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jazzlr1 · 1 year ago

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The Elegance and Artistry of Designer Dresses: Unveiling Fashion's Masterpieces

In the world of fashion, designer dresses are akin to works of art. They embody the creativity, craftsmanship, and vision of talented designers who transform fabric into exquisite pieces that transcend mere clothing. Designer dresses have the power to make a statement, evoke emotions, and redefine style. In this article, we will delve into the allure of designer dresses, explore the impact they have on the fashion industry, and discuss why they continue to captivate the hearts of fashion enthusiasts around the globe.

The Artistry of Designer Dresses

Designer dresses are more than garments; they are expressions of creativity and artistry. Behind every stunning piece is a designer who has poured their passion, skill, and imagination into crafting a unique masterpiece. Here's what sets designer dresses apart:

Innovative Design: Designers are known for pushing boundaries and defying conventions. They experiment with shapes, silhouettes, and materials to create dresses that challenge our perceptions of fashion. From avant-garde couture to ready-to-wear collections, designers consistently introduce fresh and innovative designs.

Exquisite Craftsmanship: The level of craftsmanship in designer dresses is unparalleled. These garments are meticulously constructed with precision and attention to detail. Designers often work with skilled artisans who specialize in techniques like hand embroidery, beadwork, and lace-making to bring their visions to life.

Quality Materials: Designer dresses are crafted from the finest materials, from luxurious silks and satins to delicate lace and chiffon. The choice of materials not only enhances the visual appeal of the dress but also contributes to its comfort and durability.

Customization: Many designers offer custom-made dresses, allowing clients to personalize their garments to fit their preferences perfectly. This level of customization ensures that the dress is not just a fashion statement but a reflection of the wearer's personality and style.

Attention to Detail: Designer dresses are characterized by their meticulous attention to detail. From intricate embellishments and hand-sewn embellishments to perfectly executed seams and linings, every element of the dress is carefully considered.

Designer Dresses and the Fashion Industry

Designer dresses play a significant role in shaping the fashion industry in several ways:

Setting Trends: Designers are often trendsetters. They introduce new styles, colors, and concepts that influence the entire fashion ecosystem. What starts on the runways of fashion weeks around the world eventually trickles down to mass-market fashion.

Inspiration for Mass Market: While designer dresses themselves may be out of reach for many, they serve as a source of inspiration for the broader fashion market. Elements of designer aesthetics often find their way into affordable clothing lines, making high fashion accessible to a wider audience.

Elevating Fashion Events: Designer dresses take center stage at prestigious fashion events, such as the Met Gala and the Oscars. These events provide designers with a platform to showcase their talent and creativity while garnering global attention.

Promoting Artisanal Skills: The demand for designer dresses supports artisanal skills and craftsmanship, helping to preserve traditional techniques that might otherwise be lost in the age of mass production.

Economic Impact: The fashion industry, including designer clothing, contributes significantly to the global economy. It provides jobs, drives innovation, and fuels the retail sector.

Why We Love Designer Dresses

Quality and Durability: Designer dresses are built to last. The high-quality materials and expert craftsmanship ensure that these garments maintain their beauty and integrity for years, making them a worthwhile investment.

Unique and Exclusive: Designer dresses offer a sense of exclusivity. Owning a designer piece means you're wearing something that not everyone has. It's a way to stand out and express your individuality.

Empowerment: Wearing a designer dress can be empowering. It exudes confidence and can transform how you feel about yourself. The right dress can make you feel like you're ready to conquer the world.

Artistic Expression: Fashion is a form of artistic expression, and designer dresses are wearable art. Owning and wearing a designer piece allows you to carry a piece of art with you, showcasing your appreciation for creativity and design.

Inspiration: Designer dresses inspire creativity and imagination. They challenge conventional notions of fashion and encourage us to think outside the box when it comes to personal style.

Influence on Pop Culture

Designer dresses have left an indelible mark on pop culture. Iconic moments in film, music, and celebrity culture often feature these exquisite garments:

Red Carpet Glamour: Award shows like the Oscars and the Grammys are platforms for celebrities to showcase designer dresses. These events generate significant buzz around the dresses worn by A-list stars.

Wedding Couture: Designer wedding dresses are the stuff of dreams for brides worldwide. Dresses worn by celebrities, such as Princess Diana's iconic wedding gown or Meghan Markle's elegant choice, become instant classics and influence bridal fashion trends.

Film and Television: Costume designers for films and TV series often turn to designer dresses to create memorable characters. Think of Audrey Hepburn's iconic Givenchy dress in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or the fashionable outfits in "Sex and the City."

Fashion Magazines: High-fashion magazines regularly feature designer dresses in their editorial spreads, influencing fashion enthusiasts and providing inspiration for everyday style.

The Sustainability Angle

While designer dresses are known for their craftsmanship and luxury, the fashion industry as a whole has come under scrutiny for its environmental impact. Many designers are now exploring sustainable practices, such as using eco-friendly materials and adopting ethical manufacturing processes. Sustainable fashion is becoming increasingly important, and some designers are leading the way by creating environmentally conscious collections.

Conclusion

Designer dresses represent the pinnacle of fashion creativity and craftsmanship. They have the power to set trends, inspire art, and leave an indelible mark on pop culture. While they may come with a price tag, the allure of owning a designer dress lies not just in the garment itself but in the artistry, quality, and unique expression it embodies. As fashion continues to evolve, designer dresses will remain iconic symbols of elegance, style, and creativity, reminding us of the enduring appeal of haute couture.Read More

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hayesplumbingandgas · 2 years ago

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Expert Plumbing Services at Your Doorstep: Plumber West Auckland

Have you had enough of fixing your home's plumbing issues, such as dripping faucets and slow drains? Fixing plumbing problems can be a hassle if you don't know what you're doing. A plumber can help with that! Having a professional on standby may save you time and money, whether you need a little fix or a significant installation.

Plumber West Auckland is your go-to service if you're in the West Auckland area and need a reliable plumber. Everything you need to know about plumbers and how to choose the right one for your situation is included in this article. The world of plumbing is about to be opened up to us, so kick back and enjoy the ride!

A plumber is an expert in all things related to water and waste disposal systems. All plumbing fixtures and systems in homes and businesses fall under this category.

Professional plumbers can quickly and accurately diagnose plumbing issues and provide lasting solutions. To find the source of problems like leaks, blockages, or damaged pipes, they employ a wide array of instruments including wrenches, pliers, and pipe cutters.

Plumbers are a great resource for guidance on how to best improve functioning while keeping costs down during any renovation or installation that may necessitate plumbing work.

It's worthwhile to keep in mind that not all plumbers are created equal; some may specialize in homework, while others may only work on commercial buildings. Although they may specialize in different fields, they are all committed to giving exceptional service to each and every one of their customers.

If you want your home's plumbing to function without any hiccups, you need hire a plumber.

A plumber may assist with many different issues related to plumbing. Repairing water leaks in pipes or taps is a frequent service done by plumbers. If there is a constant trickle coming from your kitchen or bathroom sink, you need to have it fixed.

If you have a more serious problem, such a clogged drain or a broken sewage line, call a plumber. The consequences of ignoring a blocked drain may be costly, so getting expert help as soon as possible is essential.

Plumbers are able to install new fixtures like bathtubs, sinks, and shower heads in addition to repairing and maintaining existing ones. Even larger installations like water heaters and filtration systems are no problem for them.

Plumbers also provide important emergency services, such as fixing leaking pipes or clearing clogged drains. In these cases, prompt action is required to limit the extent of the harm.

If you're in need of plumbing services in West Auckland, whether it's for regular upkeep or a sudden emergency, Plumbers West Auckland is here for you.

There are a few different approaches you may use to discover the most suitable plumber. Asking close friends and relatives for suggestions is a simple option. They could have previously hired a plumber who was both economical and dependable.

Reading consumer feedback posted on a company's website is yet another choice. You may learn about their past performance and credibility in this way.

Make sure you ask for proof of insurance and license from the plumber as well. You need a professional who knows what they're doing and can solve the problem without making it worse.

It's smart to shop around and compare prices before committing to anything. Value, quality, and cost can all be compared in one convenient place.

Don't be shy about wanting clarification. A reputable plumber would gladly address your questions and address your worries regarding their work and their rates.

It's easy to let the prospect of hiring a plumber put you off. If you take the time to learn about the many plumbing services available and select the best one for your requirements, you can be certain that your plumbing problems will be fixed quickly and correctly.

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nightmaresindreamland · 5 years ago

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HC: Fear

The past three years has not been kind to our favorite wizard. Things have gotten more scary, some things have stayed the same, but overall, his ability to react to things he finds intimidating has stayed the same.

Nightmare’s never really been a timid or fearful person, at least, that’s how it would appear. His fear conjures itself in ways that are non-typical, and ways that have baked themselves into his very personality.

Fear of isolation

Fear of betrayal

Fear of abuse

Fear of abandonment

Nightmare’s fear of isolation is perhaps his strongest one, which most of his outlook on life is rooted in. He always feels as though that the people around him will leave him, not through death, but justifiable reasons. He is an evil warlord, after all, it’s only natural they won’t want to stay.

Most people aren’t evil, so Nightmare has to lower himself and let them command him (see; Jae, CS, Olimar) to avoid them leaving him or becoming dissatisfied with him. He knows people can’t genuinely like him, that’s impossible, so purchasing ‘allies’ through normal evil means (i.e money, power, goods) is the only way he feels he may have company. That or if he’s forced to through contract (see; Nana).

Something good happening to him is never not backed with something horrible happening next. He constantly sees that with the people he’s in relationships with. Having ‘allies’ is a special form of mental torment, because he feels obligated to wait on them to stave off pain they’ll inevitably inflict on him. There is no saftey, still, in his allies, but at least it’s better than having friends.

Friends are just blatant lies. They’re people out to exploit, deceive, and destroy.

Paranoia

Persecution complex

It’s only reasonable that everyone is out to get him. You’d have to be insane not to be against him. He is the self proclaimed emperor of evil, and he’s done nothing but slaughter and hurt people for as long as he can remember. It’s only natural for him to think that anyone and everyone hates him. He revels in the hatred and the fear, of course, being a demon of the latter. But at times, a switch flips in his brain and he’ll get angry about it instead.

He feels no matter what he does, no matter what body he is in, no matter how he acts, he’s predestined to be hurt. That the universe itself has it out for him, and will always hurt him regardless of how he acts. He knows it’s cosmic karma for the war, and that he deserves it, but he still doesn’t want it.

His paranoia is only ever confirmed true both through rps with characters that seemingly know he’s evil on first glance despite not knowing who he is, as well as the canonical existence of Star Warriors; an entire race of people who exist to wipe his face into the mud. He always feels hunted, which makes him constantly lash out against people, even the people he trusts.

I mean, how can he really trust anyone if he always suspects everyone wants to hurt him? No matter how much someone is tested, no matter how much he intimidates or submits, that person’s going to hurt him. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in their best interest, it doesn’t matter if they seemingly have no motive, they will. It’s going to happen. It can’t not happen.

Fear of being wrong

Inability to trust own judgement

Dependency

This fear is one that only produced itself post-war, when Nightmare became acutely aware that the opinions of mortals mattered towards his well-being. Economic anxiety was frequent among the employees he’d spoken to, and he’d frequently would be told about how his actions affected the wellbeing of his company; his pride, joy, and singular place of safety he’d ever been granted.

Nightmare slunk down into the pits of ‘inoffensiveness’ as the years waned on, killing less, lazing more, and keeping to himself in order to ensure his company could run. He wanted to murder, he wanted to kill, but he trusted the judgement of his mortal employees (see; CS) more than he trusted his own. This trickled into an extreme degree as of late, as Nightmare developed paranoia in rp. He cannot trust his own actions or thoughts, lest he lose someone to them, be left alone, or killed.

Nightmare is dependent on the people he forms relationships to do things he feels he’s incapable of doing, leading to them usually running his life for him (again, see; CS). He knows mortals run the universe, he’s a singular demon amongst a crowd of people. It’s better they have control over him than he have control over himself, lest he lose everything he built on their corpses and backs.

It’s why some can glare at him and tell him what to do without any consequence. They know better than he does, and at the very least he’s aware of that.

Fear of inadequacy

Nightmare believes that his existence is evil from the get-go. Even if he didn’t have a war, he would be evil and worth scorning regardless. He is conceptually evil, which, if you don’t know, is kind of a bad thing to be. He feels he has to convince people to tolerate him because of this, because he is a defective creature rather than a person.

Due to this, Nightmare lashes out at feelings of inferiority against nearly next to everyone who fits some level of a ‘normal’ person (see; Kirby) with extreme prejudice. He hates feeling ashamed of himself, so he doesn’t. Instead, he just becomes incredibly hateful towards people who ‘have an easy life’ just by being born into the right body. Then again, maybe even if he were born different, he would still be beaten to death regardless.

Nightmare feels the need to constantly prove himself to be worthwhile to people, that he has a use, that he shouldn’t be killed or tortured because x, y, z, even when no threat is present. He feels like he must prove himself, even to people he doesn’t know.

Nightmare feels an intense need to please other people, and actively will not do things he wants to do if he feels it will hurt someone he arbitrarily finds to be important. Other people are in charge of Nightmare’s dignity, and he can’t afford to hurt it.

Nightmare knows that if he can’t be liked, genuinely, the very least he can do is be useful. Maybe then people won’t betray him, kill him, and destroy all of his stuff. But that’s a hard maybe. Nothing can change his fate, he feels, but he’s still trying to anyways. Maybe next time, paying someone and being submissive to their whims finally will be enough. But it probably won’t be. It never is.

Nothing he ever does is ever enough to keep him from pain. That’s just the problem with being born wrong.

Fear of intimacy

Fear of affection

This was connected to the fear of abandonment, but I had a lot to say about it so it gets its own part here.

Nightmare needs the ability to talk to people and be intimate with them in order for his brain to not collapse in on itself. However, most things that people do together are off limits.

He feels no one can satisfy his needs in any of his relationship without them hurting him in some capacity, so he settles for being deprived instead. It’s better than to ask, better than to risk his pride, or worse, his life. He believes he has no intimate needs at all, and has forgone them entirely for the sake of being safe.

Nightmare doesn’t want the faux comfort of physical affection. It makes him revolted when he receives it, because he knows it’s fake, only meant to have him drop his guard. It’s better to reject all of it than to accept it and be even more hurt when a betrayal inevitably happens.

Not like he needs it, anyways. He can live without it, can’t he? That’s normal. Besides, it’s not exactly villainous to be getting hugs.

Fear of imprisonment

Fear of powerlessness

Fear of Eggman

Fear of electricity

Fear of rain

Fear of Christmas

Nightmare’s fear of imprisonment and entrapment has been around generally his entire life. The idea of being helpless to someone doing things to him is awful, and being unable to escape is equally unnerving.

If he had the ability to have dreams, most of his bad ones would be about being contained somewhere he couldn’t leave, and being unable to defend himself from someone inparticular. Someone he doesn’t see, or can’t remember the face of when he wakes up.

Good thing he can’t dream. Good thing he’s never been captured.

Not in recent memory, anyways.

Conclusion

Nightmare’s fear manifests itself, mostly, as anger. The most amount of fear he’s shown in recent years has been in roleplays with Jae and her telling him to not do x, y, z.

His fear has cooked itself so much into his personality that he believes there is no other way for him to live other than this. He’s accepted them so much that he viciously has to defend himself whenever questioned on why he acts the way he does.

He justifies his fears under the umbrella of ‘well, I’m evil, and thats how being evil works’ in order to not reflect on his own shortcomings. Or, ‘well, the world is made by mortals so naturally I need to listen to them’ as a courtesy.

Being without things that he fears makes him more scared. Because anything that’s a deviation from the norm is the universe reeling up a hard swing to crush his entire face in.

But still, Nightmare is far from timid. He’s very evil.

There’s no other way for him to live and be happy with his existence, in his opinion.

#nmehc #important

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containatrocity · 2 years ago

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"Ah, enough German to get by then, hm? Good." Mercy's observation is flat, as he takes another long draw off his cigarette. "Most of what's worthwhile was pawned, and eventually bought back, not many people tend to die with things I can sell on offer, most of it is taken by the mayor who proceeds to redistribute it- I'm glad communism is alive and well here, but sometimes I like to participate in a little bit of the erotic sensation of being involved in a capitalist society. Won't SOMEBODY talk trickle-down economics with me? Nothing gets me going anymore except the long arm of capitalism fisting a motherfucker like they're kermit the frog." He's being sarcastic, motioning dramatically behind the counter as he picks up a nearby box, flicking the lid open and setting to going over the scattered collectable cards inside.

"People come in for my endearing personality, animal magnetism, and unwavering commitment to a bit." He declares, glancing over at them with an arched brow. "And sometimes for parts and pieces to fix things they already have. I see most of the crackpots when I'm working- the uh. artist types. and the absolute nutjobs. Somebody will buy that hairpiece at some point, and they'll be the craziest fucker in this hellhole, bet money on that one."

Kestrel stood at the doorway of the shop, amusement clear on their face as the scene played out. As the woman runs by, they step aside, entering the shop officially. "Lines of dead asshole hold an entertainment appeal, but I think the payoff would be rather poor so I'll pass on that one." They leveled Mercy with an unamused look. "Kestrel. And I'm neither your baby or a dog." They glanced over the shelves, seeing worn out sports equipment, broken electronics, what looked to be a really crappy toupee. "Shit, you weren't kidding. People come in for this? Or you already sell off anything good?"

#m.threads #m.kestrel #m.kestrel01

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qqueenofhades · 5 years ago

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Do you think society as a whole understands and values history? I don’t think they do. And I don’t understand why.

HoooooWEEEEEE, anon. What follows is a good old Hilary History Rant ™, but let me hasten to assure you that none of it is directed at you. It just means that this is a topic on which I have many feelings, and a lot of frustration, and it gets at the heart of many things which are wrong with our society, and the way in which I try to deal with this as an academic and a teacher. So…. yeah.

In short: you’re absolutely right. Society as a whole could give exactly dick about understanding and valuing history, especially right now. Though let me rephrase that: they could give exactly dick about understanding and valuing any history that does not reinforce and pander to their preferred worldview, belief system, or conception of reality. The human race has always had an amazing ability to not give a shit about huge problems as long as they won’t kill us right now (see: climate change) and in one sense, that has allowed us to survive and evolve and become an advanced species. You have to compartmentalize and solve one problem at a time rather than get stuck in abstracts, so in that way, it is a positive trait. However, we are faced with a 21st century where the planet is actively burning alive, late-stage capitalism has become so functionally embedded in every facet of our society that our public values, civic religion, and moral compass (or lack thereof) is structured around consumerism and who it benefits (the 1% of billionaire CEOs), and any comfortable myths of historical progress have been blown apart by the worldwide backslide into right-wing authoritarianism, xenophobia, nationalism, racism, and other such things. In a way, this was a reaction to 9/11, which changed the complacent late-20th century mindset of the West in ways that we really cannot fathom or overstate. But it’s also a clarion call that something is very, very wrong here, and the structural and systemic explanations that historians provide for these kinds of events are never what anyone wants to hear.

Think about it this way. The world is currently, objectively speaking, producing more material resources, wealth, food, etc than at any point before, thanks to the effects of globalism, the industrial and information revolutions, mass mechanizing, and so on. There really isn’t a “shortage” of things. Except for the fact that the distribution of these resources is so insanely unequal, and wildly disproportionate amounts of wealth have been concentrated in a few private hands, which then use the law (and the law is a tool of the powerful to protect power) to make sure that it’s never redistributed. This is why Reaganism and “supply-side”, aka “trickle-down” economics, is such bullshit: it presupposes that billionaires will, if you enable them to make as many billions as possible without regulation, altruistically sow that largess among the working class. This never happens, because obviously. (Sidenote: remember those extravagant pledges of billions of euros to repair Notre Dame from like 3 or 4 French billionaires? Apparently they have paid… exactly not one cent toward renovations, and the money has come instead from the Friends of Notre Dame funded by private individuals. Yep, not even for the goddamn cause célèbre of the “we don’t give a shit about history” architectural casualties could they actually pay up. Eat! The! Rich!…. anyway.)

However, the fact is that you need to produce narratives to justify this kind of exploitation and inequality, and make them convincing enough that the people who are being fucked over will actively repeat and promote these narratives and be fiercely vested in their protection. Think of the way white American working-class voters will happily blame minorities, immigrants, Non-Murkan People, etc for their struggles, rather than the fact of said rampant economic cronyism and oligarchy. These working-class voters will love the politicians who give them someone to blame (see: Trump), especially when that someone is an Other around whom collective systems of discrimination and oppression have historically operated. Women, people of color, religious minorities/non-Western religions, LGBT people, immigrants, etc, etc…. all these have historically not had such a great time in the capitalist Christian West, which is the predominant paradigm organizing society today. You can’t understand why society doesn’t value history until you realize that the people who benefit from this system aren’t keen on having its flaws pointed out. They don’t want the masses to have a historical education if that historical education is going to actually be used. They would rather teach them the simplistic rah-rah quasi-fictional narrative of the past that makes everyone feel good, and call it a day.

The classic liberal belief has always been that if you can just teach someone that their facts are wrong, or supply them with better facts, they’ll change their mind. This is not how it works and never has, and that is why in an age with, again, more knowledge of science than ever before and the collected wisdom of humanity available via your smartphone, we have substantial portions of people who believe that vaccines are evil, the Earth is flat, and climate change (and 87 million other things) are fake and/or government conspiracies. As a medievalist, I get really tetchy when the idiocy of modern people is blamed on the stereotypical “Dark Ages!” medieval era (I have written many posts ranting about that, so we’ll keep it to a minimum here), or when everything bad, backward, or wrong is considered to be “medieval” in nature. Trust me, on several things, they were doing a lot better than we are. Other things are not nearly as wildly caricatured as they have been made out to be. Because once again, history is complicated and people are flawed in any era, do good and bad things, but that isn’t as useful as a narrative that flattens out into simplistic black and white.

Basically, people don’t want their identities, comfortable notions, and other ideas about the past challenged, especially since that is directly relevant to how they perceive themselves (and everyone else) in the present. The thing about history, obviously, is that it’s past, it’s done, and until we invent a time machine, which pray God we never fucking do, within a few generations, the entire population of the earth has been replaced. That means it’s awfully fragile as a concept. Before the modern era and the invention of technology and the countless mediums (book, TV, radio, newspaper, internet, etc etc) that serve as sources, it’s only available in a relatively limited corpus of documents. History does not speak for itself. That’s where you get into historiography, or writing history. Even if you have a book or document that serves as a primary source material, you have to do a shit-ton of things with it to turn it into recognizable scholarship. You have to learn the language it’s in. You have to understand the context in which it was produced. You have to figure out what it ignores, forgets, omits, or simply does not know as well as what it does, and recognize it as a limited text produced from a certain perspective or for a social reason that may or may not be explicitly articulated. The training of a historian is to teach you how to do this accurately and more or less fairly, but that is up to the personal ethic of the historian to ensure. When you’re reading a history book, you’re not reading an unmediated, Pure, This Was Definitely How Things Happened The End information download. You are reading something by someone who has made their best guess and has been equipped with the interpretive tools to be reasonably confident in their analysis, but sometimes just doesn’t know, sometimes has an agenda in pushing one opinion over another, or anything else.

History, in other words, is a system of flawed and self-serving collective memory, and power wants only the memory that ensures its survival and replication. You’ve heard of the “history is written by the winners” quote, which basically encapsulates the fact that what we learn and what we take as fact is largely or entirely structured by the narrative of those who can control it. If you’ve heard of the 1970s French philosopher Michel Foucault, his work is basically foundational in understanding how power produces knowledge in each era (what he calls epistemes) and the way in which historical “fact” is subject to the needs of these eras. Foucault has a lot of critics and his work particularly in the history of sexuality has now become dated (plus he can be a slog to read), but I do suggest familiarizing yourself with some of his ideas.

This is also present in the constant refrain heard by anybody who has ever studied the arts and humanities: “oh, don’t do liberal arts, you’ll never get a job, study something worthwhile,” etc. It’s funny how the “worthwhile” subjects always seem to be science and engineering/software/anything that can support the capitalist military industrial complex, while science is otherwise completely useless to them. It’s also always funny how the humanities are relentlessly de- or under- funded. By labeling these subjects as “worthless,” when they often focus on deep investigation of varied topics, independent critical thought, complex analysis, and otherwise teaching you to think for yourself, we therefore decrease the amount of people who feel compelled to go into them. Since (see again, late-stage capitalism is a nightmare) most people are going to prefer some kind of paycheck to stringing it along on a miniscule arts budget, they will leave those fields and their inherent social criticism behind. Of course, we do have some people – academics, social scientists, artists, creatives, activists, etc – who do this kind of work and dedicate themselves to it, but we (and I include myself in this group) have not reached critical mass and do not have the power to effect actual drastic change on this unfair system. I can guarantee that they will ensure we never will, and the deliberate and chronic underfunding of the humanities is just one of the mechanisms by which late-stage capitalism replicates and protects itself.

I realize that I sound like an old man yelling at a cloud/going off on my paranoid rant, but…. this is just the way we’ve all gotten used to living, and it’s both amazing and horrifying. As long as the underclasses are all beholden to their own Ideas of History, and as long as most people are content to exist within the current ludicrous ideas that we have received down the ages as inherited wisdom and enforced on ourselves and others, there’s not much we can do about it. You are never going to reach agreement on some sweeping Platonic ideal of universal history, since my point throughout this whole screed has always been that history is particular, localized, conditioned by specific factors, and produced to suit the purposes of a very particular set of goals. History doesn’t repeat itself, per se (though it can be Very Fucking Close), but as long as access to a specific set of resources, i.e. power, money, sex, food, land, technology, jobs, etc are at stake, the inherent nature of human beings means that they will always be choosing from within a similar matrix of actions, producing the same kind of justifications for those actions, and transmitting it to the next generation in a way that relatively few people learn how to challenge. We have not figured out how to break that cycle yet. We are an advanced species beyond any doubt, but we’re also still hairless apes on a spinning blue ball on the outer arm of a rural galaxy, and oftentimes we act like it.

I don’t know. I think it’s obvious why society doesn’t understand and value history, because historians are so often the ones pointing out the previous pattern of mistakes and how well that went last time. Power does not want to be dismantled or criticized, and has no interest in empowering the citizens to consider the mechanisms by which they collaborate in its perpetuation. White supremacists don’t want to be educated into an “actual” version of history, even if their view of things is, objectively speaking, wildly inaccurate. They want the version of history which upholds their beliefs and their way of life. Even non-insane people tend to prefer history that validates what they think they already know, and especially in the West, a certain mindset and system of belief is already so well ingrained that it has become almost omniscient. Acquiring the tools to work with this is, as noted, blocked by social disapproval and financial shortfall. Plus it’s a lot of goddamn work. I’m 30 years old and just finished my PhD, representing 12 years of higher education, thousands of dollars, countless hours of work, and so on. This is also why they’ve jacked the price of college through the roof and made it so inaccessible for people who just cannot make that kind of commitment. I’ve worked my ass off, for sure, but I also had support systems that not everyone does. I can’t say I got here All On My Own ™, that enduring myth of pulling yourselves up by your bootstraps. I know I didn’t. I had a lot of help, and again, a lot of people don’t. The academy is weird and cliquish and underpaid as a career. Why would you do that?

I wish I had more overall answers for you about how to fix this. I think about this a lot. I’ll just have to go back to doing what I can, as should we all, since that is really all that is ultimately in our control.

#history #rant #long post #i'm sure i have more to say #but that's enough for now #anonymous #ask

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baoanhwin · 4 years ago

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Laundering Reputations: China and its Uighurs

Screen shot from BBC news coverage

It’s time to talk about the Uighurs again. Despite a harrowing Panorama programme and this header, last December no-one was much bothered, beyond some token expressions of concern. What a difference 7 months, a Made in China pandemic, a security law obliterating HK’s freedoms and news of Huawei’s active involvement in the security apparatus used for Uighur persecution make. 25 years after the Srebrenica massacre by Serbs of 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men and boys – the inevitable murderous conclusion of a campaign of ethnic cleansing and hate – the West has noticed China’s brutality to another little known Muslim community. There are Holocaust and Bosnia echoes with recent revelations of organ-harvesting, prisoners’ hair sold, rape of women and blindfolded prisoners being loaded into trains. Now there is to be a Parliamentary debate on sanctions against China over this (following the indefatigable Maajid Nawaz’s campaign).

What effective steps can be taken are less clear. There will certainly be no NATO bombing or UN supplies to trapped communities. Speaking up may be all we can do. Do not, though, underestimate the power of protest when wrongdoers would prefer silence. It was, after all, the entire raison d’être of Amnesty’s prisoners of conscience campaigns.

How about taking steps here to stop or limit the laundering of reputations that often goes hand-in-hand with the money-laundering the authorities claim to be worried about? All states and persons with a questionable reputation do it: the Russians, Ukrainians, Saudis, Qataris, Chinese. The higher echelons of British society, so very well used to polishing rough diamonds in return for their money (think of all those penurious aristocrats with ideas above their bank balances bestowing their titles on American heiresses) provide lots of ways for the laundering to happen.

Property purchases – of prime property, mostly in London and in the fashionable countryside. So much of it is simply a bank for those with money to hide or keep safe. This ecosystem is the “trickle down” effect in action: at least to all those providers of services to the rich foreigners and the middle classes, watching the prices of their houses rise even as they find themselves pushed out from central London. Anyone can buy if they have the money. Even Switzerland – famous or infamous (according to taste) for its discretion about money – imposes some requirements on those wishing to buy property.

Buying residency. Britain is not quite as notorious as Cyprus or Malta. But its Tier 1 Investment Programme allows those with £2 million for a mere 3 months before application to get residency (and later citizenship) in double quick time; the more you have the quicker it is to get citizenship. The “investment” needed is not particularly onerous. In theory, the wealth needs to have been properly earned though quite how the necessary due diligence can have been done properly given the speed of the applications is a mystery. Due diligence is often a fancy way of describing a tick box process devoid of any serious investigation. Why wouldn’t it be, given the money being dangled? Why no fuss about this type of FoM, selling British citizenship and its advantages to the highest bidder?

Investment. A good thing, of course, but let’s be realistic about what dependence on Chinese or Russian or Qatari investment means in reality. When those jobs and tax revenues are dependant not just on that investment but on not criticising the governments of the countries from whence it comes, it becomes so much easier to persuade yourself that those investing companies really have nothing to do with their governments, even in the face of all the evidence. Or that economic considerations will prevail or that the investing companies will be changed and adequately controlled by British laws and culture. Comfort is taken in the belief that commerce can be divorced from politics or security, a very recent British view, one not shared by states such as China or Russia. Or, frankly, the US or EU or, indeed, Britain itself when it was top dog. Commerce and politics cannot be divorced as Britain’s former colonies know only too well. Money talks – as China has tartly reminded Britain in recent days.

The charitable foundation: the first refuge of a scoundrel these days. If it can be linked to art, say, with all its many opportunities for hobnobbing with the great and the good, so much the better. Get an obscure art critic on the Board, perhaps one linked to a senior politician through family connections, get the right doors opened to London society, be photographed at parties with Prime Ministers and their coterie and away you go. Most will assume that you must be ok because, well, someone else has checked you out, haven’t they? You don’t need to look far to find people with the most questionable histories and backgrounds in positions of influence or advantage to themselves. A little more curiosity about their past, why they are here and what they are doing would not go amiss.

Flattery – Board positions (see Huawei’s Board members) or dialogue councils for senior (meaning retired but still self-important) politicians, academics and others: the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, linked to former members of Russian Intelligence, for instance. Or the 48 Group Club with its array of British luminaries keen to bring China and Britain closer together.

Political donations: an area ripe for abuse, requiring reform and unlikely to get it, not in any meaningful way. Do politicians really think that large donations are given without thought of any quo for the quids being showered on them?

Education: until recently the Saudis and other Middle Eastern governments were some of the biggest philanthropists to British universities, usually for departments focusing on Islam and Middle Eastern history. There is much to learn about both: free inquiry is badly needed. Perhaps one of the first inquiries might have been whether being funded by governments with a very particular view on both topics and with little regard for free inquiry of any type is entirely sensible. Even Gaddafi got in on the act with the LSE, which had to rely on the guidance provided by the moral compasses of Shami Chakrabarti and Howard Davies. It did not end well – for Gaddafi, the LSE or Davies (resigning for his errors of judgment). Ms Chakrabarti went on to more whitewashing as Corbyn’s Shadow Attorney-General in the Lords. Davies now advises various Chinese banking and securities regulators and chairs RBS. The LSE’s experience did not put off other universities from chasing Chinese money and students, so much so that it is reported that 9 of them face bankruptcy if China stops its students coming to Britain. More worryingly, there have been reports of China putting pressure on British universities to eliminate criticisms of it, cancel speakers or permit spying on anti-China protestors. So much for British academic freedom when it comes up against China’s iron determination to get its own way.

All of these things: investment, dialogue, study, charity etc can be forces for good. Exposure to British freedoms, intellectual inquiry, rule of law, democratic norms, vigorous debate, cultural life, the wisdom of British thinkers and achievers can – in theory and maybe sometimes in practice, for some at least – open cracks in otherwise closed societies and minds, show an alternative way, a better future, help win the battle of ideas.

They can. But have they? Or has Britain been woefully naïve? Has it been too willing to sell itself to those who care nothing for our strengths, save other than how they can seize or use those strengths for themselves? Has it really been using its soft power? Or has it just been treated as a useful idiot, desperate and needy, hawking what’s left of its honour and the family silver to ruthless, ambitious competitors, nasty, unfriendly authoritarians willing to spend lavishly on PR and those with an eye for a bolt hole if life turns nasty at home?

Realpolitik dictates that Britain needs to deal with nasty countries. But there is a difference between supping with a long spoon and sitting in someone’s lap. The government’s recent Magnitsky law sanctions and HK actions are a welcome dose of realism. A start. Now Britain needs to use its UN vote against Xi Xinping’s wish for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, if the concept of “human rights” is to have any worthwhile meaning, that is.

Morality cries out for some sort of action for HK, the Uighurs and other victims. Protest, exposure and a home for some may be the limit of what Britain can and will do. It is something. As Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor, Nobel prize winner and the man who publicly begged President Clinton to act over Bosnia at the opening of Washington’s Holocaust museum) said: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

Cyclefree

from politicalbetting.com https://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2020/07/23/laundering-reputations-china-and-its-uighurs/ https://dangky.ric.win/

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tipotatimes · 5 years ago

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Pigeons, words and eyes

Dear C.,

I was very moved by your letter of last night whose as yet unread existence I suddenly remembered in a moment of dull unease, which fact gave me great delight and lifted me out of the little blue funk I’ve been in all day. How nice, you are right, to write and have a letter from a dear friend to read every other day. It always lifts me to read your letters, moves me, makes me think, makes me feel connected to you and the commonalities and the differences of our experiences – and of some broader we - of the now. Not a good sentence. Nevermind. The letters are indeed a precious thing, as long, like you say, as they keep going.

Funny, though I am today in a mood closer to the one you described yesterday,but dumber, less specific, I am no longer feeling down on the fact that we are not writing Great Literature to each other every day. Haha. As if, anyway, that would provide us with the fuel and companionship that both writing and receiving these letters offers. Good. Thank you for those words, which help reset me in my moment of Great Literature jealousy-distress.

I hope that you’re feeling better today, and that hormones were largely to blame for the funk. Though with the years I have started to see that this funk, the one that comes cyclical with the bleed, usually has something to tell us, even if it warps and amplifies its source materials. I know you know this, we’ve talked about it too.

Very beautiful that you have found, and nicer still maybe, through talk with a close friend, a mission for the pigeon. I know that it will lead to all sorts of beautiful adventures, tiny and large, breathless and cosy, into the unexplored sides of the quotidian, of our relations in the city, neighbourhood, street. I can’t wait to hear about them.

I must admit now my own jealousy, yet again, of your relationship with the pigeon, maybe we need a better word. Envy perhaps, of the meaning that this object, your connection to yourself and the world, an embodied representation of you, can give you. I have been feeling quite overwhelmed and exhausted of late, with the unusually large traffic in editing and translating work that’s come my way, which of course in terms of economics is never to be spat at (nor will it make me financially secure of course). But. Haha. Always the but. Well, it is bloody work after all.

But it leaves very little space for my own writing brain and energies, given that it sucks from the same source, down there in the steamy bubbling soup where me and my words swirl, yet to be formally introduced, let alone matched up in sentences, romances, stories. There is that, the question of source energies and the parasitic nature of work. And then just the fact that I seem to be spending my days in other people’s heads trying to get, in some cases, really quite intimate with the inner workings of their word mechanics. Not the interesting stuff, just the bloody syntax, word choice, linguistic ticks and so on. Of course, well not of course actually, I am lucky to be reading interesting stuff, which almost always I feel glad to help clarify. These are texts whose I ideas I think should be communicated, so I am glad to play a role in facilitating that. I feel that my work is useful and worthwhile, and that’s no small fish I know.

And yet, as this work has suddenly come in, the self that might write has also quietened down. That might be just for the simple fact of work in this time quantity again, rather than the nature of editing or translation work themselves. The parasitic nature of the thing in general. I don’t know. I think both. Then there’s of course the large chance that the work serves as a shield against writing, my own. Ax, so many layers of double guessing, lovely. It’s too late for them, good bye.

Anyway, I would really love a pigeon of my own. I am swimming, adapting back to the rhythm of weird isolated work, with no clear prospects, no energy for my own thing, no certainty about anything. No mirror and no anchor. After the expansive, time to shrink (I wrote that line in a story once, can’t remember which). So no desire now for parties and so on in the parks, tonight I turned down a screening on a friend’s roof terrace, food and wine. Partly because I had to work on someone else’s words, but partly because I don’t feel like seeing anyone now, or rather, I feel only like having close, intimate chats. Or some flirt. Give me some flirt, I would not say no. Let’s end on that.

It is last weekend, after midnight, and the square has filled by trickles to become a huge party, actually, a series of parties, here a trance party, there a hip hop party, in another corner traditional music (all from the same scene though, the ones in black). I am standing with my little group, which includes a host of new, some of them very young people, mingling with my own crew, if we can call it that (and in that context of groups, I think we can, and that clear, physically marked belonging, I have to say, gives off a nice feeling).

At one point I am standing in front (small distances that night) of a young man who’s balanced on the thin wall, and we’re talking about politics. His head is shaved and his features beautifully large, defined. My friend, next to him, drunk and hazy, says something proper dodgy about how at least the refugees who’re arriving are learning something about ‘how we treat our women here’. I can barely believe these words have slipped his mouth. And yet, cool as a cucumber, I say, looking straight ahead, just shy of the man’s eyes, that ‘hypocrisy knows no limits’. This declaration I utter in their language, loud and clear (with gathering pride as the words tumble out). And then I look down into the face of the man, who’s made sounds and uttered words of agreement (he is from a majority-maligned migrant group). Oh my, how to describe the mass of feelings that are suddenly brought alive in the pit of my stomach by the clear line of his beautiful, large eyes (not by the herbs, nor by the booze), as they look straight into mine while he speaks to us. I think I have never felt such an intense physical reaction to someone’s gaze. A sign more of my sad, dulled past, perhaps, than the magic of that moment. The feelings stayed with me for a few days, every time I replayed the scene (and there were a few such moments), I actually shuddered in delight and wonder. Was he trying to bewitch me? He had certainly succeeded.

Now the feelings are haze and I can’t even quite remember the look. The nice thing though is that there is space and there is time. To do nothing or to react. I’m sure it’s partly the quarantine that produces a greater ease with distance, maybe a need for it, which means that I don’t feel compelled to consummate the thing, to know one way or another. Somewhere this also has to do with the nature of the square, I think, in which one is more open to contact, to chance and encounter and also therefore to things going nowhere, being enjoyed in the moment, then fading back into the flow of experience outside. Now i think, is there generally a greater ease of encounter, more fluidity, when it happens outside of walls? Can the literal and experiential be so intimately and literally linked? Yes, I think so. Oh I would like to be held suspended in those eyes one more time, I have to say.

Oh wow, this became very long. Well, good for you haha, I hope you enjoyed the ramble, that it took you on a little journey. I can’t wait, by the way, for you to be back here for a visit… we need to explore this square life thing together too. And when you return to the motherland, then I would love to come see you too, and float through the streets and beaches and forests :)

Sweet Wednesday morning, afternoon or evening!

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thefaithlesstheologian · 7 years ago

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A Night Out

Wilford’s College toted an expensive tuition and a tagline promising a “lifetime of endless and exciting possibilities” A notion so generic and underwhelming that in its own niche way was true under normal circumstance. However, my experience in my short stay at Wilford’s was anything but ordinary and my god how tragically twisted it was! Touring the campus, as I had several other schools during my waning years of high school I particularly cared for the ascetic of the facilities. It was all new looking and tidy with beautiful lush gardens and trees lining the paths. The modern, trendily designed buildings truly made it feel like this could be a fresh start for me. It was welcoming; in a splendidly different manner and so it became my final choice when the time came.

However, as soon as I had completed my first week of classes I realized its grim secret. It was something worse than being a terrible school because yes while the faculty was professional and our resources were very new and on the cutting edge it submitted to the worst sin a school can. It was boring.

An oversight on my part I suppose, because unlike a lot of the schools I looked at who was in large cities like Boston, Providence or Rochester. Wilford’s was located in a small town just off the highway and as a result, we were essentially in the middle of nowhere. The town barely had stores of any kind and you would have to go as far as the next town over in order to find anything to do which was difficult if you were like me and wasn’t able to take your car across country. Public transit was almost non-existent in such a small place so you would have to rely on a more local friend to take you anywhere remotely exciting that is if mediocre retail therapy was exciting to you. The townsfolk were rude and uppity, almost insulted when you tried to converse with them and mostly consisted of arrogant bankers and business owners all who dwelt in very refined colonial houses with their just as arrogant families. How I wish it would have swallowed them instead…

It seemed to an outsider like me that we were isolated on the campus like castaways on an island which was rapidly shrinking. It was suffocating after the first week and I had to absolutely do something worthwhile otherwise I might have dropped out due to sheer disinterest. I did not move so far away from home to simply learn, I wanted to grow, to explore to be something different but my God the town was so dry it was like being trapped in a desert.

Eventually, I met a group of people from my Economics 101 class who were just as bored as I was. I didn’t know any of them that well and sadly never got to but I remember one of them was a junior who somehow managed to survive these doldrums and he suggested we head out onto the local reservoir to have fun. He said that there were islands all across the lake where neither the townsfolk nor the local police would bother us. Thirsty for something of note I became fascinated with the idea and we decided that weekend we would head out into the Reservoir for a night out. A party as castaways.

I could hardly contain my excitement for the remaining days of the week, an elevated feeling in my chest. Classes were replaced by fantasies of the revelry to come and sleep was haunted by wild fantasies that forced my heart to quicken and my body to ache in excitement only to wake up disappointed, but hopeful. A new energy had overcome me, reinvigorating my will to continue at this dismal school a powerful force that would soon be snuffed out.

When the night had finally come we, being a group of about twelve, left the campus at about six. We walked past the prying, judgmental eyes of the residents as we crossed down a narrow backroad and finally the lake opened up before us. Along its dismal and crude looking shoreline, the upperclassman that went by the name of Hunter stood expectantly in front of two rubber rafts. In one such raft was a crate, nondescript and crafted out of splintering wood which jingled slightly amidst the gentle waves.

He beckoned us to load onto the boats and soon we cast off uneasily, rowing to a sizable island in the lake’s center, just one of many in a sparse archipelago. As it drew nearer I felt a buzzing of excitement and anxiety much like a pirate about to search for buried treasure, as silly as that sounds. I then made the mistake of looking down once into the dark waters. I always had a slight fear of natural bodies of water because of whatever can lie just under its crystal membrane amongst the thick vegetation which reached up like tentacles brushing the bottom of our clumsy vessel in an ornery manner. I could almost feel every feathery tendril brush the bottom of the boat as I thought about it.

Hunter did not make the lake’s case better for as we passed he pointed to a small alcove where a bunch of tree branches overhung about a sandbar. He noted it as “alligator cove” and said it was because of the snapping turtles that as he described “Grew about as wide as these boats”. He let out an uneasy chuckle and then said: “Don’t worry they don’t usually go to the islands.”

We soon crashed ashore, tying off the rubber vessels and unloading ourselves. The island could have been no more than a hundred feet in diameter and featured a fire pit, no doubt scrapped together by Hunter or one of the other students in its center. It was shielded by a curtain of trees and gave us a magnificent amount of privacy.

The mysterious crate was unloaded and its top unhinged. Its bounty yielded beer, rum, and other such collegial delights. A fellow student pulled out a bag of crushed looking leaves and rolled a blunt as Hunter tended to the fire, scrapping it together from fallen elements of the surrounding trees. Once lit, an eerie orange glow cast over us and an ambivalent heat coaxed away from the September cool. We soon took to our store of beverages and once we were all well-oiled by the foul elixirs a night of revelry and carelessness was underway.

It lasted hours into the night becoming slowly more blurred by our intoxications. Hunter talked very loudly about the school and about some friends back home, while others complained about their professors. Some of the couples sat at a distance embracing each other in a flurry of saliva and saccharine flirtations. I talked to a few of my peers but found myself outcast. Much of their conversation was about sports or gossip of which I really wasn’t inclined if my manner of narration was anything to go by. The reality of it came crashing hard like a suddenly emerging wall and sullenness overtook me as I turned to my fifth drink of the evening. I soon found myself sitting alone around the trickling fire, doing little to entertain myself except tend to the pathetic thing. It and I were the same in that moment, small, insignificant and uncared for. We only had each other, that fire and I, and I feared it would be all I remembered of the evening. Dear God I wish things remained so mundane!

It was about a quarter past eleven I think when it started. I heard a strange groaning come from the trees and in my inebriated state thought it was coming from one of the couples. Then it happened again and it did not sound right, it sounded like a plastic sheet waving in the wind. Nobody else seemed to pay any mind, lost in their cottony conversations. Then I looked up at the night sky, under the eyes of the stars I saw something move. Parts of the sky looked bizarrely blurry and it seemed to be spreading.

A scream came from the trees and a girl ran out screaming “It touched me!”

Everyone stopped their conversation and Hunter asked her what was wrong. She told us something in the water touched her and that it made her feel sick. Hunter assumed it was a snapping turtle and told her to wait while he took care of it. As he ducked behind the shallow cover of the trees disappearing between the shield of trunks that was the last we ever saw of Hunter.

As we waited for his return I looked back up at the sky and noticed the whole of the stars had become blurred in a strange refraction. I noticed a peculiar array of small dull dots amidst them like stars that had been “turned off”. Then it started to rain. However, this was not a normal rain, no, the drops of water which fell remained in a weird way refusing to dry or sink into the ground. They remained as translucent splatters and as one guy touched it the substance stuck to his finger and formed a stringy mass as he pulled back.

Soon I noticed the trees started to become obscured by the uncanny veil over us and finally everybody else seemed to take care of it. Another of my peers walked over to it, citing that it was probably just our imaginations and went to dispel it. He stopped before the haze and reached out to it. Then in one grotesque act, it undulated and swallowed him whole, pulling him towards it. We watched as he seemed to float slowly off the ground into the dark like a poorly done special effect. The crowd gasped as the wall advanced through the trees coating it in its obscurity. We headed towards our boats, but oh god! They were swallowed up as well, we looked around panicked and soon realized we were surrounded beneath a dome of ghastly haze.

More of my peers became swallowed by it when they attempted to throw rocks futilely at it and another in their retreat tripped and was dragged kicking and screaming into oblivion soon silenced by the membranous horror. Eventually, I was alone squatted in a heap by the fire, my only friend, as I watched the undulate mass close around me. More peculiar rain fell on my head, its gelatinous consistency causing my skin to writhe and lurch.

I noticed around me the strange dull dots that were in the sky began to be spat out from their undulate casing and one struck me on the head. It caused my head to feel an undue amount of pain like an ax had been taken to it. My vision became blurred and I was transported somewhere as insane as that sounds. I was in a rust covered hall where a distant humming echoed through its pipe laden interior. Before me, I saw my peers, who in a trance-like state scraped away at the rust with chisels and sandpaper. Peeling away flakes of the filth revealing dull iron surfaces beneath their scaly cover. The strange vision lasted only moments before I was returned to cruel reality.

I huddled over the fire and awaited the cold, gelatinous embrace of this nightmare, yet it did not come. In fact, it formed a low dome over the fire pit and as its rancid rain fell into it, the fire flared in a brilliant flash like grease in a pan. It seemed unwilling to go near it and flinched at its agitation. Yet this was only mildly comforting for smoke filled my chamber and soon it would not matter what the creature’s plans were. My eyes and throat stung with the sweet carcinogenic scent of smoke and in desperation, I reached for a mild piece of kindling and held it up as a pathetic torch.

The membrane, upon sensing the fire’s presence receded from it and the strange sound echoed around me in a pained note. I then threw the torch which carved an instant tunnel towards the boats. It soon reformed but I could see the dim flicker of the fire through the strange glass and an Idea came to me. I picked up several sticks and walked them towards the wall, dropping each one like a flare until finally, I reached the trees. It was here that I took the last of my ember coated wood and cast it into the underbrush. A conflagration erupted, consuming all the surrounding plant life as I ran towards the boats, of which the gel fled to escape the sudden blazing heat.

I cut the rope and cast away into the lake, away from the strange consuming dome, the last of it I remember seeing was one of my peers, suspended and still, dyed a strange crimson staring listlessly into the darkness.

I can never speak of this again, this school this creature, those poor people…their families. I can’t because nobody will ever begin to believe what happened was true they will say perhaps a bunch of students became drunk and drowned themselves in the lake on some sort of dare or…No, I must never speak of this because being the last survivor with an alibi so fantastical is damnation. I can only hope I escaped the prying eyes of our arrogant neighbors. I only want to go home.

#horror #fantasy #science fistion #new writer #creative writing #college #occult #mystery

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cryptswahili · 6 years ago

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Which is Packing More Heat in 2019 [Technologically and Economically]

After kicking off 2018 with a bang, cryptocurrencies tumbled like a house of cards by the end of the year. The fallout was so stark that the broader market ended losing more than $700 billion in market cap. All in all, it was nightmarish for investors worldwide.

That said, many have always remained bullish on the fundamentals that govern the asset class, especially when it comes to crypto/blockchain projects that have stood the test of time and are backed by a robust combination of steady technological progress and supportive communities.

Litecoin and Ethereum — the altcoins we’re going to zoom in on today both fit the bill on that front.

Both these assets have been around for a while now, and they usually exhibit some degree of stability — relatively speaking — as Bitcoin drags along the broader market while undergoing sharp fluctuations.

But are they currently in a position to bring some much-needed relief to the crypto community in 2019? Let’s find out.

Litecoin vs Ethereum: Which is Expected to Bounce Back Faster?

One of the oldest cryptocurrencies in circulation, Litecoin first came into existence in 2011 as a fork of Bitcoin under the MIT/X11 license. It’s currently the eighth most popular cryptocurrency with a market cap of just about $1.9 billion.

At the height of the crypto boom of 2017, Litecoin surged all the way up to $350 and more. However, more than a year of lingering slowdown later, it is currently valued at just about $32.

Price Market Cap Circulating Supply Litecoin ~$32 ~$1.9 billion 60+ M LTC Ethereum ~$117 ~$12 billion 104+M ETH

Ethereum is comparatively younger with its public release dating back to 2014.

However, because of a number of factors, including its uses beyond cryptocurrencies, it climbed up the crypto charts rather quickly and soon became the second most popular digital asset after Bitcoin by market cap. (Although, it is stuck on the third spot currently after being outperformed by XRP).

As of today, the price of Ethereum is hovering around $120, which is soul-crushingly low for someone who invested in the asset back in early January 2018 when the coin peaked at an all-time high of $1,400+.

That said, the million dollar question investors are currently asking is how long until Litecoin and Ethereum bounce back from this downward spiral.

Litecoin and Ethereum price drop since Jan 2018 [Source: coincap.io]

Unfortunately, there are no signs of any immediate reprisal for either.

In fact, some observers are claiming that the odds are high that Litecoin and Ethereum could nosedive all the way down to ~$2 and ~$10 respectively in 2019.

However, keep in mind that most of these forecasts are purely speculative and are not backed by any verifiable/reliable method or data. You might want to take them with a pinch of salt.

A lot Depends on the Stability of the Broader Crypto Market

While it is possible that the broader crypto market will get hammered some more in the coming months, many investment experts are optimistic that 2019 is the year when crypto volatility will finally begin to subside. Institutional investors are expected to play a key role on that front.

Image: Crypto volatility in 2018 [Sourec: SFOX]

The Institutional Phase of Crypto may Have Already Started

There are several factors why many industry insiders believe that institutional investors are likely to flock to the crypto space in large numbers in 2019, including:

Regulators in a number of major economies are by now convinced that crypto is here to stay and therefore, preparing to introduce regulatory frameworks to oversee the sector.

The number of quality custodian solutions for digital assets is constantly on the rise.

The adoption of crypto futures, forward contracts, and derivatives are gaining momentum.

The odds are high that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will soon grant approval for a crypto ETF, opening the floodgate for others as well.

In fact, industry experts like Tom Surman (Director at Every capital) are of the view that the crypto space may have already quietly slipped into the institutional phase.

Surman’s assessment makes sense considering that a number of Wall Street heavyweights, including the likes of Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and Blackrock, are already knee-deep in their own crypto/blockchain ventures. And here comes the interesting bit — in an industry known to be particularly prone to a herd mentality bias (read: monkey see, monkey do), the crypto ventures undertaken by these companies are believed to have already triggered a chain-reaction of similar initiatives by other institutional players.

Institutional Investors can help stabilize the market by “anchoring” market whales, controlling vast volumes of crypto holdings that can alter/distort crypto prices without any notable consequences.

However, unlike retail investors, institutional investors are not at liberty to manipulate the market on a large scale — especially since regulators will be there to scrutinize their every move.

Therefore, greater participation by institutional investors can actually benefit the market by stabilizing prices of major crypto assets.

Litecoin Prediction for 2019

There are a number of reasons to be optimistic about Litecoin’s outlook in 2019. But before we delve into that, let’s get a couple of things straight:

Bitcoin will, hands down, remain the most prominent digital asset for the foreseeable future.

The performance of the broader market in 2019, including that of Litecoin, will inherently depend on the performance of the most popular crypto in the world.

As prices stabilize in a largely-regulated crypto economy with a greater degree of participation by institutional investors, Bitcoin may witness a second wave of growth.

To quote Joel Kruger, currency-strategist at LMAX Exchange:

“[….] There is a tremendous potential that comes with decentralized, digital, peer to peer currency, and as we begin to see the possibilities more clearly, Bitcoin will regain its footing and get back to trading to the topside.”

“This leaves us with an outlook for Bitcoin in 2019 that could see a continuation of weakness in the first half of the year before the market finally stabilizes and starts to make its way back up in anticipation of what should be an impressive second wave for crypto assets.”

As always, any positive development in the Bitcoin network will directly lead to a surge in Litecoin’s performance. Not just because Bitcoin’s growth eventually trickles down to Litecoin, or for that matter, to all major cryptocurrencies, but also because of Bitcoin’s scalability issues.

When the market is bullish, and Bitcoin is steadily surging, the added traffic in the Bitcoin network usually clogs the system and leads to higher transaction fees. In such scenarios, Litecoin, with its quicker block time and lower transaction fees, will definitely draw a significant chunk of the usual Bitcoin traffic to its own network.

Moreover, because of its higher liquidity and faster transaction speed (2.5 minutes against Bitcoin’s 10 minutes), Litecoin is much suited for smaller transactions, which in turn, adds charm to its everyday usability, such as while buying groceries.

Other factors hinting towards an increased demand for Litecoin in 2019 include:

Mining Litecoin is (arguably) more convenient because of the new Proof of Work algorithm.

It is less volatile than most of the other major cryptos.

Users can easily atomic swap between Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Litecoin is compatible with the Lightning Network, which further adds to its speed.

Nearly all hardware wallets support it.

And finally, there will only ever be 84 million Litecoin tokens, of which more than 60 million tokens are already in circulation. This means Litecoin is a progressively becoming more scarce compared to, let’s say, Ether and most other cryptos.

Of course, we are still far off from witnessing Litecoin exhausting its supply cap, but that’s not stopping strategic investors from viewing it as a worthwhile long-term investment opportunity.

Ethereum Predictions for 2019

Ethereum has shed nearly 90% of its value year-on-year as of press time. That’s a whopping loss — perhaps the worst performance among all major virtual currencies since the current slowdown started.

On the brighter side, unlike Litecoin, Ethereum is not a cryptocurrency through and through. It also doubles as a platform that facilitates “smart contracts” powered by Ether, the native cryptocurrency element of the Ethereum network.

You can find more information on smart contracts in our detailed coverage of how Ethereum smart contracts work, but in short, Ethereum is currently the most popular smart contract platform around despite growing competition.

A large number of corporations and organizations use Ethereum smart contracts to create their own products. This demand is vital for Ethereum to retain the clout as one of the top-3 cryptos in the world. With increasing uses of the platform, it will gradually draw more and more movement, which in turn, will boost the price of the cryptocurrency as well.

Despite plummeting prices, 2019 is expected to be an exciting year for Ethereum. Especially considering that the widely-anticipated Constantinople hard fork will hit the sometime in late February 2019. Once that happens, the average block time will start surging and is likely to push the difficulty bomb to near about half-a-minute.

Another major development will be Ethereum 2.0 incorporating the Casper upgrade, the next-generation proof-of-stake algorithm in the network, as well as the addition of sharding.

In ConsenSys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin’s words, these finer details reflect the potential of the Ethereum network much better than market capitalization statistics do.

Market cap doesn’t reflect activity. Decentralized networks are growing.

-10B+ daily API requests served by @infura_io -1M+ @trufflesuite downloads -1M+ @metamask_io downloads -12K+ live @Ethereum nodes -48M+ unique #Ethereum addresses -3x @LinkedIn #blockchain job openings

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) December 1, 2018

Final Words

So that was a rough overview of some of the major developments investors can expect from Litecoin and Ethereum in 2019. As for price predictions, I intentionally avoided citing specific figures because making long-term predictions in the volatile crypto market is futile, and once again, it all depends on how long until the market stabilizes.

That said, the fundamentals are currently strong for both Litecoin and Ethereum, meaning when the market finally bounces back, both these coins will be there at the forefront of the next wave of growth along with Bitcoin.

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jazzlr1 · 1 year ago

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The Elegance and Artistry of Designer Dresses: Unveiling Fashion's Masterpieces

The Artistry of Designer Dresses

Designer Dresses and the Fashion Industry

Designer dresses play a significant role in shaping the fashion industry in several ways:

Economic Impact: The fashion industry, including designer clothing, contributes significantly to the global economy. It provides jobs, drives innovation, and fuels the retail sector.

Why We Love Designer Dresses

Empowerment: Wearing a designer dress can be empowering. It exudes confidence and can transform how you feel about yourself. The right dress can make you feel like you're ready to conquer the world.

Inspiration: Designer dresses inspire creativity and imagination. They challenge conventional notions of fashion and encourage us to think outside the box when it comes to personal style.

Influence on Pop Culture

Designer dresses have left an indelible mark on pop culture. Iconic moments in film, music, and celebrity culture often feature these exquisite garments:

Fashion Magazines: High-fashion magazines regularly feature designer dresses in their editorial spreads, influencing fashion enthusiasts and providing inspiration for everyday style.

The Sustainability Angle

Conclusion

#tops #dress #women #fashion #girls

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shg11 · 7 years ago

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WASHINGTON ― When Donald Trump was elected president last year, a sweeping rewrite of the tax code was one of his top priorities.

Throughout the campaign, Trump said he wanted a “middle-class tax cut,” one that wouldn’t benefit wealthy people like him and would spur huge levels of economic growth while not adding to the national debt. “For the hedge fund guys, they’re going to be paying up,” Trump promised in September 2015.

As president, Trump has continued to insist the tax code overhaul won’t be good for himself or other millionaires. “This is going to cost me a fortune, this thing ― believe me,” Trump said this week.

But the big winners in the GOP bill that the Senate passed early Saturday morning are corporations and the wealthy. Trump himself ― a self-proclaimed billionaire ― stands to gain millions through the elimination of certain taxes (though we don’t know exactly how much because Trump won’t release his tax returns). Far from being a middle-class tax cut, the measure is a massive corporate giveaway, a bill that recycles decades of Republican ideology on trickle-down economics and trusts that executives will hand over their new gains to average-income workers.

“If my friends here want to give a tax cut to the middle class,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) asked on the Senate floor Thursday, “why don’t we give a tax cut to the middle class?” His argument had no effect.

After months of negotiations, the Senate passed the proposal, 51-49, with just one Republican ― Bob Corker of Tennessee ― joining all Democrats in opposition. Corker took issue with how much debt the bill would produce, and after the Senate parliamentarian struck down Corker’s debt-control proposal, GOP leaders invited the retiring Republican to just vote no rather than finding him an accommodation.

With the bill finally through the Senate ― the House passed its tax bill two weeks earlier ― the two chambers still have to work out their legislative differences in a conference committee before the tax rewrite becomes law. There’s a slim chance the House could adopt the Senate bill and send it to the president’s desk, but it’s more likely that negotiators will merge the two versions. Both chambers need to pass the same measure for the bill to become law.

For most Americans, the legislation is still indeed ― at least in the short term ― a tax cut. Those cuts are due in large part to Republicans approving $1.5 trillion in added debt over the next 10 years. But of that pie, the wealthy disproportionately benefit, and some households could wind up with higher tax bills. The richest 20 percent of households reap 90 percent of the benefit of the tax cuts over that time period, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Still, in the short term, it’s difficult to say exactly whose taxes go up and whose go down. Tax burdens depend on what deductions individual filers claim, and this bill is a complicated tax code rewrite ― one that analysts say will have limited impact on the economy, will cost the nation more than a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, and will do much more for rich investors than it will the middle class.

Despite all that, despite poll after poll showing the measure is unpopular, most Republicans were ecstatic to pass the bill.

While the bill took months to draft, the final package came together over a frenetic last few days. Republicans didn’t even have finished legislative text until Friday night, hours before the vote, and Democrats slammed their GOP colleagues for rushing through a bill that was cobbled together with handwritten changes and crossed-out pages at the last minute.

Those procedural concerns did nothing to slow the bill, however, with Republicans falling in line to vote down a Democratic motion to adjourn Friday night. Senators then began a so-called vote-a-rama, in which amendments get up-or-down approval one after the other until lawmakers are exhausted enough to stop. Eventually, in the early hours of Saturday morning, senators moved to a final vote on the reconciliation bill, and it passed.

To get the bill over the 50-vote threshold for reconciliation legislation, GOP leaders cut deals this week on how much certain businesses could deduct off the top of their tax bills, as well as on what would be included in an upcoming government funding measure.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), for example, demanded that year-end spending legislation include funding for Obamacare subsidies that the Trump administration has targeted. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he got assurances on a contentious immigration program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, though Trump administration officials said Flake only got assurances on being part of the conversation.

Overall, the legislation would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, which has been the GOP’s priority all along. Republicans say this dramatic reduction will unleash the economy and raise wages by making big businesses more internationally competitive ― claims that are dubious according to corporate executives themselves, who say they will throw the money at shareholders instead of workers.

In addition to reducing corporate and individual tax rates across the board, the bill would simplify the tax code by getting rid of most deductions, which businesses and individuals use to reduce the amount of their income subject to taxation.

Because Congress over the years has added write-offs in order to encourage and subsidize certain endeavors ― such as homeownership and higher education ― the mass elimination of these tax preferences could have wide-ranging effects that are incidental to the overall Republican goal of encouraging business investment.

Axing deductions for state and local taxes, for instance, while increasing the value of a fixed “standard deduction,” would result in far fewer households finding it worthwhile to deduct the amount they spend on mortgage interest. A study commissioned by the National Association of Realtors earlier this year said the proposal would reduce home values by 10 percent (which could be a good thing for people who don’t already own homes). Republicans have long championed homeownership but have been undeterred by a lobbying blitz from the real estate industry.

While fewer deductions makes for a simpler tax code, the bill would also create a complicated new deduction for certain businesses that aren’t taxed as corporations. Determining which firms have the kind of “qualified business income” eligible for the deduction will require many pages of new IRS regulation, though the bill explicitly excludes high-income service providers like accountants, lawyers and investment managers.

In the day before the final vote, Republicans increased the value of the deduction to win over Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), both of whom had previously withheld support because they felt the legislation disproportionately benefited firms that pay the corporate tax.

And in a catchall “manager’s amendment” adopted just before the bill passed, Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) added a provision to allow publicly traded partnerships to claim the new deduction. Victor Fleischer, a tax professor at the University of San Diego School of law, said that the Cornyn amendment would specifically benefit oil and gas companies.

“We should all re-read ‘Why Nations Fail’ after this tax bill passes,” Fleischer said on Twitter.

Another provision in the manager’s amendment, inserted by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), would have exempted schools that don’t take federal funds, such as the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan, from a new tax on college and university endowments. The tax seems designed less to raise money than to poke educated liberals in the eye. Several Republicans joined Democrats in defeating the amendment. Toomey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

To keep the cost of the bill beneath $1.5 trillion ― an arbitrary level Republicans set for themselves in a budget process earlier this year ― almost all of the tax cuts for individuals expire at the end of 2025. Republicans say that expiration won’t happen, noting that even President Barack Obama made nearly all of the Bush tax cuts permanent when they were up for reauthorization.

But for all the GOP bluster about this bill being a tax cut for the middle class, and for all the rhetoric about the false necessity of making tax cuts permanent, the bill would keep the corporate tax rates the same while putting the individual rates up for expiration. Because of those temporary cuts, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which scores tax legislation for Congress, found that most households earning less than $75,000 annually would pay higher taxes 10 years from now.

Just before debate began Friday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the Senate floor that this day would be remembered as one of the “great robberies in U.S. history.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Toomey’s Hillsdale carveout had been adopted. This story has also been updated to clarify which industry Fleischer says would benefit from Cornyn’s amendment.

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Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-passes-tax-bill_us_5a21da79e4b0a02abe91412e

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gmtalksbolum2-blog · 7 years ago

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GM Talks Bölüm 2

Hotel Desk Performance Guide

Many a times, lodge needs to ship official letters to other individuals and companies. These letters might be within the form of invitation to an occasion, thanks letters, confidential data, cost acknowledgement and many extra. If the lodge owns an e-signature of their own, they can simply dispatch electronic document with blink of an eye. Containing the official lodge seal in the type of signature, the recipient cannot deny that the letter got here from the approved personnel.

Lock confidential information

Like each enterprise, lodge enterprise also has confidential info that they want to be accessible solely to authoritative figures and business house owners. This want for confidentiality of clandestine data can be achieved very well by way of this function.

E-sign provides a set of two keys which are used to lock the smooth copy paperwork and forestall illicit access to them. The primary secret is held by the signing entity and the person retains this key with himself alone. Nevertheless the opposite key in the set, primarily referred to as public key, may be prolonged to any individual or entity with whom the signing entity desires to share the doc. In this approach, another one who does not have the first or public key of the doc would not have the ability to open it.

Affirm reservations

A lot of the instances, guests reserve their rooms in accommodations ahead of time. This saves them from inconvenience and likewise serves as an edge for resort administration who can prepare for the best hospitality of their clients.

Lodge administration can use documents protected with e-signatures to make reservations. This may prevent mismanagement and make sure that only valid entries are made to reservation data. Later the same knowledge can be used for payment purposes.

Safeguard the funds

Be it management of finances or overseeing the funds, paying the salaries or spending for gross sales and advertising and marketing, budget administration or general maintenance, resort enterprise requires loads of expenditures under varied heads. E-sign is by far probably the most protected manner of securing monetary documents. It safeguards them from unauthorized entry and makes certain that when sealed, no alteration takes place.

With the hospitality business exploding with the growth in tourism within the U.S. as the results of the newly devalued U.S. dollar, an increasing number of people at the moment are making the choice of a profitable and rewarding resort restaurant administration career when choosing a job.

The fact is, that with enterprise up in increasingly venues that previously have been experiencing emptiness issues up to now there is an ever rising want for qualified administration personnel in lodges and restaurants in cities across the U.S.

The important thing to building a solid lodge restaurant administration career is coaching, because of the extent of obligations that include a administration position on this subject. Not only is a manager required to satisfy their very own assigned duties that include their place however they must even have the innate capacity to convey out the perfect within the employees that are positioned under them.

That is vital, as a result of so much of the running a tremendous restaurant or lodge is done by the workers which can be confronted with repetitive duties day in and time out. In case you have your eye on a lucrative lodge restaurant administration career then the time to begin pursuing your end purpose is now and there are really two methods to go about it.

One popular approach is to obtain your coaching on the job and work your manner up the ladder in a restaurant or hotel. The issue with this selection paylaşımda bulundular although is that it might take years and you may be exhausting pressed to obtain the proper training in areas akin to accounting and purchasing.

One of the best and fastest way to discover your approach right into a lodge restaurant management profession is to attend any one of many qualified colleges that available. Additionally, all of the faculties that specialize in such a training have job placement assistance programs that will help you land the job of your desires when you're by means of together with your programs.

Managing the lodge operations is tough to say the least. You are in control of everyday resort operations and you are ultimately the person who is liable for guaranteeing that each one the processes run smoothly. Except for that, the operations supervisor for resorts is the one who verifies that the group is worthwhile and in good condition on the entire - in seems, services, features, services and so on. With all of these items in mind, you may think that it is unimaginable so that you can keep an eye on what occurs within the constructing. Nonetheless, it is not that difficult if you have established a reliable handle the operations of hotels KPI.

The KPI or key efficiency indicator will present assist for you in conserving track of the productivity and the effectivity of your small business processes. Utilizing manage the operations of lodges KPI, it is simpler for the operations supervisor to supervise all the completely different procedures inside the resort. Since you're tasked to observe the front desk, housekeeping, food service and bellhop personnel, you generally have the power to start or end the employment of the employees members.

Lodges closely rely on manpower thereby making your employees worthwhile if they're skilled and educated concerning the job that has been assigned to them. You have to make the precise decisions at all times in the case of coping with the people who find themselves working for the hotel enterprise. Otherwise, day to day tasks won't be carried out due to poor efficiency and conduct. Bigger motels typically have quite a few managers for every division but they'll make reports obtainable to the operations manager. This way it is going to be less complicated to gather all the mandatory information to take necessary actions relating to varied occasions since you do not have the troublesome job of overseeing the whole hotel operations personally.

Apart from worker monitoring, you may make the most of hotel management indicator to keep track of the profitability of your online business. Oftentimes, that is the priority of any effort in lodge operations administration attributable to the fact that resorts rely on budgets and revenue. Since you might be liable for guaranteeing that the resort is being profitable whereas it works throughout the allotted finances, you will need to test the money circulate of your resort using manage the operations of inns KPI. You should utilize the key performance indicators as your information in making selections about repairs, upgrades and even general lodge improvement.

Handle the operations of motels KPI is just not full with out monitoring the experiences of the friends. These are the those that you have to please all the time. Using your providers, glorious accommodation options, environment friendly amenities and friendly workers, you possibly can assure their satisfaction. Nevertheless, this does not cease there; you have to search for different means of enhancing your gives to your shoppers so as to assist customer retention and loyalty for the way forward for your business. Care for them at all times together with their needs and requirements so that you'll avoid complaints and protests from them.

As a lodge proprietor/investor with maybe one or two hotel property, you have got invested your exhausting-earned capital and risked publicity to recourse on your loans in pursuit of a profitable lodging operation. Moreover, given your limited publicity to the hotel industry, you could have selected knowledgeable management agency to function your lodge. Perhaps a "first-tier" administration firm, an organization that not only franchises hotels but also provides administration services.

Alternatively, you may have selected a "second-tier" agency. That is a lodge proprietor/franchise holder with dozens, possibly even tons of of motels who manage their own belongings and those of others. Or maybe you'll have chosen a smaller, boutique agency with possibly a hotel or two of their own who're in search of to grow their administration portfolio. Irrespective of whom you've gotten selected, your expecting that they may have your greatest pursuits at heart with every resolution they make. Effectively that may not exactly be the case.

The goals of lodging property house owners and traders are sometimes philosophically or financially fully aligned with the goals their appointed management or at occasions even their model. Operators and brands often have competing goals, which are in direct battle with maximizing house owners' return. For example, brands have a stake in sustaining brand requirements and creating "brand fairness" which may not all the time be in the perfect economic interests of a person lodging asset. Sure manufacturers will argue that what's good for the brand could have some trickle down have an effect on on you, however changing your brand new wallpaper behind the entrance desk from one shade of beige to a shade the brand needs to install in any respect of its hotels (which I've been requested to do by a significant brand - who shall remain anonymous) is really just a poor use of capital that will never impression both revenues or visitor satisfaction.

Administration corporations, alternatively, have an curiosity in growing their portfolios and their revenues (often a share of yours) but will not be motivated to assist your lodging operation in attaining its particular person peek financial performance in the quick, or worse, long term. They might additionally lack expertise or the inducement to control prices, goal the best market place for an individual property, maximize a hotel's market penetration or possess the knowledge to find their means through the myriad of old and new distribution channels.

Provided that the average management fees, that are at the moment round 2.5% of a hotel's total gross revenues (including any incentive fees), are significantly under the fees of yesteryear, is it any wonder. Over the previous couple of years, in an try to grow revenues, administration companies are centered on creating incremental income by including properties to their roster at decrease charges. Many of those companies are protecting the same amount of personnel and sources in place spreading them over extra belongings.

Take the following instance. At the present charge of charges, an extra $25,000 in resort revenues represents about $500 in fees. Let's face it, $500 will not be a major enough return on the extra efforts, employees time and resource allocations that would be required by the administration firm to generate that additional $25,000. Nevertheless, as the proprietor, it might probably make the distinction between paying your mortgage from cash movement or out of your pocket.

The economic details just do not add up. Think about a typical, select-service resort with 100 guest rooms, a median day by day fee of $70 and a 70% annual occupancy. The average fees for this lodge can be around $35,000. With management companies per resort revenues at this low level, what can an proprietor actually count on of them? Whereas your lodge might profit from any buying power, it would additionally absorb any bills derived from the management firms related travel, accounting companies, co-operative advertising and marketing, and many others. This is often an space where some income misplaced in the last few years is re-gained by some less scrupulous administration companies.

When charges are at this low degree, the game turns into volume. It isn't my intention to bash any administration firm. I used to be the Chief Operating Officer of three small to mid-dimension companies operating nationwide brands as well as luxury unbiased hotels and I presently symbolize many lodge homeowners by our consulting follow. I see either side of the problem. However... there are few enterprise focused on quantity sales in any industry that come to mind as being known for excellent ranges of service to its clients.

So what is an proprietor to do? Develop into an knowledgeable owner who takes cost in monitoring their hotel's performance (or who hires somebody to do so for them). Understand that for $35,000 a 12 months in fees, your services could also be restricted to limited oversight of an on property manager; hopefully an excellent one. In the event you interact a administration firm now or are within the levels of interviewing one, ask your self some questions on your relationship and how you can be informed of your hotel's stage of success. You might not need all the steered information under but you most actually need some. Ask your self do you...

oget a report from a representative of the firm who's on-website for a day or two every month detailing their findings of the physical plant, operations and sales efforts by the personnel they supervise? Does their discovering match yours?

oreceive timely month-to-month operational statements that examine results to the finances and last year?

oreceive monthly studies on the hotel's performance as measured by third occasion companies corresponding to

1) Smith Travel Research's STAR report to assessment your REVPAR efficiency towards an accurate competitive set and market tract;

2) TravelClick's Hotelligence experiences to measure your GDS penetration;

three) Distribution channel contribution studies to evaluation your brand, internet, wholesaler, GDS and other contributions to your revenues?

oreceive monthly reserving tempo studies to review where you stand in revenues compared to the same time last year together with an motion plan for improvement?

oreceive monthly gross sales studies similar to; High Consumer Report demonstrating the resort's high 20 purchasers' productiveness and changes of their productiveness yr-over-12 months; stories on the returns generated from advertising expenditures in pay-per-click on, GDS, print and other advertising media; and Gross sales Particular person Productivity Reviews to find out who is selling and producing at your resort?

youtube

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clubofinfo · 8 years ago

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Expert: While supporters of our two-party system wring their hands over the sensationalist nonsense reported by the mainstream media, we thought it might be worth touching on the most dangerous lie of all-time: capitalism. It’s an all-encompassing delusion, including: the myth of continual technological progress, the mendacious assumptions of endless economic growth, the lie that constant bombardments of media and consumer goods make us happy, and the omissions of our involvement in the exploitation of the planet and the resources of distant, poorer nations, among other things. We’ve taken the time to hash out some of the most pernicious mendacities we’ve come across in our (relatively) young lives, in the workplace, in our private lives, and in the media. *** Please share these counter-arguments far and wide, in order to educate your fellow citizens, and, if necessary, to provide the intellectual beat-downs needed when arguing with pro-capitalists. So without further ado, here is our list of the most devious “Lies that Capitalists Tell Us”: 1) Wealth will “trickle down” It’s hard to believe an economic policy that conjures images of urination could be wrong, but the idea is as bankrupt as the lower classes who have been subjected to the trickling. Less than ten people now have the financial wealth equivalent to half the planet, and the trickling seems a lot more like a mad cash-grab by the (morally bankrupt) elites. Rather than trickle down, the 1% and their lackeys have hoovered up the majority of new wealth created since the 2008 crash. After 40 years of stagnant wages in the US the people feel more shit on than trickled upon. It’s not a mistake that the elite reap most of the profits: the capitalist system is designed this way. It always has been, and will be, until we the people find the courage to tear it down and replace it with something better. 2) I took all the risks It can be argued the average employee takes far more risks in any job than the average person who starts a business with employees. The reason being is that the person starting a business usually has far more wealth, where most Americans can’t afford a 500 dollar emergency; meaning if they lose a job or go without work for any stretch it means some tough decisions have to be made. A person with even a failing business cannot be fired, but the employee can be fired for almost any reason imaginable. They are operating without a net at all times. The capitalist uses all sorts of public infrastructure to get his/her company off the ground. From everything to the roads to get you to your job, colleges, public utilities, tax breaks, electricity, etc. Even the internet itself was created from public research. Yet elite business owners still have the audacity, and are so full of hubris, that they believe in the hyper-individualist, macho, rugged-cowboy/pioneer facade they affect. 3) I could pay you more if there were less government regulations Many capitalists argue that layers of government bureaucracy prevent them from paying their employees a fairer, living wage. This is a huge whopper, as our regulations (like no child labor, a minimum wage, disability and worker’s compensation, basic environmental impact studies, etc) actually provide safety against the worst type of exploitation of workers and destruction of the land by corporations. Without these minimum regulations, an age of even more outright neo-feudalism would occur, where employees could be laid-off and rehired ad-infinitum, based on downward market wage forces, at the wishes of ever-more capricious owners, management, and CEOs. 4) If you work hard, one day you can be rich like us (We live in a meritocracy) America is not a meritocracy, and no one should think it is. There exists no tie to the intelligence of work done or the amount of it that guarantees success. Rather to be rich depends more on either being born into it, or being exceptionally good at exploiting others so one may take the bulk of the proceeds for themselves. This is the magic formula for wealth in this ever so “exceptional” land – exploit, exploit, exploit. Inheritance and exploitation is how the rich get rich. To understand the exploitation aspect takes some understanding of how the rich function. Next to none of the super rich become that way solely by meritocracy. Their income is created through complex webs of utilizing leverage usually to extract some form of passive income. They are the rentier class or con artists, or both. You only have to look at what the rich are dabbling in. Like Robert Mercer, for instance, who made his money via “a hedge fund that makes its money by using algorithms to model and trade on the financial markets.” Skimming money off corrupt financial markets hardly seems like a worthwhile activity that contributes anything to humanity. It’s a hustle. Or take Bill Gates, who did some programming for a few years, poorly, and became rich by landing a series of deals with IBM initially, and then by passively making money off the share values of Microsoft. The late Steve Jobs may have been one of the more hands-on billionaires, but even he required thousands of enslaved Asian hands to extract the kind of profits Apple was able to make. Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson almost certainly has organized crime links, as if owning a casino wasn’t enough of a con to begin with. Rich DeVos became a billionaire by running a pyramid scheme most are familiar with called Amway. The Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart, pays a median wage of 10 bucks an hour (far below a living wage), they strong arm vendors, and also rely on products made with working conditions that resemble old world slavery, while having more wealth than the bottom 40% of Americans. There’s just no way to make that kind of money without having a major market advantage and then profiteering off it. Lie, cajole, coerce, manipulate, bribe, rig, and hustle. These are the tools of the rich. No one is worth this kind of money and everyone needs each other’s help to function, but in the minds of the rich they consider themselves the primary cogs in the machine worthy of their money for doing not much else than holding leverage over others and exploiting it. 5) This is as good as it gets (there is no alternative, TINA) Through a process of gaslighting and double-bind coercion the choices we are fed are propagandized via controlled media outlets owned and operated by elites. We are told our choices must be between the democrats or republicans, attacking the Middle East or face constant terrorism, unfettered capitalism or state run communism. We are given binary choices that lack all nuance, and nuance is the enemy of all those who seek to control and exploit. They feed us a tautology of simpleton narratives which unfortunately do exactly what they hoped, keep people dumb and biting on their red herrings. Capitalists make it seem as if there is no alternative because they hoard all the money, have all the hired guns, and pay off teams of servile lawyers, judges, and lobbyists to write and enforce their anti-life laws. Capitalists demand “law and order” whenever their servant classes get too restless. In general, the most hardened, dogmatic capitalists exhibit bewilderment and/or disgust at genuine human emotions like joy, creativity, spontaneity, and love. Many capitalists have an unconscious death wish, and want to drag the rest of us and the mother Earth down with them. Capitalists have stolen all the farmlands, hold all the patents to technology, and don’t pay enough to mass amounts of citizens to get out of the rat race and get back to live off the land. The screws are turned a little tighter every year. If we are not done in by massive natural disasters or an economic collapse, expect a revolution to occur, hopefully a non-violent one. 6) We give back to the community Corporations set out to create non-profits as a public relations move. They cause the problems and then put small band-aids on the gaping wounds they have directly contributed to and use the charity as a source of plausible deniability to obscure the fact that they are exactly what we think they are: greedy. Handing out bread-crumbs after you’ve despoiled, desecrated, and bulldozed millions of hectares of valuable habitat is not fooling anyone. The elite one-percenters are the enemies of humankind and the biosphere itself. 7) The system (and economic theory) is rational and takes into account social and environmental costs People tend to think someone somewhere is regulating things to keep us safe. They look around and see sophisticated technology, gleaming towers in the sky, and what they believe to be is a complex intelligent world. But in truth no one is running the show. The world functions as a mad cash grab driven by neo-liberal ideology. Our leaders are driven by power, fame, and money, and exhibit strong psychopathic, sociopathic, and narcissistic traits. The problems of modern industrial capitalism and its impact on the world are clear – our exploitation of the resources, people, and other species are a direct result of our consumer-based infinite growth model. Just a few of the problems we face are species extinction, climate change, ocean acidification, and a toxic carcinogen filled trash dump of a planet that reached population overshoot decades ago. If the system was rational, we would begin planning to lower birth rates to decrease the world’s population, and voluntarily provide education, decent, dignified jobs, as well as birth control and contraception to women worldwide. We live by money values, and think in money terminology. When we discuss healthcare the topic arises about how to pay for it before nearly anything else. The priority isn’t on saving lives but how to pay for things. Yes, how will we pay for healthcare when banks can create money on a computer through the magic of fractional reserve banking, which they often use to bail out their crony friends. The money isn’t real but the implications of restricting it from the populace are. Money is created out of thin air by the magic of the Federal Reserve, yet we have all heard our bosses, and the pricks in Washington complaining that “we don’t have enough money for that” when it comes to healthcare, improving schools, and humanitarian relief for the poorest parts of the world. Again, if the system was rational, world poverty would be solved within a few short years. Money destined for weapons and “defense” could be used domestically as well as abroad to Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, and there is more than enough money (75 trillion is the annual world GDP, approximately 15 trillion in the US alone) to pay for a good home, clothing, and food for every family worldwide, with an all-renewable powered energy grid. 8) The future will be better When Trump’s slogan “make America great again” was on the lips of every alt-right fascist, most of us stopped to ask, when was it great? The truth is that politicians have been promising something better since the inception of this country and “better” has never arrived. There is always another expensive war to fight and another financial meltdown occurring on average every eight years. Wait, you might say, what about those sweet post-WWII growth years brought about by the New Deal? The sad truth is those years were only materially beneficial to white, middle-class men, who were highly sexist, racist, and complicit in incubating today’s consumer-driven Empty Society. The post-WWII era was an aberration in our history and the result of having more jobs available than people, but as the country rapidly exploited its natural resources and reached the limits of linear growth while the population exploded the leverage that allowed people to have higher wages receded. Even though efficiency increased enormously, the people lost leverage to demand higher wages. Without leverage held by the people capitalism will return to its status quo goal – exploit, and that’s just what it did. In the US, corporations grew richer and the people grew poorer starting from the mid 1970’s to the present. 9) It’s Just Business Employees devote years of their lives to companies and when they are let go they are told it’s nothing personal, it’s just business. This is how all bad news is delivered even when personal. It says we are cold-hearted organizations that adhere to a bottom line first and human needs second. So know when they say “it’s just business” what they are saying is understand we are sharks, and acting like a shark is just what we do. This is also the logic behind defending war crimes and similar atrocities. Nations like the US claim they have a “responsibility to protect” civilians from terrorists. Then, when American bombs kill civilians (or their proxies use US-made weapons), they are referred to as “collateral damage”. 10) Financial markets & debt are necessary The health of the entire economy is too often gauged by the stock markets. But the reality about financial markets is they are extraneous gambling machines designed to place downward pressure on companies to post good numbers to elevate share prices. These financial markets funnel capital to a smaller and smaller number of multinational corporations every year, and perpetuate non-linear economic growth (and therefore more pollutants, CO2, pesticides, strip mining, razing of forests) that is killing the planet. Debt is the most fundamental lie in our economy. Money is only supposed to be a tool to move goods efficiently around a market, but for money itself to be a wealth engine is a Ponzi scheme. And we all know how that ends. *** For a wider taste of our oeuvre, visit Reason Bowl Radio to watch Jason expose the Trump administration for the sorry sacks of shit that they are and discuss current events, as well as Jason and Bill’s commentary and ramblings about topics such as psychedelics, the nature of consciousness, and reflections on how to effect social change. http://clubof.info/

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vernicle · 8 years ago

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How the Economy Affects Nanny the Industry

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Ana, a nanny that functions and life just outside the house of Manhattan called Ideal Nanny E-newsletter crying all through the 1st 7 days of Oct, 2008. Ana advised me that her boss arrived dwelling early all through the 7 days from his occupation on Wall Avenue and declared he experienced been fired, and that her employer could no extended afford to use her.

I accept functioning as a nanny for two dad and mom that get the job done on Wall Avenue is unsettling for me. If the financial recession has a trickle-down impact it will inevitably have an impact on nannies. Nannies might lose careers, but there might also be maximize careers as two father or mother households ship both equally dad and mom to get the job done to provide in two incomes.

To share appropriate advice with Ana I questioned a couple of nanny agency house owners and nanny field professionals if the financial recession is impacting their organizations and for their advice for nannies (like Ana) all through this financial recession.

Katherine Leary Robinson, President of Beacon Hill Nannies, Inc. in Newton, Massachusetts claims, "I propose nannies again down their income anticipations ten-twelve%, if they are not observing households actively pursuing them."

Ms. Leary continues, "Are living-in nannies are incredibly fortuitous in this horrible financial environment. As their only expenditures are apparel and enjoyment, they have not knowledgeable the maximize fees of lease, heating, food stuff or fuel. Be sure to never neglect the quantity of funds you help you save as a are living-in nanny, right here on the east coastline. Are living-in nannies are having fun with on typical an further $twenty five,000 a year in tax free of charge positive aspects with free of charge space, board, an insured motor vehicle, and wellness insurance policy. You would have to be earning an further $33,000 year gross to web that $twenty five,000 for those people are living out expenditures."

Susan Tokayer, Operator and President of Family Helpers, Inc. in Dobbs Ferry, New York explains, "We have been slower both equally with our short-term support and prolonged-term support for the earlier 6-weeks, considering the fact that the banking disaster strike. I would say we are carrying out about 30% less business enterprise than we were being carrying out a person-year back. Most households are becoming careful ideal now, so there isn't as substantially activity as ordinary."

Ms. Tokayer provides, "Everybody (nannies integrated) should have some funds established aside for emergencies. If you were being to quickly be unemployed mainly because your employer dropped his/her occupation, you should have some funds accessible to are living on till you secure a different situation. Ideally, you want to have the equivalent of 6-months of living expenditures in savings. If you never have that quantity, now is a superior time to put some funds aside for a rainy working day. Getting a new occupation might take extended than typical in this financial environment."

Glenn S. Greenhouse, Operator of Greenhouse Company, Ltd. In New York claims, "We have observed a incredibly slight decrease which I feel is due to the present economic disaster we are all experiencing. Even so it is small."

Mr. Greenhouse continues, "My advice to nannies would be to stay wherever you are if your occupation is secure. If your boss's occupation is secure, never seem for greener pastures. If you are in search of a occupation, never sell your self quick, but weigh occupation safety as substantially as occupation compensation. It is a far better determination having a couple of pounds less with a relatives who will have their funds tomorrow, than hazard a occupation paying out massive bucks with a relatives who just produced their funds or who are functioning in a dangerous field."

Rachel Lawrence, Operator of Wilmington Nanny Company LLC in North Carolina shares, "Things have slowed down some. While you might be worth each individual penny, now may well not be a superior time to perform challenging ball about income. Converse to dad and mom and check out to established up a prepare for starting off at a lessen income and then getting a ninety-working day increase and a increase in a person-year to get nearer to the income you were being originally seeking for. Once the relatives sees how wonderful you are, raises will be a lot less complicated to give than a high income off the bat."

Shannon Pitts, CEO of InteliMark Enterprises and GreatAuPair.com explains, "Some households are holding again on full-time care, in search of approaches to lessen their childcare fees. We have far more candidates in search of much less accessible careers now than this time final year."

"Nannies in search of employment might come across they are competing for much less accessible positions and as this kind of should take into consideration the top quality of their software. It would also be worthwhile to find out how to sell the capabilities they have to opportunity businesses and increase their job interview capabilities," explains the CEO of InteliMark Enterprises.

"One more selection for nannies would be to take into consideration organizing a nanny share between two households. This will enable make certain the nannies procure full time several hours while helping households with the price of childcare. People will be seeking for nannies that have the organizational and time administration capabilities desired to make a nanny share a workable selection for both equally households," claims Shannon Pitts.

Alicia Torchia, President and Placement Marketing consultant of Mindful Treatment Givers LLC which serves the New Jersey and New York tri point out area writes, "I have witnessed a five% decrease in the volume of business enterprise we have introduced in more than this earlier year, these are households who are choosing us in search of nanny care companies. I have witnessed an maximize in households choosing us for infant care experts. I have witnessed an maximize in repeat business enterprise more than all."

Ms. Torchia provides, "I have witnessed an maximize in qualified nurses, teachers, and university graduates and even corporate folks entering the nanny subject mainly because they dropped careers in their subject. I inform all the nannies in my community to check out and not modify a occupation in this financial system mainly because you never know when you are heading to come across a different occupation that suits your requirements."

Sharon Toutant, Operator of A Greater Nanny in Sierra Madre, California tells us, "We are observing much less households giving full-time positions. They often are using relatives for aspect of their caregiver requirements and choosing aspect-time nannies. Several households are in search of our enable in getting their nannies some other aspect-time get the job done so they will never lose an individual important to their life."

Ms. Toutant claims, "My very best recommendation to nannies is to be extremely ready and have your very best data all set for that 1st job interview. Present a very well accomplished concise resume, written references with cellular phone figures or other make contact with data for those people references, a present DMV report and any criminal background examine that you can present. Also present for evaluation any faculty transcripts, CPR and Initially Aid certification. Be the nanny who provides the very best package to the table so the relatives will keep in mind you as the very best ready."

Lora Brawley operator of Brawley & Associates and AllAboutNannyCare.com in Federal Way, Washington provides, "I've witnessed a decrease in the range of households buying consulting companies. Even so, I even now get about the similar range of households seeking to seek the services of a nanny."

Ms. Brawley endorses that nannies:

1. Be ready to bounce into a occupation research. Will not wait around till the unthinkable happens just before you start out sharpening your occupation research capabilities and establishing your research portfolio.

2. Be ready to have the "why are we paying out you this substantially?" conversation. Each individual nanny should be equipped to clearly outline the price they provide to a relatives.

3. Remain relaxed. Nervousness is contagious. It is your responsibility as a qualified to build and keep a secure care offering environment. Additionally it will make you feel far better way too!

Judi Merlin, President of A Mate of the Family Dwelling Solutions, Inc. in Ga answers, "Indeed, our business enterprise is down, both equally quick and prolonged-term. We are recruiting for only particular areas and particular careers, as we have adequate caregivers to fill virtually all the careers we have."

Pat Cascio, Founder and Director of Morningside Nannies in Houston, Texas explains, "Long-term placements are down. Temporary is down a bit. We have experienced much less inquiries, much less new purchasers, and much less hires."

Ms. Cascio claims, "Nannies that are employed to earning at the increased conclusion of the income vary, might want to be a bit adaptable about the salaries they are requesting. Some households that are associated in investments and banking are not earning they variety of commissions that they are employed to and therefore funds isn't flowing as conveniently as it once might have. Other households might be viewing their investments dwindle in the current market and are not experience incredibly specific about their economic futures. When available employment, nannies should take into consideration them selves blessed to be receiving a occupation provide and hope that when the economic scenario turns about that their employer will be equipped to maximize their income. There have been a couple of stories not too long ago about nannies not becoming equipped to come across careers in cities as significant as New York. The London newspapers are reporting the similar detail -- when households lower again on expenditures the nanny might be the 1st to go."

Merrilan Kougias, CEO, Select The Ideal Nanny, LLC in McKinney, Texas discloses, "We have witnessed a decrease in our are living-in placements in marketplaces this kind of as New York. We have also observed that households are not calling to job interview candidates in a well timed method. Shoppers (on the East Coast) are not speeding to fill vacancies and look to be having a ‘wait and see' solution."

The CEO of Select The Ideal Nanny continues, "If a nanny decides she will have to make a job modify, she should check out to be affected individual and adaptable. A high conclusion nanny might want to lessen her income necessity or get the job done smarter by using an agency to market her occupation capabilities and income requirements. One more point is to insist on a get the job done settlement or contract between the employer and the nanny."

Michelle Damas, CEO of Neverland Nannies & Domestics in Woodland Hills, California claims, "Unfortunately, we have observed a slight decrease in business enterprise due to the financial recession. Even so, there are definitely even now careers accessible by those people who the recession does not have an impact on."

Ms. Damas continues, "The recession isn't going to have an impact on the the vast majority of our variety of clientele, but 1st time dwelling purchasers and (however) lessen money households have to lower corners. On the brighter aspect, lots of households who even now have secured employment even now need top quality childcare for their small children, giving ongoing job chances for qualified nannies and boy or girl personnel."

"If any nannies are experiencing troubles securing nanny positions, I would motivate them to take the subsequent actions in buy to maximize their odds of getting a good chance and beating their level of competition:

1. Put jointly a top quality nanny resume. Hint: List your skills in the beginning so they stand out from other people. Check out to only incorporate your childcare relevant positions, instead than non-related get the job done practical experience. People want to know what variety of childcare practical experience you have far more so than anything at all else.

2. Do not put all your eggs in a person basket! I motivate all nannies to take the time to scope out the top quality agencies in their area and job interview with each and each individual a person of them (never indication on to an agency completely). Without harassing the agencies, offer each with a weekly cellular phone get in touch with/electronic mail letting them know that you are even now in the current market for a nanny situation.

3. Continue to be aggressive by maintaining your income requirements realistic. Figure out what the heading price is in your area and then regulate appropriately. Be adaptable, and qualified.

4. If you can, be adaptable with your routine (and take note it on your resume). If you are open up to vacation, right away stays, and weekend, take note that on your resume.

5. Check out to go on the the vast majority of interviews each agency delivers you. Be on time to each individual job interview and dress skillfully. Carry a duplicate of your resume, your references (dependent on the agencies procedures), any letters of suggestion you might have, copies of your Initially Aid/CPR certifications, Trustline clearance and any other paperwork you might have that display your skills as a qualified nanny.

6. Once more, continue to be optimistic! All of that beneficial power is bound to land you a good job chance."

Anne Service provider of Teacher's School for Specialist Enhancement and creator of The Nanny Textbook explains, "The financial recession has impacted us. We waived all of our costs mainly because the range of nannies registering for lessons dropped-off drastically. Now, mainly because we have no costs at all our college student rely is increased than it has been in 6-several years. I would advise nannies to not make the oversight of assuming that you will never be laid-off. With the price of foreclosures and the tumbling down of formerly very well-highly regarded banking institutions and companies (not to point out individuals and households that have dropped a lot of funds in the stock current market) people are cutting again."

Ms. Service provider endorses, "To stay as marketable as possible, never get the job done just on your education and learning - get the job done on receiving further credentials that can be additional to your resume, this kind of as

1. Renew your CPR certification and contain a duplicate of the certification in your nanny portfolio.

2. Get a letter of suggestion from your present employer while you are presently functioning or ask your employer to complete an analysis for you that can be integrated in your nanny portfolio.

3. Talk to good friends that are nannies if their employer requirements an occasional night nanny and if so ask for a letter of suggestion.

4. Acquire nanny lessons like ours at Teacher's School for Specialist Enhancement.

5. Uncover a way to volunteer to enable out at an right after faculty application, nursery faculty, a Gymboree, the local bookstore or library by conducting a "story hour," or daycare. Volunteer for an adult or children's literacy group, educating English as a next language, or tutoring at an elementary faculty. Explain to them up-front that you are developing both equally your capabilities and your resume and you would like them to accept your enable by writing a letter of reference."

Steve Lampert CEO of eNannySource.com a national nanny world wide web web page writes, "It is a reality that there will be far more nannies searching for much less careers, that can make it extremely significant that each nanny be incredibly qualified and have a very well written resume, dress appropriately and have superior letters of reference. Also, react quickly to all e-mail and phone calls and arrive on time for interviews."

Jo Anne Reed, Operator of Estate Domestics, in Atlanta, Ga implies, "I would advise nannies to get seasonal careers to subsidize their money while we get through this time."

Hilary Lockhart, CEO and Founder of A+ Nannies, Inc. in Scottsdale, Arizona shares, "Our short-term placements are down 42%, relatives registrations are down forty seven%, and long term placements down 51%. I imagine anyone is observing a strike. I imagine that nannies want to know that if they want the similar pay out they have been receiving for the final two or a few-several years, they want to be expecting to be affected individual when seeking for careers. We have lots of households seeking to start out about $one less than what I was observing two-several years back they are all willing to give raises at 6-months. I imagine dad and mom are just striving to help you save funds (like the rest of us). Of training course there are those people purchasers that funds is even now no situation, but they are not all like that."

Betty Davis of In Search of Nanny Inc. in Beverly, Massachusetts discloses, "We will not have as high an maximize in total annual earnings as when compared to prior several years. We will unquestionably meet final year's total earnings levels but we may well not maximize earnings, as we have in almost each individual earlier year."

Ms. Davis provides, "In the metro Boston area, it is not just in-dwelling care that has been impacted. There are lots of prolonged-term relatives daycare suppliers in our geographic area who have closed their organizations due to absence of enrollment and have submitted applications to the agency for qualified positions. Working day care centers have also let teachers go due to declining enrollment."

"Salaries in the metro Boston area are most likely the maximum in the region and they have amplified drastically more than the earlier two- to a few-several years. I imagine caregivers, as all of us, will have to ‘tighten the belt' and most likely take into consideration positions at slightly lessen salaries (even now aggressive) than most likely they have experienced not too long ago. The financial system will appear again and if a caregiver is carrying out a good occupation, I am certain as their businesses are far more secure in their qualified positions, their caregiver's get the job done will be fiscally recognized. Most of the households that we aid have also witnessed their money decrease – no raises, elimination of bonuses, and so on," claims Ms. Davis.

She continues, "Nannies may well also take into consideration functioning two aspect-time positions to make their weekly income. We have placed caregivers in two careers – a two-working day occupation and a a few-working day occupation. Salaries for aspect-time positions do not look to have been as influenced as salaries for full-time caregivers. When our agency areas a person caregiver in two aspect-time positions our agency will usually negotiate full positive aspects for the caregiver between two households. If a caregiver previously has a person aspect-time situation (which she observed independently) and needs us to come across a different to ‘match' it, the caregiver may well not receive a full paid out positive aspects package unless we are equipped to negotiate with the other relatives – which has transpired only a couple of occasions."

Mary O'Connor, Operator of Nannies from the Heartland, in Minneapolis, Minnesota provides, "Ideal now we are at about the similar place we were being final year. We have observed far more households thinking about a aspect-time nanny more than a full-time nanny. Our short-term placements have amplified. Even so, in the final pair of weeks we have experienced a decrease in client inquires and new purchasers."

Ms. O'Connor claims, "Nannies should thoroughly take into consideration switching careers knowing that getting anything could take substantially extended than it has in the earlier. Fantastic careers are accessible but it is having extended to come across the 'right suit.' Consider accepting short-term or quick-term get the job done while searching for long term placements. Seem at what may well be negotiable mainly because you might be producing compromises in your pay out vary or positive aspects. It is in the nanny's very best curiosity to make certain their resume is up-to-date, CPR and Initially Aid is present, and they have shown qualified continuing education and learning -- these factors get notice."

Erin Krex, Operator of Initially Class Treatment, Inc., in Illinois provides, "People are not giving the similar generous salaries as a few-months back. They are searching about far more for the very best offer. Most of the nannies I see are asking for far more funds than they produced at their final occupation, which is comprehensible, but I inform them if you can come across a superior relatives who requirements you prolonged-term then take the pay out decrease and wait around the year for a increase, normally they will go months without having a occupation while waiting around for the wanted income."

Some agency house owners have witnessed no have an impact on from the financial recession. For example, Starla Smith of HouseholdStaffing.com in Pennsylvania claims, "Organization is booming!"

Ginger Mylander Swift, President of ABC Nannies & Domestics, Inc. in Denver, Colorado discloses that she is getting, "a different good year and once once more we are on monitor to surpass final year's revenues. Nannies with practical experience and robust references will usually be in need."

Jessica Gillan, President and CEO of A Nanny Solution, Inc. in San Jose, California shares, "I have experienced my most successful year. We have placed 53 full-time nannies this year by yourself, and the year isn't more than. I have experienced dad and mom inform me that they not too long ago offered stocks to be equipped to afford a person of our high caliber nannies in addition to our placement costs. I have witnessed a few agencies in the bay area go beneath inside of the final 6-months, I promote my companies to the business enterprise and medicals professionals who are less influenced by the financial system, considering the fact that I placed a nanny with a health care provider at Stanford, the total medical center phone calls me now. Consider it or not, this financial system can be a blessing in disguise for the nanny field. A lot more mothers are heading again to get the job done and those people households want nannies. If this really is your job then you will have to take the superior with the bad, the financial system will make a return. In the meantime, stay off craigslist wherever the dad and mom who are seeking for a inexpensive offer are on there and as a consequence only want to provide under current market wages. Dad and mom use agencies mainly because they want the total package and they are aware of the placement costs and increased salaries. Dad and mom want a polished and a fully commited qualified nanny."

Wendy Sachs, President of The Philadelphia Nanny Community, Inc. explains, "We have not observed a decrease in our business enterprise in any way due to the financial recession. We have witnessed households determining to opt out of using our support telling us it really is mainly because of the financial system but we are even now receiving new purchasers in to swap that attrition."

Ms. Sachs continues, "With far more people receiving laid-off, the pool will become flooded with people seeking for get the job done, reassess moving out of occupation at this time, might be wiser to maintain onto the occupation they are presently in."

Elizabeth Walsh, Operator of NannyQuest, Inc. in Atlanta, Ga explains, "Our clientele look to be earlier mentioned the economic storm. I propose nannies open up up the parameters of your occupation research. Be willing to do a bit far more than just childcare. Provide your self by emphasizing your capabilities at dwelling administration, light housework, meal planning, tutoring, swimming lessons, and so on. When dad and mom comprehend that they can be far more successful at producing funds mainly because of what you take off their proverbial plate, they are far more willing to pay out prime dollar."

Claudia Kahn, Operator of The Help Enterprise, in Santa Monica, California writes, "We have not still witnessed a decrease in our business enterprise, but we are anticipating it. We have experienced phone calls from lots of superior nannies that have dropped their occupation and are in search of new employment. I also presume that dad and mom will check out to do the occupation that a superior agency will do in vetting the ideal man or woman to enable with their childcare. There is usually a want for nannies right here in Los Angeles as there are countless numbers of households with twin money dad and mom that want childcare. I am not only telling the nannies, but other occupation seekers as very well as private and government assistants, and chefs to probably lessen the anticipations of their salaries, and to be far more adaptable in what they are seeking for in a situation. Everybody requirements to lessen their rates which includes agencies, as this is a time when anyone is nervous about their bottom line."

Susan Feigon & Gail Hamilton of Feigon Hamilton Partnership propose "Preserve a beneficial mindset and keep the occupation you previously have for now."

The superior news: Ana, the nanny that called Ideal Nanny E-newsletter crying she experienced dropped her occupation the 1st 7 days of Oct has observed a occupation just before printing this situation. She has just signed a contract producing $sixty five,000 for every year as a nanny in Hoboken, New Jersey. For Ana, her former boss getting rid of his occupation grew to become her blessing in disguise.

Thank you also to Sacha Taylor of Nannies and A lot more in Atlanta, Ga, Susan Buczak of Christian Nanny in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Shari Kendall-O'Neill, Operator of Incredible Placements, LLC for their contributions to this article.

References:

1. Lora Brawley, Brawley & Associates, Federal Way, WA

2. Pat Cascio, Director, Morningside Nannies, Houston, TX

three. Michelle Damas, CEO of Neverland Nannies & Domestics, Woodland Hills, CA

four. Betty Davis, Operator, In Search of Nanny Inc., Beverly, MA

five. Susan Feigon and Gail Hamilton, Feigon Hamilton Partnership,

six. Jesica Gillan, President and CEO, A Nanny Solution, Inc., San Jose, CA

7. Glenn S. Greenhouse, Operator, Greenhouse Company, Ltd., New York, NY

eight. Claudia Kahn, Operator,The Help Enterprise, Santa Monica, CA,

9. Merrilan Kougias, CEO, Select The Ideal Nanny, LLC, McKinney, TX

ten. Erin Krex, Operator, Initially Class Treatment, Inc., IL

eleven. Rachel Lawrence, Operator, Wilmington Nanny Company LLC., Wilmington, NC

twelve. Anne Service provider, Teacher's School for Specialist Enhancement

thirteen. Judi Merlin, President, A Mate of the Family Dwelling Solutions, Inc., GA

14. Shannon Pitts, CEO, InteliMark Enterprises GreatAuPair.com

15. Steve Lampert CEO, eNannySource.com,West Hills, CA

sixteen. Hilary Lockhart, CEO, A+ Nannies, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ

17. Mary O'Connor, Operator, Nannies from the Heartland, Minneapolis, MN

eighteen. Jo Anne Reed, Operator, Estate Domestics, Atlanta, GA

19. Katherine Leary Robinson, President, Beacon Hill Nannies, Inc., Newton, MA

20. Wendy Sachs, President, The Philadelphia Nanny Community, Inc., Ardmore, PA

21. Starla Smith, HouseholdStaffing.com Bala Cynwyd, PA

22. Ginger Mylander Swift, President, ABC Nannies & Domestics, Inc., Denver, CO

23. Susan Tokayer, President, Family Helpers, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, NY

24. Alicia Torchia, President, Mindful Treatment Givers LLC Skillman, NJ

twenty five. Sharon Toutant, Operator, A Greater Nanny, Sierra Madre, CA

26. Elizabeth Walsh, Operator, NannyQuest, Inc., Atlanta, GA

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