt objectification. She is on this show to be sexy. Beyond that, the fact that a minor using sex work as a form of liberation is disgusting. Whether or not she is portrayed as “owning” her sexuality is negligible, and speaks to the same mindset discussed with Maddy. Minors cannot fucking consent to sex, sexual acts, or anything within the confines of such. It’s crazy that this occurs with two different characters in such a similar way. It has echoes of “Well, she looked older..” and “Well, she wanted it..” or “She’s advanced for her age”. Never, not once in the events of the series is there meaningful introspection on what doing this kind of thing does to a minor. Moreover, these acts are explicit, and made clearly for sexual gratification. None of these things are absolved by the fact that she’s plus sized. If anything, her body type is fetishized in this context. It’s also another case of a “good girl to bad girl” transformation, which are archaic and, of course, sexist. With the rise of adult websites targeting minors for explicit content, this is even more reprehensible. Once again, in terms of representation, is this really what speaks to you as progressive? Groundbreaking? A girl gains control of her own narrative by having sex with lots of men. She gains control by being sexy. She gains control by dehumanizing and objectifying herself. No she doesn’t. Media controlled by men will tell this story to you thousands of times, don’t listen because she’s bigger than a size four.

ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS ARE UNDERAGE. ALL OF THEM HAVE EXPLICIT SEX SCENES, EVEN THE SEXUAL ASSAULT IS MADE CINEMATICALLY PORNIFIED. THESE SHOTS ARE MADE TO BE OBJECTIVELY SEXY. THIS IS NOT A CASE OF SOMEONE CREATING SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF REALISM. IT IS ABOUT MAKING SCENES THAT SPEAK TO A MALE AUDIENCE. THAT CATER TO THE MALE GAZE. ARGUE WITH THE WALL.

I won’t go further into the plot, other characters, or the structure or the episodes for sake of brevity, but I felt compelled to air my thoughts on this to the void. I can only hope I was critical enough that Sam Levinson will one day see this and cry because another bad feminist thinks something that he made sucks

[gummybuddha]

Hell Let Loose

I feel like I picked up Hell Let Loose on the promise that I was going to find something meatier than Battlefield V, which has been going through a horrible dev/community interaction cycle. (Long Story Short: Google the Battlefield V Time to Kill issue on guns.)

After a rage-fueled departure from BFV, I googled some videos that were comparing some other games to BFV as a WWII shooter and Hell Let Loose was one of the games mentioned.  Considering World War 2 is kind of a fetish of mine, I could hardly say no to trying another game while DICE gets their shit together. 

Hell Let Loose is a PC exclusive team-based first-person shooter developed by Australian studio, Black Matter and published by Team17. It’s available right now on steam after a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2017.

Hell Let Loose focuses on 100 player team-based battles between the US and German forces, with teams comprised of a commander, and multiple squads made up of various infantry classes, as well as special squads that offer unique roles and jobs for the team, such as snipers and tank crewmen. Each team’s success is dependent on players filling the roles needed for a battle.

What I found was a game that is nothing like Battlefield V or Call of Duty. Hell Let Loose is a game that focuses less on flashy video game spectacle and instead focuses more on making the experience feel as grueling as a real World War II encounter. Here is just a list of things you can expect out the gate.

Guns hit hard and often they kill more than wound the player. 

Visibility is always an issue, meaning players have to get into a habit of stopping and scanning to catch movement, often the only indication that there are hostile forces around. Fog is everywhere, by design, go ahead and try to tweak your ini files, you will never get rid of it and other players judge you for asking how to get rid of it.  

Tanks are always something you fear and you pray to god your team fills the anti-tank role in their squads. 

There are no mini-maps or player makers for the other team. If you want to relay where the other team is you have to do it manually and accurate and inaccurate information is what saves or kills your team.

Matches are often long and grueling with some that go on for hours on a server, most quick matches only happen due to team unbalance or one team just being more coordinated and crushing the other. 

As hard and challenging as Call of Duty and Battlefield V are, they still have the presence of competitive games. Each title seems to allow ample opportunities for individual players to showcase their skills and knowledge, allowing for proficient players to wreck entire teams.

This is not the case for Hell Let Loose. Yes, you can become proficient at the game, but battles are balanced in such a way that no single player is going to cause a win on his own without serious team coordination, or at least squad support. And even a coronated team in Hell Let Loose has to push through enemy lines. This is not a game where one just joins a lobby and contributes instantly to a team. You can play an entire round in Hell Let Loose and never see the other team. If you fail to communicate, you're a little better than an NPC fighter found in most other games.  This means that while there can be intense and fun moments in Hell Let Loose, there are long moments of walking, crawling and blindly stumbling around until both teams find each other, at which point both teams will form a “front” and the conflict starts. Most often this is around objectives or points of interest, but often you will find that the members of both teams often go ham and this is where the paranoia starts because no one in the lobby is absolutely sure where anyone one is at a given time except for their own teammates.  However like in most other shooters that limit visual knowledge, the best indicator of where the enemy is probably gonna be where your teammates are dying. Except in this case you have to assume the enemy is in a radius around that dead body because it’s that type of game.  I’ve found that when teams are invested and communicating, the long shoot outs and squad antics become quite enjoyable. But often there are long moments of silence as you wonder what idiot in high command is running the show right as you check your team and see there is no commander, which often always cripples your team's productivity output.  I’m still kind of on the fence about how I feel about the game. If you’re into World War 2 games, it’s an instant recommendation, but if you want a little more spectacle and instant gratification in your shooter, you might be better served with another military game. 

Though if there is one major pet peeve that left a sour taste in my mouth, its that Hell Let Loose is yet another WWII game that has horrible controls for its vehicles.  Battlefield V is kind of semi-retarded. In BFV, the ground vehicles work as expected with intuitive WASD movement and seat positions. It’s easy to figure out and more advanced concepts like using the 3rd camera for better visibility is easy to figure out or learn over time. There is some other stuff one can know about the tanks and other tracked vehicles but all you need to know is most have cannons and machine guns.  However, once you move to the planes, it’s like DICE wanted planes to be the most useless pieces of shit in the game. Playing a plane effectively in BFV is so unintuitive I have never seen anyone do it who was not legitimately hacking and you could tell those players by the absurd number of kills they had. I don’t think I could describe how frustrating playing planes in BFV is other than telling people to download war thunder, get several plane lines in, and then switch over to play a plane.  Now, the fun part, imagine that entire frustration I have about planes and go back to Hell Let Loose and apply that to the tanks.  Dear God, I have never been so disappointed about tanks in a game. Fighting is ok, the cannons are slow firing, which is fine. Anyone that has played world of tanks or Warthunder will be used to that. The problem is the exact same as in BFV with planes. It’s the god damn movement.  It has a fucking gear system. These god damn things need to have their ignition started, their gears set to drive, and then you have to change gears to get up to speed or do the appropriate gear changes to reverse, etc. 

Look I realize these things are doable, I understand that players can actually learn to fly planes in BFV and drive tanks in Hell Let Loose. I understand there are balance reasons for why you would make vehicles hard to maneuver. But guess what. It feels like garbage. I get that the game is going for more of a simulation style, but there times when a little bit of fantasy goes a long way. Players being able to comfortably drive a tank is one of those things.  But anyway... Like I said, I’m still on the fence. I’ve uninstalled the game, but I know that if the game continues to have support, I’ll most likely come back to it at a later date, especially if Dice is eager to eat more crow. 

[alexteltevskiy]

Why I take photos

Hey everyone, how’s it going?

I’m back. Been taking a break from social media this past year. Recently moved to SoCal from Chicago and was busy settling in. Also, I took this time to step back and look at where I’ve been and where I want to go with my photography, as well as how I present it online.

I’ve got a lot of fun new content planned and will slowly start rolling it out. Meanwhile, to make up for my lack of updates, this post is chock-full of awesome photos and interesting thoughts on photography. Climb aboard and enjoy the ride!

Throughout this past year I continued taking photos, but I left social media entirely, feeling that it was becoming a bit too much. Too much of a time investment and mental drain, researching & following, using all those silly hash tags… Too much attention being eaten up by a constant bombardment with a never-ending flow of imagery. Too much bots, too much spam & too much noise. Too much “for the likes”. Too much stuff I couldn’t care to care about anymore. Instant gratification and desensitization were the new norm. Even the quality stuff didn’t matter anymore. I knew it was time to jump ship.

But I did miss the things that were actually good about it. There weren’t that many, but still… I knew that it was only a matter of time before I plugged back in again. And… here I am. Meanwhile, my sabbatical allowed me the luxury to think about my photography from the ground up, and think I did. In this post I’d like to share with you some of the fruits of all that thinking: I’d like to share with you the 10 reasons why I take photos.

1. Exploration & adventure

Photography allows me to explore new, unfamiliar places, as well as see the old and familiar places in new light, over and over again. Back in the olden days I used to call it a “Passport to adventure” (pardon the cheese). And I still feel that way.

Nothing else gets me out the door as quickly as a camera and a fresh new roll of film, and not much enriches a life more than travel.

2. Meeting people

Meeting new people is always fun. It’s a life-enriching experience and helps one feel connected to the greater world. It’s not always easy to connect with strangers on the street, but a camera usually helps break the ice in more ways than one.

Since many of my interests lie in old mechanical objects, having a vintage camera with me actually sparks a lot of conversations to happen entirely by themselves. And at the end of the day, 9 out of 10 people actually feel honored to be able to tell their story and have their picture taken.

3. Family and friends

I don’t need 691 snapshots of what we ate for breakfast every year. I need just a few quality photos that are engineered to stand the test of time and will always bring back the fondest of memories spent with my family and friends.

Quality photography, where I put in the time and effort to make each shot count (ahem, film, not pointing fingers, ahem). It’s rewarding and it makes my relationships feel that much more special (sorry for the sentimental cheese).

4. Recording milestones

Speaking of family and friends, the moments that we cherish most are the ones that deserve their own dedicated photo shoot. Being a photographer transcends into being a historian and keeper of family history and even tradition.

“Production values” are high, trips are planned, adventures are had and lasting memories are made. Photos serve as testament to us and the big advancements in our lives - a big move, getting married, having children…

5. Fueling curiosity

To be curious is to be human. It’s what defines us as a race that’s able to advance and grow. There would be no fire, no wheel, no semiconductor and no landing on the moon and (gasp) no Instagram.

Taking photos for me is a continuation of that fine tradition of discovery. I see, I like, I take a photo. I obsess over the photo and object that lies herein. I learn more about it, wiki-ing about the design decisions on that olive green ’67 Cutlass or the impact of that historic Main St. movie theater on the town or how surfboards are shaped. Or why the moon is sometimes red. Or why Dingbats have such a funny name.

Photography helps me learn more about my world. Always a nice thing.

6. Imagination exercise

Every once in a while I’d take a photo and it would entertain my mind in many not-so-obvious ways. Could happen with a picture perfect landscape or a failed Holga long exposure. It would mysteriously linger in memory for a while, prompting repeat viewing. Often times the effect would be immediately after seeing the photo, other times it would surface years after the fact.

I would be drawn to the photo, get lost in it, imagine myself in it. All sorts of metaphorical thought would crawl into the picture, all sorts of things would form in the shadows and bubble up. Sometimes nostalgia would paint the skies a dull yellow and I’d feel warmth in my toes that I haven’t felt since 17. Sometimes at night, the skyline of Port of LA turns into Port Town from F-Zero and at midday, the sand dunes on the beach turn into a romanticized version of early 20th-century Arabia.

Humans are visual creatures, and photos have the power to play all sorts of tricks on the interplay between imagination, memory and all the 5 senses. Photos help me tie my mindscape together.

7. Giving back

It’s only natural to want to share with the world something that you truly, honestly love!

Photography is a craft that has lots to do with understanding fundamentals, repetition and learning from your mistakes. It also has lots to do with many other things that are not so immediately obvious due to the exceedingly esoteric nature of what makes or breaks a good photo. Not to mention that there’s a very complicated technical side to photography as well, film or digital...

The answers to all of these come with time and experience, and as always, with a little help from our friends. As such, it’s always a humbling and enjoyable experience when I can offer my friends a little help of my own, based on my personal experience and observations.

8. Experimentation and happenstance

Photography has always been about experimenting - seeing what works and what doesn’t. Every time I try something new I am faced with fresh and, dare I say, invigorating challenges.

Sometimes I learn something cool that I’d like to continue doing (redscale or Pen-o-ramas). Other times I find a format that completely changes the kinds of shots I’d do for long stretches of time (half frame or a 6x9). Or I would find a camera so unpredictable that I wouldn’t know how the shot will turn out at all (pinholes, Holgas, solarcams, old soviet cameras, etc).

In the world of film photography, there is absolutely no shortage of film, formats, cameras and techniques to try out. We have, after all, more than a hundred years of photographic legacy to fall back on and tinker with. It keeps things interesting and the perspective - fresh.

9. Getting lost in the moment

This is a big one, especially with film photography. A craft so diverse and expansive that condenses down to a singular moment when the shutter goes off. There’s so much to love, so many details to enjoy.

Starting with the obvious - not having to chimp or preview the photos and being limited by a scarce, diminishing resource (film) allows more time to bask in the surroundings and bond with the moment rather than just keep popping off the camera like a machine gun. Waiting for the moment (or setting up the shot), anticipating the scene, watching it all come together. It’s meditation.

The gear, so varied and spanning such a breadth of generations, each with its own intricacies, procedures and character. The mechanical, tangible nature of control manipulations. It’s all very tactile and ASMR-ish. Come on, all you Leica fans out there - tell me you don’t go through an elation every time that cloth goes sssssshwick, haha )

10. Feeling the passing of time

Photos are like a quality wine - they get better with age (I actually don’t know if that’s true, but that’s how the saying goes). A lot of photos we admire today were received completely different when they were first presented to the world. We look back at the photos from the 60’s, 70’s and go through a portal to that time. How people lived their lives, where they lived, what they drove, how they had fun. It’s all put through the context of history. Same goes for movies, music - any cultural item.

It’s important to understand that your photos, if you choose to keep them around for that long, will be viewed many decades down the line and will offer a glimpse into those times. Viewers from the future will look at the cars and marvel at how people got around in these dead-dinosaur-powered vehicles, or how everyone on the street was stuck staring down at tiny glass screens, or even the fact that the very photo they’re looking at is static, isn’t an immersive 3D experience and has limited resolution.

Things get especially interesting when the photographer himself is the subject of the photos...

11. Cars

Wait, didn’t I say it was 10 reasons? Well, there’s always room for cars! Awesome, timeless automotive examples, each with its own personality and style. As they say, there’s always room for cars...

Conclusion

Sorry if that was too wordy! A lot of reasons, huh? And everybody will have their own… That’s the beauty of this thing called photography - everyone makes it their own. Hopefully this post presented you with some interesting food for thought, or maybe inspiration for your next photo project. Thanks for reading, everyone.

Stay awesome!

[glassconway6-blog]

You Can View The Seller Ratings

You Can View The Seller Ratings

As one of the best known and most popular brands in the shoes market, owning a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is a dream of every person. However, not all of us are able to afford them. How many times have you passed by that perfect pair in the shop window that you long to buy but can’t? Online shopping has truly connected the world through the World Wide Web and made consumers more powerful than ever before. This is the best way to go for Jimmy Choo shoes that will fit in your budget and look great too. Be it running shoes to designer heels, you’ll find lots of brands and designs to pick from.

As retail prices rise, more and more people are turning towards online shopping to save money while buying their favorite items. 400. When you go to an online store, you’ll get the same pair for a fraction of the retail price. This is one of the major benefits of online shopping. You can view the seller ratings, customer reviews, product details and compare different merchants at the same place. Competitive pricing is another benefit of shopping online for Jimmy Choo shoes. You can find great bargains while looking for the right pair of shoes and comparing several online stores. Online forums and auction sites also help users in getting minimum possible prices for the selected pair of shoes. Such deals are hardly available at offline stores. 250 at an online store, you shouldn’t miss out on them.

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If you are unsatisfied with the any service or having any kind of problem with your order you can always seek help from the customer care services of these online shopping portals. The culture of online shopping was started in America, where Ebay and Amazon started providing shopping services. The online shopping became such a success there that gradually the culture spread all across the world. In India also this trend has caught on, some of the online shopping websites in India are Flipkart, Snapdeal, Homeshop18, Jabong, LetsShop etc. you can buy anything that you need from any of these websites. All kinds of things ranging from books, electronic goods, clothes, decorative items, furniture are available at same place in these shopping websites.

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Have you ever waited in line at a store to buy a piece of electronics and wished you had gone online instead? Have you ever bought something online and wished you could see it, touch it, ask an actual person questions before you bought it? Have you ever seen the same model phone you bought at the store advertised online for half the price? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you know it is not always easy to determine whether an online or brick and mortar store is the best place to buy electronics. Both methods have merit, but it might depend on what you want to buy and what you are expecting when you buy it.

Online, for example, is great for buying many kinds of smaller electronic devices. Most e-readers, in fact, are sold online: only one or two of the leading brands are even available in brick and mortar stores. People often buy smart phones, lab tops, and tablets online. The prices are often lower and these devices are conveniently sent to your mail box. There is often more variety online, too. Instead of settling for the limited amount of brands carried at the stores in your area, you can surf from one site to another until you hit electronics pay dirt! If the electronic device you want to buy includes features you need to see up close, or "test drive" to decide whether to buy it, then you might not like buying online.

For example, if you want to check out the cool features latest smart phone, then you would be better off going to the phone or electronics store near you. If your electronics purchase is really large, like a big screen TV, you will want to buy it at the store to avoid high shipping costs. The best advantage of brick and mortar stores, though, is instant gratification: you can pick up your electronic device now instead of waiting several days for delivery. So, which is a better way to buy electronics? As you can see, it really depends on your needs, wants, and preferences. If you want more variety, are looking for a bargain, or don't want to leave home, you might want to buy online. If you are the kind of person who needs to hold it in your hand, or you are buying something huge, then the store is the place to go. Either way, you are bound to enjoy your electronics purchase!

We all need to shop for the various articles and items from time to time. Sometimes we need small things that are needed for our day to day lives while at times we may be wanting a high tech gadget. Shopping is certainly an indispensable part of our lives. We spend large sum of money in buying the objects of our needs and liking. Everyone simply loves to shop however there are various constraints like time, distance, lack of company that refrain one from moving out for shopping. However the advancement in technology has bestowed the humans with great comfort and ease.

The advent of online shopping has given immense facilities to the people and now we can shop within the comfort and privacy of our homes. The internet has given great convenience to the people and now the customers can get their desired products with great ease. Online shopping is a unique concept in which the customers can easily seek all the information regarding a particular product with great ease. They can easily look out for the various brands and models to determine which product is most suitable for them. One can easily seek details like price, make, features, design etc from the various websites and portals. Shopping online has become extremely popular amongst the people across the world. Prime reason for the immense success of this kind of shopping is the easy access to loads of information and simple procedures that appeal to today's generation.

Due to lack of time it is difficult for the consumers to visit the markets and stores and spend hours trying different products. There is so much variety available in even the simplest of products that it needs a lot of time to compare the various products. Moreover you cannot expect to find all the products at a single store. In an online store you can find all kinds of items. The items are listed with complete information like prices, specifications etc. You can find everything from beauty products to medicines, from high tech electronic gadgets to home decor etc. A wide range of products are readily available on the internet.

By simply logging on to the world of web you can have access to all your favourite products. These days you cannot only find products and details on the internet but can also seek advice from the experts. The various shopping portals provide the users facility to compare the prices and also discuss the quality and performance of the items on the forums. The users have the facility to write reviews and also get clear insight of the product by referring to the opinions and the reviews of other users. These days price comparison shopping is creating waves in the market as the users prefer to analyze and compare the features of the various products to avail the most perfect one.

You can also find listing of various products along with the prices and features. They can compare the costs and then decide which product they want to avail and from which brand or seller. The various sellers provide great offers and discounts on different items. By carefully examining different online stores, the users shall be able to identify the best products. They can get great benefits like free gifts, free subscription, cash back etc. So now you can easily get your desired items with great ease. Shopping online is extremely easy and is a sheer fun. You simply need to connect to the internet, search for the product on the various websites, log on to a reliable shopping portal and order the product. Making payments for the products that have been purchased online is very simple. You can pay with the help of credit cards, debit cards or through your bank account. However one needs to be careful and cautious while shopping online. The customers should only log on to the reliable price comparison shopping websites that promise security of information regarding credit cards numbers.

Chinese online shopping websites are attractive for shoppers from all over the world for great variety and constantly updated product list. The costs of shipping in China is very cheap. Usually the free shipping method is offered and the costs of shipping are already calculated into the products price. Therefore the purchases from China are delivered free of charge anywhere in the world. Bellow is the list of 20 cheap Chinese online shopping websites from China in English which were tested during the time. Most often customers can make a quit good bargains when buying a discounted product or purchasing during the sales. Furthermore some of the online shopping websites from China can provide a quit good discount for a customer while offering wholesale offers. Chinese shopping is becoming more and more popular. It will be very difficult to resist the pleasure of shopping once the order is made in one of the Chinese online stores (and not only in Chinese). Of course the greatest disadvantage is the transit time of the parcels, especially during the holidays. But sometimes it takes only a couple of weeks the ordered product to be delivered overseas.

Shopping in the malls is more than a fun. You can find everything there and in great variety. Online store malls are the internet based shopping malls. These are actually the websites where different retailers can sell in a single portal and the customers can check out with one single credit card transaction. E-shopping malls have become very popular in these days because it is very easy to find any kind of product from there. If the mall is the large one, it will have a large number of shopping categories. You can find electronics, cell phones, garments, perfumes, traveling supplies, home and garden items, sporting goods, toys, beauty and other products in the online shopping KSA.

The main reason of the popularity of online shopping malls is that you don't need to go outside and leave your home. You don't need to get dressed up and drive to the store. If you don't know which shopping mall to select, then you just go to any search engine and type your required shopping keywords. You will be given the list of online shopping malls where you can find your desired items. Online shopping can help you evaluate the items in the best manner. You can check the prices from different retailers and buy the one that looks affordable to you.

You have a wide range of choices when you shop from online malls. There is a great variety of everything in the online malls. Perhaps you know what your requirements are, or maybe you're looking for inspiration. You can browse different items to your heart's content until you get the one that inspires you. You can get many gift ideas best long lasting perfumes for men from Eshtari if you can't decide which gift to select for anyone. Online mall reflect the best brick-and-mortar mall because it offers unlimited selection for the customers and they don't have to go from store to store to get what you want to buy. The physical stores or physical malls have limited number of products because they cannot hold too many items.

The online malls have a wide range of products and you can also buy the things with privacy. There are many other advantages of online shopping malls over a traditional mall. They offer the most attractive advantage of the pricing. This is because they don't have to pay the expenses like rent, bills, display, and so on. They save all such expenses so they offer products at low prices. There is another reason why online shopping malls offer products in affordable prices. People want online shopping to get the products in low prices. The retailers understand this so they reduce their profit margin and sell the items in low prices. If you're an online shopper, and want to purchase some items, you should prefer visiting an online mall rather than several online sources. Online malls offer the ease of shopping to the customers. The customers can buy anything they want right from their bedroom with the help of a few clicking. Better Prices: Its helps you choose your desire products directly from manufacturer or seller without involving any middleman. So you can get lot of discounts. Variety: Ease of Selection for multiple brands and products at one place. Fewer Expense: You can save lot of cost of through online shopping instead of conventional shopping. Author's Bio: Elie Musa is online Digital Marketer, he love to work on Eshtari. Please Register or Login to post new comment.

A form of E-commerce through which action trading or shopping goods and services though internet portals is known as online shopping. The consumers can search for the products directly in retailers online catalogs and they can even find the product alternatives as well as the same product from different vendors. Since, the last decade, number of consumers started opting online shopping over conventional shopping methods. After studying key companies, the report focuses on the start-ups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the start-ups and key organizations are identified by the report’s authors in the study.

As leading companies take efforts to maintain their dominance in the Global Online Shopping Market, the right way to do so is by adopting new technologies and strategies. Each segment and sub-segment is analyzed in the research report. The competitive landscape of the market has been elaborated by studying a number of factors such as the best manufacturers, prices and revenues. Global Online Shopping Market is accessible to readers in a logical, wise format. Driving and restraining factors are listed in this study report to help you understand the positive and negative aspects in front of your business. In effort to growth of online business, Walmart has acquired top e-commerce forms across the globe. The company has been on an acquisition splurge from last couple of years.

After August 2016, it has acquired 7 online retailers, including women’s apparel brands Eloquii and Bare Necessities in October of this year. In addition to this, Walmart has acquired Indian online shopping market leader Flipkart by controlling stake of 77% in Flipkart. Based on geographical area Global Online Shopping Market largely divided into Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific. The world market is still exploring in most areas. But it has grown steadily over the next few years. Major companies are investing in this market in Canada, UK, USA, India, China and some Asia Pacific countries.

As a result, Asia Pacific, North America and Western Europe are expected to account for more than half of the total market share over the next few years. The Online Shopping Market in terms of investment potential in various segments of the market and illustrate the feasibility of explaining the feasibility of a new project to be successful in the near future. The core segmentation of the global market is based on product types, SMEs and large corporations. The report also collects data for each major player in the market based on current company profiles, gross margins, sales prices, sales revenue, sales volume, photos, product specifications and up-to-date contact information. Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary - the basic information of the Online Shopping Market. Chapter 3: Displaying the Online Shopping Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges.

Chapter 4: Presenting the Online Shopping Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis. Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions. Buy flowers in Bahrain for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Advance Market Analytics is Global leaders of Market Research Industry provides the quantified B2B research to Fortune 500 companies on high growth emerging opportunities which will impact more than 80% of worldwide companies’ revenues. Our Analyst is tracking high growth study with detailed statistical and in-depth analysis of market trends & dynamics that provide a complete overview of the industry. We follow an extensive research methodology coupled with critical insights related industry factors and market forces to generate the best value for our clients. We Provides reliable primary and secondary data sources, our analysts and consultants derive informative and usable data suited for our clients business needs. The research study enable clients to meet varied market objectives a from global footprint expansion to supply chain optimization and from competitor profiling to M&As.

Bahrain eCommerce Academy was launched yesterday by Assistant Undersecretary of Resources & Services Abdulaziz Alashraaf, Under the patronage of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed R. Alzayani with an aim to offer specialised training courses in eCommerce and related areas. The ceremony was held in cooperation with ThinkSmart for Development and Training and Tamkeen support. Abdulaziz Alashraaf stressed the importance of specialised training courses in eCommerce for the adoption of innovation and entrepreneurship, overcoming the technical gap and all the challenges that may face by the commercial establishments in Bahrain. This will help in building a productive economy that is able to compete globally by elevating the private sector, individuals and institutions, and enabling them to play its national role in advancing economic development.

The ministry always seeks to launch initiatives aimed at regulating trade transactions through the enactment of legal frameworks and legislations that in turn enhance confidence among the dealers. Al-Hujairi Appreciated the support of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism for launching the eBusiness academy and Tamkeen for providing financial support through which it will contribute to creating quality training opportunities for Bahrainis in this field. Founder and Chairman of Aquitude Consulting and Training in the field of eCommerce and digital marketing Christina Loannidis gave a presentation explaining the future of eBusiness and the elements of success by building clear strategies using the basics of eCommerce.

Today clothing, technology, beauty products, furniture even groceries can be purchased via the internet. You can make payment easily with Paypal. PayPal is an international e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfer to be made through the internet. Using PayPal is simple. Shop for the things you love, and whichever device you're using - mobile, tablet or computer - you can pay in just a few clicks. PayPal delivers one of the most secure payment platforms in the world. Shopping is not limited to retail store hours. You can now shop anywhere and at anytime. In United States they are using Bodymetrics application.

You can now virtually try on clothes from partner retailers, which in turn let you know how a particular clothing will fit you. This latest 3D scanning technology make easier for consumer fit their size without go for trying the clothes at business retail store hours. You can download the online shopping application through application store either Google Play or iTunes. You can get the update from the shop directly when you open the application. Instagram one of the application that consist of online shopping. They're using this medium to make you easy for online shopping by smart phone. You can see the pictures that had been upload and choose then buy the stuffs.

Easier to find discounts on the sofa you’re looking for. Websites such as Ebay, Amazon and many other websites out there offer amazing prices on must have items. Online stores usually offer online specials as well, and there are multiple websites dedicated to sharing these deals with you. Shopping online is often hindered by the inability to touch and feel the product. A high quality image can portray the product more accurately than a text description and improve the buyer’s sense of what they are purchasing. High quality images also improve the aesthetic quality of the site and can highlight features that would otherwise be hard to describe. People worry about fraud or theft with credit cards purchases.

[kapmarvin]

Adolphe

There are certain books that seem to be lacking as you read them, but end in such a way that the entire work is redeemed. One that comes to mind is Abbe Prevost’s Manon Lescaut. You spend almost the entire book wondering why the young man tolerates his lover’s endless betrayals, and you drag yourself through the pages begrudgingly. But when the end comes, it is of such emotional intensity that you are transformed; you have a revelation that what you had taken for weakness on the part of the young man was actually a kind of strength all along; the strength of loving unconditionally and without reciprocation. Suddenly the entire book metamorphoses, even to the point of regret and longing in having to put it down, when previously you fought to keep reading. And even the faithless beloved is changed in your eyes through the heart of the incorrigible lover; she is ennobled to you for being the object of such a strong and pure love.

Another such work is the subject of this short essay. Benjamin Constant’s novella Adolphe is the story of a young man at odds with the world, who falls in love with an older woman, herself the mistress of another man. But, being at odds with the world, this does not stop Adolphe from pursuing her – perhaps even spurs him on, in the libertine vein – nor her from returning his advances. Soon the two are clandestine lovers. But, desire being what it is, especially when  satiated, Adolphe’s love begins to be complicated by other considerations; doubts, fears, distastes and frustrations of all sorts cloud today what was only yesterday the presence of the Ideal on Earth. And he struggles through this rich ambivalence throughout the entire novella, never committing to either course, buffeted on one side by the admonitions and interventions of society, and on the other by the steadfast adoration of Ellenore, who never wavers in her love for him, despite the greater vulnerability of her situation, which is only grist to the mill of Adolphe’s endless doubts and indecisions.

Eventually, the only reason, it seems, that Adolphe has to stay with her is guilt; he believes himself to be the victim of a confusion between true love and mere pity. And this state of endless confusion pursues him throughout the story and beyond, as a postscript implies. His is an incurable disease, that of serial dissatisfaction. And it has at its roots the very thing that leads him to love Ellenore in the first place: his starvation for the Ideal. It is a sense of perpetual deprivation that haunts many, and seems to be especially prevalent in the romantic novels of a time when many women did not survive childbirth, which I suspect is a possible root of this aspect in such novels. Many of the romantic heroes of such autobiographical novels are young men whose mothers died in childbirth, and I do wonder if this leaves a sense of absence that longs impossibly to be fulfilled. But this is a theme too great for the scope of this essay. Let it suffice to say that this malady is contained in the seed of the tragedy itself. It is a matter of fate.

And it does, of course, end tragically. There is no spoiler in this; it is the great achievement of such brilliant art that it is not the mere events that matter, but the experience of the reading itself. To live inside a story such as this is to be affected deeply by a profound lesson. It is that certain incurable tragedies do exist, and that it is a failing of ours to try and suck the world into our internal dramas and cast real people as characters into such a world. It only multiplies a tragedy that is already too much for oneself to bear, let alone others. This is something that all humans do; we confuse our inner and outer reality, we seek to remedy projected ills in the world that are sadly our cross’ to bear alone. And we fail to see this destructive tendency for the addiction that it is. But by reading such a short novel as Benjamin Constant’s Adolphe, one may live inside a safe domain where it is possible to traverse an emotional journey that, like real journeys in life, can grace one with a true life lesson, without paying the awful price young Adolphe himself has to. He and Ellenore are our poor canaries down the mine. That is the purgative power of tragedy, and the beauty of great Literature; it does not always entertain from page to page. It is not always hard to put down - quite the contrary! But it can place us in the skin of another being, no matter what pleasures and pains will belong to that being along the way, and in the end, exorcise something destructive. That is why the greatest Art requires time, patience, discernment and effort on the part of the consumer. And this madness for instant gratification, and the market that has ensued as a result, is the reason, in my opinion, that the publishing industry is in such a state that people question the future of Literature, and the case is made that Shakespeare would not be published today. I would go one further and say that many Shakespeare’s are not being published today and have not been for a long time.

So when we feel through Adolphe the loss of the one person who would have loved us forever in an otherwise unbearable world, and have to know that we ourselves are the cause of that loss – that, as Oscar Wilde said, “Each man kills the thing he loves” - it gives us pause to reconsider the things in our own lives we may be taking for granted simply because some incomplete part of us hungers for more, and to consider whether that something more is truly attainable, whether it is worth the loss of what we are fortunate to have, but are too blinded by desire to see. In this way, a simple, humble little novella like Adolphe has actually a lot to teach us about life itself; a book that could easily be a product of the Art for Art’s Sake mode, but as a result, imparts an invaluable moral truth.

[nabeelkh9]

😎 Here's what I want you to understand about social media & the polarization virus it causes. We all dwell inside this bubble mentally with everyone's minds at the center. What once was meant to be sharing & caring among friends has become something different & it's objective was to use certain psychological effects that alter things about that we use to do. It has become so poisoning to those who don't even know what these apps or their intentions to appeal & manipulate. PRIME EXAMPLE: When you get blocked , does your body feel a certain type of way like you got your life takeaway from you ? The fact you can't laugh or chat with your friends unless it's in the inbox ? Do you feel like when you receive something or do something , you feel you have to tell everyone at that particular time because your mind is programmed to do it as form of gratification ? Are you shocked that I ( No College ) know these type of things ? 🙂👌🏿 Well kiddo... The goal is get you to recognize the program. We monitor each other whether you like it or not. The clothes , the success of our peers , the fame , etc. Social media wants you to be competition with those people depending on target hash tags to market the brand , products , or services. Blacks account for 20 trillion on spending products. We are the consumers. How many own gas stations ? How many own Hair Supply stores ? How many are working on wealth , rather than spoil people's eyes for some likes ? Why do I say likes ? Because that's the design to make people feel competitive against each other. Why 🤔 Because as long as the poor are in competition with each other. As long as they go against each other within their own community , we prevent them from having wealth. Entertainment and fashion shows success to our youth. When will we see the bigger picture after years of it being hid under our eyes ? The perspective of advancement , rather temporary gain on money that they can print , and paper for what people died for. But despite this time or trials and tribulations , I still push to pursue this goal , regardless of the odds that were against me. Even among those I wish who was there in the beginning of the process. (at Khan Nabeel U Atty) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGionB2p0KE/?igshid=i1ftsy4c6uu

[temporarytotem]

Java Introduction (Lesson 1)

Start by downloading BlueJ. There are quite a few reasons to start with BlueJ.

It's pretty small so it's a quick download.

It doesn't have all the extra tools of an Integrated Development Environment(IDE) making it less intimidating and decluttering the window.

Compile errors are shown 1 at a time so you don’t get frustrated by seeing like 10 at once and giving up.

It will be easier to see the connection between different classes later on.

It has an option to download the Java 8 SE Development Kit at the same time so you don't have to hunt for and install it.

If you already have a working IDE with Java then you can use that (this lesson probably isn't for you though), but I will be using screenshots from BlueJ.

You can find the installer here: https://bluej.org/

If you can’t get the Java 8 SE Development Kit then the link is here:��http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html

If you are a mac then follow the green line and arrow, if you are windows follow the blue line and arrow*, if you are linux then you know what you are doing, why are you even looking at this, you probably know python concepts that translate better than starting from the ground up here.

*If you are on Windows you are PROBABLY windows 64 unless your computer is 8+ years old.

Open it and we will start our first program. Right click in the main area and press new class.

Most people create a "HelloWorld" program to start. We aren't sheeple though, so we are going to do something unique. Name it "HelloVorld" or something more clever than "HelloWorld". Make sure to leave "Class Type" as "Class".

Double click your new class to open it. Now press, control+a and then backspace because I am the teacher and I say so. Now that all that bullshit is gone we put back the important parts. I will talk about why we are doing all these thing and what they all mean for those who are interested, but if you are only concerned with how to do it and are fine just memorizing the pieces then you can skip this marked section.

**************************************************************************

Creating a Class (without taking your clothes off)

This is what we need to add to the class right now.

public class HewwoWowwd{

}

All of this except for "HewwoWowwd" is case sensitive.

Now most people will say "You don't need to know why you do this right now, you just have to memorize it.", but I am not an arrogant dick, I am just crass.

"public" is the security setting, it basically tells you what can access it, if it's public any other class can call it for information later. There are other modifiers we can use on variables and methods such as protected and private, but we cannot use them on these classes so it should always be public.

"class" is the a keyword to describe what you are creating. If you look at a book you could describe it as paper, or ink, or leather, or information, but it is a sum of many pieces to create the whole. Until you have a stronger understanding of their uses you can consider it the cover of a book. It is a simplistic way of looking at it, but it should help you understand the basics as we move forward.

"HewwoWowwd" is the name of the class, so following the book analogy this is the title of the book. It is proper convention to use capital letters like a title.

These braces "{ }" are the cover and back of the book we are writing. The title is on the outside of the front and anything we want inside of the book we will stick between these braces.

Pressing compile will save your work and check for errors. It’s basically spellcheck for your code. At the bottom of your window you should see a message that says “Class compiled - no syntax errors”.* You should also see that the class has changed names from whatever you named it to “HewwowWowwd” because your actions have no meaning and I am in control here.

Main Method (Silencing that screaming voice in your head)

The next thing that is essential for every program is the following:

public class HewwoWowwd{     public static void main(String[] args){

    } }

If the class was a book cover and back, then what we just wrote (a method) is the chapter headers. This specifically is the main method where the compiler will check first to see where it's supposed to start, so this is going to be chapter 1.

Again "public" is going to be a security modifier, for the "main method", methods can be private or protected, but the main method we are creating must be public.

"static" is a keyword we use mostly to describe that the method is going to act predictable, nothing surprising is going to happen and we will have most of the values given directly to it. We will go through non-static methods when we look at objects.

The "void" denotes what KIND of value we are going to give to whatever calls it. Because it's the main method there is functionally nothing calling it, unless you want to get more technical(which we don't right now). This value in other methods can be any type of variable or object, but the main method we will leave as void.

"main" is the name of the method of that the program looks for when it runs, so if you don't have it named "main" it won't be able to start. Other methods you will put the name here.

"(String[] args)" is a little complicated, but basically anything in here "( )" is an argument passed in. "String[] args" is an array (just a list) of letters or words. When we run this the compiler will pass in a null argument. I have never had to worry about this before, it's just how java was written. If you run it from a command line you can pass in arguments and depending on arguments given it can do different things.

Now that you know how all of this works, don't fuck with it.

************************************************************************** 

   BACK AT IT AGAIN! (Making guests feel welcome)

Ok, so this is where we get to fuck around with this shit and bend the machine's spirit to our will. Right now the program looks like this: public class HewwoWowwd{     public static void main(String[] args){     } }

If you want instant gratification then write:

System.out.println("Whatever you want here!");

Between the main method’s “{}” and press compile.

This is how we will output text to the console. This is baby stuff though. We can do better.

Important Thingy (”It gets better” - Dan Savage)

I know this stuff is probably intimidating right now. But those 4 lines of code are complicated and I was just told to memorize them. You don't NEED to know why they work right now, just that they do. Things moving forward will be simpler and easier to digest. Of course there will be advanced topics that get more complicated, but the gap between knowing nothing to learning these four lines of code is larger than the gap between building Object Oriented Programs to building JavaFX programs. If you can accept that and keep on going then you can reach advanced levels of Java much more easily.

Housekeeping (But not like .... in a sexy way)

The next post will cover variables, it will be a long post in mostly point form with information that isn't really important. Then I will probably move onto a quick loop post. Then we will begin working with use input.

I will try and get all those posts out by Friday night Saturday morning, and then I will deal with methods next week. Once you have read through all that stuff you will have everything you will need to create interesting programs. From there it will just be how you apply what you have learned. This is my first post so of course I am just learning, but maybe I will make little posts in between about interesting ways to use them. For instance a toggle switch or looping user input if it's not formatted correctly. If you want a carrot then I will tell you right up front that own the line after I have covered a lot of topics I will show you how to create a Genetic Algorithm which can be considered a rudimentary form of AI, but it more falls into a Natural Selection process like evolution.

N-E-ways, the rest of the posts SHOULD be shorter than this. These are just the most important pieces to start with so that moving forward you can create your own programs that will compile.

[hgtmigirlxx]

Killing Stalking: Portraying Abuse is not Glorifying Abuse

NOTE: If you don’t like Killing Stalking, that is absolutely fine. This post is not to tell people that they are wrong, or that their opinions are wrong. I am simply throwing my own thoughts into the ring as I’ve been mulling it over for a while. Don’t like the manga? You are well within your right to do so and I respect your opinion.

Anti Claim: Killing Stalking glorifies abuse.

I’m going to go all King Onion on your asses and pull up the definition of glorify.

Let’s ignore the first definition here as that does not really apply to what we’re talking about here. Let’s examine the second one: describe or present as admirable, especially unjustifiably.

Killing Stalking is very fresh in my mind, having binge read it all this week, and nowhere-and I mean nowhere-do I recall ever reading Sangwoo’s abuse or Yoon Bum’s stalking ever being glorified by anyone or anything.

Not even Yoon Bum, who was infatuated with Sangwoo to the point of breaking into his house and stalking him, ever sat down and went, “Isn’t it amazing how Sangwoo beats me around the house like a dog? Isn’t he awesome? I just love it so much! He’s such a great guy, everyone should totally look up to him and follow by his example!” 

No. Most of the time he’s terrified. He tries to poison Sangwoo; he attempts to escape multiple times; he is constantly afraid of the possibility of what could be done to him next; he is mortified by Sangwoo’s body count; he outright REJECTS Sangwoo’s advances in chapter 27; he spends most of the manga scared shitless.

Nor does any other character in the manga look at Yoon Bum and think, “God, isn’t it admirable how persistent he is in chasing that Sangwoo fellow? You know what they say, determination equals success! So what if he broke into the house, how else is he supposed to get what he wants?”

No. Nearly every character who encounters Yoon Bum finds him strange. He makes them uncomfortable because of how he acts. The girl who befriended him in school, for example, didn’t think he was cute or endearing for how he treated her, she ignored him and eventually lashed out at him. 

But wait! Yoon Bum constantly seeks out intimacy with Sangwoo, doesn’t that mean he doesn’t care about the abuse?

One of the major themes in Killing Stalking is Stockholm Syndrome. Yoon Bum already has a great deal of unhinged emotions for Sangwoo before he is even captured and a lot of his behaviour could be linked to that. I do not believe for a second that Yoon Bum is of sound mind and I do believe that a lot of his actions are related to that and his ever growing case of Stockholm Syndrome, coupled with the twisted obsession he already had before his capture. But, despite this, he still does not glorify the abuse either.

For example, in chapter eight, he uses sexuality as a means of hopefully distracting Sangwoo from the question of whether to torture him with a knife or a fish hook. It is a tactic. A means of trying to persevere himself because sex is definitely a lesser evil in comparison to torture with a sharp object. Of course, it doesn’t work, and Yoon Bum ends up hanging from the ceiling in a noose while Sangwoo gets sexual gratification from hearing him gasp his name. This situation is not portrayed as enjoyable for the victim, nor is it viewed as such in Yoon Bum’s eyes. Yoon Bum is terrified to the point of begging his captor for help; to let him down; to just stop because he’s in pain and he’s scared and he’s suffocating. Despite having an unhinged obsession with Sangwoo, never does it cloud Yoon Bum’s judgement on the abuse he is receiving. 

His view on Sangwoo, I believe, is a question for another day as that opens up the conversation on Stockholm syndrome and this post is already getting long enough without that.

Portraying abuse is not glorifying abuse!

Killing Stalking is very detailed in the abuse that it portrays, yes. Does that mean it’s glorifying it? No. It is a psychological horror with gory elements throughout. It is advertised as a psychological horror with gory elements throughout. And yet people are still shocked when they read the manga and *le gasp!* the story contains psychological horror with gory elements throughout.

Do all horror narratives glorify abuse now? Do horror movies rated R glorify murder and rape and abuse? No, it is simply part of the story they are telling. (Mind I’m referring to decent horror movies, not torture porn stories and budget B movies).

But wait! The antis might cry! We’ve caught you out then! Is Killing Stalking not torture porn, then?

Uhhhhh, no. On the surface, Killing Stalking is a story about an unhinged serial killer who holds his equally unhinged stalker captive in his home. 

But it is more than that. 

Beyond the unavoidable torture Sangwoo places upon Bum-yes, I say unavoidable, he’s a serial killer for Christ’s sake they weren’t going to be playing Patty Cake this whole time-the complex psychological elements run deep. Bum’s torture, which is growing lesser and lesser as the chapters progress (NOT that that excuses anything that Sangwoo has done up until now, it must be noted) has always been a side plot to the much more intriguing and complex themes of mental illness, morale; and dependency. Especially as the story has moved forward, it is becoming less about Sangwoo throwing Bum about the house and more about what is going on inside their heads.

I think I know what the antis are upset about and they don’t even realise it, and it’s most definitely not Killing Stalking as a piece of media. It is a lot of fans’ reaction to Killing Stalking. People ship Sangwoo and Bum together; make art; and probably write smutty fics for them despite the abuse Bum is put through at Sangwoo’s hands. Some-please note that I am saying SOME here, not all, in fact not even the majority do this-bypass the complex themes and just read it for the torture. Which they are well within their rights to do. But these fans don’t write Killing Stalking, Koogi does. And Koogi has worked as hard as she can to make sure that the abuse is not glorified or justified by any character in the work. She even places trigger warnings on her sensitive chapters. Would someone who wants to make abuse look great do that?

But I have never even seen any of the people who want to read it for the torture say, “Isn’t abuse awesome? Isn’t Sangwoo’s treatment of Bum just swell? Isn’t Bum’s stalking so endearing?” Nor has such thoughts ever been expressed in the manga. Most, if not all, of the Killing Stalking fandom know full well that the character’s behaviour is fucked up. A lot of us aren’t even here for that. We’re here for the psychological elements that make us think and spark debates and posts just like this one.

Koogi’s work, from her art style, to her story, to her determination to continue working for her fans even when she’s in poor health, is what’s admiring. Koogi has produced a thought provoking manga and it is not her that is glorifying the abuse in Killing Stalking. I will not deny the existence of KS fans who probably have glorified the abuse, but Koogi’s work should not be judged due to the reaction of some fans. We are of our own minds, and cannot control the actions of others. 

Killing Stalking is an amazing psychological horror and I can’t wait to see where it goes. It in no way glorifies abuse. At least as far as I can see. Koogi is a genius and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of her work.

I’m up for debating anyone on this, as long as you’re respectful and decent about it. Opening dialogue between both sides of the argument, I think, is really important, and is the only true way of getting different thoughts; opinions; and ideas out there. So please feel free to PM me! ^_^

Okay, I’m done now xP

[the-starchariot]

Snake

Nouns / phrases: Craving, demand, desire, attraction - especially to/for knowledge, power, sex. Sex drive, seduction. Use of power, coercion. Search for knowledge, espionage. Career, ambition, motivation. Single-mindedness, sense of direction, determination, perseverance. Ruthlessness, selfishness. Self-will, tenacity, obstinacy, indomitability, (self)empowerment. Cunning: practical skill, shrewdness and (traditionally) deception. Diplomacy, tact. Ability to steer people in a certain direction. Manipulation. Activities: To desire, crave, demand. To seduce. To use one's power, coerce. To strive for knowledge - possibly illegitimately. To strive or aim for something, follow a career. To motivate (oneself), persevere. To act ruthlessly. To empower (oneself), strive for something, persist. To use one's wits and/or diplomacy. To steer others (positively) or manipulate. Attributes: Eager, covetous, avid, attracted to. Power-hungry, thirsty for knowledge, horny. Addicted. Seductive. Coercive. Ambitious, single-minded, goal-oriented, focused, purposeful, motivated, driven. Ruthless, calculating, egotistical, inconsiderate. Strong-willed, headstrong, tenacious. Cunning, shrewd, (traditionally) deceptive. Skilful (smart), diplomatic, manipulative. As a person: Person with the above attributes, e.g. ambitious, goal-oriented, headstrong. Politician, lawyer, diplomat. Tradionally: female - the other woman; deceptive woman. As advice: Go for it! Pursue your goal persistently! You can do it! Use your wits! Negatively: Don't disregard the needs/feelings/rights of others!   Time factor *) : Only if we persist. Only if we set ourselves at it. Or: someone else is the puppet master who controls when, or if, it will happen. 

About the meaning: The Snake is very often interpreted almost exclusively as seduction, or as a person (usually a woman - surprise, surprise!) who is malicious in one way or another, or "older". My own approach to the Snake, while it doesn't preclude seduction or malice, has a very different slant. It focuses on desire, ambition, and self-will. Craving / demand / desire: The Snake for me primarily represents craving, demand, and desire. It can mean that we desire something or someone very much; that we want to obtain something, or want to get somewhere, very strongly. While the object of this desire can be anything, it is knowledge, power, or sex, which many people very strongly crave. This is the reason why thirst for knowledge, lust for power, and sexual desire, are an explicit part of the Snake's meaning. Now, striving for something could be viewed as a positive or a negative thing. Many desires are fun (some even very healthy) to follow. Other desires are better held in check because acting them out would cause harm to ourselves or others, as is the case with addictions. For example, while the Snake can stand for passionate seduction, a consensual affair, or a pleasantly high sex drive, it can also represent sexual coercion, or sex addiction. The Snake can stand for the willingness to lead, the ability to use one's power when appropriate. But it can also suggest an abuse of power, especially in the sense of manipulation. The Snake often represents a person who is striving for knowledge in order to do good in the world - but sometimes it hints at someone who is trying to acquire knowledge they have no right to obtain, e.g. in the form of espionage. So when the Snake turns up in a reading I look very closely at the querent and the context to determine whether it is a good or bad idea for them to try to obtain what they desire.   Ambition / motivation / single-mindedness: Closely related to craving and demand is ambition. The Snake represents that; as well as motivation, and in a person's work life, their career. Sometimes the Snake can be interpreted as a suggestion that we should strive for something, reach or aim for something. It can represent a strong sense of direction, the attraction to something, or a person who knows exactly what they want. The Snake can stand for goal-oriented acting or thinking, for single-mindedness, and determination. It may also indicate situations or processes in which we need a lot of drive if we want to reach our goal - in which we mustn't let anything distract us. The Snake may be suggesting that we mustn't give up on something or somebody; that we should persevere - even if we are forced to make some detours in order to get there in the end. Looked at from a more negative angle, the Snake may also indicate that we have become so ambitious or single-minded that we are relating to other people only through the lense of calculation. In that sense the card represents ruthlessness. It can indicate a type of person who, in order to reach their goal, would sell their own grandmother. Self-will / empowerment / selfishness: Directly deducing from the meanings described in the paragraph above, I also interpret the Snake as self-will. It can represent a person who tenaciously strives for what they want, even (or especially) when their environment tries to hinder them. The Snake to me represents an indomitable, headstrong, person. I see the Snake very much as a card about empowerment - especially, but not limited to, the empowerment to follow one's desires, or one's true calling. From this angle, it is a very, very positive card. But if it is not accompanied by a good dose of empathy and regard for other people's well-being, strong self-will can get out of hand and turn into selfishness, into egotistical, inconsiderate behaviour. You then end up with the traditionally evil snake in the grass, with a person who will think nothing of harming you if that furthers their own concerns. Cunning / diplomacy / manipulation: Common interpretations of the Snake include cunning. Now, cunning can be described as a type of intelligence in which practical skill, shrewdness, and deception, are blended together in varying proportions. Traditional interpretations tend to emphasise the deception. Here, the Snake represents self-serving manipulation of others and malicious trickery. I personally tend to emphasise skill and shrewdness. Often, the Snake to me doesn't suggest clever, self-serving deception but diplomacy. Along this line the Snake can represent the ability to steer - not manipulate! - people in a productive direction. It can stand, neutrally, for situations in which a lot of tact is needed, an intimate knowledge of the intricacies of communication and conduct, in order to reach a goal. It can stand for a person who is shrewd: someone who has the intelligence and creative quickness of mind to adapt their actions quickly and appropriately to the demands of their environment so that they can still reach their goal.

About the Image: In many cultures snakes represent mystical power, healing, and wisdom; they are even revered as holy creatures. But in our Western culture we most usually view snakes as creepy or yucky at best, evil at worst. In my painting of the Snake I tried to get more of the positive view of the Snake across. My snake is not venomous although it is a great hunter - it closely resembles an Aesculapian snake. The Aesculapian snake is the symbol of doctors and pharmacies. And my snake is making its way towards pomegranates. Pomegranates have served as a symbol for a whole lot of things which all fit in well with my interpretation of the Snake. They stand for sexuality, sensuality, but also for power, and spiritual strength. So: in my card the Snake moves towards power, sensuality and knowledge - it wants them! And it is making its way there slowly and quietly but steadily. Something else worth mentioning is that in my book there is a connection between the Snake and the Crossroads - they are, in some respects, opposites. And so I decided to connect the two cards visually, too. As you can see the Snake's pomegranate tree seems to grow in the same landscape the Crossroads is set in. While the the Snake is about single-mindedness the Crossroads can stand for hesitation, or suggest that we are in two minds, ambivalent, about something. While the Snake represents the tenacious striving for a specific goal, the Crossroads stands for a situation in which a goal has not yet been chosen. This is why I chose blue cornflowers for the Crossroads - someone is still tarrying, thinking - and red poppy for the Snake - someone is passionately motivated to act.

Rider-Snake A rival, rivalry, competition. To deal diplomatically and/or wisely with someone's advances or intrusive behaviour. To try and make something happen, to will something into existence. Very sudden desire; to want something right now. Need for instant gratification - inability to delay gratification. Something or someone sneaks into querent's life. Snake-Clover A desire which isn't that strong/important. To gamble/to take risks because you want something so desperately. To use a playful approach to get what you want. A wonderful chance to get what you want. A strong craving is not taken seriously; an inner calling is not followed as much as it maybe should be. To make light of an addiction, of ruthlessness, or selfishness. Someone's attempts at manipulation are met with light-hearted humour. Or: to be unable to move towards a goal constantly and with concentration; more generally: lack of strength of purpose. Snake-Ship Strong desire to leave, strong desire to discover new territory, to experience new things. Exploration of one's desires. To search for what we truly want. The empowerment to explore. Travel guide. Sexual exploration. To begin an affair / a sexual relationship with parameters yet unknown. Extremely strong wanderlust. To really want to reach the end of a journey. That which is the goal of a venture. To put everything we have into making a change happen. To search for knowledge. To leave everything behind which is not conducing to reaching our goal. Reckless adventurousness. To not commit out of reckless selfishness. Snake-House The person who is pulling the strings in the family. To crave a family, a safe home, and to do everything to get it. To be comfortable ("at home") in situations where diplomacy is needed; to be familiar and comfortable with power and/or sex. To rely on traditional (gender)rules to get what you want. A conflict between something you crave and the family's wishes; or a conflict between your true desires and a traditional lifestyle. To work towards the goal by following a plan. Snake-Tree To destroy one's own (or others') mental/physical health through ambition; a warning to avoid burnout caused by trying to achieve too much. To commit to an in-depth workout-program for the benefit of one's health. The goal: health/fitness. Physical ambitions. To research one's roots (ancestors, family connections, family affairs etc.). Strong physical cravings/needs. To follow the path to one's goal calmly but very steadily. Healthy ambition. Once a goal is set, it's difficult for us to change direction. Addictive behaviour which has to do with our body, e.g. anorexia, bulimia, but also addiction to exercise etc. Snake-Clouds To lose our sense of direction; to go astray. Unnecessary detours. Goal is unclear. To slowly make one's way out of confusion by diligence and hard work. To persevere even in times of confusion. Someone's desires or motives are unclear (and maybe they're hiding them on purpose). Someone uses deception to reach their goal. Manipulation. The ambition to become more knowledgeable, to understand better. The use of rhetoric tricks to conceal what is really being said. Snake-Snake*) To be highly motivated by sex/power/knowledge. Selfish goals. Extremely strong ambition or craving. Someone is 100% willpower; highest level of self-empowerment. Snake-Coffin To bury your ambition or a desire; to not let your sexuality live. To have to submit to someone or something. A craving ends / to give up a goal. To put an end to something tactfully. An affair ends. To be drawn to death; to be suicidal. Snake-Bouquet The use of flattery to  get something, to manipulate somebody. To be happy and proud of your own achievements. To crave (loving) attention, admiration, or a more active social life. To be very adept in social settings. To put a lot of effort into looking nice. Snake-Scythe To stop being so ambitious; to discontinue a career. To stop before the goal is reached. To work very hard towards reaching the finish line. Sudden cravings. Binge drinking/eating. A warning: be careful about what you reach for - you might get hurt! Snake-Whip Sneaky or very diplomatic and clever or even wise ways to criticise. The craving to inflict pain on others; sadism - or to crave pain; masochism. To have a habit of seeking out abusive relationships or painful situations. To deal with aggression in a wise way. To seek justice. Judge; mediator; anti-violence counsellor. To feel ashamed for one's desires; to shame others for their desires. Accusations of recklessness or selfishness. Abuse in the form of coercion or manipulation. A very, very skilled debater. Snake-Birds Lobbying. A conflict between really wanting something and being distracted from it. To want too many different things at once. To not know in which direction one should move, what decision to make. Snake-Child First time to feel (sexual) desire; growing desire. Being naive (and maybe easy to deceive) in sexual matters, or in politics etc. Someone easy to trick/manipulate. Inexperience with power or sex; little knowledge. An affair is in its first stages. Taking someone's innocence; cradle robber. Paedophilia. Imbalance between someone inexperienced (and maybe naive) and someone very experienced and skilled (who is possibly but not necessarily manipulative). Snake-Fox To be be guarded or secretive about one's desires. To be very cautious regarding sexual desires or desires in general. (Unspoken) sexual tension. To distrust someone who is attracted to you; or someone you're attracted to you is distrustful of you. To be suspicious about being tricked or manipulated. To react with a strong sense of self, with a healthy dose of self-preservation instinct, to attempts at manipulation. A very, very sneaky, or false, person. A situation where one needs to be cunning and/or adaptable to reach one's goal. Adaptation of goal. Snake-Bear Conflict between someone who has the power (bear) and someone who wants it (snake). To want power or influence badly. To strive for competence and practical knowledge. Manipulative parent/boss. To move towards the goal with assertiveness (maybe recklessness). To assert what you want. Snake-Stars Spiritual leader; guru. To be drawn to a spiritual idea because it makes you feel powerful (or special); seductive spiritual teachings. To have a strong desire to experience transcendence, and to work hard for it. To very ambitiously do everything to fulfil your heart's desires. To be tricked by faith healers or other spiritual charlatans. To fall prey to a cult(leader). Snake-Stork Very, very strong longing. To be willing and able to exert power by nature. To really, really set one's mind on a transformation / transition. To not let anything distract us from doing what we really need to do. A very strong desire and drive to transform; self-actualisation by whatever means lead to the goal. Someone's transformation or transition seems egotistical, selfish to us - but they are probably doing what they have to do to stay whole. The experience of sexuality, or power, or knowledge, transforms us. To go along with one's desires. Cravings so strong that caving in to them seems inevitable. To fall prey to someone manipulative - again! Snake-Dog Strong desire to always be there for someone specific or for other people in general. To follow someone very determinedly; to always submit to someone else's wishes. Conflict between wanting to follow your own agenda and wanting to be told what to do. Wanting to be friends with someone very badly. A Guru or leader (Snake) and their follower (Dog). Manipulative friend; a friend with their own agenda. Wise counsel. Snake-Tower To be so ambitious or so fixated on something else that no meaningful relationships with other people are possible. To strive towards the top position. A very wise person who could give us good advice but who might be hard to approach because they live a very seclusive life. To yearn for solitude. To calculate very coolly and unemotionally what you need to do to reach your goal. (To allow) no distraction. To not allow oneself to follow a craving. Very strong self-discipline. Snake-Garden Going public with something will have to be handled very diplomatically. To be open and above board about your desires and/or motives. Politician; diplomat; spin doctor, press officer. To have ambitions to become famous or at least to be in the public eye. To crave publicity. Snake-Mountain To seek challenge. To have reached an impasse in your efforts to get somewhere or something. An obstacle is between you and what you want. Hot desires are met with cold silence. To be unmoved by someone's attempts at seduction. Snake-Crossroad Self-empowerment; to allow yourself freedom of choice and/or independence. To make decisions based on a strong sense of direction; to go where you really want to go. Or: cravings all over the place. Difficulties making a decision because there are so many things you want. Or: to enjoy changing direction whenever the mood strikes - to change direction for the sake of the experience. Snake-Mice Dwindling motivation. The nagging feeling that there's something wrong with the direction you're headed. A formerly passionate affair is going stale. A craving is waning. Loss of power. Corrupted power. A liar; to spread lies. Someone or something is damaging your career. A very corrupt politician/spiritual leader/teacher/lawyer etc. Manipulation, or coercion. Snake-Heart To crave love; to seek reconciliation; to strive for doing compassionate deeds. A charity worker. To have skills in showing love / compassion etc. Conflict between wanting to achieve one's own goals and wanting to care for others. A selfish, ruthless person vs. a person who cares for other people's well-being (too much). To exploit other people's affection to get what we want. To calculate with other people's softness. Manipulation of affection. Motivated by love. To be persistent - in a loving way, or, because we care. To not give up out of love. When our heart is in it we won't give up. Seduction - not in a secret fashion but openly, making the loved one feel loved and wanted. Snake-Ring To pursue a relationship, to seek connections. Connections which serve our purpose; tactical alliances. Commitment to a cause/goal. A shared goal. The intellectual ability to understand cause and effect, to understand how things interrelate, how they are connected, and to be able to use that knowledge to our own advantage. To follow the evidence, to join the dots. Shared ambition, (sexual) passion, desire. Strong cohesion. To aim for marriage. Matchmaker. Shared knowledge. Snake-Book Academic career. Very strong academic ambitions, to crave knowledge; to do everything to find out what's true. To study diligently. To believe in one's intelligence. A teacher/professor. Pretend intelligence; to feign knowledge. Manipulation of facts. Snake-Letter Communication with a very specific aim; to say out loud what you crave; to communicate your desires. To make demands. Documents concerning your career; e.g. a CV. A very tactful or diplomatic conversation. To manipulate others with rhetorical tricks. To not let go of a certain topic until everything is said. Snake-Man (a) Man who is: eager, covetous, avid, attracted to someone or something, power-hungry, thirsty for knowledge (inquisitive), horny, addicted, seductive, ambitious, single-minded, goal-oriented, focused, motivated, driven, ruthless, calculating, egotistical, inconsiderate, strong-willed, headstrong, tenacious, shrewd, skilful, (smart), diplomatic, manipulative. Type A personality man, lawyer, politician, diplomat. A man goes his own way. An affair with a man. To feel attracted to, seduce, manipulate, or coerce, a man. Snake-Woman (a) Woman who is: eager, covetous, avid, attracted to someone or something, power-hungry, thirsty for knowledge (inquisitive), horny, addicted, seductive, ambitious, single-minded, goal-oriented, focused, motivated, driven, ruthless, calculating, egotistical, inconsiderate, strong-willed, headstrong, tenacious, shrewd, skilful, (smart), diplomatic, manipulative. Type A personality woman, lawyer, politician, diplomat. A woman goes her own way. An affair with a woman. To feel attracted to, seduce, manipulate, or coerce, a woman. Snake-Man (b) Man who is: eager, covetous, avid, attracted to someone or something, power-hungry, thirsty for knowledge (inquisitive), horny, addicted, seductive, ambitious, single-minded, goal-oriented, focused, motivated, driven, ruthless, calculating, egotistical, inconsiderate, strong-willed, headstrong, tenacious, shrewd, skilful, (smart), diplomatic, manipulative. Type A personality man, lawyer, politician, diplomat. A man goes his own way. An affair with a man. To feel attracted to, seduce, manipulate, or coerce, a man. Snake-Woman (b) Woman who is: eager, covetous, avid, attracted to someone or something, power-hungry, thirsty for knowledge (inquisitive), horny, addicted, seductive, ambitious, single-minded, goal-oriented, focused, motivated, driven, ruthless, calculating, egotistical, inconsiderate, strong-willed, headstrong, tenacious, shrewd, skilful, (smart), diplomatic, manipulative. Type A personality woman, lawyer, politician, diplomat. A woman goes her own way. An affair with a woman. To feel attracted to, seduce, manipulate, or coerce, a woman. Snake-(Sensual)Lily Strong cravings for or even addiction to: sex, food and drink, harmony. Extremely high sex drive; to enjoy seduction. To have a sexual relationship for career reasons or to enhance one's self-esteem. Strong yearning to reconnect with the sensual world; to seek sensual pleasures. To allow oneself to follow one's sexual desires even if others think it's unseemly. Sexual (self)empowerment. The longing to be creative; to create artwork. An ambitious, skilled artist. Snake-(Virtuous)Lily A very wise person. To strive for virtuousness. To be motivated to be a better person. To behave morally only to reach a certain goal. Conflict between craving something and thinking one should have no strong passions (vices). Peacemaker. A nice Koan: to crave freedom from craving. To be honest about one's desires. To desire something or someone but with good intentions. To look for someone who is wise, or righteous, or who has good intentions. Snake-Sun To crave warmth, light, summer. To want to be popular and do everything to achieve popularity. The talent to be positive about everything, to see the good aspects and focus on them. The (vain) effort to avoid anything that is sad or difficult. A party animal. To try to make things better, or more enjoyable. To crave warmth, light, summer. To want to be popular and do everything to achieve popularity. The talent to be positive about everything, to see the good aspects and focus on them. The (vain) effort to avoid anything that is sad or difficult. A party animal. To try to make things better, or more enjoyable. Confidently ambitious. Someone carries their selfishness on their sleeve. Snake-Moon   To strive for knowledge about the subconscious. To be drawn to the dark, to prefer nighttime. To be motivated by emotions/fears and needs. To follow one's intuition. To be good at directing other people's emotions; manipulation through playing on fears and needs. Profound cravings; deep wisdom. Conflict between our ambition and our need for rest. To seek out deep emotions. Snake-Key To seek a way in. To see relief; or liberation. To work towards finding a solution persistently. In order to succeed we need to pursue our goal single-mindedly. To use something or someone as a means for one's own, selfish end. To strive for understanding. To have an important experience, an eye-opener in the area of sexuality, education, or power. Or: to naively open one's door to someone who might be pursuing their own selfish agenda. To coerce someone to say yes. Snake-Fish To have a very strong desire or motivation to earn a lot of money or to acquire a lot of goods. Extreme greed. To maybe even do immoral things in order to get whatever you want. Or, to be very intelligent about how you start a business or how you earn your living. Snake-Anchor To crave safety or stability; everything revolves around ambition (maybe advancing a career) for you. To focus on gaining knowledge/getting sex/getting power. To have a stable goal to work towards. To be so entangled with something you can't break away anymore. Snake-Cross Ambition or cravings have become a burden, are causing suffering. Someone who determinedly adheres to a very strict ideological system. To strive for more responsibilities. To very single-mindedly pursue something even if it takes a lot of hard work or the process is painful. To follow one's true calling determinedly. Someone who fulfils their duties wisely. Cult leader, ideological manipulation/indoctrination.

[lois-sketchbook]

Story adaptation

Notes: 11/12/19 BA2a story adaptation session 3

The divided self: Id, ego, super-ego

Shame Culture and the idea of modern surveillance

 Main characters

Mr Utterson

Mr Enfield

Mr Hyde

+

The unknown doctor

The unknown girl

The girls family

 (Story told so far from Mr Uttersons POV)

Protagonist: person who is most changed and affected by the events taking place in the story,

// Jekyll

 New characters in chapter 2

Poole

Dr Hastie

C2 brief summary

Mr Utterson comments that the will suggests madness and disgrace (homosexuality, illegitimate child?)

Utterson visits Dr Lanyon hoping for fresh information

Utterson has dreams/night terrors about Jekyll and Hyde

Becomes intrigued  by Hyde and hopes to see him to uncover his identity

They meet- feelings of tension and unease

Vague conversation

Utterson visits Jekyll but is relived he is away

Hyde must be ‘the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace’

 Mr Uttersons character

-          As innocent as he appears

-          Represses natural instincts

-          Reserved

-          Takes a while to warm up to people

-          Suspecting/untrusting of others

Mr Enfields character

-          ‘as empty as a church’ – symbolic?

Mr Hydes character

-          Pale

-          Dwarfish

-          Small

-          Light-footed

-          Husky whispering broken voice

-          Plainly dressed

 Jekyll originally creates hyde to avoid social shame, hyde becomes out of control

Jekyll cannot reconcile ‘an impatient gaiety of disposition’

 Victorian man was haunted constantly by an inescapable sense of division.

Private life vs public life

Do we have a self-imposed underground?

Race, Gender, Sexuality

(Social norms, rules, consequences)

 Before the 19th century we had very different views on emotion

Appetites – base desires

Sentiments – voluntary, associated with moral behaviour

 English words related to embarrassment: discomfiture, awkwardness, mortification, humility, uneasiness, self-consciousness, shame

   How does the way language is used affect the way we perceive concepts and emotions?

The way in which phrases are used can adjust how we view the concept, for example in English we use the term ‘falling in love’ which can make you look at the concept of love in a different way as ‘falling’ is very descriptive and can be related to intensely becoming infatuated with someone.

How the English language is structured varies from other European and Latin derived languages …

 Social emotion is created by culture// can be quite dark

How one tweet can ruin your life/ Jon Ronson ted talk

 Freudian psychology

Id: instincts

Primitive, unorganised, illogical, unconscious, ‘es’

Ego: reality

Mature, reasonable, intermediary between the id and the external world, able to defer gratification

Super-ego: morality

Internalisation of cultural rules

Id: Hyde

Ego: Enfield

Super-ego: Utterson

 Hysteria: a particular set of physical symptoms with no physical cause (e.g. loss of speech, paralysis of a limb, muscle spasms) // majority of sufferers were women.

Charcot became famous for hypnotising women with hysteria, making their symptoms disappear.

Medical muses

Previously blamed on wondering womb, demonic possession, lesions of the nerves, or unexplained epidemics.

1990’s multiple personality disorder epidemic, dissociative identity disorder

Implanting false memories.

Chapter 9: ‘wrestling against the approaches of the hysteria’ (Hyde) connection to the feminine, feminine aligned.

Hiding social shame behind hypnosis (in Victorian times; e.g. falling pregnant)

Mesmerism.

Psychoanalysis: aims to unearth the id through a practise called free-association and dream analysis.

‘Avoid neurosis and perversion by repeatedly playing out your fixations through art’ Storr, 1989, p92

William deacon brodie 1741-1788: used as inspiration for Jekyll and Hyde.

Stevenson also wrote a play-write about William brodie

    Stevenson dreamt the story of Jekyll and Hyde

‘The dream is an unfulfilled wish’ Freud

Dreams are divided into manifest (details remembered) content and the latent (true meaning) content.

Dream-work - The mental processes by which desires are made acceptable to the conscious mind by being disguised as bizzar manifest content – Freudian concept

Stevenson was ‘ahead of his time’ inspiring painters, sculptors and writers to pay attention to the irrational and the unconscious mind.

Salvador dali// luis bunuel – un chien andalou 1929 – dream inspiration.

Notes 13/12/12 story adaptation session 2 notes

Chapter 3 summary

-          First time meeting Dr Jekyll

-          Jekyll tells Utterson that Lanyon is narrow minded

-          Also tells him to ‘let it sleep’ in regard to Mr Hyde

Chapter 4 summary

-          Nearly a year passes peacefully

-          Mr Hyde commits murder (kills a respectable MP)

-          The event is witnessed and strangely described

-          Full moon (link to supernatural, transformation, werewolf’s heightened emotion, easy to see action)

-          The maid servant sits at her window, falls into a dream of musing

-          ‘the moon shone on his face as he spoke’ dreaming of a man in a higher class, romanticising wealth

Hyde in a ‘great flame of anger’

Setting up a duality present in the murder scene (tranquil romanticism to brutal gore)

His death can be seen as symbolic ‘the death of innocence’ ; this murder also builds the legend of Mr Hyde, making him more of a threat, placing the other characters in more peril.

 Utterson exhibits his usual self-control (super-ego) dressing himself properly and supressing emotion before leaving the house.

They travel to Soho ‘some city in a nightmare’

-          Mr Hyde has done a runner, but the policeman is optimistic

-          Motivated by money

-          Ends on a cliff-hanger, with a clear hook for chapter 5

Homosexual subtext

Carew ‘accosts’ Hyde with a very pretty manner of politeness

-          Working class men of the era were sometimes seen as erotic objects by their aristocratic superiors

-          Mr Hyde is classless but would be read as a working-class man

-          ‘Blackmailers charter’

-          ‘buggery’ had been a criminal offence since 1533-1967

-          1921 there was an attempt to make lesbianism a criminal offence

-          The word homosexual wasn’t used in English until 1892

-          Victorians mainly used the word uranian / sexual deviancy

   The duality of Robert Louis Stevenson

-outwardly effeminate

-straight, relentlessly pursued his wife

-wealthy but dressed down

-very bad teeth

-born to strictly religious parents, but went drinking etc

-lots of travel writing

-played at lower class

-many male admirers

-no biographical evidence that Stevenson had any homosexual urges

Queer-baiting

 Gothic Horror

-          ‘the nocturnal setting, the theme of monstrosity’

-          The birth of gothic horror: architecture, literature. Castle of otranto  1764

-          Fascinated by strange places; imprisoning, free and wild

-          Sense of time; relation between the modern world and the past: the ghost

-          Power: supernatural, obscenely powerful, completely vulnerable

-          Focus on innate desires, irrational needs

-          Sexual power: perverse, weird, dangerous, un-consensual, same-sex

-          The uncanny: new vs archaic/strange, but familiar; figures that look human but are not e.g. dolls, wax figures.

-          The sublime; awesome, overwhelming, terrifying

-          Crisis; gothic horror tends to arise in political change

-          The supernatural and the real

Inspired by dreams,

Mr Hyde represents the primitive past/ pre civilised human

No one can ever quite describe Mr Hyde

 If you’re writing a horror film bring your own fears in to make the description of terror more real and convincing to the audience- harness the techniques of the power of the uncanny- make it un-secret- give the viewer time to feel the fear- make it unhomely/strange.

 Birth of the city/ the urban gothic

-          Jekyll and hyde was the first urban gothic

-          London was the largest city in the world

-          Mid 1800’s there was a flux of people moving from the country to the city; many living in slums with no sanitation

-          Some people read into the book as more like Edenborough

-          Child labour was common at this time (as young as 3)

The evil within

-          Intrinsic

-          ‘curled around the very heart of the respectable middleclass norm’

-          Something shameful and hidden

-          How do you destroy it if it is within you?

-          Middle class Victorians had a great fear that sexual depravity and other kinds of decay would pass from the nocturnal world to the safe space of the home

-          STD’s and repercussions

-          City described as an equal source of desolation and menace

-          Artists used sublimation to heal their neurosis through art and literature (Freud)

The urban laboratory and the strange science of the mind

-          ‘what the scientist tends more and more to dabble with is the mind’

-          Table turning; people place their hands on the table, encouraging a spiritual entity to move the table 1852

-          Fox sisters

-          Questioning boundaries, the occult

-          Suspense of disbelief, advancing technology, so why not spirituality?

-          Lead to the belief that science and the occult were very close

-          The dual-brain theory; divided into two separate hemispheres that could be two separate personalities or soul/spirit // left=logic, right=emotional

-          Women were seen as very right brained in Victorian times

Sergeant F: the uncanny quality of the double

-          Ordinarily kind

-          Displayed multiplex personality (DID) when altered

-          Caused by injuries

-          Displayed personality changes

Victorians also believed that your personality could be read in the shape of your skull; meaning you could be born criminal, inferior, unsuccessful. This allowed the inequality in the society to continue.

Phrenology 1796

Used to support racist and classist concepts

    ‘The professional sickist’

-          Stevenson wrote a lot in bed whilst ill

-          Married a hypochondriac woman

-          ‘the strange case’ of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

-          Jekyll and Hyde is both physician and patient // doctor becomes patient

The burke and hare murders

 Handwritten lecture notes and idea generation:

DoSomething.org. (n.d.). 11 Facts About Circus Animal Abuse. [online] Available at: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-circus-animal-abuse [Accessed 17 Jan. 2020].

Burton, L. and Burton, L. (n.d.). The Cycle of Violence | Understanding Domestic Abuse. [online] The Hub | High Speed Training. Available at: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/domestic-abuse-facts/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].

Carter, A., Acocella, J. (1979). The bloody chamber and other stories.

PETA. (n.d.). Circuses: Three Rings of Abuse | PETA. [online] Available at: https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animals-used-entertainment-factsheets/circuses-three-rings-abuse/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2020].

Ed S, T. (2018). A psychology of the film. [online] Nature.com. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0111-y [Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].

Garden, H., HowStuffWorks, Entertainment, Arts and Arts (n.d.). 10 Circus Acts That Have Withstood the Test of Time. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/circus-arts/10-circus-acts-that-have-withstood-test-time10.htm [Accessed 12 Jan. 2020].

Hesse, H. and Creighton, B. (1927). Steppenwolf.

Historyofcircus.com. (n.d.). History of Circus - From Ancient to First Modern Circus. [online] Available at: http://www.historyofcircus.com/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].

Industrial Scripts®. (n.d.). How to Write a Screenplay: Your 30-Step Guide | Industrial Scripts®. [online] Available at: https://industrialscripts.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay/?gclid=CjwKCAiAp5nyBRABEiwApTwjXvmP__1N07FvYcNZv4bT2bqZYKpFcGNCbe3Y2Z-oC2wz9H1bekZsdhoCigwQAvD_BwE [Accessed 25 Jan. 2020].

Kadel, J. (2020). 5 Famous Ideas That Came from Dreams - The Sleep Matters Club. [online] The Sleep Matters Club. Available at: https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/5-famous-ideas-that-came-from-dreams/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].

Mcleod, S. (2020). What are the most interesting ideas of Sigmund Freud? | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html [Accessed 3 Feb. 2020].

Sarahmatthias.co.uk. (n.d.). Sawdust and Spangle-Land – a Brief History of the Circus in Germany | Sarah Matthias. [online] Available at: https://www.sarahmatthias.co.uk/articles/sawdust-and-spangle-land-a-brief-history-of-the-circus-in-germany/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].

Stevenson, R. and Palpant, B. (1886). The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Healthline. (2020). Stockholm Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms, Examples. [online] Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/stockholm-syndrome#in-todays-society [Accessed 14 Jan. 2020].

yes, therapy helps!. (2020). The 6 types of visual agnosia and its symptoms - yes, therapy helps!. [online] Available at: https://en.yestherapyhelps.com/the-6-types-of-visual-agnosia-and-its-symptoms-14828 [Accessed 21 Jan. 2020].

Tsay-Vogel, M. and Krakowiak, M. (2014). [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268079603_The_Dual_Role_of_Morally_Ambiguous_Characters_Examining_the_Effect_of_Morality_Salience_on_Narrative_Responses [Accessed 12 Jan. 2020].

HISTORY. (n.d.). Werewolf Legends. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-werewolf-legend [Accessed 30 Jan. 2020]

Annotation

[capturingmaya]

Advanced Concepts in Photography -lecture one

5IMAG004W

One Essay – 70%. 2500-3000 words

Dissertation proposal submission - Graded 30% 1000-1500

Total (100%) = 4000 words (-+ 10%)

ONE FORMATIVE SUBMISSION: – Presentation on the planned dissertation topic. ( 8 mins )

DEADLINE:

SUMMATIVE SUBMISSIONS (BOTH ESSAY AND PROPOSAL):

29th April 2020, 1pm, Turnitin.

Question- can you present the presentation and then change the idea for the proposal submission.

Advanced concepts of Photo theory and history

Discuss/ consider interesting themes  to develop from lectures

4th lesson dissertation samples – asses and mark work Teemu + marking sheet

          ----

Wednesday 22nd January 2020

Photography was capable of imagine things that were presumably considered in photography previously. In photojournalism we have seen case’s that show this. Adnan Hajj, Beirut, 2006. He manipulated  the smoke in the image and the public responded negatively to this. Worry that photography is losing it identity as a distinctive medium. What describes photography? Similarities and difference between analogue and digital photography.

“Given the proliferation of digital images that look exactly like photographs, photography may even be robbed of its cultural identity as a distinctive medium” (Batchen, 1994, p.47).

Analogue users have manipulated photography as early as 1931. The user and consumers are arguably what give the medium the representation. Photography could have seemed objective arguably because of the context given to photography historically.

“[T]echnology (in itself) is nothing until and unless it is given cultural and social purpose, gaining definition and meaning in specific historical circumstances” (Lister, 2007, p.251).

READ. Arielle Azula – civil contract of photography

Does it illuminate anything about actual relate, what are the values of these links ?

Osborne’s analogy:

Analogue               Use Value

—————      =     ——————

Digital                       Exchange Value

What, if anything, does digitalization tell us about the nature of photography in art?

(Osborne, 2010, p.62)

How to fine art- what is considered art? Since digitalization there have been more connection of the idea of photography and the consideration of what is considered art.

Calues of truth and indexicality are threatened. Citizens could take the place of photojournalists, basic idea that the public could take over the photographic profession. What are photographers supposed to do if their profession is not needed ?

Change beyond consideration that digitalisation has caused. Is it just an anxiety?

Martine Neddam, Mouchette, 1996–  [http://www.mouchette.org/].

Osbourne argues that analogue photography has since its ‘inception’ carried an anxiety about the loss of the real. Photographs such as Oscar Rejlander, Two Ways of Life, 1857.   Projects the idea that the anxiety has nothing to do with photography itself but the social/ cultural concepts ideas .

[The] anxiety appears irrational – which is, of course, no more than to acknowledge it as an anxiety: a free-floating anxiousness about the real that has ‘latched on’ to digital photography as a cultural site in which to invest, because of the social importance but current uncertainty about the various documentary functions of photography. The basic source of such anxiety has nothing to do with photography itself (Osborne, 2010, p.64).

Use value – Objective

Something that has a purpose ‘use value’ something objects just seem to have the qualities are anchored within their subject. Strawberry is qualities are that is it edible, which is its use value, however I cannot sit on the strawberry. A chair has the use value as I can sit on it, but I cannot eat the chair. Exchange value can be used to compare the values of two or more objects - the value of 10 strawberries is worth the value of one chair.

Can you make more money from digital photography than you can using analogue photography?

Andreas Gursky, Chicago Board of Trade II, 1999. Example of digitalization being used to its advantage by the artist. Context of exchange value within photography. Money commodity doesn’t have value in its own right.

Richard Prince, from New Portraits, 2015.

Thomas Ruff, jpeg ny02, 2004. Photograph can be considered differently after reading Osbourne’s work.

Capitalist idea:

In a capitalist exchange of the form M–C–M,

“[i]ts leading motive, and the goal that attracts it, is therefore mere exchange-value”

(Marx, 2015/1867, p.106 – available at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf).

Commodity – Money – Commodity (selling in order to buy)

Could be endless process with the gain of reoccurrence

Money – Commodity – Money (buying in order to sell)

This idea corresponds with the purpose that photographer use upload images online. Cameras are now catered for the viewing of others – not generating for its own purpose but more for a social gain/profit. Or this may be to portray an image of the person – their exchangeable self. Not producing work for its own sake, but for a social reward.

“By posting selfies, people can keep themselves in other people’s minds. In addition, like all photographs that are posted online, selfies are used to convey a particular impression of oneself. Through the clothes one wears, one’s expression, staging of the physical setting, and the style of the photo, people can convey a particular public image of themselves, presumably one that they think will garner social rewards.”

(Leary, 2013, n.p.)

(http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/scholarly-reflections-on-the-selfie-woty-2013/#sthash.XU6B4yT2.dpuf)

Early impressions of the modern day ‘selfie’:

Carte de Visite, details uncertain (ca. 1863–4).

André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, Napoleon III Carte de Visite, 1859.

Why there might be anxiety attached to digitalisation:

The power that digitalization in photography has the capabilities is has now have created anxiety as new commodities can be applied to an image once uploaded onto the internet. Exhibition poster, Big Bang Data,Somerset House, 3rd December. 2015–20th March 2016.

This exhibition is great to consider how easy it is to generate new value or meaning to a photograph, none of the new meaning consider the original point or intention of the image.

Paolo Cirio and Alessandro Ludovico, Face to Facebook, 2011. Example – artist took Facebook display pictures and created a fake dating site with details creating connotations towards the character of the person. Recognizing photography are very easy with the use of digitalization.

Technology… the ‘cloud’ stores data but this data is stored in a physical building somewhere. Timo Arnall, Internet Machine, 2014.

Example 2016 scandal Cambridge Analytica and the US voting system.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram

----

End of Lecture Discussions-

Does the amount of attention you get on social media matter?

Do you have to have a brand if your active/available socially?

Argument that technology has effected the process of the use value of photography could be argued to have been started its effects as early as when the kodak brownie was invented. The idea of photographs being created and

Analogue had less capticy of echanvge value, old photographs are kept or stored but are they shared to a greater extent. Arguably analogue photographs can be achieved  better than a digital image as there are unknown variables that can take place to files digitalized, for example ‘the cloud’.

Gratification from the audience is wanted.

Analogue is the past has had an exchange value…

Idea that we have to be involved with the exchange of photography – M,C,M. the internet is a space that encourages people to invest, with each upload there is the context of m,c,m that drives the purpose of digitalization. Idea that people are producing work that is digitalization  but are these images safe? – Timo Arnall, Internet Machine. The fact that we cannot see our images physically but the data which it is stored in is an actual building.

Sharing your images may give the photograph a longer ‘afterlife’, durability to digitalized images. You can recontextualise images, which is aided by digitalization.

[franchisemartin]

Fit Body Boot Camp is The Recommended Weight Loss Franchise

Best Physical Fitness Franchises

At Jazzercize, Inc., every accredited teacher is a franchisee. The first franchise fee for an associate is just $1,250, but that goes up for those that want to possess their own centers. For those curious about opening up a physical fitness franchise with even more of a details focus, TITLE Boxing Club uses an interesting possibility. For those interested in becoming franchisees, the firm currently has a number of various regions open for advancement. The franchises on this list were ranked according to the number of devices in the franchise system.

What is the cheapest franchise to open?

10 Ways to Work Out for Free in 2018 Work out with an app. Trade your costly gym membership for a free option that fits in your pocket. Join a club. In some cases, peer pressure can be a good thing. Take a hike. Attend free fitness events in your area. Exercise on your commute. When in doubt, YouTube. Hit the track. Do yoga at home (for free!)

Our company believe it is important for the health and fitness franchises to invest time in making certain that their franchisees are taking the steps called for to guarantee that equipment is operating as expected, programs are being taken care of properly, and all elements of the business are operating according to plan. Health and fitness franchises commonly need particularly educated professionals which have an understanding of exactly how fitness training regimens as well as fitness equipment work. Throughout our evaluation, we look into the training programs and strategies for employment which franchises leverage in order to help their franchisees in discovering people which are well educated and also equipped to ensure the success of a gym or training Fit Body Boot Camp franchises to own under 10k program. Staying and also obtaining fit is leading of mind for a lot of Americans, so it's very easy to see exactly how an entrepreneur might find success with a gym franchise. What's even more, as a gym franchise you will certainly gain from the proficiency of the franchisor in terms of marketing, location as well as set up.

Just how much Does it Price to Start a Gym Franchise?

Despite which gym franchise you pick, it is essential to separate your personal as well as business properties. As an Orangetheory Fitness franchisee, you play a critical function in assisting our participants complete their goals-- objectives that transcend fat burning. We understand you'll discover this franchise possibility to be extremely fulfilling.

Value-Priced MembershipsMany gym franchise opportunities are available, but not all of them recognize the value of value-priced subscriptions. Multi-Unit and Growth OpportunitiesWhy simply open one gym franchise when you could increase or triple the opportunity? We desire our franchise-partners to aid us increase our brand, so we're thrilled to offer discount rates to franchise-partners that open numerous systems. In acknowledgment of the service our experts have actually offered to our country, we are happy to use a price cut on our franchise cost to qualifying experts. Semi-Absentee OwnershipWhile running an Exercise Whenever gym franchise isn't entirely hands-off, many of our franchise-partners don't see any kind of demand to be in their health best franchises to buy into clubs daily.

One of the various other benefits of being interested in a health and fitness franchise, besides the array of ideas, is a full variety of first investment requirements, from extremely little (under $10,000) right approximately high-end options that will set you back greater than $5 million to launch. There is actually a fitness franchise offered best franchise cost to fit virtually any spending plan. Orangetheory is seeking to add franchises worldwide. Our latest physical fitness franchise report covers the industry, consisting of the latest gym subscription stats and also fitness franchise investment information. The franchise cost is $15,000.

Health And Fitness Franchise Opportunities

i.e If you were to invest $400,000 into a franchise, the return should be $400,000 per year. It's inadequate to buy into a franchise-- you'll require to have a clear picture on just how your gym will certainly add to the lower line of the franchise and the bank. Fitness centers are a growing service throughout the United States and also can be a solid franchise choice for people aiming Fit Body Boot Camp the best franchise to enter into the market or broaden their present alternatives. Browse our business financing page to discover more info on sorts of finances available, or check out our franchise funding guide for suggestions on industry-specific suggestions.

How do I get a Planet Fitness franchise?

Personal trainers averaged a full-time income of $25.71 per hour or $53,323 per year, according to the 2010 salary survey from the American Council on Exercise. This compared to the $17.38 per hour or $36,150 per year made by all fitness trainers as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A Earth Health and fitness franchise can easily cost 7 figures as well as considerably more than any kind of other company on this checklist. Nonetheless, according to the firm site, franchisees can anticipate an above 25 percent return on investment in a franchise's second year, even after nobilities as well as advertising. Anytime Health and fitness is a global organisation that had 2,398 UNITED STATE as well as 1,645 international franchises at the start of 2018, along with 38 company-owned locations. Included in that cost is what's called the preliminary franchise cost. Frequently, franchise charges range from $15,000 to $30,000 for physical fitness franchise business.

Worldwide of health and fitness franchise business, it is currently all about Functional Training. Start surfing all of the gym franchise opportunities offered today with the listings located below. Those franchise-partners who are driven to expand their business while making a distinction in their area will certainly appreciate the gratification of helping others when they come to be Exercise Whenever franchise-partners. The overall investment quantity quote to set up a brand-new camp franchise is approximated to be between $167,000-- $326,500.

Top 25 Fitness Franchises.

Do gyms make a lot of money?

The initial investment to start a Snap Fitness, another 24/7 key club, begins at $77,000 and usually doesn't exceed $250,000, including all necessary working capital. The franchise fee is $15,000.

GymGuyz is an additional health and fitness franchise that's popular right now as well as with good reason. It's a home individual training franchise that's particularly created for company, group sessions, and individually health and fitness. The franchise currently supplies a wonderful selection of services, including post-natal exercise, kickboxing, challenge program training, senior fitness, weightlifting, body sculpting, and also weight loss.

[rashmig3p18]

Week 6!

Welcome back to another week of audience studies folks!

This week we are going to be looking into the uses and gratifications of media and the different ways that audiences use media and why they might be using that specific media. So we can think about it this way to start; what do you grab when you want to relax? Is it Netflix or a book or YouTube maybe? Personally and for lots of people around me, Netflix and watching television shows is the go-to media when we want to relax this is also more accurate for streaming services rather than watching on TV. 

But this can change from what you are looking to get out of it, for example, some people might use Twitter as a place to get their news content and some might use it as a way to interact with people who watch the same shows as you. Basically audiences use and satisfy specific needs by using specific media platforms.

The uses and gratification approach reimagines the idea of audience as objects and looks at audiences as agents who actively choose specific media channels and content that they can use to satisfy needs and a particular moment. As Sullivan discusses the uses and gratification theory takes on similar ideas of the functional perspective of audience activity, which is understanding why people do what they do. These theories see ‘audiences as rationale and whose actions can be understood through social context and there are five basic assumptions to the approach (Sullivan, pg.113, 2013). 

So without understanding audiences in these 5 elements, the uses and gratification theory might not be all that accurate:

The audience is considered active and the use of media is with a particular goal of the individual in mind

The audience member takes the lead in linking a specific media choice to satisfy a specific gratification

Mass media compete with other sources of need satisfaction – there are different platforms an audience could go to for one thing

Audience members are aware of their individual needs and are able to select accordingly

Scholars try to understand the audiences’ orientation to certain media “on their own terms”

For example, if I’ve had a long day (which let’s be honest has been most of my days this year) I have the need to relax and usually my go to media platform would be Netflix, I’m actively choosing the media platform with a particular goal (to relax) in mind and I’ve linked Netflix to the idea of being able to relax. 

[not saying this is an accurate representation of me, but it totally is]

However, there are also multiple other mass media platforms that I could use to relax because when I have something on Netflix I usually scroll through Twitter or Instagram as well. The theory also suggests that we are aware of what we want and will seek media accordingly so depending on what I’m feeling in that specific moment what I watch might differ. 

Sundar and Limperos (2013) suggested that because of the advancements in technology and new affordances it encourages users to new needs and they can seek gratification through multiple media experiences (Sundar & Limperos, 2013, p.521). For me, if I’m tired I don’t necessarily want to be watching something that will need me to pay a lot of attention, I wouldn’t really want my brain working at full speed trying to figure out conspiracy theories or plot twists. Like Professor Good discussed in lecture this week, media is seen as a functional form, gratifications are sought out by the individual and can be obtained or maybe even not (Professor Good, week 6, Oct 10th).

Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas (1973) organized needs into five specific groups:

(1) Netflix is fulfilling the affective need “strengthening aesthetic, pleasurable, and emotional experience” (Sullivan, pg114). I’d say I get emotional fulfillment by watching certain shows whether that’s watching This Is Us and crying with the characters or watching The Office and laughing alongside the characters I use the show to get something out of it. Similarly, I’ve found that in some cases it doesn’t even have to be good content for audiences to get some sort of emotional fulfillment from; soap operas go on for what seems like 100s of seasons and yet still maintain a fan base because for its audiences it’s an emotional experience that they are connected to. Media like Netflix can be instrumental where there is going to specific content that an audience can look forward to viewing while they’re on it or it can be structural where you are simply having it play in the background while you’re studying.

(2) Netflix is also an oh so great platform to satisfy cognitive needs as well “strengthening information, knowledge, and understanding” (Sullivan, 2013, pg114) because as someone who watches a lot of documentaries it has helped me gain knowledge and information on a variety of topics. Documentaries on Netflix like Blackfish, Chasing Coral, Planet Earth etc. all left me more informed and conscious about the planet and its species and it fulfilled my need ‘mental and intellectual needs.’

(3) Integrative needs “strengthening credibility, confidence, stability, and status’ (Sullivan, 2013, pg114). Audiences often look for ways to establish their status and credibility in situations where they feel like they need it and they go to specific media platforms in order to accomplish this. For example, people might watch or use specific media because they want to fit in with a group of people that also use it

(4) Social needs “strengthening contact with family, friends, and the world” (Sullivan, 2013, pg114) this is the use of media platforms as a way to socialize with family and friends. Facebook for right now is mainly used for extended family, I don’t post anything personally but it is a good way to keep in contact with extended aunts and uncles that you might not see as often. Usually audiences would want to scroll through social media with the idea that they will see posts from their family and friends. Media content like this is also ritualized because you are using this content alongside your family and friends, and you’re going to be expecting certain content while using it, but social media is also relational as it brings people and communities together.

[mikescharriesme-blog]

Face Forward. Please!

Traveling sucks the moisture out of our skin! We may start the journey looking terrific and deplane looking a total wreck because of the anxiety of getting to and through airports and security, the questions on whether the flight will depart/land on-time without incident, the dismay caused by the dry air on flights, the concern that the right clothes have been packed and whether of not the luggage will arrive at the airport…stress this takes a toll on our face.

Then there is the issue of sanitation. The bacteria found at airports, trains, airplanes and rest stops can spread to our face and the rest of our body. Changes in time zones combined with sleep deprivation impacts on skin. Between dehydration and swollen blood vessels around the eyes producing a raccoon look – travel becomes a nightmare.

Cannot wait to get to the hotel for a hot shower: Remember, hotel soaps and shampoos do not belong on a body. Although it depends on the hotel, most likely the free beauty products have ingredients that are heavily perfumed and loaded with chemicals that are a direct link to irritation – especially if you have sensitive skin.

The Cosmetics Challenge

It becomes obvious that we need to use products that will keep us healthy and clean, smell and look good while not polluting the environment or blinding/killing animals. With all the choices available, how can we make a correct decision?

We are seduced at every turn. The global cosmetics industry (including sun/skin/hair care, deodorants, makeup/color cosmetics and fragrances) is likely to reach $429.8 billion by 2022 from sales sourced through retail stores (supermarkets, exclusive brand outlets, specialty shops) and online channels.

What is truly staggering is how rapidly this sizable business is growing and how quickly market share is moving online.  Thirty percent ($12 billion) is spent through online shopping, representing a 24 percent increase in just one year.

Beauty and personal care products are particularly ripe for online development, given consumers’ combined interest in both exploring new products and replenishing the ones they already own and love.

These two shopper modes—discovery and replenishment—are among the strongest drivers of online penetration.

Travel Retail. Another Opportunity for Seduction

Another new and growing distribution channel for cosmetics are Duty Free – airport shops. Travel retail (shopping in airports, in-flight, tax-free shores and cruises) is one of the largest markets for the cosmetic industry. Duty-free started at the Shannon Airport, Ireland, 1947, and now is a common part of many people’s traveling experience. Today travel retail is a global industry worth almost $64 billion. Of that, perfumes and cosmetics account for approximately 1/3 of sales, and the Asia-Pacific region, the largest of all markets, controls 38.6 percent of market share.

Travel retail is one the largest markets for Estee Lauder and L’Oréal, and many new collections are sold exclusively through these channels of distribution.

Trends

Consumers of all ages are delighted with the wide-range of new products and new brands. Young consumers are supporting locally made, artisanal, chemical – free products. Independent brands are finding traction and entrepreneurs are bringing new creative products to the marketplace.

Because consumers want it NOW, products that promise immediate gratification are a growing segment, especially in the skincare slice of the market. Men and women want to see the immediate elimination of lines, bags and other imperfections and skincare products that are natural, clean and focus on wellness are succeeding.

Choices. Nude or Color Coded

There are over 679 unique colors of foundation to choose from and it is left to the consumer to make the color choice. Nude cosmetics are extending beyond beige, and sales of products that offer individually relevant experiences are increasing. Regardless of age, increasingly diverse consumers are actively seeking options when they step up to a beauty counter, spend time with beauty YouTube videos or explore websites with an increasingly wide range of cosmetic products. Consumers have always wanted their beauty products to reflect their individuality. What has shifted over the last few years is that shoppers have immense options wherever and whenever they choose to shop.

Going Naked

With space limitations (thanks to airline restrictions, smaller hotel rooms, and reduced luggage space), travelers are seeking ways to carry the products they want that meet the mobility challenges. Products that are package-free or “naked” have grabbed the attention of the road warrior and 35 percent of the Lush line meets this requirement.  The products are solid and formulated with little or no water and made without synthetic preservatives, reducing the need for plastic for products that include shampoo bars, solid conditioners, soaps, scrubs, massage bars and bath oils. For consumers that prefer packaged versions, the wraps are made from recycled, reusable or compostable materials.

Waterless Beauty

Water is the industry’s most used ingredient and there are concerns about the use and abuse of this resource.  L’Oréal has committed to a 60 percent reduction in water consumption per finished product by 2020 (2005 baseline) and Unilever has committed to a reduction of water usage by 2020 (2010 baseline). Water conservation is motivating a launch of new products that are “dry” (i.e. powdered cleansers and dry sheet masks) along with entirely waterless beauty brands.

Conservation and a minimalist approach to beauty has motivated Korea to develop hybrid products that tone and hydrate in one product, using natural ingredients such as green tea and vitamin E. The results-driven products have genderless and ageless appeal, creating less clutter.

International Makeup Artist Trade Show. IMATS

If you are interested in where the professionals in the cosmetics industry go for inspiration and education…they attend the IMATS events that are held in major cities throughout the USA and Europe. Educators, professional makeup artists, product vendors, and other segments of the industry eagerly share their knowledge, expertise, and suggestions for looking terrific and feeling better. Whether the search is products to improve the “commuter” look or have a desire to win the next Halloween costume party, the IMATS programs are the go-to destination.

While it might be fun to shop for cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s or Sephora, professionals are finding the best brands for their clients and customers at IMATS. One of the most respected brands among professionals and consumers is Kryolan. I recently participated in one of the training programs for wanna-be makeup artists, and walked away with a flash drive full of ideas on how to look better – with a minimum of effort. I also became a fan of the extensive product line.

Kryolan

If you are definitely committed to a totally vegan lifestyle, the focus does not have to stop with your digestive system. Thanks to Lip Bar, lips can now meet the objective as the lipsticks are a blend of natural ingredients enriched with shea butter, avocado and coconut oils and Vitamin E.

Khuraira Musa

Technology is moving makeup artists and consumers away from brushes, sponges and fingers, replacing the process with the technology of the airbrush. Only a few years ago, you needed an advanced degree in art and engineering to nail the use of the airbrush, but time and effort has brought this 21st century tool to the personal tote bag and bathroom shelf.

For over 20 years, Khuraira Musa has been making the world a bit more beautiful, “One Face at a Time.” For airbrush equipment and classes, her New Jersey studio offers the opportunity to learn from a professional.

Temptu

For a natural-looking, skin-perfecting finish, Temptu provides the technology and the products to create a professional look at home with their version of the airbrush. The Airpods can be customized and individualized for day-to-night, casual to elegant, spot correcting, contouring, and strobing thanks to a product line that includes foundation, blush, highlighter and bronzer.

It is a secret to flawless skin with TEMPTU’s patented technology and one-of-a-kind airbrush makeup, proven to deliver less makeup for ASENT, the perfect fusion of beauty and technology with the TEMPTU airbrush.

An airbrush makeup machine has 3 major parts: the airbrush stylus, the air compressor and the air hose connecting the two. For creating a flawless complexion (without the assistance of a professional artist), the airbrush wins. Professional artists have used the technique forever, but now the travel size has made it useable and affordable putting home beauty buffs into the picture.

The airbrush requires special foundation that is applied via the gun, it must have a very thin consistency and goes on the skin like a mist, covering the skin with a thin layer of pigment creating a natural looking complexion.

Kevin James Bennett

If you are not into creating your own professional look (or want something very special for a wedding or anniversary), it is time to reach out to a professional. IMAT brings the pros front and center. Not only do they bring their magic to the stage with master classes, they are kind and generous enough with their time and talent to provide advice and guidance on a personal level.

When packing for the business trip or holiday, short intervals way from home, means that small sizes of cosmetics and other personal care products are more practical than the jumbo sizes from Costco. Paying a premium for travel minis is a waste, so purchasing reusable kits and containers will lighten the luggage.

M-Y-O-Cosmetic Cases

The company is committed to sustainable practices and the products are recyclable and follow Carbon Offset and Take-Back programs. The cases are made in Canada from food and medical grade materials.

Dynamic Innovation Labs

The creepy crawling lines that appear (as if by magic) on our faces, frequently toggle a fit of rage (and/or depression) creating a depression. Dynamic has a topical serum that will minimize the crow’s-feet without the need for plastic surgery.

For additional information, go to imats.net.

© Dr. Elinor Garely. This copyright article, including photos, may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.

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Responsible For A Google Min Bedrift Stavanger Budget? 12 Top Notch Ways To Spend Your Money

Produce More Web Traffic With These Proven SEO Tips

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