#m&a services in india

[ascgroupindia]

ASC Group is a recognized consulting company that provides customers with a wide range of professional services including the M&A advisory services. Organizations seeking advice and support during Mergers & Acquisitions are provided with services structured to advise effectively on the elaboration of the best strategy regarding the contracts and deals executed.

[estorewhiz]

10 posts!

[seogame]

Real Estate Legal Experts

Saraf and Partners are recognized as real estate legal experts, offering comprehensive legal services to clients in the real estate sector. Their expertise in real estate law ensures seamless transactions and mitigates potential legal challenges making Saraf and Partners the best Real Estate Law Firm.

[researchlinkindia]

Law Essay Writing Services in India: Your Key to Academic Excellence

Studying law is a rigorous endeavor that demands critical thinking, in-depth research, and precise writing skills. For law students in India, crafting well-structured, insightful essays is crucial to academic success. However, balancing coursework, internships, and other responsibilities can be overwhelming. This is where Law Essay Writing Services in India come to the rescue, offering expert assistance to help students excel in their studies.

Why Law Essay Writing Services are Essential

Complexity of Legal Studies

Intricate Legal Theories: Law essays often require a deep understanding of complex legal theories, case laws, and statutes. Professional writing services provide expert guidance to navigate these complexities.

Analytical Rigor: Legal writing demands high analytical rigor to construct coherent arguments and analyze legal principles. Expert writers help enhance these analytical skills.

Time Constraints

Heavy Workload: Law students frequently juggle multiple assignments, internships, and extracurricular activities. Essay writing services save time by delivering well-researched essays promptly.

Timely Submissions: These services ensure essays are completed and submitted on time, preventing late submission penalties and ensuring students stay on track.

Quality and Precision

Expert Writers: Professional services employ experienced writers with legal backgrounds, ensuring essays meet high academic standards.

Plagiarism-Free Content: Law essay writing services guarantee original, plagiarism-free content, providing students with unique and credible work.

Key Features of Law Essay Writing Services

Experienced Legal Writers

Qualified Professionals: Writers often possess advanced degrees in law and have extensive experience in legal writing, ensuring high-quality essays.

Practical Insights: These experts provide practical insights and real-world examples, enhancing the depth and relevance of essays.

Customized Solutions

Tailored Assistance: Services offer personalized help based on the student's specific requirements and academic level. Whether it’s a simple essay or a complex research paper, solutions are customized accordingly.

Detailed Explanations: Writers provide clear and detailed explanations, helping students understand the legal principles and arguments presented in the essay.

Comprehensive Services

Topic Selection: Assistance in selecting relevant and engaging essay topics.

Research: Extensive research to gather credible sources and references.

Writing and Editing: Crafting well-structured essays and thorough editing to ensure clarity, coherence, and error-free content.

Availability and Support

24/7 Support: Many services offer round-the-clock support, allowing students to seek help whenever needed.

Interactive Communication: Direct communication with writers ensures that students can provide input and receive updates on their essays.

Affordable Pricing

Cost-Effective Solutions: Essay writing services in India are priced competitively, making them accessible to a wide range of students. Various packages and discounts are available to suit different budgets.

Conclusion

Law essay writing services in India play a vital role in helping law students manage their academic workload and achieve excellence. By providing expert assistance, these services help students understand complex legal concepts, save time, and produce high-quality essays. With experienced writers, customized solutions, and 24/7 support, law essay writing services are an invaluable resource for any law student aiming to excel in their studies. Embrace the support of professional writers to enhance your legal writing skills and secure your academic success.

For more info. Visit us:

PhD Thesis Writing Services in India by Experts

Quality Assignment Proofreading in India

law assignment help india

[svodadvisory]

What do Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Consultants do?

Consultants and advisors are found on all sides of mergers and acquisitions.

These basically include investment banks functioning as mediators in big mergers, law firms performing due diligence and contractual work, and even change management businesses advising on post-merger integration.

M&A consultants are experts who provide advice and experience to organizations participating in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other corporate transactions. 

They assist clients in navigating the complex process of purchasing, selling, or merging firms in order to maximize value and ensure a smooth transition.

What do Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Consultants do?

Tasks of a Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Consultants in India

Strategic Planning

Merger and acquisition consultants operate as trusted advisors, supporting organizations in developing M&A strategies. They collaborate closely with clients to understand company goals, market dynamics, and prospects for growth. 

They discover possible targets or purchasers, evaluate risks, and assess the feasibility of alternative choices by conducting extensive evaluations. 

M&A advisors are critical in integrating the client's strategic vision with the anticipated objectives of the transaction, laying the groundwork for a successful transaction.

Target Identification 

After defining the strategy roadmap, M&A consultants begin the process of identifying suitable acquisition targets or purchasers. They undertake extensive market research, financial analysis, and due diligence using their skills and industry knowledge. 

They give clients essential information to make informed decisions by scrutinizing the target company's financial health, market position, operational efficiency, and growth potential. 

M&A advisors identify potential synergies between the companies involved, assuring compatibility and increasing the likelihood of a beneficial collaboration.

Valuation

Valuation is at the heart of each merger and acquisition transaction, and merger and acquisition consultants excel in this vital area. They determine the fair worth of the target or client's business using financial acumen and analytical prowess. 

They give clients a thorough grasp of the value proposition by combining valuation approaches such as discounted cash flow analysis, similar company analysis, and transaction multiples. 

M&A consultants play an important role in supporting fair negotiations and assisting in the achievement of optimal results.

Planning for Integration

M&A consultants are critical in assisting businesses in aligning their business processes, systems, cultures, and teams in order to realize synergies and maximize operational efficiency. 

They address potential challenges, manage risks, and promote a smooth transition by establishing detailed integration strategies. 

M&A advisors operate as catalysts in facilitating collaboration between distinct entities, ultimately unlocking the merged organization's actual potential.

Why are Merger & Acquisition Consultants Important for Every Business?

Engaging the services of a Merger and Acquisition (M&A) advisor, also known as an M&A consultant or M&A advisor, can bring significant value and benefits to companies involved in M&A transactions.

Here are some key reasons why you need an M&A consultant in India:

Expertise and Experience: M&A advisors possess specialized knowledge and extensive experience in handling complex M&A transactions. They understand the intricacies of the process, including legal, financial, and strategic considerations. Their expertise allows them to navigate potential pitfalls, identify opportunities, and provide valuable insights to guide decision-making.

Objective Perspective: M&A transactions can be emotionally charged and complex. An M&A advisor provides an unbiased and objective perspective throughout the process. They bring an external viewpoint, enabling them to assess situations objectively and offer unbiased advice. This impartiality can help companies make sound decisions and avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Deal Origination and Network: M&A advisors have extensive networks and industry connections. They can leverage these networks to identify potential acquisition targets or buyers that may not be readily accessible to the client. M&A advisors actively search for opportunities, expanding the client's pool of potential M&A prospects and enhancing their deal origination efforts.

Market Insight and Valuation Expertise: M&A advisors stay up-to-date with market trends, industry dynamics, and valuation methodologies. They have access to market research, industry benchmarks, and comparable transaction data. By providing insights into market conditions and valuation analysis, M&A advisors can help clients make informed decisions regarding pricing, negotiations, and deal structuring.

Confidentiality and Privacy: M&A transactions often involve sensitive information that needs to be handled with utmost confidentiality. M&A advisors are well-versed in maintaining confidentiality and managing information flows securely. They help protect the client's interests, ensure data privacy, and safeguard the reputation and competitive position of the company throughout the M&A process.

Risk Mitigation: M&A transactions carry inherent risks, including financial, legal, and operational risks. M&A advisors help identify and mitigate these risks by conducting thorough due diligence, assessing potential challenges, and developing risk mitigation strategies. Their expertise and experience in risk management contribute to a smoother and more successful M&A transaction.

Unlock the true potential of your Merger and Acquisition strategy with our simplified approach to Choosing Merger & Acquisition Consultants Made Easy

Merger and acquisition experts can help you through the complex and ever-changing world of M&A negotiations. Their knowledge, strategic counsel, and steadfast dedication to unlocking value enable firms to confidently embark on transformative journeys. 

There are a wide number of Merger and Acquisition consulting firms in India, svod advisory is one of them. At svod advisory, we are your reliable partner for business strategy consulting in India. From legal advisory and auditing and assurance services to company secretary services in India , we cater to startups and SMEs, empowering their growth and success with comprehensive solutions.

[acquisory]

Cyber Security Due Diligence in M&A Transactions – A Prerequisite

Overview:

What is a Cyber Security Due Diligence? The term has been defined as ‘the review of the governance, processes and controls that are used to secure information assets.’ It can be rightly said that when you buy a Company, you’re buying their data, and one could be buying their data-security problems. In other words, cyber risk should be considered right along with financial and legal due diligence considerations.

Cyber Security is one such aspect that has become extremely vital in today’s business atmosphere. Cyber due diligence is a relatively new area of due diligence which has largely emerged as a result of technological advancements and increasing data and privacy threats. Almost all formal sectors today are dependent on technology, connectivity and digital networks to varying degrees. While sectors such as media, information, telecom, software and technology services are enabled by technology, various other sectors such as marketing, banking, education, transport and medical have grown exponentially by incorporating technology as a driver to increase their performance and efficiency.

Thus with the rapidly expanding mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) environment, companies often overlook the finer aspects of due diligence in their fervor to complete the transaction. Thus, these overlooked aspects tend to be reasons behind deal failures. It is because companies underestimate the importance of thorough due diligence on the target and take several vital things for granted at the time of closing.

However, cyber due diligence remains an un-prioritized and often ignored area in most deals in India and other developing countries. This post seeks to shed light on the importance and scope of cyber due diligence in India by presenting the main risks and consequential impact on M&A deals in India. It also suggests certain strategies to mitigate cyber risks through a study of international best practices.

Risks Involved Due to a Lack of Cyber Security Due Diligence:

Regardless of the type of industry, when companies make an acquisition, they are essentially investing in the intellectual property and R&D of the proposed partner organization. Typically, there are few individuals at the buyer corporation who truly understand the network systems they’re about to purchase, which contain the valuable IP they’re acquiring. The integrity of this data must be assessed prior to the purchase — and the team assessing it must be able to provide a level of scrutiny that ensures all areas are fully evaluated, diagnosed, and proved secure.

Threats that arise out of cyber-attacks appear in several forms. Many such threats pose serious direct and indirect financial risks to companies, a pertinent example being how the emergence of ransomware has highlighted the ease with which cyber criminals can halt business operations for days or weeks at a time, resulting in unrecoverable loss of revenue. However, what are the initial threats that result in financial risks? These can broadly be divided into two major categories i.e. electronically stored information (ESI) data breaches and loss of deal value. ESI breach risks can be explained by further dividing them into intellectual property (IP) loss, reputation and brand impact, and remediation costs. Other hidden costs may include value of lost contracts, lost value of customer relationships and insurance premium increases.

Data Storage Breaches:

There are standard clauses in purchase agreements to protect the buyer, for good reason. Any litigation, workforce issues, violation of environmental regulations, and other negatives must be known and accounted for, in order for deals to make sense at the agreed-upon price. But cyber security risks are generally unaccounted for.

The lack of focus on cybersecurity due diligence in Indian M&A transactions can lead to serious impacts on ESI and data that is stored on online databases such as the cloud. ESI refers to any data that is created, altered, communicated and stored in digital form. Examples of ESI could range from emails exchanged on the company’s servers to confidential information about the company’s IP and trade secrets. The two major ramifications that arise from an ESI breach are both immediate, such as a loss of IP and long term, such as a loss in brand and customer reputation.

Key cyber security risks that buyers can run into:

Ongoing Breach: Probably the worst-case scenario — the target company is “owned” by an unknown attacker: any sensitive data or intellectual property might already be gone, and a public relations problem is looming. Not only is the value of the acquisition damaged, but also now the buyer must deal with the fallout, which can be a very expensive undertaking.

Unrevealed Previous Breach: The target company suffered a breach in the past that is revealed to the buyer after the purchase. This is similar to the ongoing breach in that valuable data may have been lost, and the intruder could still be in the network.

Persistent Intruder: The target company is host to an attacker that maintains their presence in the environment, watching and waiting. Now the purchasing company might be hosting them as well.

Disruption Attacks: Is the target…

Read More: https://www.acquisory.com/ArticleDetails/19/Cyber-Security-Due-Diligence-in-MandA-Transactions-%E2%80%93-A-Prerequisite

[world-of-wales]

I feel like this is the right moment to remind you all that somebody's BFF mindy kaling supports the right wing m*di govt of India and also wrote jokes about the 2002 pogrom in the state of gujarat that led to the brutal killings of about 3000 people in riots.

So that's the humanitarian service is universal queen & her friends for you.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The governments of India and Pakistan attempted to interfere in Canada's federal elections in 2019 and 2021, Canada's spy agency said in documents made public late Thursday night.

In 2021, the government of India had "intent to interfere and likely conducted clandestine activities," including the use of an Indian government proxy agent in Canada, according to an unclassified summary written by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Two years earlier, in 2019, "Government of Pakistan officials in Canada attempted to clandestinely influence Canadian federal politics with the aim of furthering the Government of Pakistan's interests in Canada," CSIS wrote.

The stark assessments are contained in documents that were tabled as part of the federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference. The public inquiry is examining possible meddling by China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid

[academicprojects]

The Rise of Professional MBA Assignment Writing Services in India: A Game Changer for Aspiring Leaders

The landscape of higher education in India is evolving rapidly, and the demand for skilled professionals is at an all-time high. For aspiring leaders pursuing their MBA degrees, the pressure to excel can be overwhelming. With rigorous coursework and tight deadlines, many students find themselves seeking help in unexpected places. Enter professional MBA assignment writing services—a new trend that's transforming how students approach their studies. These services not only promise to ease academic burdens but also offer a fresh perspective on complex topics that often leave students grappling for answers. As more learners turn to these specialized resources, one can't help but wonder: are they a blessing or a hindrance? Let’s explore the advantages of using these MBA essay writing company in india and delve into some controversies surrounding them while sharing success stories from those who've navigated this path successfully.

Advantages of Using Professional Services for MBA Assignments

Professional MBA assignment writing services provide a lifeline for students navigating their demanding programs. With expert writers well-versed in various business disciplines, these services ensure high-quality submissions that reflect industry standards. Time management is another significant advantage. Juggling classes, group projects, and internships can leave little time for research and writing. Outsourcing assignments allows students to focus on other essential aspects of their education. Moreover, professional services offer personalized support tailored to specific needs. Students receive customized content that aligns with their unique requirements, enhancing learning outcomes. Access to resources is yet another benefit. Writers often have access to academic databases and current literature, providing insights that enrich the assignments beyond typical classroom materials. Utilizing these services can boost confidence. Submitting well-crafted work not only improves grades but also reinforces knowledge—an invaluable asset for future leaders in any field.

Controversies and Criticisms Surrounding the Industry

The surge of MBA assignment writing services in India has not come without its share of controversies. Critics often argue that these services encourage academic dishonesty. The concern is valid; students may rely too heavily on external help, undermining their learning. Moreover, the quality of work provided by some companies can be inconsistent. While many firms boast top-notch writers, others may deliver subpar content that fails to meet academic standards. This inconsistency can lead to poor grades and tarnished reputations for those who use these services. Ethical considerations also loom large in this debate. Some educators feel that hiring someone else to complete assignments goes against the spirit of education itself. They worry it fosters a culture where effort and perseverance are sidelined for convenience. Despite the criticisms, it's clear that demand for these services continues to grow as students seek support amidst rigorous academic pressures.

Success Stories of Students Who Utilized Professional Services

The impact of MBA assignment writing services in India is evident through numerous success stories. Many students have turned to these services not just for help, but as a strategic move towards achieving their career goals. Take the case of Priya, who struggled with time management due to her part-time job and rigorous coursework. After seeking assistance from a professional writing service, she discovered how structured guidance could enhance her understanding. With expertly crafted assignments that adhered to academic standards, Priya was able to focus on building essential skills during her limited study hours. She graduated with flying colors and landed a prestigious role in marketing shortly after. Similarly, Rohan faced challenges while juggling multiple projects. He opted for MBA assignment writing services as a way to alleviate some pressure during peak times. The insights he gained from well-researched papers helped him grasp complex concepts better than ever before. This newfound confidence translated into higher grades and eventually secured him an internship at a leading consulting firm. Students like Priya and Rohan represent the growing trend where utilizing professional assistance has become synonymous with smart studying rather than shortcuts or dishonesty. Their experiences resonate among peers, highlighting that when used correctly, these services can be transformative tools in navigating the demanding landscape of business education. As more aspiring leaders embrace this approach, it seems likely that MBA assignment writing services will continue shaping educational journeys across India—empowering students by providing support tailored specifically for their needs.

For More Information :

Phd Assignment Writing in India

Indian Assignment Help

[estorewhiz]

5 Ways E-Commerce Development Can Scale Your Business Fast

Introduction to E-Commerce Development

Businesses must take advantage of every opportunity in the digital age to stay competitive. E-commerce development has become a key strategy to scale operations and expand reach. This involves creating online platforms that allow businesses to showcase their products and services while providing seamless shopping experiences for customers. E-commerce is becoming increasingly important as online shopping grows.

Why E-Commerce Is Essential to Business Growth

E-commerce has become a necessity for business. A well-optimized platform for e-commerce allows companies to reach a global market, overcoming the geographic barriers that traditional business models impose. Businesses that do not adopt e-commerce run the risk of falling behind their competitors, who gain greater visibility and access to a wider market. E-commerce is not only a revenue generator, but it also helps to build brand loyalty.

Understanding E-Commerce Development Services

E-Commerce Development Providers Offer Various Services

E-commerce development providers offer a variety of services to help businesses build and optimize their online platforms. These services include custom website design, integration of payment gateways, shopping cart development, and mobile app development. Additionally, they may offer solutions for inventory management, SEO, and analytics to ensure the platform operates smoothly and remains competitive in search engine rankings.

E-commerce is a key factor in scaling up businesses

E-commerce plays a crucial role in scaling up businesses. It allows them to reach more customers and operate more efficiently. Businesses can reduce operational costs by using the right platform to manage high volumes of transactions and complex customer interactions. Scalability in e-commerce allows businesses to grow quickly without any major roadblocks.

E-Commerce Development: Benefits

Increased market reach

Businesses can expand their reach through e-commerce beyond the local market. Companies can attract customers in different countries or regions by establishing an online presence. Online platforms allow businesses to be open 24/7. This allows them to cater to customers in different time zones.

Enhancing Customer Experience

Enhancing the customer experience is the key to driving sales within the e-commerce sector. E-commerce platforms provide opportunities to engage with customers via personalized recommendations, easy-to-use interfaces, and quick checkouts. These elements lead to a smoother user experience, which leads to increased customer satisfaction and conversion rates.

Cost savings and improved operations

Automating e-commerce is a great way to increase efficiency. Businesses can streamline operations with features such as automated inventory management and marketing. Not only does this save time, but it also lowers the cost associated with manual labor and mistakes. E-commerce platforms also reduce the cost of retail space, which can cut operational costs.

Five Effective Ways E-Commerce Development Can Scale Your Business

1. Streamlining Product Management

Scaling a business requires efficient product management. Businesses can manage their inventory using tools available on e-commerce platforms. Automated systems keep track of inventory levels, send updates when stock is running low, and ensure products are displayed accurately on the platform. It helps to avoid stockouts and overselling.

2. Automating marketing campaigns

Businesses can automate their marketing campaigns with the help of E-commerce platforms. Companies can create personalized marketing campaigns by using data analytics and insights from customers. Businesses can scale their marketing efforts by using automated tools such as email marketing, social integration, and retargeting advertisements.

3. Convenience is the key to improving payment gateways

Payment gateways are crucial to the success of e-commerce. Businesses can reduce cart abandonment by offering multiple payment methods. Secure payment methods make transactions quick and secure, increasing consumer confidence and encouraging them to repeat purchases.

4. AI Personalizes Customer Experiences

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the e-commerce industry, offering personalized shopping experiences. AI-driven systems analyze customer preferences and behavior to provide tailored recommendations. By meeting customer needs, businesses can increase conversions and improve loyalty.

5. Leveraging Mobile Commerce (m-Commerce)

Mobile optimization is crucial for scaling up an e-commerce business, as more and more people are shopping on their smartphones. Mobile commerce apps (m-commerce), which provide a seamless mobile shopping experience, allow businesses to reach a wider audience. Making websites and apps mobile-friendly can improve engagement and conversion.

Choose the right E-Commerce Development Services Providers in India

The Key Factors To Consider

Businesses must consider several factors when choosing an e-commerce development services provider in India. Consider the experience and expertise of the provider in the field. Find a provider with a proven track record in delivering successful e-commerce projects. Businesses should also look at the provider's client reviews and portfolio. They can also assess their ability to meet certain needs such as customization of platforms or integration with existing systems.

Top E-Commerce Development Providers In India

India has some of the most reputable e-commerce companies. They offer a wide range of services to suit different business requirements. TCS, Wipro, Estorewhiz, and HCL Technologies are among the leading providers of high-quality e-commerce solutions. These companies provide comprehensive services from website development and design to ongoing maintenance and customer support. They help businesses grow efficiently.

The conclusion of the article is:

E-commerce development is a powerful tool for businesses looking to scale quickly and efficiently. By leveraging the right platform, businesses can increase market reach, enhance customer experiences and optimize operations. Whether it's through automating marketing, streamlining product management or offering personalized shopping experiences, e-commerce development enables businesses to thrive in the digital marketplace. If you too want to enable your business to grow in the digital marketplace, Get in touch with ESTOREWHIZ, the best e-commerce development services provider in India.

FAQs

1. What is E-Commerce Development Services (EDS)?

These services include designing and maintaining websites where businesses can sell their products or services. These services can also include integrating payment systems, setting up inventory control systems, and optimising websites for better user experience.

2. How can E-Commerce Development help me scale my business?

E-commerce helps grow a business through expanding its reach in the market, automating operations and improving customer experience. A well-built platform allows businesses to handle high volumes of transactions and reach a global market without increasing their operational costs.

3. What are the costs associated with E-Commerce Development?

Costs for e-commerce are dependent on the complexity of the platform and features needed, as well as the expertise of the developer. The cost of a basic ecommerce website can be a few thousands dollars. However, more complex platforms that are customized could cost much more.

4. How long does it take to develop an E-Commerce Platform?

The length of time it takes to build an ecommerce platform is determined by the scope of the project. The development of a simple platform may take only a few weeks, while the creation of a fully customized, advanced platform can take months.

5. Can E-Commerce Platforms be customized to my business needs?

E-commerce platforms are fully customizable to meet your unique business needs. This could include adding specific features, creating custom user interfaces or integrating certain tools.

6. What Are the Best E-Commerce Development Services in India?

TCS, Wipro, Estorewhiz, and HCL Technologies are some of the best e-commerce developers in India. These companies provide a wide range of services from custom platform development, to ongoing maintenance, and support. They are ideal partners for scaling up businesses.

[seogame]

Best M&A Counsel

Saraf and Partners stand out as the best M&A counsel, renowned for their expertise and dedication to client success. Their meticulous approach and in-depth knowledge make them the preferred choice for clients seeking the best M&A lawyers.

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … December 30

1865 – Rudyard Kipling (d.1936) in "The Appeal" begged "Seek not to question other than / The books I leave behind." The two-line poem written shortly before his death is decribed by his editor M. M. Kaye as "a plea to posterity to respect his private life." Such an appeal proves especially ironic having been made by a man who deliberately lived by far the greatest part of his life in the public eye, as a result of his novels, stories, poetry, and politics.

Born in India and schooled in England, in his late teens Kipling entered the public stage as a newspaperman in India; the poems and prose vignettes of British colonial and native life in South Asia that he wrote for local publications proved wildly successful when collected and republished in book form in England. They established him as one of the most original voices of his generation. For the entire of his adult life Kipling fashioned himself as the conscience of the English-speaking world, refusing government honors in order to remain free to pontificate publicly on a host of social, political, and economic issues.

In the vein of the opening quote, the systematic destruction of his private papers (letters, diaries, and drafts of works), begun by Kipling while alive, was continued by his wife after his death, and completed by his daughter following Mrs. Kipling's own demise. Consequently, most of the evidence concerning Kipling's private life has been lost, while suspicion has been aroused of a secret that Kipling and his family hoped to suppress.

That secret, biographer Martin Seymour-Smith concluded in 1989, is that Kipling was in love with a charming, young, American literary agent, Wolcott Balestier, who died suddenly in 1891, and that a grief-stricken Kipling married the man's sister Caroline only six weeks later out of a sense of loyalty to his departed friend and/or guilt over his homosexual desire.

Kipling's nature was so deeply homosocial, echoed in the "brotherly love" that permeates his writings, that even after he married, he proved incapable of representing heterosexual love in anything other than a stilted, wooden way. In adulthood, he bonded closely with men like Henry James (who gave away the bride at the Kiplings' wedding), Edmund Gosse, and Cecil Rhodes who are now recognized to have been discreet or closeted homosexuals. Contemporaries questioned Kipling's orientation. For example, writer Enid Bagnold wondered—after she had become friendly with Kipling and his wife—if the older man was not a repressed homosexual.

As Martin Seymour-Smith interprets the facts of Kipling's life, Kipling feared expressing homosexual desire because he associated homosexual acts with "beastliness" and anarchy. His small size made him particularly vulnerable to other boys' advances in school, further coloring with anxiety any desire that he may have felt. Although in later life he publicly insisted that United Services College had been free of "uncleanness" while he was in residence there, he complained privately of the sexual activities that he had indeed regularly witnessed among his contemporaries, and in which he himself was accused of participating by one of his schoolmasters.

However, Leon Edel concluded Kiping's homosexuality was so buried that although "Between Balestier and Kipling it was a case of camaraderie and of love, almost at first sight. Platonic, quite clearly." that "Both would have been terrified at any other suggestion."

1901 – Beauford Delaney (d.1979) was an American modernist painter. He is remembered for his work with the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his later works in abstract expressionism following his move to Paris in the 1950s.

Born in 1901, Delaney began working with Lloyd Branson, a Knoxville impressionist painter who saw talent in the young artist and took him under his wing when he was about 20 years old.

The Time of Your Life

In 1923, Delaney left home for Boston, where he studied at several schools, including the Massachusetts Normal School and the South Boston School of Art. He made his way in 1929 to New York, where he floated between Greenwich Village and Harlem. With the city in the throes of the Great Depression, he supported himself with various small jobs while painting simple but earnest portraits, modernist interiors and urban street scenes often depicting the disenfranchised and downtrodden.

In 1953, at the age of 52, Delaney moved to Paris, where his friend, James Baldwin, had already fallen into a steady rhythm of expat life. Settling in the Left Bank neighborhood of Montparnasse, an artists’ enclave, Delaney, like Baldwin, relished a sense of freedom as a gay black man that he did not have in the United States.Delaney found little commercial success in Paris and survived mostly on the generosity of friends and dedicated patrons. Existing mental health problems only intensified and, by the 1960s, his decline was fueled by heavy drinking and the onset of schizophrenia. A year after his Harlem retrospective, he was dead. Baldwin and other friends paid for his burial in the Thiais cemetery near Paris.

1954 – ( Joseph F.) Joe Beam (d.1988), born in Philadelphia, was an African-American gay rights activist and author who worked to foster greater acceptance of gay life in the black community by relating the gay experience with the struggle for civil rights in the United States.

Giovanni's Room in the Center City District in Philadelphia was one of the main bookstores and contact points for lesbians and gays in the 1970s and 1980s. Beam, himself gay, became well acquainted with local and national gay figures and institutions while employed there in the early 1980s.His articles and short stories began appearing around the same time in numerous gay newspapers and magazines, including Au Courant, Blackheart, Changing Men, Gay Community News, Philadelphia Gay News, The Advocate, New York Native, Body Politic and the Windy City Times. He joined the Executive Committee of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays in 1985, and became the editor of their new journal Black/Out.

Beam began preparing and collecting materials for an anthology of writings by and about black gay men in 1982. His goal was to counteract the absence of positive images of gay men of color in the media and their exclusion from the cultural world of white gay rights activists. He saw his work as part of a broad effort to correct and redefine the reality of race, sex, class and gender in the United States. Through his writings, he sought to alleviate the alienation of black homosexuals and help create a community of their own.

In the Life was published in 1986; it was the first anthology of writing by gay black men. It was ignored by most African-American critics and institutions, but was greeted as a literary and cultural milestone in the gay community.

Beam was working on a sequel to In the Life at the time of his death of HIV related disease in 1989. This work was completed by Dorothy Beam and the gay poet Essex Hemphill, and published under the title Brother to Brother in 1991. Both books were featured in a television documentary, Tongues United in 1991. "As a writer, Joe was more profound than prolific," wrote his friend Craig Harris after his death. "His articles and essays were poetic, containing turned phrases and puns, metaphors in meters that made his writing musical with penetrating meaning. He took great pride in his skill and devoted time to multiple rewrites, crafting his work to create the style which other writers of the Black genre dubbed `Beamesque'."

1963 – Chandler Burr is an American journalist, author, and museum curator. Since December 2010 he has been curator of olfactory art at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City.

Burr began his journalism career in 1987 as a stringer in The Christian Science Monitor's Southeast Asia bureau, and later became a Contributing Editor to U.S. News and World Report. Burr has also written for The Atlantic on epidemiology and public health. He lives in New York City.

In 1993, Burr , who is homosexual himself, wrote a cover story, "Homosexuality and Biology", for The Atlantic. It became the basis for his first book A Separate Creation: The Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation (1996), which investigated sexual orientation research. A Separate Creation was published by Hyperion, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, and its argument that sexual orientation is inborn prompted a call by Southern Baptists to boycott Disney films and theme parks.

In 1996 The Weekly Standard published Burr's article "Why Conservatives Should Embrace the Gay Gene". It argued that scientific research that in Burr's view demonstrated that sexual orientation is biologically determined supports a conservative view of human nature.Burr's The Emperor of Scent, published in 2003, tells how the French-Italian scientist Luca Turin originated the theory about the functioning of the sense of smell. As a result, The New Yorker proposed that Burr describe the creation of a perfume. Burr's March 2005 New Yorker article recounted Jean-Claude Ellena's year-long creation, in Paris and Grasse, of Hermes Un Jardin sur le Nil.

From August 2006 until the end of 2010, Burr was perfume critic of The New York Times.

In December 2010, Burr left The New York Times to create, and become Curator of, the Department of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.

The Bogota newspaper El Tiempo in its edition of 2 December 2011 carried an article on how Burr reportedly had failed to disclose his sexual orientation in petitioning to adopt two Colombian orphans. As a result the ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar ) halted the adoption proceedings, claiming a lack of candor on Burr's part; Burr responded that the children knew about his sexuality and "they didn't care". On 13 December 2011, however, it was reported that the adoptions were made official and that Burr and his sons were reunited.

1980 – Jason Dottley, born in Memphis, Tennessee, is an American television and stage actor, recording artist, director and producer. Dottley was married to American film director, producer, television writer and playwright, Del Shores October 26, 2003. The couple divorced in 2013. After his divorce from Del Shores, Dottley dated famed Israeli journalist and anchor for Logo TV, CBS News and most currently The Wrap Itay Hod about whom he wrote his record "It's Our Night". For the most part of 2012 through 2014, he focused on taking care of his ailing grandmother at her home in Florida until she died July 6, 2014.

In 2003, he made his professional acting debut in a production of Terrance McNally's "Lisbon Traviata" at the Actor’s Lab in Hollywood, CA. His performance was reviewed "Letter-perfect" by the LA Times.

The world was introduced to Dottley in 2008, in his most notable-to-date starring role as Ty Williamson in "Sordid Lives: The Series", from IMG Global and Viacom via cable's LOGO Logo TV in the United States and is now available to view on HULU. Sordid Lives aired internationally in 17 countries around the world starring icons Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea, Olivia Newton-John, Leslie Jordan and Margaret Cho. Dottley also appeared in a national tour of the stage production of Sordid Lives.

In 2015, Dottley began his 40+ city tour with his first full length one-man show "Life on the gAy-List". Jason doesn't hold back about life when you are gay, divorced and over 30. Dubbed the "poster boy for marriage" turned the "public face for gay divorce", Dottley details celebrity adventures, heartbreak, and every funny and regrettable decision in between. He co-wrote and co-produced the one man show with playwright and producer, Eric Rittenhouse. His success and recent activity landed him recognition as a comedy "Pick of the Week" in the Boston Globe on July 1, 2015.

1991 – Derek Tyler Carter is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer from Habersham County, Georgia. He was the lead vocalist and founding member of American metalcore band Issues. Carter began his musical career performing drums in local bands in Atlanta, Georgia. Following his underground success, he joined metalcore outfit Woe, Is Me, releasing their debut studio album, Number[s], in 2010, which he left the following year.

After departing from Woe, Is Me, he began amalgamating Issues with former members of Woe, Is Me, including vocalist Michael Bohn. With Issues, they released their debut extended play (EP), Black Diamonds (2012).

The following year, the band released the stand-alone single, "Hooligans". In 2014, the group released their debut full-length studio album, Issues, to critical and commercial acclaim, charting at number-nine on the U.S. Billboard 200. The group released their second EP, Diamond Dreams, on November 18, 2014. The band released their second full-length studio album, Headspace (2016), to positive acclaim, charting at number 20 on the US Billboard 200. Bohn departed from Issues in January 2018, making Carter the sole vocalist in the group's line-up.The following year, the group released their third studio album, Beautiful Oblivion. In September 2020, he was removed from Issues due to allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2020, he co-founded the duo Emerald Royce with Attila's Chris Linck.

Carter also pursues a solo music career, having released two EPs, Leave Your Love (2015) and Moonshine Acoustic (2020), and one studio album, Moonshine (2019). Carter has also worked with longtime collaborator Tyler Acord.

In 2020, Carter was accused of grooming and sexual misconduct of a then-fourteen year old minor. The claim was made by a Twitter user who alleged that Carter had sexually assaulted him while inebriated under the influence of alcohol. Later on further allegations were purported by several other Twitter users citing their cases of misconduct that are alleged to have occurred over several years. Carter was subsequently removed from the band Issues, which followed with a statement that they had parted ways with Carter following the allegations. Carter later denied the allegations made against him.

Tyler Carter came out as bisexual in 2015. He is an outspoken supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Peter Mark Brant and brother Harry

1993 – Peter Mark Brant Jr. is an American socialite and model.

Peter Mark Brant Jr. was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. Brant is the son of businessman and art collector Peter M. Brant and model Stephanie Seymour.

In 2011, Brant publicly came out as gay.

In 2014, Brant was quoted in a Harper's Bazaar profile of him, his brother Harry and mother, Stephanie, about enjoying his clan's notoriety, "We had to do a report about our parents: where they were born, what they did, and all that. Everyone else had to do theirs as homework, but I finished mine before class ended using Wikipedia."

In 2015, Peter along with his younger brother Harry, in collaboration with Mac Cosmetics, launched a unisex cosmetics line aimed at the Gender fluid youth movement.

In 2021, Harry died after an accidental drug overdose. The 24-year-old socialite and fashion circuit fixture had struggled with addiction and was due to enter a rehab facility imminently. Peter posted a tribute to him on Twitter.

1994 – Isaac Cole Powell is an American actor and singer. He played the role of Daniel in the Broadway revival of the musical Once on This Island and was cast as Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story.

Powell was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest of three children born to Terry and Will Powell, a three-time world CrossFit champion. His father is Mixed Native American and African-American; his mother is Caucasian. His sister, Jessica Powell, stars on TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life and is a Certified Personal Trainer at their father's fitness studio. Powell began to act in middle school with the Community Theatre of Greensboro. He attended Philip J. Weaver Academy, a performing arts high school, before transferring to a boarding program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) during his senior year of high school. He graduated from UNCSA with an acting degree in May 2017.

In November 2020, Powell was cast in Universal Pictures and director Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen as new character Rhys, a high school jock.

Powell is gay and came out at the age of sixteen. In 2016, Powell met Broadway actor, Wesley Taylor, when Taylor was visiting University of North Carolina School of the Arts where Powell was a junior in the school's theatre program. The two then began a relationship in 2017 and were engaged in May 2019. They ended their relationship in 2021.

[bomberqueen17]

Liveblogging the Aubreyad: Book 3, HMS Surprise (part 1)

This one, I made notes on my phone while listening to the audiobook, so we shall see how well I distill them.

The series is hitting its stride now as a series, I think. M&C was kind of oneshottish, no real expectation of continuation; Post Captain was the pleased "oh! i get another one? great!" where he then crammed in three books' worth into one, and now HMS S is "ah. this is a series! Settle this plot down, then." pacing-wise.

So we pick up with politicians wrangling over the aftermath of the previous book, which had seemed to end so tidily and on such a happy note. Of course that is not the end-- there's a series now.

So at the end of the previous book, Jack was one of five captains sharing out a prize of some several million pounds, and this would have made him enormously wealthy and guaranteed his marriage. Of course.

In the opening scene of this one we hear that, legally, Spain had not declared war on Britain at the time, so legally, that money is not prize money, so legally, it should just be kept entirely for the government and not distributed to the sailors and officers who actually did the fighting at all, despite that being the well-established custom of the day. Legally, see, they don't have to hand it out, even though the people who designed the mission, and the people who executed the mission, all felt certain that it was a legit prize at the time and acted accordingly.

Stephen's friend Sir Joseph, head of Naval Intelligence, is arguing that of course it should be prize money, for large numbers of very good reasons, not least that he designed the mission with that in mind.

But the new First Lord of the Admiralty is a civilian politician. And he openly mentions Stephen Maturin's name, despite the fact that Sir Joseph had stressed to him that the man is a confidential agent. The First Lord does not catch the hint. And then he asks who the captains are, and remembers that Jack Aubrey's father is an opposition member in Parliament, and immediately Sir Joseph knows that it's over; this is political wrangling now, and this man will make a decision that harms the national interest and the morale of the service and everything else simply because General Aubrey is a politician he does not like.

So there is no prize money. And Jack is not out of debt. And cannot marry Sophie. And, far far far worse, Stephen's name is now exposed to a crowd of non-confidential people of no particular discretion, particularly marked as a secret agent with knowledge of Spanish affairs.

Anyway-- zooming out from that crackerjack first scene, and it is despite how it sounds, it's really well-told political intrigue with a very good layering of easy-to-understand, easy-to-deplore bullshit (and Admiral Harte gets his shitty little nose in there being a massive hypocrite, have no fear) -- the general situation is thus:

Jack, still in the Lively, is in the Med bottling up the French fleet in Toulon, and is engaged to Sophie-- legally, with all kinds of avaricious wrangles from Mrs. Williams, all the terms and conditions he acquiesced to unprotesting, so that Sophie will legally own most of their joint property. Diana has run off to India with Canning; Stephen has been collecting intelligence on them, though mostly it seems for the purpose of hurting himself with it. Stephen is to go to Minorca to do more intelligence stuff despite the fact that his name has been exposed-- the news will not have reached them, Stephen says coolly, declining to cancel the mission.

The Lively has a schoolmaster to oversee the young gentlemen's lessons. (Prior to being a midshipman, a young gentleman will be expected to have served three years of sea time, with the status of First Class Volunteer; many are listed as servants during this time, and many of them do not actually report to the ship during this time-- entering a friend's son on one's books to say he was on a ship long enough that when he joins he can just start as a midshipman with no waste of time is a perfectly accepted kind of little fraud, very common in Jack's social circles. "Young gentleman" as a category seems to include both the volunteers and rated midshipmen. But the Lively has a number of quite young gentlemen actually aboard, including the five-year-old [or, seven. he was five in the previous book but in this book, some weeks later, he is now seven] son of one of the lieutenants, as he came home from a voyage to find his wife dead and no family remaining to care for the child, so the little boy has been onboard ever since. Apparently Babbington may actually have still been a volunteer during some of the events of Master and Commander, but of course this is not consistently represented. I fully support an author doing whatever the hell he wants with timelines, and it is absolutely consistent with the inconsistency of historical records, LOL.)

Anyway-- Jack also actually went to sea as a volunteer very young, and the ship he was on did not have a competent schoolmaster, so he has suffered his entire life from not a very good education. He is sitting in on the young gentlemen's lessons ostensibly because he is concerned for them and wants to ensure they learn what they must, but in practice, he is taking advantage of this opportunity to get a proper thorough grounding in his own education, belatedly, and is thereby unlocking a real true love of mathematics, heretofore only instinctively guessed-at.

The Lively has seen long prior service in the South Pacific, and as such has a number of Asian crew members aboard. (So we do now see the word Chinaman occur, which unlike Indiaman does refer to humans, but is used as a neutral descriptor; I will nevertheless henceforth be avoiding its use, though to be fair I think it only occurs once in the book anyway.) Jack is pleased with the Chinese and Malayan crewmen, largely, as they all are unfailingly polite and have a number of useful skills, and are excellent seamen. But he finds out during an elaborate cutting-out expedition that many of them had formerly been pirates; they slaughter their opponents with absolutely stunning efficiency in a quite practiced manner despite how little combat the Lively itself has seen.

They make for Minorca to pick up Stephen but he does not make the rendezvous. Another Catalan man appears, and says Stephen has been taken, and is being tortured by the French in Port Mahon. Jack knows the city. With the Catalans, he sets up a rescue mission, and frees the prisoners, burns the house (coincidentally, the house where Captain and Molly Harte used to live), and rescues Stephen, who has had all his fingernails pulled out and has been stretched on a rack. (Touchingly, he has hallucinated Jack coming in to rescue him before, and so when it truly happens, is surprisingly calm, mistaking it for another hallucination.) It is a taut little action, badass as fuck. The officers of the Lively are disappointed when Jack won't take them, but this is not an official sanctioned expedition and there will be no glory, no report, no credit, no advancement of career-- it is simply a pragmatic necessity, and he wants only people who know the ground (his own people, Killick and Bonden) plus enough to pad out the numbers to make it work, so he takes those of the Chinese and Malay pirates who choose to volunteer, since this is just the ticket for them. (All of them volunteer.)

(A side note. The Catalan who helps them is named Joan. The audiobook narrator pronounces this Catalan man's name, which in Spanish would be Juan, and is pronounced the same, as the English woman's name Joan. Come on Simon. I believed in you.)

They get Stephen and get out, and we resume the tale in England with Stephen staying at an inn in Portsmouth. The Lively has been handed back over to her real captain, Hammond, at Gibraltar.

Jack is immediately arrested for debt as he tries to get the invalid Stephen into a carriage to go from Portsmouth to London, so off he goes to a sponging-house, hero or no; he goes quietly and resignedly. Sir Joseph Blaine is shocked to hear that heroic Jack is imprisoned; he had arranged for at least a consolation, an ex gratia payment, for the captains who were denied prize rights over the Spanish treasure, but it comes out that the agent has been slow in paying it out, and Jack is helpless without it. Blaine resolves to see it settled, at least, and does-- Jack is released. At least provisionally; there are other debts.

Sir Joseph, in his gratitude for Stephen's rescue, gets Jack another ship-- HMS Surprise, on an errand to carry an emissary to Kampong. It's a good long mission in a lovely ship (in which Jack served as a midshipman long ago), and he hopes it will give Jack's affairs time to settle.

Stephen turns to Bonden, asking him to write a letter for him, since his hands are so injured, and it comes out abruptly that Bonden is illiterate.

'Bonden,' cried Stephen, 'take pen and ink, and write -' 'Write, sir?' cried Bonden. 'Yes. Sit square to your paper, and write: Landsdowne Crescent - Barret Bonden, are you brought by the lee?' 'Why, yes, sir; that I am - fair broached-to. Though I can read pretty quick, if in broad print; I can make out a watch-bill.' 'Never mind. I shall show you the way of it when we are at sea, however: it is no great matter - look at the fools who write all day long - but it is useful, by land. You can ride a horse, sure?' 'Which I have rid a horse, sir; and three or four times, too, when ashore.'

Bonden takes the message on foot, and goes and fetches Sophie and Pullings, Sophie to write the letter from Stephen to Jack, and Pullings to carry it. This allows them to arrange for Sophie to come along to the rendezvous, so that she can see and speak to Jack briefly without her mother's knowledge. Jack had tried to release her from the engagement when his renewed troubles with debt became apparent, but she wished to refuse, but could not speak to him directly about it, so this is their chance.

She sneaks out at night and goes in the coach with Stephen, and there gets a half an hour (well, forty-five minutes; Stephen with the timepiece is soft-hearted) of conversation with Jack before they must part ways, her to go home and sneak back in to her house, Stephen and Jack to go on to the Surprise, waiting in Plymouth.

The Surprise makes her way off around the world, saddled with a moderately ineffectual but amiable first lieutenant named Hervey who has influential friends, and a second lieutenant named Nicolls who is inoffensive if clearly suffering from major depression, but with Tom Pullings as the third lieutenant, competent and familiar. They are becalmed awhile, and Jack teaches Stephen to swim-- badly, but at all, which is an accomplishment.

'Did you see me?' [Stephen] cried as Jack came nearer. 'I swam the entire length: four hundred and twenty strokes without a pause!' 'Well done,' said Jack, swinging himself into the boat with an easy roll. 'Well done indeed.' Each stroke must have propelled Stephen a little less than three inches, for the Surprise was only a twenty-eight gun ship, a sixth-rate of 579 tons - the kind so harshly called a jackass frigate by those not belonging to her. 'Should you like to come aboard? Let me give you a hand.'

Some of the men get scurvy. They run short of supplies and are down to eating rats, which they euphemistically term "millers" out of absurd delicacy. Stephen has pet rats, he is feeding them madder as an experiment.

They find St. Paul's Rocks, where Stephen begs to be put ashore for a moment to study the birds. Jack declines, as it is Sunday and one cannot ask the men to work on Sunday, but the second lieutenant Nicolls volunteers to take him over in the little rowboat for a few hours.

A sudden squall damages the ship and washes poor depressed Nicolls away, along with the little boat; Stephen survives, but is stranded, and the Surprise driven away by the wind. Some undefined time later (two days?), Babbington comes in the barge with Bonden and others rowing double-banked in a great hurry straight into the eye of the wind where the ship herself could not come, certain the Doctor must be dead but hoping against hope to find him. They do, alive, and bring him back to the ship.

Stephen claims that the extreme heat on the shelter-less rock has worked miracles on his torture-twisted tendons.

'I wish you joy of your rescue, Doctor,' said Mr Atkins, the only man aboard who was not pleased to see the barge return: Stephen was attached to the mission in an artfully vague capacity, and the envoy's instructions required him to seek Dr Maturin's advice; Mr Atkins's advice or indeed presence was nowhere mentioned and he was consumed with jealousy. 'May I fetch you a towel or some other garment?'- with a look at Stephen's scrofulous shrunken belly. 'You are very officious, sir; but this is the garment in which I shall appear before God; I find it answers pretty well. It may be termed my birthday suit.' 'That has choked the bugger off,' said Pullings to Babbington, just above his breath, out of a motionless face. 'That is one in his bleeding eye.'

During Stephen's absence, however, he finds that someone has stolen his rats, and he is furious.

Babbington is given an acting promotion to lieutenant to replace Nicolls. His perfect delight in this is marred only by his guilt at having, along with the rest of the larboard midshipmen's berth, eaten Stephen's rats, and he blubberingly confesses. Stephen revenges himself only mildly for this offense.

Jack wished to avoid putting ashore in Brazil, to avoid official delays, but Stephen suggests they just find a village and buy green stuff there, which works. Stephen of course has to go ashore. He promises not to return with any vampires, but in the event comes back with a three-toed sloth, which does not like Jack. Jack wins it over by giving it grog, in time-honored sailor fashion. Stephen discovers this and is indignant, leading to possibly the funniest line in this book:

Stephen looked sharply round, saw the decanter, smelt to the sloth, and cried, 'Jack, you have debauched my sloth.'

The dignitaries aboard are annoying and take up an enormous amount of space, including Jack's entire great cabin, so that he must room with Stephen in a smaller space. The envoy himself, a Mr. Stanhope, is dignified and kind (though a bit remote: "Once he had established that Jack and Hervey were connected with families he knew, he treated them as human beings; all the others as dogs - but as good, quite intelligent dogs in a dog-loving community"), but his head secretary, Mr. Atkins, is an officious, self-important, tale-bearing busybody universally loathed onboard.

Stephen teaches Bonden to read and write. They have their lessons up in the top, for privacy-- Bonden is not keen to be mocked on his scholarly habits, and hides the book when the midshipman Callow comes up to deliver a message. Stephen doesn't notice this.

They get, finally, to the high latitudes, where there is a huge blow, though Stephen is consoled by finally seeing the albatross. The dignitaries complain that the ship leaks and demand better accomodations. Stephen refuses to pass the message and tells the officious secretary to go tell Jack himself. The man declines to do this, as Jack is currently lashed to the wheel in the driving rain working like hell round the clock with all hands to keep the ship from broaching-to and foundering, and indeed shortly after winds up clinging for his life to a broken mast in the front of the ship trying like hell to keep the sea from overwhelming them. Surprise is damaged internally, her timbers strained, and they have to limp the rest of the way. Not a single rat is left in the ship, the stores are dangerously low.

I wasn't going to do this but I'm going to divide this. I swear I'll get better at making these short. I'm kind of doing a... rehabilitative exercise on my ability to write, here. Coming up is part two, Bombay! With critical updates on How Many Indiamen Tom Pullings Has Been In! And you'll never guess who gets the clap!

[probablyasocialecologist]

The problem with using value-added as a proxy for productivity is that value-added represents a combination of output (tangible and intangible) and prices/wages. ‘Productive’ employment in the tertiary sector, for instance, is as much a reflection of wage rates in that sector as any notion of productive output per se (for example, what is the output of a lawyer or a bureaucrat?) Hence, the use of value-added as a shorthand for productivity leads to absurd logical implications, such as the suggestion that a barber in the United States is 30 or more times more productive than a barber in India even though they both ‘produce’ the same number of haircuts per hour (according to the tastes and expectations of their clients), simply because the wage of the barber in the United States is 30 or more times higher. Or else, within the United States, that the ‘productivity’ of a lawyer is 20 times higher than that of a barber. The lawyer’s labour is certainly more valued than the barber’s, whether or not for good reason, but this has little to do with productivity (unless we consider that the power to leverage higher value for one’s labour is, in itself, a form of productivity). In other words, much of what we are picking up in most conventional measures of productivity actually amounts to price or wage differences, not actual effort or output, especially in economies that are increasingly based on services.

Andrew M. Fischer, Beware the Fallacy of Productivity Reductionism